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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/15374-8.txt b/15374-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cba894f --- /dev/null +++ b/15374-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6469 @@ +Project Gutenberg's St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 5, March, 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. 5, March, 1878 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: March 15, 2005 [EBook #15374] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS, VOL. 5, NO. 5, *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Lynn Bornath and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. + + + + + + +[Illustration: A HORSE AT SEA. [See page 367.]] + + + + +ST. NICHOLAS. + +VOL. V. +MARCH, 1878. +No. 5. + + +[Copyright, 1878, by Scribner & Co.] + + + + +HANSA, THE LITTLE LAPP MAIDEN. + +BY KATHARINE LEE. + + +Once upon a time, in a very small village on the borders of one of the +great pine forests of Norway, there lived a wood-cutter, named Peder +Olsen. He had built himself a little log-house, in which he dwelt with +his twin boys, Olaf and Erik, and their little sister Olga. + +Merry, happy children were these three, full of life and health, and +always ready for a frolic. Even during the long, cold, dark winter +months, they were joyous and contented. It was never too cold for these +hardy little Norse folk, and the ice and snow which for so many months +covered the land, they looked on as sent for their especial enjoyment. + +The wood-cutter had made a sledge for the boys, just a rough box on +broad, wooden runners, to be sure, but it glided lightly and swiftly +over the hard, frozen surface of snow, and the daintiest silver-tipped +sledge could not have given them more pleasure. + +They shared it, generously, with each other, as brothers should, and +gave Olga many a good swift ride; but it was cold work for the little +maid, sitting still, and, after a while, she chose rather to watch the +boys from the little window, as they took turns in playing "reindeer." + +One day they both wanted to be "reindeer" at once, and begged Olga to +come and drive, but the chimney corner was bright and warm, and she +would not go. + +"Of course," said Olaf; "what else could one expect? She is only a +girl! I would far rather take Krikel; he is always ready. Hi! Krikel! +come take a ride!" and he whistled to the clever little black Spitz dog +that Peder Olsen had brought from Tromsöe for the children. + +Krikel really seemed to know what was said to him, and scampered to the +door, pushed it open with his paws and nose, then, jumping into the +little sledge, sat up straight and gave a quick little bark, as if to +say: "Come on, then: don't you see I am ready!" + +"Come, Erik; Krikel is calling us," said Olaf. But Olga was crying +because she had vexed her brother, and Erik stayed to comfort her. So +Olaf went alone, and he and Krikel had such a good time that they +forgot all about everything, till it grew so very dark that only the +tracks on the pure, white snow, and a little twinkle of light from the +hut window helped them to find their way home again. + +In the wood-cutter's home lived some one else whom the children loved +dearly. This was old grandmother Ingeborg, who was almost as good as +the dear mother who had gone to take their baby sister up to heaven, +and had never yet come back to them. + +All day long, while the merry children played about the door, or +watched their father swing the bright swift ax that fairly made the +chips dance, Dame Ingeborg spun and knit and worked in the little hut, +that was as clean and bright and cheery as a hut with only one door and +a tiny window could be. But then it had such a grand, wide +chimney-place, where even in summer great logs and branches of fir and +pine blazed brightly, lighting up all the corners of the little room +that the sunbeams could not reach. + +Here, when tired with play, the children would gather, and throwing +themselves down on the soft wolf-skins that lay on the floor before the +fire, beg dear grandmother Ingeborg for a story. And such stories as +she told them! + +So the long winter went peacefully and happily by, and at last all +hearts were gladdened at sight of the glorious sun, as he slowly and +grandly rose above the snow-topped mountains, bringing to them sunshine +and flowers, and the golden summer days. + +One bright day in July, father Peder went to the fair in Lyngen. + +"Be good, my children," said he, as he kissed them good-bye, "and I +will bring you something nice from the fair." + +But they were nearly always good, so he really need not have said that. + +Now, it was a very wonderful thing indeed for the wood-cutter to go +from home in summer, and grandmother Ingeborg was quite disturbed. + +"Ah!" said she, "something bad will happen, I know." + +But the children comforted her, and ran about so merrily, bringing +fresh, fragrant birch-twigs for their beds, shaking out their blankets +of reindeer-skins, and helping her so kindly, that the good dame quite +forgot to be cross, and before she knew it, was telling them her very, +very best story, that she always kept for Sundays. + +[Illustration] + +So the hours went by, and the children almost wearied themselves +wondering what father Peder would bring from the fair. + +"I should like a little reindeer for my sledge," said Olaf. + +"I should like a fur coat and fur boots," said Erik; "I was cold last +winter." + +You see, these children did not really know anything about toys, so +could not wish for them. + +"_I_ should like a little sister," said Olga, wistfully. "There are two +of you boys for everything, and that is so nice; but there is only one +of me, ever, and that is _so_ lonely." + +And the little maid sighed; for besides these three, there were no +children in the village. The brawny wood-cutters who lived in groups in +the huts around, and who came home at night-fall to cook their own +suppers and sleep on rude pallets before the fires, were the only +other persons whom the little maiden knew; and sometimes the two boys +(as boys will do to their sisters) teased and laughed at her, because +she was timid, and because her little legs were too short to climb up +on the great pile of logs where they loved to play. So it was no wonder +that she longed for a playmate like herself. + +"Hi!" cried the boys, both together; "one might be sure you would wish +for something silly! What should we do with _two_ girls, indeed?" + +"But father said he would bring 'something nice,' and _I_ think girls +are the very nicest things in the world," replied Olga, sturdily. + +There would certainly have been more serious words, but just then good +grandmother Ingeborg called "supper," and away scampered the hungry +little party to their evening meal of brown bread and cream, to which +was added, as a treat that night, a bit of goat's-milk cheese. + +During midsummer in Norway the sun does not set for nearly ten weeks, +and only when little heads nod, and bright eyes shut and refuse to +open, do children know that it is "sleep-time." So on this day, though +the little hearts longed to wait for father's coming, six heavy lids +said "no," and soon the tired children were sleeping soundly on their +sweet, fresh beds of birch-twigs. + +[Illustration: OLAF GIVES KRIKEL A RIDE IN HIS SLED.] + +A few miles beyond Lyngen, on the north, a little colony of wandering +Lapps had pitched their tents, some years before our story begins, and +finding there a pleasant resting-place, had made it their home, +bringing with them their herds of reindeer to feed on the abundant +lichens with which the stony fields and hill-side trees were covered. +Somewhat apart from the little cluster of tents stood one, quite +pretentious, where dwelt Haakon, the wealthiest Lapp of all the tribe. +He counted his reindeer by hundreds, and in his tent, half buried in +the ground for safe keeping, were two great chests filled with furs, +gay, bright-colored jackets and skirts, beautiful articles of carved +bone and wood, and, more valuable than all, a little iron-bound box +full of silver marks. For Haakon had married Gunilda, a rich maiden of +one of the richest Lapp families, and she had brought these to his +tent. + +Here, for a while, Gunilda lived a peaceful, happy life. Haakon was +kind, and, when baby Niels came to share her love, the days were full +of joy and content. She made him a little cradle of green baize bound +with bright scarlet, filled with moss as soft and fine as velvet, and +covered with a dainty quilt of hare's-skin. This was hung by a cord to +one of the tent-poles, and here the baby rocked for hours, while his +mother sang to him quaint, weird songs, that yet were not sad because +of the joyous baby laugh that mingled with the notes. + +But, alas! after a time Haakon fell into bad habits and grew cruel and +hard to Gunilda. Though she spoke no word, her meek eyes reproached him +when he let the strong drink, or "finkel," steal away his senses; and +because he could not bear this look, he gave his wife many an unkind +word and blow, so that at last her heart was broken. Even baby Hansa, +who had come to take Niels' place in the little cradle, could not +comfort her; and, one day, when Haakon was sleeping, stupidly, by the +tent-fire, Gunilda kissed her children,--then she, too, slept, but +never to waken. + +When Haakon came to his senses, he was sad for a while; but he loved +his finkel more than either children or wealth, and many a long day he +would leave them and go to Lyngen, to drink with his companions there. + +Ah! those were lonely days for Niels and little Hansa. The Lapp women +were kind, taking good care of the little ones in Haakon's absence, and +would have coaxed them away to their tents to play with the other +children; but Niels remembered his gentle-voiced mother, and would not +go with those women who spoke so harshly, though their words were kind. +Hansa and he were happy alone together. Each season brought its own +joys to their simple, childish hearts; but they loved best the soft, +balmy summer-time, when the harvests ripened quickly in the warm +sunshine, and they could wander away from their tent to the fields +where the reapers were at work, who had always a kindly word for the +gentle, quiet Lapp children. Here Hansa would sit for hours, weaving +garlands of the sweet yellow violets, pink heath, anemones, and dainty +harebells, that grew in such profusion along the borders of the fields +and among the grain, that the reapers, in cutting the wheat, laid the +flowers low before them as well. Niels liked to bind the sheaves, and +did his work so deftly that he was always welcome. He it was, too, who +made such a wonderful "scarecrow" that not a bird dared venture near. +But little Hansa laughed and said: "Silly birds! the old hat cannot +harm you. See! I will bring my flowers close beside it." Then the +reapers, laughing, called the ugly scarecrow "Hansa's guardian." + +So the years went by, and the children lived their quiet life, happy +with each other. It seemed as though the tender mother-love that had +been theirs in their babyhood was around them still, guarding and +shielding them from harm. Niels was a wonderful boy, the neighbors +said, and little Hansa, by the time she was twelve years old, could +spin and weave, and embroider on tanned reindeer-skins (which are used +for boots and harness) better than many a Lapp woman. Besides, she was +so clever and good that every one loved her. Every one, alas! but +Haakon, her father. He was not openly cruel; with Gunilda's death the +blows had ceased, but Hansa seemed to look at him with her mother's +gentle, reproachful eyes, and so he dreaded and disliked her. + +One summer's day he said, suddenly: "Hansa, to-day the great fair in +Lyngen is held; dress yourself in your best clothes, and I will take +you there." + +"Oh, how kind, dear father!" said Hansa, whose tender little heart +warmed at even the semblance of a kind word. "That will be joyful! But, +may Niels go also? I _cannot_ go without him," she said, entreatingly, +as she saw her father's brow darken. + +But Haakon said, gruffly: "No, Niels may _not_ go; he must stay at home +to guard the tent." + +"Never mind, Hansa," whispered Niels; "I shall not be lonely, and you +will have so many things to tell me and to show me when you come home, +for father will surely buy us something at the fair; and perhaps," he +added, bravely, seeing that Hansa still lingered at his side, "perhaps +father will love you if you go gladly with him." + +"Oh, Niels!" said Hansa, "do you really think so? Quick! help me, then, +that I may not keep him waiting." + +Never was toilet more speedily made, and soon Hansa stepped shyly up to +Haakon, saying gently, "I am ready, father." + +She was very pretty as she stood before him, so gayly dressed, and with +a real May-day face, all smiles and tears--tears for Niels, to whom for +the first time she must say "good-bye," smiles that perhaps might coax +her father to love her. But Haakon looked not at her, and only saying +"Come, then," walked quickly away. + +"Good-bye, my Hansa," said Niels, for the last time. "_I_ love you. +Come back ready to tell me of all the beautiful things at the fair." + +Then he went into the tent, and Hansa ran on beside her father, who +spoke not a word as they walked mile after mile till four were passed, +and Lyngen, with its tall church spires, its long rows of houses, and +many gayly decorated shops, was before them. Hansa, to whom everything +was new and wonderful, gazed curiously about her, and many a question +trembled on her tongue but found no voice, as Haakon strode moodily on, +till they reached the market-place, and there beside one of the many +drinking-booths sat himself down, while Hansa stood timidly behind him. +Soon he called for a mug of finkel, and drank it greedily; then another +and another followed, till Hansa grew frightened and said, "Oh, dear +father, do not drink any more!" + +Then Haakon beat her till she cried bitterly. + +"Oh, cry on!" said the cruel father, who we must hope hardly knew what +he was saying, "for never will I take you back to my tent and to Niels. +I brought you here to-day that some one else may have you. You shall be +my child no longer. I will give you for a pipe, that I may smoke and +drink my finkel in peace. Who'll buy?" + +Just then, good Peder Olsen came by, and his kind heart ached for the +little maid. + +"See!" said he to the angry Lapp. "Give me the child, and I will give +you a pipe and these thirty marks as well. They are my year's earnings, +but I give them gladly." + +"Strike hands! She is yours!" said Haakon, who, without one look at his +weeping child, turned away; while the wood cutter led Hansa, all +trembling and frightened, toward his home. + +At first, she longed to tell her kind protector of Niels, and beg him +to take her back. But she was a wise little maid, and curious withal. +So she said to herself: "Who knows? It may be a beautiful home, and the +kind people may send me back for Niels. I will go on now, for I have +never been but one road in all my life, and surely I can find it +again." + +So she walked quietly on beside father Peder, till at last his little +cottage appeared in sight. + +"This is your new home, dear child," said he, and they stepped quickly +up to the door, opened it softly, and entered the little room. + +Grandmother Ingeborg was nodding in her big chair in the chimney +corner, but the soft footsteps aroused her, and, looking up, she said: + +"Oh! _tak fur sidst_[A] good Peder. Hi, though! What is that you bring +with you?" + +[Footnote A: Thanks for seeing you again.] + +Before she could be answered, the children, whose first nap was nearly +over, awoke and saw their father with the little girl clinging to his +hand, and looking shyly at them from his sheltering arm. + +"Oh!" cried Olga, "a little sister! _My_ wish has come true!"--and she +ran to the new-comer and gave her sweet kisses of welcome; at which +father Peder said, "That is my own good Olga." + +But grandmother Ingeborg, who had put on her spectacles, said: + +"Ah! I see now! A good-for-nothing Lapp child! She shall not stay here, +surely!" + +"Listen," said Peder Olsen, "and I will tell you why I brought home the +little Hansa, for that is her name,"--and he told the story of the +father's drinking so much finkel, and offering to give his little girl +for a pipe, and how he himself had purchased her. "But see!" added the +worthy Peder, turning toward Hansa, "you are not bound but for as long +as the heart says stay." + +Hansa looked about, and, meeting Olga's sweet, entreating glance, said, +"I will stay ever." + +Then Olga cried, joyously, "Now, indeed, have I a sister!" and took her +to her own little bed, where soon they both were sleeping, side by +side. + +As for Olaf and Erik, they were still silent, though now from anger, +and that was very bad. + +Grandmother Ingeborg, I think, was angry, too, for said she to herself: + +"Now I shall have to spin more cloth, and sew and knit, that when her +own clothes wear out we may clothe this miserable Lapp child" (for the +good dame was a true Norwegian, and despised the Lapps); "and our +little ones must divide their brown bread and milk with her, for we are +too poor to buy more, and it is very bad altogether. Ah! I was sure +something bad would happen,"--and grandmother fairly grumbled herself +into bed. + +In the morning all were awake early, you may be sure, and gazing +curiously at the new-comer, whom they had been almost too sleepy to see +perfectly before; and this is how she appeared to their wondering eyes. + +She seemed about twelve years old, but no taller than Olga, who was +just ten. She had beautiful soft, brown eyes; and fair, flaxen hair, +which hung in rich, wavy locks far down her back. She wore a short +skirt of dark blue cloth, with yellow stripes around it; a blue apron, +embroidered with bright-colored threads; a little scarlet jacket; a +jaunty cap, also of scarlet cloth, with a silver tassel; and neat, +short boots of tanned reindeer-skin, embroidered with scarlet and +white. + +Soon grandmother Ingeborg, who had been out milking the cow, came in, +and almost dropped her great basin of milk, in her anger. + +"What!" cried she to Hansa, "all your Sunday clothes on? That will +never do!" + +"But I have no others," said the little maid. + +"Then you shall have others," said grandmother, and she took from a +great chest in the corner an old blue skirt of Olga's, a jacket which +Olaf had outgrown, and a pair of Erik's wooden shoes. + +[Illustration: "HANSA'S GUARDIAN."] + +Meekly, Hansa donned the strange jacket and skirt; but her tiny feet, +accustomed to the soft boots of reindeer-skin, could not endure the +hard, clumsy wooden shoes. + +"Ah!" said grandmother, who was watching her. "Then must you wear my +old cloth slippers," which were better, though they would come off +continually. + +"Now bring me my big scissors, that I may cut off this troublesome +hair," cried Dame Ingeborg. "I do not like that long mane; Olga's head +is far neater!" + +And, in spite of poor Hansa's entreaties, all her long, beautiful, +shining locks were cut short off. + +But Hansa proved herself a merry little maid, who, after all, did not +care for such trifles. Besides, this, she was so helpful in straining +the milk, preparing the breakfast, and bringing fresh twigs for the +beds, that Dame Ingeborg quite relented toward her, and said: + +"You are very nice indeed--for a Lapp child. If you could only spin, +I'd really like to keep you." + +Then Hansa moved quickly toward the great spinning-wheel which stood +near the open door, and, before a word could be spoken, began to spin +so swiftly, yet carefully, that grandmother, in her surprise, forgot to +say "Ah," but kissed the clever little maid instead. + +"She'll be proud," said the boys, "because she is so wise. Let us go by +ourselves and play,"--and away they ran. + +"Come," said Olga to Hansa; "though they have run away, they will not +be happy without us,"--which wise remark showed that she knew boys +pretty well; and the two little maids went hand in hand, and sat down +beside the boys. + +"We have no room for _two_ girls here," said Olaf, and he gave poor +Hansa a very rough push. + +"What can you do to make us like you?" said Erik. + +"I can tell stories," said Hansa. "Listen!" + +And she told them a wonderful tale, far better than grandmother's +Sunday best one. + +"That is a very good story," said Olaf, when it was finished, "and you +are not so bad--for a girl. But still, if my father had not bought you, +I should have owned a reindeer for my sledge to-day." + +"And I should have had a fur coat and boots, to keep me warm next +winter," said Erik. + +At this, Hansa opened her bright eyes very wide, and looked curiously +at the boys for a moment, then said: "Did you wish for those things?" + +"We have wished for them all our lives," said Erik; while Olaf, too +sore at his disappointment to say a word, gave Hansa a rude slap +instead. + +That night, when all were sleeping soundly, little Hansa arose, +dressed, and stole softly from the hut. The sun was shining brightly, +and it seemed as if the path over which father Peder had led her showed +itself, and said, "Come, follow me, and I will lead you home!" And so +it did, safely and surely, though the way seemed long, and her little +feet ached sorely before she had gone many miles. But she kept bravely +on, till at last her father's tent appeared in sight. Then her heart +failed her. + +"I hope father is not home," said she, "else he will beat me again. I +only want my Niels." + +And she gave a curious little whistle that Niels had taught her as a +signal; but no answer came back. So she crept gently up to the tent, +drew aside the scarlet curtain that hung before the opening, and looked +in. + +Meanwhile, let us go back to Haakon at the fair. + +As father Peder led Hansa away, he turned again to the booth, and being +soon joined by some friendly Lapps, spent the night, and far on into +the next day, in games and wild sports (such as abound at the fair) +with them. + +At last, a thought of home seemed to come to him, and, heedless of all +cries and exclamations from his companions, he hurried away. The long +road was passed as in a kind of dream, and, almost ere he knew it, he +stood before his tent, with Niels' frightened eyes looking into his, +and Niels' eager voice crying: + +"Oh, father! where is Hansa? What have you done with my sister?" + +"Be silent, boy!" said Haakon, sternly. "Your sister is well, but--she +will never come back to the tent again!" + +Then, as if suddenly a true knowledge of his crime flashed upon him, he +buried his face in his hands, and tears, that for many years had been +strangers to his eyes, trickled slowly down his rough brown cheeks, and +so, not daring to meet his boy's truthful questioning gaze, he told him +all. + +"Oh, father, let us go for her! She will surely come back if you are +sorry," cried Niels, eagerly. + +"You cannot, for, alas! I know neither her new master's name nor +whither he went," said Haakon. + +Then Niels, in despair, threw himself down on his bed and wept +bitterly--wept, till at last, all exhausted with the force of his +grief, he slept. How long he knew not, for in the Lapp's tent was +nothing to mark the flight of the hours; but he awoke, finally, with a +start, sat up and rubbed his eyes, and looked wildly about, saying: + +"Yes, there sits father, just where I left him, and there is no one +else here. But I am sure I heard Hansa whistle to me; no one else knows +our signal, and----Oh! there--_there_ she is at the door!" and he +sprang toward her and clasped her in his arms, crying, "Hansa, my +Hansa! I have had a dream--such an ugly dream! How joyful that I am +awake at last! See, father," he said, leading her to Haakon; "have you, +too, dreamed?" + +"It was no dream, boy," said his father; and, turning to Hansa, he +asked, more gently than he had ever yet spoken to her, "How came you +back, my child?" + +Then Hansa, clinging closely to Niels the while, told him all that had +befallen her, and of the pleasant home she had found, and added, +boldly; + +"Father, let me take these kind friends some gifts; we have _so_ much, +and I wish to make them happy." + +"Take what you want, child," said Haakon. "And see! here is a bag of +silver marks; give it to Peder Olsen, and say that each year I will +fill it anew for him, so that he shall never more want." Then, turning +to Niels, he added: "Go you, too, with Hansa. Surely those kind people +will give you a home as well. It is better for you both that you have a +happier home, and care; and I--can lead my life best alone." + +In the wood-cutter's little hut, Olga was the first to discover Hansa's +absence. + +"Ah, you naughty boys!" cried she. "You have driven my new sister +away!"--and she wept all day and would not be comforted. + +Bed-time came, but brought no trace of Hansa. Poor, tender-hearted Olga +cried herself to sleep; while Olaf and Erik were really both frightened +and sorry, and whispered privately to each other, under their reindeer +blanket, that if Hansa should ever come back, they would be very good +to her. + +"And I will give her my Sunday cap," said Erik, "since she cannot wear +my shoes." + +Two, three, four days went by, and still Hansa came not; and father +Peder, who was the last to give up hope, said, finally: + +"I fear we shall never see our little maid again." + +The children gathered around him, sorrowing, while Dame Ingeborg threw +her apron over her head, and rocked to and fro in her big chair in the +chimney corner. + +Just then came a gentle little tap on the door, which, as Olga sprang +toward it, softly opened, and there on the threshold stood little +Hansa, smiling at them; and--wonder of wonders!--behind her was a +little reindeer, gayly harnessed, with bright silver bells fastened to +the collar, which tinkled merrily as it tossed its pretty head. Beside +it stood a boy, somewhat taller than Olaf, balancing on his head a +great package. + +"I have been far, far away to my own home," said Hansa, "and my brother +Niels has come back with me, bringing something for you." + +Then Niels laid down the package, and gravely opening it, displayed to +the wondering eyes real gifts from fairy-land, it seemed. + +There were the fur coat and boots, and a cap also, more beautiful than +Erik had ever dreamed of. A roll of soft, fine blue wool, for +grandmother, came next; then a beautifully embroidered dress, and +scarlet apron and jacket, for Olga; and last of all, a fat little +leather bag, which Hansa gave to father Peder, saying: + +"There are many silver marks for you, and my father has promised that +it shall never more be empty, if you will give to Niels and me a home." +Then turning quickly to Olaf, she said: "And here is my own pet +reindeer 'Friska' for you." + +So the children, in the gladness of their hearts, kissed the little +maid, and Olaf whispered, "Forgive me that slap, dear Hansa!" + +Father Peder stood thoughtfully quiet a moment, then, turning to the +children, he said: + +"See, little ones! I gave my last mark for Hansa, and knew not where I +should find bread for you all afterward; but the dear child has brought +only good to us since. I am getting old, and my arms grow too weak to +swing the heavy ax, and I thought, often, soon must my little ones go +hungry. But now we are rich, and my cares have all gone. So long as +they wish, therefore, shall Niels and Hansa be to me as my own +children; they shall live here with us, and we will love them well." + +[Illustration: ON THE SPRING-BOARD.] + +Then he kissed all the happy faces, and said: "Now go and play, little +ones, for grandmother and I must think quietly over these God-sent +gifts." + +So the children, first putting Friska, the reindeer, carefully in the +little stable beside the cow (so that he should not run away from the +strange new home, Hansa said), hastened to their favorite +play-place,--a large pine board lying on the slope of the hill, whence +they could look far away across the fields and fjords to the Kilpis, +the great mountain peaks where, even in summer, the pure white snow lay +glistening in the sunlight. + +"Ho!" cried Niels, "that is a fine board, but no good so; see what _I_ +can do with it!" and lifted one end and put it across a great log that +lay near by. + +"Now you little fellows," said he to Olaf and Erik, "I am strong as a +giant, but I cannot quite roll up this other log alone. Come you and +help." + +So the boys together rolled the heavy log to its place, and put the +other end of the board upon it. + +"Now jump!" cried Niels; and with one joyous "halloo" the children were +on the broad, springy plank, enjoying to the utmost this novel +pleasure. + +Their shouts of delight brought the wood-cutter to the door of the +little hut, and grandmother Ingeborg following, caught the excitement, +and, pulling off her cap, she waved it wildly, crying: "Hurrah for the +Lapps! Hurrah!" + +Then she and father Peder went back to their chairs in the chimney +corner; and Hansa, sitting on the spring-board, with the children +around her, told them such a wonderful, beautiful story, that they were +quite silent with delight. + +At last said Olaf, contentedly, as he lay with his head on Hansa's +knee: + +"After all, girls _are_ the nicest things in the world!" + +"Except boys," said little Hansa, slyly. + + + + +[Illustration: JUNO'S WONDERFUL TROUBLES.] + + +JUNO'S WONDERFUL TROUBLES. + +BY E. MULLER. + + +Juno lived in a great park, where there was a menagerie, and neither +the park nor the menagerie could have done without Juno. Now, who do +you think Juno was? She was a dear old black and brown dog, the +best-natured dog in the world. And this was the reason they could not +do without her in the park. A lioness died, and left two little +lion-cubs with no one to take care of them. The poor little lions +curled up in a corner of the cage, and seemed as if they would die. +Then the keeper of the menagerie brought Juno, and showed her the +little lion-cubs, and said: "Now, Juno, here are some puppies for you; +go and take care of them, that's a good dog." Juno's own puppies had +just been given away, and she was feeling very badly about it, and was +rather glad to take care of the two little lions. They were so pretty, +with their soft striped fur and yellow paws, that Juno soon loved them, +and she took the best of care of them till they grew old enough to live +by themselves. Many people used to come and stand near the big lion's +cage, and laugh to see only a quiet old dog, and two little bits of +lion-cubs shut in it. + +[Illustration] + +It was very pretty to see Juno playing with the cubs, and all the +children who came to the park wanted first to see "the doggie that +nursed the lion-puppies." But when they grew large enough they were +taken away from her, and sold to different menageries far away, and +poor Juno wondered what had become of her pretty adopted children. She +looked for them all about the menagerie, and asked all the animals if +they had seen her two pretty yellow-striped lion-puppies. No one had +seen them, and nearly every one was sorry, and had something kind to +say, for Juno was a favorite with many. To be sure, the wolf snarled at +her, and said it served her right for thinking that she, a miserable +tame dog, could bring up young lions. But Juno knew she had only done +as she was told, so she did not mind the wolf. The monkeys cracked +jokes, and teased her, saying they guessed she would be given another +family to take care of--sea lions, most likely, and she would have to +live in the water to keep them in order. This had not occurred to Juno +before, and it made her quite uneasy. + +"It is not possible they would want me to nurse young sea-lions," said +she. "They are so very rude, and so very slippery, I never could make +them mind me." + +[Illustration: JUNO IS WARNED BY THE PELICAN.] + +"You may be thankful if you don't get those two young alligators in the +other tank," said a gruff-voiced adjutant. + +"Good gracious!" exclaimed Juno. "You don't think it possible?" + +"Of course it is possible," said a pelican, stretching his neck through +his cage-bars. "You'll see what comes of being too obliging." + +"We all think you are a good creature, Juno," said a crane. "Indeed, I +should willingly trust you with my young crane children, but really, if +you _will_ do everything that is asked of you, there's no knowing whose +family you may have next." + +Juno went and lay down in a sunshiny place near the elephant's house, +and thought over all these words. Very soon she grew sleepy, in spite +of her anxiety, and was just dropping off into a doze, when she heard +the keeper whistle for her. She ran to him and found him in the +hippopotamus's cage. + +[Illustration: JUNO TAKES CARE OF THE YOUNG HIPPOPOTAMUS.] + +"Juno," said he, "I guess you'll have to take charge of this young +hippopotamus, the poor little fellow has lost his mother." + +"Dear, dear!" sighed Juno. "I was afraid it would come to this. I'm +thankful it isn't the young alligators." + +So Juno took charge of the young hippo,--she called him hippo for +short, and only when he was naughty she called him: "Hip-po-pot-a-mus, +aren't you ashamed of yourself?" But he was a great trial. He was +awkward and clumsy, and not a bit like her graceful little +lion-puppies. When he got sick, and she had to give him peppermint, his +mouth was so large that she lost the spoon in it, and he swallowed +spoon and all, and was very ill afterward. But he grew up at last, and +just as Juno had made up her mind not to take care of other people's +families any more, the keeper came to her with two young giraffes, and +told her she really must be a mother to the poor little scraps of +misery, for their mother was gone, and they would die if they weren't +cared for immediately. These were a dreadful trouble, and besides, they +would keep trotting after her everywhere, till the pelican, and the +adjutant, and the cranes nearly killed themselves laughing at her. Poor +Juno felt worse and worse, till when one day she heard the keeper say +she certainly would have to take care of the young elephant, she felt +that she could stand it no longer, and made up her mind to run away. So +she said good-bye to all her friends, and ran to the wall of the park. +There she gave a great jump, and,--waked up, and found herself in the +sunshiny grass near the elephant's house. + +"Oh, how glad I am!" said Juno. + +"What in the world has been the matter?" asked the elephant. "You've +been kicking and growling in your sleep at a great rate. I've been +watching you this long time." + +"Such dreadful dreams!" said Juno. "Lion-puppies are all very well, but +when it comes to hippopotamus, and giraffes, and elephant----" + +"What _are_ you talking about?" said the elephant. "I guess you'd +better go to your supper; I heard the keeper call you long ago." + +So Juno went to her supper very glad to find she had only dreamed her +troubles; but she made up her mind that if the old hippopotamus +_should_ die, she would run away that very night. + + + + +WISHES + +BY MARY N. PRESCOTT. + + + I wish that the grasses would learn to sprout, + That the lilac and rose-bush would both leaf out; + That the crocus would put on her gay green frill, + And robins begin to whistle and trill! + + I wish that the wind-flower would grope its way + Out of the darkness into the day; + That the rain would fall and the sun would shine, + And the rainbow hang in the sky for a sign. + + I wish that the silent brooks would shout, + And the apple-blossoms begin to pout; + And if I wish long enough, no doubt + The fairy Spring will bring it about! + + + + +HOW MATCHES ARE MADE. + +BY F.H.C. + + +[Illustration] + + +A match is a small thing. We seldom pause to think, after it has +performed its mission, and we have carelessly thrown it away, that it +has a history of its own, and that, like some more pretentious things, +its journey from the forest to the match-safe is full of changes. This +little bit of white pine lying before me came from far north, in the +Hudson Bay Territory, or perhaps from the great silent forests about +Lake Superior, and has been rushed and jammed and tossed in its long +course through rivers, over cataracts and rapids, and across the great +lakes. + +We read that near the middle of the seventeenth century it was +discovered that phosphorus would ignite a splint of wood dipped in +sulphur; but this means of obtaining fire was not in common use until +nearly a hundred and fifty years later. + +This, then, appears to have been the beginning of match-making. Not +that kind which some old gossips are said to indulge in, for that must +have had its origin much farther back, but the business of making those +little "strike-fires," found in every country store, in their familiar +boxes, with red and blue and yellow labels. + +The matches of fifty years ago were very clumsy affairs compared with +the "parlor" and "safety" matches of to-day, but they were great +improvements upon the first in use. Those small sticks, dipped in +melted sulphur, and sold in a tin box with a small bottle of oxide of +phosphorus, were regarded by our forefathers as signs of "ten-leagued +progress." Later, a compound made of chlorate of potash and sulphur was +used on the splints. This ignited upon being dipped in sulphuric acid. +In 1829 an English chemist discovered that matches on which had been +placed chlorate of potash could be ignited by friction. Afterward, at +the suggestion of Professor Faraday, saltpeter was substituted for the +chlorate, and then the era of friction matches, or matches lighted by +rubbing, was fairly begun. + +But the match of to-day has a story more interesting than that of the +old-fashioned match. As we have said, much of the timber used in the +manufacture comes from the immense tracts of forest in the Hudson Bay +Territory. It is floated down the water-courses to the lakes, through +which it is towed in great log-rafts. These rafts are divided; some +parts are pulled through the canals, and some by other means are taken +to market. When well through the seasoning process, which occupies from +one to two years, the pine is cut up into blocks twice as long as a +match, and about eight inches wide by two inches thick. These blocks +are passed through a machine which cuts them up into "splints," round +or square, of just the thickness of a match, but twice its length. This +machine is capable, as we are told, of making about 2,000,000 splints +in a day. This number seems immense when compared with the most that +could be made in the old way--by hand. The splints are then taken to +the "setting" machine, and this rolls them into bundles about eighteen +inches in diameter, every splint separated from its neighbors by little +spaces, so that there may be no sticking together after the "dipping." +In the operation of "setting," a ribbon of coarse stuff about an inch +and a half wide, and an eighth of an inch thick, is rolled up, the +splints being laid across the ribbon between each two courses, leaving +about a quarter of an inch between adjoining splints. From the +"setting" machine the bundles go to the "dipping" room. + +After the ends of the splints have been pounded down to make them even, +the bundles are dipped--both ends---into the molten sulphur and then +into the phosphorus solution, which is spread over a large iron plate. +Next they are hung in a frame to dry. When dried they are placed in a +machine which, as it unrolls the ribbon, cuts the sticks in two across +the middle, thus making two complete matches of each splint. + +The match is made. The towering pine which listened to the whisper of +the south wind and swayed in the cold northern blast, has been so +divided that we can take it bit by bit and lightly twirl it between two +fingers. But what it has lost in size it has gained in use. The little +flame it carries, and which looks so harmless, flashing into brief +existence, has a latent power more terrible than the whirlwind which +perhaps sent the tall pine-tree crashing to the ground. + +But the story is not yet closed. From the machine which completed the +matches they are taken to the "boxers"--mostly girls and women--who +place them in little boxes. The speed with which this is done is +surprising. With one hand they pick up an empty case and remove the +cover, while with the other they seize just a sufficient number of +matches, and by a peculiar shuffling motion arrange them evenly, +then--'t is done! + +The little packages of sleeping fire are taken to another room, where +on each one is placed a stamp certifying the payment to the government +of one cent revenue tax. Equipped with these passes the boxes are +placed in larger ones, and these again in wooden cases, which are to be +shipped to all parts of the country, and over seas. + +All this trouble over such little things as matches! Yet on these +fire-tipped bits of wood millions of people depend for warmth, cooked +food and light. They have become a necessity, and the day of flint, +steel and tinder seems almost as far away in the past as are the bow +and fire-stick of the Indian. + +Some idea of the number of matches used in North America during a year +may be gained from the fact that it is estimated by competent judges +that, on an average, six matches are used every day by each inhabitant; +this gives a grand total of 87,400,000,000 matches, without counting +those that are exported. Now, this would make a single line, were the +matches placed end to end, more than 2,750,000 miles in length! It +would take a railroad train almost eight years to go from one end to +the other, running forty miles an hour all the time. + +How apt to our subject is that almost worn-out Latin phrase, "_multum +in parvo_"--much in little! Much labor, much skill, and much +usefulness, all in a little piece of wood scarcely one-eighth of an +inch through and about two inches long! + +[Illustration: Finis] + + + + +[Illustration: WHERE AUNT ANN HID THE SUGAR] + + +WHERE AUNT ANN HID THE SUGAR + +BY MARY L. BOLLES BRANCH. + + +Teddy was such a rogue, you see! If Aunt Ann sent him to the store for +raisins, the string on the package would be very loose, and the paper +very much lapped over, when he brought it home; if he went to the +baker's, the tempting end of the twist loaf was sure to be snapped off +in the street, and a dozen buns were never more than ten when they +reached the table. Boys are _so_ hungry! Teddy knew every corner of the +pantry: if half a pie were left over from dinner, it could not possibly +be hidden under any pan, bowl, pail, or cunningly folded towel, but he +would find it before supper. Pieces of cake disappeared as if by magic, +preserves were found strangely lowered in the crocks, pickles went by +the wholesale, gingerbread never could be reckoned on after the first +day, and once--only once--did Teddy's mamma succeed in hiding a whole +baking of apple tarts in the cellar for a day by setting them under a +tub. The cellar never was a safe place again; Aunt Ann tried it with +doughnuts, and the crock was empty in two days. She put her stick +cinnamon on the top shelf in the closet, behind her medicine bottles, +and when she wanted it a week after, there was not a sliver to be +found. Then the loaf sugar--I don't know but that was the worst of all. +Did he stuff his pockets with it? did he carry it away by the capful? +It seemed incredible that anything _could_ go so fast. One day, Aunt +Ann detected Teddy behind the window curtain with a tumbler so nearly +full of sugar that the water in it only made a thick syrup, and there +he was reading "Robinson Crusoe" and sipping this delightful mixture. +From that moment Aunt Ann made up her mind that he should "stop it." + +"I'll tell him it's nothing more nor less than downright STEALING--so I +will," muttered the good soul to herself; "the poor child's never had +proper teaching on the subject from one of us; he's got all his pa's +appetite without the good principles of _our_ side of the family to +save him." + +So, the next day, the sugar being out, she bought two dollars' worth +while Teddy was at school, and without even telling his mother, she +searched the house for a hiding-place. She shook her head at the pantry +and cellar, but she visited the garret, and the spare front chamber; +she looked into the camphor-chest, she contemplated a barrel of +potatoes, she moved about the things in her wardrobe, and at last she +hid the sugar! No danger of Teddy finding it this time! Aunt Ann could +not repress a smile of triumph as she sat down to her knitting. + +Unconscious Teddy came home at noon, ate his dinner, and was off again. +His mother and Aunt Ann went out making calls that afternoon, and as +Aunt Ann closed the street door she thought to herself-- + +"I can really take comfort going out, I feel so safe in my mind, now +that sugar is hid." + +But at tea-time she almost relented when she saw Teddy look into the +sugar-bowl, and turn away without taking a single lump. + +"He is really honorable," she said to herself; "he thinks that is all +there is, and he wont touch it." And she passed the gingerbread to him +three times, as a reward of merit. + +There was sugar enough in the bowl to sweeten all their tea the next +day, and so far all went well. But the third day, in the afternoon, up +drove a carry-all to the gate, with Uncle Wright, Aunt Wright, and two +stranger young ladies from the city--all come to take tea, have a good +time, and drive home again by moonlight. + +Teddy's mother sat down in the front room to entertain them, and Aunt +Ann hurried out to see about supper. How lucky it was that she had +boiled a ham that very morning! Pink slices of ham, with nice biscuit +and butter, were not to be despised even by city guests. She had also a +golden comb of honey, brought to the house by a countryman a few hours +before; it looked really elegant as she set it on the table in a +cut-glass dish. Then there were,--oh, moment of suspense! would she +find any left?--yes; there _were_ enough sweet crisp seed-cakes to fill +a plate. + +The table was set--the tea with its fine aroma, and the coffee, +amber-clear, were made. The cream was on, so was the sugar-bowl, and +Aunt Ann was just going to summon her guests, when she happened to +think to lift the sugar-bowl cover and peep in. Sure enough, there +wasn't a lump there! + +"I must run and fill it!" exclaimed Aunt Ann, lifting it in a hurry, +and starting; but she had to stop to think in what direction to go. + +"Where was it I put that sugar?" she asked herself. + +In the camphor chest? No. In the potatoes? No; she remembered thinking +they were not clean enough. Was it anywhere up garret? If she went +there and looked around, maybe it would come into her mind. She did go +there, sugar-bowl in hand, and she did look around, but all in +vain--she could not think where she had put that two dollars' worth of +sugar! + +And time was flying, the sun was setting--pretty soon the moon would be +up. How hungry the company must be, and they must wonder why supper +wasn't ready. It would never do to sit down to the table with an empty +sugar-bowl, for Aunt Wright always wanted her tea extra sweet, and +Uncle Wright never could drink coffee without his eight lumps in the +cup. Dear, dear! Aunt Ann was all in a flurry. _Why_ had she ever +undertaken to hide that sugar! + +"I shall certainly have to send to the store for some more!" she said +to herself, "and that will take so long; but it can't be helped." + +So she spoke to Teddy, who was sitting in the dining-room window +apparently studying his geography lesson, but in reality wondering what +in the world Aunt Ann was fluttering all over the house so uneasily +for. + +"Run to the store, Teddy!" she said quickly; "get me half a dollar's +worth of loaf sugar as soon as ever you can." + +"Why, Aunt Ann," he replied, "what for? I should think you had sugar +enough already." + +"So I have!" she exclaimed, nervously. "I got two dollars' worth day +before yesterday, and I hid it away in a safe place to keep it from +you, and now, to save my life, I can't think where I put it, and I've +searched high and low. Hurry!" + +Teddy smiled upon her benignly. + +"You should have told me sooner what you were looking for," he said. +"That sugar is on the upper shelf of your wardrobe, in your muff-box in +the farther corner. It is _very_ nice sugar, Aunt Ann!" + +"Sure enough!" she cried. "That is where I hid it, and covered it up +with my best bonnet and veil. And then, when I went calling, I wore my +bonnet and veil, and never once thought about the sugar. I suppose that +was when you found it, you bad boy." + +"Yes 'm, I found it that time. I was looking for a string," he said; +"but I should have found it anyhow in a day or two, even if you hadn't +let sugar crumbs fall on the shelf, Aunt Ann!" + +"I believe you, you terrible boy!" she rejoined. "Now go call the +company to tea." + +And she did believe him, and would have given up the struggle from that +day, convinced that the fates were against her, but for her heroic +resolve to instill straightway into this young gentleman with his pa's +appetite the good principles of _her_ side of the family. + + + + +UNDER THE LILACS. + +BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT. + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +A HAPPY TEA. + + +Exactly five minutes before six the party arrived in great state, for +Bab and Betty wore their best frocks and hair-ribbons, Ben had a new +blue shirt and his shoes on as full-dress, and Sancho's curls were +nicely brushed, his frills as white as if just done up. + +No one was visible to receive them, but the low table stood in the +middle of the walk, with four chairs and a foot-stool around it. A +pretty set of green and white china caused the girls to cast admiring +looks upon the little cups and plates, while Ben eyed the feast +longingly, and Sancho with difficulty restrained himself from repeating +his former naughtiness. No wonder the dog sniffed and the children +smiled, for there was a noble display of little tarts and cakes, little +biscuits and sandwiches, a pretty milk-pitcher shaped like a white +calla rising out of its green leaves, and a jolly little tea-kettle +singing away over the spirit-lamp as cozily as you please. + +"Isn't it perfectly lovely?" whispered Betty, who had never seen +anything like it before. + +"I just wish Sally could see us _now_" answered Bab, who had not yet +forgiven her enemy. + +"Wonder where the boy is," added Ben, feeling as good as any one, but +rather doubtful how others might regard him. + +Here a rumbling sound caused the guests to look toward the garden, and +in a moment Miss Celia appeared, pushing a wheeled chair in which sat +her brother. A gay afghan covered the long legs, a broad-brimmed hat +half hid the big eyes, and a discontented expression made the thin face +as unattractive as the fretful voice which said, complainingly: + +"If they make a noise, I'll go in. Don't see what you asked them for." + +"To amuse you, dear. I know they will, if you will only try to like +them," whispered the sister, smiling and nodding over the chair-back as +she came on, adding aloud: "Such a punctual party! I am all ready, +however, and we will sit down at once. This is my brother Thornton, and +we are going to be very good friends by and by. Here's the droll dog, +Thorny; isn't he nice and curly?" + +Now, Ben had heard what the other boy said, and made up his mind that +he shouldn't like him; and Thorny had decided beforehand that he +wouldn't play with a tramp, even if he _could_ cut capers; so both +looked decidedly cool and indifferent when Miss Celia introduced them. +But Sancho had better manners, and no foolish pride; he, therefore, set +them a good example by approaching the chair, with his tail waving like +a flag of truce, and politely presented his ruffled paw for a hearty +shake. + +Thorny could not resist that appeal, and patted the white head, with a +friendly look into the affectionate eyes of the dog, saying to his +sister as he did so: + +"What a wise old fellow he is! It seems as if he could almost speak, +doesn't it?" + +"He can. Say 'How do you do,' Sanch," commanded Ben, relenting at once, +for he saw admiration in Thorny's face. + +"Wow, wow, wow!" remarked Sancho, in a mild and conversational tone, +sitting up and touching one paw to his head, as if he saluted by taking +off his hat. + +Thorny laughed in spite of himself, and Miss Celia, seeing that the ice +was broken, wheeled him to his place at the foot of the table. Then +seating the little girls on one side, Ben and the dog on the other, +took the head herself and told her guests to begin. + +Bab and Betty were soon chattering away to their pleasant hostess as +freely as if they had known her for months; but the boys were still +rather shy, and made Sancho the medium through which they addressed one +another. The excellent beast behaved with wonderful propriety, sitting +upon his cushion in an attitude of such dignity that it seemed almost a +liberty to offer him food. A dish of thick sandwiches had been provided +for his especial refreshment, and as Ben from time to time laid one on +his plate, he affected entire unconsciousness of it till the word was +given, when it vanished at one gulp, and Sancho again appeared absorbed +in deep thought. + +But having once tasted of this pleasing delicacy, it was very hard to +repress his longing for more, and, in spite of all his efforts, his +nose would work, his eye kept a keen watch upon that particular dish, +and his tail quivered with excitement as it lay like a train over the +red cushion. At last, a moment came when temptation proved too strong +for him. Ben was listening to something Miss Celia said, a tart lay +unguarded upon his plate, Sanch looked at Thorny, who was watching +him, Thorny nodded, Sanch gave one wink, bolted the tart, and then +gazed pensively up at a sparrow swinging on a twig overhead. + +The slyness of the rascal tickled the boy so much that he pushed back +his hat, clapped his hands, and burst out laughing as he had not done +before for weeks. Every one looked around surprised, and Sancho +regarded him with a mildly inquiring air, as if he said, "Why this +unseemly mirth, my friend?" + +[Illustration: MISS CELIA AND THORNY.] + +Thorny forgot both sulks and shyness after that, and suddenly began to +talk. Ben was flattered by his interest in the dear dog, and opened out +so delightfully that he soon charmed the other by his lively tales of +circus-life. Then Miss Celia felt relieved, and everything went +splendidly, especially the food, for the plates were emptied several +times, the little tea-pot ran dry twice, and the hostess was just +wondering if she ought to stop her voracious guests, when something +occurred which spared her that painful task. + +A small boy was suddenly discovered standing in the path behind them, +regarding the company with an air of solemn interest. A pretty, well +dressed child of six, with dark hair cut short across the brow, a rosy +face, a stout pair of legs, left bare by the socks which had slipped +down over the dusty little shoes. One end of a wide sash trailed behind +him, a straw hat hung at his back, while his right hand firmly grasped +a small turtle, and his left a choice collection of sticks. Before Miss +Celia could speak, the stranger calmly announced his mission. + +"I have come to see the peacocks." + +"You shall presently--" began Miss Celia, but got no further, for the +child added, coming a step nearer: + +"And the wabbits." + +"Yes, but first wont you--" + +"And the curly dog," continued the small voice, as another step brought +the resolute young personage nearer. + +"There he is." + +A pause, a long look, then a new demand with the same solemn tone, the +same advance. + +"I wish to hear the donkey bray." + +"Certainly, if he will." + +"And the peacocks scream." + +"Anything more, sir?" + +Having reached the table by this time, the insatiable infant surveyed +its ravaged surface, then pointed a fat little finger at the last cake, +left for manners, and said, commandingly; + +"I will have some of that." + +"Help yourself; and sit upon the step to eat it, while you tell me +whose boy you are," said Miss Celia, much amused at his proceedings. + +Deliberately putting down his sticks, the child took the cake, and, +composing himself upon the step, answered with his rosy mouth full: + +"I am papa's boy. He makes a paper. I help him a great deal." + +"What is his name?" + +"Mr. Barlow. We live in Springfield," volunteered the new guest, +unbending a trifle, thanks to the charms of the cake. + +"Have you a mamma, dear?" + +"She takes naps. I go to walk then." + +"Without leave, I suspect. Have you no brothers or sisters to go with +you?" asked Miss Celia, wondering where the little runaway belonged. + +"I have two brothers, Thomas Merton Barlow and Harry Sanford Barlow. I +am Alfred Tennyson Barlow. We don't have any girls in our house, only +Bridget." + +"Don't you go to school?" + +"The boys do. I don't learn any Greeks and Latins yet. I dig, and read +to mamma, and make poetrys for her." + +"Couldn't you make some for me? I'm very fond of poetrys," proposed +Miss Celia, seeing that this prattle amused the children. + +"I guess I couldn't make any now; I made some coming along. I will say +it to you." + +And, crossing his short legs, the inspired babe half said, half sung +the following poem:[B] + + "Sweet are the flowers of life, + Swept o'er my happy days at home; + Sweet are the flowers of life + When I was a little child. + + "Sweet are the flowers of life + That I spent with my father at home; + Sweet are the flowers of life + When children played about the house. + + "Sweet are the flowers of life + When the lamps are lighted at night; + Sweet are the flowers of life + When the flowers of summer bloomed. + + "Sweet are the flowers of life + Dead with the snows of winter; + Sweet are the flowers of life + When the days of spring come on. + +[Footnote B: These lines were actually composed by a six-year-old child.] + +"That's all of that one. I made another one when I digged after the +turtle. I will say that. It is a very pretty one," observed the poet +with charming candor, and, taking a long breath, he tuned his little +lyre afresh: + + "Sweet, sweet days are passing + O'er my happy home, + Passing on swift wings through the valley of life. + Cold are the days when winter comes again. + When my sweet days were passing at my happy home, + Sweet were the days on the rivulet's green brink; + Sweet were the days when I read my father's books; + Sweet were the winter days when bright fires are blazing." + +"Bless the baby! where did he get all that?" exclaimed Miss Celia, +amazed, while the children giggled as Tennyson, Jr., took a bite at the +turtle instead of the half-eaten cake, and then, to prevent further +mistakes, crammed the unhappy creature into a diminutive pocket in the +most business-like way imaginable. + +"It comes out of my head. I make lots of them," began the imperturbable +one, yielding more and more to the social influences of the hour. + +"Here are the peacocks coming to be fed," interrupted Bab, as the +handsome birds appeared with their splendid plumage glittering in the +sun. + +Young Barlow rose to admire, but his thirst for knowledge was not yet +quenched, and he was about to request a song from Juno and Jupiter, +when old Jack, pining for society, put his head over the garden wall +with a tremendous bray. + +This unexpected sound startled the inquiring stranger half out of his +wits; for a moment the stout legs staggered and the solemn countenance +lost its composure, as he whispered, with an astonished air: + +"Is that the way peacocks scream?" + +The children were in fits of laughter, and Miss Celia could hardly make +herself heard as she answered, merrily: + +"No, dear; that is the donkey asking you to come and see him. Will you +go?" + +"I guess I couldn't stop now. Mamma might want me." + +And, without another word, the discomfited poet precipitately retired, +leaving his cherished sticks behind him. + +Ben ran after the child to see that he came to no harm, and presently +returned to report that Alfred had been met by a servant and gone away +chanting a new verse of his poem, in which peacocks, donkeys, and "the +flowers of life" were sweetly mingled. + +"Now I'll show you my toys, and we'll have a little play before it gets +too late for Thorny to stay with us," said Miss Celia, as Randa carried +away the tea-things and brought back a large tray full of +picture-books, dissected maps, puzzles, games, and several pretty +models of animals, the whole crowned with a large doll dressed as a +baby. + +At sight of that, Betty stretched out her arms to receive it with a cry +of delight. Bab seized the games, and Ben was lost in admiration of the +little Arab chief prancing on the white horse, "all saddled and bridled +and fit for the fight." Thorny poked about to find a certain curious +puzzle which he could put together without a mistake after long study. +Even Sancho found something to interest him, and standing on his +hind-legs thrust his head between the boys to paw at several red and +blue letters on square blocks. + +"He looks as if he knew them," said Thorny, amused at the dog's eager +whine and scratch. + +"He does. Spell your name, Sanch," and Ben put all the gay letters +down upon the flags with a chirrup which set the dog's tail to wagging +as he waited till the alphabet was spread before him. Then with great +deliberation he pushed the letters about till he had picked out six; +these he arranged with nose and paw till the word "Sancho" lay before +him correctly spelt. + +"Isn't that clever? Can he do any more?" cried Thorny, delighted. + +"Lots; that's the way he gets his livin' and mine too," answered Ben, +and proudly put his poodle through his well-learned lessons with such +success that even Miss Celia was surprised. + +"He has been carefully trained. Do you know how it was done?" she +asked, when Sancho lay down to rest and be caressed by the children. + +"No 'm, father did it when I was a little chap, and never told me how. I +used to help teach him to dance, and that was easy enough, he is so +smart. Father said the middle of the night was the best time to give +him his lessons, it was so still then and nothing disturbed Sanch and +made him forget. I can't do half the tricks, but I'm going to learn +when father comes back. He'd rather have me show off Sanch than ride, +till I'm older." + +"I have a charming book about animals, and in it an interesting account +of some trained poodles who could do the most wonderful things. Would +you like to hear it while you put your maps and puzzles together?" +asked Miss Celia, glad to keep her brother interested in their +four-footed guest at least. + +"Yes 'm, yes 'm," answered the children, and fetching the book she read +the pretty account, shortening and simplifying it here and there to +suit her hearers. + +"'I invited the two dogs to dine and spend the evening, and they came +with their master, who was a Frenchman. He had been a teacher in a deaf +and dumb school, and thought he would try the same plan with dogs. He +had also been a conjurer, and now was supported by Blanche and her +daughter Lyda. These dogs behaved at dinner just like other dogs, but +when I gave Blanche a bit of cheese and asked if she knew the word for +it, her master said she could spell it. So a table was arranged with a +lamp on it, and round the table were laid the letters of the alphabet +painted on cards. Blanche sat in the middle waiting till her master told +her to spell cheese, which she at once did in French, F R O M A G E. +Then she translated a word for us very cleverly. Some one wrote +_pferd_, the German for horse, on a slate. Blanche looked at it and +pretended to read it, putting by the slate with her paw when she had +done. "Now give us the French for that word," said the man, and she +instantly brought C H E V A L. "Now, as you are at an Englishman's +house, give it to us in English," and she brought me H O R S E. Then we +spelt some words wrong and she corrected them with wonderful accuracy. +But she did not seem to like it, and whined and growled and looked so +worried that she was allowed to go and rest and eat cakes in a corner. + +"'Then Lyda took her place on the table, and did sums on a slate with a +set of figures. Also mental arithmetic which was very pretty. "Now, +Lyda," said her master, "I want to see if you understand division. +Suppose you had ten bits of sugar and you met ten Prussian dogs, how +many lumps would you, a French dog, give to each of the Prussians?" +Lyda very decidedly replied to this with a cipher. "But, suppose you +divided your sugar with me, how many lumps would you give me?" Lyda +took up the figure five and politely presented it to her master.'" + +[Illustration: ALFRED TENNYSON BARLOW.] + +"Wasn't she smart? Sanch can't do that," exclaimed Ben, forced to own +that the French doggie beat his cherished pet. + +"He is not too old to learn. Shall I go on?" asked Miss Celia, seeing +that the boys liked it though Betty was absorbed with the doll and Bab +deep in a puzzle. + +"Oh yes! What else did they do?" + +"'They played a game of dominoes together, sitting in chairs opposite +each other, and touched the dominoes that were wanted; but the man +placed them and kept telling how the game went, Lyda was beaten and hid +under the sofa, evidently feeling very badly about it. Blanche was +then surrounded with playing-cards, while her master held another pack +and told us to choose a card; then he asked her what one had been +chosen, and she always took up the right one in her teeth. I was asked +to go into another room, put a light on the floor with cards round it, +and leave the doors nearly shut. Then the man begged some one to +whisper in the dog's ear what card she was to bring, and she went at +once and fetched it, thus showing that she understood their names. Lyda +did many tricks with the numbers, so curious that no dog could possibly +understand them, yet what the secret sign was I could not discover, but +suppose it must have been in the tones of the master's voice, for he +certainly made none with either head or hands.' + +"It took an hour a day for eighteen months to educate a dog enough to +appear in public, and (as you say, Ben) the night was the best time to +give the lessons. Soon after this visit the master died, and these +wonderful dogs were sold because their mistress did not know how to +exhibit them." + +"Wouldn't I have liked to see 'em and find out how they were taught. +Sanch, you'll have to study up lively for I'm not going to have you +beaten by French dogs," said Ben, shaking his finger so sternly that +Sancho groveled at his feet and put both paws over his eyes in the most +abject manner. + +"Is there a picture of those smart little poodles?" asked Ben, eying +the book, which Miss Celia left open before her. + +"Not of them, but of other interesting creatures; also anecdotes about +horses, which will please you, I know," and she turned the pages for +him, neither guessing how much good Mr. Hamerton's charming "Chapters +on Animals" were to do the boy when he needed comfort for a sorrow +which was very near. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +A HEAVY TROUBLE. + + +"Thank you, ma'am, that's a tip-top book, 'specially the pictures. But +I can't bear to see these poor fellows," and Ben brooded over the fine +etching of the dead and dying horses on a battle-field, one past all +further pain, the other helpless but lifting his head from his dead +master to neigh a farewell to the comrades who go galloping away in a +cloud of dust. + +"They ought to stop for him, some of 'em," muttered Ben, hastily +turning back to the cheerful picture of the three happy horses in the +field, standing knee-deep among the grass as they prepare to drink at +the wide stream. + +"Aint that black one a beauty? Seems as if I could see his mane blow in +the wind, and hear him whinny to that small feller trotting down to +see if he can't get over and be sociable. How I'd like to take a +rousin' run round that meadow on the whole lot of 'em," and Ben swayed +about in his chair as if he was already doing it in imagination. + +"You may take a turn round my field on Lita any day. She would like it, +and Thorny's saddle will be here next week," said Miss Celia, pleased +to see that the boy appreciated the fine pictures, and felt such hearty +sympathy with the noble animals whom she dearly loved herself. + +"Needn't wait for that. I'd rather ride bare-back. Oh, I say, is this +the book you told about where the horses talked?" asked Ben, suddenly +recollecting the speech he had puzzled over ever since he heard it. + +"No, I brought the book, but in the hurry of my tea-party forgot to +unpack it. I'll hunt it up to-night. Remind me, Thorny." + +"There, now, I've forgotten something too! Squire sent you a letter, +and I'm having such a jolly time I never thought of it." + +Ben rummaged out the note with remorseful haste, protesting that he was +in no hurry for Mr. Gulliver, and very glad to save him for another +day. + +Leaving the young folks busy with their games, Miss Celia sat in the +porch to read her letters, for there were two, and as she read her face +grew so sober, then so sad, that if any one had been looking he would +have wondered what bad news had chased away the sunshine so suddenly. +No one did look, no one saw how pitifully her eyes rested on Ben's +happy face when the letters were put away, and no one minded the new +gentleness in her manner as she came back to the table. But Ben thought +there never was so sweet a lady as the one who leaned over him to show +him how the dissected map went together, and never smiled at his +mistakes. + +So kind, so very kind was she to them all that when, after an hour of +merry play, she took her brother in to bed, the three who remained fell +to praising her enthusiastically as they put things to rights before +taking leave. + +"She's like the good fairies in the books, and has all sorts of nice, +pretty things in her house," said Betty, enjoying a last hug of the +fascinating doll whose lids would shut so that it was a pleasure to +sing "Bye, sweet baby, bye," with no staring eyes to spoil the +illusion. + +"What heaps she knows! More than Teacher, I do believe, and she doesn't +mind how many questions we ask. I like folks that will tell me things," +added Bab, whose inquisitive mind was always hungry. + +"I like that boy first-rate, and I guess he likes me, though I didn't +know where Nantucket ought to go. He wants me to teach him to ride when +he's on his pins again, and Miss Celia says I may. _She_ knows how to +make folks feel good, don't she?" and Ben gratefully surveyed the Arab +chief, now his own, though the best of all the collection. + +"Wont we have splendid times? She says we may come over every night and +play with her and Thorny." + +"And she's going to have the seats in the porch lift up so we can put +our things in there all dry, and have 'em handy." + +"And I'm going to be her boy, and stay here all the time; I guess the +letter I brought was a recommend from the Squire." + +"Yes, Ben: and if I had not already made up my mind to keep you before, +I certainly would now, my boy." + +Something in Miss Celia's voice, as she said the last two words with +her hand on Ben's shoulder, made him look up quickly and turn red with +pleasure, wondering what the Squire had written about him. + +"Mother must have some of the 'party,' so you shall take her these, +Bab, and Betty may carry baby home for the night. She is so nicely +asleep, it is a pity to wake her. Good-bye till to-morrow, little +neighbors," continued Miss Celia, and dismissed the girls with a kiss. + +"Isn't Ben coming, too?" asked Bab, as Betty trotted off in a silent +rapture with the big darling bobbing over her shoulder. + +"Not yet; I've several things to settle with my new man. Tell mother he +will come by and by." + +Off rushed Bab with the plateful of goodies; and, drawing Ben down +beside her on the wide step, Miss Celia took out the letters, with a +shadow creeping over her face as softly as the twilight was stealing +over the world, while the dew fell and everything grew still and dim. + +"Ben, dear, I've something to tell you," she began, slowly, and the boy +waited with a happy face, for no one had called him so since 'Melia +died. + +"The Squire has heard about your father, and this is the letter Mr. +Smithers sends." + +"Hooray! where is he, please?" cried Ben, wishing she would hurry up, +for Miss Celia did not even offer him the letter, but sat looking down +at Sancho on the lower step, as if she wanted him to come and help her. + +"He went after the mustangs, and sent some home, but could not come +himself." + +"Went further on? I s'pose. Yes, he said he might go as far as +California, and if he did he'd send for me. I'd like to go there; it's +a real splendid place, they say." + +"He has gone further away than that, to a lovelier country than +California, I hope." And Miss Celia's eyes turned to the deep sky, +where early stars were shining. + +"Didn't he send for me? Where's he gone? When's he coming back?" asked +Ben, quickly, for there was a quiver in her voice, the meaning of which +he felt before he understood. + +Miss Celia put her arms about him, and answered very tenderly: + +"Ben, dear, if I were to tell you that he was never coming back, could +you bear it?" + +"I guess I could--but you don't mean it? Oh, ma'am, he isn't dead?" +cried Ben, with a cry that made her heart ache, and Sancho leap up with +a bark. + +"My poor little boy, I _wish_ I could say no." + +There was no need of any more words, no need of tears or kind arms +round him. He knew he was an orphan now, and turned instinctively to +the old friend who loved him best. Throwing himself down beside his +dog, Ben clung about the curly neck, sobbing bitterly: + +"Oh, Sanch, he's never coming back again; never, never any more!" + +Poor Sancho could only whine and lick away the tears that wet the +half-hidden face, questioning the new friend meantime with eyes so full +of dumb love and sympathy and sorrow that they seemed almost human. +Wiping away her own tears, Miss Celia stooped to pat the white head, +and to stroke the black one lying so near it that the dog's breast was +the boy's pillow. Presently the sobbing ceased, and Ben whispered, +without looking up: + +"Tell me all about it; I'll be good." + +Then, as kindly as she could, Miss Celia read the brief letter which +told the hard news bluntly, for Mr. Smithers was obliged to confess +that he had known the truth months before, and never told the boy lest +he should be unfitted for the work they gave him. Of Ben Brown the +elder's death there was little to tell, except that he was killed in +some wild place at the West, and a stranger wrote the fact to the only +person whose name was found in Ben's pocket-book. Mr. Smithers offered +to take the boy back and "do well by him," averring that the father +wished his son to remain where he left him, and follow the profession +to which he was trained. + +"Will you go, Ben?" asked Miss Celia, hoping to distract his mind from +his grief by speaking of other things. + +"No, no; I'd rather tramp and starve. He's awful hard to me and Sanch, +and he'll be worse now father's gone. Don't send me back! Let me stay +here; folks are good to me; there's nowhere else to go." And the head +Ben had lifted up with a desperate sort of look went down again on +Sancho's breast as if there was no other refuge left. + +"You _shall_ stay here, and no one shall take you away against your +will. I called you 'my boy' in play, now you shall be my boy in +earnest; this shall be your home, and Thorny your brother. We are +orphans, too, and we will stand by one another till a stronger friend +comes to help us," cried Miss Celia, with such a mixture of resolution +and tenderness in her voice that Ben felt comforted at once, and +thanked her by laying his cheek against the pretty slipper that rested +on the step beside him, as if he had no words in which to swear loyalty +to the gentle mistress whom he meant henceforth to serve with grateful +fidelity. + +Sancho felt that he must follow suit, and gravely put his paw upon her +knee, with a low whine, as if he said: "Count me in, and let me help to +pay my master's debt if I can." + +Miss Celia shook the offered paw cordially, and the good creature +crouched at her feet like a small lion bound to guard her and her house +forever more. + +"Don't lie on that cold stone, Ben; come here and let me try to comfort +you," she said, stooping to wipe away the great drops that kept +rolling down the brown cheek half hidden in her dress. + +But Ben put his arm over his face, and sobbed out with a fresh burst of +grief: + +"You can't; you didn't know him! Oh, daddy! daddy!--if I'd only seen +you jest once more!" + +No one could grant that wish; but Miss Celia did comfort him, for +presently the sound of music floated out from the parlor--music so +soft, so sweet, that involuntarily the boy stopped his crying to +listen; then quieter tears dropped slowly, seeming to soothe his pain +as they fell, while the sense of loneliness passed away, and it grew +possible to wait till it was time to go to father in that far-off +country lovelier than golden California. + +How long she played Miss Celia never minded, but when she stole out to +see if Ben had gone she found that other friends, even kinder than +herself, had taken the boy into their gentle keeping. The wind had sung +a lullaby among the rustling lilacs, the moon's mild face looked +through the leafy arch to kiss the heavy eyelids, and faithful Sancho +still kept guard beside his little master, who, with his head pillowed +on his arm, lay fast asleep, dreaming, happily, that "Daddy had come +home again." + +(_To be continued._) + + + + +[Illustration: A TALK OVER THE HARD TIMES.] + + + + +COMMON SENSE IN THE HOUSEHOLD. + +BY MARGARET VANDEGRIFT. + + + When you're writing or reading or sewing, it's right + To sit, if you can, with your back to the light; + And then, it is patent to every beholder, + The light will fall gracefully over your shoulder. + +[Illustration] + + Now here is a family, sensible, wise, + Who all have the greatest regard for their eyes; + They first say, "Excuse me," which also is right, + And then all sit down with their backs to the light. + + But their neighbors, most unhygienic, can't see + Why they do it, and think that they cannot agree, + And always decide they've been having a fight, + When they merely are turning their backs to the light. + + + + +SECRETS OF THE ATLANTIC CABLE. + +BY WILLIAM H. RIDEING. + + +I believe that the youngsters in our family consider my study a very +pleasant room. There are some books, pictures, and hunting implements +in it, and I have quite a large number of curious things stored in +little mahogany cabinets, including a variety of specimens of natural +history and articles of savage warfare, which have been given to me by +sailors and travelers. In one of these cabinets there are the silver +wings of a flying-fish, the poisoned arrows of South Sea cannibals, +sharks' and alligators' teeth, fragments of well-remembered wrecks, and +an inch or two of thick tarred rope. + +The latter appears to be a common and useless object at the first +glance, but when examined closely it is not so uninteresting. It +measures one and one-eighth of an inch in diameter, and running through +the center are seven bright copper wires, surrounded by a hard, dark +brown substance, the nature of which you do not immediately recognize. +It is gutta-percha, the wonderful vegetable juice, which is as firm as +a rock while it is cold and as soft as dough when it is exposed to +heat. This is inclosed within several strands of Manilla hemp, with ten +iron wires woven among them. The hemp is saturated with tar to resist +water, and the wires are galvanized to prevent rust. You may judge, +then, how strong and durable the rope is, but I am not sure that you +can guess its use. + +Near the southern extremity of the western coast of Ireland there is a +little harbor called Valentia, as you will see by referring to a map. +It faces the Atlantic Ocean, and the nearest point on the opposite +shore is a sheltered bay prettily named Heart's Content, in +Newfoundland. The waters between are the stormiest in the world, wrathy +with hurricanes and cyclones, and seldom smooth even in the calm months +of midsummer. The distance across is nearly two thousand miles, and the +depth gradually increases to a maximum of three miles. Between these +two points of land--Valentia in Ireland and Heart's Content in +Newfoundland--a magical rope is laid, binding America to Europe with a +firm bond, and enabling people in London to send instantaneous messages +to those in New York. It is the first successful Atlantic cable, and my +piece was cut from it before it was laid. Fig. 2 on the next page shows +how a section of it looks, and Fig. 3 shows a section of the shore +ends, which are larger. + +Copper is one of the best conductors of electricity known, and hence +the wires in the center are made of that metal. Water, too, is an +excellent conductor, and if the wires were not closely protected, the +electricity would pass from them into the sea, instead of carrying its +message the whole length of the line. Therefore, the wires must be +encased or insulated in some material that will not admit water and is +not itself a conductor. Gutta-percha meets these needs, and the hemp +and galvanized wire are added for the strength and protection they +afford to the whole. + +It was an American who first thought of laying such an electric cable +as this under the turbulent Atlantic. Some foolish people laughed at +the idea and declared it to be impracticable. How could a slender cord, +two thousand miles long, be lowered from an unsteady vessel to the +bottom of the ocean without break? It would part under the strain put +upon it, and it would be attacked by marine monsters, twisted and +broken by the currents. At one point the bed of the sea suddenly sinks +from a depth of two hundred and ten fathoms to a depth of two thousand +and fifty fathoms. Here the strain on the cable as it passed over the +ship's stern would be so great that it certainly must break. More than +this, the slightest flaw--a hole smaller than a pin's head--in the +gutta-percha insulator would spoil the entire work, and no remedy would +be possible. A great many people spoke in this way when the Atlantic +cable was first thought of, as others, years before, had spoken of Watt +and Stephenson. But Watt invented the steam-engine, Stephenson invented +the locomotive, and Cyrus Field bound Great Britain to the United +States by telegraph. + +Early in 1854, Mr. Field's attention was drawn to the scheme for a +telegraph between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, in connection with a +line of fast steamships from Ireland to call at St. John's, +Newfoundland. The idea struck him that if a line were laid to Ireland, +lasting benefit would result to the world. So he called together some +of his intimate friends, including Peter Cooper, Moses Taylor, Chandler +White, and Marshall O. Roberts, and they joined him in organizing the +"New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company," which was the +pioneer in the movement to connect the two continents by a telegraph +cable, and without whose aid its consummation would have been +indefinitely delayed. + +The work was costly and difficult. The first part consisted in +surveying the bottom of the sea for a route. This was done by taking +"soundings" and "dredgings." As some of you are aware, "sounding" is +an operation for ascertaining the depth of the sea, while "dredging" +reveals what plants and living creatures are at the bottom. After much +patient labor, a level space was found between Ireland and +Newfoundland, and it seemed to be so well adapted to the surveyor's +purposes that it was called the "Telegraphic Plateau." + +[Illustration: THE GRAPNEL.] + +Two or three large vessels were next equipped, and sent out with +several thousand miles of cable on board, which they proceeded to lay. +But the fragile cord--fragile compared with the boisterous power of the +waves--broke in twain, and could not be recovered. A second attempt was +made, and that failed, too. Brave men can overcome adversity, however, +and the little band of scientific men and capitalists were brave men +and were determined to succeed. Each heart suffered the acute anguish +of long-deferred hope, and each expedition cost many hundred thousands +of dollars. Nevertheless, the promoters of the Atlantic cable sent out +a third time, and when failure met them again, it seemed to common +minds that their scheme was a settled impossibility. Not so with the +heroes. Each failure showed them some faults in their plans or +machinery. These they amended. Thus, while they were left at a distance +from the object of their ambition, they were brought a little nearer to +its attainment. + +Guided by the light of past experience, they equipped a fourth +expedition. The "Great Eastern" was selected, and her interior was +altered for the purpose. She was, and is still, the largest vessel +afloat. Her length is six hundred and ninety-five feet; her breadth +eighty-five feet, and her burthen twenty-two thousand tons. One of the +principal causes of failure in previous expeditions was the inability +of the cable to endure the severe strain put upon it in stormy weather +as it passed from an ordinarily unsteady vessel into the sea. The +"Great Eastern," from her immense size, promised to be steady in the +worst of gales. Her hold was fitted with three enormous iron tanks---a +"fore" tank, a "main" tank, and an "after" tank. The main tank was the +largest, and eight hundred and sixty-four miles of cable were coiled in +it. Eight hundred and thirty-nine miles in addition were coiled in the +after tank, and six hundred and seventy miles in the fore tank, making +in all two thousand three hundred and seventy-four miles of cable. The +food taken on board for the long voyage in prospect consisted of twenty +thousand pounds of butcher-meat, five hundred head of poultry, one +hundred and fourteen live sheep, eight bullocks, a milch cow, and +eighty tons of ice. + +[Illustration: SECTION OF THE GRAPPLING LINE.] + +What is called the shore-end of the cable--_i.e._, that part nearest +the shore, which is thicker than the rest--was first laid by a smaller +steamer. It extended from Valentia to a point twenty-eight miles at +sea. Here it was buoyed, until the great ship arrived. On a wet day in +July, 1866, it was joined with the main cable on board the "Great +Eastern," and on the same day that vessel started on her voyage to +Newfoundland. + +[Illustration: SECTIONS OF CABLES (REDUCED). 1. Main cable of 1858. +1a. Shore end, abandoned cable of 1858. 2. Main cable of 1866. +2a. Shore-end, recovered cable of 1865. 3. Shore end of cable of 1866.] + +It may seem a simple matter to distribute or "pay out" the cable, but +in practice it is exceedingly difficult. Twenty men are stationed in +the tank from which it is issuing, each dressed in a canvas suit, +without pockets, and in boots without nails. Their duty is to ease each +coil as it passes out of the tank, and to give notice of the marks +painted on the cable one mile apart. Near the entrance of the tank it +runs over a grooved wheel and along an iron trough until it reaches +that part of the deck where the "paying out" machine is placed. The +latter consists of six grooved wheels, each provided with a smaller +wheel, called a "jockey," placed against the upper side of the groove +so as to press against the cable as it goes through, and retard or help +its progress. These six wheels and their jockeys are themselves +controlled by brakes, and after it has been embraced by them the cable +winds round a "drum" four times. The drum is another wheel, four feet +in diameter and nine inches deep, which is also controlled by powerful +brakes; and from it the cable passes over another grooved wheel before +it gets to the "dynamometer" wheel. The dynamometer is an instrument +which shows the exact degree of the strain on the cable, and the wheel +attached to it rises and falls as the strain is greater or less. Thence +the cable is sent over another deeply grooved wheel into the sea. + +You will remember what I said about insulation,--how a tiny hole in the +gutta-percha would allow the electricity to escape. On deck there is a +small house, which is filled with delicate scientific instruments. As +the cable is paid out, it is tested here. If a wire or a nail or a +smaller thing is driven through it, and the insulation is spoiled, an +instrument called the galvanometer instantly records the fact, and +warning is given at all parts of the ship. The man in charge touches a +small handle, and an electric bell rings violently in the tank and at +the paying-out machinery. At the same time a loud gong is struck, at +the sound of which the engines are stopped. Delay might cause much +trouble or total failure, as the injured section must be arrested and +repaired before it enters the water. + +The great steamer went ahead at the rate of five nautical miles an +hour, and the cable passed smoothly overboard. Messages were sent to +England and answers received. The weather was bright, and all hands +were cheerful. On the third day after the "splicing" of the shore-end +with the main cable, that part of the ocean was reached where the water +suddenly increases in depth from two hundred and ten fathoms to two +thousand and fifty. One of the earlier cables broke at this place and +was lost forever. The electricians and engineers watched for it with +anxious eyes. It was reached and passed. The black cord still traveled +through the wheels unbroken, and the test applied by the galvanometer +proved the insulation to be perfect. The days wore away without mishap +until the evening of July 17, when the sound of the gong filled all +hearts with a sickening fear. + +The rain was falling in torrents and pattering on the heavy oil-skin +clothing of the watchers. The wind blew in chilly gusts, and the sea +broke in white crests of foam. A dense and pitchy cloud issued from the +smoke-stacks. The vessel advanced in utter darkness. A few lights were +moving about, and shadows fell hither and thither as one of the hands +carried a lantern along the sloppy deck. The testing-room was occupied +by an electrician, who was quietly working with his magical instrument, +and the cable could be heard winding over the wheels astern, as the +tinkling of a little bell on the "drum" recorded its progress. + +[Illustration: THE "GREAT EASTERN" ENTERING THE BAY OF HEART'S CONTENT.] + +The electrician rose from his seat suddenly, and struck the alarum. The +next instant each person on board knew that an accident had happened. +The engines were stopped and reversed within two minutes. Blue-lights +were burned on the paddle-boxes, and showed a knot in the cable as it +lay in the trough. + +Two remedies seemed possible. One was to cut the cable, and support one +end in the water by a buoy until the rest could be unraveled. The other +was to unravel the cable without cutting it. + +[Illustration] + +It is a very intricate knot that an old sailor cannot untie, and the +old sailors on the "Great Eastern" twisted and untwisted coil after +coil until they succeeded in untying this one. The insulation remained +perfect, and in a few hours all was right again. The accident caused +much ill foreboding, however, as it showed how slight an occurrence +might bring the expedition to a disastrous end. + +On July 27, after a voyage of fifteen days, the "Great Eastern" +finished her work, and her part of the cable was attached to the +American shore-end, which had been laid by another vessel. Some of you +will remember the rejoicings in the United States over the event. It +surpassed all other achievements of the age, and equaled the invention +of the telegraph itself. + +Thus, after infinite labor and repeated failures, the brave men who +undertook the work accomplished it. A year before, their third cable +had broken in mid-ocean, and it was now proposed to "grapple" for it. +The "Great Eastern" was fitted out with apparatus, which may be likened +to an enormous fishing-hook and line, and was sent to the spot where +the treasure had been lost. The line was of hemp interwoven with wire. +Page 328 shows a section of it. Twice the cable was seized and brought +almost to the surface. Twice it slipped from the disappointed +fishermen, but the third time it was secured. It was then united with +the cable on board, which was "paid out" until the great steamer again +reached Newfoundland, and a second telegraph-wire united the two +continents. + +The scene on board as the black line appeared above water was exciting +beyond description. It was first taken to the testing-room, and a +signal intended for Valentia was sent over it, to prove whether or not +it was perfect throughout its whole length. If it had proved to be +imperfect, all the labor spent upon it would have been lost. The +electricians waited breathlessly for an answer. The clerk in the +signal-house at Valentia was drowsy when their message came, and +disbelieved his ears. Many disinterested people, and even some of the +promoters of the cable, did not think it possible to recover a wire +that had sunk in thousands of fathoms of water. But the clerk in the +little station connected with the shore-end of the cable of 1865 +suddenly found himself in communication with a vessel situated in the +middle of the Atlantic. + +The delay aggravated the anxious watchers on the ship, and a second +signal was sent. How astonished that simple-minded Irish +telegraph-operator was! Five minutes passed, and then the answer came. +The chief electrician gave a loud cheer, which was repeated by every +man on board, from the captain down to his servant. + +There are now four cables in working order, and the cost of messages +has been reduced twenty-five per cent. The New York newspapers now +contain nearly as much European news as the London newspapers +themselves. + + + + +THE CANARY THAT TALKED TOO MUCH + +BY MARGARET EYTINGE. + + +Annette's canary-bird's cage, with the canary in it, was brought into +the library and hung upon a hook beside the window. + +Out popped a mouse from a hole behind the book-case. + +"Why, what are _you_ doing here, canary?" she said. "I thought _your_ +place was the bay-window in the dining-room." + +"So it is--so it is!" beginning with a twitter, answered the canary; +"but they said I talked too much!"--ending with a trill. + +"Talked!" repeated the mouse, sitting up on her hind-legs and looking +earnestly at him. "I thought _you_ only sang!" + +"Well, singing and talking mean about the same thing in bird-language," +said the canary. "But goodness g-r-r-racious!" he went on, swinging +rapidly to and fro in his little swing at the top of his cage, "'t was +they that talked so much--my mistress and the doctor's wife, and the +doctor's sister--not me. I said scarcely a word, and yet I am called a +chatterbox, and punished--before company, too! I feel mad enough to +pull out my yellowest feathers, or upset my bath-tub. Now, you look +like a sensible little thing, mouse, and I'll tell you all about +it--what they said and what I said--and you shall judge if I deserved +to be banished. + +"The doctor's wife and the doctor's sister called. + +"'It's a lovely day!' said they. + +"'A lovely, lovely, lovely day!' sang I. 'The sun shines bright--the +sky is blue--the grass is green--yes, lovely, lovely, lovely--and I'm +happy, happy, happy, and glad, glad, glad!' + +"They went right on talking, though I sang my very best, without paying +the slightest attention to me; and when I stopped, I caught the words +'So sweet' from my mistress, and then I sang again: 'Sweet, sweet, +sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet is the clover--sweet is the +rose--sweet the song of the bird--sweet the bird--sweet the +clover--sweet the rose--the rose--the clover--the bird--yes, yes, +yes--sweet, sweet, sweet!' And as I paused to take breath, I heard some +one say, 'What a noise that bird makes! how loudly he sings!' 'How +loudly he sings!' repeated I, 'how loudly he sings!--the bird, the +bird, the beautiful bird--sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet----' But suddenly +my song ended, for my mistress got up, unhooked my cage, saying, +'Canary, you're a chatterbox; you talk too much,' and brought me in +here. + +"And really, mouse, as you must see, I didn't say more than a dozen or +so words. What do you think about it?" + +"Well," said the mouse, stroking her whiskers and speaking slowly, "you +_didn't say_ much, but it strikes me you talked a great deal." + +"Oh!" said the canary, putting his head on one side and looking +thoughtfully at her out of his right, bright, black, round eye. But +just then the mouse heard an approaching footstep, and, without even +saying "good-bye," she hurried away to the hole behind the book-case. + + + + +A NIGHT WITH A BEAR. + +BY JANE G. AUSTIN. + + +"Tell you what, Roxie, I wish father and Jake had some of those hot +nut-cakes for their dinner; they didn't carry much of anything, and +these are proper nice." + +Mrs. Beamish set her left hand upon her hip, leaned against the corner +of the dresser, and meditatively selected another nut-cake, dough-nut +or cruller, as you may call them, from the great brown pan piled up +with these dainties, and Roxie, who was curled up in a little heap on +the corner of the settle, knitting a blue woolen stocking, looked +brightly up and said: + +"Let me go and carry them some, Ma. It's just as warm and nice as can +be out-of-doors, real springy, and I know the way to the wood lot. I'd +just love to go." + +"Let's see--ten o'clock," said Mrs. Beamish, putting the last bit of +cake into her mouth, and wiping her fingers upon her apron. "It's a +matter of four miles there by the bridge, Jake says, though if you +cross the ford it takes off a mile or more. You'd better go round by +the bridge, anyway." + +"Oh no, Ma; that isn't worth while, for Pa said only last night that +the ice was strong enough yet to sled over all the wood he'd been +cutting," said Roxie, earnestly, for the additional mile rather +terrified her. + +"Did he? Well, if that's so, it is all right," replied her mother, in a +tone of relief, and then she filled a tin pail with nut-cakes, laid a +clean, brown napkin over them, and then shut in the cover and set it on +the dresser, saying: + +"There, they've got cheese with them, and you'll reach camp before they +eat their noon lunch. Now, get on your leggin's and thick shoes, and +your coat and cap and mittens, and eat some cakes before you start, so +as not to take theirs when you get there." + +"I wouldn't do that, neither; not if I never had any," replied Roxie, a +little resentfully, and then she pulled her squirrel-skin cap well over +her ears, tied her pretty scarlet tippet around her neck, and held up +her face for a good-bye kiss. The mother gave it with unusual fervor, +and said, kindly: + +"Good-bye to you, little girl. Take good care of yourself, and come +safe home to mother." + +"Yes, Ma. But I may wait and come with them, mayn't I? They'll let me +ride on old Rob, you know." + +"Why, yes, you might as well, I suppose, though I'll be lonesome +without you all day, baby. But it would be better for you to ride home, +so stay." + +It was a lovely day in the latter part of March, and although the +ground was covered with snow, and the brooks and rivers were still fast +bound in ice, there was something in the air that told of +spring,--something that set the sap in the maple-trees mounting through +its million little channels toward the buds, already beginning to +redden for their blooming, and sent the blood in little Roxie's veins +dancing upward too, until it blossomed in her cheeks and lips fairer +than in any maple-tree. + +"How pleasant it is to be alive!" said the little girl aloud, while a +squirrel running up the old oak-tree overhead stopped, and curling his +bushy tail a little higher upon his back, chattered the same idea in +his own language. Roxie stopped to listen and laugh aloud, at which +sound the squirrel frisked away to his hole, and the little girl, +singing merrily, went on her way, crossed the river on the ice, and on +the other bank stopped and looked wistfully down a side path leading +into the denser forest away from her direct road. + +"I really believe the checkerberries must have started, it is so +springy," she thought; "I've a mind to go down and look in what Jake +calls 'Bear-berry Pasture,' though I told him they were not +bear-berries, but real checkerberries." So, saying to herself Roxie ran +a few steps down the little path, stopped, stood still for a minute, +then slowly turned back, saying: + +"No, I wont, either, for may be I wouldn't get to the camp with the +nut-cakes before noon, and then they would have eaten all their cheese. +No, I'll go right on, and not stay there any time at all, but come back +and get the checkerberries; besides, mother said she'd be lonesome +without me, so I'd better not stay, any way." + +So Roxie, flattering herself like many an older person with the fancy +that she was giving up her selfish pleasure for that of another, while +really she was carrying out her own fancy, went singing on her way, and +reached the camp just as her father struck his ax deep into the log +where he meant to leave it for an hour, and Jake, her handsome elder +brother, took off his cap, pushed the curls back from his heated brow, +and shook out the hay and grain before old Rob, whose whinny had +already proclaimed dinner-time. + +"Why, if here isn't sis with a tin kettle, and I'll be bound some of +ma'am's nut-cakes in it!" exclaimed Jake, who had rather mourned at the +said cakes not being ready before he left home, and then he caught the +little girl up in his arms, kissed her heartily, and put her on Rob's +back, whence she slid down, saying gravely: + +"Jake, Ma says I'm getting too old for rough play. I'll be twelve years +old next June." + +"All right, old lady; I'll get you a pair of specs and a new cap or two +for a birthday present," laughed Jake, uncovering the tin kettle, while +his father said: + +"We wont have you an old woman before you're a young one, will we, Tib? +Come, sit down by me and have some dinner. You're good to bring us the +nut-cakes and get here in such good season." + +The three were very happy and merry over their dinner, although Roxie +declined to eat anything except out of her own pocket, and the time +passed swiftly until Mr. Beamish glanced up at the sun, rose, took his +ax out of the cleft in the log, and, swinging it over his head, said: + +"Come, Jake, nooning is over. Get to work." + +"All right, sir. You can sit still as long as you like, sis, and by and +by I'll take you home on Rob." + +"I'm going now, Jake," said Roxie, hesitating a little, and finally +concluding not to mention the checkerberries, lest her father or +brother should object to her going alone into the wilder part of the +forest. "Ma said she'd be lonesome," added she hurriedly, and then her +cheeks began to burn as if she had really told a lie instead of +suggesting one. + +"Well, you're a right down good girl to come so far and then to think +of Ma instead of yourself, and next day we're working about home I'll +give you a good ride to pay for it." + +And Jake kissed his little sister tenderly, her father nodded good-bye +with some pleasant word of thanks, and Roxie with the empty tin pail in +her hand set out upon her homeward journey, a little excitement in her +heart as she thought of her contemplated excursion, a little sting in +her conscience as she reflected that she had not been quite honest +about any part of it. + +Did you ever notice, when a little troubled and agitated, how quickly +you seemed to pass over the ground, and how speedily you arrived at the +point whither you had not fairly decided to go? + +It was so with Roxie, and while she was still considering whether after +all she would go straight home, she was already at the entrance of the +sunny southern glade where lay the patch of bright red berries whose +faint, wholesome perfume told of their vicinity even before they could +be seen. Throwing herself upon her knees, the little girl pushed aside +the glossy dark-green leaves, and with a low cry of delight stooped +down and kissed the clusters of fragrant berries as they lay fresh and +bright before her. + +"O you dear, darling little things!" cried she, "how I love to see you +again, and know that all the rest of the pretty things are coming right +along!" + +Then she began to pluck, and put them sometimes in her mouth, sometimes +in her pail, and so long did she linger over her pleasant task that the +sun was already in the tops of the pine-trees, when, returning from a +little excursion into the woods to get a sprig from a "shad-bush," +Roxie halted just within the border of the little glade, and stood for +a moment transfixed with horror. Beside the pail she had left brim-full +of berries, sat a bear-cub, scooping out the treasure with his paw, and +greedily devouring it, apparently quite delighted that some one had +saved him the trouble of gathering his favorite berries for himself. + +One moment of dumb terror, and then a feeling of anger and reckless +courage filled the heart of the woodsman's child, and, darting forward, +she made a snatch at her pail, at the same time dealing the young +robber a sharp blow over the face and eyes with the branch of shad-bush +in her hand, and exclaiming: + +"You great, horrid thing! Every single berry is gone now, for I wont +eat them after you. So now!" + +But, so far from being penitent or frightened, the bear took this +interference, and especially the blow, in very bad part, and after a +moment of blinking astonishment, he sat up on his haunches, growled a +little, showed his teeth, and intimated very plainly that unless that +pail of berries was restored at once, there would be trouble for some +one. But this was not the first bear-cub that Roxie had seen, and her +temper was up as well as the bear's. So, firmly grasping the pail, she +began to retreat backward, at first slowly, but as the bear dropped on +his feet and seemed inclined to follow her, or rather the pail of +berries, she lost courage, and turning, began to run, not caring or +noting in what direction, and still mechanically grasping the pail of +berries. + +Suddenly, through the close crowding pines which had so nearly shut out +the daylight, appeared an open space, and Roxie hailed it with delight, +for it was the river, and once across the river she felt as if she +would be safe. Even in the brief glance she threw around as she burst +from the edge of the wood, she saw that here was neither the bridge nor +the ford which she had crossed in the morning; a point altogether +strange and new to her, and, as she judged, further down the river, +since the space from shore to shore was considerably wider. But the +bear was close behind, and neither time nor courage for deliberation +was at hand, and Roxie, after her moment's pause, sprung forward upon +the snowy ice, closely followed by the clumsy little beast. + +At that very moment, a mile further up stream, Mr. Beamish and his son +Jake were cautiously driving Rob across the frozen ford, and the old +man was saying: + +"I'm afraid we'll have to go round by the bridge after this, Jake. I +shouldn't wonder if the river broke up this very night. See that +crack." + +[Illustration: THE RESCUE.] + +"It wouldn't do for Roxie to come over here alone again," said Jake, +probing the ice-crack with his stick. + +And Roxie,--poor little Roxie,--whom Jake was so glad to think of as +safe at home, was at that very moment stepping over a wide crack +between two great masses of ice, and staring forlornly about her, for a +little way in advance appeared another great gap, and the bear close +behind was whimpering with terror as he clung to the edge of the +floating mass upon which Roxie had only just leaped, and which he had +failed to jump upon. Shaking with cold and fright, the little girl +staggered forward across the ice until at its further edge she came +upon a narrow, swiftly rolling tide, increasing in width at every +moment--the current of the river suddenly set free from its winter's +bondage, and rapidly dashing away its chains. + +Roxie turned back, but the crack that she had stepped over was already +far too wide for her to attempt to repass, and a gentle shaking +movement under her feet told that the block on which she stood was +already in motion, and that no escape was possible without more +strength and courage than a little girl could be expected to possess. +The bear had climbed up, and now crouched timidly to the edge of the +ice, moaning with fear, and seeming to take so little notice of Roxie +that she forgot all her fear of him, and these two, crouching upon the +rocking and slippery floor of their strange prison, went floating down +the turbulent stream. + +The twilight deepened into dark, the stars came out bright and cold, +and so far away from human need and woe! Little Roxie ceased her +useless tears, and kneeling upon the ice put her hands together and +prayed, adding to the petition she had learned at her mother's knee +some simple words of her own great need. + +A yet more piteous whine from the bear showed his terror as the +ice-block gave a sickening whirl, and crawling upon his stomach he +crept close up to the little girl, his whole air saying as plainly as +words could have spoken: + +"Oh, I am so scared, little girl, aren't you? Let us protect each other +somehow, or at least, you protect me." + +And Roxie, with a strange, light-hearted sense of security and peace +replacing her terror and doubt, let the shaggy creature creep close to +her side, and nestling down into his thick fur, warmed her freezing +fingers against his skin, and with a smile upon her lips went +peacefully to sleep. + +She was awakened by a tremendous shock, and a struggle, and a fall into +the water, and before she could see or know what had happened to her, +two strong arms were round her, and she was drawn again upon the +ice-cake, and her brother was bending close above her, and he was +saying: + +"Oh, Roxie! are you hurt?" + +"No, Jake, I--I believe not. Why, why, what is it all? Where is this, +and--oh, I know. Oh, Jake, Jake, I was so frightened!" And, turning +suddenly, she hid her face in her brother's coat and burst into a +passion of tears. But Jake, with one hurried embrace and kiss, put her +away, saying: + +"Wait just a minute, sis, till we finish the bear; father will shoot +him." + +"No, no, no!" screamed Roxie, her tears dried as if by magic. "Don't +kill the bear, father! Jake, don't you touch the bear; he's my friend, +and we were both so scared last night, and then I prayed that he +wouldn't eat me, and he didn't, and you mustn't hurt him." + +"Well, I'm beat now!" remarked Mr. Beamish, as with both hands buried +in the coarse hair by which he had dragged the bear to the surface, +for it had gone under when the ice-cake had been broken against the jam +of logs which had stopped it, he looked up at his little daughter's +pale face. + +"You and the bear made friends, and said your prayers together, and he +can't be hurt, you say?" + +"Yes, father. Oh, please don't hurt him!" + +"We might take him home and keep him chained up for a sort of a pet, if +he will behave decent," suggested Jake, a little doubtfully. + +"Well!--I suppose we could," replied the father, very slowly and +reluctantly. "He seems peaceable enough now." + +"And see how good he is to me," said Roxie, eagerly, as she patted the +head of her strange new friend, who blinked amicably in reply. "Oh, +Jake, do go and get Rob and the sled, and carry him home, wont you?" + +"Why, yes, if father says so, and the critter will let me tie his +legs." + +The ox-sled was close at hand, for the father and brother had brought +it to the river before they began their weary search up and down its +banks, not knowing what mournful burden they might have to carry home +to the almost frantic mother. + +And Bruin, a most intelligent beast, seemed to understand so well that +the handling, and ride, were all for his own good, that he bore the +humiliation of having his legs tied with considerable equanimity, and +in a short time developed so gentle and gentlemanly a character as to +become a valued and honored member of the family, remaining with it for +about a year, when, wishing, probably, to set up housekeeping on his +own account, he quietly snapped his chain one day and walked off into +the woods, where he was occasionally seen for several years, generally +near the checkerberry patch. + + + + +WESTMINSTER ABBEY. + +BY CHARLES W. SQUIRES. + + +I have no doubt that most of the readers of ST. NICHOLAS have heard of +the grand old Abbey of Westminster, in London, and that they would be +glad to visit this famous historical place. I had often been there in +my thoughts and dreams, and had often wished that I might really walk +through its quiet aisles and chapels, when, at last, I should make a +trip to Europe. And my wish was granted. + +It was on a November morning--one of those dark, gloomy mornings, +peculiar to London, that I started from my lodgings to walk to the +Abbey. As I said before, I had often been there in my imagination, and, +as I walked slowly along, I could hardly realize that I was actually +about to visit it in person. After a while I came in sight of +Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament, and then, on my right, +I noticed two tall towers, and without the help of my guide-book I knew +that they must belong to the Abbey; so I quickened my steps until I +had gained the entrance door. What a change I experienced as I stepped +from the busy, crowded streets, into this old sepulcher, so celebrated +for its relics of the dead! It almost made me shudder, for the interior +of the building was dark and gloomy, and I saw many cold, white figures +towering high above me. The original Abbey was built many, many years +ago, and has been restored from time to time by the succeeding kings +and queens of England, until we find it in its present condition, safe +and sound, and one of the greatest, if not the greatest object of +interest in the city of London. + +[Illustration: INTERIOR OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY.] + +[Illustration: SHRINE OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR.] + +Westminster Abbey may certainly be called a tomb, for we could spend a +whole day in simply counting its monuments. There were so many of these +that I hardly knew which to look at first, but I thought it best to +follow my own inclinations, and so, instead of procuring a guide (men +with long gowns, who take visitors around and point out the objects of +greatest interest), I roamed about at my will. The first monument that +attracted my attention was the venerable shrine of Edward the +Confessor, in the chapel of St. Edward, once the glory of the Abbey, +but which has been much defaced by persons who were desirous of +obtaining a bit of stone from this famous tomb. In this chapel I saw +also the old coronation chairs, in which all the reigning sovereigns of +England, since Edward I. have been crowned. They are queer, +old-fashioned chairs, made of wood, and not very comfortable, I +imagine. The older of the two chairs was built to inclose the stone +(which they call Jacob's pillar) brought from Scotland by Edward, and +placed in this chapel. Many other interesting tombs are to be seen +here, and the floor of the chapel is six hundred and fourteen years +old! + +[Illustration: TOMB OF HANDEL.] + +I next visited the chapel of Islip, built by the old Abbot of Islip, +who dedicated it to St. John the Baptist. One very interesting monument +there was to the memory of General Wolfe, who fell, you remember, at +the battle of Quebec. His monument is a very beautiful piece of art. It +represents him falling into the arms of one of his own soldiers, who is +pointing to Glory, which comes in the shape of an angel from the +clouds, holding a wreath with which to crown the hero. A Highland +sergeant looks sorrowfully on the dying warrior, while two lions sleep +at his feet. The inscription reads as follows: "To the memory of James +Wolfe, Major-General and Commander-in-Chief of the British land forces +on an expedition against Quebec, who, after surmounting, by ability and +valor, all obstacles of art and nature, was slain in the moment of +victory, on the 13th of September, 1759, the King and Parliament of +Great Britain dedicate this monument." + +I now walked on to the north transept, and the first monument I noticed +was one erected to Sir Robert Peel, the great orator and statesman. I +seated myself on an old stone bench to rest, and looking around, saw a +magnificent statue of the great William Pitt, who, you may remember, +was also a great statesman, and accomplished more for the glory and +prosperity of England than any other statesman who ever lived. In this +transept there is a beautiful window, which represents our Savior, the +twelve apostles, and four evangelists. As I was sitting quietly in this +secluded spot, looking up at the window, strains of solemn music +reached my ear, which sounded as if they came from one of the gloomy +vaults around me. I walked on to discover, if possible, whence this +music came, and I saw, in the nave of the Abbey, the Dean of +Westminster conducting a service, assisted by his choir boys. I seated +myself until the ceremonies were over, and I thought it was a very odd +place to hold church--among so many graves. + +After the Dean and his choir boys had disappeared I commenced my walk +again, and saw many fine old monuments. One of these was in memory of +Sir Isaac Newton, and I am sure I need not tell you who he was. +Prominent among the monuments in this part of the Abbey is that to +Major André, the fine young officer who was executed during our +Revolutionary War. + +I next visited the south transept, better known as the "Poet's Corner," +which I think is the most interesting part of Westminster. A hundred, +and more, monuments to the memory of great men can be seen here; but I +can only tell you of a few of the most important. The one I thought +most of is erected to the memory of William Shakspeare, although his +bones repose far away, in the little church at Stratford-on-Avon. Then +I saw the tombs of David Garrick, the great actor and delineator of +Shakspeare's characters; George Frederick Handel, the eminent composer, +the author of that beautiful anthem, "I know that my Redeemer liveth;" +the great Milton; rare old Ben Jonson; Edmund Spenser, author of the +"Faëry Queene;" and those of Southey, Dryden, Addison, Gray, Campbell, +and other well-known English poets. + +Then, among the names of the dead of our own day, I saw those of +Dickens, Bulwer, Macaulay, and Dr. Livingstone. + +Kings, queens, statesmen, soldiers, clergymen, authors and poets here +have equal station. Some may lie under richer tombs than others, but +all rest beneath the vaulted roof of Westminster Abbey, the place of +highest honor that England can offer her departed sons. + + + + +CRIP'S GARRET-DAY + +BY SARAH J. PRICHARD. + + +Crip was having a dismal--a very dismal time of it. Crip was eleven, it +was his birthday, and Crip was in disgrace--in a garret. + +Wasn't it dreadful? + +It happened thus: Crip's father was a shoemaker. The bench where he +worked and the little bit of a shop, about eight feet every way, in +which he worked, stood on a street leading down to the town dock, and +the name of the town we will say was Barkhampstead, on Cape Cod Bay. + +Now and then--that is, once or twice in the year--a whaling vessel set +sail from the dock, and sometimes, not always, the same vessels +returned to the dock. + +The going and the coming of a "whaler" made Crip's father, Mr. John +Allen, glad. It was his busy season, for when the seamen went, they +always wanted stout new boots and shoes, and, when they came, they +always needed new coverings on their feet to go home in. + +Two years before this dismal time that Crip was having, the ship "Sweet +Home" went away, and it had not been spoken or signaled or heard from +in any way, since four months from the time it left the dock at +Barkhampstead. + +The fathers and mothers and wives and little children of the men who +went in the "Sweet Home" kept on hoping, and fearing, and feeling +terribly bad about everybody on board whom they loved, when, without +any warning whatever, right in the midst of a raging snow storm, the +"Sweet Home," all covered in ice from mast-head to prow, sailed, stiff +and cold, into Barkhampstead harbor. + +Oh! wasn't there a great gladness over all the old town then! They rang +the meeting-house bell. It was a hoarse, creaking old bell, but there +was music in it that time, as it throbbed against the falling snow, and +made a most delicious concert of joy and gratitude in every house +within a mile and more of the dock. + +Mr. John Allen rushed down to the "Sweet Home," as soon as ever it came +in. He hadn't anybody on board to care very particularly about, but how +he did rub his hands together as he went, letting the snow gather fast +on his long beard, as he thought of the thirty or forty pairs of feet +that _must_ have shoes! + +Crip, you know, was to be eleven the next day, and his mother, in the +big red house next door to the little shop, had made him a cake for the +day, and, beside, plum-pudding was to be for dinner. + +Before Crip's father had gone down to the dock he had said to Crip: +"Now, you must stay right here in the shop and not go near the dock, +until I come back;" and Crip had said "Yes, sir," although every bit of +his throbbing boy body wanted to take itself off to the "Sweet Home." + +The snow kept on falling, and it began to grow dark in the little shop. +Crip had just lighted a candle, when the shop door opened, and a boy, +not much bigger than Crip himself, came in and shut the door behind +him. + +Crip jumped up from the bench and said: + +"What----?" + +"You don't know me, Crip Allen," said the boy. + +"Who be you?" questioned Crip. + +"Don't wonder!" said the other, "for we've all come right out of the +jaws of ice and death. I'm Jo Jay." + +"Jo Jay,--looking so!" said Crip. + +"Never mind! Only give me a pair of shoes--old ones will do--to get +home in. It's three miles to go, and it's five months since I've had +shoes on my feet. Oh, Crip! we've had a _bad_ time on board, and no +cargo to speak of to bring home." + +"You wont pay for the shoes?" asked Crip. + +"No money," said Jo, thrusting forth a tied-up foot, wrapped in +sail-rags. "But, Crip, do hurry! I must get home to mother, if she's +alive." + +"She's alive--saw her to meeting," said Crip, fumbling in a wooden box +to get forth a pair of half-worn shoes he remembered about. + +He produced them. Jo Jay seized the shoes eagerly, and, taking off his +wrappings, quickly thrust his feet, that had so long been shoeless, +into them: and, with a "Bless you, Crip! I'll make it all right some +day." hobbled off, making tracks in the snow, just before Crip's father +came up from the dock. + +Mr. John Allen returned in a despondent mood. There was not oil enough +on board the "Sweet Home" to buy shoes for the men. + +"Who's been here, Crip? Socks in and shoes out, I see." + +"Jo Jay, father." + +"Where's the money, Crip?" and Mr. Allen turned his big, searching blue +eyes on Crip, and held forth his hand. + +"Why, father," said Crip, "he hadn't any, and he wanted to go home. +It's three miles, you know, and snowing." + +"Crip Allen! Do you know what you've done? You've _stolen_ a pair of +shoes." + +"Oh, I haven't, father," cried Crip, "and 't was only the old, +half-worn shoes that you mended for George Hine, that he couldn't +wear." + +"Christopher!" thundered forth Mr. Allen, in a voice that made the lad +shake in his boots, "go into the house and right upstairs to bed. You +have stolen a pair of shoes from your own father. You _knew_ they were +not yours to give away." + +Poor Crip! Now he couldn't get a sight of the "Sweet Home" to-night, +even through the darkness and the snow. + +His upper lip began to tremble and give way, but he went into the big +red house, up the front staircase to his own room, and, in the cold, +crept under the blankets into a big feather bed, and thought of Jo +plodding his way home. + +About eight of the clock, when Crip was fast asleep, the door opened, +somebody walked in, and a hand touched the boy, and left a bit of cake +on his pillow; then the hand and the somebody went away, and Crip was +left alone until morning. He went down to breakfast when called. His +father's face was more stern than it had been the night before. Crip +could scarcely swallow the needful food. When breakfast was over, Mr. +Allen said: + +"Christopher. Go into the garret and stay till I call you. I'll teach +you not to take what doesn't belong to you, even to give away." + +"Father!" beseechingly said Crip's mother, "it is the boy's birthday." + +"Go to the garret!" said Mr. Allen. + +Crip went, and he was having the dismal time of it referred to in the +beginning of this story. Poor little chap! He stayed up there all the +morning, his mother's heart bleeding for him, and his sisters saying in +their hearts, "Father's awful cruel." It did seem so, but Mr. +Christopher Allen, the nation-known shipping merchant, said, fifty +years later, when relating the story to a party of friends on board one +of his fine steamships: + +"That severe punishment was the greatest kindness my father ever +bestowed on my boyhood. Why, a hundred times in my life, when under the +power of a great temptation to use money in my hands that did not +belong to me, even for the best and highest uses, and when I _knew_ +that I could replace it, I have been saved by the power of the stern, +hard words, the cold, flashing eyes, and the day in the garret. Yes, +yes, father was right. I ought to have taken off _my own shoes, and +gone without any_, to give to Jo Jay. That was his idea of giving." + + + + +[Illustration] + + +WHAT HAPPENED. + +BY HOWELL FOSTER. + + + A very respectable Kangaroo + Died week before last in Timbuctoo; + A remarkable accident happened to him: + He was hung head down from a banyan-limb. + The Royal Lion made proclamation + For a day of fasting and lamentation, + Which led to a curious demonstration: + The Elephant acted as if he were drunk-- + He stood on his head, he trod on his trunk; + An over-sensitive she-Gorilla + Declared that the shock would surely kill her; + A frisky, gay and frolicsome Ape + Tied up his tail with a yard of crape; + The Donkey wiped his eyes with his ears; + The Crocodile shed a bucket of tears; + The Rhinoceros gored a young Giraffe + Who had the very bad taste to laugh; + The Hippopotamus puffed and blew, + To show his respect for the Kangaroo; + And a sad but indignant Chimpanzee + Gnawed all the bark from the banyan-tree. + + + + +DRIFTED INTO PORT. + +BY EDWIN HODDER. + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE BOYS OF BLACKROCK SCHOOL. + + +Dr. Brier considered himself the principal of Blackrock School, but the +boys in that establishment often used to say to each other that Mrs. +Brier was really the master. + +Not that she intruded into any sphere which did not belong to her, but +she took such a deep interest in the school that she had the welfare of +every boy at heart, and Dr. Brier was one of those amiable men who +never act except in concert with their wives, and he had, moreover, +good sense enough to see that oftentimes her judgment was better than +his own. + +At the time our story opens, the school was in a very flourishing +condition. It contained about eighty boys, the tutors were men of +unquestionable ability, and so successful had the Doctor been in +turning out good scholars that he had applications from various parts +of England, in which country our story is located, for the admission of +many more boys than he could possibly receive. + +Among the institutions of the school was a weekly reception in the +Doctor's private drawing-room, when twenty boys at a time were invited +to tea, and to spend the evening hours in social enjoyment. + +It was a very good thing, for it gave Mrs. Brier an opportunity of +becoming acquainted with the boys, and it enabled them to see the +Doctor, not in his professional character of principal, but as a kind +and gentle host. + +At some schools, where a plan of this kind has been adopted, boys have +been inclined to look upon it as a great bore, and have dreaded the +return of the so-called social evening, when they would have to be, for +some hours, in a state of nervous anxiety, lest they should be +catechised in a corner, or be betrayed into something that they would +be sorry for afterward. + +But, with one exception, this was not the case with the Blackrock boys; +the Tuesday reception was always a red-letter day with them, and if +ever, through misbehavior, an invitation was withheld, it was regarded +as one of the severest punishments inflicted in the school. + +Several boys were one day standing in a group under the elms which +inclosed the play-ground, putting on their jackets to return to the +school-room, as the recreation hour was nearly over. + +"Who's going to the house on Tuesday?" asked Howard Pemberton. + +"I am," said Martin Venables. + +"And I," added Alick Fraser. + +"And I too, worse luck," said Digby Morton. + +"Why worse luck?" asked Martin. + +"Oh, it wouldn't do for me to enter into particulars with you," replied +Digby, rather testily. "You're the Doctor's nephew, and we all know +that we've got to be careful of what we say about the house before you. +The wind might carry it around." + +Martin turned as red as a poppy, as he flashed up in honest anger that +such paltry meanness should be charged on him. + +"I tell you what it is, Digby," he said, trying to keep himself cool, +"I can stand a joke as well as anybody, but there is no joking about +your ill-natured speeches. I tell you now, once for all, that I never +did and never shall blow upon any boy in this school. You know as well +as I do that the Doctor treats me as a scholar here, and not as a spy +or a relative, and if ever you charge me again with tale-bearing, I'll +answer you with my fists." + +"Good!" cried several voices at once, while some of the small boys who +had gathered round seemed delighted at the rebuke administered to +Digby, who was by no means a favorite with them. + +"And now let's drop it," said Howard, the boy who had asked the +question as to the invitations for Tuesday. "If Digby doesn't like the +receptions, it's a pity he doesn't stay away. I don't know another boy +in the school who would think with him." + +"Nor I, and I can't make out why any one should," said Alick; "to my +mind they are the jolliest evenings we have." + +"Oh yes, I should think they would just suit _you_" answered Digby, +with his accustomed sneer, "but they don't suit me. They are precious +slow affairs, and I don't care much for the society of Mrs. B. She +pries into the school affairs a sight too much as it is, and----" + +What other objections Digby might have advanced will forever remain +unknown. He had committed high treason in speaking lightly of a name +dear to the heart of every boy there, and a storm of hissing and +hooting greeted his unfinished sentence. + +He saw that he had trespassed on ground which was too dangerous for him +to tread any further, and so, with a defiant "Bah!" he threw his +jacket over his shoulder and walked sullenly away. + +Many of the boys in Blackrock school would have found a difficulty in +stating the exact grounds of their regard for Mrs. Brier. To some of +them she was a comparative stranger; they could not trace one direct +act in which they were indebted to her. Perhaps the merest commonplaces +in conversation had passed between them, and yet they felt there was a +something in her presence which threw sunshine around them; they felt +that they were thought about, cared for and loved, and in any little +scrape into which, boy-like, they might get, they felt satisfied that +if the matter only came to her knowledge they would get an impartial +judgment on the case, and the best construction that could be put upon +their conduct would be sure to be suggested by her. But out of eighty +boys it would not be reasonable to suppose that all should share this +feeling alike,--we have seen already one exception; yet the disaffected +were in a very small minority, and the majority was so overwhelming, +and had amongst it all the best acknowledged strength and power of the +school, that no one dared to say above his breath one word against Mrs. +Brier, if he cared for a whole skin. + +While Digby was returning to the school by one road, Howard and Martin +strolled leisurely along by another path under the trees. + +"I can't understand Digby," said Martin; "he has altered so very much +lately that he hardly seems the same fellow he was. Have you noticed +that he cuts all his old chums now? What's happened to him?" + +"I'm sure I don't know," answered Howard, "but he certainly has altered +very much. I wish we could be as friendly as we used to be, but it is +months since we have been on really good terms together." + +"Two or three years ago we used to be the best of friends," said +Martin. + +"Yes, but all that has been gradually altering. He seems to have taken +a dislike to me. I can't help thinking that Digby has some secret that +worries him." + +"I shouldn't be surprised if he has," answered Martin; "and it will get +him into trouble, whatever it is. He has several times been 'out of +bounds' for a long time at a stretch, and if it hadn't been for Alick +Fraser and one or two others who have screened him, he would have come +to grief. Can you guess at all what is wrong with him?" + +"No," replied Howard, hesitatingly; "the only thing I can think of is +that his father has told him that when he leaves school in September he +is to be articled to a lawyer, and I know he has made up his mind to go +to sea. He is crazy about pirates, and whale-hunts, and desolate +islands, and all that sort of stuff. And yet, sometimes, if you talk to +him about them he shuts you up so very sharply that you feel as if you +were prying into his secrets. Perhaps--" + +And here Howard stopped. + +"Well, perhaps what?" asked Martin. + +"I don't know that it is right to talk about a mere notion that may not +have any truth in it at all, so let what I say be kept close between +us; but I have noticed him bring things home after he has been out of +bounds, and carefully put them in his big box, which he always keeps +locked, and I have sometimes thought--but mind, it is only a passing +thought, so don't let it go any further--that perhaps he has made up +his mind to run away to sea!" + +"Howard, I have had this same thought in my mind many a time," said +Martin, "and I believe the reason why Digby dislikes me so much is +because something occurred about a month ago, which I would rather not +mention, but it led me to say to him that I hoped he would not be so +foolish as to think of throwing up all his prospects in life for the +sake of a mania about the sea, and he flashed up so angrily that I was +convinced I had touched him on a sore point." + +Just then the school-bell rang. There was no time for further talk, and +it was not for many days that the subject was renewed. + + + +CHAPTER II. + +AN EVENING AT DR. BRIER'S. + + +Every expected day comes at last,--not always, however, to realize the +expectations formed of it: but the evening of the reception in which we +are interested bade fair to be a most satisfactory one. The weather was +unusually fine, and the Doctor and Mrs. Brier were in such good spirits +that some of the visitors made special note of the fact. + +I hardly know where to begin in attempting to describe an evening in +the House at Blackrock school. + +As to stiffness and formality, there was not a vestige of it. The +Doctor was a gentleman, every inch of him, and ease is an essential +quality of gentlemanly behavior. It is not always an easy thing to be +easy, and all the Doctor's pupils were not miniature doctors, but +whatever else a boy might not have learned at Blackrock, he certainly +had a chance to learn to be gentlemanly. + +So conversation flowed freely; the boys were encouraged to indulge in +hearty, unrestrained enjoyment, and no one could have heard the buzz of +voices and the sounds of merry laughter, or seen the beaming faces, +without feeling that all were perfectly at home. + +The Doctor was wise in his generation, and he did not invite any of the +tutors to meet the boys. He pretty shrewdly guessed that their meetings +were quite as frequent as could be desired on either side, but he +always invited a few lady friends to join the party. + +The Doctor had often been heard to say that while he would not declare +that either Greek or Hebrew was absolutely necessary for an ordinary +education, he was prepared to assert that no boy was educated unless he +knew how to feel at home and to behave with propriety in the society of +ladies. + +Moreover, the Doctor was a great lover of music. Many of the boys also +loved it, and, when ladies were invited, those were generally selected +who could contribute to the pleasure of the evening. + +Among the guests was one who will meet us again in the course of this +story. It was Madeleine Greenwood, the Doctor's niece, and Martin +Venables' cousin. I should like to describe her, but I will only say +that she was a young and very pretty sunshiny girl, and that everybody +who knew her liked her. + +After tea, there were portfolios to examine, and books to turn over; +there was a bagatelle board in one corner of the room, a little group +busy upon some game of guessing in another corner, and another group +eagerly arranging specimens in a microscope, while the Doctor seemed to +be at each group at once. + +"Now, come here," said Mrs. Brier to a little knot of boys who could +not find room by the Doctor and his microscope. "I will show you some +of my curiosities." + +And she produced a little case, containing a curious old watch, set in +pearls; a snuff-box which had been in the possession of the family for +ages, and a variety of similar treasures. Among them was a miniature +painting, on ivory, of exquisite workmanship, and set in a gold frame, +which was studded with precious stones. It was as beautiful as it was +costly. The portrait was that of a young and lovely girl. + +"What a sweet face," said Howard to Martin; "and how marvelously like +your cousin, Miss Greenwood!" And with a boyish enthusiasm joined to +boyish fun, he turned aside, so that Mrs. Brier should not see him, and +pretended to clasp the image to his breast. + +"Oh, I have caught you, have I?" said Digby Morton, with his +disagreeable sneer, as, turning away from the Doctor's group, he came +abruptly upon Howard. + +If Alick Fraser, or Martin, or McDonald, or any one of half a dozen +boys near him had made this observation, Howard wouldn't have minded +the least in the world, but coming from Digby, it made him nervous and +confused, especially as it was almost certain Mrs. Brier must have +heard it. + +"Please let me see it," said Alick, who had only caught a passing +glimpse of it. "Surely it must be meant for Miss Greenwood?" he said, +after he had duly admired it. + +"You are not the first who has thought so," said Mrs. Brier, "but it is +really a portrait of her grandmother, taken in her young days. But look +at this; I think it will interest you all. It is a curious ivory +carving, and is a puzzle which I should like to challenge any one to +explain." + +And so this uncomfortable episode, the only one that occurred during +the evening, passed quietly away. + +Music was soon called for, and Madeleine sang a beautiful song of the +sea. Then there was a merry glee, and a duet on the piano and +violoncello, and the time passed so cheerily that when the trays with +refreshments came round, betokening that the time to go was fast +approaching, everybody instinctively looked at the clock to make sure +that there was not some mistake. + +One or two of the boys, as they lay awake that night, trying to recall +some of its pleasant hours, little thought that as long as life lasted +the incidents of that reception evening would be stamped indelibly upon +their memories. + +"Now, aunt," said Madeleine, after all the guests had departed, "sit +down and rest, and let me collect the things together." + +Everybody knows how a drawing-room looks when the company has gone. +Music here, drawings there, musical instruments somewhere else, and a +certain amount of confusion not apparent before now apparent +everywhere. + +But Mrs. Brier was one of those who never could sit still while +anything had to be done, and she began to arrange the cabinet which +held her curiosities, while Madeleine collected the music. They were +thus employed when Mrs. Brier suddenly exclaimed, "Oh! Madeleine!" + +"What is the matter, aunt?" asked the young girl, running to her. + +"Nothing, I hope, but I cannot find the miniature portrait or the old +snuff-box which were here." + +"Then they must be on one of the tables!" said Madeleine. + +"I fear not; I laid everything back in the case myself--at least, I +believe I did--before putting it in the cabinet." + +A careful search in every probable and improbable place in the room was +made, but the missing articles could not be found. The Doctor was +hastily called, and inquiries were made of him. + +"No, my dear, I have seen nothing of them," he said. "I was busy with +the microscopes, and never even saw the things during the evening. Let +us look about--we shall soon find them." + +Search after search was made, but in vain, and there was but one +conclusion at which to arrive,--the miniature and the snuff-box had +been taken away. + +[Illustration: "HOWARD PRETENDED TO CLASP THE IMAGE TO HIS BREAST."] + +But by whom? It could not have been by the servants, for they had only +entered the room to bring the refreshments. It could not have been by +any of the lady guests, for they had not been near the curiosities; +being old friends, these had often been shown to them before. + +It was, perhaps, the most trying hour that either the Doctor or Mrs. +Brier had ever spent. They were not grieved simply because they had +lost property, valuable as it was, but their deepest sorrow arose from +the fear that honor had been lost in the school. + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE LOST MINIATURE. + + +The morning came, and the anxiety which the Doctor and Mrs. Brier had +felt the night before was not removed but rather increased. What to do +for the best was the question preying upon both minds. There was no +escape from the conviction that one of the boys, either by accident or +with evil intent, had taken the missing articles. If by accident, they +would be returned the first thing in the morning, although there would +be no excuse for not having returned them on the previous evening as +soon as the discovery was made; and if with evil intent who was the +culprit? + +The Doctor was one of those men who could best bear anxiety +out-of-doors. If anything unusual troubled him, no matter what the +weather might be, he would pace the garden or wander through the +fields, while he thought or prayed himself out of the difficulty. + +He was a God-fearing man. I do not mean in the sense in which many +apply this term, turning a good old phrase into a cant expression. He +believed in God, he believed in the Bible, and he believed in prayer. + +So, after he had paced the garden in the early morning, long before any +others of the establishment were abroad, he turned into the +summer-house, and there, quiet and alone, he prayed for guidance in his +difficulty. + +When breakfast was over the boys began to away to their several rooms +and occupations, but those who had been at the Doctor's on the +previous evening were told separately that he wished to speak with them +in his library. Each was rather startled on arriving to find others +there, and a vague feeling of discomfort prevailed at first. Mrs. Brier +was present, and this added to the mystery, as she was rarely seen in +the library. + +"Now, my boys," said the Doctor, when all had assembled, "I want to +take you all into my confidence, and shall be glad, in the interest of +all, if what is now said is kept as much as possible to ourselves. The +matter about which I have called you together is one that has caused me +much anxiety, and I shall be thankful if you can allay my uneasiness. +You will remember that last night Mrs. Brier showed you a casket of +trinkets and curiosities, amongst them a valuable miniature painting +and an antique snuff-box. I am sorry to say that these are missing. +Careful and diligent search has been made for them, but they cannot be +found. Can any of you throw light on the subject? Is it possible that +by accident one of you may have mislaid them, or inadvertently have +carried them away?" + +Anxious glances were exchanged from one to the other as each answered +in the negative. An awkward pause followed. + +"And now," said the Doctor, "it is my painful duty to ask you +separately whether you know anything whatever about the matter. For the +sake of each, and the honor of all, I charge you to tell me truth as in +the sight of God. Herbert, do you know anything about it?" + +"No, sir." + +"Marsden, do you?" + +"No, sir; nothing whatever. I saw the things and thought I saw Mrs. +Brier put them back in the box." + +"Do you know anything, McDonald?" + +"I do not, sir." + +"Do you, Pemberton?" + +"No, sir." + +"Do you, Morton?" + +Digby stammered and hesitated. The Doctor repeated his question. + +"I know nothing for certain, sir. But I--I think--" and he held to the +back of a chair with a very determined clutch as he again hesitated, +and began to speak. + +"What do you think, man? Speak out," said the Doctor. + +"I think I ought to mention a circumstance, but I shall prefer speaking +to you alone." + +"Does it relate to any one present?" + +"It does." + +"Then I must have it told here. But let me first continue my question +to each one present." + +The question went round, and the answer in each case was in the +negative. + +"Now, Morton, I must ask you to state what you know of this matter, or +rather what you suspect, and I leave it to your good sense to say only +that which you think it absolutely necessary for me to know." + +There was a dead silence. Every eye was turned toward Digby with +intense interest, while he fixed his gaze steadily upon the floor. + +"I saw Howard Pemberton putting the miniature in his breast coat-pocket +last evening, sir, when we were in your drawing-room. I said to him, +'I've caught you, have I.' He made no reply to me, but turned away, +very red in the face--" + +"It is false--wickedly false," cried Howard, in a passionate burst of +feeling. + +"He states it is false," continued Digby, "but I will appeal to Fraser +or McDonald, who saw it, or better still, to Martin Venables, who also +saw it, and made some remark in apology for him!" + +"Do you know of anything else, directly or indirectly, that you think +should come to my knowledge?" asked the Doctor. + +"Nothing more, sir, except that Pemberton, whose room adjoins mine, +seemed to have something on his mind last night, for he was walking +about in his room in the middle of the night, and I fancied he got out +of the window. This is all I have to say, sir. I said I knew nothing +for certain, and I hope I have not done wrong in telling you this +much." + +And now all eyes turned to Howard Pemberton. He stood speechless. He +felt as in a horrible nightmare, and could neither move body nor mind +to break the spell. If he could have known that there was not one in +the room who believed him to be guilty, he would have easily recovered +from the blow; but with his peculiarly nervous temperament, although +conscious of perfect innocence in the matter, he felt that the terrible +insinuations which had been made against him had separated him from +those whom he loved and honored, and he was crushed beneath the weight +of implied dishonor. + +Happy is the man who has a friend, and Howard had many, but perhaps +none greater than Martin Venables. Martin knew the peculiarities of +Howard's character better than any one present, and seeing the position +in which he was placed he came forward to vindicate him. + +"Dr. Brier, there is not a boy in this school, except Digby, who does +not love and respect Howard Pemberton. I hate to be a tale-bearer, but +I know that for many months he has cherished a great animosity to +Howard, and has taken every opportunity of showing it. The story which +he has now invented is as clumsy as it is false. It is the worst kind +of falsehood, for it has just a shadow of truth in it as regards one +part of the story. When Mrs. Brier showed the miniature, it pleased +Howard, as it does everybody who sees it. He made a remark to me that +it was very much like my cousin, Miss Greenwood, and perhaps you know, +sir, that many boys in the school think her very lovely and amiable. +Howard thought so too, and when he attempted to put the miniature in +his pocket, as Digby untruthfully stated, he merely put it, in fun, to +the place where they say the heart is. It was what any of us might have +done, and, wise or not wise, we would certainly have meant no harm. But +I am quite certain that afterward the portrait passed into the hands of +Alick Fraser, and then into Digby's, and after that it was placed in +the case by Mrs. Brier. I do not say, sir, that Digby Morton has +willfully misrepresented facts for the purpose of getting one who was +once his most intimate school friend into trouble, but I say that if +Howard Pemberton is untruthful or dishonest, I do not believe an honest +boy lives." + +The boys were quite excited over Martin's speech--the first set speech +he had ever made--and they greeted it with undisguised enthusiasm. + +The Doctor seemed to think that somebody ought to say something +equivalent to "silence in the court" at this display of sentiment, +although in his heart of hearts he would have liked to step forward and +pat Martin on the back for his manly defense of his friend. But an +interruption was made to the proceedings by a tap at the door. + +"Can I speak with Mrs. Brier?" said a servant, putting her head in at +the door. + +"No, Mrs. Brier is engaged," answered the Doctor, rather sharply for +him. + +Servants have a knack of knowing what is going on in a house, and this +servant seemed to be in the secret which had called the little assembly +together, for she would not take the rebuff, but said: + +"If you please, sir, I _must_ speak to Mrs. Brier." + +So Mrs. Brier left the room for a moment, to return again in company +with the servant. + +"What is this all about?" asked the Doctor. + +"If you please, sir, this morning, in making the bed Mr. Pemberton +sleeps in, I noticed the ticking loose, and I put my hand in, as I felt +something hard, and I found this snuff-box." + +I have read in books about boys who, under some exciting necessity, +have started in an instant from boyhood to manhood, just as I have read +about people's hair in time of trouble turning from black to white in +the course of a night. Howard Pemberton did not spring from boyhood to +manhood at this strange discovery, nor did his hair turn white, but the +words of the servant had a sudden and powerful influence upon him. In a +moment he turned to his accuser and said: + +"Digby, there is some vile secret underlying all this, and I don't know +what it is. But I declare to you, solemnly, that I am innocent of this +charge. If you have spoken against me to-day because you thought you +ought to do it, I can't blame you, but if you have done it from any +wrong motive, I hope you'll confess it before evil is added to evil." + +But Digby merely shrugged his shoulders, and turning to the Doctor, +said: "Have you anything more you wish to ask me, sir?" + +Dr. Brier was fairly nonplussed. The fog grew denser all around him. +Addressing a few words of caution to those who had been summoned to +this the strangest meeting that was ever held in Blackrock School, he +dismissed the boys, ordering Howard and Digby to be kept in separate +rooms until he should arrive at some judgment in the case. + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE VERDICT. + + +It was all very well for the Doctor to decide to keep the boys in two +separate rooms until he should form some judgment on the case, but +toward the close of the day, after the most searching inquiries had +been instituted, he was no nearer to a final decision than when he +started, and he feared they might have to remain where they were until +Doomsday, unless he could find out something positive about the matter. + +Howard and Digby were missed from their accustomed places in the +school, and by the mid-day play-time the secret had oozed out, and +great discussions were being held as to the merits of the case. There +was not a boy in the school who in his heart believed that Howard was +really guilty, although the evidence seemed clearly against him. There +was not, on the other hand, one who felt justified in thinking that +Digby had willfully accused his friend falsely, and yet there was an +uncomfortable suspicion that it might be so. + +All the next day inquiries went on, and nothing of importance was the +result. The Doctor had seen the prisoners, and talked to each +separately; he had taken counsel from those of the boys upon whose +judgment he could rely, and in the evening all those who had +constituted the preliminary meeting were again called together. The +first count in the indictment, namely, that Howard had attempted to +pocket the miniature, was discussed and dismissed as a misconstruction +of motive. The second charge as to his being about in his room during +the night was not so easily got rid of. Howard pleaded that he had gone +to sleep as usual, and slept soundly, but that he was aroused by +hearing, as he thought, some one in his room. He went to sleep again, +and was aroused a second time by the stumbling of some one over a box, +as it seemed to him, which was followed by the sudden closing of a +door. He got up, went into Digby's room, listened by his bedside, and +found he was breathing hard, and then, noticing that his window was not +fast, he opened it and looked out. The nightingales were singing, and +he sat up for a long time listening to them. Then, as he grew chilly, +he closed the window and turned into bed again, and slept till Digby +called him. Beyond this he knew nothing. + +The Doctor summed up. There was guilt in the heart of one boy at least, +but which one there was no evidence at present to show. That the fact +of the snuff-box being found in Howard's bed had at first sight looked +like circumstantial evidence against him could not be denied, but as +the links in the chain had been broken in several places, he considered +that the whole had fallen to pieces, and he confessed that he did not +believe for a moment, from the facts before him, that Howard was +guilty. From his knowledge of Digby he must fully exonerate him from +the charge of willfully implicating his friend in the matter, as it +seemed evident that he was justified in expressing the suspicions he +entertained, considering the circumstances of the case. For the present +the matter must be dismissed, but he could not doubt that light would +soon shine through the darkness, and the true facts of the case would +yet be known. He would still urge that if anything should transpire in +the knowledge of any one present that it was important he should know, +no selfish motive should induce him to remain silent, while at the same +time he would deprecate suspicions of each other, and would remind them +that as the law judged those to be innocent who were not proved to be +guilty, so it must be in this case. With this the Doctor dismissed the +assembly. + + + * * * * * + + +So far in our story we have confined ourselves to the characters in +whom we are immediately interested, without any reference to their +previous history or family connections. But I must pause here to take a +glance into two homesteads, a few days after the events just described. + +In the breakfast-room at Ashley House Mr. Morton had laid aside his +newspaper, and was reading a letter from Dr. Brier. It was the second +or third time he had read it, and it seemed to disturb him. Mr. Morton +hated to be disturbed in any way. He was a hard man, who walked +straight through the world without hesitating or turning to the right +hand or to the left. He was a strong-minded man--at least, everybody +who got in his way had good reason to think so. But he had a rather +weak-minded wife. Poor Mrs. Morton was a flimsy woman, without much +stamina, mental or bodily. She stroked her cat, read her novel, lay +upon the sofa, or lolled in her carriage, and interested herself in +little that was really necessary to a true life. It was in such an +atmosphere as this that Ethel Morton lived and Digby had been reared. + +Their mother had died when Ethel was a very little baby, and when the +new Mrs. Morton came home the children were old enough to feel that +they could not hope to find in her what they had lost in their true +mamma. + +Ethel was a bright, pleasant girl, and, being left very much to +herself, she seemed to live in a world of her own. As a child she +peopled this world with dolls, and each doll had an individuality, a +history, and a set of ideas attached to it, which gave her almost a +human companionship in it. Then came the world of fairies and gnomes +and elves, amongst whom she held sway as queen, and many a plant and +shrub in the garden, and glade in the woodlands, was a part of her +fairy-land. And, now that she was nearly seventeen, a new world was +dawning upon her; human wants and human sympathies were demanding her +thought and care, and every day brought her into contact with those in +the villages round about, whose histories were educating her heart into +the true ideal of womanhood. + +As Mr. Morton finished reading the letter he passed it to his wife, +merely remarking: + +"You will see Digby has mixed himself up with some disagreeable piece +of business in the school. It is time he came home. I shall see Mr. +Vickers about him to-day, and write for him to return as soon as this +affair has blown over, instead of in September, in order that he may +commence his studies in the law at once." + +Leaving Mrs. Morton to mourn that her anxieties and responsibilities +were to be increased by Digby's return, and Ethel to rejoice in the +fact that her brother was coming home to be again her companion, let us +now take a glance into a home in the suburbs of London. + +It is a humbler home than that we have just visited, and a happier one. +The breakfast-room is elegantly furnished, but it is small; the garden +is well stocked with flowers, but the whole extent of it is not greater +than the lawn at Ashley House. + +There are three people round the breakfast-table. Mrs. Pemberton, a +handsome woman, dressed in the neatest of black and lavender dresses, +and wearing a picturesque widow's-cap. Nellie, her daughter, a girl +about nine or ten years old, and Captain Arkwright, a retired naval +officer, the brother of Mrs. Pemberton. + +There is anxiety on each face, and traces of recent tears mark that of +Mrs. Pemberton, as she nervously turns over and over in her hand a long +letter from Dr. Brier, and a still longer and more closely written one +from Howard. + +"It is an extraordinary and distressing affair," she said, "and I am at +a loss to know what to do. What would you advise, Charles?" + +"I should advise Dr. Brier to choose a lunatic asylum to go to. What a +wooden-headed old fellow he must be, to have got the affair into such a +mess. Do? I should do nothing. You certainly don't suppose Howard is +really concerned in the affair. Not he; that sort of thing isn't in his +line. It'll all come right enough by and by, so, don't fidget yourself, +my dear," he continued. "There's some vile plot laid against Howard, +but if he doesn't come clean out of it with flying colors, call me a +simpleton." + +That day was spent in letter-writing, and the same post that brought to +Digby the intelligence that he was to leave school that term, and +commence work with Mr. Vickers, conveyed to Howard the loving sympathy +of true hearts, which clung to him through evil report and good report. + +(_To be continued._) + + + + +THE NEWS-CARRIER. + +BY CATHARINE S. BOYD. + + +[Illustration: "OH NO! IT IS NOT I!"] + + + "How do you know?" "Who told you so?" + These words you often hear; + And then it often happens, too, + This answer meets your ear: + "A little bird has told the tale, + And far it spreads o'er hill and dale." + + Now let us see if this can be. + How can the birds find out so well, + And give the news to all? + Or, if they know, why need they tell? + And which among the feathered tribe + Must we to keep our secrets bribe? + + The busy crow? As all well know, + He sometimes breaks the laws; + We shall regret it, when he does, + For he will give us cause. + Though slyest of the feathered tribe, + The crow would scorn to need a bribe;-- + + Not robin red; he holds his head + With such an honest air, + And whistles bravely at his work, + But has no time to spare. + "I mind my own concerns," says he; + "They're most important, all may see;"-- + + Nor birdie blue, so leal and true; + He never heeds the weather, + But in the latest winter-days + His fellows flock together; + And then, indeed, glad news they bring + Of early buds and blossoming. + + Might not each one beneath the sun + Of all the race reply, + If questioned who should wear the cap, + "Oh no! it is not I?" + For there are none who, every day, + Are busier at work than they. + + They chatter too, as others do; + But what it is about, + The wisest sage in all the earth + Might puzzle to make out. + But I'm as sure as I can be, + They never talk of you or me, + + We hear "They say,"--oh, every day! + Are _they_ the birds, I wonder, + That have such power with words to part + The dearest friends asunder? + Or must we search the wide world through + To bring the culprits full in view? + + The birds, we see, though wild and free, + Have something else to do; + And, reader, don't you think the same + Might well be said of you? + It really seems to be a shame + That _they_ should always bear the blame. + + + + +LIVING SILVER. + +BY MARY H. SEYMOUR. + + +The ground was covered with snow, and now it had begun raining. There +was no prospect of a change in the weather, which made Fred's face +rather gloomy as he looked out of the window. Harry was turning over +the leaves of a story-book. You could see they were both disappointed +that the morning was stormy; for when they came to grandpapa's in the +winter, they expected bright days and plenty of fun. + +"What shall we do?" said Fred. + +"Let's go into the garret!" exclaimed Harry. + +This plan evidently suited both of them, for they made a rush toward +the door; and the dog, awakening from his nap, entered into the idea, +too. + +At this moment, Aunt Carrie came into the room. They wished it had been +grandmamma, for she never laid the least restriction on their sports, +but smiled on every request and allowed them to do exactly as they +pleased. + +"Now, boys," said Aunt Carrie, "where are you going?" + +"Only into the garret, auntie." + +"Be sure to leave things exactly as you find them," she replied, with a +laugh and a little groan. + +"We always do, Aunt Carrie." + +Away they went, with Gyp at their heels, and every footstep resounded +through the old house until they reached the upper floor. + +"It is no wonder that garret is never in order," said Aunt Carrie; "but +the children must enjoy themselves." + +"Of course, they must, Carrie," replied grandma from the depths of her +heart. + +First, the boys pulled out a box of old books and papers, and busied +themselves reading the queer names and advertisements of old times. +Soon they turned from these to a shelf of chemical instruments. Most of +them were in perfect order, and they knew they must keep their hands +off, for the bulbs and tubes of glass were too delicate to be touched +by unskilled fingers. + +"Here is an old broken forrometer," exclaimed Harry. "Let's ask grandpa +if we can have it." + +"You mean _thermometer_, don't you?" said Fred. "What can we do with +that?" + +"Don't you see? There is a great deal of quicksilver in this glass +ball, and we can play with it. I'll show you how." And away they went +downstairs to find their grandfather. + +"Grandpa, can we have this?" + +Mr. Lenox looked up from his newspaper. + +"Let me see it a moment. What do you wish to do with it?" + +"We will break it and take out the quicksilver, and then I will show +you. Let me ask Ellen for a dish to catch the drops." + +"Not quite so fast; wait a moment, Harry," replied Mr. Lenox. "I wish +you to notice something about it first. The top of the tube is slightly +broken, which makes it of no exact use, for to measure heat or cold the +quicksilver must be entirely protected from the air. If you had noticed +it when you first came in, you would see that the warmth of the room +has caused it to rise in the tube. This is shown by the marks on the +plate to which it is fastened. Now, if you hold it close to the stove, +the quicksilver will rise still higher. Let it stand outside the window +a moment, and it will sink." + +By this time the boys were much interested. + +"But what makes it do so, grandpa?" they asked. + +"Quicksilver is very sensitive to heat and cold. If the weather is +warm, or if the room it is in is warm, it expands--swells out--and so +rises in the glass tube, as you have seen. The least coolness in the +air will cause it to contract, or draw itself into a smaller space; +then, of course, it sinks in the tube. + +"The barometer is another instrument in which quicksilver is used. It +is intended to measure the weight of the air, therefore the quicksilver +in it must be exposed to the pressure of the air. Common barometers +have it inclosed in a small leather bag at the back of the instrument. +This we do not see, but only the tube which is connected with it. When +the weather is pleasant, the air, contrary to the general idea, being +heavier, presses against this little bag and the quicksilver rises in +the tube. When the atmosphere is damp, the pressure being less, the +metal sinks." + +"Grandpa," said Harry, "when you think of it, isn't quicksilver a funny +word?" + +"Yes; it was so named by people who lived many hundreds of years ago. +They called it _living silver_ also. It is the only metal found in a +liquid state; and so many strange changes did it pass through under +their experiments, that it seemed to them really a living thing. If +they tried to pick it up, it would slip out of their fingers. When +thoroughly shaken, it became a fine powder. They boasted that it had +the faculty of swallowing any other metal, while powerful heat caused +it to disappear entirely. It is now known among metals as mercury. Can +you tell me, Fred, some of the metals?" + +"Oh yes, sir! There are gold, silver, iron, lead and copper." + +"That is right. But, you know, all these are hard; some of them can be +chipped with a knife, but they cannot be dipped up in pails, unless +they have first been melted. Yet mercury can be frozen so hard that it +may be hammered out like lead, and sometimes it takes the form of +square crystals. Yet it can be made to boil, and then sends off a +colorless vapor." + +"Grandpa." said Fred, who had scarcely listened to the last words, "if +mercury can be dipped up in pails, it must be very easy to get it. I +read somewhere that gold and silver are so mixed in with the rock that +it takes a great deal of time and money to separate them." + +"That is true; but mercury is not always obtained easily. It forms part +of a soft, red rock called cinnabar, composed of mercury and sulphur. +The cinnabar is crushed and exposed to heat, when the metal, in the +form of vapor, passes into a vessel suited to the purpose, where it is +cooled. Then, being reduced to its liquid state, it is pure and fit for +use. When men working in the mines heat the rocks, the quicksilver will +sometimes roll out in drops as large as a pigeon's egg, and fall on the +ground in millions of sparkling globules. Think how very beautiful it +must be, the dark red rock glittering on every side with the living +silver, while every crack and crevice is filled with it! + +"Visitors to the mines of Idria are shown an experiment that I think +would interest you boys. In large iron kettles filled with mercury are +placed huge stones, and these stones do not sink." + +"Why, grandpa! how can that be?" + +"Did you ever see wood floating on water?" + +"Yes, sir, but that is different." + +"But the principle is the same; can you tell me why?" + +Both the boys looked puzzled. + +"It is only because the wood does not weigh so much as water; neither +are the stones as heavy as mercury, therefore they cannot sink." + +"I wish we could go into the mines. Can't you take us, sometime, +grandpa?" said Harry. + +"That is asking rather too much, my child, for quicksilver is not a +common metal. There are in the world only four important localities +from which it is obtained. These are California, Peru, Austria, and +Almaden in Spain. The mines nearest us are in California. I think I +shall never go as far as that, but I hope you both may before you reach +my age. + +"It is a curious story how the mines in Peru were discovered. Cinnabar, +when ground very fine, will make a beautiful red paint. The Indians +used this to ornament their bodies on grand occasions. This caused the +country where they lived to be examined, and the cinnabar was found. +The Romans used this paint hundreds of years ago in decorating their +images and in painting pictures. It is very highly valued now, and we +call it vermilion." + +"Fred," continued Mr. Lenox, "you spoke of the difficulty of +separating gold and silver from the rock in which they are found. Did +you know that our wonderful mercury renders valuable aid in this? The +rock that contains the precious metal is crushed fine, sifted and +washed until as much as possible of the gold or silver is removed; then +it is placed in a vessel with the quicksilver, which seems immediately +to absorb it, thus separating it entirely from every particle of sand +or rock. If the metal to be cleansed is gold, you will see a pasty mass +or amalgam, as it is called, of a yellowish tinge. This is heated, and +the mercury flies away, leaving behind it the pure gold." + +"How did people learn to do this?" asked Fred. + +"They did not learn it all at once. It was only by years of patient +effort and frequent failure that they finally succeeded. + +"You know there are many gold and silver mines in California," +continued grandpa. "Near some of them large mines of quicksilver have +been discovered. You can imagine that this caused great rejoicing, for +all the quicksilver previously used was sent in ships to this part of +the world, which, of course, made it scarce and very expensive. Now, we +can send away quantities to other countries after supplying our own +wants. + +"Notwithstanding that this strange metal renders such service to +mankind--for I could tell you of many other useful things it does--it +is a deadly poison. Its vapor is so dangerous that persons searching +for it often die from breathing the air where it is found. About +seventy years ago, the mines in Austria, took fire, and thirteen +hundred workmen were poisoned, and many of them died. The water that +was used to quench the fire being pumped into the river Idria, all the +fish died excepting the eels. Since that time, spiders and rats have +deserted the mines. + +"Mercury is carried in sheepskin bags and cast-iron bottles. It is so +heavy that an ordinary cork would soon be forced out by it, therefore +an iron stopper must be screwed in. + +"Once, some bags of mercury were stored in the hold of a foreign +vessel; unfortunately, a few of the bags were rotten and leaked. Every +person on board was poisoned, and every piece of metal connected with +the vessel received a silvery coating of mercury." + +"It is dreadful! Fred, don't let us touch it," said Harry. + +"Don't be frightened yet, Harry. Did you know that mercury is used as a +medicine? It is given in very small doses." + +"I am sure I shall never take it," exclaimed Fred. + +"Perhaps you may have done so already," replied their grandfather, +laughing. "Did you ever hear of blue-pill and calomel? They both are +preparations of mercury." + +Just then the sun shone into the room so brightly that every one turned +to the windows. Such a sparkle! The evergreens were covered with +shining ice-drops, and the tall trees pointed their glistening branches +toward the few clouds that were hurrying over the blue sky. + +"I am not sorry it rained, after all," said Fred. "I have enjoyed the +morning so much that I forgot the play we were going to have." + +Two happy, tired boys went to sleep that night, and the next morning +they started for home. They both agreed in thinking they had never +enjoyed a more delightful visit at grandpapa's. + + + + +THE WOODS IN WINTER + + +There is scarcely any place so lonely as the depths of the woods in +winter. Everything is quiet, cold and solemn. Occasionally a rabbit may +go jumping over the snow, and if the woods are really wild woods, we +may sometimes get a sight of a deer. Now and then, too, some poor +person who has been picking up bits of fallen branches for firewood may +be met bending under his load, or pulling it along on a sled. In some +parts of the country, wood-cutters and hunters are sometimes seen, but +generally there are few persons who care to wander in the woods in +winter. The open roads for sleighing, and the firm ice for skating, +offer many more inducements to pleasure-seekers. + +But young people who do not mind trudging through snow, and walking +where they must make their own path-way, may find among the great black +trunks of the forest trees, and under the naked branches stretching out +overhead, many phases of nature that will be both new and +interesting--especially to those whose lives have been spent in cities. + + +[Illustration: THE WOODS IN WINTER.] + + + + +CRUMBS FROM OLDER READING. + +II. + +BY JULIA E. SARGENT. + + +IRVING. + + +Washington Irving has so many things for us, and we have heard so much +that is pleasant of him, that a good time with him may be expected; and +you would not read far in Irving's books before learning that no one +believed in "good times" more than he. The name of his home on the +Hudson would tell you that. "Sunnyside" is not the name a gloomy man +would choose. + +Perhaps you will like best to hear that many of you often stand where +Irving stood, and walk the streets he knew so well, for New York City +was Irving's birthplace, and there many of the seventy-six years of his +life were spent. One of his books is a funny description of his native +town in the days of its old Dutch governors. He does not call it +Irving's, but "Knickerbocker's History of New York." And as only Irving +knew anything of Diedrich Knickerbocker outside this book, we will let +him tell you that "the old gentleman died shortly after the publication +of his work." Of course, Irving can say what he chooses about +Knickerbocker's book, so he gives it as his opinion that, "To tell the +truth, it is not a whit better than it should be." But Sir Walter +Scott, in a letter to a friend, says of these funny papers of Irving's: +"I have been employed these few evenings in reading them aloud to Mrs. +S. and two ladies who are our guests, and our sides have been +absolutely sore with laughing." All Irving's histories are not +"make-believe," and some day you will read Irving's "Life of +Columbus," and "Life of Washington," completed just before his death in +1859, without thinking of them as histories. He wrote the "Life of +Columbus" in Spain. Can you tell me why that was the best place to +write it? + +Would you like to know where the boy Irving might often have been seen +when he was not devouring the contents of some book of travels? "How +wistfully," he wrote, "would I wander about the pier-heads in fine +weather? and watch the parting ships, bound to distant climes!" + +Not many years after, he wrote from England, "I saw the last blue line +of my native land fade away like a cloud in the horizon." He was then +in England, where he visited Westminster Abbey, Stratford-on-Avon, and +many other grand and famous places. Of these, and much that is neither +grand nor famous, he has written in the "Sketch-book," giving this +reason for so naming word-paintings: "As it is the fashion for modern +tourists to travel pencil in hand and bring home their portfolios +filled with sketches, I am disposed to get up a few for the +entertainment of my friends." Is it not as good as a picture to hear +this man, who had no little ones of his own, tell of "three fine, +rosy-cheeked boys," who chanced to be his companions in a stage-coach? +This is what he writes: + +"They were returning home for the holidays in high glee and promising +themselves a world of enjoyment. It was delightful to hear the gigantic +plans of the little rogues. * * * They were full of anticipations of +the meeting with the family and household, down to the very cat and +dog, and of the joy they were to give their little sisters by the +presents with which their pockets were crammed; but the meeting to +which they seemed to look forward with the greatest impatience was with +Bantam, which I found to be a pony." When he had heard what a +remarkable animal this pony was said to be, Irving gave his attention +to other things until he heard a shout from the little travelers. Let +him tell the rest of the story. + +"They had been looking out of the coach-windows for the last few miles, +recognizing every tree and cottage as they approached home, and now +there was a general burst of joy. 'There's John! and there's old Carlo! +and there's Bantam!' cried the happy little rogues, clapping their +hands. At the end of a lane there was an old, sober-looking servant in +livery waiting for them; he was accompanied by a superannuated pointer, +and by the redoubtable Bantam, a little old rat of a pony, with a +shaggy mane and long, rusty tail, who stood dozing quietly by the +roadside, little dreaming of the bustling times that awaited him. Off +they set at last, one on the pony, with the dog bounding and barking +before him, and the others holding John's hands, both talking at once. +* * * We stopped a few moments afterward to water the horses, and on +resuming our route a turn of the road brought us in sight of a neat +country-seat. I could just distinguish the forms of a lady and two +young girls in the portico, and I saw my little comrades with Bantam, +Carlo, and old John trooping along the carriage-road. I leaned out of +the coach window in hopes of witnessing the happy meeting, but a grove +of trees shut it from my sight." + +"If ever love, as poets sing, delights to visit a cottage, it must be +the cottage of an English peasant," Irving thinks, and goes on to write +in his own pleasant fashion of many pleasant things in English country +life, saying: "Those who see the Englishman only in town are apt to +form an unfavorable opinion of his social character. * * * Wherever he +happens to be, he is on the point of going somewhere else; at the +moment when he is talking on one subject, his mind is wandering to +another; and while he is paying a friendly visit, he is calculating how +he shall economize time so as to pay the other visits allotted in the +morning." + +The "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a genuine ghost story. It is not very +startling, but very, very funny, when you know what scared poor Ichabod +Crane on his midnight ride that last time he went courting Governor +Wouter Van Twiller's only daughter. + +You must read for yourselves the famous story of Rip Van Winkle and the +nap he took. It is too long for me to give in Irving's words, and "Rip +Van Winkle" is just such a story as no one but Irving knows how to +tell. + +In another of his interesting stories in the "Sketch Book," told, he +says, by a queer old traveler to as queer a company gathered in a great +inn-kitchen, Irving describes the busy making-ready for a wedding. The +bride's father, he says, "had in truth nothing exactly to do." + +Do you suppose he was content to do nothing "when all the world was in +a hurry?" + +This is the way in which he helped: "He worried from top to bottom of +the castle with an air of infinite anxiety; he continually called the +servants from their work to exhort them to be diligent, and buzzed +about every hall and chamber as idly restless and importunate as a +blue-bottle fly on a warm summer's day." The book of Irving's that some +of you will like best of all is "The Alhambra." The Alhambra is the +ancient and romantic palace of the Moors. When he was in Spain, Irving +spent many dreamy days amid its ruined splendors, whence the last of +the Moors was long since driven into exile. We have good reason to be +glad that Irving saw the Alhambra, for this book is what came of it. We +shall all want to go where Irving went, after reading what he says of +the Alhambra by moonlight. "The garden beneath my window is gently +lighted up, the orange and citron trees are tipped with silver, the +fountain sparkles in the moonbeams, and even the blush of the rose is +faintly visible. * * * The whole edifice reminds one of the enchanted +palace of an Arabian tale." + +These, you know, are only crumbs, and crumbs which show Irving's "warm +heart" more, perhaps, than his "fine brain." + +To learn of his literary talent and well-deserved fame, of his rich +fancy and his wonderful ability for story-telling, you can better +afford to wait than to miss knowing how healthy, happy, and truly +lovable was this man's nature. Now, with only one of the many sober, +earnest thoughts, we must lay aside his books. + +"If thou art a child, and hast ever added a sorrow to the soul, or a +furrow to the silvered brow of an affectionate parent; if thou art a +friend and hast ever wronged in thought, or word, or deed, the spirit +that generously confided in thee, then be sure that every unkind look, +every ungracious word, every ungentle action, will come thronging back +upon thy memory." + + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE BOY IN THE BOX. + +BY HELEN C. BARNARD. + + +"You haven't any more ambition than a snail, Joe Somerby!" said +energetic Mrs. Somerby to her husband, as, with sleeves rolled to the +elbow, she scoured the kitchen paint. + +Joe, who was smoking behind the stove, slowly removed his pipe to +reply: + +"Wal, if I haint, I haint; and that's the end on 't!" + +"What would become of us if I was easy, too?" continued his spicy +partner. "Why can't you have a little grit?" + +Joe puffed away silently. + +"Now, you pretend to carry on the rag business, you spend all your +money a-buying and a-storing of 'em away; the back room's full, the +attic's full, the barn's full,--I can't stir hand or foot for them +rags! Why on earth don't you sell 'em?" + +"Waiting for 'em to rise, marm!" + +"Always a-waiting!" retorted Mrs. Somerby, thrusting her +scrubbing-brush and pail into a closet, and slamming the door upon her +finger. "Before you get through, the chance goes by. Joe," in a coaxing +tone, "I've had a presentiment." + +Joe evinced no interest, but removed his pipe to say: + +"Now, wife, don't get uneasy. Let's be comfortable." + +"Yes, I feel a presentiment about those rags;" the little woman whisked +into a chair beside her lord. "They say the paper manufacturers are +giving a big price now, husband. Why can't you take a load to the city +to-day? I've been thinking of it all the morning." + +"I'll do my own thinking, marm," said Joe, with dignity. He rose, +however, and laid his pipe away. + +Mrs. Somerby said no more, sure that she had roused him from his torpid +condition. She wound Joe up to the starting-point, just as she did her +kitchen-clock, and he kept upon his course as steadily as that ancient +time-piece. She was just the wife for ease-loving Joe, whom her brisk +ways never wounded, for he knew her heart was full of tenderness for +him. + +An hour later Joe drove into the yard. Mrs. Somerby flew out with a +lump of sugar for a jaded-looking horse, bought by Joe to speculate +upon, and who ate everything he could get, including his bedding, and +never grew fat. + +"I'll make a trotter of him in a month, and sell him to some of the +grandees!" Joe said, but his system failed or the material was +poor,--old Jack slouched along as if each step was likely to be his +last. But despite this, Jack had become very dear to the childless +couple, and they were as blind as doating parents to his defects. + +"Bless his heart!" cried Mrs. Somerby, as Jack whinnied at her +approach, and thrust his ugly nose into her hand. + +Mr. Somerby felt of Jack's ribs with a professional air, and said: + +"I'm trying a new system with this 'ere beast; I think he's picking up +a grain." + +"He'll pick up the grain, no doubt," playfully retorted his wife. "Now +then, I'll help you off. Those paper men'll have all they want if +you're not on hand. I'm glad I put you up to sorting the stuff last +week." + +"You'll 'put me up' till I'm clean gone," said Joe, winking to himself, +as he followed his lively wife. "Let them bags alone, marm. You can be +putting me up a big lunch." + +"It's all ready, under the wagon-seat. By good rights, Joe, you'd ought +to have a boy to help you." + +"It isn't a woman's work, I know," said he, kindly. "You just sit here +and look on." + +Joe swung her up on a bale as if she had been a child. Inspired by her +bright eyes he worked with a will. The wagon was soon loaded. Mrs. Joe +ran for his overcoat and best hat, gave him a wifely kiss, and watched +him depart from the low brown door-way. + +"She's the best bargain I ever made," thought Joe, as he jogged toward +the city. "I'm not quite up to her time, I know," continued he, and +there was a tender look in his sleepy eyes. "Howsomedever, I'll make a +lucky hit yet!" + +The prospect was so cheering that Joe actually snapped the whip at the +"trotter" who was meditating with his head between his knees. Jack, +however, did not increase his gait, but plodded on. It was bitter cold, +and Joe had to exercise himself to keep warm. It was afternoon when the +laden cart entered the city. Hungry Jack had stopped twice, and gazed +around at his master in dumb reproach. Joe was hungry, too; so he +hurried into a square, in the business part of the city, covered his +pet with an old quilt, and giving him his food, went to dispose of his +cargo. But Joe's purchasers had gone to dinner, so he returned, mounted +the cart, and began upon his own lunch. + +"Now, if they don't want my stuff, my wife's 'presentiment' 's gone +up," said the elegant Joe, "and I've had this cold trip for nothing." + +Just here a remarkable event occurred. Jack suddenly threw up his +meditative head, shied, and stood upon his hind-legs. + +[Illustration: "THE BOY WAS ON HIS KNEES."] + +"Hey there!" cried his master, delighted at this token of life. "Yer a +trotter, after all?" + +"Yer old nag scart, mister?" asked several small boys, who hovered +about. + +"He's a leetle lively!" said Joe, proudly. "Keep clear of his heels, +boys." + +Jack subsided, but eyed a pile of boxes in a court on the left. + +"What ails ye, Jack?" + +"It's the hermit ails him!" cried one, pointing toward a huge box from +one side of which somebody's head and shoulders protruded. + +"Quit scaring my horse!" cried Joe. + +The face was startlingly pale, and the eyes had a troubled, eager +look--the look of anxious care; but Joe knew their owner was a boy, +although he quickly disappeared in the box. Mr. Somerby resumed his +lunch, but kept the reins in case Jack should be startled when the boy +came out. But he did not appear; there was no sign of life in the box. +Joe thought he was either up to some more mischief or afraid; the +latter seemed most likely, as he recalled the white, still face. + +Joe got down from his cart and quietly peeped in. He was somewhat +astonished at first, for the boy was on his knees. The sight stirred +his sympathies strangely. The pallid lips were moving; soon, low words +came forth: + +"I don't know how to speak to you, dear Lord; but please help me. +Mother prayed to you, and you helped her. Oh! help me, I pray, for +Jesus' sake. Amen." + +The listener drew back to brush the tears from his eyes. + +"'Minds me o' Parson Willoughby's sermon--'Help, Lord, or I perish!' I +wish my wife was here. I declare I do. The little chap must be in +trouble!" + +Joe peeped in again. The boy did not see him as he was partly turned +from the opening. He threaded a rusty needle, and proceeded to patch +his coat. Joe could see the anxious puckers in his face as he bent over +the task. + +"I do wish she was here!" Joe cried, aloud. + +The boy turned quickly. + +"Why don't you go home, lad? You'll freeze to death here." + +"This is my home." + +"Sho! Do you mean to say you _live_ here?" + +"Yes." The lad hesitated, then asked, "Are you from the country, sir?" + +"Wal, yes, I be. Though folks don't generally mistrust it when I'm +slicked up. But I don't stand no quizzing." + +The boy appeared surprised at this sudden outburst, and said, with a +frank, manly air that appeased Joe: + +"I thought if you lived a long way off I wouldn't mind answering your +questions. I'm English, and my name's John Harper. I don't mix with the +street boys, so they call me the hermit!" + +"Don't you 'mix' with your own folks, neither!" + +"They were lost at sea in our passage to this country," was the low +reply. "Sometimes I wish I'd died with them, and not been saved for +such a miserable life. Can't get work, though I've tried hard enough, +and I'd rather starve than beg. I can't beg!" he cried, despairingly. +"I'm ordered off for a vagrant if I warm myself in the depots, and I +don't suppose the city o' Boston'll let me stay here long." + +"Don't get down at the mouth--don't!" said honest Joe, in a choking +voice, as the extent of this misery dawned upon him. + +"There, you know all," said the boy, bitterly. "I scared your horse, or +I wouldn't tell so much. Besides, you look kinder than the men I meet. +Perhaps they're not so hard on such as me where you live?" + +But Joe had gone, his face twitching with suppressed emotion. + +"I'll take the hunger out o' them eyes, anyhow!" He grasped the +six-quart lunch pail, and, hastening back, cried, as he brandished it +about the lad's head, "Just you help a feller eat that, old chap. My +wife 'ud rave at me if I brought any of it home. Help ye'self!" + +Hunger got the better of John Harper's pride. He ate gladly. There +wasn't a crumb left when he returned the pail. The light of hope began +to dawn in his sad eyes,--who could be brave while famishing! + +Meantime, Joe had been puzzling his wits and wishing his wife was there +to devise some plan for the wayfarer. + +"I wonder if you'd mind my horse a spell, while I go about my +business?" + +So the pale hermit crept out of his box, and mounted the wagon, well +protected by an extra coat that comfort-loving Joe always carried. + +"He'll think he's earned it, if I give him money," was Joe's kind +thought. "He's proud, and don't want no favors. I'll give the lad a +lift, and then--" + +After "the lift," what was before the homeless boy? Somehow he had +crept into Joe's sympathies wonderfully. He couldn't bear to look +forward to the hour when Jack and he must leave him to his fate. A +chance word from the paper manufacturer put a new idea into Joe's +brain. He bought all the cargo at a good price, and engaged the stock +at home. + +"I'll bring it in soon," said Joe, putting his purse in a safe place. +"I don't keep no help to sort my stuff, or I'd be on hand to-morrow." + +"Ah," said the bland dealer, little thinking what a train of events he +was starting. "You are doing a good business; why don't you keep a boy? +I know one who is faithful and needy!" + +"Yes, yes, he's in my cart, done up in my coat!" cried Joe, suddenly. +He beamed upon the bewildered dealer, and rushed for the door, almost +crazy with the new idea. + +"My wife said I'd ought to have a boy, too," he thought, almost running +toward the spot where he had left the cart, Jack, and the solitary +figure in the great coat. Joe grasped the boy. "I've got a plan for +you, John Harper. I want a boy to help me; the dealer says so, my wife +says so, and I say so. You must go home with me to-night. We'll carry +this load to the store-house; then pitch in your baggage and start for +a better place than this, my lad!" + +It was, indeed, "a better place" for "the boy in the box,"--a place +where he found rest and food and shelter. After a little, he grew into +the hearts of the childless couple that they called him their own. +John went to school winters, and helped Mr. Somerby summers, and got +ahead so fast in his happy surroundings that ambitious Mrs. Somerby had +him educated. He is now a prosperous merchant, and a text for old Joe +to enlarge upon when his wife gets too spicy. + +"You wan't nowheres around when I found our John," he often says, "and +he's the best bargain I ever made, next to you!" + + + + +THE COCK AND THE SUN. + +BY J.P.B. + + +[Illustration] + + + A cock sees the sun as he climbs up the east; + "Good-morning, Sir Sun, it's high time you appear; + I've been calling you up for an hour at least; + I'm ashamed of your slowness at this time of year!" + + The sun, as he quietly rose into view, + Looked down on the cock with a show of fine scorn; + "You may not be aware, my young friend, but it's true, + That I rose once or twice before you, sir, were born!" + + + + +[Illustration: "GRUN-SEL, GRUN-SEL, GRUN-SEL!"] + + + + +THE LONDON CHICK-WEED MAN. + +BY ALEXANDER WAINWRIGHT. + + +Birds and flowers do much to enliven the dusky house-windows of the +London streets, and both are attended to with great care. The birds are +treated to some luxuries which our American pets scarcely know of at +all, in their domestic state, and among these are two small plants +called chick-weed and groundsel, which grow abundantly along the hedges +and in the fields on the outskirts of the smoky city. Both chick-weed +and groundsel are insignificant little things, but the epicurean lark, +canary, or goldfinch finds in it a most agreeable and beneficial +article of diet, quite as much superior to other green stuff as--in the +minds of some boys and girls--ice-cream and sponge-cake are superior to +roast-beef and potatoes. + +On Sunday afternoons and holidays, the lanes where the groundsel and +chick-weed grow are frequented by the citizens of the laboring class, +who, although the city is quite near and its smoke blackens the leaves, +call this the country and enjoy it as such. It is a pretty sight to see +them, when they are well behaved; and should one notice the boys and +girls, many of them would be found hunting under the hawthorn +hedge-rows for chick-weed and groundsel to be taken home for the pet +birds. + +But all the birds of London do not depend on the industry of their +owners for these luxuries. Some men make a trade of gathering and +selling the plants, and the picture which is opposite this page will +give the reader a good idea of how they look. Their business has one +decided advantage. It needs no capital or tools, and a strong pair of +legs and a knife are all that its followers really want. Perhaps it is +on this account that the groundsel and chick-weed sellers are all very +poor, and the raggedness of some is pitiable in the extreme, as the +picture shows. Their shoes are shockingly dilapidated, owing to their +long daily marches into the country, and the rest of their clothes are +nearly as bad. + +The one that we have illustrated is a fair example, but despite his +poverty-stricken appearance, his torn, loose sleeves and useless boots, +he is not at all repulsive. His face tells of want and toil; he has +slung a shabby old basket over his shoulders, in which he carries his +load, and, with a bunch in his hand, he saunters along the street, +proclaiming his trade, "Grun-sel, grun-sel, grun-sel!" Besides the +groundsel and the chick-weed, he has small pieces of turf for sale, of +which larks are very fond. + +The birds in their cages at the open windows chirp and put their pretty +little heads aside when they hear him coming; they know perfectly well +who he is and what he brings, and their twitter shapes itself into a +greeting. The old raven perched on the edge of the basket feels like a +superior being, and wonders why other birds make such a fuss over a +little green stuff, but that is only because he has coarser tastes. + + + + +JOHNNY. + +BY SARGENT FLINT. + + +Johnny was in disgrace. "Drandma" had set him down uncomfortably hard +in his little wooden chair by the fire-place, and told him not to move +one inch right or left till she came back; she also told him to think +over how naughty he had been all day; but some way it seemed easier +just then to think of his grandma's short-comings. + +He looked through his tears at the candle in the tall silver +candlestick, and by half shutting his eyes he could make three candles, +and by blinking a little he could see pretty colors; but amusement +tends to dry tears, and Johnny wanted to cry. + +He caught the old cat and watched his tears slide off her smooth fur, +but when he held her head on one side and let a large round tear run +into her ear, she left him in indignation. Then he looked out of the +window. The snow was falling fast, as it had been all day. + +"Drandma!" he called, but the old lady was busy in the next room, and +could not, or would not hear him, so he walked to the door and said: +"Drandma, may I sweep a path for drandpa?" + +This time "drandma" did hear and see him too. He was brought back and +reseated, with marks of flour here and there on his little checked +apron. + +We must not blame grandma too much; it was a very long time since she +was a child, and Johnny, to use her own words, "had almost worn her +soul out of her." + +When Johnny's mother died, his home was in New York, and while Johnny +sat in his little chair by the fire-place, he was thinking of New York, +wondering if he ever should see it again,--the great stores with their +bright windows,--and, above all, hear the never-ending bustle and hum +that would drown the noise of twenty great clocks like grandpa's. Then +he thought how he had been deluded in coming to Plowfield; stories of +bright green fields, butterflies, hay-carts piled high with hay, and +'way up on the top a little boy named Johnny. + +A horse would be there, a cow (wrongly supposed by city people to mean +always a plentiful supply of milk), and a blue checked apron; but no +one mentioned the apron, and no one said that winter came in Plowfield; +not that they meant to deceive Johnny--they couldn't remember +everything, but it came all the same, and the bright green fields were +brown and bare; then Johnny didn't like them at all, and when the snow +came, grandma said if he went out he'd have the croup. + +The butterflies forgot Johnny. + +He did have _one_ ride on the hay, but grandpa didn't have much hay. + +The horse was not such a great comfort after all; he never drove except +taking hold of what reins grandpa didn't use, and the cow--yes, Johnny +did like the cow--she was a very good cow, but, if Johnny could have +expressed himself, he would have said that she was a little +_monotonous_. + +Johnny couldn't remember his mother, which was fortunate then, or he +would have cried for her. He saw his father only once a month; he was +making money very fast in the dingy little office away down town in New +York, and spending it almost as fast in a house away up town for +Johnny's new mamma, and, with Plowfield so far away, it was no wonder +Johnny's father was always on the move. He ought to have been there +that very day; the heavy snow perhaps had prevented; that was one +reason why Johnny had been so naughty. + +He sat quite still after he was brought back. He was too indignant to +cry; he felt as if there was no such thing as justice or generosity in +grandmothers. + +After a while he felt that he had thought of something that would do +justice to his feelings. + +"Drandma," he cried, "I wish I'd smashed the bowl to-day when I spilt +the cream!" + +Grandma didn't say anything for fear Johnny would know she was +laughing. + +He grew more and more indignant; he never in his life had felt so +naughty. He thought of all the rebellious things he had ever heard of, +and making a few choice selections, mentioned them to his grandmother, +and she, laughing, stored them away, to tell grandpa, consoling herself +with the idea that if he was bad he wasn't stupid. + +Suddenly, among other brilliant ideas, came the thought that sometimes +boys ran away; Mike's boy Jerry ran away (Mike was the man who worked +for grandpa), and he didn't have any money, and Johnny had fifteen +cents; besides, when he got on the cars he could tell the conductor to +charge it to his father; of course, he knew his father; he came from +New York every month. + +He listened till he heard grandma go to the shed for wood, and before +she came back her small grandson was some distance from the house in +the deep snow, putting on his coat and tying his comforter over his +ears. + +As he looked back and saw the shadow of grandma as she put down the +wood, he said: "I guess I'll make _her_ cry pretty soon." + +After the wood, grandma seemed to find quite a number of things either +to take up or put down, so for a little while Johnny was forgotten. Did +you ever notice that grandmothers, and mothers too, are always begging +for a little quiet, yet, if they ever get a bit, nothing seems to make +them more uneasy? + +Grandma thought Johnny was unusually still--she thought, "and is asleep +on the lounge." So she was not alarmed when she saw the little empty +chair, but when no Johnny appeared on the lounge or anywhere in the +room, she felt worried. + +"Johnny!" she called all through the house and wood-shed. Then she +missed the little coat, cap, and comforter. + +"If he has gone to meet his grandpa, he'll freeze to death. Oh, why +didn't I amuse him till his grandpa came," she thought. She opened the +door and tried to call, but a cloud of snow beat her back. Wrapping +herself comfortably, she started down the white road she thought Johnny +had taken. + +She called and called his name, and in her excitement expected every +moment to find him frozen. She promised the wind and snow that, if they +would only spare her Johnny, her dead daughter's baby, that in place of +his impatient old grandma there should be one as patient as Job! + +She had nearly reached the depot. She heard the evening train, she saw +the glare of the great lamp on the engine though the glass that covered +it was half hidden by the blinding snow. She heard a sleigh coming +toward her, and said to herself, "No matter who it is, I will stop him, +and he shall help me." The bells came nearer and nearer, and the sleigh +stopped. "Where are you going, my good woman? It is a rough night, +isn't it, for a woman to be out?" + +Any other time, how grandma would have laughed!--grandpa didn't know +his own wife! + +"Take her in, father," said another voice. Poor grandma! It was +Johnny's father who spoke. + +[Illustration: JOHNNY STARTS TO RUN AWAY.] + +"Oh, Johnny's lost!" she cried, as she tottered into the sleigh. "He +will freeze before we can find him." + +The old lady was taken home, and grandpa and Johnny's father started +off, quite naturally in the wrong direction, for Johnny. + + + * * * * * + + +For a while, Johnny went on manfully; but soon his little fingers and +toes began to beg him to go back. He refused to notice their petition, +and wished grandma could see him, as the wind whirled him round and +round and almost buried him in the snow. He thought he had gone about +ten miles, when he heard bells. He turned to one side for the sleigh to +pass, when he heard a voice he knew. + +"Oh, Jerry," he cried, "please take me in!" + +Jerry stopped, and asked, "Who are ye?" + +"I'm Johnny," said our small hero, quite meekly. + +"And where may ye be bound to, Johnny?" said Jerry. + +"To the depot. I'm going to New York," said Johnny, who thought this a +mild way to tell Jerry he was running away. + +"This road niver took any one to the depot, Jacky. If I hadn't come +this way, yer'd been froze stiff in the mornin'." + +Here Jerry rolled his eyes in a dreadful manner, and trembled like one +terribly frightened. Johnny would have cried hard, but he remembered +how brave Jerry was when he ran away, so he winked hard to keep back +the tears, and said: + +"Do you think I shall 'froze' now, Jerry?" + +Jerry thought not, if he minded him. So he lifted him into the sleigh, +and they drove on. + +"Is this the depot?" asked Johnny, when they stopped. + +"Ye be hard on the depot. This is my house." said Jerry. + +As he opened the door, his mother said, "I've looked afther yez since +the dark, and what have ye there?" as she saw Johnny. + +Mike, Jerry's father, sat by the stove, and there was a baby on the +floor. Johnny thought he never had seen such a funny place. + +He liked the baby best, although its yellow flannel night-dress was +dirty; but it wasn't quite his idea of a baby. + +"What shall we do wid him, Mike?" said the lady of the house, as she +saw Johnny's head bobbing and his eyes closing. + +"I thought ye'd kape him here till the next train for New York," said +Jerry, laughing. + +Mike laid down his pipe, and began to put on his coat. + +"Is it to go out again that yez will, this arful night, Mike?" said +Maggie. + +"Lay him out on the bed; lave him to slape here to-night, Maggie. I'll +go and make it aisy wid the old folks," said Mike. + +He found grandma sitting before the fire-place. Bottles of all sizes +stood on the table, and blankets hung on chairs by the fire. The old +lady's face was pale, and Mike afterward told Maggie, "The hands of her +shook like a lafe, and she had the same look on her that she had when +they tould her Johnny's mother was dead. And when I tould her the boy +was safe wid yez here--Ah, Maggie, she's a leddy!" said Mike, lowering +his voice. + +"Well, what did she say?" said Maggie. + +"She said I betther sit down an' ate some supper, to warm meself," said +Mike. + +Poor grandma! She declared afterward she didn't know Mike was such a +good-looking man, and so kind-hearted, too. But she didn't keep him +long to praise him, but hurried him off to find grandpa. + +Mike found the brilliant pair, going over and over the same ground. You +need not laugh, little reader; that's just what your father would do, +if you were lost. + +Five minutes after they had learned where Johnny was, they were +standing over him in Mike's house--standing over him, and the baby in +the yellow flannel night-dress, for they were both in one bed, and +Johnny's father saw them about as clearly as Johnny had seen the +candle. + +The family were thanked individually and collectively, from Mike down +to the baby, who, when Johnny left, was covered with sweetmeats and +toys, brought from New York to Johnny. + +The next morning, at breakfast, Johnny learned many things, among them +that it was very wrong to run away, and he must be punished, and +grandma should decide how severely. + +"I will punish him myself," said grandma, "by removing all temptation +to do so again." + +Johnny is too young now to appreciate his pleasant sentence, but in +after years, when his sins are heavier, he will miss his gentle judge. + +He was to leave Plowfield the next day for New York; but he was to come +back again with the summer, and many were the promises he made of good +behavior. + +When the time came for him to go, he clung so to his grandma that his +father said: + +"You need not go, Johnny, if you would rather stay." + +"No," said Johnny, "I want to go; but why don't they have drandmas and +fathers live in the same house?" + +At last, he was all tucked in the sleigh, and grandpa had started. + +"Stop! wait!" said Johnny, "I forgot something." + +He jumped out of the sleigh, ran back to grandma, clasped his arms +around her neck, and whispered in her ear: + +"I'm sorry, drandma, 'cause I spilt the cream, and I'm awfil glad I +didn't smash the bowl." + + + + +A MONUMENT WITH A STORY. + +BY FANNIE ROPER FEUDGE. + + +Many times have I heard English people say, as if they really pitied +us: "Your country has no monuments yet; but then she is so young--only +two hundred years old--and, of course, cannot be expected to have +either monuments or a history." Yet we have some monuments, and a +chapter or two of history, that the mother-country does not too fondly +or frequently remember. But I am not going to write now of the Bunker +Hill Monument, nor of the achievement at New Orleans, nor of the +surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. I want to tell of another +land nearer its infancy than ours, with a history scarcely +three-quarters of a century old, but with one monument, at least, that +is well worth seeing, and that cannot be thought of without emotions of +loving admiration and reverence. The memorial is of bronze, and tells a +story of privation and suffering, but of glorious heroism, and victory +even in death. + +Everybody knows something of the great island, Australia, the largest +in the world, reckoned by some geographers as the fifth continent. I +might almost have said its age is less than one-quarter of a century, +instead of three. It was visited by the great adventurer, William +Dampier, about the year 1690, and again, eighty years after, by Cook, +on his first voyage around the world. It is only within the present +generation that we have come to know it well. England's penal colony +there, and Cook's stories of the marvelous beauty and fertility of the +land, were never wholly forgotten; but almost nothing was done in the +way of exploration, especially of the interior, and the world remained +ignorant of both its extent and its resources until 1860, in August of +which year two brave-hearted young men, by name Burke and Wills, +determined to find out all that they could of the unknown central +regions. It is in memory of these men that Australia's first monument +has been erected. Let me tell you their story. + +Burke was in the prime of life, a strong, brave man, who delighted in +daring and even dangerous exploits. Wills, an astronomer, was younger, +and not so ardent, but prudent, wise, sagacious, and thus well fitted +to be the companion of the adventurous Burke. Their object was to trace +a course from south to north of Australia, and explore the interior, +where hitherto no European had set foot. + +Fifteen hardy adventurers were induced to form the little company; +twenty-seven camels were imported from India, for carrying the tents, +provisions and implements needed upon such a journey, a fifteen-months' +supply of provisions was laid in, and large vessels were provided for +holding ample stores of water, whenever the route should lie through +arid regions. + +Thus burdened with baggage and equipments, the explorers started out. +Their progress was necessarily slow, but the greatest difficulty with +which the leaders had to contend was a spirit of envy and discontent +among their followers. This led to an entire change in Burke's plans, +and perhaps also to the sad catastrophe which ended them. + +Instead of keeping his men together, as at first intended, he divided +the company into three squads. Assigning the command of two of these to +Lieutenants Wright and Brahe, and leaving them behind at an early stage +of the journey, together with most of the baggage and provisions, Burke +took Wills, with two others of the most resolute of his company, and +pushed boldly forward, determined to reach the northern coast if +possible, but, at any rate, not to return unless the want of water and +provisions should compel him. + +A place called Cooper's Creek, about the center of the Australian +continent, was to serve as a rendezvous for the entire company; one of +the squads was directed to remain at this point for three months, and +longer if practicable; another squad was told to rest a while at +Menindie, and then join the first; while Burke, Wills, Gray and King +were to prosecute their journey northward, do their utmost to +accomplish the main object of the expedition, and return to Cooper's +Creek. Had this plan been faithfully executed, all might have gone +well. But hardly had Burke taken his departure when quarrels for +pre-eminence broke out among the men he had left behind; then sickness +and death thinned the ranks and disheartened the survivors, and they +failed to carry out the programme Burke had laid down. Wright stayed at +Menindie until the last of January before setting out for the +rendezvous; while Brahe, who had charge of most of the provisions, +instead of remaining for three months at Cooper's Creek, deserted that +post long before the time arranged, and left behind neither water nor +provisions. + +In two months Burke and his companions reached the borders of the Gulf +of Carpentaria, at the extreme north of the continent, having solved +the problem, and found a pathway to the North Pacific. Then, worn and +weary, they set out to return. Their forward march had been +exhausting, as the frequent attacks of bands of savage natives and the +many deadly serpents had made it dangerous to halt for rest either by +day or night. The heat, too, was excessive, and sometimes for days +together the travelers were almost without water, while but sparing use +could be made of the few provisions they had been able to carry. +Feeling sure of relief at Cooper's Creek, however, and jubilant at +their success, the four almost starving men turned about and pressed +bravely on, but they arrived only to find the post deserted, and +neither water nor provisions left to fill their pressing need. + +In utter dismay, they sat down to consider what could be done, when one +of the party happened to see the word "dig" cut on the bark of a tree, +and digging below it, they found a casket containing a letter from +Brahe, which showed that he had left the post that very morning, and +that our travelers had arrived just _seven hours too late_! + +Imagine, if you can, how terribly tantalizing was this news, and how +hard it must have seemed to these heroic men, after having suffered so +much, braved so many dangers, and tasted the first sweets of success, +to die of starvation just at the time when they had hoped relief would +be at hand--to be so nearly saved, and to miss the certainty of rescue +by only a few hours! Eagerly they searched in every direction for some +trace of their comrades, and called loudly their names, but the echo of +their own voices was the only answer. As a last effort for relief, they +attempted to reach Mount Despair, a cattle station one hundred and +fifty leagues away, but they finally gave up in complete +discouragement, when one more day's march might have brought them to +the summit and saved their lives. + +For several weeks these brave fellows fought off their terrible fate, +sometimes hoping, oftener despairing, and at last, one after another, +they lay down far apart in the dreary solitude of the wilderness, to +die of starvation. + +All this and more was learned by Captain Howitt, who commanded an +expedition of search sent out from Melbourne, some nine months after +the departure of Burke and his company, not a word of news having been +received concerning them, and many fears being felt for the safety of +the little band. On Howitt's arrival at Cooper's Creek he, too, found +the word "dig," where the four despairing men had seen it; and beneath +the tree was buried, not only the paper left by Brahe, but Burke's +journal, giving the details of the journey to the coast, discoveries +made, and the terrible last scenes. + +At every step of Burke's pathway new objects of interest had elicited +his surprise and admiration. Not only were there fertile plains and +beautiful, flower-dotted prairies, but lagoons of salt water, hills of +red sand, and vast mounds that seemed to tell of a time when the region +was thickly populated, though now it was all but untrod by man. A range +of lofty mountains, discovered by Burke in the north, he called the +Standish Mountains, and a lovely valley outspread at their foot he +named the Land of Promise. + +But alas! Great portions of Burke's journey had to be made through +rugged and barren regions, destitute of water, and with nothing that +could serve as food for man or beast. Driven to extremities by hunger, +the pioneers devoured the venomous reptiles they killed, and on one +occasion Burke came near dying from the poison of a snake he had eaten. +All their horses were killed for food, and all their camels but two. +Perhaps these also went at a later day, for toward the last the records +in the journal became short, and were written at long intervals. + +Once the party was obliged to halt with poor Gray, and wait till he had +breathed his last, when the three mourning survivors went on in silence +without their comrade. + +A letter from young Wills, addressed to his father, is dated June 29th. +The words are few, but they are full of meaning. + +"My death here, within a few hours, is certain, but my soul is calm," +he wrote. + +The next day he died, as was supposed by the last record; though the +precise time could not be known, as he had gone forth alone to make one +more search for relief, and had met his solitary fate calmly, as a hero +should. Howitt, after long search, found the remains of his friend +stretched on the sand, and nearly covered with leaves. + +The closing sentence in Burke's journal is dated one day earlier than +young Wills's letter. It runs: + +"We have gained the shores of the ocean, but we have been aband--" + +It is not, of course, known why the last word was never finished. It +may have been that he felt too keenly the cruelty of his companions' +desertion of him to bring himself to write the word; or perhaps the +death agony overtook him before he could finish it. At any rate, it +speaks a whole crushing world of reproach to those whose disregard of +duty cost their noble leader's life. It has its lessons for us all. + +Burke's skeleton also was found, covered with leaves and boughs that +had been placed there, it is supposed, by the pitying natives, who +found the dead hero where, in bitter loneliness, he heaved his dying +sigh, unflinching to the last. + +Howitt wrapped the remains in the flag of his country, and left them in +their resting-place. Then he returned to Melbourne, and made +preparations for their removal and subsequent burial. They rest now in +that beautiful city near the sea, beneath the great bronze monument. +There are two figures, rather larger than life, Burke standing, Wills +in a sitting posture. On the pedestal are three bass-reliefs, one +showing the return to Cooper's Creek, another the death of Burke, and +the third the finding of his remains. This is a fitting tribute to the +memory of the brave explorers, but a far nobler and more enduring +memorial exists in the rapid growth and present prosperous condition of +that vast island, results that are largely the fruit of their labors +and devotion. + +King survived, but he was wasted almost to a skeleton, and it was +months before he could tell the story of suffering he alone knew. + + + + +TWO WAYS. + +BY MARY C. BARTLETT. + + + "If I had a fortune," quoth bright little Win, + "I'd spend it in Sunday-schools. Then, don't you see, + Wicked boys would be taught that to steal is a sin, + And would leave all our apples for you and for me." + + "If _I_ had a fortune," quoth twin-brother Will, + "I'd spend it in fruit-orchards. Then, don't you see, + Wicked boys should all pick till they'd eaten their fill, + And they wouldn't _want_ apples from you or from me." + + + + +A HORSE AT SEA. + +[SEE FRONTISPIECE.] + + +His name is Charley. A common name for a horse, and yet he was a most +uncommon horse, of a sweet and cheerful disposition, and celebrated for +his travels over the sea. This is his portrait, taken the day before he +left America, for the benefit of sorrowing friends. He looks as if he +thought he was going abroad. There is something in his eye and the +expressive flirt of his tail that seems to suggest strange doings. +Charley is going to Scotland, over the sea, and he is having his feet +cared for by the Doctor. He stands very steady now, even on three legs. +When he afterward went aboard the good steamship "California" it was as +much as he could do to keep steady on all four. + +[Illustration] + +Poor Charley! He was dreadfully sick on the voyage. He had a fine +state-room, but the motion of the ship was too much for his nerves, and +he was very ill. So they had to bring him, bed and all, on deck. The +steamer was rolling from side to side, for the waves ran high, and the +tall masts swayed this way and that with a slow and solemn motion. Poor +Charley didn't appreciate the beauty of the sea, and thought the whole +voyage a most unhappy experience. Then he had to be hoisted out of the +hatchway in a most undignified manner. The frontispiece shows you how +this was done. They put him in his box and put a rope round it and +fastened the rope to the donkey engine, a little steam-engine which is +used for hoisting and such purposes. How humiliating for a horse to be +dragged aloft by a donkey engine! The captain stood near to give the +signal when the steamer rested for a moment on a level keel. The donkey +engine puffed, and the sailors stood ready to steer the patient upward, +just as you see in the picture. + +Charley grew very serious as he rose higher and higher, but a man held +him by the head and whispered comfort in his ear. At last, he reached +the deck in safety, and they gave him a place in a breezy nook beside +some other four-footed passengers, and he immediately recovered. + + + + +TIDY AND VIOLET; OR, THE TWO DONKEYS. + + +There was once a little boy who was not very strong, and it was thought +right that he should be a great deal in the open air, and therefore it +was also thought right that he should have a donkey. + +The plan was for this little boy to take long rides, and for his mamma +to ride on another donkey, and for his papa to walk by the side of +both. + +The two donkeys that were procured for this purpose had belonged to +poor people, and had lived hard lives lately, out upon the common, +because the poor people had no employment for them, and so could get no +money to give the donkeys better food. They were glad, therefore, when +the gentleman said that he wanted to buy a donkey for his little boy, +and that he would try these two for a time, and then take the one he +liked best. + +So the gentleman and the lady and the boy took their excursion day +after day with the two donkeys. + +Now, one of these was a thin-looking white donkey, and the other was a +stout black donkey; and one was called "Violet" and the other "Tidy." + +The little boy liked the black donkey best, because he was bigger and +handsomer, "I like Tidy," he said; "dear papa, I like Tidy." + +"Stop!" said his papa. "Let us wait a bit; let us try them a little +longer." + +The party did not go out every day; sometimes the gentleman and lady +were engaged, and the donkeys remained idly in the gentleman's field. + +And then, when they had done eating, they used sometimes to talk. + +"Is not this happiness?" said the meek white donkey. "Instead of the +dry grass of the common, to have this rich, green, juicy grass, and +this clear stream of water, and these shady trees; and then, instead of +doing hard work and being beaten, to go out only now and then with a +kind lady and gentleman, and a dear little boy, for a quiet walk:--is +it not a happy change, Tidy?" + +"Yes," said Tidy, flinging his hind-legs high in the air. + +"Oh!" said Violet, "I hope you will not do that when the young +gentleman is on your back." + +"Why not?" said Tidy. + +"Because," said Violet, "you may throw him off, and perhaps kill him; +and consider how cruel that would be, after all his kindness to us." + +"Oh," said Tidy, "people always call us donkeys stupid and lazy and +slow, and they praise the horse for being spirited and lively; and so +the horses get corn and hay and everything that is good, and we get +nothing but grass. But I intend to be lively and spirited and get +corn." + +"Take care what you do, Tidy," said Violet. "The gentleman wishes to +buy a quiet donkey, to carry his little boy gently. If we do not behave +ourselves well, he surely will send us back to the common." + +But Tidy was foolish and proud, and, the next time he went out, he +began to frisk about very gayly. + +"I fear," said the gentleman, "that the good grass has spoiled Tidy." + +[Illustration] + +Tidy heard this, but, like other young and foolish things, he would not +learn. Soon, the little dog Grip passed by, and Tidy laid his ears back +on his neck and rushed at Grip to bite him. + +"Really," said the gentleman, "Tidy is getting quite vicious. When we +get home, we will send Tidy away, and we will keep Violet." + +Tidy, as you may believe, was sorry enough then. But it was too late. +He was sent away to the bare common. But Violet still lives in the +gentleman's field, eats nice grass, goes easy journeys, and is plump +and happy. + + + + +[Illustration] + + +JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT. + + +Poets have a great deal to answer for, and they should be careful what +they say, for they've no idea what an influence they have. Now, I'm +told that about one hundred and fifty years ago, one by the name of +Thomson (Thomson without a _p_) sang: + + "Hail, gentle Spring! Ethereal mildness, hail!" + +and made no end of trouble, of course. March being the first spring +month, was the first to hear the command, and so, ever since, she has +been trying her best to hail. Failing in this, as she nearly always +does, her only recourse is to blow; and blow she does, with a will. So +don't blame her, my chicks, if she deals roughly with you this year, +blows your hair into your eyes, and nearly takes you off your feet. +It's all the fault of that poet Thomson. + +I suppose if he had sung to our great American cataract, he would have +told it to trickle, or drip, or something of that sort; and then what +would have become of all the wedding tours? Mrs. Sigourney, my birds +tell me, was a poet of the right sort. She sang, "Roll on, +Niagara!"--and it has rolled on ever since. + +Talking of fluids, here's a letter telling + + +HOW CHERRY PLAYED WITH WATER. + +A good friend sends Jack this true horse-story: + + At my summer home, the very coolest and pleasantest spot to be + found on a hot day is a grassy knoll, shaded by a great tree. Close + by is the horse-trough, which is supplied with water from the well + a few rods off. One sultry day, my little boy and I went to play + under the shade of this tree. The trough was full of clean, + sparkling water, and I lingered there even after the two horses, + "Cherry" and "Dash," had been brought out and tied to the tree; for + they, too, had found their house uncomfortable, and had begged with + their expressive eyes to be taken out-of-doors. + + Now, the water in the trough looked very tempting, and soon my boy + Willy put his little hand in, and then rolling up his sleeve, + plunged in his arm and began to splash the water, throwing it + around, wetting us all, horses included. We left the tree, and were + going into the house, when we heard a loud thumping, and splashing; + turning round, we saw Cherry, with his fore-leg in the trough, + knocking his great iron shoe against the side of it, sending the + water flying in all directions, and making the water in the trough + all black and muddy. Now, these horses had drunk from this trough + three times a day for two months, and spent many a morning under + that very tree, and it had never occurred to either of them to play + such a trick until they had seen Willy do it. + + Willy was so much pleased that he gave Cherry several lumps of + sugar to reward him for his naughtiness; but James, the coachman, + took a different view, and gave him a sound scolding, and I am + afraid whipped him; although I protested that Willy was more to + blame than poor Cherry, who had only imitated his little master. + + C.C.B. + + +THREE SPIDERS. + +Another enemy to my friends the birds! This time it's a spider. He +lives near the Amazon River, they tell me, builds a strong web across a +deep hole in a tree, and waits at the back of the hole until a bird or +a lizard is caught in the meshes. Then out he pounces, and kills his +prey by poison. And yet this dreadful creature has a body only an inch +and a half in length! + +Then there's a spider named Kara-Kurt, who lives in Turkestan; and, +though he is no bigger than a finger-nail, he can jump several feet. He +hides in the grass, and his bite is poisonous; but I'm glad to say he +doesn't kill birds. + +In the same country is a long-legged spider, who has long hair and a +body as big as a hen's egg. When he walks he seems as large as a man's +double fists. What a fellow to meet on a narrow pathway! I think most +people would be polite enough to let him have the whole of the walk. +Little Miss Muffett would have been scared out of her senses if such a +huge spider had "sat down beside her." + + +SPECIAL DISPATCH. + +The Little Schoolma'am says Thomson didn't say "_Hail_, gentle Spring!" +He said, "Come, gentle Spring!" Dear, dear! I beg his pardon. But, like +as not, some other poet said it, if Thomson didn't. Or perhaps they've +sung so much about Spring that March, taking it all to herself, thinks +she may as well blow her own trumpet, too. + +Poor March! In old times she used to be the first month of the +year,--and now she is only the third. May be, that is what troubles +her. Nobody likes to be put back in that way. + + +ABOUT PARROTS. + +Deacon Green was talking about parrots the other day. He said he once +knew a parrot that was not as polite as "Pippity," the one mentioned in +a story called "Tower-Mountain." The parrot that he knew would swear +whenever he opened his bill. It had been taught by the sailors on board +the ship in which it had come from South America. When the deacon knew +it, it belonged to the widow of a very strict minister. It had been +brought to her by her nephew, a midshipman, as a Christmas present. It +was lucky for him, just then, that the old lady was stone deaf. She was +very cross with the neighbors when they told her what wicked words the +bird used. It was a great pet, and she would not believe anything bad +about it. But at last it swore at a visitor who was a bishop, and soon +after, it was no more. + +Since the Deacon told that story I have had a paragram about another +parrot; one that lived in Edinburgh, Scotland, five years ago. This one +could laugh, weep, sing songs, make a noise like "smacking the lips," +and talk. His talking was not merely by rote; he would speak at the +right times, and say what was just right to be said then and there. He +spoke the words plainly, bowed, nodded, shook his head, winked, rolled +from side to side, or made other motions suited to the sense of what he +was saying. His voice was full and clear, and he could pitch it high or +low, and make it seem joyful or sad. Many curious tales, are told of +him, but the most remarkable thing about him is that he actually lived +and really did the things named. + +That's what the paragram says. Stop--let me think a moment. May be that +parrot himself sent it? But no; he wasn't smart enough for _that_; I +remember, now, the signature was "Chambers." + + +THE WRITING OF THE PULSE. + +Did you ever hear of a sphygmograph? Of course not. Well, in its +present improved state, it is something new and very wonderful. It +takes its name from two Greek words, _sphugmos_, the pulse, and +_grapho_, I describe. It is an implement to be used by physicians, and +forces the patient's pulse to tell its own story, or, in other words, +make a full confession of all its ups and downs and irregularities. Not +only make a confession, my beloveds, but actually _write_ it down in +plain black and white! + +So you see that a man's pulse in Maine may write a letter to a +physician in Mexico, telling him just what it's about, and precisely in +what manner its owner's heart beats--how fast or slow, and, in fact, +ever so much more. + +Now, isn't that queer? Should you like to see some specimens of +pulse-writing? Here they are: + +[Illustration: 1.] + +[Illustration: 2.] + +[Illustration: 3.] + +[Illustration: 4.] + +No. 1, according to the doctors, writes that he is the pulse of a +strong, healthy boy, and that his owner is getting on admirably. No. 2 +writes that his proprietor has trouble with his heart. No. 3 tells a +sad story of typhoid fever; and No. 4 says that his owner is dying. + +I am only a Jack-in-the-Pulpit, you know, quite dependent upon what +the birds and other bipeds tell me, so you cannot expect a full +description and explanation of the sphygmograph here. Ask your papas +and friends about it. + +There's a great deal going on in the world that you and I know very +little about; but such things as the sphygmograph give us a hint of the +achievements of science in its efforts to help God's children out of +their many ills and pains. + +The deacon says that, wonderful as the sphygmograph is, the pulse +itself is more wonderful still--a fact which no good ST. NICHOLAS child +will deny. + + +A PERUVIAN BONANZA. + +You've heard, I suppose, that they expect soon to open up a new and +wonderfully rich deposit of silver in the mines of Peru? No! Well, +then, it's high time you were warned about it. Take your Jack's advice, +my youngsters, and be very careful about things. Why, if they go on +finding big bonanzas in this reckless way, silver will be too cheap for +use as money! And then what will they do? They'll have to use something +in place of it, of course; but there's no telling what it will be. Only +think, they might choose double-almonds, or something of that kind! + +But don't allow yourselves to be cast down about it, my dears. Try to +keep up your spirits, and remember that, if the worst comes to the +worst, good children will never be so plenty that people will cease to +appreciate a good child. That's a bit of solid comfort for you, any +way. + + +LUMBER AND TIMBER. + +Which of you can state the exact distinction, if there is any, between +lumber and timber, without consulting the dictionary? + + +QUEER NAMES FOR TOWNS. + +Now, what am I to do with this? If the Little Schoolma'am sees it, she +may want to give the boys and girls of the Red School-house a new sort +of geography lesson, or perhaps a spelling task to her dictation. That +would be a little hard on them: so perhaps I'd better turn over the +letter to you just as it is, my chicks. + + Washington, D.C. + + DEAR JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT: Here are the names of some towns in the + United States. They are so funny that I send them to you, and I + hope you will like it. Do you think the Little Schoolma'am would + know where all these places are? + + Toby Guzzle, Ouray, Kickapoo, T.B., Ono, O.Z., Doe Gully Run, Omio, + Nippenose, Eau Gallie, Need More, Kandiyohi, Nobob, Cob Moo Sa, We + Wo Ka, Ty Ty, Osakis, Why Not, Happy Jack, U Bet, Choptack, + Fussville, Good Thunder's Ford, Apopka, Burnt Ordinary, Crum Elbow, + Busti, Cheektowaga, Yuba Dam, Dycusburgh, Chuckatuck, Ni Wot, Buck + Snort, What Cheer, Forks of Little Sandy, Towash, Sopchoppy, Thiry + Daems, Vicar's Switch, Omph Ghent, Peculiar. + + I have found a great many more, but these are the queerest I could + pick out.--Yours truly, + + WILLIAM B. + + +ANSWERS TO RIDDLES. + +Here are two answers, out of the three, to the riddles I gave you last +month: TOBACCO, and CARES (Caress). The archbishop's puzzle has been +too much for you, I'm afraid, my dears. I'll give you until next month. +Then we'll see. + + + + +THE LETTER-BOX. + + + Washington, D.C. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Not long ago I read in your delightful magazine + a poem, entitled "Red Riding Hood," by John G. Whittier. It + recalled to me some visits which I made to the great and good poet, + my friend of many years. + + My acquaintance with him began when I was a school-girl in Salem. + Then he lived in Amesbury, on the "shining Merrimack," as he calls + it, with his sister, a most beautiful and lovable person. + + I remember distinctly my first visit to them. The little white + house, with green blinds, on Friend street, looked very quiet and + home-like, and when I received the warm welcome of the poet and his + sister I felt that peace dwelt there. At one side of the house + there was a little vine-wreathed porch, upon which opened the + glass-door of the "garden room," the poet's favorite sitting room, + the windows of which looked out upon a pleasant, old-fashioned + garden. Against the walls were books and some pictures, among which + were "Whittier's Birthplace in Haverhill," and "The Barefoot Boy," + the latter illustrating the sweet little poem of that name. + + In the parlor hung a picture of the loved and cherished mother, who + had died some years before, a lovely, aged face, full of strength + and sweet repose. In a case were some specimens of the bird + referred to in "The Cry of a Lost Soul," a poem which so pleased + the Emperor of Brazil that he sent these birds to the poet. + + At the head of the staircase hung a pictured cluster of pansies, + painted by a lady, a friend of the poet. He called my attention to + their wonderful resemblance to human faces. In the chamber assigned + to me hung a large portrait of Whittier, painted in his youth. It + was just as I had heard him described in my childhood. There were + the clustering curls, the smooth brow, the brilliant dark eyes, the + firm, resolute mouth. + + We spent a very pleasant evening in the little garden room, in + quiet, cheerful conversation. The poet and his sister talked of + their life on the old farm, which Whittier has described in "Snow + Bound," and he showed me a quaint old book written by Thomas + Elwood, a friend of Milton. It was the only book of poetry that + Whittier had been able to get to read when a boy. + + Like all distinguished writers, Whittier has a large number of + letters from persons whom he does not know, and many strangers go + to see him. Miss Whittier said that one evening the bell rang, and + Whittier went to the door. A young man in officer's uniform stood + there. "Is this Mr. Whittier?" he asked. "Yes," was the answer. "I + only wanted to shake hands with you, sir," and grasping the poet's + hand he shook it warmly, and hastened away. + + Some years after my first visit a great sorrow befell Whittier in + the loss of his sister. After that, a niece kept house for him. She + is now married, and he spends most of his time with some cousins at + "Oak Knoll," a delightful place near Danvers. It was there that I + last had the pleasure of seeing him, one golden day in October. The + house is situated on an eminence, surrounded by fine trees, which + were then clad in their richest robes of crimson and bronze and + gold. Through the glowing leaves we caught glimpses of the deep + blue sky and the distant hills. We had a pleasant walk through the + orchard, in which lay heaps of rosy apples, and across fields and + meadows, where we gathered grasses and wild flowers. And we saw the + pigs and cows and horses, and had the company of three splendid + dogs, great favorites of the host. We had also for a companion a + dear, bright little girl, a cousin of the poet. She is the "little + lass," the "Red Riding Hood" of his poem. + + After a most enjoyable day I came away reluctantly, but happy at + leaving my friend in such a pleasant home, and among the charming + and refreshing country scenes that he loves so well.--Yours truly, + + C.L.F. + + + * * * * * + + +AGNES'S MOTHER, whose letter was printed in the "Letter-Box" for +January last, will oblige the Editors by sending them Agnes's address. + + + * * * * * + + + Uxbridge, Mass. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Last summer, we stayed a week on Prudence + Island, in Narragansett Bay, where the blackberries sprinkle + thickly the ground, and mosquitoes, in some parts of the island, + sprinkle thickly the air. Prudence, Patience, Hope, and Despair are + four islands near together; they were named by the owner after his + daughters. Prudence has some twelve or fifteen houses; but in + Revolutionary times there were, it is said, seventy families on the + island. The British set fire to everything, and the island was + devastated. One old hornbeam-tree is pointed out as the only tree + that escaped destruction. The wood of this kind of tree is so hard + that it does not burn easily. This tree is sometimes called "iron + wood," and "lever wood," as the wood is used to make levers. This + old tree has all its branches at the top, umbrella-wise, as if the + lower branches had been destroyed in some way, for it is not the + nature of the tree to grow in this fashion. I could barely reach + one little twig of pale, discolored leaves, to bring home as a + memento. Prudence is the largest of the four islands, Patience, + next in size, lies a little north of it. Hope, on the west side, is + a picturesque mass of rock; and Despair lies just north of Hope, a + solid rock, nearly or quite covered at high tide. + + ADDY L. FARNUM. + + + * * * * * + + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have a question to ask you, and if you will + answer it you will greatly oblige me. This is the question: May + leaves be of any size to make a folio or quarto?--Yours truly, K. + +A sheet of paper of any size, folded in two equal parts, makes two +leaves of folio size; folded evenly once more, four leaves of quarto +size. But book-publishers use these words arbitrarily. With them a +sheet about 19 by 24 inches is supposed to be the proper size, unless +otherwise specified. A folio leaf is, consequently, about 12 by 19 +inches; a quarto leaf, about 9 by 12 inches: an octavo leaf, about 6 by +9 inches. + + + * * * * * + + + Fordham, N. Y. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have a Polish rooster, I wonder if you have + ever seen one? If not, I will describe it. It has a very large + top-knot, very much larger than a duck's, although it is not at all + like it. + + WILLIE A. RICHARDSON. + + + * * * * * + + +Here is a letter that was sent to Santa Claus, last Christmas: + + MR. SANTA CLAUSES, + NEW YORK CITY. + + I don't know your number, but I gest you will get it. + + MY DEAR OLD SANTA CLAUSES: I know you are awful poor for Mama sed + so but I do want so Many things and when I Commence to Writting to + you I feel like crying. Cause you know my papa is dead and mama is + auful poor to but I do want a Dolly so bad not like they give of + the Christmas tree but a real Dolly that open and shut it eyes but + O I want so many other things but I wont ask for them for you will + Think I am auful selfage and want to Take evythink from others + little Girls but when you ben all around if you have one picture + Book left pleas send it to me. Dear Santa Clauses plese don't + forget me because I live in Perth Amboy. + + From + + GRACE L.T. + + + * * * * * + + + New York City. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am reading a history of the late Civil War, + and often come across names of different parts of an army. I would + like to ask you two questions: + + 1. How many men usually are there in a corps, division, brigade, + and company? + + 2. How many guns are there in a field-battery? + + If you will answer these, you will greatly oblige your friend and + reader, + + GRANT SQUIRES. + +In the United States service, the "company," in time of war, contains +98 non-commissioned officers and privates, and 3 officers; total, 101. +The regiment consists of ten companies. A brigade usually consists of +four regiments, and, if the ranks are full, should contain about 4,000 +men. It sometimes happens that five or six regiments may be comprised +in one brigade. A division contains usually three, sometimes four, +brigades, and with full ranks would number from 12,000 to 15,000 men. A +corps contains three divisions, and should number, say, 45,000 men. In +actual conflict, these figures will, of course, widely vary; regiments +being reduced by losses to, perhaps, an average of 300 men each, and +the brigades, divisions, etc., to numbers correspondingly smaller. A +field-battery has either four or six guns, in the United States service +usually the latter number, and from 150 to 250 men. The English and +French Armies are not very dissimilar from our own in the matter of +organization; but in the German army the company contains 250 men, and +the regiment 3,000, and they have but two regiments in a brigade. + + + * * * * * + + + Pittsburg, Pa. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I want to tell you What a nice time I had on + vacation. I enjoyed the holidays so much that it makes me happy to + tell everybody. Our Sunday-school gave a treat on Christmas night, + and the church was very handsomely decorated. Above the center, in + amongst the evergreen wreaths, was a shining star made by jets of + gas. The pastor, Mr. Vincent, said this was to represent the Star + of Bethlehem. Then the large Christmas-tree was loaded with gifts, + and when lighted up I pretty near thought I was going to see + Aladdin's wonderful lamp and Cinderella from fairy-land. I am sure + every one felt happy, and we sang the Christmas carols louder than + ever, so loudly that the church trembled. But may be it was the + organ made it tremble. + + LILLIE S. + + + * * * * * + + +MR. EDWIN HODDER, the author of the new serial, "Drifted into Port," +which begins in this number, is an English gentleman, and he wrote this +story, not only to tell the adventures of his heroes and his heroines, +but to give American boys and girls an idea of life at an English +school. We think that the doings of Howard, Digby, Madelaine, and the +rest, will be greatly interesting to our readers, especially as these +young people leave the school after a while, and have adventures of a +novel kind in some romantic, sea-girt islands. + + + * * * * * + + +BESSIE G.--Your letter is not such a one as we are apt to answer in the +"Letter-Box." But the best possible message we can send you, and one +that you will understand, and apply to your own case, is a beautiful +little poem which will interest all readers. We shall give it to you +entire. We take it from a treasured old newspaper slip, and regret that +we do not know the author's name. + + +THE SINGING-LESSON. + + A nightingale made a mistake; + She sang a few notes out of tune, + Her heart was ready to break, + And she hid from the moon. + She wrung her claws, poor thing, + But was far too proud to speak. + She tucked her head under her wing, + And pretended to be asleep. + + A lark, arm-in-arm with a thrush, + Came sauntering up to the place; + The nightingale felt herself blush, + Though feathers hid her face. + She knew they had heard her song, + She FELT them snicker and sneer, + She thought this life was too long, + And wished she could skip a year. + + "O nightingale!" cooed a dove, + "O nightingale, what's the use, + You bird of beauty and love, + Why behave like a goose? + Don't skulk away from our sight, + Like a common, contemptible fowl: + You bird of joy and delight, + Why behave like an owl? + + "Only think of all you have done; + Only think of all you can do; + A false note is really fun, + From such a bird as you! + Lift up your proud little crest; + Open your musical beak; + Other birds have to do their best, + You need only SPEAK." + + The nightingale shyly took + Her head from under her wing, + And, giving the dove a look, + Straightway began to sing. + There was never a bird could pass; + The night was divinely calm; + And the people stood on the grass + To hear that wonderful psalm! + + The nightingale did not care, + She only sang to the skies; + Her song ascended there, + And there she fixed her eyes. + The people that stood below + She knew but little about; + And this story's a moral, I know, + If you'll try to find it out! + + + * * * * * + + + Northern Vermont. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: "Little Joanna" is only three years and a half + old, but her father and mother take the ST. NICHOLAS for her; and + although she is so very young, she enjoys it as much as the older + ones. She liked the little poem called "Cricket on the Hearth," and + has learned to repeat some of it. In the December number she liked + the poem about the tea-kettle; she cries every time she hears + about poor "Little Tweet," and laughs at the "Magician and his + Bee," and at Polly's stopping the horses with the big green + umbrella. But she laughs the hardest at the picture of the little + girl who was so afraid of the turtle, and Edna, the kitchen-girl, + told her if the turtle should get hold of the little girl's toe, he + wouldn't let go till it thundered. After "Little Joanna" has seen + the pictures and heard the stories she can understand, her mamma + sends the ST. NICHOLAS to some little cousins in Massachusetts, who + in their turn forward it to some more cousins in far away Iowa. So + we all feel the ST. NICHOLAS merits the heartiest welcome of any + magazine.--Yours, + + "LITTLE JOANNA'S" AUNTIE. + + + * * * * * + + + Dayton, O. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I like your "Letter-Box" so much, and I always + read it first. My brother and I fight which shall read ST. NICHOLAS + first. He always speaks for it the month before. Then sister reads + it out loud to keep us quiet. I wish we had had more of the + Pattikins. I liked them real well. + + The biggest thing in Dayton is the Soldiers' Home, three miles from + town. It is the largest of all the Homes, though they have a small + one at Milwaukee, Wis., and several others. They have three + thousand disabled soldiers here, and a big hospital, a church built + of stone, barracks, stores, dining-room, library, and everything + just like a little town. Then lovely lawns, gardens, lakes, + fountains, rustic bridges, etc. Lots of people say it is much + prettier than Central Park, and I think so, too. The soldiers have + most all of them lost their legs or arms, and some both. Lots of + blind ones lost their sight in battle, from the powder. They get + tipsy, too,--I guess because they get tired and feel sick. Nobody + cares, only they get locked up and fined. Papa says he don't + believe blue ribbon will keep them sober. Everybody wears blue + ribbon here, but I don't, because I don't want to get tipsy anyhow. + + General Butler is the big boss of the Home. He comes every fall, + and walks around. They always have an arch for him. Colonel Brown + is Governor. He only has one arm, and was in Libby Prison. I wish + the boys and girls could all come and spend the day here. They have + a big deer-park, and lots of animals of all kinds, as good as a + show, and a splendid band that gives concerts, and they have dress + parades by the Brown Guards. I asked Papa how much it cost to run + it a year, and he wrote down for me, so I would not forget, + $360,740.81, last year. Hope you will find room to publish this. + Harry says you wont. Harry is my brother.--Your friend, + + CLARENCE SNYDER. + + + * * * * * + + + Trenton, N.J. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have read a great many letters in your ST. + NICHOLAS, and I always like to read them, for they are so funny. So + I thought I would write you a letter and tell you about my poor + little cat. It was given me when two weeks old, and I only had it a + month before it died--and, do you believe, I saw it die! It was + taken sick, and I cried awful. I don't know what was the matter + with it, but I think it had the colic, for it lay as quiet as a + mouse; and then it died. Oh, how sorry I was! My friend got a + little box and buried it right under my window, so I could often + think of it. So I hope you will all wish me better luck with my + cats. Be sure and give my love to Jack.--From your little friend, + + JENNIE H. + + + * * * * * + + + San Francisco, Cal. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have often read in the "Letter-Box" some other + little stories which boys and girls have written. + + I will now write about the wire-cable railroads of this city. The + first one constructed was on Clay street, between Kearney street + and Leavenworth street. The road has now been continued out to Van + Ness avenue. + + The second was constructed by the Sutter Street R.R. Company from + Sansom street to Larkin street, a distance of one mile. + + The best of all the railroads in the city is on California street, + between Kearney and Fillmore streets, a distance of two miles. It + is considered the best built wire-cable road in the United States, + and is owned by the great railroad king of California, Leland + Stanford. + + I have a little railroad track seven and a half feet long, with + fifteen feet of string, which I call a cable. The invention of the + gripping attachment is my own. + + R.H. BASFORD. + + + * * * * * + + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Will you please, for a few moments, imagine + yourself blind, deaf and dumb, so that you may have a fair idea of + the boy about whom I want to tell you? + + His name is James Caton. He is fifteen years old and lives in the + Deaf Mute Institution, on the Hudson River, near New York. He was + born deaf and dumb, and two years ago a severe sickness left him + blind. Before this he had learned to read and write, and talk with + his fingers. He uses a pencil and his fingers to ask for what he + wants, and tell you how he feels. People can talk to him by + spelling words with their fingers against the palm of his hand, and + he is so bright and quick that they cannot spell too fast for him. + He is fond of his lessons, but sometimes, in adding a long column + of figures, he makes mistakes that vex him sadly. Only think how + hard it must be to add twenty or thirty large numbers that you + cannot see! But when James finds his temper rising he puts it right + down, calls back his patience, and goes to work more strenuously + than ever. One day, his teacher, a lady, told him the Bible story + of Cain, who killed his brother and became a wanderer. Some time + after, she asked him "Who was Cain?" and he answered, "Cain was a + tramp!" She takes pains to tell him about the great events of the + day, such as the dreadful war between Russia and Turkey, and he + understands this so well that he can describe it with wonderful + effect. He stands out on the floor like an orator, and with the + most graceful, animated and expressive signs and gestures, gives + the positions of the armies, their meeting, the beating of the + drums, the waving of the flags, and the firing of the cannon. + Watching him, one can see the battle-field and all its pomp and + horror. + + James was in the country during the summer, and there he lay on the + soft grass, smelled the sweet flowers, and tried to remember their + forms and colors. He leaned against the strong tree trunks and + measured them with his arms, and the sweet, cool breezes from the + river came to refresh and strengthen him. + + James has a chum, Charles McCormick, who is almost as badly off as + himself--perhaps you will think him worse off. He was born deaf and + dumb, and when three years old he fell on the railroad track and + the cars cut off both his arms! These two boys love each other + dearly. They go into the woods together to gather flowers. Charles + goes first because he has the eyes, and when he finds the flowers + he stoops down and touches them with the stump of his arm, while + James passes his hand down his friend's shoulder and picks them! So + they do together what neither could do alone, and both are as happy + as birds!--Your friend, + + E.S. MILLER. + + + * * * * * + + + Hampstead, England. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am eleven years old, and this is the first + time I have ever written to you, so I am going to tell you about my + dear little squirrel, "Bob." He is beautifully soft, and his back + and head are gray, but his legs and tail are red; he has four long + teeth, and he bites very much, if we vex him. He eats nuts and + fruit, and he is very fond of bread and milk. When we had him + first, he used to run up the curtains and bite them all into holes. + Every Sunday he would be brought downstairs while we were at + dinner, and papa would give him nuts; but he got so cross that papa + would not let him come down again. In the summer, we brought out + his cage into the garden; but one Sunday papa opened the cage door, + and out jumped Bob. He ran to the wall (which was all covered with + ivy), and began to climb it; but papa caught him by his hind-leg + and stopped him, and he gave papa such a bite on his hand. So I + would not let him go out again. Last summer, mamma took us all down + to Wales; but it was too far to take Bob, so we left him to my + governess, who took him home with her. But one unlucky day she let + him out in the conservatory, and did not shut the window; so he got + a chance and ran away out into the road, and he did not come back. + She offered a reward, and two days afterward he was found outside + the window of an empty house. Soon after that we all came home, + and I was very glad to see Bob again, naughty as he was. There is a + very funny thing which I ought to have told about first; it is that + my Bob was brought up by a cat, and not in the woods at all. I do + not think there is anything more to tell you about him.--I am your + little reader, + + LAURA B. LEWIS. + + + * * * * * + + + HOW TO MAKE A FAIRY FOREST. + + In the first place, you must live in the country, where you can + find that early spring flower, the blood-root or _sanguinaria_. + Wherever it grows it generally is seen in great + abundance--flowering in the Middle States about the first of April. + The roots are tuberous, resembling Madeira vines, and they do not + penetrate very deeply into the earth. Therefore, when the ground is + not frozen on its surface, these tubers can be quite easily + procured. In the latter part of March, after removing a layer of + dead leaves, or a light covering of leaf mold, the plants may be + found, and, at that time will have large brown or greenish brown + buds in great abundance, all very neatly wrapped up in conical + rolls. A basket should be carefully filled with these tubers, + without shaking all the earth from them, and some of the flakiest + and greenest pieces of moss that can be found adhering to the rocks + must also be put into the basket. + + When you reach home, take a large dish or pan and dispose these + tubers upon it, first having sprinkled it ever so lightly with the + earth found in the bottom of the basket. Place the roots quite + close together, taking care to keep the large, pointed, + live-looking buds on the top, pack them closely; side by side, + until the dish is full, then lay your bits of moss daintily over + them, or between them when the beds are large, set them in the + sweet spring sunshine, in a south or east window, sprinkle them + daily with slightly tepid water, and on some fine morning you will + find a little bed of pure white flowers, that will tell you a tale + of the woods which will charm your young souls. + + Sanguinaria treated in this way will generally so far anticipate + its natural time of flowering as to present you the smiling, + perfumed faces of its blossoms while the fields may yet be covered + with snow. + + But this is not the end. After these snowy blossoms have performed + their mission of beauty, they will drop off upon the carpet of + moss, and, in a short time, will be succeeded by the leaves of the + plant, which are large and irregular, but very beautiful, and each + leaf is supported by a stem which comes directly from the ground, + giving the impression of a miniature tree. A large dish of these + little trees springing from the moss makes the Fairy Forest, and an + imaginative girl, or possibly boy, well steeped in fairy lore, may + imagine many wonderful things to happen herein. + + If you have little friends; or relatives who live in the city and + cannot go into the woods to look for the sanguinaria, you can + easily pack a pasteboard box full of the roots and moss, and send + it to them by express, or, if it is not too heavy, by mail. + + GRANDMOTHER GREY. + + + + +THE RIDDLE-BOX. + + +A COMMON ADAGE. + +[Illustration.] + + +LITERARY ENIGMA. + + 1. MY 26 39 66 55 40 48 44 11 12 is a poet of ancient Greece. + + 2. My 25 24 33 8 42 is a poet of ancient Italy. + + 3. My 69 36 14 50 18 3 41 is a poet of England. + + 4. My 22 58 65 37 9 by 59 21 53 23 47 28 is a German poem. + + 5. My 47 62 64 38 is a historian of England. + + 6. My 30 46 54 48 15 32 is a popular American writer. + + 7. My 34 7 46 57 41 50 70 is a Scottish writer. + + 8. My 6 13 67 16 1 17 68 63 5 52 is an English poet. + + 9. My 47 24 2 23 10 68 63 43 4 is an American writer of fiction. + +10. My 49 41 19 56 35 is an eminent geologist. + +11. My 16 24 27 41 is a scientist of England. + +12. My 45 61 60 67 37 13 31 is one of America's living writers. + +13. My 61 7 20 29 is another American writer. + +The whole is an extract of two lines (seventy letters) from a noted +English poem. + +F.H.R. + + +TRANSPOSITIONS. + +In each of the following sentences fill the blank or blanks in the +first part with words whose letters, when transposed, will suitably +fill the remaining blank or blanks. + +1. ---- ---- ---- words with a man in a ----. 2. Did you see the +tiger ---- on me with his ---- eyes? 3. McDonald said: "---- ---- +ragged ---- remind you of Scotland." 4. The knots may be ---- +more easily than ----. 5. ---- ---- told me an ---- which amused +all in his tent. 6. I hung the ---- on the ---- round of the rack. +7. The witness is of small value if he can ---- ---- information +that is more ---- than this. 8. The ---- ---- as they look over +the precipices in their steep ----. + + +EASY REVERSALS. + +1. Reverse a color, and give a poet. 2. Reverse a musical pipe, and +give an animal. 3. Reverse an entrance, and give a measure of surface. +4. Reverse an inclosure, and give a vehicle. 5. Reverse part of a ship, +and give an edible plant. 6. Reverse a noose, and give a small pond. +7. Reverse a kind of rail, and give a place of public sale. 8. Reverse +sentence passed, and give temper of mind. 9. Reverse a portion, and +give an igneous rock. 10. Reverse an apartment, and give an upland. + +ISOLA. + + +DOUBLE DIAMOND. + +The first and ninth words, together, make vegetables that grow in the +second upon the third in the fourth; the eighth, a girl, after +performing the fifth upon the first and ninth in the fourth, pulling +the second the while, did the sixth to get them into the house; here +the eighth soon had them upon the seventh, cooking for dinner. + +Perpendicular, heavy; horizontal, picking. + +G.L.C. + + +CURTAILMENTS AND BEHEADINGS. + + To the name of a gifted man, + Affix a letter, if you can, + And find his avocation. + + Curtail a piece of work he did, + You'll find a word that now is hid,-- + A madman's occupation. + + Behead another, you will find + Measures of a certain kind + Used by the English nation. + +G.L.C. + + +EASY NUMERICAL ENIGMA. + +The whole, composed of fourteen letters, names the hero of a well-known +book. The 1 7 3 4 8 is a singing-bird of America. The 9 10 2 6 12 is a +religious emblem. The 13 11 5 9 14 is an Oriental animal. + +ISOLA. + + +PICTORIAL ANAGRAM PROVERB-PUZZLE. + +[Illustration] + +The answer is a proverb of five words. Each numeral beneath the +pictures represents a letter in the word of the proverb indicated by +that numeral,--4 showing that the letter it designates belongs to the +fourth word of the proverb, 3 to the third word, and so on. + +Find a word that describes each picture and contains as many letters as +there are numerals beneath the picture itself. This is the first +process. + +Then put down, some distance apart, the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, to +correspond with the words of the proverb. Group beneath figure 4 all +the letters designated by the numeral 4 in the numbering beneath the +pictures (since, as already stated, all the letters there designated by +the numeral 4 belong to the fourth word of the proverb). You will thus +have in a group all the letters that the fourth word contains, and you +then will have only to transpose those letters in order to form the +word itself. Follow the same process of grouping and transposition in +forming each of the remaining words of the proverb. Of course, the +transposition need not be begun until all the letters are set apart in +their proper groups. + +J.B. + + +AN OLD MAXIM. + +BEHEADED AND CURTAILED. + +--IGH-- --are-- --pea--. --rea-- --ne-- --r-- --um--. + +C.D. + + +EASY UNIONS. + +1. Join ease and an ornament, by a vowel, and make recovering--thus: +rest-o-ring (restoring). 2. Join pleasant to the taste to a boy's +nickname, by a vowel, and make honeyed. 3. Join to bury to a bite of an +insect, by a vowel, and make what pleasant stories are. + +C.D. + + +RHOMBOID PUZZLE. + +ACROSS: 1. Portion of an ode. 2. A musical drama. 3. Soon. 4. Marked. +5. Flowers. + +DOWN: 1. In a cave. 2. A river. 3. To unclose. 4. The second dignitary +of a diocese. 5. A mistake. 6. High. 7. An affirmative. 8. A prefix. +9. In a shop. + +CYRIL DEANE. + + +DOUBLE CROSS-WORD ACROSTIC. + +THE WHOLE. + + Brothers are we, alike in form and mien, + Sometimes apart, but oft together seen. + One labors on, and toils beneath his load; + The other idly follows on the road. + One parts the sleeping infant's rosy lips; + The other veils the sun in dark eclipse. + One rises on the breath of morn, with scent + Of leaf and flower in fragrant incense blent; + The other's wavering aspiration dies + And falls where still the murky shadow lies. + At hospitable boards my first attends, + And greets well pleased the social group of friends; + But if my second his grim face shall show, + How dire the maledictions sent below! + Yet there are those who deem his presence blest, + A fitting joy to crown the social feast, + And make for him a quiet, calm retreat, + Where friends with friends in loving concourse meet. + +CROSS-WORDS. + + 1. Two brothers ever keeping side by side, + The closer they are pressed the more do they divide + + 2. Brothers again unite their ponderous strength, + Toiling all day throughout its tedious length. + + 3. I never met my sister; while she flies + I can but follow, calling out replies. + + 4. A casket fair, whose closely covered lid + A mother's hope, a nation's promise, hid. + + 5. A plant once used to drive sharp pain away, + Not valued greatly in this later day, + Except by those who fly when they are ill + To test the virtues of a patent pill. + +S.A.B. + + +EASY DIAMOND PUZZLE. + +In fruit, but not in flower; a period of time, a fresh-water fish; a +sea-bird; in strength, but not in power. + +ISOLA. + + +MALTESE-CROSS PUZZLE. + + * * * * * + * * * * * + * * * * * + * * * E * * * + * * * * * + * * * * * + * * * * * + +The middle letter, E, is given in the diagram. The centrals form two +words, and are read from top to bottom and from side to side, including +the middle letter. The words that form the limbs of the cross are read +from the outside toward the center, those forming the top and bottom +limbs being read horizontally, and those that form the arms, downward. + +CENTRAL PERPENDICULAR: Perfume. +CENTRAL HORIZONTAL: Strained. +TOP LIMB: 1. New. 2. A boy's name. 3. A consonant. +BOTTOM LIMB: 1. Plain. 2. A deed. 3. A consonant. +LEFT ARM: 1. Existence. 2. A tavern. 3. A consonant. +RIGHT ARM: 1. Unready. 2. A tree. 3. A consonant. + +A.C. CRETT. + + +POETICAL REBUS. + +The answer is a couplet in Sir Walter Scott's poem "Marmion." + +[Illustration] + + +NUMERICAL ENIGMA. + +The whole, eleven letters, is a songster. The 1 2 3 4 is adjacent. +The 5 6 7 is a metal. The 8 9 10 11 is a current of air. + +ISOLA. + + +DOUBLE ACROSTIC. + +1. What wood is sometimes called. 2. A character in "Hamlet." +3. Customary. 4. An underling of Satan's. 5. A common shrub. 6. A boy's +name meaning "manly." 7. An animal. 8. A place of security. 9. A body +of water. 10. A large bird of the vulture family. 11. The home of the +gods in Greek mythology. 12. A preposition. 13. A spelled number. + +The initials name a female author, and the finals a male author. + +S.M.P. + + +WORD SYNCOPATIONS. + +1. Take a bird from a saint's name, and leave something ladies wear. +2. Take the present from understanding, and leave a chief. 3. Take part +of a fish from explained, and leave a will. 4. Take a forfeit from +cultivated, and leave a color. 5. Take an insect from needed, and leave +joined. 6. Take a vessel from to supply, and leave to angle. + +CYRIL DEANE. + + +CHARADE. + + My first may be made of my last, + And carries mechanical force. + My last both lives and dyes for man, + May often be seen as a horse, + And serves him by day and by night + In ways very widely apart. + My whole is the name, well renowned, + Of a chief in the potter's art. + +L.W.H. + + +ABBREVIATIONS. + +1. Syncopate and curtail a greenish mineral, and leave a Turkish +officer. 2. Syncopate and curtail a royal ornament, and leave a +domestic animal. 3. Syncopate and curtail a fabled spirit, and leave a +coniferous tree. 4. Syncopate and curtail a small fruit, and leave an +opening. 5. Syncopate and curtail a motive power, and leave a body of +water. 6. Syncopate and curtail colorless, and leave a humorous man. +7. Syncopate and curtail stops, and leave a head-covering. 8. Syncopate +and curtail a sweet substance, and leave an agricultural implement. +9. Syncopate and curtail a carpenter's tool, and leave an insect. +10. Syncopate and curtail coins, and leave an inclosure. + +I. + + + + +ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN FEBRUARY NUMBER. + + +EASY DOUBLE CROSS-WORD ACROSTIC.--Initials, Birch; finals, Maple; +horizontals, BeaM, IdA, RomP, CorraL, HousE. + +SQUARE-WORD.--Ruler, Unite, Lithe, Ethel, Reels. + +NUMERICAL PUZZLE.--Vivid. + +HIDDEN ACROSTIC.--Minnehaha. + +EASY DECAPITATIONS.--1. Foil, oil. 2. Spear, pear. 3. Feel, eel. +4. Sledge, ledge. 5. Stag, tag. 6. Mace, ace. 7. Goats, oats. +8. Draw, raw. 9. Galley, alley. + +TRANSPOSITIONS.--1. Subtle, bustle. 2. Shah, hash. 3. Shearer, hearers. +4. Sharper, harpers. 5. Resorted, restored. 6. Negus, genus. + +CHARADE.--Manhattan (Man-hat-tan). + +GEOGRAPHICAL PUZZLE.--Queen Charlotte (1) went to Cork (2) to attend a +ball. She there met Three Sisters (3), named as follows; Alexandria +(4), Augusta (5), and Adelaide (6), in whom she was much interested. +Her dress was Cashmere (7), and though elegantly trimmed with Brussels +(8), it was, unfortunately, Toulon and Toulouse [too long and too +loose] (9). As she felt chilly [Chili] (10), she wore around her +shoulders a Paisley (11) shawl. Her jewelry was exclusively a Diamond +(12). Her shoes were of Morocco (13), and her handkerchief was perfumed +with Cologne (14). Being a Superior (15) dancer, she had distinguished +partners, whose names were Washington (16), Columbus (17), Madison +(18), Montgomery (19), Jackson (20), and Raleigh (21). Having boldly +said that she was hungry [Hungary] (22), she was escorted by La Fayette +(23) to a Table (24), where she freely partook of Salmon (25), some +Sandwich[es] (26), Orange (27), Champagne (28), and some Madeira (29). +After passing a Pleasant (30) evening, she bade Farewell (31) to her +hostess and was escorted home by Prince Edward (32). + +NUMERICAL ENIGMA.--Chinamen (chin-amen). + +ILLUSTRATED PUZZLE.--1. Hare (hair). 2. Beholder (bee-holder, the +hive). 3. Ear. 4. Clause (claws). 5. Wings. 6. Comb (honeycomb on the +ground). 7. Branch. 8. Leaves. 9 and 10. B I (bee-eye). 11. Tongue. +12. Pause (paws). + +CURTAILMENTS.--1. Teasel, tease, teas. 2. Planet, plane, plan. +3. Marsh, Mars, mar, ma. 4. Panel, pane, pan, pa. + +COMPLETE DIAGONAL.--Diagonals from left to right downward: +1. L. 2. Ed. 3. Sir. 4. Aver, 5. Eager. 6. Dale. 7. Law. 8. Po. +9. L. Horizontals: E A S E L + D A V I D + L A G E R + P A L E R + L O W E R + +EASY NUMERICAL ENIGMA.--Helen's Babies. + +SQUARE-WORD.--Czar, Zero, Arms, Rose. + +ANAGRAM DOUBLE-DIAMOND AND CONCEALED DOUBLE-SQUARE. + +Double Diamond: S + A T E + S P A R E + E R A + E + +Concealed Square: A T E + P A R + E R A + +PICTORIAL PROVERB PUZZLE.--"Let Hercules himself do what he may, The +cat will mew, the dog will have his day." + + + + +ANSWERS TO PUZZLES in the January number were received, before January +18, from Jas. J. Ormsbee, Fred M. Pease, Morris H. Turk, Susie +Hermance, M.W. Collet, Eddie Vultee, A.B.C., "M'sieur B.M.", Alice and +Mamie Taylor, Constance Grandpierre and Sadie Duffield, Winnie +Brookline, Charlie and Carrie Moyses, O.A.D., Baron P. Smith, F.U., +Mary B. Smith, Milly E. Adams and Perry Adams, W.H.C, Anita O. Ball, +"Bessie and her Cousin," Georgie Law, K.L. McD., Mary Wharton +Wadsworth, Nessie E. Stevens, Inez Okey, Nellie Baker, E. Farnham Todd, +Daisy Breaux, Lillie B. Dear, Mary C. Warren, Georgietta N. Congdon, +"King Wompster," Nellie Emerson; 255 Indiana street, Chicago; Bessie +Cary, Henry D. Todd, Jr., Finda Lippen, Jennie Beach, Mary Todd, Anna +E. Mathewson, Nellie Kellogg, Lucy E. Johnson, Charles Behrens, Clara +H. Hollis, Nellie Dennis, E.S.P., Bessie and Houghton Gilman, May C. +Woodruff, George Herbert White, H. Howell, Lizzie B. Clark; Bessie T.B. +Benedict, of Ventnor, Isle of Wight, England; B.M., and Jennie Wilson. + +"Oriole" answered all the puzzles in the January number. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 5, March, +1878, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS, VOL. 5, NO. 5, *** + +***** This file should be named 15374-8.txt or 15374-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/3/7/15374/ + +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. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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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. 5, March, 1878 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: March 15, 2005 [EBook #15374] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS, VOL. 5, NO. 5, *** + + + + +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 class="border" src="images/image01.jpg" width="401" height="500" +alt="A HORSE AT SEA." title="A HORSE AT SEA." /> +<p class="caption">A HORSE AT SEA.<br />[See <a href="#horseatsea">page 367</a>.]</p> +</div> + +<br /> + +<h1>ST. NICHOLAS.</h1> + +<div class="vlouter"> +<div class="volumeline"> +<div class="volumeleft">VOL. V.</div> +<div class="volumeright">No. 5.</div> +<div class="center">MARCH, 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">A HORSE AT SEA.</a> (<i>Illustration</i>)</li> + <li><a href="#hansa">HANSA, THE LITTLE LAPP MAIDEN.</a> By Katharine Lee. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustrations:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image02">OLAF GIVES KRIKEL A RIDE IN HIS SLED.</a></li> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image03">"HANSA'S GUARDIAN."</a></li> + <li><a href="#image04">ON THE SPRING-BOARD.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#junoswonderfultroubles">JUNO'S WONDERFUL TROUBLES.</a> By E. Muller. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustrations:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image06">"A QUIET OLD DOG, AND TWO LITTLE BITS OF LION-CUBS."</a></li> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image07">JUNO IS WARNED BY THE PELICAN.</a></li> + <li><a href="#image08">JUNO TAKES CARE OF THE YOUNG HIPPOPOTAMUS.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#wishes">WISHES</a> By Mary N. Prescott.</li> + <li><a href="#matches">HOW MATCHES ARE MADE.</a> By F.H.C. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustrations:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image09-1">CANDLE AND MATCH.</a></li> + <li><a href="#image10">FINIS.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#auntann">WHERE AUNT ANN HID THE SUGAR</a> By Mary L. Bolles Branch.</li> + <li><a href="#lilacs">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">MISS CELIA AND THORNY.</a></li> + <li><a href="#image13">ALFRED TENNYSON BARLOW.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#image14">A TALK OVER THE HARD TIMES.</a> <i>(Illustration)</i></li> + <li><a href="#commonsense">COMMON SENSE IN THE HOUSEHOLD.</a> By Margaret Vandegrift. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustrations:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image15">"NOW HERE IS A FAMILY, SENSIBLE, WISE."</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#atlanticcable">SECRETS OF THE ATLANTIC CABLE.</a> By William H. Rideing. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustrations:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image18">SECTIONS OF CABLES</a></li> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image20">FISH AND BROKEN CABLE.</a></li> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image17">SECTION OF THE GRAPPLING LINE.</a></li> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image16">THE GRAPNEL.</a></li> + <li><a href="#image19">THE "GREAT EASTERN" ENTERING THE BAY OF HEART'S CONTENT.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#canary">THE CANARY THAT TALKED TOO MUCH</a> By Margaret Eytinge.</li> + <li><a href="#nightwithbear">A NIGHT WITH A BEAR.</a> By Jane G. Austin. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustration:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image21">THE RESCUE.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#westminster">WESTMINSTER ABBEY.</a> By Charles W. Squires. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustrations:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image22">INTERIOR OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY.</a></li> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image23">SHRINE OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR.</a></li> + <li><a href="#image24">TOMB OF HANDEL.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#crip">CRIP'S GARRET-DAY</a> By Sarah J. Prichard.</li> + <li><a href="#whathappened">WHAT HAPPENED.</a> By Howell Foster.</li> + <li><a href="#drifted">DRIFTED INTO PORT.</a> By Edwin Hodder. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustration:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image26">"HOWARD PRETENDED TO CLASP THE IMAGE TO HIS BREAST."</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#newscarrier">THE NEWS-CARRIER.</a> By Catharine S. Boyd. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustration:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image27">"OH NO! IT IS NOT I!"</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#livingsilver">LIVING SILVER.</a> By Mary H. Seymour.</li> + <li><a href="#woods">THE WOODS IN WINTER</a> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustration:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image28">THE WOODS IN WINTER.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#crumbs">CRUMBS FROM OLDER READING.</a> II. IRVING. By Julia E. Sargent. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustration:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image29">READING.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#boyinbox">THE BOY IN THE BOX.</a> By Helen C. Barnard. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustration:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image30">"THE BOY WAS ON HIS KNEES."</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#cocksun">THE COCK AND THE SUN.</a> By J.P.B. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustration:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image31">THE COCK AND THE SUN.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#chickweedman">THE LONDON CHICK-WEED MAN.</a> By Alexander Wainwright. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustration:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image32">"GRUN-SEL, GRUN-SEL, GRUN-SEL!"</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#johnny">JOHNNY.</a> By Sargent Flint. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustration:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image33">JOHNNY STARTS TO RUN AWAY.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#monument">A MONUMENT WITH A STORY.</a> By Fannie Roper Feudge.</li> + <li><a href="#twoways">TWO WAYS.</a> By Mary C. Bartlett.</li> + <li><a href="#horseatsea">A HORSE AT SEA.</a> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustration:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image34">PORTRAIT OF CHARLEY.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#tidyviolet">TIDY AND VIOLET; OR, THE TWO DONKEYS.</a> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustration:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image35">TIDY AND VIOLET.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#jackinthepulpit">JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT.</a> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustration:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image37">PULSE-WRITING.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#letterbox">THE LETTER-BOX.</a></li> + <li><a href="#riddlebox">THE RIDDLE-BOX.</a></li> + <li><a href="#answers">ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN FEBRUARY NUMBER.</a></li> +</ul> + +</div> + +<div id="all"> +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="hansa" id="hansa">HANSA, THE LITTLE LAPP MAIDEN.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY KATHARINE LEE.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>Once upon a time, in a very small village on the borders of one of the +great pine forests of Norway, there lived a wood-cutter, named Peder +Olsen. He had built himself a little log-house, in which he dwelt with +his twin boys, Olaf and Erik, and their little sister Olga.</p> + +<p>Merry, happy children were these three, full of life and health, and +always ready for a frolic. Even during the long, cold, dark winter +months, they were joyous and contented. It was never too cold for these +hardy little Norse folk, and the ice and snow which for so many months +covered the land, they looked on as sent for their especial enjoyment.</p> + +<p>The wood-cutter had made a sledge for the boys, just a rough box on +broad, wooden runners, to be sure, but it glided lightly and swiftly +over the hard, frozen surface of snow, and the daintiest silver-tipped +sledge could not have given them more pleasure.</p> + +<p>They shared it, generously, with each other, as brothers should, and +gave Olga many a good swift ride; but it was cold work for the little +maid, sitting still, and, after a while, she chose rather to watch the +boys from the little window, as they took turns in playing "reindeer."</p> + +<p>One day they both wanted to be "reindeer" at once, and begged Olga to +come and drive, but the chimney corner was bright and warm, and she +would not go.</p> + +<p>"Of course," said Olaf; "what else could one expect? She is only a +girl! I would far rather take Krikel; he is always ready. Hi! Krikel! +come take a ride!" and he whistled to the clever little black Spitz dog +that Peder Olsen had brought from Tromsöe for the children.</p> + +<p>Krikel really seemed to know what was said to him, and scampered to the +door, pushed it open with his paws and nose, then, jumping into the +little sledge, sat up straight and gave a quick little bark, as if to +say: "Come on, then: don't you see I am ready!"</p> + +<a name="image02" id="image02"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image02.jpg" width="400" height="275" +alt="OLAF GIVES KRIKEL A RIDE IN HIS SLED." +title="OLAF GIVES KRIKEL A RIDE IN HIS SLED." /> +<p class="caption">OLAF GIVES KRIKEL A RIDE IN HIS SLED.</p> +</div> + +<p>"Come, Erik; Krikel is calling us," said Olaf. But Olga was crying +because she had vexed her brother, and Erik stayed to comfort her. So +Olaf went alone, and he and Krikel had such a good time that they +forgot all about everything, till it grew so very dark that only the +tracks on the pure, white snow, and a little twinkle of light from the +hut window helped them to find their way home again.</p> + +<p>In the wood-cutter's home lived some one else whom the children loved +dearly. This was old grandmother Ingeborg, who was almost as good as +the dear mother who had gone to take their baby sister up to heaven, +and had never yet come back to them.</p> + +<p>All day long, while the merry children played about the door, or +watched their father swing the bright swift ax that fairly made the +chips dance, Dame Ingeborg spun and knit and worked in the little hut, +that was as clean and bright and cheery as a hut with only one door and +a tiny window could be. But then it had such a grand, wide +chimney-place, where even in summer great logs and branches of fir and +pine blazed brightly, lighting up all the corners of the little room +that the sunbeams could not reach.</p> + +<p>Here, when tired with play, the children would gather, and throwing +themselves down on the soft wolf-skins that lay on the floor before the +fire, beg dear grandmother Ingeborg for a story. And such stories as +she told them!</p> + +<p>So the long winter went peacefully and happily by, and at last all +hearts were gladdened at sight of the glorious sun, as he slowly and +grandly rose above the snow-topped mountains, bringing to them sunshine +and flowers, and the golden summer days.</p> + +<p>One bright day in July, father Peder went to the fair in Lyngen.</p> + +<p>"Be good, my children," said he, as he kissed them good-bye, "and I +will bring you something nice from the fair."</p> + +<p>But they were nearly always good, so he really need not have said that.</p> + +<p>Now, it was a very wonderful thing indeed for the wood-cutter to go +from home in summer, and grandmother Ingeborg was quite disturbed.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said she, "something bad will happen, I know."</p> + +<p>But the children comforted her, and ran about so merrily, bringing +fresh, fragrant birch-twigs for their beds, shaking out their blankets +of reindeer-skins, and helping her so kindly, that the good dame quite +forgot to be cross, and before she knew it, was telling them her very, +very best story, that she always kept for Sundays.</p> + +<p>So the hours went by, and the children almost wearied themselves +wondering what father Peder would bring from the fair.</p> + +<p>"I should like a little reindeer for my sledge," said Olaf.</p> + +<p>"I should like a fur coat and fur boots," said Erik; "I was cold last +winter."</p> + +<p>You see, these children did not really know anything about toys, so +could not wish for them.</p> + +<p>"<i>I</i> should like a little sister," said Olga, wistfully. "There are two +of you boys for everything, and that is so nice; but there is only one +of me, ever, and that is <i>so</i> lonely."</p> + +<p>And the little maid sighed; for besides these three, there were no +children in the village. The brawny wood-cutters who lived in groups in +the huts around, and who came home at night-fall to cook their own +suppers and sleep on rude pallets before the fires, were the only +other persons whom the little maiden knew; and sometimes the two boys +(as boys will do to their sisters) teased and laughed at her, because +she was timid, and because her little legs were too short to climb up +on the great pile of logs where they loved to play. So it was no wonder +that she longed for a playmate like herself.</p> + +<p>"Hi!" cried the boys, both together; "one might be sure you would wish +for something silly! What should we do with <i>two</i> girls, indeed?"</p> + +<p>"But father said he would bring 'something nice,' and <i>I</i> think girls +are the very nicest things in the world," replied Olga, sturdily.</p> + +<p>There would certainly have been more serious words, but just then good +grandmother Ingeborg called "supper," and away scampered the hungry +little party to their evening meal of brown bread and cream, to which +was added, as a treat that night, a bit of goat's-milk cheese.</p> + +<p>During midsummer in Norway the sun does not set for nearly ten weeks, +and only when little heads nod, and bright eyes shut and refuse to +open, do children know that it is "sleep-time." So on this day, though +the little hearts longed to wait for father's coming, six heavy lids +said "no," and soon the tired children were sleeping soundly on their +sweet, fresh beds of birch-twigs.</p> + +<p>A few miles beyond Lyngen, on the north, a little colony of wandering +Lapps had pitched their tents, some years before our story begins, and +finding there a pleasant resting-place, had made it their home, +bringing with them their herds of reindeer to feed on the abundant +lichens with which the stony fields and hill-side trees were covered. +Somewhat apart from the little cluster of tents stood one, quite +pretentious, where dwelt Haakon, the wealthiest Lapp of all the tribe. +He counted his reindeer by hundreds, and in his tent, half buried in +the ground for safe keeping, were two great chests filled with furs, +gay, bright-colored jackets and skirts, beautiful articles of carved +bone and wood, and, more valuable than all, a little iron-bound box +full of silver marks. For Haakon had married Gunilda, a rich maiden of +one of the richest Lapp families, and she had brought these to his +tent.</p> + +<p>Here, for a while, Gunilda lived a peaceful, happy life. Haakon was +kind, and, when baby Niels came to share her love, the days were full +of joy and content. She made him a little cradle of green baize bound +with bright scarlet, filled with moss as soft and fine as velvet, and +covered with a dainty quilt of hare's-skin. This was hung by a cord to +one of the tent-poles, and here the baby rocked for hours, while his +mother sang to him quaint, weird songs, that yet were not sad because +of the joyous baby laugh that mingled with the notes.</p> + +<p>But, alas! after a time Haakon fell into bad habits and grew cruel and +hard to Gunilda. Though she spoke no word, her meek eyes reproached him +when he let the strong drink, or "finkel," steal away his senses; and +because he could not bear this look, he gave his wife many an unkind +word and blow, so that at last her heart was broken. Even baby Hansa, +who had come to take Niels' place in the little cradle, could not +comfort her; and, one day, when Haakon was sleeping, stupidly, by the +tent-fire, Gunilda kissed her children,—then she, too, slept, but +never to waken.</p> + +<p>When Haakon came to his senses, he was sad for a while; but he loved +his finkel more than either children or wealth, and many a long day he +would leave them and go to Lyngen, to drink with his companions there.</p> + +<p>Ah! those were lonely days for Niels and little Hansa. The Lapp women +were kind, taking good care of the little ones in Haakon's absence, and +would have coaxed them away to their tents to play with the other +children; but Niels remembered his gentle-voiced mother, and would not +go with those women who spoke so harshly, though their words were kind. +Hansa and he were happy alone together. Each season brought its own +joys to their simple, childish hearts; but they loved best the soft, +balmy summer-time, when the harvests ripened quickly in the warm +sunshine, and they could wander away from their tent to the fields +where the reapers were at work, who had always a kindly word for the +gentle, quiet Lapp children. Here Hansa would sit for hours, weaving +garlands of the sweet yellow violets, pink heath, anemones, and dainty +harebells, that grew in such profusion along the borders of the fields +and among the grain, that the reapers, in cutting the wheat, laid the +flowers low before them as well. Niels liked to bind the sheaves, and +did his work so deftly that he was always welcome. He it was, too, who +made such a wonderful "scarecrow" that not a bird dared venture near. +But little Hansa laughed and said: "Silly birds! the old hat cannot +harm you. See! I will bring my flowers close beside it." Then the +reapers, laughing, called the ugly scarecrow "Hansa's guardian."</p> + +<a name="image03" id="image03"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image03.jpg" width="399" height="244" +alt="HANSA'S GUARDIAN." title="HANSA'S GUARDIAN." /> +<p class="caption">"HANSA'S GUARDIAN."</p> +</div> + +<p>So the years went by, and the children lived their quiet life, happy +with each other. It seemed as though the tender mother-love that had +been theirs in their babyhood was around them still, guarding and +shielding them from harm. Niels was a wonderful boy, the neighbors +said, and little Hansa, by the time she was twelve years old, could +spin and weave, and embroider on tanned reindeer-skins (which are used +for boots and harness) better than many a Lapp woman. Besides, she was +so clever and good that every one loved her. Every one, alas! but +Haakon, her father. He was not openly cruel; with Gunilda's death the +blows had ceased, but Hansa seemed to look at him with her mother's +gentle, reproachful eyes, and so he dreaded and disliked her.</p> + +<p>One summer's day he said, suddenly: "Hansa, to-day the great fair in +Lyngen is held; dress yourself in your best clothes, and I will take +you there."</p> + +<p>"Oh, how kind, dear father!" said Hansa, whose tender little heart +warmed at even the semblance of a kind word. "That will be joyful! But, +may Niels go also? I <i>cannot</i> go without him," she said, entreatingly, +as she saw her father's brow darken.</p> + +<p>But Haakon said, gruffly: "No, Niels may <i>not</i> go; he must stay at home +to guard the tent."</p> + +<p>"Never mind, Hansa," whispered Niels; "I shall not be lonely, and you +will have so many things to tell me and to show me when you come home, +for father will surely buy us something at the fair; and perhaps," he +added, bravely, seeing that Hansa still lingered at his side, "perhaps +father will love you if you go gladly with him."</p> + +<p>"Oh, Niels!" said Hansa, "do you really think so? Quick! help me, then, +that I may not keep him waiting."</p> + +<p>Never was toilet more speedily made, and soon Hansa stepped shyly up to +Haakon, saying gently, "I am ready, father."</p> + +<p>She was very pretty as she stood before him, so gayly dressed, and with +a real May-day face, all smiles and tears—tears for Niels, to whom for +the first time she must say "good-bye," smiles that perhaps might coax +her father to love her. But Haakon looked not at her, and only saying +"Come, then," walked quickly away.</p> + +<p>"Good-bye, my Hansa," said Niels, for the last time. "<i>I</i> love you. +Come back ready to tell me of all the beautiful things at the fair."</p> + +<p>Then he went into the tent, and Hansa ran on beside her father, who +spoke not a word as they walked mile after mile till four were passed, +and Lyngen, with its tall church spires, its long rows of houses, and +many gayly decorated shops, was before them. Hansa, to whom everything +was new and wonderful, gazed curiously about her, and many a question +trembled on her tongue but found no voice, as Haakon strode moodily on, +till they reached the market-place, and there beside one of the many +drinking-booths sat himself down, while Hansa stood timidly behind him. +Soon he called for a mug of finkel, and drank it greedily; then another +and another followed, till Hansa grew frightened and said, "Oh, dear +father, do not drink any more!"</p> + +<p>Then Haakon beat her till she cried bitterly.</p> + +<p>"Oh, cry on!" said the cruel father, who we must hope hardly knew what +he was saying, "for never will I take you back to my tent and to Niels. +I brought you here to-day that some one else may have you. You shall be +my child no longer. I will give you for a pipe, that I may smoke and +drink my finkel in peace. Who'll buy?"</p> + +<p>Just then, good Peder Olsen came by, and his kind heart ached for the +little maid.</p> + +<p>"See!" said he to the angry Lapp. "Give me the child, and I will give +you a pipe and these thirty marks as well. They are my year's earnings, +but I give them gladly."</p> + +<p>"Strike hands! She is yours!" said Haakon, who, without one look at his +weeping child, turned away; while the wood cutter led Hansa, all +trembling and frightened, toward his home.</p> + +<p>At first, she longed to tell her kind protector of Niels, and beg him +to take her back. But she was a wise little maid, and curious withal. +So she said to herself: "Who knows? It may be a beautiful home, and the +kind people may send me back for Niels. I will go on now, for I have +never been but one road in all my life, and surely I can find it +again."</p> + +<p>So she walked quietly on beside father Peder, till at last his little +cottage appeared in sight.</p> + +<p>"This is your new home, dear child," said he, and they stepped quickly +up to the door, opened it softly, and entered the little room.</p> + +<p>Grandmother Ingeborg was nodding in her big chair in the chimney +corner, but the soft footsteps aroused her, and, looking up, she said:</p> + +<p>"Oh! <i>tak fur sidst</i><span class="fnref"><a name="fnrefA" +id="fnrefA" href="#fnA">[A]</a></span> good Peder. Hi, though! What +is that you bring with you?"</p> + +<div class="fn"> +<span class="fnnum"><a name="fnA" id="fnA" href="#fnrefA">[A]</a></span> +Thanks for seeing you again. +</div> + +<p>Before she could be answered, the children, whose first nap was nearly +over, awoke and saw their father with the little girl clinging to his +hand, and looking shyly at them from his sheltering arm.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" cried Olga, "a little sister! <i>My</i> wish has come true!"—and she +ran to the new-comer and gave her sweet kisses of welcome; at which +father Peder said, "That is my own good Olga."</p> + +<p>But grandmother Ingeborg, who had put on her spectacles, said:</p> + +<p>"Ah! I see now! A good-for-nothing Lapp child! She shall not stay here, +surely!"</p> + +<p>"Listen," said Peder Olsen, "and I will tell you why I brought home the +little Hansa, for that is her name,"—and he told the story of the +father's drinking so much finkel, and offering to give his little girl +for a pipe, and how he himself had purchased her. "But see!" added the +worthy Peder, turning toward Hansa, "you are not bound but for as long +as the heart says stay."</p> + +<p>Hansa looked about, and, meeting Olga's sweet, entreating glance, said, +"I will stay ever."</p> + +<p>Then Olga cried, joyously, "Now, indeed, have I a sister!" and took her +to her own little bed, where soon they both were sleeping, side by +side.</p> + +<p>As for Olaf and Erik, they were still silent, though now from anger, +and that was very bad.</p> + +<p>Grandmother Ingeborg, I think, was angry, too, for said she to herself:</p> + +<p>"Now I shall have to spin more cloth, and sew and knit, that when her +own clothes wear out we may clothe this miserable Lapp child" (for the +good dame was a true Norwegian, and despised the Lapps); "and our +little ones must divide their brown bread and milk with her, for we are +too poor to buy more, and it is very bad altogether. Ah! I was sure +something bad would happen,"—and grandmother fairly grumbled herself +into bed.</p> + +<p>In the morning all were awake early, you may be sure, and gazing +curiously at the new-comer, whom they had been almost too sleepy to see +perfectly before; and this is how she appeared to their wondering eyes.</p> + +<p>She seemed about twelve years old, but no taller than Olga, who was +just ten. She had beautiful soft, brown eyes; and fair, flaxen hair, +which hung in rich, wavy locks far down her back. She wore a short +skirt of dark blue cloth, with yellow stripes around it; a blue apron, +embroidered with bright-colored threads; a little scarlet jacket; a +jaunty cap, also of scarlet cloth, with a silver tassel; and neat, +short boots of tanned reindeer-skin, embroidered with scarlet and +white.</p> + +<p>Soon grandmother Ingeborg, who had been out milking the cow, came in, +and almost dropped her great basin of milk, in her anger.</p> + +<p>"What!" cried she to Hansa, "all your Sunday clothes on? That will +never do!"</p> + +<p>"But I have no others," said the little maid.</p> + +<p>"Then you shall have others," said grandmother, and she took from a +great chest in the corner an old blue skirt of Olga's, a jacket which +Olaf had outgrown, and a pair of Erik's wooden shoes.</p> + +<p>Meekly, Hansa donned the strange jacket and skirt; but her tiny feet, +accustomed to the soft boots of reindeer-skin, could not endure the +hard, clumsy wooden shoes.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said grandmother, who was watching her. "Then must you wear my +old cloth slippers," which were better, though they would come off +continually.</p> + +<p>"Now bring me my big scissors, that I may cut off this troublesome +hair," cried Dame Ingeborg. "I do not like that long mane; Olga's head +is far neater!"</p> + +<p>And, in spite of poor Hansa's entreaties, all her long, beautiful, +shining locks were cut short off.</p> + +<p>But Hansa proved herself a merry little maid, who, after all, did not +care for such trifles. Besides, this, she was so helpful in straining +the milk, preparing the breakfast, and bringing fresh twigs for the +beds, that Dame Ingeborg quite relented toward her, and said:</p> + +<p>"You are very nice indeed—for a Lapp child. If you could only spin, +I'd really like to keep you."</p> + +<p>Then Hansa moved quickly toward the great spinning-wheel which stood +near the open door, and, before a word could be spoken, began to spin +so swiftly, yet carefully, that grandmother, in her surprise, forgot to +say "Ah," but kissed the clever little maid instead.</p> + +<p>"She'll be proud," said the boys, "because she is so wise. Let us go by +ourselves and play,"—and away they ran.</p> + +<p>"Come," said Olga to Hansa; "though they have run away, they will not +be happy without us,"—which wise remark showed that she knew boys +pretty well; and the two little maids went hand in hand, and sat down +beside the boys.</p> + +<p>"We have no room for <i>two</i> girls here," said Olaf, and he gave poor +Hansa a very rough push.</p> + +<p>"What can you do to make us like you?" said Erik.</p> + +<p>"I can tell stories," said Hansa. "Listen!"</p> + +<p>And she told them a wonderful tale, far better than grandmother's +Sunday best one.</p> + +<p>"That is a very good story," said Olaf, when it was finished, "and you +are not so bad—for a girl. But still, if my father had not bought you, +I should have owned a reindeer for my sledge to-day."</p> + +<p>"And I should have had a fur coat and boots, to keep me warm next +winter," said Erik.</p> + +<p>At this, Hansa opened her bright eyes very wide, and looked curiously +at the boys for a moment, then said: "Did you wish for those things?"</p> + +<p>"We have wished for them all our lives," said Erik; while Olaf, too +sore at his disappointment to say a word, gave Hansa a rude slap +instead.</p> + +<p>That night, when all were sleeping soundly, little Hansa arose, +dressed, and stole softly from the hut. The sun was shining brightly, +and it seemed as if the path over which father Peder had led her showed +itself, and said, "Come, follow me, and I will lead you home!" And so +it did, safely and surely, though the way seemed long, and her little +feet ached sorely before she had gone many miles. But she kept bravely +on, till at last her father's tent appeared in sight. Then her heart +failed her.</p> + +<p>"I hope father is not home," said she, "else he will beat me again. I +only want my Niels."</p> + +<p>And she gave a curious little whistle that Niels had taught her as a +signal; but no answer came back. So she crept gently up to the tent, +drew aside the scarlet curtain that hung before the opening, and looked +in.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, let us go back to Haakon at the fair.</p> + +<p>As father Peder led Hansa away, he turned again to the booth, and being +soon joined by some friendly Lapps, spent the night, and far on into +the next day, in games and wild sports (such as abound at the fair) +with them.</p> + +<p>At last, a thought of home seemed to come to him, and, heedless of all +cries and exclamations from his companions, he hurried away. The long +road was passed as in a kind of dream, and, almost ere he knew it, he +stood before his tent, with Niels' frightened eyes looking into his, +and Niels' eager voice crying:</p> + +<p>"Oh, father! where is Hansa? What have you done with my sister?"</p> + +<p>"Be silent, boy!" said Haakon, sternly. "Your sister is well, but—she +will never come back to the tent again!"</p> + +<p>Then, as if suddenly a true knowledge of his crime flashed upon him, he +buried his face in his hands, and tears, that for many years had been +strangers to his eyes, trickled slowly down his rough brown cheeks, and +so, not daring to meet his boy's truthful questioning gaze, he told him +all.</p> + +<p>"Oh, father, let us go for her! She will surely come back if you are +sorry," cried Niels, eagerly.</p> + +<p>"You cannot, for, alas! I know neither her new master's name nor +whither he went," said Haakon.</p> + +<p>Then Niels, in despair, threw himself down on his bed and wept +bitterly—wept, till at last, all exhausted with the force of his +grief, he slept. How long he knew not, for in the Lapp's tent was +nothing to mark the flight of the hours; but he awoke, finally, with a +start, sat up and rubbed his eyes, and looked wildly about, saying:</p> + +<p>"Yes, there sits father, just where I left him, and there is no one +else here. But I am sure I heard Hansa whistle to me; no one else knows +our signal, and——Oh! there—<i>there</i> she is at the door!" and he +sprang toward her and clasped her in his arms, crying, "Hansa, my +Hansa! I have had a dream—such an ugly dream! How joyful that I am +awake at last! See, father," he said, leading her to Haakon; "have you, +too, dreamed?"</p> + +<p>"It was no dream, boy," said his father; and, turning to Hansa, he +asked, more gently than he had ever yet spoken to her, "How came you +back, my child?"</p> + +<p>Then Hansa, clinging closely to Niels the while, told him all that had +befallen her, and of the pleasant home she had found, and added, +boldly;</p> + +<p>"Father, let me take these kind friends some gifts; we have <i>so</i> much, +and I wish to make them happy."</p> + +<p>"Take what you want, child," said Haakon. "And see! here is a bag of +silver marks; give it to Peder Olsen, and say that each year I will +fill it anew for him, so that he shall never more want." Then, turning +to Niels, he added: "Go you, too, with Hansa. Surely those kind people +will give you a home as well. It is better for you both that you have a +happier home, and care; and I—can lead my life best alone."</p> + +<p>In the wood-cutter's little hut, Olga was the first to discover Hansa's +absence.</p> + +<p>"Ah, you naughty boys!" cried she. "You have driven my new sister +away!"—and she wept all day and would not be comforted.</p> + +<p>Bed-time came, but brought no trace of Hansa. Poor, tender-hearted Olga +cried herself to sleep; while Olaf and Erik were really both frightened +and sorry, and whispered privately to each other, under their reindeer +blanket, that if Hansa should ever come back, they would be very good +to her.</p> + +<p>"And I will give her my Sunday cap," said Erik, "since she cannot wear +my shoes."</p> + +<p>Two, three, four days went by, and still Hansa came not; and father +Peder, who was the last to give up hope, said, finally:</p> + +<p>"I fear we shall never see our little maid again."</p> + +<p>The children gathered around him, sorrowing, while Dame Ingeborg threw +her apron over her head, and rocked to and fro in her big chair in the +chimney corner.</p> + +<p>Just then came a gentle little tap on the door, which, as Olga sprang +toward it, softly opened, and there on the threshold stood little +Hansa, smiling at them; and—wonder of wonders!—behind her was a +little reindeer, gayly harnessed, with bright silver bells fastened to +the collar, which tinkled merrily as it tossed its pretty head. Beside +it stood a boy, somewhat taller than Olaf, balancing on his head a +great package.</p> + +<p>"I have been far, far away to my own home," said Hansa, "and my brother +Niels has come back with me, bringing something for you."</p> + +<p>Then Niels laid down the package, and gravely opening it, displayed to +the wondering eyes real gifts from fairy-land, it seemed.</p> + +<p>There were the fur coat and boots, and a cap also, more beautiful than +Erik had ever dreamed of. A roll of soft, fine blue wool, for +grandmother, came next; then a beautifully embroidered dress, and +scarlet apron and jacket, for Olga; and last of all, a fat little +leather bag, which Hansa gave to father Peder, saying:</p> + +<p>"There are many silver marks for you, and my father has promised that +it shall never more be empty, if you will give to Niels and me a home." +Then turning quickly to Olaf, she said: "And here is my own pet +reindeer 'Friska' for you."</p> + +<p>So the children, in the gladness of their hearts, kissed the little +maid, and Olaf whispered, "Forgive me that slap, dear Hansa!"</p> + +<p>Father Peder stood thoughtfully quiet a moment, then, turning to the +children, he said:</p> + +<p>"See, little ones! I gave my last mark for Hansa, and knew not where I +should find bread for you all afterward; but the dear child has brought +only good to us since. I am getting old, and my arms grow too weak to +swing the heavy ax, and I thought, often, soon must my little ones go +hungry. But now we are rich, and my cares have all gone. So long as +they wish, therefore, shall Niels and Hansa be to me as my own +children; they shall live here with us, and we will love them well."</p> + +<p>Then he kissed all the happy faces, and said: "Now go and play, little +ones, for grandmother and I must think quietly over these God-sent +gifts."</p> + +<p>So the children, first putting Friska, the reindeer, carefully in the +little stable beside the cow (so that he should not run away from the +strange new home, Hansa said), hastened to their favorite +play-place,—a large pine board lying on the slope of the hill, whence +they could look far away across the fields and fjords to the Kilpis, +the great mountain peaks where, even in summer, the pure white snow lay +glistening in the sunlight.</p> + +<p>"Ho!" cried Niels, "that is a fine board, but no good so; see what <i>I</i> +can do with it!" and lifted one end and put it across a great log that +lay near by.</p> + +<p>"Now you little fellows," said he to Olaf and Erik, "I am strong as a +giant, but I cannot quite roll up this other log alone. Come you and +help."</p> + +<p>So the boys together rolled the heavy log to its place, and put the +other end of the board upon it.</p> + +<p>"Now jump!" cried Niels; and with one joyous "halloo" the children were +on the broad, springy plank, enjoying to the utmost this novel +pleasure.</p> + +<a name="image04" id="image04"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image04.jpg" width="400" height="257" +alt="ON THE SPRING-BOARD." title="ON THE SPRING-BOARD." /> +<p class="caption">ON THE SPRING-BOARD.</p> +</div> + +<p>Their shouts of delight brought the wood-cutter to the door of the +little hut, and grandmother Ingeborg following, caught the excitement, +and, pulling off her cap, she waved it wildly, crying: "Hurrah for the +Lapps! Hurrah!"</p> + +<p>Then she and father Peder went back to their chairs in the chimney +corner; and Hansa, sitting on the spring-board, with the children +around her, told them such a wonderful, beautiful story, that they were +quite silent with delight.</p> + +<p>At last said Olaf, contentedly, as he lay with his head on Hansa's +knee:</p> + +<p>"After all, girls <i>are</i> the nicest things in the world!"</p> + +<p>"Except boys," said little Hansa, slyly.</p> + +<hr /> + +<a name="junoswonderfultroubles" id="junoswonderfultroubles"></a> +<a name="image05" id="image05"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image05.png" width="501" height="266" +alt="JUNO'S WONDERFUL TROUBLES." title="JUNO'S WONDERFUL TROUBLES." /> +</div> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY E. MULLER.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>Juno lived in a great park, where there was a menagerie, and neither +the park nor the menagerie could have done without Juno. Now, who do +you think Juno was? She was a dear old black and brown dog, the +best-natured dog in the world. And this was the reason they could not +do without her in the park. A lioness died, and left two little +lion-cubs with no one to take care of them. The poor little lions +curled up in a corner of the cage, and seemed as if they would die. +Then the keeper of the menagerie brought Juno, and showed her the +little lion-cubs, and said: "Now, Juno, here are some puppies for you; +go and take care of them, that's a good dog." Juno's own puppies had +just been given away, and she was feeling very badly about it, and was +rather glad to take care of the two little lions. They were so pretty, +with their soft striped fur and yellow paws, that Juno soon loved them, +and she took the best of care of them till they grew old enough to live +by themselves. Many people used to come and stand near the big lion's +cage, and laugh to see only a quiet old dog, and two little bits of +lion-cubs shut in it.</p> + +<a name="image06" id="image06"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image06.png" width="400" height="284" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p>It was very pretty to see Juno playing with the cubs, and all the +children who came to the park wanted first to see "the doggie that +nursed the lion-puppies." But when they grew large enough they were +taken away from her, and sold to different menageries far away, and +poor Juno wondered what had become of her pretty adopted children. She +looked for them all about the menagerie, and asked all the animals if +they had seen her two pretty yellow-striped lion-puppies. No one had +seen them, and nearly every one was sorry, and had something kind to +say, for Juno was a favorite with many. To be sure, the wolf snarled at +her, and said it served her right for thinking that she, a miserable +tame dog, could bring up young lions. But Juno knew she had only done +as she was told, so she did not mind the wolf. The monkeys cracked +jokes, and teased her, saying they guessed she would be given another +family to take care of—sea lions, most likely, and she would have to +live in the water to keep them in order. This had not occurred to Juno +before, and it made her quite uneasy.</p> + +<p>"It is not possible they would want me to nurse young sea-lions," said +she. "They are so very rude, and so very slippery, I never could make +them mind me."</p> + +<p>"You may be thankful if you don't get those two young alligators in the +other tank," said a gruff-voiced adjutant.</p> + +<p>"Good gracious!" exclaimed Juno. "You don't think it possible?"</p> + +<a name="image07" id="image07"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image07.png" width="400" height="286" +alt="JUNO IS WARNED BY THE PELICAN." title="JUNO IS WARNED BY THE PELICAN." /> +<p class="caption">JUNO IS WARNED BY THE PELICAN.</p> +</div> + +<p>"Of course it is possible," said a pelican, stretching his neck through +his cage-bars. "You'll see what comes of being too obliging."</p> + +<p>"We all think you are a good creature, Juno," said a crane. "Indeed, I +should willingly trust you with my young crane children, but really, if +you <i>will</i> do everything that is asked of you, there's no knowing whose +family you may have next."</p> + +<p>Juno went and lay down in a sunshiny place near the elephant's house, +and thought over all these words. Very soon she grew sleepy, in spite +of her anxiety, and was just dropping off into a doze, when she heard +the keeper whistle for her. She ran to him and found him in the +hippopotamus's cage.</p> + +<p>"Juno," said he, "I guess you'll have to take charge of this young +hippopotamus, the poor little fellow has lost his mother."</p> + +<p>"Dear, dear!" sighed Juno. "I was afraid it would come to this. I'm +thankful it isn't the young alligators."</p> + +<a name="image08" id="image08"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image08.png" width="400" height="381" +alt="JUNO TAKES CARE OF THE YOUNG HIPPOPOTAMUS." +title="JUNO TAKES CARE OF THE YOUNG HIPPOPOTAMUS." /> +<p class="caption">JUNO TAKES CARE OF THE YOUNG HIPPOPOTAMUS.</p> +</div> + +<p>So Juno took charge of the young hippo,—she called him hippo for +short, and only when he was naughty she called him: "Hip-po-pot-a-mus, +aren't you ashamed of yourself?" But he was a great trial. He was +awkward and clumsy, and not a bit like her graceful little +lion-puppies. When he got sick, and she had to give him peppermint, his +mouth was so large that she lost the spoon in it, and he swallowed +spoon and all, and was very ill afterward. But he grew up at last, and +just as Juno had made up her mind not to take care of other people's +families any more, the keeper came to her with two young giraffes, and +told her she really must be a mother to the poor little scraps of +misery, for their mother was gone, and they would die if they weren't +cared for immediately. These were a dreadful trouble, and besides, they +would keep trotting after her everywhere, till the pelican, and the +adjutant, and the cranes nearly killed themselves laughing at her. Poor +Juno felt worse and worse, till when one day she heard the keeper say +she certainly would have to take care of the young elephant, she felt +that she could stand it no longer, and made up her mind to run away. So +she said good-bye to all her friends, and ran to the wall of the park. +There she gave a great jump, and,—waked up, and found herself in the +sunshiny grass near the elephant's house.</p> + +<p>"Oh, how glad I am!" said Juno.</p> + +<p>"What in the world has been the matter?" asked the elephant. "You've +been kicking and growling in your sleep at a great rate. I've been +watching you this long time."</p> + +<p>"Such dreadful dreams!" said Juno. "Lion-puppies are all very well, but +when it comes to hippopotamus, and giraffes, and elephant——"</p> + +<p>"What <i>are</i> you talking about?" said the elephant. "I guess you'd +better go to your supper; I heard the keeper call you long ago."</p> + +<p>So Juno went to her supper very glad to find she had only dreamed her +troubles; but she made up her mind that if the old hippopotamus +<i>should</i> die, she would run away that very night.</p> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="wishes" id="wishes">WISHES</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY MARY N. PRESCOTT.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>I wish that the grasses would learn to sprout,</div> + <div>That the lilac and rose-bush would both leaf out;</div> + <div>That the crocus would put on her gay green frill,</div> + <div>And robins begin to whistle and trill!</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>I wish that the wind-flower would grope its way</div> + <div>Out of the darkness into the day;</div> + <div>That the rain would fall and the sun would shine,</div> + <div>And the rainbow hang in the sky for a sign.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>I wish that the silent brooks would shout,</div> + <div>And the apple-blossoms begin to pout;</div> + <div>And if I wish long enough, no doubt</div> + <div>The fairy Spring will bring it about!</div> +</div> +</div> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="matches" id="matches">HOW MATCHES ARE MADE.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY F.H.C.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + + +<div class="imgleft"> +<img src="images/image09-2.jpg" width="72" height="100" alt="Letter A" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">match is a small thing. We seldom pause to think, after it has +performed its mission, and we have carelessly thrown it away, that it +has a history of its own, and that, like some more pretentious things, +its journey from the forest to the match-safe is full of changes. This +little bit of white pine lying before me came from far north, in the +Hudson Bay Territory, or perhaps from the great silent forests about +Lake Superior, and has been rushed and jammed and tossed in its long +course through rivers, over cataracts and rapids, and across the great +lakes.</p> + +<p>We read that near the middle of the seventeenth century it was +discovered that phosphorus would ignite a splint of wood dipped in +sulphur; but this means of obtaining fire was not in common use until +nearly a hundred and fifty years later.</p> + +<p>This, then, appears to have been the beginning of match-making. Not +that kind which some old gossips are said to indulge in, for that must +have had its origin much farther back, but the business of making those +little "strike-fires," found in every country store, in their familiar +boxes, with red and blue and yellow labels.</p> + +<p>The matches of fifty years ago were very clumsy affairs compared with +the "parlor" and "safety" matches of to-day, but they were great +improvements upon the first in use. Those small sticks, dipped in +melted sulphur, and sold in a tin box with a small bottle of oxide of +phosphorus, were regarded by our forefathers as signs of "ten-leagued +progress." Later, a compound made of chlorate of potash and sulphur was +used on the splints. This ignited upon being dipped in sulphuric acid. +In 1829 an English chemist discovered that matches on which had been +placed chlorate of potash could be ignited by friction. Afterward, at +the suggestion of Professor Faraday, saltpeter was substituted for the +chlorate, and then the era of friction matches, or matches lighted by +rubbing, was fairly begun.</p> + +<p>But the match of to-day has a story more interesting than that of the +old-fashioned match. As we have said, much of the timber used in the +manufacture comes from the immense tracts of forest in the Hudson Bay +Territory. It is floated down the water-courses to the lakes, through +which it is towed in great log-rafts. These rafts are divided; some +parts are pulled through the canals, and some by other means are taken +to market. When well through the seasoning process, which occupies from +one to two years, the pine is cut up into blocks twice as long as a +match, and about eight inches wide by two inches thick. These blocks +are passed through a machine which cuts them up into "splints," round +or square, of just the thickness of a match, but twice its length. This +machine is capable, as we are told, of making about 2,000,000 splints +in a day. This number seems immense when compared with the most that +could be made in the old way—by hand. The splints are then taken to +the "setting" machine, and this rolls them into bundles about eighteen +inches in diameter, every splint separated from its neighbors by little +spaces, so that there may be no sticking together after the "dipping." +In the operation of "setting," a ribbon of coarse stuff about an inch +and a half wide, and an eighth of an inch thick, is rolled up, the +splints being laid across the ribbon between each two courses, leaving +about a quarter of an inch between adjoining splints. From the +"setting" machine the bundles go to the "dipping" room.</p> + +<a name="image09-1" id="image09-1"></a> +<div class="imgright"> +<img src="images/image09-1.jpg" width="184" height="300" alt="Candle and match." /> +</div> + +<p>After the ends of the splints have been pounded down to make them even, +the bundles are dipped—both ends—-into the molten sulphur and then +into the phosphorus solution, which is spread over a large iron plate. +Next they are hung in a frame to dry. When dried they are placed in a +machine which, as it unrolls the ribbon, cuts the sticks in two across +the middle, thus making two complete matches of each splint.</p> + +<p>The match is made. The towering pine which listened to the whisper of +the south wind and swayed in the cold northern blast, has been so +divided that we can take it bit by bit and lightly twirl it between two +fingers. But what it has lost in size it has gained in use. The little +flame it carries, and which looks so harmless, flashing into brief +existence, has a latent power more terrible than the whirlwind which +perhaps sent the tall pine-tree crashing to the ground.</p> + +<p>But the story is not yet closed. From the machine which completed the +matches they are taken to the "boxers"—mostly girls and women—who +place them in little boxes. The speed with which this is done is +surprising. With one hand they pick up an empty case and remove the +cover, while with the other they seize just a sufficient number of +matches, and by a peculiar shuffling motion arrange them evenly, +then—'t is done!</p> + +<p>The little packages of sleeping fire are taken to another room, where +on each one is placed a stamp certifying the payment to the government +of one cent revenue tax. Equipped with these passes the boxes are +placed in larger ones, and these again in wooden cases, which are to be +shipped to all parts of the country, and over seas.</p> + +<p>All this trouble over such little things as matches! Yet on these +fire-tipped bits of wood millions of people depend for warmth, cooked +food and light. They have become a necessity, and the day of flint, +steel and tinder seems almost as far away in the past as are the bow +and fire-stick of the Indian.</p> + +<p>Some idea of the number of matches used in North America during a year +may be gained from the fact that it is estimated by competent judges +that, on an average, six matches are used every day by each inhabitant; +this gives a grand total of 87,400,000,000 matches, without counting +those that are exported. Now, this would make a single line, were the +matches placed end to end, more than 2,750,000 miles in length! It +would take a railroad train almost eight years to go from one end to +the other, running forty miles an hour all the time.</p> + +<p>How apt to our subject is that almost worn-out Latin phrase, "<i>multum +in parvo</i>"—much in little! Much labor, much skill, and much +usefulness, all in a little piece of wood scarcely one-eighth of an +inch through and about two inches long!</p> + +<a name="image10" id="image10"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image10.jpg" width="400" height="230" alt="" /> +</div> + +<hr /> + + +<a name="auntann" id="auntann"></a> +<a name="image11" id="image11"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image11.png" width="499" height="265" +alt="WHERE AUNT ANN HID THE SUGAR" title="WHERE AUNT ANN HID THE SUGAR" /> +</div> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY MARY L. BOLLES BRANCH.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>Teddy was such a rogue, you see! If Aunt Ann sent him to the store for +raisins, the string on the package would be very loose, and the paper +very much lapped over, when he brought it home; if he went to the +baker's, the tempting end of the twist loaf was sure to be snapped off +in the street, and a dozen buns were never more than ten when they +reached the table. Boys are <i>so</i> hungry! Teddy knew every corner of the +pantry: if half a pie were left over from dinner, it could not possibly +be hidden under any pan, bowl, pail, or cunningly folded towel, but he +would find it before supper. Pieces of cake disappeared as if by magic, +preserves were found strangely lowered in the crocks, pickles went by +the wholesale, gingerbread never could be reckoned on after the first +day, and once—only once—did Teddy's mamma succeed in hiding a whole +baking of apple tarts in the cellar for a day by setting them under a +tub. The cellar never was a safe place again; Aunt Ann tried it with +doughnuts, and the crock was empty in two days. She put her stick +cinnamon on the top shelf in the closet, behind her medicine bottles, +and when she wanted it a week after, there was not a sliver to be +found. Then the loaf sugar—I don't know but that was the worst of all. +Did he stuff his pockets with it? did he carry it away by the capful? +It seemed incredible that anything <i>could</i> go so fast. One day, Aunt +Ann detected Teddy behind the window curtain with a tumbler so nearly +full of sugar that the water in it only made a thick syrup, and there +he was reading "Robinson Crusoe" and sipping this delightful mixture. +From that moment Aunt Ann made up her mind that he should "stop it."</p> + +<p>"I'll tell him it's nothing more nor less than downright +<span class="small">STEALING</span>—so I +will," muttered the good soul to herself; "the poor child's never had +proper teaching on the subject from one of us; he's got all his pa's +appetite without the good principles of <i>our</i> side of the family to +save him."</p> + +<p>So, the next day, the sugar being out, she bought two dollars' worth +while Teddy was at school, and without even telling his mother, she +searched the house for a hiding-place. She shook her head at the pantry +and cellar, but she visited the garret, and the spare front chamber; +she looked into the camphor-chest, she contemplated a barrel of +potatoes, she moved about the things in her wardrobe, and at last she +hid the sugar! No danger of Teddy finding it this time! Aunt Ann could +not repress a smile of triumph as she sat down to her knitting.</p> + +<p>Unconscious Teddy came home at noon, ate his dinner, and was off again. +His mother and Aunt Ann went out making calls that afternoon, and as +Aunt Ann closed the street door she thought to herself—</p> + +<p>"I can really take comfort going out, I feel so safe in my mind, now +that sugar is hid."</p> + +<p>But at tea-time she almost relented when she saw Teddy look into the +sugar-bowl, and turn away without taking a single lump.</p> + +<p>"He is really honorable," she said to herself; "he thinks that is all +there is, and he wont touch it." And she passed the gingerbread to him +three times, as a reward of merit.</p> + +<p>There was sugar enough in the bowl to sweeten all their tea the next +day, and so far all went well. But the third day, in the afternoon, up +drove a carry-all to the gate, with Uncle Wright, Aunt Wright, and two +stranger young ladies from the city—all come to take tea, have a good +time, and drive home again by moonlight.</p> + +<p>Teddy's mother sat down in the front room to entertain them, and Aunt +Ann hurried out to see about supper. How lucky it was that she had +boiled a ham that very morning! Pink slices of ham, with nice biscuit +and butter, were not to be despised even by city guests. She had also a +golden comb of honey, brought to the house by a countryman a few hours +before; it looked really elegant as she set it on the table in a +cut-glass dish. Then there were,—oh, moment of suspense! would she +find any left?—yes; there <i>were</i> enough sweet crisp seed-cakes to fill +a plate.</p> + +<p>The table was set—the tea with its fine aroma, and the coffee, +amber-clear, were made. The cream was on, so was the sugar-bowl, and +Aunt Ann was just going to summon her guests, when she happened to +think to lift the sugar-bowl cover and peep in. Sure enough, there +wasn't a lump there!</p> + +<p>"I must run and fill it!" exclaimed Aunt Ann, lifting it in a hurry, +and starting; but she had to stop to think in what direction to go.</p> + +<p>"Where was it I put that sugar?" she asked herself.</p> + +<p>In the camphor chest? No. In the potatoes? No; she remembered thinking +they were not clean enough. Was it anywhere up garret? If she went +there and looked around, maybe it would come into her mind. She did go +there, sugar-bowl in hand, and she did look around, but all in +vain—she could not think where she had put that two dollars' worth of +sugar!</p> + +<p>And time was flying, the sun was setting—pretty soon the moon would be +up. How hungry the company must be, and they must wonder why supper +wasn't ready. It would never do to sit down to the table with an empty +sugar-bowl, for Aunt Wright always wanted her tea extra sweet, and +Uncle Wright never could drink coffee without his eight lumps in the +cup. Dear, dear! Aunt Ann was all in a flurry. <i>Why</i> had she ever +undertaken to hide that sugar!</p> + +<p>"I shall certainly have to send to the store for some more!" she said +to herself, "and that will take so long; but it can't be helped."</p> + +<p>So she spoke to Teddy, who was sitting in the dining-room window +apparently studying his geography lesson, but in reality wondering what +in the world Aunt Ann was fluttering all over the house so uneasily +for.</p> + +<p>"Run to the store, Teddy!" she said quickly; "get me half a dollar's +worth of loaf sugar as soon as ever you can."</p> + +<p>"Why, Aunt Ann," he replied, "what for? I should think you had sugar +enough already."</p> + +<p>"So I have!" she exclaimed, nervously. "I got two dollars' worth day +before yesterday, and I hid it away in a safe place to keep it from +you, and now, to save my life, I can't think where I put it, and I've +searched high and low. Hurry!"</p> + +<p>Teddy smiled upon her benignly.</p> + +<p>"You should have told me sooner what you were looking for," he said. +"That sugar is on the upper shelf of your wardrobe, in your muff-box in +the farther corner. It is <i>very</i> nice sugar, Aunt Ann!"</p> + +<p>"Sure enough!" she cried. "That is where I hid it, and covered it up +with my best bonnet and veil. And then, when I went calling, I wore my +bonnet and veil, and never once thought about the sugar. I suppose that +was when you found it, you bad boy."</p> + +<p>"Yes 'm, I found it that time. I was looking for a string," he said; +"but I should have found it anyhow in a day or two, even if you hadn't +let sugar crumbs fall on the shelf, Aunt Ann!"</p> + +<p>"I believe you, you terrible boy!" she rejoined. "Now go call the +company to tea."</p> + +<p>And she did believe him, and would have given up the struggle from that +day, convinced that the fates were against her, but for her heroic +resolve to instill straightway into this young gentleman with his pa's +appetite the good principles of <i>her</i> side of the family.</p> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="lilacs" id="lilacs">UNDER THE LILACS.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + + +<h3>CHAPTER IX.</h3> + +<h4>A HAPPY TEA.</h4> + + +<p>Exactly five minutes before six the party arrived in great state, for +Bab and Betty wore their best frocks and hair-ribbons, Ben had a new +blue shirt and his shoes on as full-dress, and Sancho's curls were +nicely brushed, his frills as white as if just done up.</p> + +<p>No one was visible to receive them, but the low table stood in the +middle of the walk, with four chairs and a foot-stool around it. A +pretty set of green and white china caused the girls to cast admiring +looks upon the little cups and plates, while Ben eyed the feast +longingly, and Sancho with difficulty restrained himself from repeating +his former naughtiness. No wonder the dog sniffed and the children +smiled, for there was a noble display of little tarts and cakes, little +biscuits and sandwiches, a pretty milk-pitcher shaped like a white +calla rising out of its green leaves, and a jolly little tea-kettle +singing away over the spirit-lamp as cozily as you please.</p> + +<p>"Isn't it perfectly lovely?" whispered Betty, who had never seen +anything like it before.</p> + +<p>"I just wish Sally could see us <i>now</i>" answered Bab, who had not yet +forgiven her enemy.</p> + +<p>"Wonder where the boy is," added Ben, feeling as good as any one, but +rather doubtful how others might regard him.</p> + +<p>Here a rumbling sound caused the guests to look toward the garden, and +in a moment Miss Celia appeared, pushing a wheeled chair in which sat +her brother. A gay afghan covered the long legs, a broad-brimmed hat +half hid the big eyes, and a discontented expression made the thin face +as unattractive as the fretful voice which said, complainingly:</p> + +<a name="image12" id="image12"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image12.jpg" width="252" height="400" +alt="MISS CELIA AND THORNY." title="MISS CELIA AND THORNY." /> +<p style="font-size:90%; margin-top:-5em; margin-left:18em; text-indent:0;">MISS +CELIA<br /> AND<br /> THORNY.</p> +</div> +<br /> + +<p>"If they make a noise, I'll go in. Don't see what you asked them for."</p> + +<p>"To amuse you, dear. I know they will, if you will only try to like +them," whispered the sister, smiling and nodding over the chair-back as +she came on, adding aloud: "Such a punctual party! I am all ready, +however, and we will sit down at once. This is my brother Thornton, and +we are going to be very good friends by and by. Here's the droll dog, +Thorny; isn't he nice and curly?"</p> + +<p>Now, Ben had heard what the other boy said, and made up his mind that +he shouldn't like him; and Thorny had decided beforehand that he +wouldn't play with a tramp, even if he <i>could</i> cut capers; so both +looked decidedly cool and indifferent when Miss Celia introduced them. +But Sancho had better manners, and no foolish pride; he, therefore, set +them a good example by approaching the chair, with his tail waving like +a flag of truce, and politely presented his ruffled paw for a hearty +shake.</p> + +<p>Thorny could not resist that appeal, and patted the white head, with a +friendly look into the affectionate eyes of the dog, saying to his +sister as he did so:</p> + +<p>"What a wise old fellow he is! It seems as if he could almost speak, +doesn't it?"</p> + +<p>"He can. Say 'How do you do,' Sanch," commanded Ben, relenting at once, +for he saw admiration in Thorny's face.</p> + +<p>"Wow, wow, wow!" remarked Sancho, in a mild and conversational tone, +sitting up and touching one paw to his head, as if he saluted by taking +off his hat.</p> + +<p>Thorny laughed in spite of himself, and Miss Celia, seeing that the ice +was broken, wheeled him to his place at the foot of the table. Then +seating the little girls on one side, Ben and the dog on the other, +took the head herself and told her guests to begin.</p> + +<p>Bab and Betty were soon chattering away to their pleasant hostess as +freely as if they had known her for months; but the boys were still +rather shy, and made Sancho the medium through which they addressed one +another. The excellent beast behaved with wonderful propriety, sitting +upon his cushion in an attitude of such dignity that it seemed almost a +liberty to offer him food. A dish of thick sandwiches had been provided +for his especial refreshment, and as Ben from time to time laid one on +his plate, he affected entire unconsciousness of it till the word was +given, when it vanished at one gulp, and Sancho again appeared absorbed +in deep thought.</p> + +<p>But having once tasted of this pleasing delicacy, it was very hard to +repress his longing for more, and, in spite of all his efforts, his +nose would work, his eye kept a keen watch upon that particular dish, +and his tail quivered with excitement as it lay like a train over the +red cushion. At last, a moment came when temptation proved too strong +for him. Ben was listening to something Miss Celia said, a tart lay +unguarded upon his plate, Sanch looked at Thorny, who was watching +him, Thorny nodded, Sanch gave one wink, bolted the tart, and then +gazed pensively up at a sparrow swinging on a twig overhead.</p> + +<p>The slyness of the rascal tickled the boy so much that he pushed back +his hat, clapped his hands, and burst out laughing as he had not done +before for weeks. Every one looked around surprised, and Sancho +regarded him with a mildly inquiring air, as if he said, "Why this +unseemly mirth, my friend?"</p> + +<p>Thorny forgot both sulks and shyness after that, and suddenly began to +talk. Ben was flattered by his interest in the dear dog, and opened out +so delightfully that he soon charmed the other by his lively tales of +circus-life. Then Miss Celia felt relieved, and everything went +splendidly, especially the food, for the plates were emptied several +times, the little tea-pot ran dry twice, and the hostess was just +wondering if she ought to stop her voracious guests, when something +occurred which spared her that painful task.</p> + +<p>A small boy was suddenly discovered standing in the path behind them, +regarding the company with an air of solemn interest. A pretty, well +dressed child of six, with dark hair cut short across the brow, a rosy +face, a stout pair of legs, left bare by the socks which had slipped +down over the dusty little shoes. One end of a wide sash trailed behind +him, a straw hat hung at his back, while his right hand firmly grasped +a small turtle, and his left a choice collection of sticks. Before Miss +Celia could speak, the stranger calmly announced his mission.</p> + +<p>"I have come to see the peacocks."</p> + +<p>"You shall presently—" began Miss Celia, but got no further, for the +child added, coming a step nearer:</p> + +<p>"And the wabbits."</p> + +<p>"Yes, but first wont you—"</p> + +<p>"And the curly dog," continued the small voice, as another step brought +the resolute young personage nearer.</p> + +<p>"There he is."</p> + +<p>A pause, a long look, then a new demand with the same solemn tone, the +same advance.</p> + +<p>"I wish to hear the donkey bray."</p> + +<p>"Certainly, if he will."</p> + +<p>"And the peacocks scream."</p> + +<p>"Anything more, sir?"</p> + +<p>Having reached the table by this time, the insatiable infant surveyed +its ravaged surface, then pointed a fat little finger at the last cake, +left for manners, and said, commandingly;</p> + +<p>"I will have some of that."</p> + +<p>"Help yourself; and sit upon the step to eat it, while you tell me +whose boy you are," said Miss Celia, much amused at his proceedings.</p> + +<p>Deliberately putting down his sticks, the child took the cake, and, +composing himself upon the step, answered with his rosy mouth full:</p> + +<p>"I am papa's boy. He makes a paper. I help him a great deal."</p> + +<p>"What is his name?"</p> + +<p>"Mr. Barlow. We live in Springfield," volunteered the new guest, +unbending a trifle, thanks to the charms of the cake.</p> + +<p>"Have you a mamma, dear?"</p> + +<p>"She takes naps. I go to walk then."</p> + +<p>"Without leave, I suspect. Have you no brothers or sisters to go with +you?" asked Miss Celia, wondering where the little runaway belonged.</p> + +<p>"I have two brothers, Thomas Merton Barlow and Harry Sanford Barlow. I +am Alfred Tennyson Barlow. We don't have any girls in our house, only +Bridget."</p> + +<a name="image13" id="image13"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image13.jpg" width="321" height="400" +alt="ALFRED TENNYSON BARLOW." title="ALFRED TENNYSON BARLOW." /> +<p class="caption">ALFRED TENNYSON BARLOW.</p> +</div> + +<p>"Don't you go to school?"</p> + +<p>"The boys do. I don't learn any Greeks and Latins yet. I dig, and read +to mamma, and make poetrys for her."</p> + +<p>"Couldn't you make some for me? I'm very fond of poetrys," proposed +Miss Celia, seeing that this prattle amused the children.</p> + +<p>"I guess I couldn't make any now; I made some coming along. I will say +it to you."</p> + +<p>And, crossing his short legs, the inspired babe half said, half sung +the following poem:<span class="fnref"><a name="fnrefB" id="fnrefB" href="#fnB">[B]</a></span></p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div class="quote">"Sweet are the flowers of life,</div> + <div>Swept o'er my happy days at home;</div> + <div>Sweet are the flowers of life</div> + <div>When I was a little child.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div class="quote">"Sweet are the flowers of life</div> + <div>That I spent with my father at home;</div> + <div>Sweet are the flowers of life</div> + <div>When children played about the house.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div class="quote">"Sweet are the flowers of life</div> + <div>When the lamps are lighted at night;</div> + <div>Sweet are the flowers of life</div> + <div>When the flowers of summer bloomed.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div class="quote">"Sweet are the flowers of life</div> + <div>Dead with the snows of winter;</div> + <div>Sweet are the flowers of life</div> + <div>When the days of spring come on.</div> +</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="fn"> +<span class="fnnum"><a name="fnB" id="fnB" href="#fnrefB">[B]</a></span> +These lines were actually composed by a six-year-old child. +</div> + +<p>"That's all of that one. I made another one when I digged after the +turtle. I will say that. It is a very pretty one," observed the poet +with charming candor, and, taking a long breath, he tuned his little +lyre afresh:</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div class="quote">"Sweet, sweet days are passing</div> + <div>O'er my happy home,</div> + <div>Passing on swift wings through the valley of life.</div> + <div>Cold are the days when winter comes again.</div> + <div>When my sweet days were passing at my happy home,</div> + <div>Sweet were the days on the rivulet's green brink;</div> + <div>Sweet were the days when I read my father's books;</div> + <div>Sweet were the winter days when bright fires are blazing."</div> +</div> +</div> + +<p>"Bless the baby! where did he get all that?" exclaimed Miss Celia, +amazed, while the children giggled as Tennyson, Jr., took a bite at the +turtle instead of the half-eaten cake, and then, to prevent further +mistakes, crammed the unhappy creature into a diminutive pocket in the +most business-like way imaginable.</p> + +<p>"It comes out of my head. I make lots of them," began the imperturbable +one, yielding more and more to the social influences of the hour.</p> + +<p>"Here are the peacocks coming to be fed," interrupted Bab, as the +handsome birds appeared with their splendid plumage glittering in the +sun.</p> + +<p>Young Barlow rose to admire, but his thirst for knowledge was not yet +quenched, and he was about to request a song from Juno and Jupiter, +when old Jack, pining for society, put his head over the garden wall +with a tremendous bray.</p> + +<p>This unexpected sound startled the inquiring stranger half out of his +wits; for a moment the stout legs staggered and the solemn countenance +lost its composure, as he whispered, with an astonished air:</p> + +<p>"Is that the way peacocks scream?"</p> + +<p>The children were in fits of laughter, and Miss Celia could hardly make +herself heard as she answered, merrily:</p> + +<p>"No, dear; that is the donkey asking you to come and see him. Will you +go?"</p> + +<p>"I guess I couldn't stop now. Mamma might want me."</p> + +<p>And, without another word, the discomfited poet precipitately retired, +leaving his cherished sticks behind him.</p> + +<p>Ben ran after the child to see that he came to no harm, and presently +returned to report that Alfred had been met by a servant and gone away +chanting a new verse of his poem, in which peacocks, donkeys, and "the +flowers of life" were sweetly mingled.</p> + +<p>"Now I'll show you my toys, and we'll have a little play before it gets +too late for Thorny to stay with us," said Miss Celia, as Randa carried +away the tea-things and brought back a large tray full of +picture-books, dissected maps, puzzles, games, and several pretty +models of animals, the whole crowned with a large doll dressed as a +baby.</p> + +<p>At sight of that, Betty stretched out her arms to receive it with a cry +of delight. Bab seized the games, and Ben was lost in admiration of the +little Arab chief prancing on the white horse, "all saddled and bridled +and fit for the fight." Thorny poked about to find a certain curious +puzzle which he could put together without a mistake after long study. +Even Sancho found something to interest him, and standing on his +hind-legs thrust his head between the boys to paw at several red and +blue letters on square blocks.</p> + +<p>"He looks as if he knew them," said Thorny, amused at the dog's eager +whine and scratch.</p> + +<p>"He does. Spell your name, Sanch," and Ben put all the gay letters +down upon the flags with a chirrup which set the dog's tail to wagging +as he waited till the alphabet was spread before him. Then with great +deliberation he pushed the letters about till he had picked out six; +these he arranged with nose and paw till the word "Sancho" lay before +him correctly spelt.</p> + +<p>"Isn't that clever? Can he do any more?" cried Thorny, delighted.</p> + +<p>"Lots; that's the way he gets his livin' and mine too," answered Ben, +and proudly put his poodle through his well-learned lessons with such +success that even Miss Celia was surprised.</p> + +<p>"He has been carefully trained. Do you know how it was done?" she +asked, when Sancho lay down to rest and be caressed by the children.</p> + +<p>"No 'm, father did it when I was a little chap, and never told me how. I +used to help teach him to dance, and that was easy enough, he is so +smart. Father said the middle of the night was the best time to give +him his lessons, it was so still then and nothing disturbed Sanch and +made him forget. I can't do half the tricks, but I'm going to learn +when father comes back. He'd rather have me show off Sanch than ride, +till I'm older."</p> + +<p>"I have a charming book about animals, and in it an interesting account +of some trained poodles who could do the most wonderful things. Would +you like to hear it while you put your maps and puzzles together?" +asked Miss Celia, glad to keep her brother interested in their +four-footed guest at least.</p> + +<p>"Yes 'm, yes 'm," answered the children, and fetching the book she read +the pretty account, shortening and simplifying it here and there to +suit her hearers.</p> + +<p>"'I invited the two dogs to dine and spend the evening, and they came +with their master, who was a Frenchman. He had been a teacher in a deaf +and dumb school, and thought he would try the same plan with dogs. He +had also been a conjurer, and now was supported by Blanche and her +daughter Lyda. These dogs behaved at dinner just like other dogs, but +when I gave Blanche a bit of cheese and asked if she knew the word for +it, her master said she could spell it. So a table was arranged with a +lamp on it, and round the table were laid the letters of the alphabet +painted on cards. Blanche sat in the middle waiting till her master told +her to spell cheese, which she at once did in French, +<span class="small">F R O M A G E</span>. Then she translated a word for +us very cleverly. Some one wrote <i>pferd</i>, the German for horse, on +a slate. Blanche looked at it and pretended to read it, putting by the +slate with her paw when she had done. "Now give us the French for that +word," said the man, and she instantly brought +<span class="small">C H E V A L</span>. "Now, as you are at an Englishman's +house, give it to us in English," and she brought me +<span class="small">H O R S E</span>. Then we +spelt some words wrong and she corrected them with wonderful accuracy. +But she did not seem to like it, and whined and growled and looked so +worried that she was allowed to go and rest and eat cakes in a corner.</p> + +<p>"'Then Lyda took her place on the table, and did sums on a slate with a +set of figures. Also mental arithmetic which was very pretty. "Now, +Lyda," said her master, "I want to see if you understand division. +Suppose you had ten bits of sugar and you met ten Prussian dogs, how +many lumps would you, a French dog, give to each of the Prussians?" +Lyda very decidedly replied to this with a cipher. "But, suppose you +divided your sugar with me, how many lumps would you give me?" Lyda +took up the figure five and politely presented it to her master.'"</p> + +<p>"Wasn't she smart? Sanch can't do that," exclaimed Ben, forced to own +that the French doggie beat his cherished pet.</p> + +<p>"He is not too old to learn. Shall I go on?" asked Miss Celia, seeing +that the boys liked it though Betty was absorbed with the doll and Bab +deep in a puzzle.</p> + +<p>"Oh yes! What else did they do?"</p> + +<p>"'They played a game of dominoes together, sitting in chairs opposite +each other, and touched the dominoes that were wanted; but the man +placed them and kept telling how the game went, Lyda was beaten and hid +under the sofa, evidently feeling very badly about it. Blanche was +then surrounded with playing-cards, while her master held another pack +and told us to choose a card; then he asked her what one had been +chosen, and she always took up the right one in her teeth. I was asked +to go into another room, put a light on the floor with cards round it, +and leave the doors nearly shut. Then the man begged some one to +whisper in the dog's ear what card she was to bring, and she went at +once and fetched it, thus showing that she understood their names. Lyda +did many tricks with the numbers, so curious that no dog could possibly +understand them, yet what the secret sign was I could not discover, but +suppose it must have been in the tones of the master's voice, for he +certainly made none with either head or hands.'</p> + +<p>"It took an hour a day for eighteen months to educate a dog enough to +appear in public, and (as you say, Ben) the night was the best time to +give the lessons. Soon after this visit the master died, and these +wonderful dogs were sold because their mistress did not know how to +exhibit them."</p> + +<p>"Wouldn't I have liked to see 'em and find out how they were taught. +Sanch, you'll have to study up lively for I'm not going to have you +beaten by French dogs," said Ben, shaking his finger so sternly that +Sancho groveled at his feet and put both paws over his eyes in the most +abject manner.</p> + +<p>"Is there a picture of those smart little poodles?" asked Ben, eying +the book, which Miss Celia left open before her.</p> + +<p>"Not of them, but of other interesting creatures; also anecdotes about +horses, which will please you, I know," and she turned the pages for +him, neither guessing how much good Mr. Hamerton's charming "Chapters +on Animals" were to do the boy when he needed comfort for a sorrow +which was very near.</p> + +<hr class="short" /> + + +<h3>CHAPTER X.</h3> + +<h4>A HEAVY TROUBLE.</h4> + + +<p>"Thank you, ma'am, that's a tip-top book, 'specially the pictures. But +I can't bear to see these poor fellows," and Ben brooded over the fine +etching of the dead and dying horses on a battle-field, one past all +further pain, the other helpless but lifting his head from his dead +master to neigh a farewell to the comrades who go galloping away in a +cloud of dust.</p> + +<p>"They ought to stop for him, some of 'em," muttered Ben, hastily +turning back to the cheerful picture of the three happy horses in the +field, standing knee-deep among the grass as they prepare to drink at +the wide stream.</p> + +<p>"Aint that black one a beauty? Seems as if I could see his mane blow in +the wind, and hear him whinny to that small feller trotting down to +see if he can't get over and be sociable. How I'd like to take a +rousin' run round that meadow on the whole lot of 'em," and Ben swayed +about in his chair as if he was already doing it in imagination.</p> + +<p>"You may take a turn round my field on Lita any day. She would like it, +and Thorny's saddle will be here next week," said Miss Celia, pleased +to see that the boy appreciated the fine pictures, and felt such hearty +sympathy with the noble animals whom she dearly loved herself.</p> + +<p>"Needn't wait for that. I'd rather ride bare-back. Oh, I say, is this +the book you told about where the horses talked?" asked Ben, suddenly +recollecting the speech he had puzzled over ever since he heard it.</p> + +<p>"No, I brought the book, but in the hurry of my tea-party forgot to +unpack it. I'll hunt it up to-night. Remind me, Thorny."</p> + +<p>"There, now, I've forgotten something too! Squire sent you a letter, +and I'm having such a jolly time I never thought of it."</p> + +<p>Ben rummaged out the note with remorseful haste, protesting that he was +in no hurry for Mr. Gulliver, and very glad to save him for another +day.</p> + +<p>Leaving the young folks busy with their games, Miss Celia sat in the +porch to read her letters, for there were two, and as she read her face +grew so sober, then so sad, that if any one had been looking he would +have wondered what bad news had chased away the sunshine so suddenly. +No one did look, no one saw how pitifully her eyes rested on Ben's +happy face when the letters were put away, and no one minded the new +gentleness in her manner as she came back to the table. But Ben thought +there never was so sweet a lady as the one who leaned over him to show +him how the dissected map went together, and never smiled at his +mistakes.</p> + +<p>So kind, so very kind was she to them all that when, after an hour of +merry play, she took her brother in to bed, the three who remained fell +to praising her enthusiastically as they put things to rights before +taking leave.</p> + +<p>"She's like the good fairies in the books, and has all sorts of nice, +pretty things in her house," said Betty, enjoying a last hug of the +fascinating doll whose lids would shut so that it was a pleasure to +sing "Bye, sweet baby, bye," with no staring eyes to spoil the +illusion.</p> + +<p>"What heaps she knows! More than Teacher, I do believe, and she doesn't +mind how many questions we ask. I like folks that will tell me things," +added Bab, whose inquisitive mind was always hungry.</p> + +<p>"I like that boy first-rate, and I guess he likes me, though I didn't +know where Nantucket ought to go. He wants me to teach him to ride when +he's on his pins again, and Miss Celia says I may. <i>She</i> knows how to +make folks feel good, don't she?" and Ben gratefully surveyed the Arab +chief, now his own, though the best of all the collection.</p> + +<p>"Wont we have splendid times? She says we may come over every night and +play with her and Thorny."</p> + +<p>"And she's going to have the seats in the porch lift up so we can put +our things in there all dry, and have 'em handy."</p> + +<p>"And I'm going to be her boy, and stay here all the time; I guess the +letter I brought was a recommend from the Squire."</p> + +<p>"Yes, Ben: and if I had not already made up my mind to keep you before, +I certainly would now, my boy."</p> + +<p>Something in Miss Celia's voice, as she said the last two words with +her hand on Ben's shoulder, made him look up quickly and turn red with +pleasure, wondering what the Squire had written about him.</p> + +<p>"Mother must have some of the 'party,' so you shall take her these, +Bab, and Betty may carry baby home for the night. She is so nicely +asleep, it is a pity to wake her. Good-bye till to-morrow, little +neighbors," continued Miss Celia, and dismissed the girls with a kiss.</p> + +<p>"Isn't Ben coming, too?" asked Bab, as Betty trotted off in a silent +rapture with the big darling bobbing over her shoulder.</p> + +<p>"Not yet; I've several things to settle with my new man. Tell mother he +will come by and by."</p> + +<p>Off rushed Bab with the plateful of goodies; and, drawing Ben down +beside her on the wide step, Miss Celia took out the letters, with a +shadow creeping over her face as softly as the twilight was stealing +over the world, while the dew fell and everything grew still and dim.</p> + +<p>"Ben, dear, I've something to tell you," she began, slowly, and the boy +waited with a happy face, for no one had called him so since 'Melia +died.</p> + +<p>"The Squire has heard about your father, and this is the letter Mr. +Smithers sends."</p> + +<p>"Hooray! where is he, please?" cried Ben, wishing she would hurry up, +for Miss Celia did not even offer him the letter, but sat looking down +at Sancho on the lower step, as if she wanted him to come and help her.</p> + +<p>"He went after the mustangs, and sent some home, but could not come +himself."</p> + +<p>"Went further on? I s'pose. Yes, he said he might go as far as +California, and if he did he'd send for me. I'd like to go there; it's +a real splendid place, they say."</p> + +<p>"He has gone further away than that, to a lovelier country than +California, I hope." And Miss Celia's eyes turned to the deep sky, +where early stars were shining.</p> + +<p>"Didn't he send for me? Where's he gone? When's he coming back?" asked +Ben, quickly, for there was a quiver in her voice, the meaning of which +he felt before he understood.</p> + +<p>Miss Celia put her arms about him, and answered very tenderly:</p> + +<p>"Ben, dear, if I were to tell you that he was never coming back, could +you bear it?"</p> + +<p>"I guess I could—but you don't mean it? Oh, ma'am, he isn't dead?" +cried Ben, with a cry that made her heart ache, and Sancho leap up with +a bark.</p> + +<p>"My poor little boy, I <i>wish</i> I could say no."</p> + +<p>There was no need of any more words, no need of tears or kind arms +round him. He knew he was an orphan now, and turned instinctively to +the old friend who loved him best. Throwing himself down beside his +dog, Ben clung about the curly neck, sobbing bitterly:</p> + +<p>"Oh, Sanch, he's never coming back again; never, never any more!"</p> + +<p>Poor Sancho could only whine and lick away the tears that wet the +half-hidden face, questioning the new friend meantime with eyes so full +of dumb love and sympathy and sorrow that they seemed almost human. +Wiping away her own tears, Miss Celia stooped to pat the white head, +and to stroke the black one lying so near it that the dog's breast was +the boy's pillow. Presently the sobbing ceased, and Ben whispered, +without looking up:</p> + +<p>"Tell me all about it; I'll be good."</p> + +<p>Then, as kindly as she could, Miss Celia read the brief letter which +told the hard news bluntly, for Mr. Smithers was obliged to confess +that he had known the truth months before, and never told the boy lest +he should be unfitted for the work they gave him. Of Ben Brown the +elder's death there was little to tell, except that he was killed in +some wild place at the West, and a stranger wrote the fact to the only +person whose name was found in Ben's pocket-book. Mr. Smithers offered +to take the boy back and "do well by him," averring that the father +wished his son to remain where he left him, and follow the profession +to which he was trained.</p> + +<p>"Will you go, Ben?" asked Miss Celia, hoping to distract his mind from +his grief by speaking of other things.</p> + +<p>"No, no; I'd rather tramp and starve. He's awful hard to me and Sanch, +and he'll be worse now father's gone. Don't send me back! Let me stay +here; folks are good to me; there's nowhere else to go." And the head +Ben had lifted up with a desperate sort of look went down again on +Sancho's breast as if there was no other refuge left.</p> + +<p>"You <i>shall</i> stay here, and no one shall take you away against your +will. I called you 'my boy' in play, now you shall be my boy in +earnest; this shall be your home, and Thorny your brother. We are +orphans, too, and we will stand by one another till a stronger friend +comes to help us," cried Miss Celia, with such a mixture of resolution +and tenderness in her voice that Ben felt comforted at once, and +thanked her by laying his cheek against the pretty slipper that rested +on the step beside him, as if he had no words in which to swear loyalty +to the gentle mistress whom he meant henceforth to serve with grateful +fidelity.</p> + +<p>Sancho felt that he must follow suit, and gravely put his paw upon her +knee, with a low whine, as if he said: "Count me in, and let me help to +pay my master's debt if I can."</p> + +<p>Miss Celia shook the offered paw cordially, and the good creature +crouched at her feet like a small lion bound to guard her and her house +forever more.</p> + +<p>"Don't lie on that cold stone, Ben; come here and let me try to comfort +you," she said, stooping to wipe away the great drops that kept +rolling down the brown cheek half hidden in her dress.</p> + +<p>But Ben put his arm over his face, and sobbed out with a fresh burst of +grief:</p> + +<p>"You can't; you didn't know him! Oh, daddy! daddy!—if I'd only seen +you jest once more!"</p> + +<p>No one could grant that wish; but Miss Celia did comfort him, for +presently the sound of music floated out from the parlor—music so +soft, so sweet, that involuntarily the boy stopped his crying to +listen; then quieter tears dropped slowly, seeming to soothe his pain +as they fell, while the sense of loneliness passed away, and it grew +possible to wait till it was time to go to father in that far-off +country lovelier than golden California.</p> + +<p>How long she played Miss Celia never minded, but when she stole out to +see if Ben had gone she found that other friends, even kinder than +herself, had taken the boy into their gentle keeping. The wind had sung +a lullaby among the rustling lilacs, the moon's mild face looked +through the leafy arch to kiss the heavy eyelids, and faithful Sancho +still kept guard beside his little master, who, with his head pillowed +on his arm, lay fast asleep, dreaming, happily, that "Daddy had come +home again."</p> + +<div class="center">(<i>To be continued.</i>)</div> + +<hr /> + +<a name="image14" id="image14"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image14.jpg" width="399" height="199" +alt="A TALK OVER THE HARD TIMES." title="A TALK OVER THE HARD TIMES." /> +<p class="caption">A TALK OVER THE HARD TIMES.</p> +</div> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="commonsense" id="commonsense">COMMON SENSE IN THE HOUSEHOLD.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY MARGARET VANDEGRIFT.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>When you're writing or reading or sewing, it's right</div> + <div>To sit, if you can, with your back to the light;</div> + <div>And then, it is patent to every beholder,</div> + <div>The light will fall gracefully over your shoulder.</div> +</div> +</div> + +<a name="image15" id="image15"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image15.jpg" width="364" height="400" alt="" /> +</div> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Now here is a family, sensible, wise,</div> + <div>Who all have the greatest regard for their eyes;</div> + <div>They first say, "Excuse me," which also is right,</div> + <div>And then all sit down with their backs to the light.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>But their neighbors, most unhygienic, can't see</div> + <div>Why they do it, and think that they cannot agree,</div> + <div>And always decide they've been having a fight,</div> + <div>When they merely are turning their backs to the light.</div> +</div> +</div> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="atlanticcable" id="atlanticcable">SECRETS OF THE ATLANTIC CABLE.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY WILLIAM H. RIDEING.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>I believe that the youngsters in our family consider my study a very +pleasant room. There are some books, pictures, and hunting implements +in it, and I have quite a large number of curious things stored in +little mahogany cabinets, including a variety of specimens of natural +history and articles of savage warfare, which have been given to me by +sailors and travelers. In one of these cabinets there are the silver +wings of a flying-fish, the poisoned arrows of South Sea cannibals, +sharks' and alligators' teeth, fragments of well-remembered wrecks, and +an inch or two of thick tarred rope.</p> + +<p>The latter appears to be a common and useless object at the first +glance, but when examined closely it is not so uninteresting. It +measures one and one-eighth of an inch in diameter, and running through +the center are seven bright copper wires, surrounded by a hard, dark +brown substance, the nature of which you do not immediately recognize. +It is gutta-percha, the wonderful vegetable juice, which is as firm as +a rock while it is cold and as soft as dough when it is exposed to +heat. This is inclosed within several strands of Manilla hemp, with ten +iron wires woven among them. The hemp is saturated with tar to resist +water, and the wires are galvanized to prevent rust. You may judge, +then, how strong and durable the rope is, but I am not sure that you +can guess its use.</p> + +<p>Near the southern extremity of the western coast of Ireland there is a +little harbor called Valentia, as you will see by referring to a map. +It faces the Atlantic Ocean, and the nearest point on the opposite +shore is a sheltered bay prettily named Heart's Content, in +Newfoundland. The waters between are the stormiest in the world, wrathy +with hurricanes and cyclones, and seldom smooth even in the calm months +of midsummer. The distance across is nearly two thousand miles, and the +depth gradually increases to a maximum of three miles. Between these +two points of land—Valentia in Ireland and Heart's Content in +Newfoundland—a magical rope is laid, binding America to Europe with a +firm bond, and enabling people in London to send instantaneous messages +to those in New York. It is the first successful Atlantic cable, and my +piece was cut from it before it was laid. Fig. 2 on the next page shows +how a section of it looks, and Fig. 3 shows a section of the shore +ends, which are larger.</p> + +<a name="image18" id="image18"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image18.jpg" width="401" height="140" +alt="SECTIONS OF CABLES" title="SECTIONS OF CABLES" /> +<p class="caption">SECTIONS OF CABLES (REDUCED). 1. Main cable of 1858. +1a. Shore end, abandoned cable of 1858. 2. Main cable of 1866. +2a. Shore-end, recovered cable of 1865. 3. Shore end of cable of 1866.</p> +</div> + +<p>Copper is one of the best conductors of electricity known, and hence +the wires in the center are made of that metal. Water, too, is an +excellent conductor, and if the wires were not closely protected, the +electricity would pass from them into the sea, instead of carrying its +message the whole length of the line. Therefore, the wires must be +encased or insulated in some material that will not admit water and is +not itself a conductor. Gutta-percha meets these needs, and the hemp +and galvanized wire are added for the strength and protection they +afford to the whole.</p> + +<p>It was an American who first thought of laying such an electric cable +as this under the turbulent Atlantic. Some foolish people laughed at +the idea and declared it to be impracticable. How could a slender cord, +two thousand miles long, be lowered from an unsteady vessel to the +bottom of the ocean without break? It would part under the strain put +upon it, and it would be attacked by marine monsters, twisted and +broken by the currents. At one point the bed of the sea suddenly sinks +from a depth of two hundred and ten fathoms to a depth of two thousand +and fifty fathoms. Here the strain on the cable as it passed over the +ship's stern would be so great that it certainly must break. More than +this, the slightest flaw—a hole smaller than a pin's head—in the +gutta-percha insulator would spoil the entire work, and no remedy would +be possible. A great many people spoke in this way when the Atlantic +cable was first thought of, as others, years before, had spoken of Watt +and Stephenson. But Watt invented the steam-engine, Stephenson invented +the locomotive, and Cyrus Field bound Great Britain to the United +States by telegraph.</p> + +<p>Early in 1854, Mr. Field's attention was drawn to the scheme for a +telegraph between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, in connection with a +line of fast steamships from Ireland to call at St. John's, +Newfoundland. The idea struck him that if a line were laid to Ireland, +lasting benefit would result to the world. So he called together some +of his intimate friends, including Peter Cooper, Moses Taylor, Chandler +White, and Marshall O. Roberts, and they joined him in organizing the +"New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company," which was the +pioneer in the movement to connect the two continents by a telegraph +cable, and without whose aid its consummation would have been +indefinitely delayed.</p> + +<p>The work was costly and difficult. The first part consisted in +surveying the bottom of the sea for a route. This was done by taking +"soundings" and "dredgings." As some of you are aware, "sounding" is +an operation for ascertaining the depth of the sea, while "dredging" +reveals what plants and living creatures are at the bottom. After much +patient labor, a level space was found between Ireland and +Newfoundland, and it seemed to be so well adapted to the surveyor's +purposes that it was called the "Telegraphic Plateau."</p> + +<p>Two or three large vessels were next equipped, and sent out with +several thousand miles of cable on board, which they proceeded to lay. +But the fragile cord—fragile compared with the boisterous power of the +waves—broke in twain, and could not be recovered. A second attempt was +made, and that failed, too. Brave men can overcome adversity, however, +and the little band of scientific men and capitalists were brave men +and were determined to succeed. Each heart suffered the acute anguish +of long-deferred hope, and each expedition cost many hundred thousands +of dollars. Nevertheless, the promoters of the Atlantic cable sent out +a third time, and when failure met them again, it seemed to common +minds that their scheme was a settled impossibility. Not so with the +heroes. Each failure showed them some faults in their plans or +machinery. These they amended. Thus, while they were left at a distance +from the object of their ambition, they were brought a little nearer to +its attainment.</p> + +<a name="image20" id="image20"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image20.jpg" width="391" height="400" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p>Guided by the light of past experience, they equipped a fourth +expedition. The "Great Eastern" was selected, and her interior was +altered for the purpose. She was, and is still, the largest vessel +afloat. Her length is six hundred and ninety-five feet; her breadth +eighty-five feet, and her burthen twenty-two thousand tons. One of the +principal causes of failure in previous expeditions was the inability +of the cable to endure the severe strain put upon it in stormy weather +as it passed from an ordinarily unsteady vessel into the sea. The +"Great Eastern," from her immense size, promised to be steady in the +worst of gales. Her hold was fitted with three enormous iron tanks—-a +"fore" tank, a "main" tank, and an "after" tank. The main tank was the +largest, and eight hundred and sixty-four miles of cable were coiled in +it. Eight hundred and thirty-nine miles in addition were coiled in the +after tank, and six hundred and seventy miles in the fore tank, making +in all two thousand three hundred and seventy-four miles of cable. The +food taken on board for the long voyage in prospect consisted of twenty +thousand pounds of butcher-meat, five hundred head of poultry, one +hundred and fourteen live sheep, eight bullocks, a milch cow, and +eighty tons of ice.</p> + +<p>What is called the shore-end of the cable—<i>i.e.</i>, that part nearest +the shore, which is thicker than the rest—was first laid by a smaller +steamer. It extended from Valentia to a point twenty-eight miles at +sea. Here it was buoyed, until the great ship arrived. On a wet day in +July, 1866, it was joined with the main cable on board the "Great +Eastern," and on the same day that vessel started on her voyage to +Newfoundland.</p> + +<p>It may seem a simple matter to distribute or "pay out" the cable, but +in practice it is exceedingly difficult. Twenty men are stationed in +the tank from which it is issuing, each dressed in a canvas suit, +without pockets, and in boots without nails. Their duty is to ease each +coil as it passes out of the tank, and to give notice of the marks +painted on the cable one mile apart. Near the entrance of the tank it +runs over a grooved wheel and along an iron trough until it reaches +that part of the deck where the "paying out" machine is placed. The +latter consists of six grooved wheels, each provided with a smaller +wheel, called a "jockey," placed against the upper side of the groove +so as to press against the cable as it goes through, and retard or help +its progress. These six wheels and their jockeys are themselves +controlled by brakes, and after it has been embraced by them the cable +winds round a "drum" four times. The drum is another wheel, four feet +in diameter and nine inches deep, which is also controlled by powerful +brakes; and from it the cable passes over another grooved wheel before +it gets to the "dynamometer" wheel. The dynamometer is an instrument +which shows the exact degree of the strain on the cable, and the wheel +attached to it rises and falls as the strain is greater or less. Thence +the cable is sent over another deeply grooved wheel into the sea.</p> + +<p>You will remember what I said about insulation,—how a tiny hole in the +gutta-percha would allow the electricity to escape. On deck there is a +small house, which is filled with delicate scientific instruments. As +the cable is paid out, it is tested here. If a wire or a nail or a +smaller thing is driven through it, and the insulation is spoiled, an +instrument called the galvanometer instantly records the fact, and +warning is given at all parts of the ship. The man in charge touches a +small handle, and an electric bell rings violently in the tank and at +the paying-out machinery. At the same time a loud gong is struck, at +the sound of which the engines are stopped. Delay might cause much +trouble or total failure, as the injured section must be arrested and +repaired before it enters the water.</p> + +<p>The great steamer went ahead at the rate of five nautical miles an +hour, and the cable passed smoothly overboard. Messages were sent to +England and answers received. The weather was bright, and all hands +were cheerful. On the third day after the "splicing" of the shore-end +with the main cable, that part of the ocean was reached where the water +suddenly increases in depth from two hundred and ten fathoms to two +thousand and fifty. One of the earlier cables broke at this place and +was lost forever. The electricians and engineers watched for it with +anxious eyes. It was reached and passed. The black cord still traveled +through the wheels unbroken, and the test applied by the galvanometer +proved the insulation to be perfect. The days wore away without mishap +until the evening of July 17, when the sound of the gong filled all +hearts with a sickening fear.</p> + +<p>The rain was falling in torrents and pattering on the heavy oil-skin +clothing of the watchers. The wind blew in chilly gusts, and the sea +broke in white crests of foam. A dense and pitchy cloud issued from the +smoke-stacks. The vessel advanced in utter darkness. A few lights were +moving about, and shadows fell hither and thither as one of the hands +carried a lantern along the sloppy deck. The testing-room was occupied +by an electrician, who was quietly working with his magical instrument, +and the cable could be heard winding over the wheels astern, as the +tinkling of a little bell on the "drum" recorded its progress.</p> + +<p>The electrician rose from his seat suddenly, and struck the alarum. The +next instant each person on board knew that an accident had happened. +The engines were stopped and reversed within two minutes. Blue-lights +were burned on the paddle-boxes, and showed a knot in the cable as it +lay in the trough.</p> + +<p>Two remedies seemed possible. One was to cut the cable, and support one +end in the water by a buoy until the rest could be unraveled. The other +was to unravel the cable without cutting it.</p> + +<p>It is a very intricate knot that an old sailor cannot untie, and the +old sailors on the "Great Eastern" twisted and untwisted coil after +coil until they succeeded in untying this one. The insulation remained +perfect, and in a few hours all was right again. The accident caused +much ill foreboding, however, as it showed how slight an occurrence +might bring the expedition to a disastrous end.</p> + +<p>On July 27, after a voyage of fifteen days, the "Great Eastern" +finished her work, and her part of the cable was attached to the +American shore-end, which had been laid by another vessel. Some of you +will remember the rejoicings in the United States over the event. It +surpassed all other achievements of the age, and equaled the invention +of the telegraph itself.</p> + +<a name="image17" id="image17"></a> +<div class="imgright"> +<img src="images/image17.jpg" width="100" height="100" +alt="SECTION OF THE GRAPPLING LINE." title="SECTION OF THE GRAPPLING LINE." /> +<p class="caption">SECTION OF THE<br /> GRAPPLING LINE.</p> +</div> + +<p>Thus, after infinite labor and repeated failures, the brave men who +undertook the work accomplished it. A year before, their third cable +had broken in mid-ocean, and it was now proposed to "grapple" for it. +The "Great Eastern" was fitted out with apparatus, which may be likened +to an enormous fishing-hook and line, and was sent to the spot where +the treasure had been lost. The line was of hemp interwoven with wire. +Page 328 shows a section of it. Twice the cable was seized and brought +almost to the surface. Twice it slipped from the disappointed +fishermen, but the third time it was secured. It was then united with +the cable on board, which was "paid out" until the great steamer again +reached Newfoundland, and a second telegraph-wire united the two +continents.</p> + +<a name="image16" id="image16"></a> +<div class="imgleft"> +<img src="images/image16.jpg" width="129" height="299" +alt="THE GRAPNEL." title="THE GRAPNEL." /> +<p class="caption">THE GRAPNEL.</p> +</div> + +<p>The scene on board as the black line appeared above water was exciting +beyond description. It was first taken to the testing-room, and a +signal intended for Valentia was sent over it, to prove whether or not +it was perfect throughout its whole length. If it had proved to be +imperfect, all the labor spent upon it would have been lost. The +electricians waited breathlessly for an answer. The clerk in the +signal-house at Valentia was drowsy when their message came, and +disbelieved his ears. Many disinterested people, and even some of the +promoters of the cable, did not think it possible to recover a wire +that had sunk in thousands of fathoms of water. But the clerk in the +little station connected with the shore-end of the cable of 1865 +suddenly found himself in communication with a vessel situated in the +middle of the Atlantic.</p> + +<p>The delay aggravated the anxious watchers on the ship, and a second +signal was sent. How astonished that simple-minded Irish +telegraph-operator was! Five minutes passed, and then the answer came. +The chief electrician gave a loud cheer, which was repeated by every +man on board, from the captain down to his servant.</p> + +<p>There are now four cables in working order, and the cost of messages +has been reduced twenty-five per cent. The New York newspapers now +contain nearly as much European news as the London newspapers +themselves.</p> + +<a name="image19" id="image19"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image19.jpg" width="399" height="217" +alt="THE GREAT EASTERN ENTERING THE BAY OF HEART'S CONTENT." +title="THE GREAT EASTERN ENTERING THE BAY OF HEART'S CONTENT." /> +<p class="caption">THE "GREAT EASTERN" ENTERING THE BAY OF HEART'S CONTENT.</p> +</div> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="canary" id="canary">THE CANARY THAT TALKED TOO MUCH</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY MARGARET EYTINGE.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>Annette's canary-bird's cage, with the canary in it, was brought into +the library and hung upon a hook beside the window.</p> + +<p>Out popped a mouse from a hole behind the book-case.</p> + +<p>"Why, what are <i>you</i> doing here, canary?" she said. "I thought <i>your</i> +place was the bay-window in the dining-room."</p> + +<p>"So it is—so it is!" beginning with a twitter, answered the canary; +"but they said I talked too much!"—ending with a trill.</p> + +<p>"Talked!" repeated the mouse, sitting up on her hind-legs and looking +earnestly at him. "I thought <i>you</i> only sang!"</p> + +<p>"Well, singing and talking mean about the same thing in bird-language," +said the canary. "But goodness g-r-r-racious!" he went on, swinging +rapidly to and fro in his little swing at the top of his cage, "'t was +they that talked so much—my mistress and the doctor's wife, and the +doctor's sister—not me. I said scarcely a word, and yet I am called a +chatterbox, and punished—before company, too! I feel mad enough to +pull out my yellowest feathers, or upset my bath-tub. Now, you look +like a sensible little thing, mouse, and I'll tell you all about +it—what they said and what I said—and you shall judge if I deserved +to be banished.</p> + +<p>"The doctor's wife and the doctor's sister called.</p> + +<p>"'It's a lovely day!' said they.</p> + +<p>"'A lovely, lovely, lovely day!' sang I. 'The sun shines bright—the +sky is blue—the grass is green—yes, lovely, lovely, lovely—and I'm +happy, happy, happy, and glad, glad, glad!'</p> + +<p>"They went right on talking, though I sang my very best, without paying +the slightest attention to me; and when I stopped, I caught the words +'So sweet' from my mistress, and then I sang again: 'Sweet, sweet, +sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet is the clover—sweet is the +rose—sweet the song of the bird—sweet the bird—sweet the +clover—sweet the rose—the rose—the clover—the bird—yes, yes, +yes—sweet, sweet, sweet!' And as I paused to take breath, I heard some +one say, 'What a noise that bird makes! how loudly he sings!' 'How +loudly he sings!' repeated I, 'how loudly he sings!—the bird, the +bird, the beautiful bird—sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet——' But suddenly +my song ended, for my mistress got up, unhooked my cage, saying, +'Canary, you're a chatterbox; you talk too much,' and brought me in +here.</p> + +<p>"And really, mouse, as you must see, I didn't say more than a dozen or +so words. What do you think about it?"</p> + +<p>"Well," said the mouse, stroking her whiskers and speaking slowly, "you +<i>didn't say</i> much, but it strikes me you talked a great deal."</p> + +<p>"Oh!" said the canary, putting his head on one side and looking +thoughtfully at her out of his right, bright, black, round eye. But +just then the mouse heard an approaching footstep, and, without even +saying "good-bye," she hurried away to the hole behind the book-case.</p> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="nightwithbear" id="nightwithbear">A NIGHT WITH A BEAR.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY JANE G. AUSTIN.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>"Tell you what, Roxie, I wish father and Jake had some of those hot +nut-cakes for their dinner; they didn't carry much of anything, and +these are proper nice."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Beamish set her left hand upon her hip, leaned against the corner +of the dresser, and meditatively selected another nut-cake, dough-nut +or cruller, as you may call them, from the great brown pan piled up +with these dainties, and Roxie, who was curled up in a little heap on +the corner of the settle, knitting a blue woolen stocking, looked +brightly up and said:</p> + +<p>"Let me go and carry them some, Ma. It's just as warm and nice as can +be out-of-doors, real springy, and I know the way to the wood lot. I'd +just love to go."</p> + +<p>"Let's see—ten o'clock," said Mrs. Beamish, putting the last bit of +cake into her mouth, and wiping her fingers upon her apron. "It's a +matter of four miles there by the bridge, Jake says, though if you +cross the ford it takes off a mile or more. You'd better go round by +the bridge, anyway."</p> + +<p>"Oh no, Ma; that isn't worth while, for Pa said only last night that +the ice was strong enough yet to sled over all the wood he'd been +cutting," said Roxie, earnestly, for the additional mile rather +terrified her.</p> + +<p>"Did he? Well, if that's so, it is all right," replied her mother, in a +tone of relief, and then she filled a tin pail with nut-cakes, laid a +clean, brown napkin over them, and then shut in the cover and set it on +the dresser, saying:</p> + +<p>"There, they've got cheese with them, and you'll reach camp before they +eat their noon lunch. Now, get on your leggin's and thick shoes, and +your coat and cap and mittens, and eat some cakes before you start, so +as not to take theirs when you get there."</p> + +<p>"I wouldn't do that, neither; not if I never had any," replied Roxie, a +little resentfully, and then she pulled her squirrel-skin cap well over +her ears, tied her pretty scarlet tippet around her neck, and held up +her face for a good-bye kiss. The mother gave it with unusual fervor, +and said, kindly:</p> + +<p>"Good-bye to you, little girl. Take good care of yourself, and come +safe home to mother."</p> + +<p>"Yes, Ma. But I may wait and come with them, mayn't I? They'll let me +ride on old Rob, you know."</p> + +<p>"Why, yes, you might as well, I suppose, though I'll be lonesome +without you all day, baby. But it would be better for you to ride home, +so stay."</p> + +<p>It was a lovely day in the latter part of March, and although the +ground was covered with snow, and the brooks and rivers were still fast +bound in ice, there was something in the air that told of +spring,—something that set the sap in the maple-trees mounting through +its million little channels toward the buds, already beginning to +redden for their blooming, and sent the blood in little Roxie's veins +dancing upward too, until it blossomed in her cheeks and lips fairer +than in any maple-tree.</p> + +<p>"How pleasant it is to be alive!" said the little girl aloud, while a +squirrel running up the old oak-tree overhead stopped, and curling his +bushy tail a little higher upon his back, chattered the same idea in +his own language. Roxie stopped to listen and laugh aloud, at which +sound the squirrel frisked away to his hole, and the little girl, +singing merrily, went on her way, crossed the river on the ice, and on +the other bank stopped and looked wistfully down a side path leading +into the denser forest away from her direct road.</p> + +<p>"I really believe the checkerberries must have started, it is so +springy," she thought; "I've a mind to go down and look in what Jake +calls 'Bear-berry Pasture,' though I told him they were not +bear-berries, but real checkerberries." So, saying to herself Roxie ran +a few steps down the little path, stopped, stood still for a minute, +then slowly turned back, saying:</p> + +<p>"No, I wont, either, for may be I wouldn't get to the camp with the +nut-cakes before noon, and then they would have eaten all their cheese. +No, I'll go right on, and not stay there any time at all, but come back +and get the checkerberries; besides, mother said she'd be lonesome +without me, so I'd better not stay, any way."</p> + +<p>So Roxie, flattering herself like many an older person with the fancy +that she was giving up her selfish pleasure for that of another, while +really she was carrying out her own fancy, went singing on her way, and +reached the camp just as her father struck his ax deep into the log +where he meant to leave it for an hour, and Jake, her handsome elder +brother, took off his cap, pushed the curls back from his heated brow, +and shook out the hay and grain before old Rob, whose whinny had +already proclaimed dinner-time.</p> + +<p>"Why, if here isn't sis with a tin kettle, and I'll be bound some of +ma'am's nut-cakes in it!" exclaimed Jake, who had rather mourned at the +said cakes not being ready before he left home, and then he caught the +little girl up in his arms, kissed her heartily, and put her on Rob's +back, whence she slid down, saying gravely:</p> + +<p>"Jake, Ma says I'm getting too old for rough play. I'll be twelve years +old next June."</p> + +<p>"All right, old lady; I'll get you a pair of specs and a new cap or two +for a birthday present," laughed Jake, uncovering the tin kettle, while +his father said:</p> + +<p>"We wont have you an old woman before you're a young one, will we, Tib? +Come, sit down by me and have some dinner. You're good to bring us the +nut-cakes and get here in such good season."</p> + +<p>The three were very happy and merry over their dinner, although Roxie +declined to eat anything except out of her own pocket, and the time +passed swiftly until Mr. Beamish glanced up at the sun, rose, took his +ax out of the cleft in the log, and, swinging it over his head, said:</p> + +<p>"Come, Jake, nooning is over. Get to work."</p> + +<p>"All right, sir. You can sit still as long as you like, sis, and by and +by I'll take you home on Rob."</p> + +<p>"I'm going now, Jake," said Roxie, hesitating a little, and finally +concluding not to mention the checkerberries, lest her father or +brother should object to her going alone into the wilder part of the +forest. "Ma said she'd be lonesome," added she hurriedly, and then her +cheeks began to burn as if she had really told a lie instead of +suggesting one.</p> + +<p>"Well, you're a right down good girl to come so far and then to think +of Ma instead of yourself, and next day we're working about home I'll +give you a good ride to pay for it."</p> + +<p>And Jake kissed his little sister tenderly, her father nodded good-bye +with some pleasant word of thanks, and Roxie with the empty tin pail in +her hand set out upon her homeward journey, a little excitement in her +heart as she thought of her contemplated excursion, a little sting in +her conscience as she reflected that she had not been quite honest +about any part of it.</p> + +<p>Did you ever notice, when a little troubled and agitated, how quickly +you seemed to pass over the ground, and how speedily you arrived at the +point whither you had not fairly decided to go?</p> + +<p>It was so with Roxie, and while she was still considering whether after +all she would go straight home, she was already at the entrance of the +sunny southern glade where lay the patch of bright red berries whose +faint, wholesome perfume told of their vicinity even before they could +be seen. Throwing herself upon her knees, the little girl pushed aside +the glossy dark-green leaves, and with a low cry of delight stooped +down and kissed the clusters of fragrant berries as they lay fresh and +bright before her.</p> + +<p>"O you dear, darling little things!" cried she, "how I love to see you +again, and know that all the rest of the pretty things are coming right +along!"</p> + +<p>Then she began to pluck, and put them sometimes in her mouth, sometimes +in her pail, and so long did she linger over her pleasant task that the +sun was already in the tops of the pine-trees, when, returning from a +little excursion into the woods to get a sprig from a "shad-bush," +Roxie halted just within the border of the little glade, and stood for +a moment transfixed with horror. Beside the pail she had left brim-full +of berries, sat a bear-cub, scooping out the treasure with his paw, and +greedily devouring it, apparently quite delighted that some one had +saved him the trouble of gathering his favorite berries for himself.</p> + +<p>One moment of dumb terror, and then a feeling of anger and reckless +courage filled the heart of the woodsman's child, and, darting forward, +she made a snatch at her pail, at the same time dealing the young +robber a sharp blow over the face and eyes with the branch of shad-bush +in her hand, and exclaiming:</p> + +<p>"You great, horrid thing! Every single berry is gone now, for I wont +eat them after you. So now!"</p> + +<p>But, so far from being penitent or frightened, the bear took this +interference, and especially the blow, in very bad part, and after a +moment of blinking astonishment, he sat up on his haunches, growled a +little, showed his teeth, and intimated very plainly that unless that +pail of berries was restored at once, there would be trouble for some +one. But this was not the first bear-cub that Roxie had seen, and her +temper was up as well as the bear's. So, firmly grasping the pail, she +began to retreat backward, at first slowly, but as the bear dropped on +his feet and seemed inclined to follow her, or rather the pail of +berries, she lost courage, and turning, began to run, not caring or +noting in what direction, and still mechanically grasping the pail of +berries.</p> + +<p>Suddenly, through the close crowding pines which had so nearly shut out +the daylight, appeared an open space, and Roxie hailed it with delight, +for it was the river, and once across the river she felt as if she +would be safe. Even in the brief glance she threw around as she burst +from the edge of the wood, she saw that here was neither the bridge nor +the ford which she had crossed in the morning; a point altogether +strange and new to her, and, as she judged, further down the river, +since the space from shore to shore was considerably wider. But the +bear was close behind, and neither time nor courage for deliberation +was at hand, and Roxie, after her moment's pause, sprung forward upon +the snowy ice, closely followed by the clumsy little beast.</p> + +<p>At that very moment, a mile further up stream, Mr. Beamish and his son +Jake were cautiously driving Rob across the frozen ford, and the old +man was saying:</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid we'll have to go round by the bridge after this, Jake. I +shouldn't wonder if the river broke up this very night. See that +crack."</p> + +<p>"It wouldn't do for Roxie to come over here alone again," said Jake, +probing the ice-crack with his stick.</p> + +<p>And Roxie,—poor little Roxie,—whom Jake was so glad to think of as +safe at home, was at that very moment stepping over a wide crack +between two great masses of ice, and staring forlornly about her, for a +little way in advance appeared another great gap, and the bear close +behind was whimpering with terror as he clung to the edge of the +floating mass upon which Roxie had only just leaped, and which he had +failed to jump upon. Shaking with cold and fright, the little girl +staggered forward across the ice until at its further edge she came +upon a narrow, swiftly rolling tide, increasing in width at every +moment—the current of the river suddenly set free from its winter's +bondage, and rapidly dashing away its chains.</p> + +<p>Roxie turned back, but the crack that she had stepped over was already +far too wide for her to attempt to repass, and a gentle shaking +movement under her feet told that the block on which she stood was +already in motion, and that no escape was possible without more +strength and courage than a little girl could be expected to possess. +The bear had climbed up, and now crouched timidly to the edge of the +ice, moaning with fear, and seeming to take so little notice of Roxie +that she forgot all her fear of him, and these two, crouching upon the +rocking and slippery floor of their strange prison, went floating down +the turbulent stream.</p> + +<p>The twilight deepened into dark, the stars came out bright and cold, +and so far away from human need and woe! Little Roxie ceased her +useless tears, and kneeling upon the ice put her hands together and +prayed, adding to the petition she had learned at her mother's knee +some simple words of her own great need.</p> + +<p>A yet more piteous whine from the bear showed his terror as the +ice-block gave a sickening whirl, and crawling upon his stomach he +crept close up to the little girl, his whole air saying as plainly as +words could have spoken:</p> + +<p>"Oh, I am so scared, little girl, aren't you? Let us protect each other +somehow, or at least, you protect me."</p> + +<p>And Roxie, with a strange, light-hearted sense of security and peace +replacing her terror and doubt, let the shaggy creature creep close to +her side, and nestling down into his thick fur, warmed her freezing +fingers against his skin, and with a smile upon her lips went +peacefully to sleep.</p> + +<p>She was awakened by a tremendous shock, and a struggle, and a fall into +the water, and before she could see or know what had happened to her, +two strong arms were round her, and she was drawn again upon the +ice-cake, and her brother was bending close above her, and he was +saying:</p> + +<p>"Oh, Roxie! are you hurt?"</p> + +<a name="image21" id="image21"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image21.jpg" width="380" height="400" +alt="THE RESCUE." title="THE RESCUE." /> +<p class="caption">THE RESCUE.</p> +</div> + +<p>"No, Jake, I—I believe not. Why, why, what is it all? Where is this, +and—oh, I know. Oh, Jake, Jake, I was so frightened!" And, turning +suddenly, she hid her face in her brother's coat and burst into a +passion of tears. But Jake, with one hurried embrace and kiss, put her +away, saying:</p> + +<p>"Wait just a minute, sis, till we finish the bear; father will shoot +him."</p> + +<p>"No, no, no!" screamed Roxie, her tears dried as if by magic. "Don't +kill the bear, father! Jake, don't you touch the bear; he's my friend, +and we were both so scared last night, and then I prayed that he +wouldn't eat me, and he didn't, and you mustn't hurt him."</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm beat now!" remarked Mr. Beamish, as with both hands buried +in the coarse hair by which he had dragged the bear to the surface, +for it had gone under when the ice-cake had been broken against the jam +of logs which had stopped it, he looked up at his little daughter's +pale face.</p> + +<p>"You and the bear made friends, and said your prayers together, and he +can't be hurt, you say?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, father. Oh, please don't hurt him!"</p> + +<p>"We might take him home and keep him chained up for a sort of a pet, if +he will behave decent," suggested Jake, a little doubtfully.</p> + +<p>"Well!—I suppose we could," replied the father, very slowly and +reluctantly. "He seems peaceable enough now."</p> + +<p>"And see how good he is to me," said Roxie, eagerly, as she patted the +head of her strange new friend, who blinked amicably in reply. "Oh, +Jake, do go and get Rob and the sled, and carry him home, wont you?"</p> + +<p>"Why, yes, if father says so, and the critter will let me tie his +legs."</p> + +<p>The ox-sled was close at hand, for the father and brother had brought +it to the river before they began their weary search up and down its +banks, not knowing what mournful burden they might have to carry home +to the almost frantic mother.</p> + +<p>And Bruin, a most intelligent beast, seemed to understand so well that +the handling, and ride, were all for his own good, that he bore the +humiliation of having his legs tied with considerable equanimity, and +in a short time developed so gentle and gentlemanly a character as to +become a valued and honored member of the family, remaining with it for +about a year, when, wishing, probably, to set up housekeeping on his +own account, he quietly snapped his chain one day and walked off into +the woods, where he was occasionally seen for several years, generally +near the checkerberry patch.</p> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="westminster" id="westminster">WESTMINSTER ABBEY.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY CHARLES W. SQUIRES.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>I have no doubt that most of the readers of ST. NICHOLAS have heard of +the grand old Abbey of Westminster, in London, and that they would be +glad to visit this famous historical place. I had often been there in +my thoughts and dreams, and had often wished that I might really walk +through its quiet aisles and chapels, when, at last, I should make a +trip to Europe. And my wish was granted.</p> + +<p>It was on a November morning—one of those dark, gloomy mornings, +peculiar to London, that I started from my lodgings to walk to the +Abbey. As I said before, I had often been there in my imagination, and, +as I walked slowly along, I could hardly realize that I was actually +about to visit it in person. After a while I came in sight of +Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament, and then, on my right, +I noticed two tall towers, and without the help of my guide-book I knew +that they must belong to the Abbey; so I quickened my steps until I +had gained the entrance door. What a change I experienced as I stepped +from the busy, crowded streets, into this old sepulcher, so celebrated +for its relics of the dead! It almost made me shudder, for the interior +of the building was dark and gloomy, and I saw many cold, white figures +towering high above me. The original Abbey was built many, many years +ago, and has been restored from time to time by the succeeding kings +and queens of England, until we find it in its present condition, safe +and sound, and one of the greatest, if not the greatest object of +interest in the city of London.</p> + +<a name="image22" id="image22"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image22.jpg" width="292" height="400" +alt="INTERIOR OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY." title="INTERIOR OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY." /> +<p class="caption">INTERIOR OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY.</p> +</div> + +<p>Westminster Abbey may certainly be called a tomb, for we could spend a +whole day in simply counting its monuments. There were so many of these +that I hardly knew which to look at first, but I thought it best to +follow my own inclinations, and so, instead of procuring a guide (men +with long gowns, who take visitors around and point out the objects of +greatest interest), I roamed about at my will. The first monument that +attracted my attention was the venerable shrine of Edward the +Confessor, in the chapel of St. Edward, once the glory of the Abbey, +but which has been much defaced by persons who were desirous of +obtaining a bit of stone from this famous tomb. In this chapel I saw +also the old coronation chairs, in which all the reigning sovereigns of +England, since Edward I. have been crowned. They are queer, +old-fashioned chairs, made of wood, and not very comfortable, I +imagine. The older of the two chairs was built to inclose the stone +(which they call Jacob's pillar) brought from Scotland by Edward, and +placed in this chapel. Many other interesting tombs are to be seen +here, and the floor of the chapel is six hundred and fourteen years +old!</p> + +<a name="image23" id="image23"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image23.jpg" width="282" height="401" +alt="SHRINE OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR." title="SHRINE OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR." /> +<p class="caption">SHRINE OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR.</p> +</div> + +<p>I next visited the chapel of Islip, built by the old Abbot of Islip, +who dedicated it to St. John the Baptist. One very interesting monument +there was to the memory of General Wolfe, who fell, you remember, at +the battle of Quebec. His monument is a very beautiful piece of art. It +represents him falling into the arms of one of his own soldiers, who is +pointing to Glory, which comes in the shape of an angel from the +clouds, holding a wreath with which to crown the hero. A Highland +sergeant looks sorrowfully on the dying warrior, while two lions sleep +at his feet. The inscription reads as follows: "To the memory of James +Wolfe, Major-General and Commander-in-Chief of the British land forces +on an expedition against Quebec, who, after surmounting, by ability and +valor, all obstacles of art and nature, was slain in the moment of +victory, on the 13th of September, 1759, the King and Parliament of +Great Britain dedicate this monument."</p> + +<p>I now walked on to the north transept, and the first monument I noticed +was one erected to Sir Robert Peel, the great orator and statesman. I +seated myself on an old stone bench to rest, and looking around, saw a +magnificent statue of the great William Pitt, who, you may remember, +was also a great statesman, and accomplished more for the glory and +prosperity of England than any other statesman who ever lived. In this +transept there is a beautiful window, which represents our Savior, the +twelve apostles, and four evangelists. As I was sitting quietly in this +secluded spot, looking up at the window, strains of solemn music +reached my ear, which sounded as if they came from one of the gloomy +vaults around me. I walked on to discover, if possible, whence this +music came, and I saw, in the nave of the Abbey, the Dean of +Westminster conducting a service, assisted by his choir boys. I seated +myself until the ceremonies were over, and I thought it was a very odd +place to hold church—among so many graves.</p> + +<p>After the Dean and his choir boys had disappeared I commenced my walk +again, and saw many fine old monuments. One of these was in memory of +Sir Isaac Newton, and I am sure I need not tell you who he was. +Prominent among the monuments in this part of the Abbey is that to +Major André, the fine young officer who was executed during our +Revolutionary War.</p> + +<p>I next visited the south transept, better known as the "Poet's Corner," +which I think is the most interesting part of Westminster. A hundred, +and more, monuments to the memory of great men can be seen here; but I +can only tell you of a few of the most important. The one I thought +most of is erected to the memory of William Shakspeare, although his +bones repose far away, in the little church at Stratford-on-Avon. Then +I saw the tombs of David Garrick, the great actor and delineator of +Shakspeare's characters; George Frederick Handel, the eminent composer, +the author of that beautiful anthem, "I know that my Redeemer liveth;" +the great Milton; rare old Ben Jonson; Edmund Spenser, author of the +"Faëry Queene;" and those of Southey, Dryden, Addison, Gray, Campbell, +and other well-known English poets.</p> + +<a name="image24" id="image24"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image24.jpg" width="295" height="400" +alt="TOMB OF HANDEL." title="TOMB OF HANDEL." /> +<p class="caption">TOMB OF HANDEL.</p> +</div> + +<p>Then, among the names of the dead of our own day, I saw those of +Dickens, Bulwer, Macaulay, and Dr. Livingstone.</p> + +<p>Kings, queens, statesmen, soldiers, clergymen, authors and poets here +have equal station. Some may lie under richer tombs than others, but +all rest beneath the vaulted roof of Westminster Abbey, the place of +highest honor that England can offer her departed sons.</p> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="crip" id="crip">CRIP'S GARRET-DAY</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY SARAH J. PRICHARD.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>Crip was having a dismal—a very dismal time of it. Crip was eleven, it +was his birthday, and Crip was in disgrace—in a garret.</p> + +<p>Wasn't it dreadful?</p> + +<p>It happened thus: Crip's father was a shoemaker. The bench where he +worked and the little bit of a shop, about eight feet every way, in +which he worked, stood on a street leading down to the town dock, and +the name of the town we will say was Barkhampstead, on Cape Cod Bay.</p> + +<p>Now and then—that is, once or twice in the year—a whaling vessel set +sail from the dock, and sometimes, not always, the same vessels +returned to the dock.</p> + +<p>The going and the coming of a "whaler" made Crip's father, Mr. John +Allen, glad. It was his busy season, for when the seamen went, they +always wanted stout new boots and shoes, and, when they came, they +always needed new coverings on their feet to go home in.</p> + +<p>Two years before this dismal time that Crip was having, the ship "Sweet +Home" went away, and it had not been spoken or signaled or heard from +in any way, since four months from the time it left the dock at +Barkhampstead.</p> + +<p>The fathers and mothers and wives and little children of the men who +went in the "Sweet Home" kept on hoping, and fearing, and feeling +terribly bad about everybody on board whom they loved, when, without +any warning whatever, right in the midst of a raging snow storm, the +"Sweet Home," all covered in ice from mast-head to prow, sailed, stiff +and cold, into Barkhampstead harbor.</p> + +<p>Oh! wasn't there a great gladness over all the old town then! They rang +the meeting-house bell. It was a hoarse, creaking old bell, but there +was music in it that time, as it throbbed against the falling snow, and +made a most delicious concert of joy and gratitude in every house +within a mile and more of the dock.</p> + +<p>Mr. John Allen rushed down to the "Sweet Home," as soon as ever it came +in. He hadn't anybody on board to care very particularly about, but how +he did rub his hands together as he went, letting the snow gather fast +on his long beard, as he thought of the thirty or forty pairs of feet +that <i>must</i> have shoes!</p> + +<p>Crip, you know, was to be eleven the next day, and his mother, in the +big red house next door to the little shop, had made him a cake for the +day, and, beside, plum-pudding was to be for dinner.</p> + +<p>Before Crip's father had gone down to the dock he had said to Crip: +"Now, you must stay right here in the shop and not go near the dock, +until I come back;" and Crip had said "Yes, sir," although every bit of +his throbbing boy body wanted to take itself off to the "Sweet Home."</p> + +<p>The snow kept on falling, and it began to grow dark in the little shop. +Crip had just lighted a candle, when the shop door opened, and a boy, +not much bigger than Crip himself, came in and shut the door behind +him.</p> + +<p>Crip jumped up from the bench and said:</p> + +<p>"What ——?"</p> + +<p>"You don't know me, Crip Allen," said the boy.</p> + +<p>"Who be you?" questioned Crip.</p> + +<p>"Don't wonder!" said the other, "for we've all come right out of the +jaws of ice and death. I'm Jo Jay."</p> + +<p>"Jo Jay,—looking so!" said Crip.</p> + +<p>"Never mind! Only give me a pair of shoes—old ones will do—to get +home in. It's three miles to go, and it's five months since I've had +shoes on my feet. Oh, Crip! we've had a <i>bad</i> time on board, and no +cargo to speak of to bring home."</p> + +<p>"You wont pay for the shoes?" asked Crip.</p> + +<p>"No money," said Jo, thrusting forth a tied-up foot, wrapped in +sail-rags. "But, Crip, do hurry! I must get home to mother, if she's +alive."</p> + +<p>"She's alive—saw her to meeting," said Crip, fumbling in a wooden box +to get forth a pair of half-worn shoes he remembered about.</p> + +<p>He produced them. Jo Jay seized the shoes eagerly, and, taking off his +wrappings, quickly thrust his feet, that had so long been shoeless, +into them: and, with a "Bless you, Crip! I'll make it all right some +day." hobbled off, making tracks in the snow, just before Crip's father +came up from the dock.</p> + +<p>Mr. John Allen returned in a despondent mood. There was not oil enough +on board the "Sweet Home" to buy shoes for the men.</p> + +<p>"Who's been here, Crip? Socks in and shoes out, I see."</p> + +<p>"Jo Jay, father."</p> + +<p>"Where's the money, Crip?" and Mr. Allen turned his big, searching blue +eyes on Crip, and held forth his hand.</p> + +<p>"Why, father," said Crip, "he hadn't any, and he wanted to go home. +It's three miles, you know, and snowing."</p> + +<p>"Crip Allen! Do you know what you've done? You've <i>stolen</i> a pair of +shoes."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I haven't, father," cried Crip, "and 't was only the old, +half-worn shoes that you mended for George Hine, that he couldn't +wear."</p> + +<p>"Christopher!" thundered forth Mr. Allen, in a voice that made the lad +shake in his boots, "go into the house and right upstairs to bed. You +have stolen a pair of shoes from your own father. You <i>knew</i> they were +not yours to give away."</p> + +<p>Poor Crip! Now he couldn't get a sight of the "Sweet Home" to-night, +even through the darkness and the snow.</p> + +<p>His upper lip began to tremble and give way, but he went into the big +red house, up the front staircase to his own room, and, in the cold, +crept under the blankets into a big feather bed, and thought of Jo +plodding his way home.</p> + +<p>About eight of the clock, when Crip was fast asleep, the door opened, +somebody walked in, and a hand touched the boy, and left a bit of cake +on his pillow; then the hand and the somebody went away, and Crip was +left alone until morning. He went down to breakfast when called. His +father's face was more stern than it had been the night before. Crip +could scarcely swallow the needful food. When breakfast was over, Mr. +Allen said:</p> + +<p>"Christopher. Go into the garret and stay till I call you. I'll teach +you not to take what doesn't belong to you, even to give away."</p> + +<p>"Father!" beseechingly said Crip's mother, "it is the boy's birthday."</p> + +<p>"Go to the garret!" said Mr. Allen.</p> + +<p>Crip went, and he was having the dismal time of it referred to in the +beginning of this story. Poor little chap! He stayed up there all the +morning, his mother's heart bleeding for him, and his sisters saying in +their hearts, "Father's awful cruel." It did seem so, but Mr. +Christopher Allen, the nation-known shipping merchant, said, fifty +years later, when relating the story to a party of friends on board one +of his fine steamships:</p> + +<p>"That severe punishment was the greatest kindness my father ever +bestowed on my boyhood. Why, a hundred times in my life, when under the +power of a great temptation to use money in my hands that did not +belong to me, even for the best and highest uses, and when I <i>knew</i> +that I could replace it, I have been saved by the power of the stern, +hard words, the cold, flashing eyes, and the day in the garret. Yes, +yes, father was right. I ought to have taken off <i>my own shoes, and +gone without any</i>, to give to Jo Jay. That was his idea of giving."</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image25.png" width="500" height="681" alt="" /> +</div> + +<div style="margin-top:-30em; margin-bottom:18em;"> +<h2><a name="whathappened" id="whathappened">WHAT HAPPENED.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY HOWELL FOSTER.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> +</div> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>A very respectable Kangaroo</div> + <div>Died week before last in Timbuctoo;</div> + <div>A remarkable accident happened to him:</div> + <div>He was hung head down from a banyan-limb.</div> + <div>The Royal Lion made proclamation</div> + <div>For a day of fasting and lamentation,</div> + <div>Which led to a curious demonstration:</div> + <div>The Elephant acted as if he were drunk—</div> + <div>He stood on his head, he trod on his trunk;</div> + <div>An over-sensitive she-Gorilla</div> + <div>Declared that the shock would surely kill her;</div> + <div>A frisky, gay and frolicsome Ape</div> + <div>Tied up his tail with a yard of crape;</div> + <div>The Donkey wiped his eyes with his ears;</div> + <div>The Crocodile shed a bucket of tears;</div> + <div>The Rhinoceros gored a young Giraffe</div> + <div>Who had the very bad taste to laugh;</div> + <div>The Hippopotamus puffed and blew,</div> + <div>To show his respect for the Kangaroo;</div> + <div>And a sad but indignant Chimpanzee</div> + <div>Gnawed all the bark from the banyan-tree.</div> +</div> +</div> + + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="drifted" id="drifted">DRIFTED INTO PORT.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY EDWIN HODDER.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + + +<h3>CHAPTER I.</h3> + +<h4>THE BOYS OF BLACKROCK SCHOOL.</h4> + + +<p>Dr. Brier considered himself the principal of Blackrock School, but the +boys in that establishment often used to say to each other that Mrs. +Brier was really the master.</p> + +<p>Not that she intruded into any sphere which did not belong to her, but +she took such a deep interest in the school that she had the welfare of +every boy at heart, and Dr. Brier was one of those amiable men who +never act except in concert with their wives, and he had, moreover, +good sense enough to see that oftentimes her judgment was better than +his own.</p> + +<p>At the time our story opens, the school was in a very flourishing +condition. It contained about eighty boys, the tutors were men of +unquestionable ability, and so successful had the Doctor been in +turning out good scholars that he had applications from various parts +of England, in which country our story is located, for the admission of +many more boys than he could possibly receive.</p> + +<p>Among the institutions of the school was a weekly reception in the +Doctor's private drawing-room, when twenty boys at a time were invited +to tea, and to spend the evening hours in social enjoyment.</p> + +<p>It was a very good thing, for it gave Mrs. Brier an opportunity of +becoming acquainted with the boys, and it enabled them to see the +Doctor, not in his professional character of principal, but as a kind +and gentle host.</p> + +<p>At some schools, where a plan of this kind has been adopted, boys have +been inclined to look upon it as a great bore, and have dreaded the +return of the so-called social evening, when they would have to be, for +some hours, in a state of nervous anxiety, lest they should be +catechised in a corner, or be betrayed into something that they would +be sorry for afterward.</p> + +<p>But, with one exception, this was not the case with the Blackrock boys; +the Tuesday reception was always a red-letter day with them, and if +ever, through misbehavior, an invitation was withheld, it was regarded +as one of the severest punishments inflicted in the school.</p> + +<p>Several boys were one day standing in a group under the elms which +inclosed the play-ground, putting on their jackets to return to the +school-room, as the recreation hour was nearly over.</p> + +<p>"Who's going to the house on Tuesday?" asked Howard Pemberton.</p> + +<p>"I am," said Martin Venables.</p> + +<p>"And I," added Alick Fraser.</p> + +<p>"And I too, worse luck," said Digby Morton.</p> + +<p>"Why worse luck?" asked Martin.</p> + +<p>"Oh, it wouldn't do for me to enter into particulars with you," replied +Digby, rather testily. "You're the Doctor's nephew, and we all know +that we've got to be careful of what we say about the house before you. +The wind might carry it around."</p> + +<p>Martin turned as red as a poppy, as he flashed up in honest anger that +such paltry meanness should be charged on him.</p> + +<p>"I tell you what it is, Digby," he said, trying to keep himself cool, +"I can stand a joke as well as anybody, but there is no joking about +your ill-natured speeches. I tell you now, once for all, that I never +did and never shall blow upon any boy in this school. You know as well +as I do that the Doctor treats me as a scholar here, and not as a spy +or a relative, and if ever you charge me again with tale-bearing, I'll +answer you with my fists."</p> + +<p>"Good!" cried several voices at once, while some of the small boys who +had gathered round seemed delighted at the rebuke administered to +Digby, who was by no means a favorite with them.</p> + +<p>"And now let's drop it," said Howard, the boy who had asked the +question as to the invitations for Tuesday. "If Digby doesn't like the +receptions, it's a pity he doesn't stay away. I don't know another boy +in the school who would think with him."</p> + +<p>"Nor I, and I can't make out why any one should," said Alick; "to my +mind they are the jolliest evenings we have."</p> + +<p>"Oh yes, I should think they would just suit <i>you</i>" answered Digby, +with his accustomed sneer, "but they don't suit me. They are precious +slow affairs, and I don't care much for the society of Mrs. B. She +pries into the school affairs a sight too much as it is, and ——"</p> + +<p>What other objections Digby might have advanced will forever remain +unknown. He had committed high treason in speaking lightly of a name +dear to the heart of every boy there, and a storm of hissing and +hooting greeted his unfinished sentence.</p> + +<p>He saw that he had trespassed on ground which was too dangerous for him +to tread any further, and so, with a defiant "Bah!" he threw his +jacket over his shoulder and walked sullenly away.</p> + +<p>Many of the boys in Blackrock school would have found a difficulty in +stating the exact grounds of their regard for Mrs. Brier. To some of +them she was a comparative stranger; they could not trace one direct +act in which they were indebted to her. Perhaps the merest commonplaces +in conversation had passed between them, and yet they felt there was a +something in her presence which threw sunshine around them; they felt +that they were thought about, cared for and loved, and in any little +scrape into which, boy-like, they might get, they felt satisfied that +if the matter only came to her knowledge they would get an impartial +judgment on the case, and the best construction that could be put upon +their conduct would be sure to be suggested by her. But out of eighty +boys it would not be reasonable to suppose that all should share this +feeling alike,—we have seen already one exception; yet the disaffected +were in a very small minority, and the majority was so overwhelming, +and had amongst it all the best acknowledged strength and power of the +school, that no one dared to say above his breath one word against Mrs. +Brier, if he cared for a whole skin.</p> + +<p>While Digby was returning to the school by one road, Howard and Martin +strolled leisurely along by another path under the trees.</p> + +<p>"I can't understand Digby," said Martin; "he has altered so very much +lately that he hardly seems the same fellow he was. Have you noticed +that he cuts all his old chums now? What's happened to him?"</p> + +<p>"I'm sure I don't know," answered Howard, "but he certainly has altered +very much. I wish we could be as friendly as we used to be, but it is +months since we have been on really good terms together."</p> + +<p>"Two or three years ago we used to be the best of friends," said +Martin.</p> + +<p>"Yes, but all that has been gradually altering. He seems to have taken +a dislike to me. I can't help thinking that Digby has some secret that +worries him."</p> + +<p>"I shouldn't be surprised if he has," answered Martin; "and it will get +him into trouble, whatever it is. He has several times been 'out of +bounds' for a long time at a stretch, and if it hadn't been for Alick +Fraser and one or two others who have screened him, he would have come +to grief. Can you guess at all what is wrong with him?"</p> + +<p>"No," replied Howard, hesitatingly; "the only thing I can think of is +that his father has told him that when he leaves school in September he +is to be articled to a lawyer, and I know he has made up his mind to go +to sea. He is crazy about pirates, and whale-hunts, and desolate +islands, and all that sort of stuff. And yet, sometimes, if you talk to +him about them he shuts you up so very sharply that you feel as if you +were prying into his secrets. Perhaps—"</p> + +<p>And here Howard stopped.</p> + +<p>"Well, perhaps what?" asked Martin.</p> + +<p>"I don't know that it is right to talk about a mere notion that may not +have any truth in it at all, so let what I say be kept close between +us; but I have noticed him bring things home after he has been out of +bounds, and carefully put them in his big box, which he always keeps +locked, and I have sometimes thought—but mind, it is only a passing +thought, so don't let it go any further—that perhaps he has made up +his mind to run away to sea!"</p> + +<p>"Howard, I have had this same thought in my mind many a time," said +Martin, "and I believe the reason why Digby dislikes me so much is +because something occurred about a month ago, which I would rather not +mention, but it led me to say to him that I hoped he would not be so +foolish as to think of throwing up all his prospects in life for the +sake of a mania about the sea, and he flashed up so angrily that I was +convinced I had touched him on a sore point."</p> + +<p>Just then the school-bell rang. There was no time for further talk, and +it was not for many days that the subject was renewed.</p> + +<hr class="short" /> + +<h3>CHAPTER II.</h3> + +<h4>AN EVENING AT DR. BRIER'S.</h4> + + +<p>Every expected day comes at last,—not always, however, to realize the +expectations formed of it: but the evening of the reception in which we +are interested bade fair to be a most satisfactory one. The weather was +unusually fine, and the Doctor and Mrs. Brier were in such good spirits +that some of the visitors made special note of the fact.</p> + +<p>I hardly know where to begin in attempting to describe an evening in +the House at Blackrock school.</p> + +<p>As to stiffness and formality, there was not a vestige of it. The +Doctor was a gentleman, every inch of him, and ease is an essential +quality of gentlemanly behavior. It is not always an easy thing to be +easy, and all the Doctor's pupils were not miniature doctors, but +whatever else a boy might not have learned at Blackrock, he certainly +had a chance to learn to be gentlemanly.</p> + +<p>So conversation flowed freely; the boys were encouraged to indulge in +hearty, unrestrained enjoyment, and no one could have heard the buzz of +voices and the sounds of merry laughter, or seen the beaming faces, +without feeling that all were perfectly at home.</p> + +<p>The Doctor was wise in his generation, and he did not invite any of the +tutors to meet the boys. He pretty shrewdly guessed that their meetings +were quite as frequent as could be desired on either side, but he +always invited a few lady friends to join the party.</p> + +<p>The Doctor had often been heard to say that while he would not declare +that either Greek or Hebrew was absolutely necessary for an ordinary +education, he was prepared to assert that no boy was educated unless he +knew how to feel at home and to behave with propriety in the society of +ladies.</p> + +<p>Moreover, the Doctor was a great lover of music. Many of the boys also +loved it, and, when ladies were invited, those were generally selected +who could contribute to the pleasure of the evening.</p> + +<p>Among the guests was one who will meet us again in the course of this +story. It was Madeleine Greenwood, the Doctor's niece, and Martin +Venables' cousin. I should like to describe her, but I will only say +that she was a young and very pretty sunshiny girl, and that everybody +who knew her liked her.</p> + +<p>After tea, there were portfolios to examine, and books to turn over; +there was a bagatelle board in one corner of the room, a little group +busy upon some game of guessing in another corner, and another group +eagerly arranging specimens in a microscope, while the Doctor seemed to +be at each group at once.</p> + +<p>"Now, come here," said Mrs. Brier to a little knot of boys who could +not find room by the Doctor and his microscope. "I will show you some +of my curiosities."</p> + +<p>And she produced a little case, containing a curious old watch, set in +pearls; a snuff-box which had been in the possession of the family for +ages, and a variety of similar treasures. Among them was a miniature +painting, on ivory, of exquisite workmanship, and set in a gold frame, +which was studded with precious stones. It was as beautiful as it was +costly. The portrait was that of a young and lovely girl.</p> + +<p>"What a sweet face," said Howard to Martin; "and how marvelously like +your cousin, Miss Greenwood!" And with a boyish enthusiasm joined to +boyish fun, he turned aside, so that Mrs. Brier should not see him, and +pretended to clasp the image to his breast.</p> + +<a name="image26" id="image26"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image26.png" width="399" height="400" +alt="HOWARD PRETENDED TO CLASP THE IMAGE TO HIS BREAST." +title="HOWARD PRETENDED TO CLASP THE IMAGE TO HIS BREAST." /> +<p class="caption">"HOWARD PRETENDED TO CLASP THE IMAGE TO HIS BREAST."</p> +</div> + +<p>"Oh, I have caught you, have I?" said Digby Morton, with his +disagreeable sneer, as, turning away from the Doctor's group, he came +abruptly upon Howard.</p> + +<p>If Alick Fraser, or Martin, or McDonald, or any one of half a dozen +boys near him had made this observation, Howard wouldn't have minded +the least in the world, but coming from Digby, it made him nervous and +confused, especially as it was almost certain Mrs. Brier must have +heard it.</p> + +<p>"Please let me see it," said Alick, who had only caught a passing +glimpse of it. "Surely it must be meant for Miss Greenwood?" he said, +after he had duly admired it.</p> + +<p>"You are not the first who has thought so," said Mrs. Brier, "but it is +really a portrait of her grandmother, taken in her young days. But look +at this; I think it will interest you all. It is a curious ivory +carving, and is a puzzle which I should like to challenge any one to +explain."</p> + +<p>And so this uncomfortable episode, the only one that occurred during +the evening, passed quietly away.</p> + +<p>Music was soon called for, and Madeleine sang a beautiful song of the +sea. Then there was a merry glee, and a duet on the piano and +violoncello, and the time passed so cheerily that when the trays with +refreshments came round, betokening that the time to go was fast +approaching, everybody instinctively looked at the clock to make sure +that there was not some mistake.</p> + +<p>One or two of the boys, as they lay awake that night, trying to recall +some of its pleasant hours, little thought that as long as life lasted +the incidents of that reception evening would be stamped indelibly upon +their memories.</p> + +<p>"Now, aunt," said Madeleine, after all the guests had departed, "sit +down and rest, and let me collect the things together."</p> + +<p>Everybody knows how a drawing-room looks when the company has gone. +Music here, drawings there, musical instruments somewhere else, and a +certain amount of confusion not apparent before now apparent +everywhere.</p> + +<p>But Mrs. Brier was one of those who never could sit still while +anything had to be done, and she began to arrange the cabinet which +held her curiosities, while Madeleine collected the music. They were +thus employed when Mrs. Brier suddenly exclaimed, "Oh! Madeleine!"</p> + +<p>"What is the matter, aunt?" asked the young girl, running to her.</p> + +<p>"Nothing, I hope, but I cannot find the miniature portrait or the old +snuff-box which were here."</p> + +<p>"Then they must be on one of the tables!" said Madeleine.</p> + +<p>"I fear not; I laid everything back in the case myself—at least, I +believe I did—before putting it in the cabinet."</p> + +<p>A careful search in every probable and improbable place in the room was +made, but the missing articles could not be found. The Doctor was +hastily called, and inquiries were made of him.</p> + +<p>"No, my dear, I have seen nothing of them," he said. "I was busy with +the microscopes, and never even saw the things during the evening. Let +us look about—we shall soon find them."</p> + +<p>Search after search was made, but in vain, and there was but one +conclusion at which to arrive,—the miniature and the snuff-box had +been taken away.</p> + +<p>But by whom? It could not have been by the servants, for they had only +entered the room to bring the refreshments. It could not have been by +any of the lady guests, for they had not been near the curiosities; +being old friends, these had often been shown to them before.</p> + +<p>It was, perhaps, the most trying hour that either the Doctor or Mrs. +Brier had ever spent. They were not grieved simply because they had +lost property, valuable as it was, but their deepest sorrow arose from +the fear that honor had been lost in the school.</p> + +<hr class="short" /> + +<h3>CHAPTER III.</h3> + +<h4>THE LOST MINIATURE.</h4> + + +<p>The morning came, and the anxiety which the Doctor and Mrs. Brier had +felt the night before was not removed but rather increased. What to do +for the best was the question preying upon both minds. There was no +escape from the conviction that one of the boys, either by accident or +with evil intent, had taken the missing articles. If by accident, they +would be returned the first thing in the morning, although there would +be no excuse for not having returned them on the previous evening as +soon as the discovery was made; and if with evil intent who was the +culprit?</p> + +<p>The Doctor was one of those men who could best bear anxiety +out-of-doors. If anything unusual troubled him, no matter what the +weather might be, he would pace the garden or wander through the +fields, while he thought or prayed himself out of the difficulty.</p> + +<p>He was a God-fearing man. I do not mean in the sense in which many +apply this term, turning a good old phrase into a cant expression. He +believed in God, he believed in the Bible, and he believed in prayer.</p> + +<p>So, after he had paced the garden in the early morning, long before any +others of the establishment were abroad, he turned into the +summer-house, and there, quiet and alone, he prayed for guidance in his +difficulty.</p> + +<p>When breakfast was over the boys began to away to their several rooms +and occupations, but those who had been at the Doctor's on the +previous evening were told separately that he wished to speak with them +in his library. Each was rather startled on arriving to find others +there, and a vague feeling of discomfort prevailed at first. Mrs. Brier +was present, and this added to the mystery, as she was rarely seen in +the library.</p> + +<p>"Now, my boys," said the Doctor, when all had assembled, "I want to +take you all into my confidence, and shall be glad, in the interest of +all, if what is now said is kept as much as possible to ourselves. The +matter about which I have called you together is one that has caused me +much anxiety, and I shall be thankful if you can allay my uneasiness. +You will remember that last night Mrs. Brier showed you a casket of +trinkets and curiosities, amongst them a valuable miniature painting +and an antique snuff-box. I am sorry to say that these are missing. +Careful and diligent search has been made for them, but they cannot be +found. Can any of you throw light on the subject? Is it possible that +by accident one of you may have mislaid them, or inadvertently have +carried them away?"</p> + +<p>Anxious glances were exchanged from one to the other as each answered +in the negative. An awkward pause followed.</p> + +<p>"And now," said the Doctor, "it is my painful duty to ask you +separately whether you know anything whatever about the matter. For the +sake of each, and the honor of all, I charge you to tell me truth as in +the sight of God. Herbert, do you know anything about it?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir."</p> + +<p>"Marsden, do you?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir; nothing whatever. I saw the things and thought I saw Mrs. +Brier put them back in the box."</p> + +<p>"Do you know anything, McDonald?"</p> + +<p>"I do not, sir."</p> + +<p>"Do you, Pemberton?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir."</p> + +<p>"Do you, Morton?"</p> + +<p>Digby stammered and hesitated. The Doctor repeated his question.</p> + +<p>"I know nothing for certain, sir. But I—I think—" and he held to the +back of a chair with a very determined clutch as he again hesitated, +and began to speak.</p> + +<p>"What do you think, man? Speak out," said the Doctor.</p> + +<p>"I think I ought to mention a circumstance, but I shall prefer speaking +to you alone."</p> + +<p>"Does it relate to any one present?"</p> + +<p>"It does."</p> + +<p>"Then I must have it told here. But let me first continue my question +to each one present."</p> + +<p>The question went round, and the answer in each case was in the +negative.</p> + +<p>"Now, Morton, I must ask you to state what you know of this matter, or +rather what you suspect, and I leave it to your good sense to say only +that which you think it absolutely necessary for me to know."</p> + +<p>There was a dead silence. Every eye was turned toward Digby with +intense interest, while he fixed his gaze steadily upon the floor.</p> + +<p>"I saw Howard Pemberton putting the miniature in his breast coat-pocket +last evening, sir, when we were in your drawing-room. I said to him, +'I've caught you, have I.' He made no reply to me, but turned away, +very red in the face—"</p> + +<p>"It is false—wickedly false," cried Howard, in a passionate burst of +feeling.</p> + +<p>"He states it is false," continued Digby, "but I will appeal to Fraser +or McDonald, who saw it, or better still, to Martin Venables, who also +saw it, and made some remark in apology for him!"</p> + +<p>"Do you know of anything else, directly or indirectly, that you think +should come to my knowledge?" asked the Doctor.</p> + +<p>"Nothing more, sir, except that Pemberton, whose room adjoins mine, +seemed to have something on his mind last night, for he was walking +about in his room in the middle of the night, and I fancied he got out +of the window. This is all I have to say, sir. I said I knew nothing +for certain, and I hope I have not done wrong in telling you this +much."</p> + +<p>And now all eyes turned to Howard Pemberton. He stood speechless. He +felt as in a horrible nightmare, and could neither move body nor mind +to break the spell. If he could have known that there was not one in +the room who believed him to be guilty, he would have easily recovered +from the blow; but with his peculiarly nervous temperament, although +conscious of perfect innocence in the matter, he felt that the terrible +insinuations which had been made against him had separated him from +those whom he loved and honored, and he was crushed beneath the weight +of implied dishonor.</p> + +<p>Happy is the man who has a friend, and Howard had many, but perhaps +none greater than Martin Venables. Martin knew the peculiarities of +Howard's character better than any one present, and seeing the position +in which he was placed he came forward to vindicate him.</p> + +<p>"Dr. Brier, there is not a boy in this school, except Digby, who does +not love and respect Howard Pemberton. I hate to be a tale-bearer, but +I know that for many months he has cherished a great animosity to +Howard, and has taken every opportunity of showing it. The story which +he has now invented is as clumsy as it is false. It is the worst kind +of falsehood, for it has just a shadow of truth in it as regards one +part of the story. When Mrs. Brier showed the miniature, it pleased +Howard, as it does everybody who sees it. He made a remark to me that +it was very much like my cousin, Miss Greenwood, and perhaps you know, +sir, that many boys in the school think her very lovely and amiable. +Howard thought so too, and when he attempted to put the miniature in +his pocket, as Digby untruthfully stated, he merely put it, in fun, to +the place where they say the heart is. It was what any of us might have +done, and, wise or not wise, we would certainly have meant no harm. But +I am quite certain that afterward the portrait passed into the hands of +Alick Fraser, and then into Digby's, and after that it was placed in +the case by Mrs. Brier. I do not say, sir, that Digby Morton has +willfully misrepresented facts for the purpose of getting one who was +once his most intimate school friend into trouble, but I say that if +Howard Pemberton is untruthful or dishonest, I do not believe an honest +boy lives."</p> + +<p>The boys were quite excited over Martin's speech—the first set speech +he had ever made—and they greeted it with undisguised enthusiasm.</p> + +<p>The Doctor seemed to think that somebody ought to say something +equivalent to "silence in the court" at this display of sentiment, +although in his heart of hearts he would have liked to step forward and +pat Martin on the back for his manly defense of his friend. But an +interruption was made to the proceedings by a tap at the door.</p> + +<p>"Can I speak with Mrs. Brier?" said a servant, putting her head in at +the door.</p> + +<p>"No, Mrs. Brier is engaged," answered the Doctor, rather sharply for +him.</p> + +<p>Servants have a knack of knowing what is going on in a house, and this +servant seemed to be in the secret which had called the little assembly +together, for she would not take the rebuff, but said:</p> + +<p>"If you please, sir, I <i>must</i> speak to Mrs. Brier."</p> + +<p>So Mrs. Brier left the room for a moment, to return again in company +with the servant.</p> + +<p>"What is this all about?" asked the Doctor.</p> + +<p>"If you please, sir, this morning, in making the bed Mr. Pemberton +sleeps in, I noticed the ticking loose, and I put my hand in, as I felt +something hard, and I found this snuff-box."</p> + +<p>I have read in books about boys who, under some exciting necessity, +have started in an instant from boyhood to manhood, just as I have read +about people's hair in time of trouble turning from black to white in +the course of a night. Howard Pemberton did not spring from boyhood to +manhood at this strange discovery, nor did his hair turn white, but the +words of the servant had a sudden and powerful influence upon him. In a +moment he turned to his accuser and said:</p> + +<p>"Digby, there is some vile secret underlying all this, and I don't know +what it is. But I declare to you, solemnly, that I am innocent of this +charge. If you have spoken against me to-day because you thought you +ought to do it, I can't blame you, but if you have done it from any +wrong motive, I hope you'll confess it before evil is added to evil."</p> + +<p>But Digby merely shrugged his shoulders, and turning to the Doctor, +said: "Have you anything more you wish to ask me, sir?"</p> + +<p>Dr. Brier was fairly nonplussed. The fog grew denser all around him. +Addressing a few words of caution to those who had been summoned to +this the strangest meeting that was ever held in Blackrock School, he +dismissed the boys, ordering Howard and Digby to be kept in separate +rooms until he should arrive at some judgment in the case.</p> + +<hr class="short" /> + +<h3>CHAPTER IV.</h3> + +<h4>THE VERDICT.</h4> + + +<p>It was all very well for the Doctor to decide to keep the boys in two +separate rooms until he should form some judgment on the case, but +toward the close of the day, after the most searching inquiries had +been instituted, he was no nearer to a final decision than when he +started, and he feared they might have to remain where they were until +Doomsday, unless he could find out something positive about the matter.</p> + +<p>Howard and Digby were missed from their accustomed places in the +school, and by the mid-day play-time the secret had oozed out, and +great discussions were being held as to the merits of the case. There +was not a boy in the school who in his heart believed that Howard was +really guilty, although the evidence seemed clearly against him. There +was not, on the other hand, one who felt justified in thinking that +Digby had willfully accused his friend falsely, and yet there was an +uncomfortable suspicion that it might be so.</p> + +<p>All the next day inquiries went on, and nothing of importance was the +result. The Doctor had seen the prisoners, and talked to each +separately; he had taken counsel from those of the boys upon whose +judgment he could rely, and in the evening all those who had +constituted the preliminary meeting were again called together. The +first count in the indictment, namely, that Howard had attempted to +pocket the miniature, was discussed and dismissed as a misconstruction +of motive. The second charge as to his being about in his room during +the night was not so easily got rid of. Howard pleaded that he had gone +to sleep as usual, and slept soundly, but that he was aroused by +hearing, as he thought, some one in his room. He went to sleep again, +and was aroused a second time by the stumbling of some one over a box, +as it seemed to him, which was followed by the sudden closing of a +door. He got up, went into Digby's room, listened by his bedside, and +found he was breathing hard, and then, noticing that his window was not +fast, he opened it and looked out. The nightingales were singing, and +he sat up for a long time listening to them. Then, as he grew chilly, +he closed the window and turned into bed again, and slept till Digby +called him. Beyond this he knew nothing.</p> + +<p>The Doctor summed up. There was guilt in the heart of one boy at least, +but which one there was no evidence at present to show. That the fact +of the snuff-box being found in Howard's bed had at first sight looked +like circumstantial evidence against him could not be denied, but as +the links in the chain had been broken in several places, he considered +that the whole had fallen to pieces, and he confessed that he did not +believe for a moment, from the facts before him, that Howard was +guilty. From his knowledge of Digby he must fully exonerate him from +the charge of willfully implicating his friend in the matter, as it +seemed evident that he was justified in expressing the suspicions he +entertained, considering the circumstances of the case. For the present +the matter must be dismissed, but he could not doubt that light would +soon shine through the darkness, and the true facts of the case would +yet be known. He would still urge that if anything should transpire in +the knowledge of any one present that it was important he should know, +no selfish motive should induce him to remain silent, while at the same +time he would deprecate suspicions of each other, and would remind them +that as the law judged those to be innocent who were not proved to be +guilty, so it must be in this case. With this the Doctor dismissed the +assembly.</p> + + +<hr class="short" /> + + +<p>So far in our story we have confined ourselves to the characters in +whom we are immediately interested, without any reference to their +previous history or family connections. But I must pause here to take a +glance into two homesteads, a few days after the events just described.</p> + +<p>In the breakfast-room at Ashley House Mr. Morton had laid aside his +newspaper, and was reading a letter from Dr. Brier. It was the second +or third time he had read it, and it seemed to disturb him. Mr. Morton +hated to be disturbed in any way. He was a hard man, who walked +straight through the world without hesitating or turning to the right +hand or to the left. He was a strong-minded man—at least, everybody +who got in his way had good reason to think so. But he had a rather +weak-minded wife. Poor Mrs. Morton was a flimsy woman, without much +stamina, mental or bodily. She stroked her cat, read her novel, lay +upon the sofa, or lolled in her carriage, and interested herself in +little that was really necessary to a true life. It was in such an +atmosphere as this that Ethel Morton lived and Digby had been reared.</p> + +<p>Their mother had died when Ethel was a very little baby, and when the +new Mrs. Morton came home the children were old enough to feel that +they could not hope to find in her what they had lost in their true +mamma.</p> + +<p>Ethel was a bright, pleasant girl, and, being left very much to +herself, she seemed to live in a world of her own. As a child she +peopled this world with dolls, and each doll had an individuality, a +history, and a set of ideas attached to it, which gave her almost a +human companionship in it. Then came the world of fairies and gnomes +and elves, amongst whom she held sway as queen, and many a plant and +shrub in the garden, and glade in the woodlands, was a part of her +fairy-land. And, now that she was nearly seventeen, a new world was +dawning upon her; human wants and human sympathies were demanding her +thought and care, and every day brought her into contact with those in +the villages round about, whose histories were educating her heart into +the true ideal of womanhood.</p> + +<p>As Mr. Morton finished reading the letter he passed it to his wife, +merely remarking:</p> + +<p>"You will see Digby has mixed himself up with some disagreeable piece +of business in the school. It is time he came home. I shall see Mr. +Vickers about him to-day, and write for him to return as soon as this +affair has blown over, instead of in September, in order that he may +commence his studies in the law at once."</p> + +<p>Leaving Mrs. Morton to mourn that her anxieties and responsibilities +were to be increased by Digby's return, and Ethel to rejoice in the +fact that her brother was coming home to be again her companion, let us +now take a glance into a home in the suburbs of London.</p> + +<p>It is a humbler home than that we have just visited, and a happier one. +The breakfast-room is elegantly furnished, but it is small; the garden +is well stocked with flowers, but the whole extent of it is not greater +than the lawn at Ashley House.</p> + +<p>There are three people round the breakfast-table. Mrs. Pemberton, a +handsome woman, dressed in the neatest of black and lavender dresses, +and wearing a picturesque widow's-cap. Nellie, her daughter, a girl +about nine or ten years old, and Captain Arkwright, a retired naval +officer, the brother of Mrs. Pemberton.</p> + +<p>There is anxiety on each face, and traces of recent tears mark that of +Mrs. Pemberton, as she nervously turns over and over in her hand a long +letter from Dr. Brier, and a still longer and more closely written one +from Howard.</p> + +<p>"It is an extraordinary and distressing affair," she said, "and I am at +a loss to know what to do. What would you advise, Charles?"</p> + +<p>"I should advise Dr. Brier to choose a lunatic asylum to go to. What a +wooden-headed old fellow he must be, to have got the affair into such a +mess. Do? I should do nothing. You certainly don't suppose Howard is +really concerned in the affair. Not he; that sort of thing isn't in his +line. It'll all come right enough by and by, so, don't fidget yourself, +my dear," he continued. "There's some vile plot laid against Howard, +but if he doesn't come clean out of it with flying colors, call me a +simpleton."</p> + +<p>That day was spent in letter-writing, and the same post that brought to +Digby the intelligence that he was to leave school that term, and +commence work with Mr. Vickers, conveyed to Howard the loving sympathy +of true hearts, which clung to him through evil report and good report.</p> + +<div class="center">(<i>To be continued.</i>)</div> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="newscarrier" id="newscarrier">THE NEWS-CARRIER.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY CATHARINE S. BOYD.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<a name="image27" id="image27"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image27.jpg" width="300" height="282" +alt="OH NO! IT IS NOT I!" title="OH NO! IT IS NOT I!" /> +<p class="caption">"OH NO! IT IS NOT I!"</p> +</div> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div class="quote">"How do you know?" "Who told you so?"</div> + <div class="in1">These words you often hear;</div> + <div>And then it often happens, too,</div> + <div class="in1">This answer meets your ear:</div> + <div class="quote">"A little bird has told the tale,</div> + <div>And far it spreads o'er hill and dale."</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Now let us see if this can be.</div> + <div class="in1">How can the birds find out so well,</div> + <div>And give the news to all?</div> + <div class="in1">Or, if they know, why need they tell?</div> + <div>And which among the feathered tribe</div> + <div>Must we to keep our secrets bribe?</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>The busy crow? As all well know,</div> + <div class="in1">He sometimes breaks the laws;</div> + <div>We shall regret it, when he does,</div> + <div class="in1">For he will give us cause.</div> + <div>Though slyest of the feathered tribe,</div> + <div>The crow would scorn to need a bribe;—</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Not robin red; he holds his head</div> + <div class="in1">With such an honest air,</div> + <div>And whistles bravely at his work,</div> + <div class="in1">But has no time to spare.</div> + <div class="quote">"I mind my own concerns," says he;</div> + <div class="quote">"They're most important, all may see;"—</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Nor birdie blue, so leal and true;</div> + <div class="in1">He never heeds the weather,</div> + <div>But in the latest winter-days</div> + <div class="in1">His fellows flock together;</div> + <div>And then, indeed, glad news they bring</div> + <div>Of early buds and blossoming.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Might not each one beneath the sun</div> + <div class="in1">Of all the race reply,</div> + <div>If questioned who should wear the cap,</div> + <div class="in1">"Oh no! it is not I?"</div> + <div>For there are none who, every day,</div> + <div>Are busier at work than they.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>They chatter too, as others do;</div> + <div class="in1">But what it is about,</div> + <div>The wisest sage in all the earth</div> + <div class="in1">Might puzzle to make out.</div> + <div>But I'm as sure as I can be,</div> + <div>They never talk of you or me,</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>We hear "They say,"—oh, every day!</div> + <div class="in1">Are <i>they</i> the birds, I wonder,</div> + <div>That have such power with words to part</div> + <div class="in1">The dearest friends asunder?</div> + <div>Or must we search the wide world through</div> + <div>To bring the culprits full in view?</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>The birds, we see, though wild and free,</div> + <div class="in1">Have something else to do;</div> + <div>And, reader, don't you think the same</div> + <div class="in1">Might well be said of you?</div> + <div>It really seems to be a shame</div> + <div>That <i>they</i> should always bear the blame.</div> +</div> +</div> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="livingsilver" id="livingsilver">LIVING SILVER.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY MARY H. SEYMOUR.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>The ground was covered with snow, and now it had begun raining. There +was no prospect of a change in the weather, which made Fred's face +rather gloomy as he looked out of the window. Harry was turning over +the leaves of a story-book. You could see they were both disappointed +that the morning was stormy; for when they came to grandpapa's in the +winter, they expected bright days and plenty of fun.</p> + +<p>"What shall we do?" said Fred.</p> + +<p>"Let's go into the garret!" exclaimed Harry.</p> + +<p>This plan evidently suited both of them, for they made a rush toward +the door; and the dog, awakening from his nap, entered into the idea, +too.</p> + +<p>At this moment, Aunt Carrie came into the room. They wished it had been +grandmamma, for she never laid the least restriction on their sports, +but smiled on every request and allowed them to do exactly as they +pleased.</p> + +<p>"Now, boys," said Aunt Carrie, "where are you going?"</p> + +<p>"Only into the garret, auntie."</p> + +<p>"Be sure to leave things exactly as you find them," she replied, with a +laugh and a little groan.</p> + +<p>"We always do, Aunt Carrie."</p> + +<p>Away they went, with Gyp at their heels, and every footstep resounded +through the old house until they reached the upper floor.</p> + +<p>"It is no wonder that garret is never in order," said Aunt Carrie; "but +the children must enjoy themselves."</p> + +<p>"Of course, they must, Carrie," replied grandma from the depths of her +heart.</p> + +<p>First, the boys pulled out a box of old books and papers, and busied +themselves reading the queer names and advertisements of old times. +Soon they turned from these to a shelf of chemical instruments. Most of +them were in perfect order, and they knew they must keep their hands +off, for the bulbs and tubes of glass were too delicate to be touched +by unskilled fingers.</p> + +<p>"Here is an old broken forrometer," exclaimed Harry. "Let's ask grandpa +if we can have it."</p> + +<p>"You mean <i>thermometer</i>, don't you?" said Fred. "What can we do with +that?"</p> + +<p>"Don't you see? There is a great deal of quicksilver in this glass +ball, and we can play with it. I'll show you how." And away they went +downstairs to find their grandfather.</p> + +<p>"Grandpa, can we have this?"</p> + +<p>Mr. Lenox looked up from his newspaper.</p> + +<p>"Let me see it a moment. What do you wish to do with it?"</p> + +<p>"We will break it and take out the quicksilver, and then I will show +you. Let me ask Ellen for a dish to catch the drops."</p> + +<p>"Not quite so fast; wait a moment, Harry," replied Mr. Lenox. "I wish +you to notice something about it first. The top of the tube is slightly +broken, which makes it of no exact use, for to measure heat or cold the +quicksilver must be entirely protected from the air. If you had noticed +it when you first came in, you would see that the warmth of the room +has caused it to rise in the tube. This is shown by the marks on the +plate to which it is fastened. Now, if you hold it close to the stove, +the quicksilver will rise still higher. Let it stand outside the window +a moment, and it will sink."</p> + +<p>By this time the boys were much interested.</p> + +<p>"But what makes it do so, grandpa?" they asked.</p> + +<p>"Quicksilver is very sensitive to heat and cold. If the weather is +warm, or if the room it is in is warm, it expands—swells out—and so +rises in the glass tube, as you have seen. The least coolness in the +air will cause it to contract, or draw itself into a smaller space; +then, of course, it sinks in the tube.</p> + +<p>"The barometer is another instrument in which quicksilver is used. It +is intended to measure the weight of the air, therefore the quicksilver +in it must be exposed to the pressure of the air. Common barometers +have it inclosed in a small leather bag at the back of the instrument. +This we do not see, but only the tube which is connected with it. When +the weather is pleasant, the air, contrary to the general idea, being +heavier, presses against this little bag and the quicksilver rises in +the tube. When the atmosphere is damp, the pressure being less, the +metal sinks."</p> + +<p>"Grandpa," said Harry, "when you think of it, isn't quicksilver a funny +word?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; it was so named by people who lived many hundreds of years ago. +They called it <i>living silver</i> also. It is the only metal found in a +liquid state; and so many strange changes did it pass through under +their experiments, that it seemed to them really a living thing. If +they tried to pick it up, it would slip out of their fingers. When +thoroughly shaken, it became a fine powder. They boasted that it had +the faculty of swallowing any other metal, while powerful heat caused +it to disappear entirely. It is now known among metals as mercury. Can +you tell me, Fred, some of the metals?"</p> + +<p>"Oh yes, sir! There are gold, silver, iron, lead and copper."</p> + +<p>"That is right. But, you know, all these are hard; some of them can be +chipped with a knife, but they cannot be dipped up in pails, unless +they have first been melted. Yet mercury can be frozen so hard that it +may be hammered out like lead, and sometimes it takes the form of +square crystals. Yet it can be made to boil, and then sends off a +colorless vapor."</p> + +<p>"Grandpa." said Fred, who had scarcely listened to the last words, "if +mercury can be dipped up in pails, it must be very easy to get it. I +read somewhere that gold and silver are so mixed in with the rock that +it takes a great deal of time and money to separate them."</p> + +<p>"That is true; but mercury is not always obtained easily. It forms part +of a soft, red rock called cinnabar, composed of mercury and sulphur. +The cinnabar is crushed and exposed to heat, when the metal, in the +form of vapor, passes into a vessel suited to the purpose, where it is +cooled. Then, being reduced to its liquid state, it is pure and fit for +use. When men working in the mines heat the rocks, the quicksilver will +sometimes roll out in drops as large as a pigeon's egg, and fall on the +ground in millions of sparkling globules. Think how very beautiful it +must be, the dark red rock glittering on every side with the living +silver, while every crack and crevice is filled with it!</p> + +<p>"Visitors to the mines of Idria are shown an experiment that I think +would interest you boys. In large iron kettles filled with mercury are +placed huge stones, and these stones do not sink."</p> + +<p>"Why, grandpa! how can that be?"</p> + +<p>"Did you ever see wood floating on water?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, but that is different."</p> + +<p>"But the principle is the same; can you tell me why?"</p> + +<p>Both the boys looked puzzled.</p> + +<p>"It is only because the wood does not weigh so much as water; neither +are the stones as heavy as mercury, therefore they cannot sink."</p> + +<p>"I wish we could go into the mines. Can't you take us, sometime, +grandpa?" said Harry.</p> + +<p>"That is asking rather too much, my child, for quicksilver is not a +common metal. There are in the world only four important localities +from which it is obtained. These are California, Peru, Austria, and +Almaden in Spain. The mines nearest us are in California. I think I +shall never go as far as that, but I hope you both may before you reach +my age.</p> + +<p>"It is a curious story how the mines in Peru were discovered. Cinnabar, +when ground very fine, will make a beautiful red paint. The Indians +used this to ornament their bodies on grand occasions. This caused the +country where they lived to be examined, and the cinnabar was found. +The Romans used this paint hundreds of years ago in decorating their +images and in painting pictures. It is very highly valued now, and we +call it vermilion."</p> + +<p>"Fred," continued Mr. Lenox, "you spoke of the difficulty of +separating gold and silver from the rock in which they are found. Did +you know that our wonderful mercury renders valuable aid in this? The +rock that contains the precious metal is crushed fine, sifted and +washed until as much as possible of the gold or silver is removed; then +it is placed in a vessel with the quicksilver, which seems immediately +to absorb it, thus separating it entirely from every particle of sand +or rock. If the metal to be cleansed is gold, you will see a pasty mass +or amalgam, as it is called, of a yellowish tinge. This is heated, and +the mercury flies away, leaving behind it the pure gold."</p> + +<p>"How did people learn to do this?" asked Fred.</p> + +<p>"They did not learn it all at once. It was only by years of patient +effort and frequent failure that they finally succeeded.</p> + +<p>"You know there are many gold and silver mines in California," +continued grandpa. "Near some of them large mines of quicksilver have +been discovered. You can imagine that this caused great rejoicing, for +all the quicksilver previously used was sent in ships to this part of +the world, which, of course, made it scarce and very expensive. Now, we +can send away quantities to other countries after supplying our own +wants.</p> + +<p>"Notwithstanding that this strange metal renders such service to +mankind—for I could tell you of many other useful things it does—it +is a deadly poison. Its vapor is so dangerous that persons searching +for it often die from breathing the air where it is found. About +seventy years ago, the mines in Austria, took fire, and thirteen +hundred workmen were poisoned, and many of them died. The water that +was used to quench the fire being pumped into the river Idria, all the +fish died excepting the eels. Since that time, spiders and rats have +deserted the mines.</p> + +<p>"Mercury is carried in sheepskin bags and cast-iron bottles. It is so +heavy that an ordinary cork would soon be forced out by it, therefore +an iron stopper must be screwed in.</p> + +<p>"Once, some bags of mercury were stored in the hold of a foreign +vessel; unfortunately, a few of the bags were rotten and leaked. Every +person on board was poisoned, and every piece of metal connected with +the vessel received a silvery coating of mercury."</p> + +<p>"It is dreadful! Fred, don't let us touch it," said Harry.</p> + +<p>"Don't be frightened yet, Harry. Did you know that mercury is used as a +medicine? It is given in very small doses."</p> + +<p>"I am sure I shall never take it," exclaimed Fred.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you may have done so already," replied their grandfather, +laughing. "Did you ever hear of blue-pill and calomel? They both are +preparations of mercury."</p> + +<p>Just then the sun shone into the room so brightly that every one turned +to the windows. Such a sparkle! The evergreens were covered with +shining ice-drops, and the tall trees pointed their glistening branches +toward the few clouds that were hurrying over the blue sky.</p> + +<p>"I am not sorry it rained, after all," said Fred. "I have enjoyed the +morning so much that I forgot the play we were going to have."</p> + +<p>Two happy, tired boys went to sleep that night, and the next morning +they started for home. They both agreed in thinking they had never +enjoyed a more delightful visit at grandpapa's.</p> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="woods" id="woods">THE WOODS IN WINTER</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>There is scarcely any place so lonely as the depths of the woods in +winter. Everything is quiet, cold and solemn. Occasionally a rabbit may +go jumping over the snow, and if the woods are really wild woods, we +may sometimes get a sight of a deer. Now and then, too, some poor +person who has been picking up bits of fallen branches for firewood may +be met bending under his load, or pulling it along on a sled. In some +parts of the country, wood-cutters and hunters are sometimes seen, but +generally there are few persons who care to wander in the woods in +winter. The open roads for sleighing, and the firm ice for skating, +offer many more inducements to pleasure-seekers.</p> + +<p>But young people who do not mind trudging through snow, and walking +where they must make their own path-way, may find among the great black +trunks of the forest trees, and under the naked branches stretching out +overhead, many phases of nature that will be both new and +interesting—especially to those whose lives have been spent in cities.</p> + +<a name="image28" id="image28"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image28.jpg" width="281" height="400" +alt="THE WOODS IN WINTER." title="THE WOODS IN WINTER." /> +<p class="caption">THE WOODS IN WINTER.</p> +</div> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="crumbs" id="crumbs">CRUMBS FROM OLDER READING.</a></h2> + +<h3>II.</h3> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY JULIA E. SARGENT.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<h4>IRVING.</h4> + + +<p>Washington Irving has so many things for us, and we have heard so much +that is pleasant of him, that a good time with him may be expected; and +you would not read far in Irving's books before learning that no one +believed in "good times" more than he. The name of his home on the +Hudson would tell you that. "Sunnyside" is not the name a gloomy man +would choose.</p> + +<p>Perhaps you will like best to hear that many of you often stand where +Irving stood, and walk the streets he knew so well, for New York City +was Irving's birthplace, and there many of the seventy-six years of his +life were spent. One of his books is a funny description of his native +town in the days of its old Dutch governors. He does not call it +Irving's, but "Knickerbocker's History of New York." And as only Irving +knew anything of Diedrich Knickerbocker outside this book, we will let +him tell you that "the old gentleman died shortly after the publication +of his work." Of course, Irving can say what he chooses about +Knickerbocker's book, so he gives it as his opinion that, "To tell the +truth, it is not a whit better than it should be." But Sir Walter +Scott, in a letter to a friend, says of these funny papers of Irving's: +"I have been employed these few evenings in reading them aloud to Mrs. +S. and two ladies who are our guests, and our sides have been +absolutely sore with laughing." All Irving's histories are not +"make-believe," and some day you will read Irving's "Life of +Columbus," and "Life of Washington," completed just before his death in +1859, without thinking of them as histories. He wrote the "Life of +Columbus" in Spain. Can you tell me why that was the best place to +write it?</p> + +<p>Would you like to know where the boy Irving might often have been seen +when he was not devouring the contents of some book of travels? "How +wistfully," he wrote, "would I wander about the pier-heads in fine +weather? and watch the parting ships, bound to distant climes!"</p> + +<p>Not many years after, he wrote from England, "I saw the last blue line +of my native land fade away like a cloud in the horizon." He was then +in England, where he visited Westminster Abbey, Stratford-on-Avon, and +many other grand and famous places. Of these, and much that is neither +grand nor famous, he has written in the "Sketch-book," giving this +reason for so naming word-paintings: "As it is the fashion for modern +tourists to travel pencil in hand and bring home their portfolios +filled with sketches, I am disposed to get up a few for the +entertainment of my friends." Is it not as good as a picture to hear +this man, who had no little ones of his own, tell of "three fine, +rosy-cheeked boys," who chanced to be his companions in a stage-coach? +This is what he writes:</p> + +<p>"They were returning home for the holidays in high glee and promising +themselves a world of enjoyment. It was delightful to hear the gigantic +plans of the little rogues. * * * They were full of anticipations of +the meeting with the family and household, down to the very cat and +dog, and of the joy they were to give their little sisters by the +presents with which their pockets were crammed; but the meeting to +which they seemed to look forward with the greatest impatience was with +Bantam, which I found to be a pony." When he had heard what a +remarkable animal this pony was said to be, Irving gave his attention +to other things until he heard a shout from the little travelers. Let +him tell the rest of the story.</p> + +<p>"They had been looking out of the coach-windows for the last few miles, +recognizing every tree and cottage as they approached home, and now +there was a general burst of joy. 'There's John! and there's old Carlo! +and there's Bantam!' cried the happy little rogues, clapping their +hands. At the end of a lane there was an old, sober-looking servant in +livery waiting for them; he was accompanied by a superannuated pointer, +and by the redoubtable Bantam, a little old rat of a pony, with a +shaggy mane and long, rusty tail, who stood dozing quietly by the +roadside, little dreaming of the bustling times that awaited him. Off +they set at last, one on the pony, with the dog bounding and barking +before him, and the others holding John's hands, both talking at once. +* * * We stopped a few moments afterward to water the horses, and on +resuming our route a turn of the road brought us in sight of a neat +country-seat. I could just distinguish the forms of a lady and two +young girls in the portico, and I saw my little comrades with Bantam, +Carlo, and old John trooping along the carriage-road. I leaned out of +the coach window in hopes of witnessing the happy meeting, but a grove +of trees shut it from my sight."</p> + +<p>"If ever love, as poets sing, delights to visit a cottage, it must be +the cottage of an English peasant," Irving thinks, and goes on to write +in his own pleasant fashion of many pleasant things in English country +life, saying: "Those who see the Englishman only in town are apt to +form an unfavorable opinion of his social character. * * * Wherever he +happens to be, he is on the point of going somewhere else; at the +moment when he is talking on one subject, his mind is wandering to +another; and while he is paying a friendly visit, he is calculating how +he shall economize time so as to pay the other visits allotted in the +morning."</p> + +<p>The "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a genuine ghost story. It is not very +startling, but very, very funny, when you know what scared poor Ichabod +Crane on his midnight ride that last time he went courting Governor +Wouter Van Twiller's only daughter.</p> + +<p>You must read for yourselves the famous story of Rip Van Winkle and the +nap he took. It is too long for me to give in Irving's words, and "Rip +Van Winkle" is just such a story as no one but Irving knows how to +tell.</p> + +<p>In another of his interesting stories in the "Sketch Book," told, he +says, by a queer old traveler to as queer a company gathered in a great +inn-kitchen, Irving describes the busy making-ready for a wedding. The +bride's father, he says, "had in truth nothing exactly to do."</p> + +<p>Do you suppose he was content to do nothing "when all the world was in +a hurry?"</p> + +<p>This is the way in which he helped: "He worried from top to bottom of +the castle with an air of infinite anxiety; he continually called the +servants from their work to exhort them to be diligent, and buzzed +about every hall and chamber as idly restless and importunate as a +blue-bottle fly on a warm summer's day." The book of Irving's that some +of you will like best of all is "The Alhambra." The Alhambra is the +ancient and romantic palace of the Moors. When he was in Spain, Irving +spent many dreamy days amid its ruined splendors, whence the last of +the Moors was long since driven into exile. We have good reason to be +glad that Irving saw the Alhambra, for this book is what came of it. We +shall all want to go where Irving went, after reading what he says of +the Alhambra by moonlight. "The garden beneath my window is gently +lighted up, the orange and citron trees are tipped with silver, the +fountain sparkles in the moonbeams, and even the blush of the rose is +faintly visible. * * * The whole edifice reminds one of the enchanted +palace of an Arabian tale."</p> + +<p>These, you know, are only crumbs, and crumbs which show Irving's "warm +heart" more, perhaps, than his "fine brain."</p> + +<p>To learn of his literary talent and well-deserved fame, of his rich +fancy and his wonderful ability for story-telling, you can better +afford to wait than to miss knowing how healthy, happy, and truly +lovable was this man's nature. Now, with only one of the many sober, +earnest thoughts, we must lay aside his books.</p> + +<p>"If thou art a child, and hast ever added a sorrow to the soul, or a +furrow to the silvered brow of an affectionate parent; if thou art a +friend and hast ever wronged in thought, or word, or deed, the spirit +that generously confided in thee, then be sure that every unkind look, +every ungracious word, every ungentle action, will come thronging back +upon thy memory."</p> + +<a name="image29" id="image29"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image29.png" width="288" height="400" alt="" /> +</div> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="boyinbox" id="boyinbox">THE BOY IN THE BOX.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY HELEN C. BARNARD.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>"You haven't any more ambition than a snail, Joe Somerby!" said +energetic Mrs. Somerby to her husband, as, with sleeves rolled to the +elbow, she scoured the kitchen paint.</p> + +<p>Joe, who was smoking behind the stove, slowly removed his pipe to +reply:</p> + +<p>"Wal, if I haint, I haint; and that's the end on 't!"</p> + +<p>"What would become of us if I was easy, too?" continued his spicy +partner. "Why can't you have a little grit?"</p> + +<p>Joe puffed away silently.</p> + +<p>"Now, you pretend to carry on the rag business, you spend all your +money a-buying and a-storing of 'em away; the back room's full, the +attic's full, the barn's full,—I can't stir hand or foot for them +rags! Why on earth don't you sell 'em?"</p> + +<p>"Waiting for 'em to rise, marm!"</p> + +<p>"Always a-waiting!" retorted Mrs. Somerby, thrusting her +scrubbing-brush and pail into a closet, and slamming the door upon her +finger. "Before you get through, the chance goes by. Joe," in a coaxing +tone, "I've had a presentiment."</p> + +<p>Joe evinced no interest, but removed his pipe to say:</p> + +<p>"Now, wife, don't get uneasy. Let's be comfortable."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I feel a presentiment about those rags;" the little woman whisked +into a chair beside her lord. "They say the paper manufacturers are +giving a big price now, husband. Why can't you take a load to the city +to-day? I've been thinking of it all the morning."</p> + +<p>"I'll do my own thinking, marm," said Joe, with dignity. He rose, +however, and laid his pipe away.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Somerby said no more, sure that she had roused him from his torpid +condition. She wound Joe up to the starting-point, just as she did her +kitchen-clock, and he kept upon his course as steadily as that ancient +time-piece. She was just the wife for ease-loving Joe, whom her brisk +ways never wounded, for he knew her heart was full of tenderness for +him.</p> + +<p>An hour later Joe drove into the yard. Mrs. Somerby flew out with a +lump of sugar for a jaded-looking horse, bought by Joe to speculate +upon, and who ate everything he could get, including his bedding, and +never grew fat.</p> + +<p>"I'll make a trotter of him in a month, and sell him to some of the +grandees!" Joe said, but his system failed or the material was +poor,—old Jack slouched along as if each step was likely to be his +last. But despite this, Jack had become very dear to the childless +couple, and they were as blind as doating parents to his defects.</p> + +<p>"Bless his heart!" cried Mrs. Somerby, as Jack whinnied at her +approach, and thrust his ugly nose into her hand.</p> + +<p>Mr. Somerby felt of Jack's ribs with a professional air, and said:</p> + +<p>"I'm trying a new system with this 'ere beast; I think he's picking up +a grain."</p> + +<p>"He'll pick up the grain, no doubt," playfully retorted his wife. "Now +then, I'll help you off. Those paper men'll have all they want if +you're not on hand. I'm glad I put you up to sorting the stuff last +week."</p> + +<p>"You'll 'put me up' till I'm clean gone," said Joe, winking to himself, +as he followed his lively wife. "Let them bags alone, marm. You can be +putting me up a big lunch."</p> + +<p>"It's all ready, under the wagon-seat. By good rights, Joe, you'd ought +to have a boy to help you."</p> + +<p>"It isn't a woman's work, I know," said he, kindly. "You just sit here +and look on."</p> + +<p>Joe swung her up on a bale as if she had been a child. Inspired by her +bright eyes he worked with a will. The wagon was soon loaded. Mrs. Joe +ran for his overcoat and best hat, gave him a wifely kiss, and watched +him depart from the low brown door-way.</p> + +<p>"She's the best bargain I ever made," thought Joe, as he jogged toward +the city. "I'm not quite up to her time, I know," continued he, and +there was a tender look in his sleepy eyes. "Howsomedever, I'll make a +lucky hit yet!"</p> + +<p>The prospect was so cheering that Joe actually snapped the whip at the +"trotter" who was meditating with his head between his knees. Jack, +however, did not increase his gait, but plodded on. It was bitter cold, +and Joe had to exercise himself to keep warm. It was afternoon when the +laden cart entered the city. Hungry Jack had stopped twice, and gazed +around at his master in dumb reproach. Joe was hungry, too; so he +hurried into a square, in the business part of the city, covered his +pet with an old quilt, and giving him his food, went to dispose of his +cargo. But Joe's purchasers had gone to dinner, so he returned, mounted +the cart, and began upon his own lunch.</p> + +<p>"Now, if they don't want my stuff, my wife's 'presentiment' 's gone +up," said the elegant Joe, "and I've had this cold trip for nothing."</p> + +<p>Just here a remarkable event occurred. Jack suddenly threw up his +meditative head, shied, and stood upon his hind-legs.</p> + +<p>"Hey there!" cried his master, delighted at this token of life. "Yer a +trotter, after all?"</p> + +<p>"Yer old nag scart, mister?" asked several small boys, who hovered +about.</p> + +<p>"He's a leetle lively!" said Joe, proudly. "Keep clear of his heels, +boys."</p> + +<p>Jack subsided, but eyed a pile of boxes in a court on the left.</p> + +<p>"What ails ye, Jack?"</p> + +<p>"It's the hermit ails him!" cried one, pointing toward a huge box from +one side of which somebody's head and shoulders protruded.</p> + +<p>"Quit scaring my horse!" cried Joe.</p> + +<p>The face was startlingly pale, and the eyes had a troubled, eager +look—the look of anxious care; but Joe knew their owner was a boy, +although he quickly disappeared in the box. Mr. Somerby resumed his +lunch, but kept the reins in case Jack should be startled when the boy +came out. But he did not appear; there was no sign of life in the box. +Joe thought he was either up to some more mischief or afraid; the +latter seemed most likely, as he recalled the white, still face.</p> + +<p>Joe got down from his cart and quietly peeped in. He was somewhat +astonished at first, for the boy was on his knees. The sight stirred +his sympathies strangely. The pallid lips were moving; soon, low words +came forth:</p> + +<p>"I don't know how to speak to you, dear Lord; but please help me. +Mother prayed to you, and you helped her. Oh! help me, I pray, for +Jesus' sake. Amen."</p> + +<a name="image30" id="image30"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image30.jpg" width="290" height="400" +alt="THE BOY WAS ON HIS KNEES." title="THE BOY WAS ON HIS KNEES." /> +<p class="caption">"THE BOY WAS ON HIS KNEES."</p> +</div> + +<p>The listener drew back to brush the tears from his eyes.</p> + +<p>"'Minds me o' Parson Willoughby's sermon—'Help, Lord, or I perish!' I +wish my wife was here. I declare I do. The little chap must be in +trouble!"</p> + +<p>Joe peeped in again. The boy did not see him as he was partly turned +from the opening. He threaded a rusty needle, and proceeded to patch +his coat. Joe could see the anxious puckers in his face as he bent over +the task.</p> + +<p>"I do wish she was here!" Joe cried, aloud.</p> + +<p>The boy turned quickly.</p> + +<p>"Why don't you go home, lad? You'll freeze to death here."</p> + +<p>"This is my home."</p> + +<p>"Sho! Do you mean to say you <i>live</i> here?"</p> + +<p>"Yes." The lad hesitated, then asked, "Are you from the country, sir?"</p> + +<p>"Wal, yes, I be. Though folks don't generally mistrust it when I'm +slicked up. But I don't stand no quizzing."</p> + +<p>The boy appeared surprised at this sudden outburst, and said, with a +frank, manly air that appeased Joe:</p> + +<p>"I thought if you lived a long way off I wouldn't mind answering your +questions. I'm English, and my name's John Harper. I don't mix with the +street boys, so they call me the hermit!"</p> + +<p>"Don't you 'mix' with your own folks, neither!"</p> + +<p>"They were lost at sea in our passage to this country," was the low +reply. "Sometimes I wish I'd died with them, and not been saved for +such a miserable life. Can't get work, though I've tried hard enough, +and I'd rather starve than beg. I can't beg!" he cried, despairingly. +"I'm ordered off for a vagrant if I warm myself in the depots, and I +don't suppose the city o' Boston'll let me stay here long."</p> + +<p>"Don't get down at the mouth—don't!" said honest Joe, in a choking +voice, as the extent of this misery dawned upon him.</p> + +<p>"There, you know all," said the boy, bitterly. "I scared your horse, or +I wouldn't tell so much. Besides, you look kinder than the men I meet. +Perhaps they're not so hard on such as me where you live?"</p> + +<p>But Joe had gone, his face twitching with suppressed emotion.</p> + +<p>"I'll take the hunger out o' them eyes, anyhow!" He grasped the +six-quart lunch pail, and, hastening back, cried, as he brandished it +about the lad's head, "Just you help a feller eat that, old chap. My +wife 'ud rave at me if I brought any of it home. Help ye'self!"</p> + +<p>Hunger got the better of John Harper's pride. He ate gladly. There +wasn't a crumb left when he returned the pail. The light of hope began +to dawn in his sad eyes,—who could be brave while famishing!</p> + +<p>Meantime, Joe had been puzzling his wits and wishing his wife was there +to devise some plan for the wayfarer.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if you'd mind my horse a spell, while I go about my +business?"</p> + +<p>So the pale hermit crept out of his box, and mounted the wagon, well +protected by an extra coat that comfort-loving Joe always carried.</p> + +<p>"He'll think he's earned it, if I give him money," was Joe's kind +thought. "He's proud, and don't want no favors. I'll give the lad a +lift, and then—"</p> + +<p>After "the lift," what was before the homeless boy? Somehow he had +crept into Joe's sympathies wonderfully. He couldn't bear to look +forward to the hour when Jack and he must leave him to his fate. A +chance word from the paper manufacturer put a new idea into Joe's +brain. He bought all the cargo at a good price, and engaged the stock +at home.</p> + +<p>"I'll bring it in soon," said Joe, putting his purse in a safe place. +"I don't keep no help to sort my stuff, or I'd be on hand to-morrow."</p> + +<p>"Ah," said the bland dealer, little thinking what a train of events he +was starting. "You are doing a good business; why don't you keep a boy? +I know one who is faithful and needy!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes, he's in my cart, done up in my coat!" cried Joe, suddenly. +He beamed upon the bewildered dealer, and rushed for the door, almost +crazy with the new idea.</p> + +<p>"My wife said I'd ought to have a boy, too," he thought, almost running +toward the spot where he had left the cart, Jack, and the solitary +figure in the great coat. Joe grasped the boy. "I've got a plan for +you, John Harper. I want a boy to help me; the dealer says so, my wife +says so, and I say so. You must go home with me to-night. We'll carry +this load to the store-house; then pitch in your baggage and start for +a better place than this, my lad!"</p> + +<p>It was, indeed, "a better place" for "the boy in the box,"—a place +where he found rest and food and shelter. After a little, he grew into +the hearts of the childless couple that they called him their own. +John went to school winters, and helped Mr. Somerby summers, and got +ahead so fast in his happy surroundings that ambitious Mrs. Somerby had +him educated. He is now a prosperous merchant, and a text for old Joe +to enlarge upon when his wife gets too spicy.</p> + +<p>"You wan't nowheres around when I found our John," he often says, "and +he's the best bargain I ever made, next to you!"</p> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="cocksun" id="cocksun">THE COCK AND THE SUN.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY J.P.B.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<a name="image31" id="image31"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image31.png" width="397" height="400" alt="" /> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>A cock sees the sun as he climbs up the east;</div> + <div class="in1">"Good-morning, Sir Sun, it's high time you appear;</div> + <div>I've been calling you up for an hour at least;</div> + <div class="in1">I'm ashamed of your slowness at this time of year!"</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>The sun, as he quietly rose into view,</div> + <div class="in1">Looked down on the cock with a show of fine scorn;</div> + <div>"You may not be aware, my young friend, but it's true,</div> + <div class="in1">That I rose once or twice before you, sir, were born!"</div> +</div> +</div> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="chickweedman" id="chickweedman">THE LONDON CHICK-WEED MAN.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY ALEXANDER WAINWRIGHT.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>Birds and flowers do much to enliven the dusky house-windows of the +London streets, and both are attended to with great care. The birds are +treated to some luxuries which our American pets scarcely know of at +all, in their domestic state, and among these are two small plants +called chick-weed and groundsel, which grow abundantly along the hedges +and in the fields on the outskirts of the smoky city. Both chick-weed +and groundsel are insignificant little things, but the epicurean lark, +canary, or goldfinch finds in it a most agreeable and beneficial +article of diet, quite as much superior to other green stuff as—in the +minds of some boys and girls—ice-cream and sponge-cake are superior to +roast-beef and potatoes.</p> + +<p>On Sunday afternoons and holidays, the lanes where the groundsel and +chick-weed grow are frequented by the citizens of the laboring class, +who, although the city is quite near and its smoke blackens the leaves, +call this the country and enjoy it as such. It is a pretty sight to see +them, when they are well behaved; and should one notice the boys and +girls, many of them would be found hunting under the hawthorn +hedge-rows for chick-weed and groundsel to be taken home for the pet +birds.</p> + +<a name="image32" id="image32"></a> +<div class="imgleft"> +<img src="images/image32.jpg" width="283" height="400" +alt="GRUN-SEL, GRUN-SEL, GRUN-SEL!" title="GRUN-SEL, GRUN-SEL, GRUN-SEL!" /> +<p class="caption">"GRUN-SEL, GRUN-SEL, GRUN-SEL!"</p> +</div> + +<p>But all the birds of London do not depend on the industry of their +owners for these luxuries. Some men make a trade of gathering and +selling the plants, and the picture which is opposite this page will +give the reader a good idea of how they look. Their business has one +decided advantage. It needs no capital or tools, and a strong pair of +legs and a knife are all that its followers really want. Perhaps it is +on this account that the groundsel and chick-weed sellers are all very +poor, and the raggedness of some is pitiable in the extreme, as the +picture shows. Their shoes are shockingly dilapidated, owing to their +long daily marches into the country, and the rest of their clothes are +nearly as bad.</p> + +<p>The one that we have illustrated is a fair example, but despite his +poverty-stricken appearance, his torn, loose sleeves and useless boots, +he is not at all repulsive. His face tells of want and toil; he has +slung a shabby old basket over his shoulders, in which he carries his +load, and, with a bunch in his hand, he saunters along the street, +proclaiming his trade, "Grun-sel, grun-sel, grun-sel!" Besides the +groundsel and the chick-weed, he has small pieces of turf for sale, of +which larks are very fond.</p> + +<p>The birds in their cages at the open windows chirp and put their pretty +little heads aside when they hear him coming; they know perfectly well +who he is and what he brings, and their twitter shapes itself into a +greeting. The old raven perched on the edge of the basket feels like a +superior being, and wonders why other birds make such a fuss over a +little green stuff, but that is only because he has coarser tastes.</p> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="johnny" id="johnny">JOHNNY.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY SARGENT FLINT.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>Johnny was in disgrace. "Drandma" had set him down uncomfortably hard +in his little wooden chair by the fire-place, and told him not to move +one inch right or left till she came back; she also told him to think +over how naughty he had been all day; but some way it seemed easier +just then to think of his grandma's short-comings.</p> + +<p>He looked through his tears at the candle in the tall silver +candlestick, and by half shutting his eyes he could make three candles, +and by blinking a little he could see pretty colors; but amusement +tends to dry tears, and Johnny wanted to cry.</p> + +<p>He caught the old cat and watched his tears slide off her smooth fur, +but when he held her head on one side and let a large round tear run +into her ear, she left him in indignation. Then he looked out of the +window. The snow was falling fast, as it had been all day.</p> + +<p>"Drandma!" he called, but the old lady was busy in the next room, and +could not, or would not hear him, so he walked to the door and said: +"Drandma, may I sweep a path for drandpa?"</p> + +<p>This time "drandma" did hear and see him too. He was brought back and +reseated, with marks of flour here and there on his little checked +apron.</p> + +<p>We must not blame grandma too much; it was a very long time since she +was a child, and Johnny, to use her own words, "had almost worn her +soul out of her."</p> + +<p>When Johnny's mother died, his home was in New York, and while Johnny +sat in his little chair by the fire-place, he was thinking of New York, +wondering if he ever should see it again,—the great stores with their +bright windows,—and, above all, hear the never-ending bustle and hum +that would drown the noise of twenty great clocks like grandpa's. Then +he thought how he had been deluded in coming to Plowfield; stories of +bright green fields, butterflies, hay-carts piled high with hay, and +'way up on the top a little boy named Johnny.</p> + +<p>A horse would be there, a cow (wrongly supposed by city people to mean +always a plentiful supply of milk), and a blue checked apron; but no +one mentioned the apron, and no one said that winter came in Plowfield; +not that they meant to deceive Johnny—they couldn't remember +everything, but it came all the same, and the bright green fields were +brown and bare; then Johnny didn't like them at all, and when the snow +came, grandma said if he went out he'd have the croup.</p> + +<p>The butterflies forgot Johnny.</p> + +<p>He did have <i>one</i> ride on the hay, but grandpa didn't have much hay.</p> + +<p>The horse was not such a great comfort after all; he never drove except +taking hold of what reins grandpa didn't use, and the cow—yes, Johnny +did like the cow—she was a very good cow, but, if Johnny could have +expressed himself, he would have said that she was a little +<i>monotonous</i>.</p> + +<p>Johnny couldn't remember his mother, which was fortunate then, or he +would have cried for her. He saw his father only once a month; he was +making money very fast in the dingy little office away down town in New +York, and spending it almost as fast in a house away up town for +Johnny's new mamma, and, with Plowfield so far away, it was no wonder +Johnny's father was always on the move. He ought to have been there +that very day; the heavy snow perhaps had prevented; that was one +reason why Johnny had been so naughty.</p> + +<p>He sat quite still after he was brought back. He was too indignant to +cry; he felt as if there was no such thing as justice or generosity in +grandmothers.</p> + +<p>After a while he felt that he had thought of something that would do +justice to his feelings.</p> + +<p>"Drandma," he cried, "I wish I'd smashed the bowl to-day when I spilt +the cream!"</p> + +<p>Grandma didn't say anything for fear Johnny would know she was +laughing.</p> + +<p>He grew more and more indignant; he never in his life had felt so +naughty. He thought of all the rebellious things he had ever heard of, +and making a few choice selections, mentioned them to his grandmother, +and she, laughing, stored them away, to tell grandpa, consoling herself +with the idea that if he was bad he wasn't stupid.</p> + +<p>Suddenly, among other brilliant ideas, came the thought that sometimes +boys ran away; Mike's boy Jerry ran away (Mike was the man who worked +for grandpa), and he didn't have any money, and Johnny had fifteen +cents; besides, when he got on the cars he could tell the conductor to +charge it to his father; of course, he knew his father; he came from +New York every month.</p> + +<p>He listened till he heard grandma go to the shed for wood, and before +she came back her small grandson was some distance from the house in +the deep snow, putting on his coat and tying his comforter over his +ears.</p> + +<a name="image33" id="image33"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image33.jpg" width="332" height="401" +alt="JOHNNY STARTS TO RUN AWAY." title="JOHNNY STARTS TO RUN AWAY." /> +<p class="caption">JOHNNY STARTS TO RUN AWAY.</p> +</div> + +<p>As he looked back and saw the shadow of grandma as she put down the +wood, he said: "I guess I'll make <i>her</i> cry pretty soon."</p> + +<p>After the wood, grandma seemed to find quite a number of things either +to take up or put down, so for a little while Johnny was forgotten. Did +you ever notice that grandmothers, and mothers too, are always begging +for a little quiet, yet, if they ever get a bit, nothing seems to make +them more uneasy?</p> + +<p>Grandma thought Johnny was unusually still—she thought, "and is asleep +on the lounge." So she was not alarmed when she saw the little empty +chair, but when no Johnny appeared on the lounge or anywhere in the +room, she felt worried.</p> + +<p>"Johnny!" she called all through the house and wood-shed. Then she +missed the little coat, cap, and comforter.</p> + +<p>"If he has gone to meet his grandpa, he'll freeze to death. Oh, why +didn't I amuse him till his grandpa came," she thought. She opened the +door and tried to call, but a cloud of snow beat her back. Wrapping +herself comfortably, she started down the white road she thought Johnny +had taken.</p> + +<p>She called and called his name, and in her excitement expected every +moment to find him frozen. She promised the wind and snow that, if they +would only spare her Johnny, her dead daughter's baby, that in place of +his impatient old grandma there should be one as patient as Job!</p> + +<p>She had nearly reached the depot. She heard the evening train, she saw +the glare of the great lamp on the engine though the glass that covered +it was half hidden by the blinding snow. She heard a sleigh coming +toward her, and said to herself, "No matter who it is, I will stop him, +and he shall help me." The bells came nearer and nearer, and the sleigh +stopped. "Where are you going, my good woman? It is a rough night, +isn't it, for a woman to be out?"</p> + +<p>Any other time, how grandma would have laughed!—grandpa didn't know +his own wife!</p> + +<p>"Take her in, father," said another voice. Poor grandma! It was +Johnny's father who spoke.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Johnny's lost!" she cried, as she tottered into the sleigh. "He +will freeze before we can find him."</p> + +<p>The old lady was taken home, and grandpa and Johnny's father started +off, quite naturally in the wrong direction, for Johnny.</p> + + +<hr class="short" /> + + +<p>For a while, Johnny went on manfully; but soon his little fingers and +toes began to beg him to go back. He refused to notice their petition, +and wished grandma could see him, as the wind whirled him round and +round and almost buried him in the snow. He thought he had gone about +ten miles, when he heard bells. He turned to one side for the sleigh to +pass, when he heard a voice he knew.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Jerry," he cried, "please take me in!"</p> + +<p>Jerry stopped, and asked, "Who are ye?"</p> + +<p>"I'm Johnny," said our small hero, quite meekly.</p> + +<p>"And where may ye be bound to, Johnny?" said Jerry.</p> + +<p>"To the depot. I'm going to New York," said Johnny, who thought this a +mild way to tell Jerry he was running away.</p> + +<p>"This road niver took any one to the depot, Jacky. If I hadn't come +this way, yer'd been froze stiff in the mornin'."</p> + +<p>Here Jerry rolled his eyes in a dreadful manner, and trembled like one +terribly frightened. Johnny would have cried hard, but he remembered +how brave Jerry was when he ran away, so he winked hard to keep back +the tears, and said:</p> + +<p>"Do you think I shall 'froze' now, Jerry?"</p> + +<p>Jerry thought not, if he minded him. So he lifted him into the sleigh, +and they drove on.</p> + +<p>"Is this the depot?" asked Johnny, when they stopped.</p> + +<p>"Ye be hard on the depot. This is my house." said Jerry.</p> + +<p>As he opened the door, his mother said, "I've looked afther yez since +the dark, and what have ye there?" as she saw Johnny.</p> + +<p>Mike, Jerry's father, sat by the stove, and there was a baby on the +floor. Johnny thought he never had seen such a funny place.</p> + +<p>He liked the baby best, although its yellow flannel night-dress was +dirty; but it wasn't quite his idea of a baby.</p> + +<p>"What shall we do wid him, Mike?" said the lady of the house, as she +saw Johnny's head bobbing and his eyes closing.</p> + +<p>"I thought ye'd kape him here till the next train for New York," said +Jerry, laughing.</p> + +<p>Mike laid down his pipe, and began to put on his coat.</p> + +<p>"Is it to go out again that yez will, this arful night, Mike?" said +Maggie.</p> + +<p>"Lay him out on the bed; lave him to slape here to-night, Maggie. I'll +go and make it aisy wid the old folks," said Mike.</p> + +<p>He found grandma sitting before the fire-place. Bottles of all sizes +stood on the table, and blankets hung on chairs by the fire. The old +lady's face was pale, and Mike afterward told Maggie, "The hands of her +shook like a lafe, and she had the same look on her that she had when +they tould her Johnny's mother was dead. And when I tould her the boy +was safe wid yez here—Ah, Maggie, she's a leddy!" said Mike, lowering +his voice.</p> + +<p>"Well, what did she say?" said Maggie.</p> + +<p>"She said I betther sit down an' ate some supper, to warm meself," said +Mike.</p> + +<p>Poor grandma! She declared afterward she didn't know Mike was such a +good-looking man, and so kind-hearted, too. But she didn't keep him +long to praise him, but hurried him off to find grandpa.</p> + +<p>Mike found the brilliant pair, going over and over the same ground. You +need not laugh, little reader; that's just what your father would do, +if you were lost.</p> + +<p>Five minutes after they had learned where Johnny was, they were +standing over him in Mike's house—standing over him, and the baby in +the yellow flannel night-dress, for they were both in one bed, and +Johnny's father saw them about as clearly as Johnny had seen the +candle.</p> + +<p>The family were thanked individually and collectively, from Mike down +to the baby, who, when Johnny left, was covered with sweetmeats and +toys, brought from New York to Johnny.</p> + +<p>The next morning, at breakfast, Johnny learned many things, among them +that it was very wrong to run away, and he must be punished, and +grandma should decide how severely.</p> + +<p>"I will punish him myself," said grandma, "by removing all temptation +to do so again."</p> + +<p>Johnny is too young now to appreciate his pleasant sentence, but in +after years, when his sins are heavier, he will miss his gentle judge.</p> + +<p>He was to leave Plowfield the next day for New York; but he was to come +back again with the summer, and many were the promises he made of good +behavior.</p> + +<p>When the time came for him to go, he clung so to his grandma that his +father said:</p> + +<p>"You need not go, Johnny, if you would rather stay."</p> + +<p>"No," said Johnny, "I want to go; but why don't they have drandmas and +fathers live in the same house?"</p> + +<p>At last, he was all tucked in the sleigh, and grandpa had started.</p> + +<p>"Stop! wait!" said Johnny, "I forgot something."</p> + +<p>He jumped out of the sleigh, ran back to grandma, clasped his arms +around her neck, and whispered in her ear:</p> + +<p>"I'm sorry, drandma, 'cause I spilt the cream, and I'm awfil glad I +didn't smash the bowl."</p> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="monument" id="monument">A MONUMENT WITH A STORY.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY FANNIE ROPER FEUDGE.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>Many times have I heard English people say, as if they really pitied +us: "Your country has no monuments yet; but then she is so young—only +two hundred years old—and, of course, cannot be expected to have +either monuments or a history." Yet we have some monuments, and a +chapter or two of history, that the mother-country does not too fondly +or frequently remember. But I am not going to write now of the Bunker +Hill Monument, nor of the achievement at New Orleans, nor of the +surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. I want to tell of another +land nearer its infancy than ours, with a history scarcely +three-quarters of a century old, but with one monument, at least, that +is well worth seeing, and that cannot be thought of without emotions of +loving admiration and reverence. The memorial is of bronze, and tells a +story of privation and suffering, but of glorious heroism, and victory +even in death.</p> + +<p>Everybody knows something of the great island, Australia, the largest +in the world, reckoned by some geographers as the fifth continent. I +might almost have said its age is less than one-quarter of a century, +instead of three. It was visited by the great adventurer, William +Dampier, about the year 1690, and again, eighty years after, by Cook, +on his first voyage around the world. It is only within the present +generation that we have come to know it well. England's penal colony +there, and Cook's stories of the marvelous beauty and fertility of the +land, were never wholly forgotten; but almost nothing was done in the +way of exploration, especially of the interior, and the world remained +ignorant of both its extent and its resources until 1860, in August of +which year two brave-hearted young men, by name Burke and Wills, +determined to find out all that they could of the unknown central +regions. It is in memory of these men that Australia's first monument +has been erected. Let me tell you their story.</p> + +<p>Burke was in the prime of life, a strong, brave man, who delighted in +daring and even dangerous exploits. Wills, an astronomer, was younger, +and not so ardent, but prudent, wise, sagacious, and thus well fitted +to be the companion of the adventurous Burke. Their object was to trace +a course from south to north of Australia, and explore the interior, +where hitherto no European had set foot.</p> + +<p>Fifteen hardy adventurers were induced to form the little company; +twenty-seven camels were imported from India, for carrying the tents, +provisions and implements needed upon such a journey, a fifteen-months' +supply of provisions was laid in, and large vessels were provided for +holding ample stores of water, whenever the route should lie through +arid regions.</p> + +<p>Thus burdened with baggage and equipments, the explorers started out. +Their progress was necessarily slow, but the greatest difficulty with +which the leaders had to contend was a spirit of envy and discontent +among their followers. This led to an entire change in Burke's plans, +and perhaps also to the sad catastrophe which ended them.</p> + +<p>Instead of keeping his men together, as at first intended, he divided +the company into three squads. Assigning the command of two of these to +Lieutenants Wright and Brahe, and leaving them behind at an early stage +of the journey, together with most of the baggage and provisions, Burke +took Wills, with two others of the most resolute of his company, and +pushed boldly forward, determined to reach the northern coast if +possible, but, at any rate, not to return unless the want of water and +provisions should compel him.</p> + +<p>A place called Cooper's Creek, about the center of the Australian +continent, was to serve as a rendezvous for the entire company; one of +the squads was directed to remain at this point for three months, and +longer if practicable; another squad was told to rest a while at +Menindie, and then join the first; while Burke, Wills, Gray and King +were to prosecute their journey northward, do their utmost to +accomplish the main object of the expedition, and return to Cooper's +Creek. Had this plan been faithfully executed, all might have gone +well. But hardly had Burke taken his departure when quarrels for +pre-eminence broke out among the men he had left behind; then sickness +and death thinned the ranks and disheartened the survivors, and they +failed to carry out the programme Burke had laid down. Wright stayed at +Menindie until the last of January before setting out for the +rendezvous; while Brahe, who had charge of most of the provisions, +instead of remaining for three months at Cooper's Creek, deserted that +post long before the time arranged, and left behind neither water nor +provisions.</p> + +<p>In two months Burke and his companions reached the borders of the Gulf +of Carpentaria, at the extreme north of the continent, having solved +the problem, and found a pathway to the North Pacific. Then, worn and +weary, they set out to return. Their forward march had been +exhausting, as the frequent attacks of bands of savage natives and the +many deadly serpents had made it dangerous to halt for rest either by +day or night. The heat, too, was excessive, and sometimes for days +together the travelers were almost without water, while but sparing use +could be made of the few provisions they had been able to carry. +Feeling sure of relief at Cooper's Creek, however, and jubilant at +their success, the four almost starving men turned about and pressed +bravely on, but they arrived only to find the post deserted, and +neither water nor provisions left to fill their pressing need.</p> + +<p>In utter dismay, they sat down to consider what could be done, when one +of the party happened to see the word "dig" cut on the bark of a tree, +and digging below it, they found a casket containing a letter from +Brahe, which showed that he had left the post that very morning, and +that our travelers had arrived just <i>seven hours too late</i>!</p> + +<p>Imagine, if you can, how terribly tantalizing was this news, and how +hard it must have seemed to these heroic men, after having suffered so +much, braved so many dangers, and tasted the first sweets of success, +to die of starvation just at the time when they had hoped relief would +be at hand—to be so nearly saved, and to miss the certainty of rescue +by only a few hours! Eagerly they searched in every direction for some +trace of their comrades, and called loudly their names, but the echo of +their own voices was the only answer. As a last effort for relief, they +attempted to reach Mount Despair, a cattle station one hundred and +fifty leagues away, but they finally gave up in complete +discouragement, when one more day's march might have brought them to +the summit and saved their lives.</p> + +<p>For several weeks these brave fellows fought off their terrible fate, +sometimes hoping, oftener despairing, and at last, one after another, +they lay down far apart in the dreary solitude of the wilderness, to +die of starvation.</p> + +<p>All this and more was learned by Captain Howitt, who commanded an +expedition of search sent out from Melbourne, some nine months after +the departure of Burke and his company, not a word of news having been +received concerning them, and many fears being felt for the safety of +the little band. On Howitt's arrival at Cooper's Creek he, too, found +the word "dig," where the four despairing men had seen it; and beneath +the tree was buried, not only the paper left by Brahe, but Burke's +journal, giving the details of the journey to the coast, discoveries +made, and the terrible last scenes.</p> + +<p>At every step of Burke's pathway new objects of interest had elicited +his surprise and admiration. Not only were there fertile plains and +beautiful, flower-dotted prairies, but lagoons of salt water, hills of +red sand, and vast mounds that seemed to tell of a time when the region +was thickly populated, though now it was all but untrod by man. A range +of lofty mountains, discovered by Burke in the north, he called the +Standish Mountains, and a lovely valley outspread at their foot he +named the Land of Promise.</p> + +<p>But alas! Great portions of Burke's journey had to be made through +rugged and barren regions, destitute of water, and with nothing that +could serve as food for man or beast. Driven to extremities by hunger, +the pioneers devoured the venomous reptiles they killed, and on one +occasion Burke came near dying from the poison of a snake he had eaten. +All their horses were killed for food, and all their camels but two. +Perhaps these also went at a later day, for toward the last the records +in the journal became short, and were written at long intervals.</p> + +<p>Once the party was obliged to halt with poor Gray, and wait till he had +breathed his last, when the three mourning survivors went on in silence +without their comrade.</p> + +<p>A letter from young Wills, addressed to his father, is dated June 29th. +The words are few, but they are full of meaning.</p> + +<p>"My death here, within a few hours, is certain, but my soul is calm," +he wrote.</p> + +<p>The next day he died, as was supposed by the last record; though the +precise time could not be known, as he had gone forth alone to make one +more search for relief, and had met his solitary fate calmly, as a hero +should. Howitt, after long search, found the remains of his friend +stretched on the sand, and nearly covered with leaves.</p> + +<p>The closing sentence in Burke's journal is dated one day earlier than +young Wills's letter. It runs:</p> + +<p>"We have gained the shores of the ocean, but we have been aband—"</p> + +<p>It is not, of course, known why the last word was never finished. It +may have been that he felt too keenly the cruelty of his companions' +desertion of him to bring himself to write the word; or perhaps the +death agony overtook him before he could finish it. At any rate, it +speaks a whole crushing world of reproach to those whose disregard of +duty cost their noble leader's life. It has its lessons for us all.</p> + +<p>Burke's skeleton also was found, covered with leaves and boughs that +had been placed there, it is supposed, by the pitying natives, who +found the dead hero where, in bitter loneliness, he heaved his dying +sigh, unflinching to the last.</p> + +<p>Howitt wrapped the remains in the flag of his country, and left them in +their resting-place. Then he returned to Melbourne, and made +preparations for their removal and subsequent burial. They rest now in +that beautiful city near the sea, beneath the great bronze monument. +There are two figures, rather larger than life, Burke standing, Wills +in a sitting posture. On the pedestal are three bass-reliefs, one +showing the return to Cooper's Creek, another the death of Burke, and +the third the finding of his remains. This is a fitting tribute to the +memory of the brave explorers, but a far nobler and more enduring +memorial exists in the rapid growth and present prosperous condition of +that vast island, results that are largely the fruit of their labors +and devotion.</p> + +<p>King survived, but he was wasted almost to a skeleton, and it was +months before he could tell the story of suffering he alone knew.</p> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="twoways" id="twoways">TWO WAYS.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY MARY C. BARTLETT.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div class="quote">"If I had a fortune," quoth bright little Win,</div> + <div class="in1">"I'd spend it in Sunday-schools. Then, don't you see,</div> + <div>Wicked boys would be taught that to steal is a sin,</div> + <div class="in1">And would leave all our apples for you and for me."</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div class="quote">"If <i>I</i> had a fortune," quoth twin-brother Will,</div> + <div class="in1">"I'd spend it in fruit-orchards. Then, don't you see,</div> + <div>Wicked boys should all pick till they'd eaten their fill,</div> + <div class="in1">And they wouldn't <i>want</i> apples from you or from me."</div> +</div> +</div> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="horseatsea" id="horseatsea">A HORSE AT SEA.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">[SEE <a href="#image01">FRONTISPIECE</a>.]</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>His name is Charley. A common name for a horse, and yet he was a most +uncommon horse, of a sweet and cheerful disposition, and celebrated for +his travels over the sea. This is his portrait, taken the day before he +left America, for the benefit of sorrowing friends. He looks as if he +thought he was going abroad. There is something in his eye and the +expressive flirt of his tail that seems to suggest strange doings. +Charley is going to Scotland, over the sea, and he is having his feet +cared for by the Doctor. He stands very steady now, even on three legs. +When he afterward went aboard the good steamship "California" it was as +much as he could do to keep steady on all four.</p> + +<a name="image34" id="image34"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image34.png" width="371" height="400" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p>Poor Charley! He was dreadfully sick on the voyage. He had a fine +state-room, but the motion of the ship was too much for his nerves, and +he was very ill. So they had to bring him, bed and all, on deck. The +steamer was rolling from side to side, for the waves ran high, and the +tall masts swayed this way and that with a slow and solemn motion. Poor +Charley didn't appreciate the beauty of the sea, and thought the whole +voyage a most unhappy experience. Then he had to be hoisted out of the +hatchway in a most undignified manner. The frontispiece shows you how +this was done. They put him in his box and put a rope round it and +fastened the rope to the donkey engine, a little steam-engine which is +used for hoisting and such purposes. How humiliating for a horse to be +dragged aloft by a donkey engine! The captain stood near to give the +signal when the steamer rested for a moment on a level keel. The donkey +engine puffed, and the sailors stood ready to steer the patient upward, +just as you see in the picture.</p> + +<p>Charley grew very serious as he rose higher and higher, but a man held +him by the head and whispered comfort in his ear. At last, he reached +the deck in safety, and they gave him a place in a breezy nook beside +some other four-footed passengers, and he immediately recovered.</p> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="tidyviolet" id="tidyviolet">TIDY AND VIOLET; OR, THE TWO DONKEYS.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>There was once a little boy who was not very strong, and it was thought +right that he should be a great deal in the open air, and therefore it +was also thought right that he should have a donkey.</p> + +<p>The plan was for this little boy to take long rides, and for his mamma +to ride on another donkey, and for his papa to walk by the side of +both.</p> + +<p>The two donkeys that were procured for this purpose had belonged to +poor people, and had lived hard lives lately, out upon the common, +because the poor people had no employment for them, and so could get no +money to give the donkeys better food. They were glad, therefore, when +the gentleman said that he wanted to buy a donkey for his little boy, +and that he would try these two for a time, and then take the one he +liked best.</p> + +<p>So the gentleman and the lady and the boy took their excursion day +after day with the two donkeys.</p> + +<p>Now, one of these was a thin-looking white donkey, and the other was a +stout black donkey; and one was called "Violet" and the other "Tidy."</p> + +<p>The little boy liked the black donkey best, because he was bigger and +handsomer, "I like Tidy," he said; "dear papa, I like Tidy."</p> + +<p>"Stop!" said his papa. "Let us wait a bit; let us try them a little +longer."</p> + +<p>The party did not go out every day; sometimes the gentleman and lady +were engaged, and the donkeys remained idly in the gentleman's field.</p> + +<p>And then, when they had done eating, they used sometimes to talk.</p> + +<p>"Is not this happiness?" said the meek white donkey. "Instead of the +dry grass of the common, to have this rich, green, juicy grass, and +this clear stream of water, and these shady trees; and then, instead of +doing hard work and being beaten, to go out only now and then with a +kind lady and gentleman, and a dear little boy, for a quiet walk:—is +it not a happy change, Tidy?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Tidy, flinging his hind-legs high in the air.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" said Violet, "I hope you will not do that when the young +gentleman is on your back."</p> + +<p>"Why not?" said Tidy.</p> + +<p>"Because," said Violet, "you may throw him off, and perhaps kill him; +and consider how cruel that would be, after all his kindness to us."</p> + +<p>"Oh," said Tidy, "people always call us donkeys stupid and lazy and +slow, and they praise the horse for being spirited and lively; and so +the horses get corn and hay and everything that is good, and we get +nothing but grass. But I intend to be lively and spirited and get +corn."</p> + +<p>"Take care what you do, Tidy," said Violet. "The gentleman wishes to +buy a quiet donkey, to carry his little boy gently. If we do not behave +ourselves well, he surely will send us back to the common."</p> + +<p>But Tidy was foolish and proud, and, the next time he went out, he +began to frisk about very gayly.</p> + +<p>"I fear," said the gentleman, "that the good grass has spoiled Tidy."</p> + +<a name="image35" id="image35"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image35.jpg" width="400" height="355" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p>Tidy heard this, but, like other young and foolish things, he would not +learn. Soon, the little dog Grip passed by, and Tidy laid his ears back +on his neck and rushed at Grip to bite him.</p> + +<p>"Really," said the gentleman, "Tidy is getting quite vicious. When we +get home, we will send Tidy away, and we will keep Violet."</p> + +<p>Tidy, as you may believe, was sorry enough then. But it was too late. +He was sent away to the bare common. But Violet still lives in the +gentleman's field, eats nice grass, goes easy journeys, and is plump +and happy.</p> + +<hr /> + +<a name="jackinthepulpit" id="jackinthepulpit"></a> +<a name="image36" id="image36"></a> +<div class="center"> +<img src="images/image36.png" width="340" height="400" alt="" /> +</div> + +<h2 style="margin-top:-1.5em; padding-left:2em;">JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT.</h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>Poets have a great deal to answer for, and they should be careful what +they say, for they've no idea what an influence they have. Now, I'm +told that about one hundred and fifty years ago, one by the name of +Thomson (Thomson without a <i>p</i>) sang:</p> + + <div class="center">"Hail, gentle Spring! Ethereal mildness, hail!"</div> + +<p class="noindent">and made no end of trouble, of course. March being the first spring +month, was the first to hear the command, and so, ever since, she has +been trying her best to hail. Failing in this, as she nearly always +does, her only recourse is to blow; and blow she does, with a will. So +don't blame her, my chicks, if she deals roughly with you this year, +blows your hair into your eyes, and nearly takes you off your feet. +It's all the fault of that poet Thomson.</p> + +<p>I suppose if he had sung to our great American cataract, he would have +told it to trickle, or drip, or something of that sort; and then what +would have become of all the wedding tours? Mrs. Sigourney, my birds +tell me, was a poet of the right sort. She sang, "Roll on, +Niagara!"—and it has rolled on ever since.</p> + +<p>Talking of fluids, here's a letter telling</p> +<br /> + +<div class="center">HOW CHERRY PLAYED WITH WATER.</div> + +<p>A good friend sends Jack this true horse-story:</p> + + <blockquote><p>At my summer home, the very coolest and pleasantest spot to be + found on a hot day is a grassy knoll, shaded by a great tree. Close + by is the horse-trough, which is supplied with water from the well + a few rods off. One sultry day, my little boy and I went to play + under the shade of this tree. The trough was full of clean, + sparkling water, and I lingered there even after the two horses, + "Cherry" and "Dash," had been brought out and tied to the tree; for + they, too, had found their house uncomfortable, and had begged with + their expressive eyes to be taken out-of-doors.</p> + + <p>Now, the water in the trough looked very tempting, and soon my boy + Willy put his little hand in, and then rolling up his sleeve, + plunged in his arm and began to splash the water, throwing it + around, wetting us all, horses included. We left the tree, and were + going into the house, when we heard a loud thumping, and splashing; + turning round, we saw Cherry, with his fore-leg in the trough, + knocking his great iron shoe against the side of it, sending the + water flying in all directions, and making the water in the trough + all black and muddy. Now, these horses had drunk from this trough + three times a day for two months, and spent many a morning under + that very tree, and it had never occurred to either of them to play + such a trick until they had seen Willy do it.</p> + + <p>Willy was so much pleased that he gave Cherry several lumps of + sugar to reward him for his naughtiness; but James, the coachman, + took a different view, and gave him a sound scolding, and I am + afraid whipped him; although I protested that Willy was more to + blame than poor Cherry, who had only imitated his little master.</p> + + <div class="right">C.C.B.</div></blockquote> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">THREE SPIDERS.</div> + +<p>Another enemy to my friends the birds! This time it's a spider. He +lives near the Amazon River, they tell me, builds a strong web across a +deep hole in a tree, and waits at the back of the hole until a bird or +a lizard is caught in the meshes. Then out he pounces, and kills his +prey by poison. And yet this dreadful creature has a body only an inch +and a half in length!</p> + +<p>Then there's a spider named Kara-Kurt, who lives in Turkestan; and, +though he is no bigger than a finger-nail, he can jump several feet. He +hides in the grass, and his bite is poisonous; but I'm glad to say he +doesn't kill birds.</p> + +<p>In the same country is a long-legged spider, who has long hair and a +body as big as a hen's egg. When he walks he seems as large as a man's +double fists. What a fellow to meet on a narrow pathway! I think most +people would be polite enough to let him have the whole of the walk. +Little Miss Muffett would have been scared out of her senses if such a +huge spider had "sat down beside her."</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">SPECIAL DISPATCH.</div> + +<p>The Little Schoolma'am says Thomson didn't say "<i>Hail</i>, gentle Spring!" +He said, "Come, gentle Spring!" Dear, dear! I beg his pardon. But, like +as not, some other poet said it, if Thomson didn't. Or perhaps they've +sung so much about Spring that March, taking it all to herself, thinks +she may as well blow her own trumpet, too.</p> + +<p>Poor March! In old times she used to be the first month of the +year,—and now she is only the third. May be, that is what troubles +her. Nobody likes to be put back in that way.</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">ABOUT PARROTS.</div> + +<p>Deacon Green was talking about parrots the other day. He said he once +knew a parrot that was not as polite as "Pippity," the one mentioned in +a story called "Tower-Mountain." The parrot that he knew would swear +whenever he opened his bill. It had been taught by the sailors on board +the ship in which it had come from South America. When the deacon knew +it, it belonged to the widow of a very strict minister. It had been +brought to her by her nephew, a midshipman, as a Christmas present. It +was lucky for him, just then, that the old lady was stone deaf. She was +very cross with the neighbors when they told her what wicked words the +bird used. It was a great pet, and she would not believe anything bad +about it. But at last it swore at a visitor who was a bishop, and soon +after, it was no more.</p> + +<p>Since the Deacon told that story I have had a paragram about another +parrot; one that lived in Edinburgh, Scotland, five years ago. This one +could laugh, weep, sing songs, make a noise like "smacking the lips," +and talk. His talking was not merely by rote; he would speak at the +right times, and say what was just right to be said then and there. He +spoke the words plainly, bowed, nodded, shook his head, winked, rolled +from side to side, or made other motions suited to the sense of what he +was saying. His voice was full and clear, and he could pitch it high or +low, and make it seem joyful or sad. Many curious tales, are told of +him, but the most remarkable thing about him is that he actually lived +and really did the things named.</p> + +<p>That's what the paragram says. Stop—let me think a moment. May be that +parrot himself sent it? But no; he wasn't smart enough for <i>that</i>; I +remember, now, the signature was "Chambers."</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">THE WRITING OF THE PULSE.</div> + +<p>Did you ever hear of a sphygmograph? Of course not. Well, in its +present improved state, it is something new and very wonderful. It +takes its name from two Greek words, <i>sphugmos</i>, the pulse, and +<i>grapho</i>, I describe. It is an implement to be used by physicians, and +forces the patient's pulse to tell its own story, or, in other words, +make a full confession of all its ups and downs and irregularities. Not +only make a confession, my beloveds, but actually <i>write</i> it down in +plain black and white!</p> + +<p>So you see that a man's pulse in Maine may write a letter to a +physician in Mexico, telling him just what it's about, and precisely in +what manner its owner's heart beats—how fast or slow, and, in fact, +ever so much more.</p> + +<p>Now, isn't that queer? Should you like to see some specimens of +pulse-writing? Here they are:</p> + +<a name="image37" id="image37"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +1. <img src="images/image37-1.jpg" width="399" height="60" alt="" /> +</div> + +<div class="imgcenter"> +2. <img src="images/image37-2.jpg" width="400" height="96" alt="" /> +</div> + +<div class="imgcenter"> +3. <img src="images/image37-3.jpg" width="397" height="48" alt="" /> +</div> + +<div class="imgcenter"> +4. <img src="images/image37-4.jpg" width="403" height="46" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p>No. 1, according to the doctors, writes that he is the pulse of a +strong, healthy boy, and that his owner is getting on admirably. No. 2 +writes that his proprietor has trouble with his heart. No. 3 tells a +sad story of typhoid fever; and No. 4 says that his owner is dying.</p> + +<p>I am only a Jack-in-the-Pulpit, you know, quite dependent upon what +the birds and other bipeds tell me, so you cannot expect a full +description and explanation of the sphygmograph here. Ask your papas +and friends about it.</p> + +<p>There's a great deal going on in the world that you and I know very +little about; but such things as the sphygmograph give us a hint of the +achievements of science in its efforts to help God's children out of +their many ills and pains.</p> + +<p>The deacon says that, wonderful as the sphygmograph is, the pulse +itself is more wonderful still—a fact which no good +<span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span> child will deny.</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">A PERUVIAN BONANZA.</div> + +<p>You've heard, I suppose, that they expect soon to open up a new and +wonderfully rich deposit of silver in the mines of Peru? No! Well, +then, it's high time you were warned about it. Take your Jack's advice, +my youngsters, and be very careful about things. Why, if they go on +finding big bonanzas in this reckless way, silver will be too cheap for +use as money! And then what will they do? They'll have to use something +in place of it, of course; but there's no telling what it will be. Only +think, they might choose double-almonds, or something of that kind!</p> + +<p>But don't allow yourselves to be cast down about it, my dears. Try to +keep up your spirits, and remember that, if the worst comes to the +worst, good children will never be so plenty that people will cease to +appreciate a good child. That's a bit of solid comfort for you, any +way.</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">LUMBER AND TIMBER.</div> + +<p>Which of you can state the exact distinction, if there is any, between +lumber and timber, without consulting the dictionary?</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">QUEER NAMES FOR TOWNS.</div> + +<p>Now, what am I to do with this? If the Little Schoolma'am sees it, she +may want to give the boys and girls of the Red School-house a new sort +of geography lesson, or perhaps a spelling task to her dictation. That +would be a little hard on them: so perhaps I'd better turn over the +letter to you just as it is, my chicks.</p> + + <blockquote><p class="right">Washington, D.C.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT</span>: + Here are the names of some towns in the + United States. They are so funny that I send them to you, and I + hope you will like it. Do you think the Little Schoolma'am would + know where all these places are?</p> + + <p>Toby Guzzle, Ouray, Kickapoo, T.B., Ono, O.Z., Doe Gully Run, Omio, + Nippenose, Eau Gallie, Need More, Kandiyohi, Nobob, Cob Moo Sa, We + Wo Ka, Ty Ty, Osakis, Why Not, Happy Jack, U Bet, Choptack, + Fussville, Good Thunder's Ford, Apopka, Burnt Ordinary, Crum Elbow, + Busti, Cheektowaga, Yuba Dam, Dycusburgh, Chuckatuck, Ni Wot, Buck + Snort, What Cheer, Forks of Little Sandy, Towash, Sopchoppy, Thiry + Daems, Vicar's Switch, Omph Ghent, Peculiar.</p> + + <p>I have found a great many more, but these are the queerest I could + pick out.—Yours truly,</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">WILLIAM B.</span></p></blockquote> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">ANSWERS TO RIDDLES.</div> + +<p>Here are two answers, out of the three, to the riddles I gave you last +month: <span class="small">TOBACCO</span>, and <span class="small">CARES</span> +(Caress). The archbishop's puzzle has been +too much for you, I'm afraid, my dears. I'll give you until next month. +Then we'll see.</p> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="letterbox" id="letterbox">THE LETTER-BOX.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + + <blockquote><p class="right">Washington, D.C.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: + Not long ago I read in your delightful magazine + a poem, entitled "Red Riding Hood," by John G. Whittier. It + recalled to me some visits which I made to the great and good poet, + my friend of many years.</p> + + <p>My acquaintance with him began when I was a school-girl in Salem. + Then he lived in Amesbury, on the "shining Merrimack," as he calls + it, with his sister, a most beautiful and lovable person.</p> + + <p>I remember distinctly my first visit to them. The little white + house, with green blinds, on Friend street, looked very quiet and + home-like, and when I received the warm welcome of the poet and his + sister I felt that peace dwelt there. At one side of the house + there was a little vine-wreathed porch, upon which opened the + glass-door of the "garden room," the poet's favorite sitting room, + the windows of which looked out upon a pleasant, old-fashioned + garden. Against the walls were books and some pictures, among which + were "Whittier's Birthplace in Haverhill," and "The Barefoot Boy," + the latter illustrating the sweet little poem of that name.</p> + + <p>In the parlor hung a picture of the loved and cherished mother, who + had died some years before, a lovely, aged face, full of strength + and sweet repose. In a case were some specimens of the bird + referred to in "The Cry of a Lost Soul," a poem which so pleased + the Emperor of Brazil that he sent these birds to the poet.</p> + + <p>At the head of the staircase hung a pictured cluster of pansies, + painted by a lady, a friend of the poet. He called my attention to + their wonderful resemblance to human faces. In the chamber assigned + to me hung a large portrait of Whittier, painted in his youth. It + was just as I had heard him described in my childhood. There were + the clustering curls, the smooth brow, the brilliant dark eyes, the + firm, resolute mouth.</p> + + <p>We spent a very pleasant evening in the little garden room, in + quiet, cheerful conversation. The poet and his sister talked of + their life on the old farm, which Whittier has described in "Snow + Bound," and he showed me a quaint old book written by Thomas + Elwood, a friend of Milton. It was the only book of poetry that + Whittier had been able to get to read when a boy.</p> + + <p>Like all distinguished writers, Whittier has a large number of + letters from persons whom he does not know, and many strangers go + to see him. Miss Whittier said that one evening the bell rang, and + Whittier went to the door. A young man in officer's uniform stood + there. "Is this Mr. Whittier?" he asked. "Yes," was the answer. "I + only wanted to shake hands with you, sir," and grasping the poet's + hand he shook it warmly, and hastened away.</p> + + <p>Some years after my first visit a great sorrow befell Whittier in + the loss of his sister. After that, a niece kept house for him. She + is now married, and he spends most of his time with some cousins at + "Oak Knoll," a delightful place near Danvers. It was there that I + last had the pleasure of seeing him, one golden day in October. The + house is situated on an eminence, surrounded by fine trees, which + were then clad in their richest robes of crimson and bronze and + gold. Through the glowing leaves we caught glimpses of the deep + blue sky and the distant hills. We had a pleasant walk through the + orchard, in which lay heaps of rosy apples, and across fields and + meadows, where we gathered grasses and wild flowers. And we saw the + pigs and cows and horses, and had the company of three splendid + dogs, great favorites of the host. We had also for a companion a + dear, bright little girl, a cousin of the poet. She is the "little + lass," the "Red Riding Hood" of his poem.</p> + + <p>After a most enjoyable day I came away reluctantly, but happy at + leaving my friend in such a pleasant home, and among the charming + and refreshing country scenes that he loves so well.—Yours truly,</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">C.L.F.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + +<p><span class="small">AGNES'S MOTHER</span>, whose letter was printed +in the "Letter-Box" for January last, will oblige the Editors by sending +them Agnes's address.</p> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + + <blockquote><p class="right">Uxbridge, Mass.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: + Last summer, we stayed a week on Prudence + Island, in Narragansett Bay, where the blackberries sprinkle + thickly the ground, and mosquitoes, in some parts of the island, + sprinkle thickly the air. Prudence, Patience, Hope, and Despair are + four islands near together; they were named by the owner after his + daughters. Prudence has some twelve or fifteen houses; but in + Revolutionary times there were, it is said, seventy families on the + island. The British set fire to everything, and the island was + devastated. One old hornbeam-tree is pointed out as the only tree + that escaped destruction. The wood of this kind of tree is so hard + that it does not burn easily. This tree is sometimes called "iron + wood," and "lever wood," as the wood is used to make levers. This + old tree has all its branches at the top, umbrella-wise, as if the + lower branches had been destroyed in some way, for it is not the + nature of the tree to grow in this fashion. I could barely reach + one little twig of pale, discolored leaves, to bring home as a + memento. Prudence is the largest of the four islands, Patience, + next in size, lies a little north of it. Hope, on the west side, is + a picturesque mass of rock; and Despair lies just north of Hope, a + solid rock, nearly or quite covered at high tide.</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">ADDY L. FARNUM.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + + <blockquote><p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: + I have a question to ask you, and if you will + answer it you will greatly oblige me. This is the question: May + leaves be of any size to make a folio or quarto?—Yours truly, K.</p></blockquote> + +<p>A sheet of paper of any size, folded in two equal parts, makes two +leaves of folio size; folded evenly once more, four leaves of quarto +size. But book-publishers use these words arbitrarily. With them a +sheet about 19 by 24 inches is supposed to be the proper size, unless +otherwise specified. A folio leaf is, consequently, about 12 by 19 +inches; a quarto leaf, about 9 by 12 inches: an octavo leaf, about 6 by +9 inches.</p> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + + <blockquote><p class="right">Fordham, N. Y.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: + I have a Polish rooster, I wonder if you have + ever seen one? If not, I will describe it. It has a very large + top-knot, very much larger than a duck's, although it is not at all + like it.</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">WILLIE A. RICHARDSON.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + +<p>Here is a letter that was sent to Santa Claus, last Christmas:</p> + + <blockquote><p class="right"><span class="small">MR. SANTA CLAUSES</span>,<br /> + <span class="small">NEW YORK CITY</span>.</p> + + <div class="right">I don't know your number, but I gest you will get it.</div> + + <p><span class="small">MY DEAR OLD SANTA CLAUSES</span>: + I know you are awful poor for Mama sed + so but I do want so Many things and when I Commence to Writting to + you I feel like crying. Cause you know my papa is dead and mama is + auful poor to but I do want a Dolly so bad not like they give of + the Christmas tree but a real Dolly that open and shut it eyes but + O I want so many other things but I wont ask for them for you will + Think I am auful selfage and want to Take evythink from others + little Girls but when you ben all around if you have one picture + Book left pleas send it to me. Dear Santa Clauses plese don't + forget me because I live in Perth Amboy.</p> + + <p class="right">From<br /> + <span class="small">GRACE L.T.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + + <blockquote><p class="right">New York City.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: + I am reading a history of the late Civil War, + and often come across names of different parts of an army. I would + like to ask you two questions:</p> + + <p>1. How many men usually are there in a corps, division, brigade, + and company?</p> + + <p>2. How many guns are there in a field-battery?</p> + + <p>If you will answer these, you will greatly oblige your friend and + reader,</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">GRANT SQUIRES.</span></p></blockquote> + +<p>In the United States service, the "company," in time of war, contains +98 non-commissioned officers and privates, and 3 officers; total, 101. +The regiment consists of ten companies. A brigade usually consists of +four regiments, and, if the ranks are full, should contain about 4,000 +men. It sometimes happens that five or six regiments may be comprised +in one brigade. A division contains usually three, sometimes four, +brigades, and with full ranks would number from 12,000 to 15,000 men. A +corps contains three divisions, and should number, say, 45,000 men. In +actual conflict, these figures will, of course, widely vary; regiments +being reduced by losses to, perhaps, an average of 300 men each, and +the brigades, divisions, etc., to numbers correspondingly smaller. A +field-battery has either four or six guns, in the United States service +usually the latter number, and from 150 to 250 men. The English and +French Armies are not very dissimilar from our own in the matter of +organization; but in the German army the company contains 250 men, and +the regiment 3,000, and they have but two regiments in a brigade.</p> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + + <blockquote><p class="right">Pittsburg, Pa.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: + I want to tell you What a nice time I had on + vacation. I enjoyed the holidays so much that it makes me happy to + tell everybody. Our Sunday-school gave a treat on Christmas night, + and the church was very handsomely decorated. Above the center, in + amongst the evergreen wreaths, was a shining star made by jets of + gas. The pastor, Mr. Vincent, said this was to represent the Star + of Bethlehem. Then the large Christmas-tree was loaded with gifts, + and when lighted up I pretty near thought I was going to see + Aladdin's wonderful lamp and Cinderella from fairy-land. I am sure + every one felt happy, and we sang the Christmas carols louder than + ever, so loudly that the church trembled. But may be it was the + organ made it tremble.</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">LILLIE S.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + +<p><span class="small">MR. EDWIN HODDER</span>, the author of the new +serial, "Drifted into Port," +which begins in this number, is an English gentleman, and he wrote this +story, not only to tell the adventures of his heroes and his heroines, +but to give American boys and girls an idea of life at an English +school. We think that the doings of Howard, Digby, Madelaine, and the +rest, will be greatly interesting to our readers, especially as these +young people leave the school after a while, and have adventures of a +novel kind in some romantic, sea-girt islands.</p> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + +<p><span class="small">BESSIE G</span>.—Your letter is not such +a one as we are apt to answer in the +"Letter-Box." But the best possible message we can send you, and one +that you will understand, and apply to your own case, is a beautiful +little poem which will interest all readers. We shall give it to you +entire. We take it from a treasured old newspaper slip, and regret that +we do not know the author's name.</p> +<br /> + +<div class="center">THE SINGING-LESSON.</div> +<br /> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>A nightingale made a mistake;</div> + <div class="in1">She sang a few notes out of tune,</div> + <div>Her heart was ready to break,</div> + <div class="in1">And she hid from the moon.</div> + <div>She wrung her claws, poor thing,</div> + <div class="in1">But was far too proud to speak.</div> + <div>She tucked her head under her wing,</div> + <div class="in1">And pretended to be asleep.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>A lark, arm-in-arm with a thrush,</div> + <div class="in1">Came sauntering up to the place;</div> + <div>The nightingale felt herself blush,</div> + <div class="in1">Though feathers hid her face.</div> + <div>She knew they had heard her song,</div> + <div class="in1">She <span class="small">FELT</span> them snicker and sneer,</div> + <div>She thought this life was too long,</div> + <div class="in1">And wished she could skip a year.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div class="quote">"O nightingale!" cooed a dove,</div> + <div class="in1">"O nightingale, what's the use,</div> + <div>You bird of beauty and love,</div> + <div class="in1">Why behave like a goose?</div> + <div>Don't skulk away from our sight,</div> + <div class="in1">Like a common, contemptible fowl:</div> + <div>You bird of joy and delight,</div> + <div class="in1">Why behave like an owl?</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div class="quote">"Only think of all you have done;</div> + <div class="in1">Only think of all you can do;</div> + <div>A false note is really fun,</div> + <div class="in1">From such a bird as you!</div> + <div>Lift up your proud little crest;</div> + <div class="in1">Open your musical beak;</div> + <div>Other birds have to do their best,</div> + <div class="in1">You need only <span class="small">SPEAK</span>."</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>The nightingale shyly took</div> + <div class="in1">Her head from under her wing,</div> + <div>And, giving the dove a look,</div> + <div class="in1">Straightway began to sing.</div> + <div>There was never a bird could pass;</div> + <div class="in1">The night was divinely calm;</div> + <div>And the people stood on the grass</div> + <div class="in1">To hear that wonderful psalm!</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>The nightingale did not care,</div> + <div class="in1">She only sang to the skies;</div> + <div>Her song ascended there,</div> + <div class="in1">And there she fixed her eyes.</div> + <div>The people that stood below</div> + <div class="in1">She knew but little about;</div> + <div>And this story's a moral, I know,</div> + <div class="in1">If you'll try to find it out!</div> +</div> +</div> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + + <blockquote><p class="right">Northern Vermont.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: + "Little Joanna" is only three years and a half + old, but her father and mother take the + <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span> for her; and + although she is so very young, she enjoys it as much as the older + ones. She liked the little poem called "Cricket on the Hearth," and + has learned to repeat some of it. In the December number she liked + the poem about the tea-kettle; she cries every time she hears + about poor "Little Tweet," and laughs at the "Magician and his + Bee," and at Polly's stopping the horses with the big green + umbrella. But she laughs the hardest at the picture of the little + girl who was so afraid of the turtle, and Edna, the kitchen-girl, + told her if the turtle should get hold of the little girl's toe, he + wouldn't let go till it thundered. After "Little Joanna" has seen + the pictures and heard the stories she can understand, her mamma + sends the <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span> to some little + cousins in Massachusetts, who + in their turn forward it to some more cousins in far away Iowa. So + we all feel the <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span> merits the + heartiest welcome of any magazine.—Yours,</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">"LITTLE JOANNA'S" AUNTIE.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + + <blockquote><p class="right">Dayton, O.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: + I like your "Letter-Box" so much, and I always + read it first. My brother and I fight which shall read + <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span> + first. He always speaks for it the month before. Then sister reads + it out loud to keep us quiet. I wish we had had more of the + Pattikins. I liked them real well.</p> + + <p>The biggest thing in Dayton is the Soldiers' Home, three miles from + town. It is the largest of all the Homes, though they have a small + one at Milwaukee, Wis., and several others. They have three + thousand disabled soldiers here, and a big hospital, a church built + of stone, barracks, stores, dining-room, library, and everything + just like a little town. Then lovely lawns, gardens, lakes, + fountains, rustic bridges, etc. Lots of people say it is much + prettier than Central Park, and I think so, too. The soldiers have + most all of them lost their legs or arms, and some both. Lots of + blind ones lost their sight in battle, from the powder. They get + tipsy, too,—I guess because they get tired and feel sick. Nobody + cares, only they get locked up and fined. Papa says he don't + believe blue ribbon will keep them sober. Everybody wears blue + ribbon here, but I don't, because I don't want to get tipsy anyhow.</p> + + <p>General Butler is the big boss of the Home. He comes every fall, + and walks around. They always have an arch for him. Colonel Brown + is Governor. He only has one arm, and was in Libby Prison. I wish + the boys and girls could all come and spend the day here. They have + a big deer-park, and lots of animals of all kinds, as good as a + show, and a splendid band that gives concerts, and they have dress + parades by the Brown Guards. I asked Papa how much it cost to run + it a year, and he wrote down for me, so I would not forget, + $360,740.81, last year. Hope you will find room to publish this. + Harry says you wont. Harry is my brother.—Your friend,</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">CLARENCE SNYDER.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + + <blockquote><p class="right">Trenton, N.J.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: + I have read a great many letters in your <span class="small">ST. + NICHOLAS</span>, and I always like to read them, for they are so funny. So + I thought I would write you a letter and tell you about my poor + little cat. It was given me when two weeks old, and I only had it a + month before it died—and, do you believe, I saw it die! It was + taken sick, and I cried awful. I don't know what was the matter + with it, but I think it had the colic, for it lay as quiet as a + mouse; and then it died. Oh, how sorry I was! My friend got a + little box and buried it right under my window, so I could often + think of it. So I hope you will all wish me better luck with my + cats. Be sure and give my love to Jack.—From your little friend,</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">JENNIE H.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + + <blockquote><p class="right">San Francisco, Cal.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: + I have often read in the "Letter-Box" some other + little stories which boys and girls have written.</p> + + <p>I will now write about the wire-cable railroads of this city. The + first one constructed was on Clay street, between Kearney street + and Leavenworth street. The road has now been continued out to Van + Ness avenue.</p> + + <p>The second was constructed by the Sutter Street R.R. Company from + Sansom street to Larkin street, a distance of one mile.</p> + + <p>The best of all the railroads in the city is on California street, + between Kearney and Fillmore streets, a distance of two miles. It + is considered the best built wire-cable road in the United States, + and is owned by the great railroad king of California, Leland + Stanford.</p> + + <p>I have a little railroad track seven and a half feet long, with + fifteen feet of string, which I call a cable. The invention of the + gripping attachment is my own.</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">R.H. BASFORD.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + + <blockquote><p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: + Will you please, for a few moments, imagine + yourself blind, deaf and dumb, so that you may have a fair idea of + the boy about whom I want to tell you?</p> + + <p>His name is James Caton. He is fifteen years old and lives in the + Deaf Mute Institution, on the Hudson River, near New York. He was + born deaf and dumb, and two years ago a severe sickness left him + blind. Before this he had learned to read and write, and talk with + his fingers. He uses a pencil and his fingers to ask for what he + wants, and tell you how he feels. People can talk to him by + spelling words with their fingers against the palm of his hand, and + he is so bright and quick that they cannot spell too fast for him. + He is fond of his lessons, but sometimes, in adding a long column + of figures, he makes mistakes that vex him sadly. Only think how + hard it must be to add twenty or thirty large numbers that you + cannot see! But when James finds his temper rising he puts it right + down, calls back his patience, and goes to work more strenuously + than ever. One day, his teacher, a lady, told him the Bible story + of Cain, who killed his brother and became a wanderer. Some time + after, she asked him "Who was Cain?" and he answered, "Cain was a + tramp!" She takes pains to tell him about the great events of the + day, such as the dreadful war between Russia and Turkey, and he + understands this so well that he can describe it with wonderful + effect. He stands out on the floor like an orator, and with the + most graceful, animated and expressive signs and gestures, gives + the positions of the armies, their meeting, the beating of the + drums, the waving of the flags, and the firing of the cannon. + Watching him, one can see the battle-field and all its pomp and + horror.</p> + + <p>James was in the country during the summer, and there he lay on the + soft grass, smelled the sweet flowers, and tried to remember their + forms and colors. He leaned against the strong tree trunks and + measured them with his arms, and the sweet, cool breezes from the + river came to refresh and strengthen him.</p> + + <p>James has a chum, Charles McCormick, who is almost as badly off as + himself—perhaps you will think him worse off. He was born deaf and + dumb, and when three years old he fell on the railroad track and + the cars cut off both his arms! These two boys love each other + dearly. They go into the woods together to gather flowers. Charles + goes first because he has the eyes, and when he finds the flowers + he stoops down and touches them with the stump of his arm, while + James passes his hand down his friend's shoulder and picks them! So + they do together what neither could do alone, and both are as happy + as birds!—Your friend,</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">E.S. MILLER.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + + <blockquote><p class="right">Hampstead, England.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: + I am eleven years old, and this is the first + time I have ever written to you, so I am going to tell you about my + dear little squirrel, "Bob." He is beautifully soft, and his back + and head are gray, but his legs and tail are red; he has four long + teeth, and he bites very much, if we vex him. He eats nuts and + fruit, and he is very fond of bread and milk. When we had him + first, he used to run up the curtains and bite them all into holes. + Every Sunday he would be brought downstairs while we were at + dinner, and papa would give him nuts; but he got so cross that papa + would not let him come down again. In the summer, we brought out + his cage into the garden; but one Sunday papa opened the cage door, + and out jumped Bob. He ran to the wall (which was all covered with + ivy), and began to climb it; but papa caught him by his hind-leg + and stopped him, and he gave papa such a bite on his hand. So I + would not let him go out again. Last summer, mamma took us all down + to Wales; but it was too far to take Bob, so we left him to my + governess, who took him home with her. But one unlucky day she let + him out in the conservatory, and did not shut the window; so he got + a chance and ran away out into the road, and he did not come back. + She offered a reward, and two days afterward he was found outside + the window of an empty house. Soon after that we all came home, + and I was very glad to see Bob again, naughty as he was. There is a + very funny thing which I ought to have told about first; it is that + my Bob was brought up by a cat, and not in the woods at all. I do + not think there is anything more to tell you about him.—I am your + little reader,</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">LAURA B. LEWIS.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + + <div class="center">HOW TO MAKE A FAIRY FOREST.</div> + + <blockquote><p>In the first place, you must live in the country, where you can + find that early spring flower, the blood-root or <i>sanguinaria</i>. + Wherever it grows it generally is seen in great + abundance—flowering in the Middle States about the first of April. + The roots are tuberous, resembling Madeira vines, and they do not + penetrate very deeply into the earth. Therefore, when the ground is + not frozen on its surface, these tubers can be quite easily + procured. In the latter part of March, after removing a layer of + dead leaves, or a light covering of leaf mold, the plants may be + found, and, at that time will have large brown or greenish brown + buds in great abundance, all very neatly wrapped up in conical + rolls. A basket should be carefully filled with these tubers, + without shaking all the earth from them, and some of the flakiest + and greenest pieces of moss that can be found adhering to the rocks + must also be put into the basket.</p> + + <p>When you reach home, take a large dish or pan and dispose these + tubers upon it, first having sprinkled it ever so lightly with the + earth found in the bottom of the basket. Place the roots quite + close together, taking care to keep the large, pointed, + live-looking buds on the top, pack them closely; side by side, + until the dish is full, then lay your bits of moss daintily over + them, or between them when the beds are large, set them in the + sweet spring sunshine, in a south or east window, sprinkle them + daily with slightly tepid water, and on some fine morning you will + find a little bed of pure white flowers, that will tell you a tale + of the woods which will charm your young souls.</p> + + <p>Sanguinaria treated in this way will generally so far anticipate + its natural time of flowering as to present you the smiling, + perfumed faces of its blossoms while the fields may yet be covered + with snow.</p> + + <p>But this is not the end. After these snowy blossoms have performed + their mission of beauty, they will drop off upon the carpet of + moss, and, in a short time, will be succeeded by the leaves of the + plant, which are large and irregular, but very beautiful, and each + leaf is supported by a stem which comes directly from the ground, + giving the impression of a miniature tree. A large dish of these + little trees springing from the moss makes the Fairy Forest, and an + imaginative girl, or possibly boy, well steeped in fairy lore, may + imagine many wonderful things to happen herein.</p> + + <p>If you have little friends; or relatives who live in the city and + cannot go into the woods to look for the sanguinaria, you can + easily pack a pasteboard box full of the roots and moss, and send + it to them by express, or, if it is not too heavy, by mail.</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">GRANDMOTHER GREY.</span></p></blockquote> + +<hr /> + +</div> + +<div id="puzzles"> + +<h2><a name="riddlebox" id="riddlebox">THE RIDDLE-BOX.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<div class="center"><b>A COMMON ADAGE.</b></div> + +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image40.png" width="399" height="83" alt="" /> +</div> + +<div class="center"><b>LITERARY ENIGMA.</b></div> + +<p>1. My 26 39 66 55 40 48 44 11 12 is a poet of ancient Greece.</p> + +<p>2. My 25 24 33 8 42 is a poet of ancient Italy.</p> + +<p>3. My 69 36 14 50 18 3 41 is a poet of England.</p> + +<p>4. My 22 58 65 37 9 by 59 21 53 23 47 28 is a German poem.</p> + +<p>5. My 47 62 64 38 is a historian of England.</p> + +<p>6. My 30 46 54 48 15 32 is a popular American writer.</p> + +<p>7. My 34 7 46 57 41 50 70 is a Scottish writer.</p> + +<p>8. My 6 13 67 16 1 17 68 63 5 52 is an English poet.</p> + +<p>9. My 47 24 2 23 10 68 63 43 4 is an American writer of fiction.</p> + +<p>10. My 49 41 19 56 35 is an eminent geologist.</p> + +<p>11. My 16 24 27 41 is a scientist of England.</p> + +<p>12. My 45 61 60 67 37 13 31 is one of America's living writers.</p> + +<p>13. My 61 7 20 29 is another American writer.</p> + +<p>The whole is an extract of two lines (seventy letters) from a noted +English poem.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">F.H.R.</span></div> + + +<div class="center"><b>TRANSPOSITIONS.</b></div> + +<p>In each of the following sentences fill the blank or blanks in the +first part with words whose letters, when transposed, will suitably +fill the remaining blank or blanks.</p> + +<p>1. —— —— —— words with a man in +a ——.</p> +<p>2. Did you see the tiger —— on me with his —— eyes?</p> +<p>3. McDonald said: "—— —— ragged —— remind you of Scotland."</p> +<p>4. The knots may be —— more easily than ——.</p> +<p>5. —— —— told me an —— which +amused all in his tent.</p> +<p>6. I hung the —— on the —— round of the rack.</p> +<p>7. The witness is of small value +if he can —— —— information that is more +—— than this.</p> +<p>8. The —— —— as +they look over the precipices in their steep ——.</p> + + +<div class="center"><b>EASY REVERSALS.</b></div> + +<p>1. Reverse a color, and give a poet. 2. Reverse a musical pipe, and +give an animal. 3. Reverse an entrance, and give a measure of surface. +4. Reverse an inclosure, and give a vehicle. 5. Reverse part of a ship, +and give an edible plant. 6. Reverse a noose, and give a small pond. +7. Reverse a kind of rail, and give a place of public sale. 8. Reverse +sentence passed, and give temper of mind. 9. Reverse a portion, and +give an igneous rock. 10. Reverse an apartment, and give an upland.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">ISOLA.</span></div> + + +<div class="center"><b>DOUBLE DIAMOND.</b></div> + +<p>The first and ninth words, together, make vegetables that grow in the +second upon the third in the fourth; the eighth, a girl, after +performing the fifth upon the first and ninth in the fourth, pulling +the second the while, did the sixth to get them into the house; here +the eighth soon had them upon the seventh, cooking for dinner.</p> + +<p>Perpendicular, heavy; horizontal, picking.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">G.L.C.</span></div> + + +<div class="center"><b>CURTAILMENTS AND BEHEADINGS.</b></div> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>To the name of a gifted man,</div> + <div>Affix a letter, if you can,</div> + <div>And find his avocation.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Curtail a piece of work he did,</div> + <div>You'll find a word that now is hid,—</div> + <div>A madman's occupation.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Behead another, you will find</div> + <div>Measures of a certain kind</div> + <div>Used by the English nation.</div> +</div> +</div> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">G.L.C.</span></div> + + +<div class="center"><b>EASY NUMERICAL ENIGMA.</b></div> + +<p>The whole, composed of fourteen letters, names the hero of a well-known +book. The 1 7 3 4 8 is a singing-bird of America. The 9 10 2 6 12 is a +religious emblem. The 13 11 5 9 14 is an Oriental animal.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">ISOLA.</span></div> + + +<div class="center"><b>PICTORIAL ANAGRAM PROVERB-PUZZLE.</b></div> + +<a name="image38" id="image38"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image38.jpg" width="325" height="400" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p>The answer is a proverb of five words. Each numeral beneath the +pictures represents a letter in the word of the proverb indicated by +that numeral,—4 showing that the letter it designates belongs to the +fourth word of the proverb, 3 to the third word, and so on.</p> + +<p>Find a word that describes each picture and contains as many letters as +there are numerals beneath the picture itself. This is the first +process.</p> + +<p>Then put down, some distance apart, the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, to +correspond with the words of the proverb. Group beneath figure 4 all +the letters designated by the numeral 4 in the numbering beneath the +pictures (since, as already stated, all the letters there designated by +the numeral 4 belong to the fourth word of the proverb). You will thus +have in a group all the letters that the fourth word contains, and you +then will have only to transpose those letters in order to form the +word itself. Follow the same process of grouping and transposition in +forming each of the remaining words of the proverb. Of course, the +transposition need not be begun until all the letters are set apart in +their proper groups.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">J.B.</span></div> + + +<div class="center"><b>AN OLD MAXIM.<br />BEHEADED AND CURTAILED.</b></div> + +<div class="center">—<span class="small">IGH</span>— +—are— —pea—. +—rea— —ne— +—r— —um—.</div> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">C.D.</span></div> + + +<div class="center"><b>EASY UNIONS.</b></div> + +<p>1. Join ease and an ornament, by a vowel, and make recovering—thus: +rest-o-ring (restoring). 2. Join pleasant to the taste to a boy's +nickname, by a vowel, and make honeyed. 3. Join to bury to a bite of an +insect, by a vowel, and make what pleasant stories are.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">C.D.</span></div> + + +<div class="center"><b>RHOMBOID PUZZLE.</b></div> + +<p><span class="small">ACROSS</span>: 1. Portion of an ode. +2. A musical drama. 3. Soon. 4. Marked. 5. Flowers.</p> + +<p><span class="small">DOWN</span>: 1. In a cave. 2. A river. +3. To unclose. 4. The second dignitary +of a diocese. 5. A mistake. 6. High. 7. An affirmative. 8. A prefix. +9. In a shop.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">CYRIL DEANE.</span></div> + + +<div class="center"><b>DOUBLE CROSS-WORD ACROSTIC.</b></div> + +<p><span class="small">THE WHOLE.</span></p> + +<p>Brothers are we, alike in form and mien,<br /> +Sometimes apart, but oft together seen.<br /> +One labors on, and toils beneath his load;<br /> +The other idly follows on the road.<br /> +One parts the sleeping infant's rosy lips;<br /> +The other veils the sun in dark eclipse.<br /> +One rises on the breath of morn, with scent<br /> +Of leaf and flower in fragrant incense blent;<br /> +The other's wavering aspiration dies<br /> +And falls where still the murky shadow lies.<br /> +At hospitable boards my first attends,<br /> +And greets well pleased the social group of friends;<br /> +But if my second his grim face shall show,<br /> +How dire the maledictions sent below!<br /> +Yet there are those who deem his presence blest,<br /> +A fitting joy to crown the social feast,<br /> +And make for him a quiet, calm retreat,<br /> +Where friends with friends in loving concourse meet.</p> + +<p><span class="small">CROSS-WORDS.</span></p> + +<p>1. Two brothers ever keeping side by side,<br /> + The closer they are pressed the more do they divide</p> + +<p>2. Brothers again unite their ponderous strength,<br /> + Toiling all day throughout its tedious length.</p> + +<p>3. I never met my sister; while she flies<br /> + I can but follow, calling out replies.</p> + +<p>4. A casket fair, whose closely covered lid<br /> + A mother's hope, a nation's promise, hid.</p> + +<p>5. A plant once used to drive sharp pain away,<br /> + Not valued greatly in this later day,<br /> + Except by those who fly when they are ill<br /> + To test the virtues of a patent pill.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">S.A.B.</span></div> + + +<div class="center"><b>EASY DIAMOND PUZZLE.</b></div> + +<p>In fruit, but not in flower; a period of time, a fresh-water fish; a +sea-bird; in strength, but not in power.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">ISOLA.</span></div> + + +<div class="center"><b>MALTESE-CROSS PUZZLE.</b></div> + +<div class="center"> +<table style="margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:30%;" summary=""> +<tr> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>*</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td>*</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td>*</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> + <td> </td> + <td>E</td> + <td> </td> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td>*</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>*</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td>*</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> + <td>*</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<p>The middle letter, E, is given in the diagram. The centrals form two +words, and are read from top to bottom and from side to side, including +the middle letter. The words that form the limbs of the cross are read +from the outside toward the center, those forming the top and bottom +limbs being read horizontally, and those that form the arms, downward.</p> + +<p><span class="small">CENTRAL PERPENDICULAR</span>: Perfume.</p> +<p><span class="small">CENTRAL HORIZONTAL</span>: Strained.</p> +<p><span class="small">TOP LIMB</span>: 1. New. 2. A boy's name. 3. A consonant.</p> +<p><span class="small">BOTTOM LIMB</span>: 1. Plain. 2. A deed. 3. A consonant.</p> +<p><span class="small">LEFT ARM</span>: 1. Existence. 2. A tavern. 3. A consonant.</p> +<p><span class="small">RIGHT ARM</span>: 1. Unready. 2. A tree. 3. A consonant.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">A.C. CRETT.</span></div> + + +<div class="center"><b>POETICAL REBUS.</b></div> + +<p>The answer is a couplet in Sir Walter Scott's poem "Marmion."</p> + +<a name="image39" id="image39"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image39.jpg" width="365" height="400" alt="" /> +</div> + +<div class="center"><b>NUMERICAL ENIGMA.</b></div> + +<p>The whole, eleven letters, is a songster. The 1 2 3 4 is adjacent. +The 5 6 7 is a metal. The 8 9 10 11 is a current of air.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">ISOLA.</span></div> + + +<div class="center"><b>DOUBLE ACROSTIC.</b></div> + +<p>1. What wood is sometimes called. 2. A character in "Hamlet." +3. Customary. 4. An underling of Satan's. 5. A common shrub. 6. A boy's +name meaning "manly." 7. An animal. 8. A place of security. 9. A body +of water. 10. A large bird of the vulture family. 11. The home of the +gods in Greek mythology. 12. A preposition. 13. A spelled number.</p> + +<p>The initials name a female author, and the finals a male author.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">S.M.P.</span></div> + + +<div class="center"><b>WORD SYNCOPATIONS.</b></div> + +<p>1. Take a bird from a saint's name, and leave something ladies wear. +2. Take the present from understanding, and leave a chief. 3. Take part +of a fish from explained, and leave a will. 4. Take a forfeit from +cultivated, and leave a color. 5. Take an insect from needed, and leave +joined. 6. Take a vessel from to supply, and leave to angle.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">CYRIL DEANE.</span></div> + + +<div class="center"><b>CHARADE.</b></div> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>My first may be made of my last,</div> + <div class="in1">And carries mechanical force.</div> + <div>My last both lives and dyes for man,</div> + <div class="in1">May often be seen as a horse,</div> + <div>And serves him by day and by night</div> + <div class="in1">In ways very widely apart.</div> + <div>My whole is the name, well renowned,</div> + <div class="in1">Of a chief in the potter's art.</div> +</div> +</div> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">L.W.H.</span></div> + + +<div class="center"><b>ABBREVIATIONS.</b></div> + +<p>1. Syncopate and curtail a greenish mineral, and leave a Turkish +officer. 2. Syncopate and curtail a royal ornament, and leave a +domestic animal. 3. Syncopate and curtail a fabled spirit, and leave a +coniferous tree. 4. Syncopate and curtail a small fruit, and leave an +opening. 5. Syncopate and curtail a motive power, and leave a body of +water. 6. Syncopate and curtail colorless, and leave a humorous man. +7. Syncopate and curtail stops, and leave a head-covering. 8. Syncopate +and curtail a sweet substance, and leave an agricultural implement. +9. Syncopate and curtail a carpenter's tool, and leave an insect. +10. Syncopate and curtail coins, and leave an inclosure.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">I.</span></div> + +<hr /> + + +<h2><a name="answers" id="answers">ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN FEBRUARY NUMBER.</a></h2> +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p><span class="small">EASY DOUBLE CROSS-WORD +ACROSTIC</span>.—Initials, Birch; finals, Maple; +horizontals, BeaM, IdA, RomP, CorraL, HousE.</p> + +<p><span class="small">SQUARE-WORD</span>.—Ruler, Unite, Lithe, Ethel, Reels.</p> + +<p><span class="small">NUMERICAL PUZZLE</span>.—Vivid.</p> + +<p><span class="small">HIDDEN ACROSTIC</span>.—Minnehaha.</p> + +<p><span class="small">EASY DECAPITATIONS</span>.—1. Foil, oil. +2. Spear, pear. 3. Feel, eel. +4. Sledge, ledge. 5. Stag, tag. 6. Mace, ace. 7. Goats, oats. +8. Draw, raw. 9. Galley, alley.</p> + +<p><span class="small">TRANSPOSITIONS</span>.—1. Subtle, bustle. +2. Shah, hash. 3. Shearer, hearers. +4. Sharper, harpers. 5. Resorted, restored. 6. Negus, genus.</p> + +<p><span class="small">CHARADE</span>.—Manhattan (Man-hat-tan).</p> + +<p><span class="small">GEOGRAPHICAL PUZZLE</span>.—Queen Charlotte +(1) went to Cork (2) to attend a +ball. She there met Three Sisters (3), named as follows; Alexandria +(4), Augusta (5), and Adelaide (6), in whom she was much interested. +Her dress was Cashmere (7), and though elegantly trimmed with Brussels +(8), it was, unfortunately, Toulon and Toulouse [too long and too +loose] (9). As she felt chilly [Chili] (10), she wore around her +shoulders a Paisley (11) shawl. Her jewelry was exclusively a Diamond +(12). Her shoes were of Morocco (13), and her handkerchief was perfumed +with Cologne (14). Being a Superior (15) dancer, she had distinguished +partners, whose names were Washington (16), Columbus (17), Madison +(18), Montgomery (19), Jackson (20), and Raleigh (21). Having boldly +said that she was hungry [Hungary] (22), she was escorted by La Fayette +(23) to a Table (24), where she freely partook of Salmon (25), some +Sandwich[es] (26), Orange (27), Champagne (28), and some Madeira (29). +After passing a Pleasant (30) evening, she bade Farewell (31) to her +hostess and was escorted home by Prince Edward (32).</p> + +<p><span class="small">NUMERICAL ENIGMA</span>.—Chinamen (chin-amen).</p> + +<p><span class="small">ILLUSTRATED PUZZLE</span>.—1. Hare (hair). +2. Beholder (bee-holder, the hive). 3. Ear. 4. Clause (claws). 5. Wings. +6. Comb (honeycomb on the ground). 7. Branch. 8. Leaves. 9 and +10. B I (bee-eye). 11. Tongue. 12. Pause (paws).</p> + +<p><span class="small">CURTAILMENTS</span>.—1. Teasel, tease, teas. +2. Planet, plane, plan. +3. Marsh, Mars, mar, ma. 4. Panel, pane, pan, pa.</p> + +<p><span class="small">COMPLETE DIAGONAL</span>.—Diagonals +from left to right downward: +1. L. 2. Ed. 3. Sir. 4. Aver, 5. Eager. 6. Dale. 7. Law. 8. Po.</p> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td>9. L. Horizontals:</td><td>E</td><td>A</td><td>S</td><td>E</td><td>L</td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td>D</td><td>A</td><td>V</td><td>I</td><td>D</td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td>L</td><td>A</td><td>G</td><td>E</td><td>R</td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td>P</td><td>A</td><td>L</td><td>E</td><td>R</td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td>L</td><td>O</td><td>W</td><td>E</td><td>R</td></tr> +</table> + +<p><span class="small">EASY NUMERICAL ENIGMA</span>.—Helen's Babies.</p> + +<p><span class="small">SQUARE-WORD</span>.—Czar, Zero, Arms, Rose.</p> + +<p><span class="small">ANAGRAM DOUBLE-DIAMOND AND CONCEALED DOUBLE-SQUARE.</span></p> + +<table style="float:left; padding-right:4em;" summary=""> +<tr> +<td>Double Diamond:</td><td> </td><td> </td><td>S</td><td> </td><td> </td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td> </td><td>A</td><td>T</td><td>E</td><td> </td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td>S</td><td>P</td><td>A</td><td>R</td><td>E</td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td> </td><td>E</td><td>R</td><td>A</td><td> </td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td>E</td><td> </td><td> </td></tr> +<tr><td> </td></tr> +</table> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td>Concealed Square:</td><td> </td><td>A</td><td>T</td><td>E</td><td> </td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td> </td><td>P</td><td>A</td><td>R</td><td> </td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td> </td><td>E</td><td>R</td><td>A</td><td> </td></tr> +</table> + +<br style="clear:both;" /> +<p><span class="small">PICTORIAL PROVERB PUZZLE</span>.—"Let +Hercules himself do what he may, The +cat will mew, the dog will have his day."</p> +<br /> + +<p><span class="small">ANSWERS TO PUZZLES</span> in the January number +were received, before January +18, from Jas. J. Ormsbee, Fred M. Pease, Morris H. Turk, Susie +Hermance, M.W. Collet, Eddie Vultee, A.B.C., "M'sieur B.M.", Alice and +Mamie Taylor, Constance Grandpierre and Sadie Duffield, Winnie +Brookline, Charlie and Carrie Moyses, O.A.D., Baron P. Smith, F.U., +Mary B. Smith, Milly E. Adams and Perry Adams, W.H.C, Anita O. Ball, +"Bessie and her Cousin," Georgie Law, K.L. McD., Mary Wharton +Wadsworth, Nessie E. Stevens, Inez Okey, Nellie Baker, E. Farnham Todd, +Daisy Breaux, Lillie B. Dear, Mary C. Warren, Georgietta N. Congdon, +"King Wompster," Nellie Emerson; 255 Indiana street, Chicago; Bessie +Cary, Henry D. Todd, Jr., Finda Lippen, Jennie Beach, Mary Todd, Anna +E. Mathewson, Nellie Kellogg, Lucy E. Johnson, Charles Behrens, Clara +H. Hollis, Nellie Dennis, E.S.P., Bessie and Houghton Gilman, May C. +Woodruff, George Herbert White, H. Howell, Lizzie B. Clark; Bessie T.B. +Benedict, of Ventnor, Isle of Wight, England; B.M., and Jennie Wilson.</p> + +<p>"Oriole" answered all the puzzles in the January number.</p> + +</div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 5, March, +1878, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. 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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. 5, March, 1878 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: March 15, 2005 [EBook #15374] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS, VOL. 5, NO. 5, *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Lynn Bornath and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. + + + + + + +[Illustration: A HORSE AT SEA. [See page 367.]] + + + + +ST. NICHOLAS. + +VOL. V. +MARCH, 1878. +No. 5. + + +[Copyright, 1878, by Scribner & Co.] + + + + +HANSA, THE LITTLE LAPP MAIDEN. + +BY KATHARINE LEE. + + +Once upon a time, in a very small village on the borders of one of the +great pine forests of Norway, there lived a wood-cutter, named Peder +Olsen. He had built himself a little log-house, in which he dwelt with +his twin boys, Olaf and Erik, and their little sister Olga. + +Merry, happy children were these three, full of life and health, and +always ready for a frolic. Even during the long, cold, dark winter +months, they were joyous and contented. It was never too cold for these +hardy little Norse folk, and the ice and snow which for so many months +covered the land, they looked on as sent for their especial enjoyment. + +The wood-cutter had made a sledge for the boys, just a rough box on +broad, wooden runners, to be sure, but it glided lightly and swiftly +over the hard, frozen surface of snow, and the daintiest silver-tipped +sledge could not have given them more pleasure. + +They shared it, generously, with each other, as brothers should, and +gave Olga many a good swift ride; but it was cold work for the little +maid, sitting still, and, after a while, she chose rather to watch the +boys from the little window, as they took turns in playing "reindeer." + +One day they both wanted to be "reindeer" at once, and begged Olga to +come and drive, but the chimney corner was bright and warm, and she +would not go. + +"Of course," said Olaf; "what else could one expect? She is only a +girl! I would far rather take Krikel; he is always ready. Hi! Krikel! +come take a ride!" and he whistled to the clever little black Spitz dog +that Peder Olsen had brought from Tromsoee for the children. + +Krikel really seemed to know what was said to him, and scampered to the +door, pushed it open with his paws and nose, then, jumping into the +little sledge, sat up straight and gave a quick little bark, as if to +say: "Come on, then: don't you see I am ready!" + +"Come, Erik; Krikel is calling us," said Olaf. But Olga was crying +because she had vexed her brother, and Erik stayed to comfort her. So +Olaf went alone, and he and Krikel had such a good time that they +forgot all about everything, till it grew so very dark that only the +tracks on the pure, white snow, and a little twinkle of light from the +hut window helped them to find their way home again. + +In the wood-cutter's home lived some one else whom the children loved +dearly. This was old grandmother Ingeborg, who was almost as good as +the dear mother who had gone to take their baby sister up to heaven, +and had never yet come back to them. + +All day long, while the merry children played about the door, or +watched their father swing the bright swift ax that fairly made the +chips dance, Dame Ingeborg spun and knit and worked in the little hut, +that was as clean and bright and cheery as a hut with only one door and +a tiny window could be. But then it had such a grand, wide +chimney-place, where even in summer great logs and branches of fir and +pine blazed brightly, lighting up all the corners of the little room +that the sunbeams could not reach. + +Here, when tired with play, the children would gather, and throwing +themselves down on the soft wolf-skins that lay on the floor before the +fire, beg dear grandmother Ingeborg for a story. And such stories as +she told them! + +So the long winter went peacefully and happily by, and at last all +hearts were gladdened at sight of the glorious sun, as he slowly and +grandly rose above the snow-topped mountains, bringing to them sunshine +and flowers, and the golden summer days. + +One bright day in July, father Peder went to the fair in Lyngen. + +"Be good, my children," said he, as he kissed them good-bye, "and I +will bring you something nice from the fair." + +But they were nearly always good, so he really need not have said that. + +Now, it was a very wonderful thing indeed for the wood-cutter to go +from home in summer, and grandmother Ingeborg was quite disturbed. + +"Ah!" said she, "something bad will happen, I know." + +But the children comforted her, and ran about so merrily, bringing +fresh, fragrant birch-twigs for their beds, shaking out their blankets +of reindeer-skins, and helping her so kindly, that the good dame quite +forgot to be cross, and before she knew it, was telling them her very, +very best story, that she always kept for Sundays. + +[Illustration] + +So the hours went by, and the children almost wearied themselves +wondering what father Peder would bring from the fair. + +"I should like a little reindeer for my sledge," said Olaf. + +"I should like a fur coat and fur boots," said Erik; "I was cold last +winter." + +You see, these children did not really know anything about toys, so +could not wish for them. + +"_I_ should like a little sister," said Olga, wistfully. "There are two +of you boys for everything, and that is so nice; but there is only one +of me, ever, and that is _so_ lonely." + +And the little maid sighed; for besides these three, there were no +children in the village. The brawny wood-cutters who lived in groups in +the huts around, and who came home at night-fall to cook their own +suppers and sleep on rude pallets before the fires, were the only +other persons whom the little maiden knew; and sometimes the two boys +(as boys will do to their sisters) teased and laughed at her, because +she was timid, and because her little legs were too short to climb up +on the great pile of logs where they loved to play. So it was no wonder +that she longed for a playmate like herself. + +"Hi!" cried the boys, both together; "one might be sure you would wish +for something silly! What should we do with _two_ girls, indeed?" + +"But father said he would bring 'something nice,' and _I_ think girls +are the very nicest things in the world," replied Olga, sturdily. + +There would certainly have been more serious words, but just then good +grandmother Ingeborg called "supper," and away scampered the hungry +little party to their evening meal of brown bread and cream, to which +was added, as a treat that night, a bit of goat's-milk cheese. + +During midsummer in Norway the sun does not set for nearly ten weeks, +and only when little heads nod, and bright eyes shut and refuse to +open, do children know that it is "sleep-time." So on this day, though +the little hearts longed to wait for father's coming, six heavy lids +said "no," and soon the tired children were sleeping soundly on their +sweet, fresh beds of birch-twigs. + +[Illustration: OLAF GIVES KRIKEL A RIDE IN HIS SLED.] + +A few miles beyond Lyngen, on the north, a little colony of wandering +Lapps had pitched their tents, some years before our story begins, and +finding there a pleasant resting-place, had made it their home, +bringing with them their herds of reindeer to feed on the abundant +lichens with which the stony fields and hill-side trees were covered. +Somewhat apart from the little cluster of tents stood one, quite +pretentious, where dwelt Haakon, the wealthiest Lapp of all the tribe. +He counted his reindeer by hundreds, and in his tent, half buried in +the ground for safe keeping, were two great chests filled with furs, +gay, bright-colored jackets and skirts, beautiful articles of carved +bone and wood, and, more valuable than all, a little iron-bound box +full of silver marks. For Haakon had married Gunilda, a rich maiden of +one of the richest Lapp families, and she had brought these to his +tent. + +Here, for a while, Gunilda lived a peaceful, happy life. Haakon was +kind, and, when baby Niels came to share her love, the days were full +of joy and content. She made him a little cradle of green baize bound +with bright scarlet, filled with moss as soft and fine as velvet, and +covered with a dainty quilt of hare's-skin. This was hung by a cord to +one of the tent-poles, and here the baby rocked for hours, while his +mother sang to him quaint, weird songs, that yet were not sad because +of the joyous baby laugh that mingled with the notes. + +But, alas! after a time Haakon fell into bad habits and grew cruel and +hard to Gunilda. Though she spoke no word, her meek eyes reproached him +when he let the strong drink, or "finkel," steal away his senses; and +because he could not bear this look, he gave his wife many an unkind +word and blow, so that at last her heart was broken. Even baby Hansa, +who had come to take Niels' place in the little cradle, could not +comfort her; and, one day, when Haakon was sleeping, stupidly, by the +tent-fire, Gunilda kissed her children,--then she, too, slept, but +never to waken. + +When Haakon came to his senses, he was sad for a while; but he loved +his finkel more than either children or wealth, and many a long day he +would leave them and go to Lyngen, to drink with his companions there. + +Ah! those were lonely days for Niels and little Hansa. The Lapp women +were kind, taking good care of the little ones in Haakon's absence, and +would have coaxed them away to their tents to play with the other +children; but Niels remembered his gentle-voiced mother, and would not +go with those women who spoke so harshly, though their words were kind. +Hansa and he were happy alone together. Each season brought its own +joys to their simple, childish hearts; but they loved best the soft, +balmy summer-time, when the harvests ripened quickly in the warm +sunshine, and they could wander away from their tent to the fields +where the reapers were at work, who had always a kindly word for the +gentle, quiet Lapp children. Here Hansa would sit for hours, weaving +garlands of the sweet yellow violets, pink heath, anemones, and dainty +harebells, that grew in such profusion along the borders of the fields +and among the grain, that the reapers, in cutting the wheat, laid the +flowers low before them as well. Niels liked to bind the sheaves, and +did his work so deftly that he was always welcome. He it was, too, who +made such a wonderful "scarecrow" that not a bird dared venture near. +But little Hansa laughed and said: "Silly birds! the old hat cannot +harm you. See! I will bring my flowers close beside it." Then the +reapers, laughing, called the ugly scarecrow "Hansa's guardian." + +So the years went by, and the children lived their quiet life, happy +with each other. It seemed as though the tender mother-love that had +been theirs in their babyhood was around them still, guarding and +shielding them from harm. Niels was a wonderful boy, the neighbors +said, and little Hansa, by the time she was twelve years old, could +spin and weave, and embroider on tanned reindeer-skins (which are used +for boots and harness) better than many a Lapp woman. Besides, she was +so clever and good that every one loved her. Every one, alas! but +Haakon, her father. He was not openly cruel; with Gunilda's death the +blows had ceased, but Hansa seemed to look at him with her mother's +gentle, reproachful eyes, and so he dreaded and disliked her. + +One summer's day he said, suddenly: "Hansa, to-day the great fair in +Lyngen is held; dress yourself in your best clothes, and I will take +you there." + +"Oh, how kind, dear father!" said Hansa, whose tender little heart +warmed at even the semblance of a kind word. "That will be joyful! But, +may Niels go also? I _cannot_ go without him," she said, entreatingly, +as she saw her father's brow darken. + +But Haakon said, gruffly: "No, Niels may _not_ go; he must stay at home +to guard the tent." + +"Never mind, Hansa," whispered Niels; "I shall not be lonely, and you +will have so many things to tell me and to show me when you come home, +for father will surely buy us something at the fair; and perhaps," he +added, bravely, seeing that Hansa still lingered at his side, "perhaps +father will love you if you go gladly with him." + +"Oh, Niels!" said Hansa, "do you really think so? Quick! help me, then, +that I may not keep him waiting." + +Never was toilet more speedily made, and soon Hansa stepped shyly up to +Haakon, saying gently, "I am ready, father." + +She was very pretty as she stood before him, so gayly dressed, and with +a real May-day face, all smiles and tears--tears for Niels, to whom for +the first time she must say "good-bye," smiles that perhaps might coax +her father to love her. But Haakon looked not at her, and only saying +"Come, then," walked quickly away. + +"Good-bye, my Hansa," said Niels, for the last time. "_I_ love you. +Come back ready to tell me of all the beautiful things at the fair." + +Then he went into the tent, and Hansa ran on beside her father, who +spoke not a word as they walked mile after mile till four were passed, +and Lyngen, with its tall church spires, its long rows of houses, and +many gayly decorated shops, was before them. Hansa, to whom everything +was new and wonderful, gazed curiously about her, and many a question +trembled on her tongue but found no voice, as Haakon strode moodily on, +till they reached the market-place, and there beside one of the many +drinking-booths sat himself down, while Hansa stood timidly behind him. +Soon he called for a mug of finkel, and drank it greedily; then another +and another followed, till Hansa grew frightened and said, "Oh, dear +father, do not drink any more!" + +Then Haakon beat her till she cried bitterly. + +"Oh, cry on!" said the cruel father, who we must hope hardly knew what +he was saying, "for never will I take you back to my tent and to Niels. +I brought you here to-day that some one else may have you. You shall be +my child no longer. I will give you for a pipe, that I may smoke and +drink my finkel in peace. Who'll buy?" + +Just then, good Peder Olsen came by, and his kind heart ached for the +little maid. + +"See!" said he to the angry Lapp. "Give me the child, and I will give +you a pipe and these thirty marks as well. They are my year's earnings, +but I give them gladly." + +"Strike hands! She is yours!" said Haakon, who, without one look at his +weeping child, turned away; while the wood cutter led Hansa, all +trembling and frightened, toward his home. + +At first, she longed to tell her kind protector of Niels, and beg him +to take her back. But she was a wise little maid, and curious withal. +So she said to herself: "Who knows? It may be a beautiful home, and the +kind people may send me back for Niels. I will go on now, for I have +never been but one road in all my life, and surely I can find it +again." + +So she walked quietly on beside father Peder, till at last his little +cottage appeared in sight. + +"This is your new home, dear child," said he, and they stepped quickly +up to the door, opened it softly, and entered the little room. + +Grandmother Ingeborg was nodding in her big chair in the chimney +corner, but the soft footsteps aroused her, and, looking up, she said: + +"Oh! _tak fur sidst_[A] good Peder. Hi, though! What is that you bring +with you?" + +[Footnote A: Thanks for seeing you again.] + +Before she could be answered, the children, whose first nap was nearly +over, awoke and saw their father with the little girl clinging to his +hand, and looking shyly at them from his sheltering arm. + +"Oh!" cried Olga, "a little sister! _My_ wish has come true!"--and she +ran to the new-comer and gave her sweet kisses of welcome; at which +father Peder said, "That is my own good Olga." + +But grandmother Ingeborg, who had put on her spectacles, said: + +"Ah! I see now! A good-for-nothing Lapp child! She shall not stay here, +surely!" + +"Listen," said Peder Olsen, "and I will tell you why I brought home the +little Hansa, for that is her name,"--and he told the story of the +father's drinking so much finkel, and offering to give his little girl +for a pipe, and how he himself had purchased her. "But see!" added the +worthy Peder, turning toward Hansa, "you are not bound but for as long +as the heart says stay." + +Hansa looked about, and, meeting Olga's sweet, entreating glance, said, +"I will stay ever." + +Then Olga cried, joyously, "Now, indeed, have I a sister!" and took her +to her own little bed, where soon they both were sleeping, side by +side. + +As for Olaf and Erik, they were still silent, though now from anger, +and that was very bad. + +Grandmother Ingeborg, I think, was angry, too, for said she to herself: + +"Now I shall have to spin more cloth, and sew and knit, that when her +own clothes wear out we may clothe this miserable Lapp child" (for the +good dame was a true Norwegian, and despised the Lapps); "and our +little ones must divide their brown bread and milk with her, for we are +too poor to buy more, and it is very bad altogether. Ah! I was sure +something bad would happen,"--and grandmother fairly grumbled herself +into bed. + +In the morning all were awake early, you may be sure, and gazing +curiously at the new-comer, whom they had been almost too sleepy to see +perfectly before; and this is how she appeared to their wondering eyes. + +She seemed about twelve years old, but no taller than Olga, who was +just ten. She had beautiful soft, brown eyes; and fair, flaxen hair, +which hung in rich, wavy locks far down her back. She wore a short +skirt of dark blue cloth, with yellow stripes around it; a blue apron, +embroidered with bright-colored threads; a little scarlet jacket; a +jaunty cap, also of scarlet cloth, with a silver tassel; and neat, +short boots of tanned reindeer-skin, embroidered with scarlet and +white. + +Soon grandmother Ingeborg, who had been out milking the cow, came in, +and almost dropped her great basin of milk, in her anger. + +"What!" cried she to Hansa, "all your Sunday clothes on? That will +never do!" + +"But I have no others," said the little maid. + +"Then you shall have others," said grandmother, and she took from a +great chest in the corner an old blue skirt of Olga's, a jacket which +Olaf had outgrown, and a pair of Erik's wooden shoes. + +[Illustration: "HANSA'S GUARDIAN."] + +Meekly, Hansa donned the strange jacket and skirt; but her tiny feet, +accustomed to the soft boots of reindeer-skin, could not endure the +hard, clumsy wooden shoes. + +"Ah!" said grandmother, who was watching her. "Then must you wear my +old cloth slippers," which were better, though they would come off +continually. + +"Now bring me my big scissors, that I may cut off this troublesome +hair," cried Dame Ingeborg. "I do not like that long mane; Olga's head +is far neater!" + +And, in spite of poor Hansa's entreaties, all her long, beautiful, +shining locks were cut short off. + +But Hansa proved herself a merry little maid, who, after all, did not +care for such trifles. Besides, this, she was so helpful in straining +the milk, preparing the breakfast, and bringing fresh twigs for the +beds, that Dame Ingeborg quite relented toward her, and said: + +"You are very nice indeed--for a Lapp child. If you could only spin, +I'd really like to keep you." + +Then Hansa moved quickly toward the great spinning-wheel which stood +near the open door, and, before a word could be spoken, began to spin +so swiftly, yet carefully, that grandmother, in her surprise, forgot to +say "Ah," but kissed the clever little maid instead. + +"She'll be proud," said the boys, "because she is so wise. Let us go by +ourselves and play,"--and away they ran. + +"Come," said Olga to Hansa; "though they have run away, they will not +be happy without us,"--which wise remark showed that she knew boys +pretty well; and the two little maids went hand in hand, and sat down +beside the boys. + +"We have no room for _two_ girls here," said Olaf, and he gave poor +Hansa a very rough push. + +"What can you do to make us like you?" said Erik. + +"I can tell stories," said Hansa. "Listen!" + +And she told them a wonderful tale, far better than grandmother's +Sunday best one. + +"That is a very good story," said Olaf, when it was finished, "and you +are not so bad--for a girl. But still, if my father had not bought you, +I should have owned a reindeer for my sledge to-day." + +"And I should have had a fur coat and boots, to keep me warm next +winter," said Erik. + +At this, Hansa opened her bright eyes very wide, and looked curiously +at the boys for a moment, then said: "Did you wish for those things?" + +"We have wished for them all our lives," said Erik; while Olaf, too +sore at his disappointment to say a word, gave Hansa a rude slap +instead. + +That night, when all were sleeping soundly, little Hansa arose, +dressed, and stole softly from the hut. The sun was shining brightly, +and it seemed as if the path over which father Peder had led her showed +itself, and said, "Come, follow me, and I will lead you home!" And so +it did, safely and surely, though the way seemed long, and her little +feet ached sorely before she had gone many miles. But she kept bravely +on, till at last her father's tent appeared in sight. Then her heart +failed her. + +"I hope father is not home," said she, "else he will beat me again. I +only want my Niels." + +And she gave a curious little whistle that Niels had taught her as a +signal; but no answer came back. So she crept gently up to the tent, +drew aside the scarlet curtain that hung before the opening, and looked +in. + +Meanwhile, let us go back to Haakon at the fair. + +As father Peder led Hansa away, he turned again to the booth, and being +soon joined by some friendly Lapps, spent the night, and far on into +the next day, in games and wild sports (such as abound at the fair) +with them. + +At last, a thought of home seemed to come to him, and, heedless of all +cries and exclamations from his companions, he hurried away. The long +road was passed as in a kind of dream, and, almost ere he knew it, he +stood before his tent, with Niels' frightened eyes looking into his, +and Niels' eager voice crying: + +"Oh, father! where is Hansa? What have you done with my sister?" + +"Be silent, boy!" said Haakon, sternly. "Your sister is well, but--she +will never come back to the tent again!" + +Then, as if suddenly a true knowledge of his crime flashed upon him, he +buried his face in his hands, and tears, that for many years had been +strangers to his eyes, trickled slowly down his rough brown cheeks, and +so, not daring to meet his boy's truthful questioning gaze, he told him +all. + +"Oh, father, let us go for her! She will surely come back if you are +sorry," cried Niels, eagerly. + +"You cannot, for, alas! I know neither her new master's name nor +whither he went," said Haakon. + +Then Niels, in despair, threw himself down on his bed and wept +bitterly--wept, till at last, all exhausted with the force of his +grief, he slept. How long he knew not, for in the Lapp's tent was +nothing to mark the flight of the hours; but he awoke, finally, with a +start, sat up and rubbed his eyes, and looked wildly about, saying: + +"Yes, there sits father, just where I left him, and there is no one +else here. But I am sure I heard Hansa whistle to me; no one else knows +our signal, and----Oh! there--_there_ she is at the door!" and he +sprang toward her and clasped her in his arms, crying, "Hansa, my +Hansa! I have had a dream--such an ugly dream! How joyful that I am +awake at last! See, father," he said, leading her to Haakon; "have you, +too, dreamed?" + +"It was no dream, boy," said his father; and, turning to Hansa, he +asked, more gently than he had ever yet spoken to her, "How came you +back, my child?" + +Then Hansa, clinging closely to Niels the while, told him all that had +befallen her, and of the pleasant home she had found, and added, +boldly; + +"Father, let me take these kind friends some gifts; we have _so_ much, +and I wish to make them happy." + +"Take what you want, child," said Haakon. "And see! here is a bag of +silver marks; give it to Peder Olsen, and say that each year I will +fill it anew for him, so that he shall never more want." Then, turning +to Niels, he added: "Go you, too, with Hansa. Surely those kind people +will give you a home as well. It is better for you both that you have a +happier home, and care; and I--can lead my life best alone." + +In the wood-cutter's little hut, Olga was the first to discover Hansa's +absence. + +"Ah, you naughty boys!" cried she. "You have driven my new sister +away!"--and she wept all day and would not be comforted. + +Bed-time came, but brought no trace of Hansa. Poor, tender-hearted Olga +cried herself to sleep; while Olaf and Erik were really both frightened +and sorry, and whispered privately to each other, under their reindeer +blanket, that if Hansa should ever come back, they would be very good +to her. + +"And I will give her my Sunday cap," said Erik, "since she cannot wear +my shoes." + +Two, three, four days went by, and still Hansa came not; and father +Peder, who was the last to give up hope, said, finally: + +"I fear we shall never see our little maid again." + +The children gathered around him, sorrowing, while Dame Ingeborg threw +her apron over her head, and rocked to and fro in her big chair in the +chimney corner. + +Just then came a gentle little tap on the door, which, as Olga sprang +toward it, softly opened, and there on the threshold stood little +Hansa, smiling at them; and--wonder of wonders!--behind her was a +little reindeer, gayly harnessed, with bright silver bells fastened to +the collar, which tinkled merrily as it tossed its pretty head. Beside +it stood a boy, somewhat taller than Olaf, balancing on his head a +great package. + +"I have been far, far away to my own home," said Hansa, "and my brother +Niels has come back with me, bringing something for you." + +Then Niels laid down the package, and gravely opening it, displayed to +the wondering eyes real gifts from fairy-land, it seemed. + +There were the fur coat and boots, and a cap also, more beautiful than +Erik had ever dreamed of. A roll of soft, fine blue wool, for +grandmother, came next; then a beautifully embroidered dress, and +scarlet apron and jacket, for Olga; and last of all, a fat little +leather bag, which Hansa gave to father Peder, saying: + +"There are many silver marks for you, and my father has promised that +it shall never more be empty, if you will give to Niels and me a home." +Then turning quickly to Olaf, she said: "And here is my own pet +reindeer 'Friska' for you." + +So the children, in the gladness of their hearts, kissed the little +maid, and Olaf whispered, "Forgive me that slap, dear Hansa!" + +Father Peder stood thoughtfully quiet a moment, then, turning to the +children, he said: + +"See, little ones! I gave my last mark for Hansa, and knew not where I +should find bread for you all afterward; but the dear child has brought +only good to us since. I am getting old, and my arms grow too weak to +swing the heavy ax, and I thought, often, soon must my little ones go +hungry. But now we are rich, and my cares have all gone. So long as +they wish, therefore, shall Niels and Hansa be to me as my own +children; they shall live here with us, and we will love them well." + +[Illustration: ON THE SPRING-BOARD.] + +Then he kissed all the happy faces, and said: "Now go and play, little +ones, for grandmother and I must think quietly over these God-sent +gifts." + +So the children, first putting Friska, the reindeer, carefully in the +little stable beside the cow (so that he should not run away from the +strange new home, Hansa said), hastened to their favorite +play-place,--a large pine board lying on the slope of the hill, whence +they could look far away across the fields and fjords to the Kilpis, +the great mountain peaks where, even in summer, the pure white snow lay +glistening in the sunlight. + +"Ho!" cried Niels, "that is a fine board, but no good so; see what _I_ +can do with it!" and lifted one end and put it across a great log that +lay near by. + +"Now you little fellows," said he to Olaf and Erik, "I am strong as a +giant, but I cannot quite roll up this other log alone. Come you and +help." + +So the boys together rolled the heavy log to its place, and put the +other end of the board upon it. + +"Now jump!" cried Niels; and with one joyous "halloo" the children were +on the broad, springy plank, enjoying to the utmost this novel +pleasure. + +Their shouts of delight brought the wood-cutter to the door of the +little hut, and grandmother Ingeborg following, caught the excitement, +and, pulling off her cap, she waved it wildly, crying: "Hurrah for the +Lapps! Hurrah!" + +Then she and father Peder went back to their chairs in the chimney +corner; and Hansa, sitting on the spring-board, with the children +around her, told them such a wonderful, beautiful story, that they were +quite silent with delight. + +At last said Olaf, contentedly, as he lay with his head on Hansa's +knee: + +"After all, girls _are_ the nicest things in the world!" + +"Except boys," said little Hansa, slyly. + + + + +[Illustration: JUNO'S WONDERFUL TROUBLES.] + + +JUNO'S WONDERFUL TROUBLES. + +BY E. MULLER. + + +Juno lived in a great park, where there was a menagerie, and neither +the park nor the menagerie could have done without Juno. Now, who do +you think Juno was? She was a dear old black and brown dog, the +best-natured dog in the world. And this was the reason they could not +do without her in the park. A lioness died, and left two little +lion-cubs with no one to take care of them. The poor little lions +curled up in a corner of the cage, and seemed as if they would die. +Then the keeper of the menagerie brought Juno, and showed her the +little lion-cubs, and said: "Now, Juno, here are some puppies for you; +go and take care of them, that's a good dog." Juno's own puppies had +just been given away, and she was feeling very badly about it, and was +rather glad to take care of the two little lions. They were so pretty, +with their soft striped fur and yellow paws, that Juno soon loved them, +and she took the best of care of them till they grew old enough to live +by themselves. Many people used to come and stand near the big lion's +cage, and laugh to see only a quiet old dog, and two little bits of +lion-cubs shut in it. + +[Illustration] + +It was very pretty to see Juno playing with the cubs, and all the +children who came to the park wanted first to see "the doggie that +nursed the lion-puppies." But when they grew large enough they were +taken away from her, and sold to different menageries far away, and +poor Juno wondered what had become of her pretty adopted children. She +looked for them all about the menagerie, and asked all the animals if +they had seen her two pretty yellow-striped lion-puppies. No one had +seen them, and nearly every one was sorry, and had something kind to +say, for Juno was a favorite with many. To be sure, the wolf snarled at +her, and said it served her right for thinking that she, a miserable +tame dog, could bring up young lions. But Juno knew she had only done +as she was told, so she did not mind the wolf. The monkeys cracked +jokes, and teased her, saying they guessed she would be given another +family to take care of--sea lions, most likely, and she would have to +live in the water to keep them in order. This had not occurred to Juno +before, and it made her quite uneasy. + +"It is not possible they would want me to nurse young sea-lions," said +she. "They are so very rude, and so very slippery, I never could make +them mind me." + +[Illustration: JUNO IS WARNED BY THE PELICAN.] + +"You may be thankful if you don't get those two young alligators in the +other tank," said a gruff-voiced adjutant. + +"Good gracious!" exclaimed Juno. "You don't think it possible?" + +"Of course it is possible," said a pelican, stretching his neck through +his cage-bars. "You'll see what comes of being too obliging." + +"We all think you are a good creature, Juno," said a crane. "Indeed, I +should willingly trust you with my young crane children, but really, if +you _will_ do everything that is asked of you, there's no knowing whose +family you may have next." + +Juno went and lay down in a sunshiny place near the elephant's house, +and thought over all these words. Very soon she grew sleepy, in spite +of her anxiety, and was just dropping off into a doze, when she heard +the keeper whistle for her. She ran to him and found him in the +hippopotamus's cage. + +[Illustration: JUNO TAKES CARE OF THE YOUNG HIPPOPOTAMUS.] + +"Juno," said he, "I guess you'll have to take charge of this young +hippopotamus, the poor little fellow has lost his mother." + +"Dear, dear!" sighed Juno. "I was afraid it would come to this. I'm +thankful it isn't the young alligators." + +So Juno took charge of the young hippo,--she called him hippo for +short, and only when he was naughty she called him: "Hip-po-pot-a-mus, +aren't you ashamed of yourself?" But he was a great trial. He was +awkward and clumsy, and not a bit like her graceful little +lion-puppies. When he got sick, and she had to give him peppermint, his +mouth was so large that she lost the spoon in it, and he swallowed +spoon and all, and was very ill afterward. But he grew up at last, and +just as Juno had made up her mind not to take care of other people's +families any more, the keeper came to her with two young giraffes, and +told her she really must be a mother to the poor little scraps of +misery, for their mother was gone, and they would die if they weren't +cared for immediately. These were a dreadful trouble, and besides, they +would keep trotting after her everywhere, till the pelican, and the +adjutant, and the cranes nearly killed themselves laughing at her. Poor +Juno felt worse and worse, till when one day she heard the keeper say +she certainly would have to take care of the young elephant, she felt +that she could stand it no longer, and made up her mind to run away. So +she said good-bye to all her friends, and ran to the wall of the park. +There she gave a great jump, and,--waked up, and found herself in the +sunshiny grass near the elephant's house. + +"Oh, how glad I am!" said Juno. + +"What in the world has been the matter?" asked the elephant. "You've +been kicking and growling in your sleep at a great rate. I've been +watching you this long time." + +"Such dreadful dreams!" said Juno. "Lion-puppies are all very well, but +when it comes to hippopotamus, and giraffes, and elephant----" + +"What _are_ you talking about?" said the elephant. "I guess you'd +better go to your supper; I heard the keeper call you long ago." + +So Juno went to her supper very glad to find she had only dreamed her +troubles; but she made up her mind that if the old hippopotamus +_should_ die, she would run away that very night. + + + + +WISHES + +BY MARY N. PRESCOTT. + + + I wish that the grasses would learn to sprout, + That the lilac and rose-bush would both leaf out; + That the crocus would put on her gay green frill, + And robins begin to whistle and trill! + + I wish that the wind-flower would grope its way + Out of the darkness into the day; + That the rain would fall and the sun would shine, + And the rainbow hang in the sky for a sign. + + I wish that the silent brooks would shout, + And the apple-blossoms begin to pout; + And if I wish long enough, no doubt + The fairy Spring will bring it about! + + + + +HOW MATCHES ARE MADE. + +BY F.H.C. + + +[Illustration] + + +A match is a small thing. We seldom pause to think, after it has +performed its mission, and we have carelessly thrown it away, that it +has a history of its own, and that, like some more pretentious things, +its journey from the forest to the match-safe is full of changes. This +little bit of white pine lying before me came from far north, in the +Hudson Bay Territory, or perhaps from the great silent forests about +Lake Superior, and has been rushed and jammed and tossed in its long +course through rivers, over cataracts and rapids, and across the great +lakes. + +We read that near the middle of the seventeenth century it was +discovered that phosphorus would ignite a splint of wood dipped in +sulphur; but this means of obtaining fire was not in common use until +nearly a hundred and fifty years later. + +This, then, appears to have been the beginning of match-making. Not +that kind which some old gossips are said to indulge in, for that must +have had its origin much farther back, but the business of making those +little "strike-fires," found in every country store, in their familiar +boxes, with red and blue and yellow labels. + +The matches of fifty years ago were very clumsy affairs compared with +the "parlor" and "safety" matches of to-day, but they were great +improvements upon the first in use. Those small sticks, dipped in +melted sulphur, and sold in a tin box with a small bottle of oxide of +phosphorus, were regarded by our forefathers as signs of "ten-leagued +progress." Later, a compound made of chlorate of potash and sulphur was +used on the splints. This ignited upon being dipped in sulphuric acid. +In 1829 an English chemist discovered that matches on which had been +placed chlorate of potash could be ignited by friction. Afterward, at +the suggestion of Professor Faraday, saltpeter was substituted for the +chlorate, and then the era of friction matches, or matches lighted by +rubbing, was fairly begun. + +But the match of to-day has a story more interesting than that of the +old-fashioned match. As we have said, much of the timber used in the +manufacture comes from the immense tracts of forest in the Hudson Bay +Territory. It is floated down the water-courses to the lakes, through +which it is towed in great log-rafts. These rafts are divided; some +parts are pulled through the canals, and some by other means are taken +to market. When well through the seasoning process, which occupies from +one to two years, the pine is cut up into blocks twice as long as a +match, and about eight inches wide by two inches thick. These blocks +are passed through a machine which cuts them up into "splints," round +or square, of just the thickness of a match, but twice its length. This +machine is capable, as we are told, of making about 2,000,000 splints +in a day. This number seems immense when compared with the most that +could be made in the old way--by hand. The splints are then taken to +the "setting" machine, and this rolls them into bundles about eighteen +inches in diameter, every splint separated from its neighbors by little +spaces, so that there may be no sticking together after the "dipping." +In the operation of "setting," a ribbon of coarse stuff about an inch +and a half wide, and an eighth of an inch thick, is rolled up, the +splints being laid across the ribbon between each two courses, leaving +about a quarter of an inch between adjoining splints. From the +"setting" machine the bundles go to the "dipping" room. + +After the ends of the splints have been pounded down to make them even, +the bundles are dipped--both ends---into the molten sulphur and then +into the phosphorus solution, which is spread over a large iron plate. +Next they are hung in a frame to dry. When dried they are placed in a +machine which, as it unrolls the ribbon, cuts the sticks in two across +the middle, thus making two complete matches of each splint. + +The match is made. The towering pine which listened to the whisper of +the south wind and swayed in the cold northern blast, has been so +divided that we can take it bit by bit and lightly twirl it between two +fingers. But what it has lost in size it has gained in use. The little +flame it carries, and which looks so harmless, flashing into brief +existence, has a latent power more terrible than the whirlwind which +perhaps sent the tall pine-tree crashing to the ground. + +But the story is not yet closed. From the machine which completed the +matches they are taken to the "boxers"--mostly girls and women--who +place them in little boxes. The speed with which this is done is +surprising. With one hand they pick up an empty case and remove the +cover, while with the other they seize just a sufficient number of +matches, and by a peculiar shuffling motion arrange them evenly, +then--'t is done! + +The little packages of sleeping fire are taken to another room, where +on each one is placed a stamp certifying the payment to the government +of one cent revenue tax. Equipped with these passes the boxes are +placed in larger ones, and these again in wooden cases, which are to be +shipped to all parts of the country, and over seas. + +All this trouble over such little things as matches! Yet on these +fire-tipped bits of wood millions of people depend for warmth, cooked +food and light. They have become a necessity, and the day of flint, +steel and tinder seems almost as far away in the past as are the bow +and fire-stick of the Indian. + +Some idea of the number of matches used in North America during a year +may be gained from the fact that it is estimated by competent judges +that, on an average, six matches are used every day by each inhabitant; +this gives a grand total of 87,400,000,000 matches, without counting +those that are exported. Now, this would make a single line, were the +matches placed end to end, more than 2,750,000 miles in length! It +would take a railroad train almost eight years to go from one end to +the other, running forty miles an hour all the time. + +How apt to our subject is that almost worn-out Latin phrase, "_multum +in parvo_"--much in little! Much labor, much skill, and much +usefulness, all in a little piece of wood scarcely one-eighth of an +inch through and about two inches long! + +[Illustration: Finis] + + + + +[Illustration: WHERE AUNT ANN HID THE SUGAR] + + +WHERE AUNT ANN HID THE SUGAR + +BY MARY L. BOLLES BRANCH. + + +Teddy was such a rogue, you see! If Aunt Ann sent him to the store for +raisins, the string on the package would be very loose, and the paper +very much lapped over, when he brought it home; if he went to the +baker's, the tempting end of the twist loaf was sure to be snapped off +in the street, and a dozen buns were never more than ten when they +reached the table. Boys are _so_ hungry! Teddy knew every corner of the +pantry: if half a pie were left over from dinner, it could not possibly +be hidden under any pan, bowl, pail, or cunningly folded towel, but he +would find it before supper. Pieces of cake disappeared as if by magic, +preserves were found strangely lowered in the crocks, pickles went by +the wholesale, gingerbread never could be reckoned on after the first +day, and once--only once--did Teddy's mamma succeed in hiding a whole +baking of apple tarts in the cellar for a day by setting them under a +tub. The cellar never was a safe place again; Aunt Ann tried it with +doughnuts, and the crock was empty in two days. She put her stick +cinnamon on the top shelf in the closet, behind her medicine bottles, +and when she wanted it a week after, there was not a sliver to be +found. Then the loaf sugar--I don't know but that was the worst of all. +Did he stuff his pockets with it? did he carry it away by the capful? +It seemed incredible that anything _could_ go so fast. One day, Aunt +Ann detected Teddy behind the window curtain with a tumbler so nearly +full of sugar that the water in it only made a thick syrup, and there +he was reading "Robinson Crusoe" and sipping this delightful mixture. +From that moment Aunt Ann made up her mind that he should "stop it." + +"I'll tell him it's nothing more nor less than downright STEALING--so I +will," muttered the good soul to herself; "the poor child's never had +proper teaching on the subject from one of us; he's got all his pa's +appetite without the good principles of _our_ side of the family to +save him." + +So, the next day, the sugar being out, she bought two dollars' worth +while Teddy was at school, and without even telling his mother, she +searched the house for a hiding-place. She shook her head at the pantry +and cellar, but she visited the garret, and the spare front chamber; +she looked into the camphor-chest, she contemplated a barrel of +potatoes, she moved about the things in her wardrobe, and at last she +hid the sugar! No danger of Teddy finding it this time! Aunt Ann could +not repress a smile of triumph as she sat down to her knitting. + +Unconscious Teddy came home at noon, ate his dinner, and was off again. +His mother and Aunt Ann went out making calls that afternoon, and as +Aunt Ann closed the street door she thought to herself-- + +"I can really take comfort going out, I feel so safe in my mind, now +that sugar is hid." + +But at tea-time she almost relented when she saw Teddy look into the +sugar-bowl, and turn away without taking a single lump. + +"He is really honorable," she said to herself; "he thinks that is all +there is, and he wont touch it." And she passed the gingerbread to him +three times, as a reward of merit. + +There was sugar enough in the bowl to sweeten all their tea the next +day, and so far all went well. But the third day, in the afternoon, up +drove a carry-all to the gate, with Uncle Wright, Aunt Wright, and two +stranger young ladies from the city--all come to take tea, have a good +time, and drive home again by moonlight. + +Teddy's mother sat down in the front room to entertain them, and Aunt +Ann hurried out to see about supper. How lucky it was that she had +boiled a ham that very morning! Pink slices of ham, with nice biscuit +and butter, were not to be despised even by city guests. She had also a +golden comb of honey, brought to the house by a countryman a few hours +before; it looked really elegant as she set it on the table in a +cut-glass dish. Then there were,--oh, moment of suspense! would she +find any left?--yes; there _were_ enough sweet crisp seed-cakes to fill +a plate. + +The table was set--the tea with its fine aroma, and the coffee, +amber-clear, were made. The cream was on, so was the sugar-bowl, and +Aunt Ann was just going to summon her guests, when she happened to +think to lift the sugar-bowl cover and peep in. Sure enough, there +wasn't a lump there! + +"I must run and fill it!" exclaimed Aunt Ann, lifting it in a hurry, +and starting; but she had to stop to think in what direction to go. + +"Where was it I put that sugar?" she asked herself. + +In the camphor chest? No. In the potatoes? No; she remembered thinking +they were not clean enough. Was it anywhere up garret? If she went +there and looked around, maybe it would come into her mind. She did go +there, sugar-bowl in hand, and she did look around, but all in +vain--she could not think where she had put that two dollars' worth of +sugar! + +And time was flying, the sun was setting--pretty soon the moon would be +up. How hungry the company must be, and they must wonder why supper +wasn't ready. It would never do to sit down to the table with an empty +sugar-bowl, for Aunt Wright always wanted her tea extra sweet, and +Uncle Wright never could drink coffee without his eight lumps in the +cup. Dear, dear! Aunt Ann was all in a flurry. _Why_ had she ever +undertaken to hide that sugar! + +"I shall certainly have to send to the store for some more!" she said +to herself, "and that will take so long; but it can't be helped." + +So she spoke to Teddy, who was sitting in the dining-room window +apparently studying his geography lesson, but in reality wondering what +in the world Aunt Ann was fluttering all over the house so uneasily +for. + +"Run to the store, Teddy!" she said quickly; "get me half a dollar's +worth of loaf sugar as soon as ever you can." + +"Why, Aunt Ann," he replied, "what for? I should think you had sugar +enough already." + +"So I have!" she exclaimed, nervously. "I got two dollars' worth day +before yesterday, and I hid it away in a safe place to keep it from +you, and now, to save my life, I can't think where I put it, and I've +searched high and low. Hurry!" + +Teddy smiled upon her benignly. + +"You should have told me sooner what you were looking for," he said. +"That sugar is on the upper shelf of your wardrobe, in your muff-box in +the farther corner. It is _very_ nice sugar, Aunt Ann!" + +"Sure enough!" she cried. "That is where I hid it, and covered it up +with my best bonnet and veil. And then, when I went calling, I wore my +bonnet and veil, and never once thought about the sugar. I suppose that +was when you found it, you bad boy." + +"Yes 'm, I found it that time. I was looking for a string," he said; +"but I should have found it anyhow in a day or two, even if you hadn't +let sugar crumbs fall on the shelf, Aunt Ann!" + +"I believe you, you terrible boy!" she rejoined. "Now go call the +company to tea." + +And she did believe him, and would have given up the struggle from that +day, convinced that the fates were against her, but for her heroic +resolve to instill straightway into this young gentleman with his pa's +appetite the good principles of _her_ side of the family. + + + + +UNDER THE LILACS. + +BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT. + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +A HAPPY TEA. + + +Exactly five minutes before six the party arrived in great state, for +Bab and Betty wore their best frocks and hair-ribbons, Ben had a new +blue shirt and his shoes on as full-dress, and Sancho's curls were +nicely brushed, his frills as white as if just done up. + +No one was visible to receive them, but the low table stood in the +middle of the walk, with four chairs and a foot-stool around it. A +pretty set of green and white china caused the girls to cast admiring +looks upon the little cups and plates, while Ben eyed the feast +longingly, and Sancho with difficulty restrained himself from repeating +his former naughtiness. No wonder the dog sniffed and the children +smiled, for there was a noble display of little tarts and cakes, little +biscuits and sandwiches, a pretty milk-pitcher shaped like a white +calla rising out of its green leaves, and a jolly little tea-kettle +singing away over the spirit-lamp as cozily as you please. + +"Isn't it perfectly lovely?" whispered Betty, who had never seen +anything like it before. + +"I just wish Sally could see us _now_" answered Bab, who had not yet +forgiven her enemy. + +"Wonder where the boy is," added Ben, feeling as good as any one, but +rather doubtful how others might regard him. + +Here a rumbling sound caused the guests to look toward the garden, and +in a moment Miss Celia appeared, pushing a wheeled chair in which sat +her brother. A gay afghan covered the long legs, a broad-brimmed hat +half hid the big eyes, and a discontented expression made the thin face +as unattractive as the fretful voice which said, complainingly: + +"If they make a noise, I'll go in. Don't see what you asked them for." + +"To amuse you, dear. I know they will, if you will only try to like +them," whispered the sister, smiling and nodding over the chair-back as +she came on, adding aloud: "Such a punctual party! I am all ready, +however, and we will sit down at once. This is my brother Thornton, and +we are going to be very good friends by and by. Here's the droll dog, +Thorny; isn't he nice and curly?" + +Now, Ben had heard what the other boy said, and made up his mind that +he shouldn't like him; and Thorny had decided beforehand that he +wouldn't play with a tramp, even if he _could_ cut capers; so both +looked decidedly cool and indifferent when Miss Celia introduced them. +But Sancho had better manners, and no foolish pride; he, therefore, set +them a good example by approaching the chair, with his tail waving like +a flag of truce, and politely presented his ruffled paw for a hearty +shake. + +Thorny could not resist that appeal, and patted the white head, with a +friendly look into the affectionate eyes of the dog, saying to his +sister as he did so: + +"What a wise old fellow he is! It seems as if he could almost speak, +doesn't it?" + +"He can. Say 'How do you do,' Sanch," commanded Ben, relenting at once, +for he saw admiration in Thorny's face. + +"Wow, wow, wow!" remarked Sancho, in a mild and conversational tone, +sitting up and touching one paw to his head, as if he saluted by taking +off his hat. + +Thorny laughed in spite of himself, and Miss Celia, seeing that the ice +was broken, wheeled him to his place at the foot of the table. Then +seating the little girls on one side, Ben and the dog on the other, +took the head herself and told her guests to begin. + +Bab and Betty were soon chattering away to their pleasant hostess as +freely as if they had known her for months; but the boys were still +rather shy, and made Sancho the medium through which they addressed one +another. The excellent beast behaved with wonderful propriety, sitting +upon his cushion in an attitude of such dignity that it seemed almost a +liberty to offer him food. A dish of thick sandwiches had been provided +for his especial refreshment, and as Ben from time to time laid one on +his plate, he affected entire unconsciousness of it till the word was +given, when it vanished at one gulp, and Sancho again appeared absorbed +in deep thought. + +But having once tasted of this pleasing delicacy, it was very hard to +repress his longing for more, and, in spite of all his efforts, his +nose would work, his eye kept a keen watch upon that particular dish, +and his tail quivered with excitement as it lay like a train over the +red cushion. At last, a moment came when temptation proved too strong +for him. Ben was listening to something Miss Celia said, a tart lay +unguarded upon his plate, Sanch looked at Thorny, who was watching +him, Thorny nodded, Sanch gave one wink, bolted the tart, and then +gazed pensively up at a sparrow swinging on a twig overhead. + +The slyness of the rascal tickled the boy so much that he pushed back +his hat, clapped his hands, and burst out laughing as he had not done +before for weeks. Every one looked around surprised, and Sancho +regarded him with a mildly inquiring air, as if he said, "Why this +unseemly mirth, my friend?" + +[Illustration: MISS CELIA AND THORNY.] + +Thorny forgot both sulks and shyness after that, and suddenly began to +talk. Ben was flattered by his interest in the dear dog, and opened out +so delightfully that he soon charmed the other by his lively tales of +circus-life. Then Miss Celia felt relieved, and everything went +splendidly, especially the food, for the plates were emptied several +times, the little tea-pot ran dry twice, and the hostess was just +wondering if she ought to stop her voracious guests, when something +occurred which spared her that painful task. + +A small boy was suddenly discovered standing in the path behind them, +regarding the company with an air of solemn interest. A pretty, well +dressed child of six, with dark hair cut short across the brow, a rosy +face, a stout pair of legs, left bare by the socks which had slipped +down over the dusty little shoes. One end of a wide sash trailed behind +him, a straw hat hung at his back, while his right hand firmly grasped +a small turtle, and his left a choice collection of sticks. Before Miss +Celia could speak, the stranger calmly announced his mission. + +"I have come to see the peacocks." + +"You shall presently--" began Miss Celia, but got no further, for the +child added, coming a step nearer: + +"And the wabbits." + +"Yes, but first wont you--" + +"And the curly dog," continued the small voice, as another step brought +the resolute young personage nearer. + +"There he is." + +A pause, a long look, then a new demand with the same solemn tone, the +same advance. + +"I wish to hear the donkey bray." + +"Certainly, if he will." + +"And the peacocks scream." + +"Anything more, sir?" + +Having reached the table by this time, the insatiable infant surveyed +its ravaged surface, then pointed a fat little finger at the last cake, +left for manners, and said, commandingly; + +"I will have some of that." + +"Help yourself; and sit upon the step to eat it, while you tell me +whose boy you are," said Miss Celia, much amused at his proceedings. + +Deliberately putting down his sticks, the child took the cake, and, +composing himself upon the step, answered with his rosy mouth full: + +"I am papa's boy. He makes a paper. I help him a great deal." + +"What is his name?" + +"Mr. Barlow. We live in Springfield," volunteered the new guest, +unbending a trifle, thanks to the charms of the cake. + +"Have you a mamma, dear?" + +"She takes naps. I go to walk then." + +"Without leave, I suspect. Have you no brothers or sisters to go with +you?" asked Miss Celia, wondering where the little runaway belonged. + +"I have two brothers, Thomas Merton Barlow and Harry Sanford Barlow. I +am Alfred Tennyson Barlow. We don't have any girls in our house, only +Bridget." + +"Don't you go to school?" + +"The boys do. I don't learn any Greeks and Latins yet. I dig, and read +to mamma, and make poetrys for her." + +"Couldn't you make some for me? I'm very fond of poetrys," proposed +Miss Celia, seeing that this prattle amused the children. + +"I guess I couldn't make any now; I made some coming along. I will say +it to you." + +And, crossing his short legs, the inspired babe half said, half sung +the following poem:[B] + + "Sweet are the flowers of life, + Swept o'er my happy days at home; + Sweet are the flowers of life + When I was a little child. + + "Sweet are the flowers of life + That I spent with my father at home; + Sweet are the flowers of life + When children played about the house. + + "Sweet are the flowers of life + When the lamps are lighted at night; + Sweet are the flowers of life + When the flowers of summer bloomed. + + "Sweet are the flowers of life + Dead with the snows of winter; + Sweet are the flowers of life + When the days of spring come on. + +[Footnote B: These lines were actually composed by a six-year-old child.] + +"That's all of that one. I made another one when I digged after the +turtle. I will say that. It is a very pretty one," observed the poet +with charming candor, and, taking a long breath, he tuned his little +lyre afresh: + + "Sweet, sweet days are passing + O'er my happy home, + Passing on swift wings through the valley of life. + Cold are the days when winter comes again. + When my sweet days were passing at my happy home, + Sweet were the days on the rivulet's green brink; + Sweet were the days when I read my father's books; + Sweet were the winter days when bright fires are blazing." + +"Bless the baby! where did he get all that?" exclaimed Miss Celia, +amazed, while the children giggled as Tennyson, Jr., took a bite at the +turtle instead of the half-eaten cake, and then, to prevent further +mistakes, crammed the unhappy creature into a diminutive pocket in the +most business-like way imaginable. + +"It comes out of my head. I make lots of them," began the imperturbable +one, yielding more and more to the social influences of the hour. + +"Here are the peacocks coming to be fed," interrupted Bab, as the +handsome birds appeared with their splendid plumage glittering in the +sun. + +Young Barlow rose to admire, but his thirst for knowledge was not yet +quenched, and he was about to request a song from Juno and Jupiter, +when old Jack, pining for society, put his head over the garden wall +with a tremendous bray. + +This unexpected sound startled the inquiring stranger half out of his +wits; for a moment the stout legs staggered and the solemn countenance +lost its composure, as he whispered, with an astonished air: + +"Is that the way peacocks scream?" + +The children were in fits of laughter, and Miss Celia could hardly make +herself heard as she answered, merrily: + +"No, dear; that is the donkey asking you to come and see him. Will you +go?" + +"I guess I couldn't stop now. Mamma might want me." + +And, without another word, the discomfited poet precipitately retired, +leaving his cherished sticks behind him. + +Ben ran after the child to see that he came to no harm, and presently +returned to report that Alfred had been met by a servant and gone away +chanting a new verse of his poem, in which peacocks, donkeys, and "the +flowers of life" were sweetly mingled. + +"Now I'll show you my toys, and we'll have a little play before it gets +too late for Thorny to stay with us," said Miss Celia, as Randa carried +away the tea-things and brought back a large tray full of +picture-books, dissected maps, puzzles, games, and several pretty +models of animals, the whole crowned with a large doll dressed as a +baby. + +At sight of that, Betty stretched out her arms to receive it with a cry +of delight. Bab seized the games, and Ben was lost in admiration of the +little Arab chief prancing on the white horse, "all saddled and bridled +and fit for the fight." Thorny poked about to find a certain curious +puzzle which he could put together without a mistake after long study. +Even Sancho found something to interest him, and standing on his +hind-legs thrust his head between the boys to paw at several red and +blue letters on square blocks. + +"He looks as if he knew them," said Thorny, amused at the dog's eager +whine and scratch. + +"He does. Spell your name, Sanch," and Ben put all the gay letters +down upon the flags with a chirrup which set the dog's tail to wagging +as he waited till the alphabet was spread before him. Then with great +deliberation he pushed the letters about till he had picked out six; +these he arranged with nose and paw till the word "Sancho" lay before +him correctly spelt. + +"Isn't that clever? Can he do any more?" cried Thorny, delighted. + +"Lots; that's the way he gets his livin' and mine too," answered Ben, +and proudly put his poodle through his well-learned lessons with such +success that even Miss Celia was surprised. + +"He has been carefully trained. Do you know how it was done?" she +asked, when Sancho lay down to rest and be caressed by the children. + +"No 'm, father did it when I was a little chap, and never told me how. I +used to help teach him to dance, and that was easy enough, he is so +smart. Father said the middle of the night was the best time to give +him his lessons, it was so still then and nothing disturbed Sanch and +made him forget. I can't do half the tricks, but I'm going to learn +when father comes back. He'd rather have me show off Sanch than ride, +till I'm older." + +"I have a charming book about animals, and in it an interesting account +of some trained poodles who could do the most wonderful things. Would +you like to hear it while you put your maps and puzzles together?" +asked Miss Celia, glad to keep her brother interested in their +four-footed guest at least. + +"Yes 'm, yes 'm," answered the children, and fetching the book she read +the pretty account, shortening and simplifying it here and there to +suit her hearers. + +"'I invited the two dogs to dine and spend the evening, and they came +with their master, who was a Frenchman. He had been a teacher in a deaf +and dumb school, and thought he would try the same plan with dogs. He +had also been a conjurer, and now was supported by Blanche and her +daughter Lyda. These dogs behaved at dinner just like other dogs, but +when I gave Blanche a bit of cheese and asked if she knew the word for +it, her master said she could spell it. So a table was arranged with a +lamp on it, and round the table were laid the letters of the alphabet +painted on cards. Blanche sat in the middle waiting till her master told +her to spell cheese, which she at once did in French, F R O M A G E. +Then she translated a word for us very cleverly. Some one wrote +_pferd_, the German for horse, on a slate. Blanche looked at it and +pretended to read it, putting by the slate with her paw when she had +done. "Now give us the French for that word," said the man, and she +instantly brought C H E V A L. "Now, as you are at an Englishman's +house, give it to us in English," and she brought me H O R S E. Then we +spelt some words wrong and she corrected them with wonderful accuracy. +But she did not seem to like it, and whined and growled and looked so +worried that she was allowed to go and rest and eat cakes in a corner. + +"'Then Lyda took her place on the table, and did sums on a slate with a +set of figures. Also mental arithmetic which was very pretty. "Now, +Lyda," said her master, "I want to see if you understand division. +Suppose you had ten bits of sugar and you met ten Prussian dogs, how +many lumps would you, a French dog, give to each of the Prussians?" +Lyda very decidedly replied to this with a cipher. "But, suppose you +divided your sugar with me, how many lumps would you give me?" Lyda +took up the figure five and politely presented it to her master.'" + +[Illustration: ALFRED TENNYSON BARLOW.] + +"Wasn't she smart? Sanch can't do that," exclaimed Ben, forced to own +that the French doggie beat his cherished pet. + +"He is not too old to learn. Shall I go on?" asked Miss Celia, seeing +that the boys liked it though Betty was absorbed with the doll and Bab +deep in a puzzle. + +"Oh yes! What else did they do?" + +"'They played a game of dominoes together, sitting in chairs opposite +each other, and touched the dominoes that were wanted; but the man +placed them and kept telling how the game went, Lyda was beaten and hid +under the sofa, evidently feeling very badly about it. Blanche was +then surrounded with playing-cards, while her master held another pack +and told us to choose a card; then he asked her what one had been +chosen, and she always took up the right one in her teeth. I was asked +to go into another room, put a light on the floor with cards round it, +and leave the doors nearly shut. Then the man begged some one to +whisper in the dog's ear what card she was to bring, and she went at +once and fetched it, thus showing that she understood their names. Lyda +did many tricks with the numbers, so curious that no dog could possibly +understand them, yet what the secret sign was I could not discover, but +suppose it must have been in the tones of the master's voice, for he +certainly made none with either head or hands.' + +"It took an hour a day for eighteen months to educate a dog enough to +appear in public, and (as you say, Ben) the night was the best time to +give the lessons. Soon after this visit the master died, and these +wonderful dogs were sold because their mistress did not know how to +exhibit them." + +"Wouldn't I have liked to see 'em and find out how they were taught. +Sanch, you'll have to study up lively for I'm not going to have you +beaten by French dogs," said Ben, shaking his finger so sternly that +Sancho groveled at his feet and put both paws over his eyes in the most +abject manner. + +"Is there a picture of those smart little poodles?" asked Ben, eying +the book, which Miss Celia left open before her. + +"Not of them, but of other interesting creatures; also anecdotes about +horses, which will please you, I know," and she turned the pages for +him, neither guessing how much good Mr. Hamerton's charming "Chapters +on Animals" were to do the boy when he needed comfort for a sorrow +which was very near. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +A HEAVY TROUBLE. + + +"Thank you, ma'am, that's a tip-top book, 'specially the pictures. But +I can't bear to see these poor fellows," and Ben brooded over the fine +etching of the dead and dying horses on a battle-field, one past all +further pain, the other helpless but lifting his head from his dead +master to neigh a farewell to the comrades who go galloping away in a +cloud of dust. + +"They ought to stop for him, some of 'em," muttered Ben, hastily +turning back to the cheerful picture of the three happy horses in the +field, standing knee-deep among the grass as they prepare to drink at +the wide stream. + +"Aint that black one a beauty? Seems as if I could see his mane blow in +the wind, and hear him whinny to that small feller trotting down to +see if he can't get over and be sociable. How I'd like to take a +rousin' run round that meadow on the whole lot of 'em," and Ben swayed +about in his chair as if he was already doing it in imagination. + +"You may take a turn round my field on Lita any day. She would like it, +and Thorny's saddle will be here next week," said Miss Celia, pleased +to see that the boy appreciated the fine pictures, and felt such hearty +sympathy with the noble animals whom she dearly loved herself. + +"Needn't wait for that. I'd rather ride bare-back. Oh, I say, is this +the book you told about where the horses talked?" asked Ben, suddenly +recollecting the speech he had puzzled over ever since he heard it. + +"No, I brought the book, but in the hurry of my tea-party forgot to +unpack it. I'll hunt it up to-night. Remind me, Thorny." + +"There, now, I've forgotten something too! Squire sent you a letter, +and I'm having such a jolly time I never thought of it." + +Ben rummaged out the note with remorseful haste, protesting that he was +in no hurry for Mr. Gulliver, and very glad to save him for another +day. + +Leaving the young folks busy with their games, Miss Celia sat in the +porch to read her letters, for there were two, and as she read her face +grew so sober, then so sad, that if any one had been looking he would +have wondered what bad news had chased away the sunshine so suddenly. +No one did look, no one saw how pitifully her eyes rested on Ben's +happy face when the letters were put away, and no one minded the new +gentleness in her manner as she came back to the table. But Ben thought +there never was so sweet a lady as the one who leaned over him to show +him how the dissected map went together, and never smiled at his +mistakes. + +So kind, so very kind was she to them all that when, after an hour of +merry play, she took her brother in to bed, the three who remained fell +to praising her enthusiastically as they put things to rights before +taking leave. + +"She's like the good fairies in the books, and has all sorts of nice, +pretty things in her house," said Betty, enjoying a last hug of the +fascinating doll whose lids would shut so that it was a pleasure to +sing "Bye, sweet baby, bye," with no staring eyes to spoil the +illusion. + +"What heaps she knows! More than Teacher, I do believe, and she doesn't +mind how many questions we ask. I like folks that will tell me things," +added Bab, whose inquisitive mind was always hungry. + +"I like that boy first-rate, and I guess he likes me, though I didn't +know where Nantucket ought to go. He wants me to teach him to ride when +he's on his pins again, and Miss Celia says I may. _She_ knows how to +make folks feel good, don't she?" and Ben gratefully surveyed the Arab +chief, now his own, though the best of all the collection. + +"Wont we have splendid times? She says we may come over every night and +play with her and Thorny." + +"And she's going to have the seats in the porch lift up so we can put +our things in there all dry, and have 'em handy." + +"And I'm going to be her boy, and stay here all the time; I guess the +letter I brought was a recommend from the Squire." + +"Yes, Ben: and if I had not already made up my mind to keep you before, +I certainly would now, my boy." + +Something in Miss Celia's voice, as she said the last two words with +her hand on Ben's shoulder, made him look up quickly and turn red with +pleasure, wondering what the Squire had written about him. + +"Mother must have some of the 'party,' so you shall take her these, +Bab, and Betty may carry baby home for the night. She is so nicely +asleep, it is a pity to wake her. Good-bye till to-morrow, little +neighbors," continued Miss Celia, and dismissed the girls with a kiss. + +"Isn't Ben coming, too?" asked Bab, as Betty trotted off in a silent +rapture with the big darling bobbing over her shoulder. + +"Not yet; I've several things to settle with my new man. Tell mother he +will come by and by." + +Off rushed Bab with the plateful of goodies; and, drawing Ben down +beside her on the wide step, Miss Celia took out the letters, with a +shadow creeping over her face as softly as the twilight was stealing +over the world, while the dew fell and everything grew still and dim. + +"Ben, dear, I've something to tell you," she began, slowly, and the boy +waited with a happy face, for no one had called him so since 'Melia +died. + +"The Squire has heard about your father, and this is the letter Mr. +Smithers sends." + +"Hooray! where is he, please?" cried Ben, wishing she would hurry up, +for Miss Celia did not even offer him the letter, but sat looking down +at Sancho on the lower step, as if she wanted him to come and help her. + +"He went after the mustangs, and sent some home, but could not come +himself." + +"Went further on? I s'pose. Yes, he said he might go as far as +California, and if he did he'd send for me. I'd like to go there; it's +a real splendid place, they say." + +"He has gone further away than that, to a lovelier country than +California, I hope." And Miss Celia's eyes turned to the deep sky, +where early stars were shining. + +"Didn't he send for me? Where's he gone? When's he coming back?" asked +Ben, quickly, for there was a quiver in her voice, the meaning of which +he felt before he understood. + +Miss Celia put her arms about him, and answered very tenderly: + +"Ben, dear, if I were to tell you that he was never coming back, could +you bear it?" + +"I guess I could--but you don't mean it? Oh, ma'am, he isn't dead?" +cried Ben, with a cry that made her heart ache, and Sancho leap up with +a bark. + +"My poor little boy, I _wish_ I could say no." + +There was no need of any more words, no need of tears or kind arms +round him. He knew he was an orphan now, and turned instinctively to +the old friend who loved him best. Throwing himself down beside his +dog, Ben clung about the curly neck, sobbing bitterly: + +"Oh, Sanch, he's never coming back again; never, never any more!" + +Poor Sancho could only whine and lick away the tears that wet the +half-hidden face, questioning the new friend meantime with eyes so full +of dumb love and sympathy and sorrow that they seemed almost human. +Wiping away her own tears, Miss Celia stooped to pat the white head, +and to stroke the black one lying so near it that the dog's breast was +the boy's pillow. Presently the sobbing ceased, and Ben whispered, +without looking up: + +"Tell me all about it; I'll be good." + +Then, as kindly as she could, Miss Celia read the brief letter which +told the hard news bluntly, for Mr. Smithers was obliged to confess +that he had known the truth months before, and never told the boy lest +he should be unfitted for the work they gave him. Of Ben Brown the +elder's death there was little to tell, except that he was killed in +some wild place at the West, and a stranger wrote the fact to the only +person whose name was found in Ben's pocket-book. Mr. Smithers offered +to take the boy back and "do well by him," averring that the father +wished his son to remain where he left him, and follow the profession +to which he was trained. + +"Will you go, Ben?" asked Miss Celia, hoping to distract his mind from +his grief by speaking of other things. + +"No, no; I'd rather tramp and starve. He's awful hard to me and Sanch, +and he'll be worse now father's gone. Don't send me back! Let me stay +here; folks are good to me; there's nowhere else to go." And the head +Ben had lifted up with a desperate sort of look went down again on +Sancho's breast as if there was no other refuge left. + +"You _shall_ stay here, and no one shall take you away against your +will. I called you 'my boy' in play, now you shall be my boy in +earnest; this shall be your home, and Thorny your brother. We are +orphans, too, and we will stand by one another till a stronger friend +comes to help us," cried Miss Celia, with such a mixture of resolution +and tenderness in her voice that Ben felt comforted at once, and +thanked her by laying his cheek against the pretty slipper that rested +on the step beside him, as if he had no words in which to swear loyalty +to the gentle mistress whom he meant henceforth to serve with grateful +fidelity. + +Sancho felt that he must follow suit, and gravely put his paw upon her +knee, with a low whine, as if he said: "Count me in, and let me help to +pay my master's debt if I can." + +Miss Celia shook the offered paw cordially, and the good creature +crouched at her feet like a small lion bound to guard her and her house +forever more. + +"Don't lie on that cold stone, Ben; come here and let me try to comfort +you," she said, stooping to wipe away the great drops that kept +rolling down the brown cheek half hidden in her dress. + +But Ben put his arm over his face, and sobbed out with a fresh burst of +grief: + +"You can't; you didn't know him! Oh, daddy! daddy!--if I'd only seen +you jest once more!" + +No one could grant that wish; but Miss Celia did comfort him, for +presently the sound of music floated out from the parlor--music so +soft, so sweet, that involuntarily the boy stopped his crying to +listen; then quieter tears dropped slowly, seeming to soothe his pain +as they fell, while the sense of loneliness passed away, and it grew +possible to wait till it was time to go to father in that far-off +country lovelier than golden California. + +How long she played Miss Celia never minded, but when she stole out to +see if Ben had gone she found that other friends, even kinder than +herself, had taken the boy into their gentle keeping. The wind had sung +a lullaby among the rustling lilacs, the moon's mild face looked +through the leafy arch to kiss the heavy eyelids, and faithful Sancho +still kept guard beside his little master, who, with his head pillowed +on his arm, lay fast asleep, dreaming, happily, that "Daddy had come +home again." + +(_To be continued._) + + + + +[Illustration: A TALK OVER THE HARD TIMES.] + + + + +COMMON SENSE IN THE HOUSEHOLD. + +BY MARGARET VANDEGRIFT. + + + When you're writing or reading or sewing, it's right + To sit, if you can, with your back to the light; + And then, it is patent to every beholder, + The light will fall gracefully over your shoulder. + +[Illustration] + + Now here is a family, sensible, wise, + Who all have the greatest regard for their eyes; + They first say, "Excuse me," which also is right, + And then all sit down with their backs to the light. + + But their neighbors, most unhygienic, can't see + Why they do it, and think that they cannot agree, + And always decide they've been having a fight, + When they merely are turning their backs to the light. + + + + +SECRETS OF THE ATLANTIC CABLE. + +BY WILLIAM H. RIDEING. + + +I believe that the youngsters in our family consider my study a very +pleasant room. There are some books, pictures, and hunting implements +in it, and I have quite a large number of curious things stored in +little mahogany cabinets, including a variety of specimens of natural +history and articles of savage warfare, which have been given to me by +sailors and travelers. In one of these cabinets there are the silver +wings of a flying-fish, the poisoned arrows of South Sea cannibals, +sharks' and alligators' teeth, fragments of well-remembered wrecks, and +an inch or two of thick tarred rope. + +The latter appears to be a common and useless object at the first +glance, but when examined closely it is not so uninteresting. It +measures one and one-eighth of an inch in diameter, and running through +the center are seven bright copper wires, surrounded by a hard, dark +brown substance, the nature of which you do not immediately recognize. +It is gutta-percha, the wonderful vegetable juice, which is as firm as +a rock while it is cold and as soft as dough when it is exposed to +heat. This is inclosed within several strands of Manilla hemp, with ten +iron wires woven among them. The hemp is saturated with tar to resist +water, and the wires are galvanized to prevent rust. You may judge, +then, how strong and durable the rope is, but I am not sure that you +can guess its use. + +Near the southern extremity of the western coast of Ireland there is a +little harbor called Valentia, as you will see by referring to a map. +It faces the Atlantic Ocean, and the nearest point on the opposite +shore is a sheltered bay prettily named Heart's Content, in +Newfoundland. The waters between are the stormiest in the world, wrathy +with hurricanes and cyclones, and seldom smooth even in the calm months +of midsummer. The distance across is nearly two thousand miles, and the +depth gradually increases to a maximum of three miles. Between these +two points of land--Valentia in Ireland and Heart's Content in +Newfoundland--a magical rope is laid, binding America to Europe with a +firm bond, and enabling people in London to send instantaneous messages +to those in New York. It is the first successful Atlantic cable, and my +piece was cut from it before it was laid. Fig. 2 on the next page shows +how a section of it looks, and Fig. 3 shows a section of the shore +ends, which are larger. + +Copper is one of the best conductors of electricity known, and hence +the wires in the center are made of that metal. Water, too, is an +excellent conductor, and if the wires were not closely protected, the +electricity would pass from them into the sea, instead of carrying its +message the whole length of the line. Therefore, the wires must be +encased or insulated in some material that will not admit water and is +not itself a conductor. Gutta-percha meets these needs, and the hemp +and galvanized wire are added for the strength and protection they +afford to the whole. + +It was an American who first thought of laying such an electric cable +as this under the turbulent Atlantic. Some foolish people laughed at +the idea and declared it to be impracticable. How could a slender cord, +two thousand miles long, be lowered from an unsteady vessel to the +bottom of the ocean without break? It would part under the strain put +upon it, and it would be attacked by marine monsters, twisted and +broken by the currents. At one point the bed of the sea suddenly sinks +from a depth of two hundred and ten fathoms to a depth of two thousand +and fifty fathoms. Here the strain on the cable as it passed over the +ship's stern would be so great that it certainly must break. More than +this, the slightest flaw--a hole smaller than a pin's head--in the +gutta-percha insulator would spoil the entire work, and no remedy would +be possible. A great many people spoke in this way when the Atlantic +cable was first thought of, as others, years before, had spoken of Watt +and Stephenson. But Watt invented the steam-engine, Stephenson invented +the locomotive, and Cyrus Field bound Great Britain to the United +States by telegraph. + +Early in 1854, Mr. Field's attention was drawn to the scheme for a +telegraph between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, in connection with a +line of fast steamships from Ireland to call at St. John's, +Newfoundland. The idea struck him that if a line were laid to Ireland, +lasting benefit would result to the world. So he called together some +of his intimate friends, including Peter Cooper, Moses Taylor, Chandler +White, and Marshall O. Roberts, and they joined him in organizing the +"New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company," which was the +pioneer in the movement to connect the two continents by a telegraph +cable, and without whose aid its consummation would have been +indefinitely delayed. + +The work was costly and difficult. The first part consisted in +surveying the bottom of the sea for a route. This was done by taking +"soundings" and "dredgings." As some of you are aware, "sounding" is +an operation for ascertaining the depth of the sea, while "dredging" +reveals what plants and living creatures are at the bottom. After much +patient labor, a level space was found between Ireland and +Newfoundland, and it seemed to be so well adapted to the surveyor's +purposes that it was called the "Telegraphic Plateau." + +[Illustration: THE GRAPNEL.] + +Two or three large vessels were next equipped, and sent out with +several thousand miles of cable on board, which they proceeded to lay. +But the fragile cord--fragile compared with the boisterous power of the +waves--broke in twain, and could not be recovered. A second attempt was +made, and that failed, too. Brave men can overcome adversity, however, +and the little band of scientific men and capitalists were brave men +and were determined to succeed. Each heart suffered the acute anguish +of long-deferred hope, and each expedition cost many hundred thousands +of dollars. Nevertheless, the promoters of the Atlantic cable sent out +a third time, and when failure met them again, it seemed to common +minds that their scheme was a settled impossibility. Not so with the +heroes. Each failure showed them some faults in their plans or +machinery. These they amended. Thus, while they were left at a distance +from the object of their ambition, they were brought a little nearer to +its attainment. + +Guided by the light of past experience, they equipped a fourth +expedition. The "Great Eastern" was selected, and her interior was +altered for the purpose. She was, and is still, the largest vessel +afloat. Her length is six hundred and ninety-five feet; her breadth +eighty-five feet, and her burthen twenty-two thousand tons. One of the +principal causes of failure in previous expeditions was the inability +of the cable to endure the severe strain put upon it in stormy weather +as it passed from an ordinarily unsteady vessel into the sea. The +"Great Eastern," from her immense size, promised to be steady in the +worst of gales. Her hold was fitted with three enormous iron tanks---a +"fore" tank, a "main" tank, and an "after" tank. The main tank was the +largest, and eight hundred and sixty-four miles of cable were coiled in +it. Eight hundred and thirty-nine miles in addition were coiled in the +after tank, and six hundred and seventy miles in the fore tank, making +in all two thousand three hundred and seventy-four miles of cable. The +food taken on board for the long voyage in prospect consisted of twenty +thousand pounds of butcher-meat, five hundred head of poultry, one +hundred and fourteen live sheep, eight bullocks, a milch cow, and +eighty tons of ice. + +[Illustration: SECTION OF THE GRAPPLING LINE.] + +What is called the shore-end of the cable--_i.e._, that part nearest +the shore, which is thicker than the rest--was first laid by a smaller +steamer. It extended from Valentia to a point twenty-eight miles at +sea. Here it was buoyed, until the great ship arrived. On a wet day in +July, 1866, it was joined with the main cable on board the "Great +Eastern," and on the same day that vessel started on her voyage to +Newfoundland. + +[Illustration: SECTIONS OF CABLES (REDUCED). 1. Main cable of 1858. +1a. Shore end, abandoned cable of 1858. 2. Main cable of 1866. +2a. Shore-end, recovered cable of 1865. 3. Shore end of cable of 1866.] + +It may seem a simple matter to distribute or "pay out" the cable, but +in practice it is exceedingly difficult. Twenty men are stationed in +the tank from which it is issuing, each dressed in a canvas suit, +without pockets, and in boots without nails. Their duty is to ease each +coil as it passes out of the tank, and to give notice of the marks +painted on the cable one mile apart. Near the entrance of the tank it +runs over a grooved wheel and along an iron trough until it reaches +that part of the deck where the "paying out" machine is placed. The +latter consists of six grooved wheels, each provided with a smaller +wheel, called a "jockey," placed against the upper side of the groove +so as to press against the cable as it goes through, and retard or help +its progress. These six wheels and their jockeys are themselves +controlled by brakes, and after it has been embraced by them the cable +winds round a "drum" four times. The drum is another wheel, four feet +in diameter and nine inches deep, which is also controlled by powerful +brakes; and from it the cable passes over another grooved wheel before +it gets to the "dynamometer" wheel. The dynamometer is an instrument +which shows the exact degree of the strain on the cable, and the wheel +attached to it rises and falls as the strain is greater or less. Thence +the cable is sent over another deeply grooved wheel into the sea. + +You will remember what I said about insulation,--how a tiny hole in the +gutta-percha would allow the electricity to escape. On deck there is a +small house, which is filled with delicate scientific instruments. As +the cable is paid out, it is tested here. If a wire or a nail or a +smaller thing is driven through it, and the insulation is spoiled, an +instrument called the galvanometer instantly records the fact, and +warning is given at all parts of the ship. The man in charge touches a +small handle, and an electric bell rings violently in the tank and at +the paying-out machinery. At the same time a loud gong is struck, at +the sound of which the engines are stopped. Delay might cause much +trouble or total failure, as the injured section must be arrested and +repaired before it enters the water. + +The great steamer went ahead at the rate of five nautical miles an +hour, and the cable passed smoothly overboard. Messages were sent to +England and answers received. The weather was bright, and all hands +were cheerful. On the third day after the "splicing" of the shore-end +with the main cable, that part of the ocean was reached where the water +suddenly increases in depth from two hundred and ten fathoms to two +thousand and fifty. One of the earlier cables broke at this place and +was lost forever. The electricians and engineers watched for it with +anxious eyes. It was reached and passed. The black cord still traveled +through the wheels unbroken, and the test applied by the galvanometer +proved the insulation to be perfect. The days wore away without mishap +until the evening of July 17, when the sound of the gong filled all +hearts with a sickening fear. + +The rain was falling in torrents and pattering on the heavy oil-skin +clothing of the watchers. The wind blew in chilly gusts, and the sea +broke in white crests of foam. A dense and pitchy cloud issued from the +smoke-stacks. The vessel advanced in utter darkness. A few lights were +moving about, and shadows fell hither and thither as one of the hands +carried a lantern along the sloppy deck. The testing-room was occupied +by an electrician, who was quietly working with his magical instrument, +and the cable could be heard winding over the wheels astern, as the +tinkling of a little bell on the "drum" recorded its progress. + +[Illustration: THE "GREAT EASTERN" ENTERING THE BAY OF HEART'S CONTENT.] + +The electrician rose from his seat suddenly, and struck the alarum. The +next instant each person on board knew that an accident had happened. +The engines were stopped and reversed within two minutes. Blue-lights +were burned on the paddle-boxes, and showed a knot in the cable as it +lay in the trough. + +Two remedies seemed possible. One was to cut the cable, and support one +end in the water by a buoy until the rest could be unraveled. The other +was to unravel the cable without cutting it. + +[Illustration] + +It is a very intricate knot that an old sailor cannot untie, and the +old sailors on the "Great Eastern" twisted and untwisted coil after +coil until they succeeded in untying this one. The insulation remained +perfect, and in a few hours all was right again. The accident caused +much ill foreboding, however, as it showed how slight an occurrence +might bring the expedition to a disastrous end. + +On July 27, after a voyage of fifteen days, the "Great Eastern" +finished her work, and her part of the cable was attached to the +American shore-end, which had been laid by another vessel. Some of you +will remember the rejoicings in the United States over the event. It +surpassed all other achievements of the age, and equaled the invention +of the telegraph itself. + +Thus, after infinite labor and repeated failures, the brave men who +undertook the work accomplished it. A year before, their third cable +had broken in mid-ocean, and it was now proposed to "grapple" for it. +The "Great Eastern" was fitted out with apparatus, which may be likened +to an enormous fishing-hook and line, and was sent to the spot where +the treasure had been lost. The line was of hemp interwoven with wire. +Page 328 shows a section of it. Twice the cable was seized and brought +almost to the surface. Twice it slipped from the disappointed +fishermen, but the third time it was secured. It was then united with +the cable on board, which was "paid out" until the great steamer again +reached Newfoundland, and a second telegraph-wire united the two +continents. + +The scene on board as the black line appeared above water was exciting +beyond description. It was first taken to the testing-room, and a +signal intended for Valentia was sent over it, to prove whether or not +it was perfect throughout its whole length. If it had proved to be +imperfect, all the labor spent upon it would have been lost. The +electricians waited breathlessly for an answer. The clerk in the +signal-house at Valentia was drowsy when their message came, and +disbelieved his ears. Many disinterested people, and even some of the +promoters of the cable, did not think it possible to recover a wire +that had sunk in thousands of fathoms of water. But the clerk in the +little station connected with the shore-end of the cable of 1865 +suddenly found himself in communication with a vessel situated in the +middle of the Atlantic. + +The delay aggravated the anxious watchers on the ship, and a second +signal was sent. How astonished that simple-minded Irish +telegraph-operator was! Five minutes passed, and then the answer came. +The chief electrician gave a loud cheer, which was repeated by every +man on board, from the captain down to his servant. + +There are now four cables in working order, and the cost of messages +has been reduced twenty-five per cent. The New York newspapers now +contain nearly as much European news as the London newspapers +themselves. + + + + +THE CANARY THAT TALKED TOO MUCH + +BY MARGARET EYTINGE. + + +Annette's canary-bird's cage, with the canary in it, was brought into +the library and hung upon a hook beside the window. + +Out popped a mouse from a hole behind the book-case. + +"Why, what are _you_ doing here, canary?" she said. "I thought _your_ +place was the bay-window in the dining-room." + +"So it is--so it is!" beginning with a twitter, answered the canary; +"but they said I talked too much!"--ending with a trill. + +"Talked!" repeated the mouse, sitting up on her hind-legs and looking +earnestly at him. "I thought _you_ only sang!" + +"Well, singing and talking mean about the same thing in bird-language," +said the canary. "But goodness g-r-r-racious!" he went on, swinging +rapidly to and fro in his little swing at the top of his cage, "'t was +they that talked so much--my mistress and the doctor's wife, and the +doctor's sister--not me. I said scarcely a word, and yet I am called a +chatterbox, and punished--before company, too! I feel mad enough to +pull out my yellowest feathers, or upset my bath-tub. Now, you look +like a sensible little thing, mouse, and I'll tell you all about +it--what they said and what I said--and you shall judge if I deserved +to be banished. + +"The doctor's wife and the doctor's sister called. + +"'It's a lovely day!' said they. + +"'A lovely, lovely, lovely day!' sang I. 'The sun shines bright--the +sky is blue--the grass is green--yes, lovely, lovely, lovely--and I'm +happy, happy, happy, and glad, glad, glad!' + +"They went right on talking, though I sang my very best, without paying +the slightest attention to me; and when I stopped, I caught the words +'So sweet' from my mistress, and then I sang again: 'Sweet, sweet, +sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet is the clover--sweet is the +rose--sweet the song of the bird--sweet the bird--sweet the +clover--sweet the rose--the rose--the clover--the bird--yes, yes, +yes--sweet, sweet, sweet!' And as I paused to take breath, I heard some +one say, 'What a noise that bird makes! how loudly he sings!' 'How +loudly he sings!' repeated I, 'how loudly he sings!--the bird, the +bird, the beautiful bird--sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet----' But suddenly +my song ended, for my mistress got up, unhooked my cage, saying, +'Canary, you're a chatterbox; you talk too much,' and brought me in +here. + +"And really, mouse, as you must see, I didn't say more than a dozen or +so words. What do you think about it?" + +"Well," said the mouse, stroking her whiskers and speaking slowly, "you +_didn't say_ much, but it strikes me you talked a great deal." + +"Oh!" said the canary, putting his head on one side and looking +thoughtfully at her out of his right, bright, black, round eye. But +just then the mouse heard an approaching footstep, and, without even +saying "good-bye," she hurried away to the hole behind the book-case. + + + + +A NIGHT WITH A BEAR. + +BY JANE G. AUSTIN. + + +"Tell you what, Roxie, I wish father and Jake had some of those hot +nut-cakes for their dinner; they didn't carry much of anything, and +these are proper nice." + +Mrs. Beamish set her left hand upon her hip, leaned against the corner +of the dresser, and meditatively selected another nut-cake, dough-nut +or cruller, as you may call them, from the great brown pan piled up +with these dainties, and Roxie, who was curled up in a little heap on +the corner of the settle, knitting a blue woolen stocking, looked +brightly up and said: + +"Let me go and carry them some, Ma. It's just as warm and nice as can +be out-of-doors, real springy, and I know the way to the wood lot. I'd +just love to go." + +"Let's see--ten o'clock," said Mrs. Beamish, putting the last bit of +cake into her mouth, and wiping her fingers upon her apron. "It's a +matter of four miles there by the bridge, Jake says, though if you +cross the ford it takes off a mile or more. You'd better go round by +the bridge, anyway." + +"Oh no, Ma; that isn't worth while, for Pa said only last night that +the ice was strong enough yet to sled over all the wood he'd been +cutting," said Roxie, earnestly, for the additional mile rather +terrified her. + +"Did he? Well, if that's so, it is all right," replied her mother, in a +tone of relief, and then she filled a tin pail with nut-cakes, laid a +clean, brown napkin over them, and then shut in the cover and set it on +the dresser, saying: + +"There, they've got cheese with them, and you'll reach camp before they +eat their noon lunch. Now, get on your leggin's and thick shoes, and +your coat and cap and mittens, and eat some cakes before you start, so +as not to take theirs when you get there." + +"I wouldn't do that, neither; not if I never had any," replied Roxie, a +little resentfully, and then she pulled her squirrel-skin cap well over +her ears, tied her pretty scarlet tippet around her neck, and held up +her face for a good-bye kiss. The mother gave it with unusual fervor, +and said, kindly: + +"Good-bye to you, little girl. Take good care of yourself, and come +safe home to mother." + +"Yes, Ma. But I may wait and come with them, mayn't I? They'll let me +ride on old Rob, you know." + +"Why, yes, you might as well, I suppose, though I'll be lonesome +without you all day, baby. But it would be better for you to ride home, +so stay." + +It was a lovely day in the latter part of March, and although the +ground was covered with snow, and the brooks and rivers were still fast +bound in ice, there was something in the air that told of +spring,--something that set the sap in the maple-trees mounting through +its million little channels toward the buds, already beginning to +redden for their blooming, and sent the blood in little Roxie's veins +dancing upward too, until it blossomed in her cheeks and lips fairer +than in any maple-tree. + +"How pleasant it is to be alive!" said the little girl aloud, while a +squirrel running up the old oak-tree overhead stopped, and curling his +bushy tail a little higher upon his back, chattered the same idea in +his own language. Roxie stopped to listen and laugh aloud, at which +sound the squirrel frisked away to his hole, and the little girl, +singing merrily, went on her way, crossed the river on the ice, and on +the other bank stopped and looked wistfully down a side path leading +into the denser forest away from her direct road. + +"I really believe the checkerberries must have started, it is so +springy," she thought; "I've a mind to go down and look in what Jake +calls 'Bear-berry Pasture,' though I told him they were not +bear-berries, but real checkerberries." So, saying to herself Roxie ran +a few steps down the little path, stopped, stood still for a minute, +then slowly turned back, saying: + +"No, I wont, either, for may be I wouldn't get to the camp with the +nut-cakes before noon, and then they would have eaten all their cheese. +No, I'll go right on, and not stay there any time at all, but come back +and get the checkerberries; besides, mother said she'd be lonesome +without me, so I'd better not stay, any way." + +So Roxie, flattering herself like many an older person with the fancy +that she was giving up her selfish pleasure for that of another, while +really she was carrying out her own fancy, went singing on her way, and +reached the camp just as her father struck his ax deep into the log +where he meant to leave it for an hour, and Jake, her handsome elder +brother, took off his cap, pushed the curls back from his heated brow, +and shook out the hay and grain before old Rob, whose whinny had +already proclaimed dinner-time. + +"Why, if here isn't sis with a tin kettle, and I'll be bound some of +ma'am's nut-cakes in it!" exclaimed Jake, who had rather mourned at the +said cakes not being ready before he left home, and then he caught the +little girl up in his arms, kissed her heartily, and put her on Rob's +back, whence she slid down, saying gravely: + +"Jake, Ma says I'm getting too old for rough play. I'll be twelve years +old next June." + +"All right, old lady; I'll get you a pair of specs and a new cap or two +for a birthday present," laughed Jake, uncovering the tin kettle, while +his father said: + +"We wont have you an old woman before you're a young one, will we, Tib? +Come, sit down by me and have some dinner. You're good to bring us the +nut-cakes and get here in such good season." + +The three were very happy and merry over their dinner, although Roxie +declined to eat anything except out of her own pocket, and the time +passed swiftly until Mr. Beamish glanced up at the sun, rose, took his +ax out of the cleft in the log, and, swinging it over his head, said: + +"Come, Jake, nooning is over. Get to work." + +"All right, sir. You can sit still as long as you like, sis, and by and +by I'll take you home on Rob." + +"I'm going now, Jake," said Roxie, hesitating a little, and finally +concluding not to mention the checkerberries, lest her father or +brother should object to her going alone into the wilder part of the +forest. "Ma said she'd be lonesome," added she hurriedly, and then her +cheeks began to burn as if she had really told a lie instead of +suggesting one. + +"Well, you're a right down good girl to come so far and then to think +of Ma instead of yourself, and next day we're working about home I'll +give you a good ride to pay for it." + +And Jake kissed his little sister tenderly, her father nodded good-bye +with some pleasant word of thanks, and Roxie with the empty tin pail in +her hand set out upon her homeward journey, a little excitement in her +heart as she thought of her contemplated excursion, a little sting in +her conscience as she reflected that she had not been quite honest +about any part of it. + +Did you ever notice, when a little troubled and agitated, how quickly +you seemed to pass over the ground, and how speedily you arrived at the +point whither you had not fairly decided to go? + +It was so with Roxie, and while she was still considering whether after +all she would go straight home, she was already at the entrance of the +sunny southern glade where lay the patch of bright red berries whose +faint, wholesome perfume told of their vicinity even before they could +be seen. Throwing herself upon her knees, the little girl pushed aside +the glossy dark-green leaves, and with a low cry of delight stooped +down and kissed the clusters of fragrant berries as they lay fresh and +bright before her. + +"O you dear, darling little things!" cried she, "how I love to see you +again, and know that all the rest of the pretty things are coming right +along!" + +Then she began to pluck, and put them sometimes in her mouth, sometimes +in her pail, and so long did she linger over her pleasant task that the +sun was already in the tops of the pine-trees, when, returning from a +little excursion into the woods to get a sprig from a "shad-bush," +Roxie halted just within the border of the little glade, and stood for +a moment transfixed with horror. Beside the pail she had left brim-full +of berries, sat a bear-cub, scooping out the treasure with his paw, and +greedily devouring it, apparently quite delighted that some one had +saved him the trouble of gathering his favorite berries for himself. + +One moment of dumb terror, and then a feeling of anger and reckless +courage filled the heart of the woodsman's child, and, darting forward, +she made a snatch at her pail, at the same time dealing the young +robber a sharp blow over the face and eyes with the branch of shad-bush +in her hand, and exclaiming: + +"You great, horrid thing! Every single berry is gone now, for I wont +eat them after you. So now!" + +But, so far from being penitent or frightened, the bear took this +interference, and especially the blow, in very bad part, and after a +moment of blinking astonishment, he sat up on his haunches, growled a +little, showed his teeth, and intimated very plainly that unless that +pail of berries was restored at once, there would be trouble for some +one. But this was not the first bear-cub that Roxie had seen, and her +temper was up as well as the bear's. So, firmly grasping the pail, she +began to retreat backward, at first slowly, but as the bear dropped on +his feet and seemed inclined to follow her, or rather the pail of +berries, she lost courage, and turning, began to run, not caring or +noting in what direction, and still mechanically grasping the pail of +berries. + +Suddenly, through the close crowding pines which had so nearly shut out +the daylight, appeared an open space, and Roxie hailed it with delight, +for it was the river, and once across the river she felt as if she +would be safe. Even in the brief glance she threw around as she burst +from the edge of the wood, she saw that here was neither the bridge nor +the ford which she had crossed in the morning; a point altogether +strange and new to her, and, as she judged, further down the river, +since the space from shore to shore was considerably wider. But the +bear was close behind, and neither time nor courage for deliberation +was at hand, and Roxie, after her moment's pause, sprung forward upon +the snowy ice, closely followed by the clumsy little beast. + +At that very moment, a mile further up stream, Mr. Beamish and his son +Jake were cautiously driving Rob across the frozen ford, and the old +man was saying: + +"I'm afraid we'll have to go round by the bridge after this, Jake. I +shouldn't wonder if the river broke up this very night. See that +crack." + +[Illustration: THE RESCUE.] + +"It wouldn't do for Roxie to come over here alone again," said Jake, +probing the ice-crack with his stick. + +And Roxie,--poor little Roxie,--whom Jake was so glad to think of as +safe at home, was at that very moment stepping over a wide crack +between two great masses of ice, and staring forlornly about her, for a +little way in advance appeared another great gap, and the bear close +behind was whimpering with terror as he clung to the edge of the +floating mass upon which Roxie had only just leaped, and which he had +failed to jump upon. Shaking with cold and fright, the little girl +staggered forward across the ice until at its further edge she came +upon a narrow, swiftly rolling tide, increasing in width at every +moment--the current of the river suddenly set free from its winter's +bondage, and rapidly dashing away its chains. + +Roxie turned back, but the crack that she had stepped over was already +far too wide for her to attempt to repass, and a gentle shaking +movement under her feet told that the block on which she stood was +already in motion, and that no escape was possible without more +strength and courage than a little girl could be expected to possess. +The bear had climbed up, and now crouched timidly to the edge of the +ice, moaning with fear, and seeming to take so little notice of Roxie +that she forgot all her fear of him, and these two, crouching upon the +rocking and slippery floor of their strange prison, went floating down +the turbulent stream. + +The twilight deepened into dark, the stars came out bright and cold, +and so far away from human need and woe! Little Roxie ceased her +useless tears, and kneeling upon the ice put her hands together and +prayed, adding to the petition she had learned at her mother's knee +some simple words of her own great need. + +A yet more piteous whine from the bear showed his terror as the +ice-block gave a sickening whirl, and crawling upon his stomach he +crept close up to the little girl, his whole air saying as plainly as +words could have spoken: + +"Oh, I am so scared, little girl, aren't you? Let us protect each other +somehow, or at least, you protect me." + +And Roxie, with a strange, light-hearted sense of security and peace +replacing her terror and doubt, let the shaggy creature creep close to +her side, and nestling down into his thick fur, warmed her freezing +fingers against his skin, and with a smile upon her lips went +peacefully to sleep. + +She was awakened by a tremendous shock, and a struggle, and a fall into +the water, and before she could see or know what had happened to her, +two strong arms were round her, and she was drawn again upon the +ice-cake, and her brother was bending close above her, and he was +saying: + +"Oh, Roxie! are you hurt?" + +"No, Jake, I--I believe not. Why, why, what is it all? Where is this, +and--oh, I know. Oh, Jake, Jake, I was so frightened!" And, turning +suddenly, she hid her face in her brother's coat and burst into a +passion of tears. But Jake, with one hurried embrace and kiss, put her +away, saying: + +"Wait just a minute, sis, till we finish the bear; father will shoot +him." + +"No, no, no!" screamed Roxie, her tears dried as if by magic. "Don't +kill the bear, father! Jake, don't you touch the bear; he's my friend, +and we were both so scared last night, and then I prayed that he +wouldn't eat me, and he didn't, and you mustn't hurt him." + +"Well, I'm beat now!" remarked Mr. Beamish, as with both hands buried +in the coarse hair by which he had dragged the bear to the surface, +for it had gone under when the ice-cake had been broken against the jam +of logs which had stopped it, he looked up at his little daughter's +pale face. + +"You and the bear made friends, and said your prayers together, and he +can't be hurt, you say?" + +"Yes, father. Oh, please don't hurt him!" + +"We might take him home and keep him chained up for a sort of a pet, if +he will behave decent," suggested Jake, a little doubtfully. + +"Well!--I suppose we could," replied the father, very slowly and +reluctantly. "He seems peaceable enough now." + +"And see how good he is to me," said Roxie, eagerly, as she patted the +head of her strange new friend, who blinked amicably in reply. "Oh, +Jake, do go and get Rob and the sled, and carry him home, wont you?" + +"Why, yes, if father says so, and the critter will let me tie his +legs." + +The ox-sled was close at hand, for the father and brother had brought +it to the river before they began their weary search up and down its +banks, not knowing what mournful burden they might have to carry home +to the almost frantic mother. + +And Bruin, a most intelligent beast, seemed to understand so well that +the handling, and ride, were all for his own good, that he bore the +humiliation of having his legs tied with considerable equanimity, and +in a short time developed so gentle and gentlemanly a character as to +become a valued and honored member of the family, remaining with it for +about a year, when, wishing, probably, to set up housekeeping on his +own account, he quietly snapped his chain one day and walked off into +the woods, where he was occasionally seen for several years, generally +near the checkerberry patch. + + + + +WESTMINSTER ABBEY. + +BY CHARLES W. SQUIRES. + + +I have no doubt that most of the readers of ST. NICHOLAS have heard of +the grand old Abbey of Westminster, in London, and that they would be +glad to visit this famous historical place. I had often been there in +my thoughts and dreams, and had often wished that I might really walk +through its quiet aisles and chapels, when, at last, I should make a +trip to Europe. And my wish was granted. + +It was on a November morning--one of those dark, gloomy mornings, +peculiar to London, that I started from my lodgings to walk to the +Abbey. As I said before, I had often been there in my imagination, and, +as I walked slowly along, I could hardly realize that I was actually +about to visit it in person. After a while I came in sight of +Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament, and then, on my right, +I noticed two tall towers, and without the help of my guide-book I knew +that they must belong to the Abbey; so I quickened my steps until I +had gained the entrance door. What a change I experienced as I stepped +from the busy, crowded streets, into this old sepulcher, so celebrated +for its relics of the dead! It almost made me shudder, for the interior +of the building was dark and gloomy, and I saw many cold, white figures +towering high above me. The original Abbey was built many, many years +ago, and has been restored from time to time by the succeeding kings +and queens of England, until we find it in its present condition, safe +and sound, and one of the greatest, if not the greatest object of +interest in the city of London. + +[Illustration: INTERIOR OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY.] + +[Illustration: SHRINE OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR.] + +Westminster Abbey may certainly be called a tomb, for we could spend a +whole day in simply counting its monuments. There were so many of these +that I hardly knew which to look at first, but I thought it best to +follow my own inclinations, and so, instead of procuring a guide (men +with long gowns, who take visitors around and point out the objects of +greatest interest), I roamed about at my will. The first monument that +attracted my attention was the venerable shrine of Edward the +Confessor, in the chapel of St. Edward, once the glory of the Abbey, +but which has been much defaced by persons who were desirous of +obtaining a bit of stone from this famous tomb. In this chapel I saw +also the old coronation chairs, in which all the reigning sovereigns of +England, since Edward I. have been crowned. They are queer, +old-fashioned chairs, made of wood, and not very comfortable, I +imagine. The older of the two chairs was built to inclose the stone +(which they call Jacob's pillar) brought from Scotland by Edward, and +placed in this chapel. Many other interesting tombs are to be seen +here, and the floor of the chapel is six hundred and fourteen years +old! + +[Illustration: TOMB OF HANDEL.] + +I next visited the chapel of Islip, built by the old Abbot of Islip, +who dedicated it to St. John the Baptist. One very interesting monument +there was to the memory of General Wolfe, who fell, you remember, at +the battle of Quebec. His monument is a very beautiful piece of art. It +represents him falling into the arms of one of his own soldiers, who is +pointing to Glory, which comes in the shape of an angel from the +clouds, holding a wreath with which to crown the hero. A Highland +sergeant looks sorrowfully on the dying warrior, while two lions sleep +at his feet. The inscription reads as follows: "To the memory of James +Wolfe, Major-General and Commander-in-Chief of the British land forces +on an expedition against Quebec, who, after surmounting, by ability and +valor, all obstacles of art and nature, was slain in the moment of +victory, on the 13th of September, 1759, the King and Parliament of +Great Britain dedicate this monument." + +I now walked on to the north transept, and the first monument I noticed +was one erected to Sir Robert Peel, the great orator and statesman. I +seated myself on an old stone bench to rest, and looking around, saw a +magnificent statue of the great William Pitt, who, you may remember, +was also a great statesman, and accomplished more for the glory and +prosperity of England than any other statesman who ever lived. In this +transept there is a beautiful window, which represents our Savior, the +twelve apostles, and four evangelists. As I was sitting quietly in this +secluded spot, looking up at the window, strains of solemn music +reached my ear, which sounded as if they came from one of the gloomy +vaults around me. I walked on to discover, if possible, whence this +music came, and I saw, in the nave of the Abbey, the Dean of +Westminster conducting a service, assisted by his choir boys. I seated +myself until the ceremonies were over, and I thought it was a very odd +place to hold church--among so many graves. + +After the Dean and his choir boys had disappeared I commenced my walk +again, and saw many fine old monuments. One of these was in memory of +Sir Isaac Newton, and I am sure I need not tell you who he was. +Prominent among the monuments in this part of the Abbey is that to +Major Andre, the fine young officer who was executed during our +Revolutionary War. + +I next visited the south transept, better known as the "Poet's Corner," +which I think is the most interesting part of Westminster. A hundred, +and more, monuments to the memory of great men can be seen here; but I +can only tell you of a few of the most important. The one I thought +most of is erected to the memory of William Shakspeare, although his +bones repose far away, in the little church at Stratford-on-Avon. Then +I saw the tombs of David Garrick, the great actor and delineator of +Shakspeare's characters; George Frederick Handel, the eminent composer, +the author of that beautiful anthem, "I know that my Redeemer liveth;" +the great Milton; rare old Ben Jonson; Edmund Spenser, author of the +"Faery Queene;" and those of Southey, Dryden, Addison, Gray, Campbell, +and other well-known English poets. + +Then, among the names of the dead of our own day, I saw those of +Dickens, Bulwer, Macaulay, and Dr. Livingstone. + +Kings, queens, statesmen, soldiers, clergymen, authors and poets here +have equal station. Some may lie under richer tombs than others, but +all rest beneath the vaulted roof of Westminster Abbey, the place of +highest honor that England can offer her departed sons. + + + + +CRIP'S GARRET-DAY + +BY SARAH J. PRICHARD. + + +Crip was having a dismal--a very dismal time of it. Crip was eleven, it +was his birthday, and Crip was in disgrace--in a garret. + +Wasn't it dreadful? + +It happened thus: Crip's father was a shoemaker. The bench where he +worked and the little bit of a shop, about eight feet every way, in +which he worked, stood on a street leading down to the town dock, and +the name of the town we will say was Barkhampstead, on Cape Cod Bay. + +Now and then--that is, once or twice in the year--a whaling vessel set +sail from the dock, and sometimes, not always, the same vessels +returned to the dock. + +The going and the coming of a "whaler" made Crip's father, Mr. John +Allen, glad. It was his busy season, for when the seamen went, they +always wanted stout new boots and shoes, and, when they came, they +always needed new coverings on their feet to go home in. + +Two years before this dismal time that Crip was having, the ship "Sweet +Home" went away, and it had not been spoken or signaled or heard from +in any way, since four months from the time it left the dock at +Barkhampstead. + +The fathers and mothers and wives and little children of the men who +went in the "Sweet Home" kept on hoping, and fearing, and feeling +terribly bad about everybody on board whom they loved, when, without +any warning whatever, right in the midst of a raging snow storm, the +"Sweet Home," all covered in ice from mast-head to prow, sailed, stiff +and cold, into Barkhampstead harbor. + +Oh! wasn't there a great gladness over all the old town then! They rang +the meeting-house bell. It was a hoarse, creaking old bell, but there +was music in it that time, as it throbbed against the falling snow, and +made a most delicious concert of joy and gratitude in every house +within a mile and more of the dock. + +Mr. John Allen rushed down to the "Sweet Home," as soon as ever it came +in. He hadn't anybody on board to care very particularly about, but how +he did rub his hands together as he went, letting the snow gather fast +on his long beard, as he thought of the thirty or forty pairs of feet +that _must_ have shoes! + +Crip, you know, was to be eleven the next day, and his mother, in the +big red house next door to the little shop, had made him a cake for the +day, and, beside, plum-pudding was to be for dinner. + +Before Crip's father had gone down to the dock he had said to Crip: +"Now, you must stay right here in the shop and not go near the dock, +until I come back;" and Crip had said "Yes, sir," although every bit of +his throbbing boy body wanted to take itself off to the "Sweet Home." + +The snow kept on falling, and it began to grow dark in the little shop. +Crip had just lighted a candle, when the shop door opened, and a boy, +not much bigger than Crip himself, came in and shut the door behind +him. + +Crip jumped up from the bench and said: + +"What----?" + +"You don't know me, Crip Allen," said the boy. + +"Who be you?" questioned Crip. + +"Don't wonder!" said the other, "for we've all come right out of the +jaws of ice and death. I'm Jo Jay." + +"Jo Jay,--looking so!" said Crip. + +"Never mind! Only give me a pair of shoes--old ones will do--to get +home in. It's three miles to go, and it's five months since I've had +shoes on my feet. Oh, Crip! we've had a _bad_ time on board, and no +cargo to speak of to bring home." + +"You wont pay for the shoes?" asked Crip. + +"No money," said Jo, thrusting forth a tied-up foot, wrapped in +sail-rags. "But, Crip, do hurry! I must get home to mother, if she's +alive." + +"She's alive--saw her to meeting," said Crip, fumbling in a wooden box +to get forth a pair of half-worn shoes he remembered about. + +He produced them. Jo Jay seized the shoes eagerly, and, taking off his +wrappings, quickly thrust his feet, that had so long been shoeless, +into them: and, with a "Bless you, Crip! I'll make it all right some +day." hobbled off, making tracks in the snow, just before Crip's father +came up from the dock. + +Mr. John Allen returned in a despondent mood. There was not oil enough +on board the "Sweet Home" to buy shoes for the men. + +"Who's been here, Crip? Socks in and shoes out, I see." + +"Jo Jay, father." + +"Where's the money, Crip?" and Mr. Allen turned his big, searching blue +eyes on Crip, and held forth his hand. + +"Why, father," said Crip, "he hadn't any, and he wanted to go home. +It's three miles, you know, and snowing." + +"Crip Allen! Do you know what you've done? You've _stolen_ a pair of +shoes." + +"Oh, I haven't, father," cried Crip, "and 't was only the old, +half-worn shoes that you mended for George Hine, that he couldn't +wear." + +"Christopher!" thundered forth Mr. Allen, in a voice that made the lad +shake in his boots, "go into the house and right upstairs to bed. You +have stolen a pair of shoes from your own father. You _knew_ they were +not yours to give away." + +Poor Crip! Now he couldn't get a sight of the "Sweet Home" to-night, +even through the darkness and the snow. + +His upper lip began to tremble and give way, but he went into the big +red house, up the front staircase to his own room, and, in the cold, +crept under the blankets into a big feather bed, and thought of Jo +plodding his way home. + +About eight of the clock, when Crip was fast asleep, the door opened, +somebody walked in, and a hand touched the boy, and left a bit of cake +on his pillow; then the hand and the somebody went away, and Crip was +left alone until morning. He went down to breakfast when called. His +father's face was more stern than it had been the night before. Crip +could scarcely swallow the needful food. When breakfast was over, Mr. +Allen said: + +"Christopher. Go into the garret and stay till I call you. I'll teach +you not to take what doesn't belong to you, even to give away." + +"Father!" beseechingly said Crip's mother, "it is the boy's birthday." + +"Go to the garret!" said Mr. Allen. + +Crip went, and he was having the dismal time of it referred to in the +beginning of this story. Poor little chap! He stayed up there all the +morning, his mother's heart bleeding for him, and his sisters saying in +their hearts, "Father's awful cruel." It did seem so, but Mr. +Christopher Allen, the nation-known shipping merchant, said, fifty +years later, when relating the story to a party of friends on board one +of his fine steamships: + +"That severe punishment was the greatest kindness my father ever +bestowed on my boyhood. Why, a hundred times in my life, when under the +power of a great temptation to use money in my hands that did not +belong to me, even for the best and highest uses, and when I _knew_ +that I could replace it, I have been saved by the power of the stern, +hard words, the cold, flashing eyes, and the day in the garret. Yes, +yes, father was right. I ought to have taken off _my own shoes, and +gone without any_, to give to Jo Jay. That was his idea of giving." + + + + +[Illustration] + + +WHAT HAPPENED. + +BY HOWELL FOSTER. + + + A very respectable Kangaroo + Died week before last in Timbuctoo; + A remarkable accident happened to him: + He was hung head down from a banyan-limb. + The Royal Lion made proclamation + For a day of fasting and lamentation, + Which led to a curious demonstration: + The Elephant acted as if he were drunk-- + He stood on his head, he trod on his trunk; + An over-sensitive she-Gorilla + Declared that the shock would surely kill her; + A frisky, gay and frolicsome Ape + Tied up his tail with a yard of crape; + The Donkey wiped his eyes with his ears; + The Crocodile shed a bucket of tears; + The Rhinoceros gored a young Giraffe + Who had the very bad taste to laugh; + The Hippopotamus puffed and blew, + To show his respect for the Kangaroo; + And a sad but indignant Chimpanzee + Gnawed all the bark from the banyan-tree. + + + + +DRIFTED INTO PORT. + +BY EDWIN HODDER. + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE BOYS OF BLACKROCK SCHOOL. + + +Dr. Brier considered himself the principal of Blackrock School, but the +boys in that establishment often used to say to each other that Mrs. +Brier was really the master. + +Not that she intruded into any sphere which did not belong to her, but +she took such a deep interest in the school that she had the welfare of +every boy at heart, and Dr. Brier was one of those amiable men who +never act except in concert with their wives, and he had, moreover, +good sense enough to see that oftentimes her judgment was better than +his own. + +At the time our story opens, the school was in a very flourishing +condition. It contained about eighty boys, the tutors were men of +unquestionable ability, and so successful had the Doctor been in +turning out good scholars that he had applications from various parts +of England, in which country our story is located, for the admission of +many more boys than he could possibly receive. + +Among the institutions of the school was a weekly reception in the +Doctor's private drawing-room, when twenty boys at a time were invited +to tea, and to spend the evening hours in social enjoyment. + +It was a very good thing, for it gave Mrs. Brier an opportunity of +becoming acquainted with the boys, and it enabled them to see the +Doctor, not in his professional character of principal, but as a kind +and gentle host. + +At some schools, where a plan of this kind has been adopted, boys have +been inclined to look upon it as a great bore, and have dreaded the +return of the so-called social evening, when they would have to be, for +some hours, in a state of nervous anxiety, lest they should be +catechised in a corner, or be betrayed into something that they would +be sorry for afterward. + +But, with one exception, this was not the case with the Blackrock boys; +the Tuesday reception was always a red-letter day with them, and if +ever, through misbehavior, an invitation was withheld, it was regarded +as one of the severest punishments inflicted in the school. + +Several boys were one day standing in a group under the elms which +inclosed the play-ground, putting on their jackets to return to the +school-room, as the recreation hour was nearly over. + +"Who's going to the house on Tuesday?" asked Howard Pemberton. + +"I am," said Martin Venables. + +"And I," added Alick Fraser. + +"And I too, worse luck," said Digby Morton. + +"Why worse luck?" asked Martin. + +"Oh, it wouldn't do for me to enter into particulars with you," replied +Digby, rather testily. "You're the Doctor's nephew, and we all know +that we've got to be careful of what we say about the house before you. +The wind might carry it around." + +Martin turned as red as a poppy, as he flashed up in honest anger that +such paltry meanness should be charged on him. + +"I tell you what it is, Digby," he said, trying to keep himself cool, +"I can stand a joke as well as anybody, but there is no joking about +your ill-natured speeches. I tell you now, once for all, that I never +did and never shall blow upon any boy in this school. You know as well +as I do that the Doctor treats me as a scholar here, and not as a spy +or a relative, and if ever you charge me again with tale-bearing, I'll +answer you with my fists." + +"Good!" cried several voices at once, while some of the small boys who +had gathered round seemed delighted at the rebuke administered to +Digby, who was by no means a favorite with them. + +"And now let's drop it," said Howard, the boy who had asked the +question as to the invitations for Tuesday. "If Digby doesn't like the +receptions, it's a pity he doesn't stay away. I don't know another boy +in the school who would think with him." + +"Nor I, and I can't make out why any one should," said Alick; "to my +mind they are the jolliest evenings we have." + +"Oh yes, I should think they would just suit _you_" answered Digby, +with his accustomed sneer, "but they don't suit me. They are precious +slow affairs, and I don't care much for the society of Mrs. B. She +pries into the school affairs a sight too much as it is, and----" + +What other objections Digby might have advanced will forever remain +unknown. He had committed high treason in speaking lightly of a name +dear to the heart of every boy there, and a storm of hissing and +hooting greeted his unfinished sentence. + +He saw that he had trespassed on ground which was too dangerous for him +to tread any further, and so, with a defiant "Bah!" he threw his +jacket over his shoulder and walked sullenly away. + +Many of the boys in Blackrock school would have found a difficulty in +stating the exact grounds of their regard for Mrs. Brier. To some of +them she was a comparative stranger; they could not trace one direct +act in which they were indebted to her. Perhaps the merest commonplaces +in conversation had passed between them, and yet they felt there was a +something in her presence which threw sunshine around them; they felt +that they were thought about, cared for and loved, and in any little +scrape into which, boy-like, they might get, they felt satisfied that +if the matter only came to her knowledge they would get an impartial +judgment on the case, and the best construction that could be put upon +their conduct would be sure to be suggested by her. But out of eighty +boys it would not be reasonable to suppose that all should share this +feeling alike,--we have seen already one exception; yet the disaffected +were in a very small minority, and the majority was so overwhelming, +and had amongst it all the best acknowledged strength and power of the +school, that no one dared to say above his breath one word against Mrs. +Brier, if he cared for a whole skin. + +While Digby was returning to the school by one road, Howard and Martin +strolled leisurely along by another path under the trees. + +"I can't understand Digby," said Martin; "he has altered so very much +lately that he hardly seems the same fellow he was. Have you noticed +that he cuts all his old chums now? What's happened to him?" + +"I'm sure I don't know," answered Howard, "but he certainly has altered +very much. I wish we could be as friendly as we used to be, but it is +months since we have been on really good terms together." + +"Two or three years ago we used to be the best of friends," said +Martin. + +"Yes, but all that has been gradually altering. He seems to have taken +a dislike to me. I can't help thinking that Digby has some secret that +worries him." + +"I shouldn't be surprised if he has," answered Martin; "and it will get +him into trouble, whatever it is. He has several times been 'out of +bounds' for a long time at a stretch, and if it hadn't been for Alick +Fraser and one or two others who have screened him, he would have come +to grief. Can you guess at all what is wrong with him?" + +"No," replied Howard, hesitatingly; "the only thing I can think of is +that his father has told him that when he leaves school in September he +is to be articled to a lawyer, and I know he has made up his mind to go +to sea. He is crazy about pirates, and whale-hunts, and desolate +islands, and all that sort of stuff. And yet, sometimes, if you talk to +him about them he shuts you up so very sharply that you feel as if you +were prying into his secrets. Perhaps--" + +And here Howard stopped. + +"Well, perhaps what?" asked Martin. + +"I don't know that it is right to talk about a mere notion that may not +have any truth in it at all, so let what I say be kept close between +us; but I have noticed him bring things home after he has been out of +bounds, and carefully put them in his big box, which he always keeps +locked, and I have sometimes thought--but mind, it is only a passing +thought, so don't let it go any further--that perhaps he has made up +his mind to run away to sea!" + +"Howard, I have had this same thought in my mind many a time," said +Martin, "and I believe the reason why Digby dislikes me so much is +because something occurred about a month ago, which I would rather not +mention, but it led me to say to him that I hoped he would not be so +foolish as to think of throwing up all his prospects in life for the +sake of a mania about the sea, and he flashed up so angrily that I was +convinced I had touched him on a sore point." + +Just then the school-bell rang. There was no time for further talk, and +it was not for many days that the subject was renewed. + + + +CHAPTER II. + +AN EVENING AT DR. BRIER'S. + + +Every expected day comes at last,--not always, however, to realize the +expectations formed of it: but the evening of the reception in which we +are interested bade fair to be a most satisfactory one. The weather was +unusually fine, and the Doctor and Mrs. Brier were in such good spirits +that some of the visitors made special note of the fact. + +I hardly know where to begin in attempting to describe an evening in +the House at Blackrock school. + +As to stiffness and formality, there was not a vestige of it. The +Doctor was a gentleman, every inch of him, and ease is an essential +quality of gentlemanly behavior. It is not always an easy thing to be +easy, and all the Doctor's pupils were not miniature doctors, but +whatever else a boy might not have learned at Blackrock, he certainly +had a chance to learn to be gentlemanly. + +So conversation flowed freely; the boys were encouraged to indulge in +hearty, unrestrained enjoyment, and no one could have heard the buzz of +voices and the sounds of merry laughter, or seen the beaming faces, +without feeling that all were perfectly at home. + +The Doctor was wise in his generation, and he did not invite any of the +tutors to meet the boys. He pretty shrewdly guessed that their meetings +were quite as frequent as could be desired on either side, but he +always invited a few lady friends to join the party. + +The Doctor had often been heard to say that while he would not declare +that either Greek or Hebrew was absolutely necessary for an ordinary +education, he was prepared to assert that no boy was educated unless he +knew how to feel at home and to behave with propriety in the society of +ladies. + +Moreover, the Doctor was a great lover of music. Many of the boys also +loved it, and, when ladies were invited, those were generally selected +who could contribute to the pleasure of the evening. + +Among the guests was one who will meet us again in the course of this +story. It was Madeleine Greenwood, the Doctor's niece, and Martin +Venables' cousin. I should like to describe her, but I will only say +that she was a young and very pretty sunshiny girl, and that everybody +who knew her liked her. + +After tea, there were portfolios to examine, and books to turn over; +there was a bagatelle board in one corner of the room, a little group +busy upon some game of guessing in another corner, and another group +eagerly arranging specimens in a microscope, while the Doctor seemed to +be at each group at once. + +"Now, come here," said Mrs. Brier to a little knot of boys who could +not find room by the Doctor and his microscope. "I will show you some +of my curiosities." + +And she produced a little case, containing a curious old watch, set in +pearls; a snuff-box which had been in the possession of the family for +ages, and a variety of similar treasures. Among them was a miniature +painting, on ivory, of exquisite workmanship, and set in a gold frame, +which was studded with precious stones. It was as beautiful as it was +costly. The portrait was that of a young and lovely girl. + +"What a sweet face," said Howard to Martin; "and how marvelously like +your cousin, Miss Greenwood!" And with a boyish enthusiasm joined to +boyish fun, he turned aside, so that Mrs. Brier should not see him, and +pretended to clasp the image to his breast. + +"Oh, I have caught you, have I?" said Digby Morton, with his +disagreeable sneer, as, turning away from the Doctor's group, he came +abruptly upon Howard. + +If Alick Fraser, or Martin, or McDonald, or any one of half a dozen +boys near him had made this observation, Howard wouldn't have minded +the least in the world, but coming from Digby, it made him nervous and +confused, especially as it was almost certain Mrs. Brier must have +heard it. + +"Please let me see it," said Alick, who had only caught a passing +glimpse of it. "Surely it must be meant for Miss Greenwood?" he said, +after he had duly admired it. + +"You are not the first who has thought so," said Mrs. Brier, "but it is +really a portrait of her grandmother, taken in her young days. But look +at this; I think it will interest you all. It is a curious ivory +carving, and is a puzzle which I should like to challenge any one to +explain." + +And so this uncomfortable episode, the only one that occurred during +the evening, passed quietly away. + +Music was soon called for, and Madeleine sang a beautiful song of the +sea. Then there was a merry glee, and a duet on the piano and +violoncello, and the time passed so cheerily that when the trays with +refreshments came round, betokening that the time to go was fast +approaching, everybody instinctively looked at the clock to make sure +that there was not some mistake. + +One or two of the boys, as they lay awake that night, trying to recall +some of its pleasant hours, little thought that as long as life lasted +the incidents of that reception evening would be stamped indelibly upon +their memories. + +"Now, aunt," said Madeleine, after all the guests had departed, "sit +down and rest, and let me collect the things together." + +Everybody knows how a drawing-room looks when the company has gone. +Music here, drawings there, musical instruments somewhere else, and a +certain amount of confusion not apparent before now apparent +everywhere. + +But Mrs. Brier was one of those who never could sit still while +anything had to be done, and she began to arrange the cabinet which +held her curiosities, while Madeleine collected the music. They were +thus employed when Mrs. Brier suddenly exclaimed, "Oh! Madeleine!" + +"What is the matter, aunt?" asked the young girl, running to her. + +"Nothing, I hope, but I cannot find the miniature portrait or the old +snuff-box which were here." + +"Then they must be on one of the tables!" said Madeleine. + +"I fear not; I laid everything back in the case myself--at least, I +believe I did--before putting it in the cabinet." + +A careful search in every probable and improbable place in the room was +made, but the missing articles could not be found. The Doctor was +hastily called, and inquiries were made of him. + +"No, my dear, I have seen nothing of them," he said. "I was busy with +the microscopes, and never even saw the things during the evening. Let +us look about--we shall soon find them." + +Search after search was made, but in vain, and there was but one +conclusion at which to arrive,--the miniature and the snuff-box had +been taken away. + +[Illustration: "HOWARD PRETENDED TO CLASP THE IMAGE TO HIS BREAST."] + +But by whom? It could not have been by the servants, for they had only +entered the room to bring the refreshments. It could not have been by +any of the lady guests, for they had not been near the curiosities; +being old friends, these had often been shown to them before. + +It was, perhaps, the most trying hour that either the Doctor or Mrs. +Brier had ever spent. They were not grieved simply because they had +lost property, valuable as it was, but their deepest sorrow arose from +the fear that honor had been lost in the school. + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE LOST MINIATURE. + + +The morning came, and the anxiety which the Doctor and Mrs. Brier had +felt the night before was not removed but rather increased. What to do +for the best was the question preying upon both minds. There was no +escape from the conviction that one of the boys, either by accident or +with evil intent, had taken the missing articles. If by accident, they +would be returned the first thing in the morning, although there would +be no excuse for not having returned them on the previous evening as +soon as the discovery was made; and if with evil intent who was the +culprit? + +The Doctor was one of those men who could best bear anxiety +out-of-doors. If anything unusual troubled him, no matter what the +weather might be, he would pace the garden or wander through the +fields, while he thought or prayed himself out of the difficulty. + +He was a God-fearing man. I do not mean in the sense in which many +apply this term, turning a good old phrase into a cant expression. He +believed in God, he believed in the Bible, and he believed in prayer. + +So, after he had paced the garden in the early morning, long before any +others of the establishment were abroad, he turned into the +summer-house, and there, quiet and alone, he prayed for guidance in his +difficulty. + +When breakfast was over the boys began to away to their several rooms +and occupations, but those who had been at the Doctor's on the +previous evening were told separately that he wished to speak with them +in his library. Each was rather startled on arriving to find others +there, and a vague feeling of discomfort prevailed at first. Mrs. Brier +was present, and this added to the mystery, as she was rarely seen in +the library. + +"Now, my boys," said the Doctor, when all had assembled, "I want to +take you all into my confidence, and shall be glad, in the interest of +all, if what is now said is kept as much as possible to ourselves. The +matter about which I have called you together is one that has caused me +much anxiety, and I shall be thankful if you can allay my uneasiness. +You will remember that last night Mrs. Brier showed you a casket of +trinkets and curiosities, amongst them a valuable miniature painting +and an antique snuff-box. I am sorry to say that these are missing. +Careful and diligent search has been made for them, but they cannot be +found. Can any of you throw light on the subject? Is it possible that +by accident one of you may have mislaid them, or inadvertently have +carried them away?" + +Anxious glances were exchanged from one to the other as each answered +in the negative. An awkward pause followed. + +"And now," said the Doctor, "it is my painful duty to ask you +separately whether you know anything whatever about the matter. For the +sake of each, and the honor of all, I charge you to tell me truth as in +the sight of God. Herbert, do you know anything about it?" + +"No, sir." + +"Marsden, do you?" + +"No, sir; nothing whatever. I saw the things and thought I saw Mrs. +Brier put them back in the box." + +"Do you know anything, McDonald?" + +"I do not, sir." + +"Do you, Pemberton?" + +"No, sir." + +"Do you, Morton?" + +Digby stammered and hesitated. The Doctor repeated his question. + +"I know nothing for certain, sir. But I--I think--" and he held to the +back of a chair with a very determined clutch as he again hesitated, +and began to speak. + +"What do you think, man? Speak out," said the Doctor. + +"I think I ought to mention a circumstance, but I shall prefer speaking +to you alone." + +"Does it relate to any one present?" + +"It does." + +"Then I must have it told here. But let me first continue my question +to each one present." + +The question went round, and the answer in each case was in the +negative. + +"Now, Morton, I must ask you to state what you know of this matter, or +rather what you suspect, and I leave it to your good sense to say only +that which you think it absolutely necessary for me to know." + +There was a dead silence. Every eye was turned toward Digby with +intense interest, while he fixed his gaze steadily upon the floor. + +"I saw Howard Pemberton putting the miniature in his breast coat-pocket +last evening, sir, when we were in your drawing-room. I said to him, +'I've caught you, have I.' He made no reply to me, but turned away, +very red in the face--" + +"It is false--wickedly false," cried Howard, in a passionate burst of +feeling. + +"He states it is false," continued Digby, "but I will appeal to Fraser +or McDonald, who saw it, or better still, to Martin Venables, who also +saw it, and made some remark in apology for him!" + +"Do you know of anything else, directly or indirectly, that you think +should come to my knowledge?" asked the Doctor. + +"Nothing more, sir, except that Pemberton, whose room adjoins mine, +seemed to have something on his mind last night, for he was walking +about in his room in the middle of the night, and I fancied he got out +of the window. This is all I have to say, sir. I said I knew nothing +for certain, and I hope I have not done wrong in telling you this +much." + +And now all eyes turned to Howard Pemberton. He stood speechless. He +felt as in a horrible nightmare, and could neither move body nor mind +to break the spell. If he could have known that there was not one in +the room who believed him to be guilty, he would have easily recovered +from the blow; but with his peculiarly nervous temperament, although +conscious of perfect innocence in the matter, he felt that the terrible +insinuations which had been made against him had separated him from +those whom he loved and honored, and he was crushed beneath the weight +of implied dishonor. + +Happy is the man who has a friend, and Howard had many, but perhaps +none greater than Martin Venables. Martin knew the peculiarities of +Howard's character better than any one present, and seeing the position +in which he was placed he came forward to vindicate him. + +"Dr. Brier, there is not a boy in this school, except Digby, who does +not love and respect Howard Pemberton. I hate to be a tale-bearer, but +I know that for many months he has cherished a great animosity to +Howard, and has taken every opportunity of showing it. The story which +he has now invented is as clumsy as it is false. It is the worst kind +of falsehood, for it has just a shadow of truth in it as regards one +part of the story. When Mrs. Brier showed the miniature, it pleased +Howard, as it does everybody who sees it. He made a remark to me that +it was very much like my cousin, Miss Greenwood, and perhaps you know, +sir, that many boys in the school think her very lovely and amiable. +Howard thought so too, and when he attempted to put the miniature in +his pocket, as Digby untruthfully stated, he merely put it, in fun, to +the place where they say the heart is. It was what any of us might have +done, and, wise or not wise, we would certainly have meant no harm. But +I am quite certain that afterward the portrait passed into the hands of +Alick Fraser, and then into Digby's, and after that it was placed in +the case by Mrs. Brier. I do not say, sir, that Digby Morton has +willfully misrepresented facts for the purpose of getting one who was +once his most intimate school friend into trouble, but I say that if +Howard Pemberton is untruthful or dishonest, I do not believe an honest +boy lives." + +The boys were quite excited over Martin's speech--the first set speech +he had ever made--and they greeted it with undisguised enthusiasm. + +The Doctor seemed to think that somebody ought to say something +equivalent to "silence in the court" at this display of sentiment, +although in his heart of hearts he would have liked to step forward and +pat Martin on the back for his manly defense of his friend. But an +interruption was made to the proceedings by a tap at the door. + +"Can I speak with Mrs. Brier?" said a servant, putting her head in at +the door. + +"No, Mrs. Brier is engaged," answered the Doctor, rather sharply for +him. + +Servants have a knack of knowing what is going on in a house, and this +servant seemed to be in the secret which had called the little assembly +together, for she would not take the rebuff, but said: + +"If you please, sir, I _must_ speak to Mrs. Brier." + +So Mrs. Brier left the room for a moment, to return again in company +with the servant. + +"What is this all about?" asked the Doctor. + +"If you please, sir, this morning, in making the bed Mr. Pemberton +sleeps in, I noticed the ticking loose, and I put my hand in, as I felt +something hard, and I found this snuff-box." + +I have read in books about boys who, under some exciting necessity, +have started in an instant from boyhood to manhood, just as I have read +about people's hair in time of trouble turning from black to white in +the course of a night. Howard Pemberton did not spring from boyhood to +manhood at this strange discovery, nor did his hair turn white, but the +words of the servant had a sudden and powerful influence upon him. In a +moment he turned to his accuser and said: + +"Digby, there is some vile secret underlying all this, and I don't know +what it is. But I declare to you, solemnly, that I am innocent of this +charge. If you have spoken against me to-day because you thought you +ought to do it, I can't blame you, but if you have done it from any +wrong motive, I hope you'll confess it before evil is added to evil." + +But Digby merely shrugged his shoulders, and turning to the Doctor, +said: "Have you anything more you wish to ask me, sir?" + +Dr. Brier was fairly nonplussed. The fog grew denser all around him. +Addressing a few words of caution to those who had been summoned to +this the strangest meeting that was ever held in Blackrock School, he +dismissed the boys, ordering Howard and Digby to be kept in separate +rooms until he should arrive at some judgment in the case. + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE VERDICT. + + +It was all very well for the Doctor to decide to keep the boys in two +separate rooms until he should form some judgment on the case, but +toward the close of the day, after the most searching inquiries had +been instituted, he was no nearer to a final decision than when he +started, and he feared they might have to remain where they were until +Doomsday, unless he could find out something positive about the matter. + +Howard and Digby were missed from their accustomed places in the +school, and by the mid-day play-time the secret had oozed out, and +great discussions were being held as to the merits of the case. There +was not a boy in the school who in his heart believed that Howard was +really guilty, although the evidence seemed clearly against him. There +was not, on the other hand, one who felt justified in thinking that +Digby had willfully accused his friend falsely, and yet there was an +uncomfortable suspicion that it might be so. + +All the next day inquiries went on, and nothing of importance was the +result. The Doctor had seen the prisoners, and talked to each +separately; he had taken counsel from those of the boys upon whose +judgment he could rely, and in the evening all those who had +constituted the preliminary meeting were again called together. The +first count in the indictment, namely, that Howard had attempted to +pocket the miniature, was discussed and dismissed as a misconstruction +of motive. The second charge as to his being about in his room during +the night was not so easily got rid of. Howard pleaded that he had gone +to sleep as usual, and slept soundly, but that he was aroused by +hearing, as he thought, some one in his room. He went to sleep again, +and was aroused a second time by the stumbling of some one over a box, +as it seemed to him, which was followed by the sudden closing of a +door. He got up, went into Digby's room, listened by his bedside, and +found he was breathing hard, and then, noticing that his window was not +fast, he opened it and looked out. The nightingales were singing, and +he sat up for a long time listening to them. Then, as he grew chilly, +he closed the window and turned into bed again, and slept till Digby +called him. Beyond this he knew nothing. + +The Doctor summed up. There was guilt in the heart of one boy at least, +but which one there was no evidence at present to show. That the fact +of the snuff-box being found in Howard's bed had at first sight looked +like circumstantial evidence against him could not be denied, but as +the links in the chain had been broken in several places, he considered +that the whole had fallen to pieces, and he confessed that he did not +believe for a moment, from the facts before him, that Howard was +guilty. From his knowledge of Digby he must fully exonerate him from +the charge of willfully implicating his friend in the matter, as it +seemed evident that he was justified in expressing the suspicions he +entertained, considering the circumstances of the case. For the present +the matter must be dismissed, but he could not doubt that light would +soon shine through the darkness, and the true facts of the case would +yet be known. He would still urge that if anything should transpire in +the knowledge of any one present that it was important he should know, +no selfish motive should induce him to remain silent, while at the same +time he would deprecate suspicions of each other, and would remind them +that as the law judged those to be innocent who were not proved to be +guilty, so it must be in this case. With this the Doctor dismissed the +assembly. + + + * * * * * + + +So far in our story we have confined ourselves to the characters in +whom we are immediately interested, without any reference to their +previous history or family connections. But I must pause here to take a +glance into two homesteads, a few days after the events just described. + +In the breakfast-room at Ashley House Mr. Morton had laid aside his +newspaper, and was reading a letter from Dr. Brier. It was the second +or third time he had read it, and it seemed to disturb him. Mr. Morton +hated to be disturbed in any way. He was a hard man, who walked +straight through the world without hesitating or turning to the right +hand or to the left. He was a strong-minded man--at least, everybody +who got in his way had good reason to think so. But he had a rather +weak-minded wife. Poor Mrs. Morton was a flimsy woman, without much +stamina, mental or bodily. She stroked her cat, read her novel, lay +upon the sofa, or lolled in her carriage, and interested herself in +little that was really necessary to a true life. It was in such an +atmosphere as this that Ethel Morton lived and Digby had been reared. + +Their mother had died when Ethel was a very little baby, and when the +new Mrs. Morton came home the children were old enough to feel that +they could not hope to find in her what they had lost in their true +mamma. + +Ethel was a bright, pleasant girl, and, being left very much to +herself, she seemed to live in a world of her own. As a child she +peopled this world with dolls, and each doll had an individuality, a +history, and a set of ideas attached to it, which gave her almost a +human companionship in it. Then came the world of fairies and gnomes +and elves, amongst whom she held sway as queen, and many a plant and +shrub in the garden, and glade in the woodlands, was a part of her +fairy-land. And, now that she was nearly seventeen, a new world was +dawning upon her; human wants and human sympathies were demanding her +thought and care, and every day brought her into contact with those in +the villages round about, whose histories were educating her heart into +the true ideal of womanhood. + +As Mr. Morton finished reading the letter he passed it to his wife, +merely remarking: + +"You will see Digby has mixed himself up with some disagreeable piece +of business in the school. It is time he came home. I shall see Mr. +Vickers about him to-day, and write for him to return as soon as this +affair has blown over, instead of in September, in order that he may +commence his studies in the law at once." + +Leaving Mrs. Morton to mourn that her anxieties and responsibilities +were to be increased by Digby's return, and Ethel to rejoice in the +fact that her brother was coming home to be again her companion, let us +now take a glance into a home in the suburbs of London. + +It is a humbler home than that we have just visited, and a happier one. +The breakfast-room is elegantly furnished, but it is small; the garden +is well stocked with flowers, but the whole extent of it is not greater +than the lawn at Ashley House. + +There are three people round the breakfast-table. Mrs. Pemberton, a +handsome woman, dressed in the neatest of black and lavender dresses, +and wearing a picturesque widow's-cap. Nellie, her daughter, a girl +about nine or ten years old, and Captain Arkwright, a retired naval +officer, the brother of Mrs. Pemberton. + +There is anxiety on each face, and traces of recent tears mark that of +Mrs. Pemberton, as she nervously turns over and over in her hand a long +letter from Dr. Brier, and a still longer and more closely written one +from Howard. + +"It is an extraordinary and distressing affair," she said, "and I am at +a loss to know what to do. What would you advise, Charles?" + +"I should advise Dr. Brier to choose a lunatic asylum to go to. What a +wooden-headed old fellow he must be, to have got the affair into such a +mess. Do? I should do nothing. You certainly don't suppose Howard is +really concerned in the affair. Not he; that sort of thing isn't in his +line. It'll all come right enough by and by, so, don't fidget yourself, +my dear," he continued. "There's some vile plot laid against Howard, +but if he doesn't come clean out of it with flying colors, call me a +simpleton." + +That day was spent in letter-writing, and the same post that brought to +Digby the intelligence that he was to leave school that term, and +commence work with Mr. Vickers, conveyed to Howard the loving sympathy +of true hearts, which clung to him through evil report and good report. + +(_To be continued._) + + + + +THE NEWS-CARRIER. + +BY CATHARINE S. BOYD. + + +[Illustration: "OH NO! IT IS NOT I!"] + + + "How do you know?" "Who told you so?" + These words you often hear; + And then it often happens, too, + This answer meets your ear: + "A little bird has told the tale, + And far it spreads o'er hill and dale." + + Now let us see if this can be. + How can the birds find out so well, + And give the news to all? + Or, if they know, why need they tell? + And which among the feathered tribe + Must we to keep our secrets bribe? + + The busy crow? As all well know, + He sometimes breaks the laws; + We shall regret it, when he does, + For he will give us cause. + Though slyest of the feathered tribe, + The crow would scorn to need a bribe;-- + + Not robin red; he holds his head + With such an honest air, + And whistles bravely at his work, + But has no time to spare. + "I mind my own concerns," says he; + "They're most important, all may see;"-- + + Nor birdie blue, so leal and true; + He never heeds the weather, + But in the latest winter-days + His fellows flock together; + And then, indeed, glad news they bring + Of early buds and blossoming. + + Might not each one beneath the sun + Of all the race reply, + If questioned who should wear the cap, + "Oh no! it is not I?" + For there are none who, every day, + Are busier at work than they. + + They chatter too, as others do; + But what it is about, + The wisest sage in all the earth + Might puzzle to make out. + But I'm as sure as I can be, + They never talk of you or me, + + We hear "They say,"--oh, every day! + Are _they_ the birds, I wonder, + That have such power with words to part + The dearest friends asunder? + Or must we search the wide world through + To bring the culprits full in view? + + The birds, we see, though wild and free, + Have something else to do; + And, reader, don't you think the same + Might well be said of you? + It really seems to be a shame + That _they_ should always bear the blame. + + + + +LIVING SILVER. + +BY MARY H. SEYMOUR. + + +The ground was covered with snow, and now it had begun raining. There +was no prospect of a change in the weather, which made Fred's face +rather gloomy as he looked out of the window. Harry was turning over +the leaves of a story-book. You could see they were both disappointed +that the morning was stormy; for when they came to grandpapa's in the +winter, they expected bright days and plenty of fun. + +"What shall we do?" said Fred. + +"Let's go into the garret!" exclaimed Harry. + +This plan evidently suited both of them, for they made a rush toward +the door; and the dog, awakening from his nap, entered into the idea, +too. + +At this moment, Aunt Carrie came into the room. They wished it had been +grandmamma, for she never laid the least restriction on their sports, +but smiled on every request and allowed them to do exactly as they +pleased. + +"Now, boys," said Aunt Carrie, "where are you going?" + +"Only into the garret, auntie." + +"Be sure to leave things exactly as you find them," she replied, with a +laugh and a little groan. + +"We always do, Aunt Carrie." + +Away they went, with Gyp at their heels, and every footstep resounded +through the old house until they reached the upper floor. + +"It is no wonder that garret is never in order," said Aunt Carrie; "but +the children must enjoy themselves." + +"Of course, they must, Carrie," replied grandma from the depths of her +heart. + +First, the boys pulled out a box of old books and papers, and busied +themselves reading the queer names and advertisements of old times. +Soon they turned from these to a shelf of chemical instruments. Most of +them were in perfect order, and they knew they must keep their hands +off, for the bulbs and tubes of glass were too delicate to be touched +by unskilled fingers. + +"Here is an old broken forrometer," exclaimed Harry. "Let's ask grandpa +if we can have it." + +"You mean _thermometer_, don't you?" said Fred. "What can we do with +that?" + +"Don't you see? There is a great deal of quicksilver in this glass +ball, and we can play with it. I'll show you how." And away they went +downstairs to find their grandfather. + +"Grandpa, can we have this?" + +Mr. Lenox looked up from his newspaper. + +"Let me see it a moment. What do you wish to do with it?" + +"We will break it and take out the quicksilver, and then I will show +you. Let me ask Ellen for a dish to catch the drops." + +"Not quite so fast; wait a moment, Harry," replied Mr. Lenox. "I wish +you to notice something about it first. The top of the tube is slightly +broken, which makes it of no exact use, for to measure heat or cold the +quicksilver must be entirely protected from the air. If you had noticed +it when you first came in, you would see that the warmth of the room +has caused it to rise in the tube. This is shown by the marks on the +plate to which it is fastened. Now, if you hold it close to the stove, +the quicksilver will rise still higher. Let it stand outside the window +a moment, and it will sink." + +By this time the boys were much interested. + +"But what makes it do so, grandpa?" they asked. + +"Quicksilver is very sensitive to heat and cold. If the weather is +warm, or if the room it is in is warm, it expands--swells out--and so +rises in the glass tube, as you have seen. The least coolness in the +air will cause it to contract, or draw itself into a smaller space; +then, of course, it sinks in the tube. + +"The barometer is another instrument in which quicksilver is used. It +is intended to measure the weight of the air, therefore the quicksilver +in it must be exposed to the pressure of the air. Common barometers +have it inclosed in a small leather bag at the back of the instrument. +This we do not see, but only the tube which is connected with it. When +the weather is pleasant, the air, contrary to the general idea, being +heavier, presses against this little bag and the quicksilver rises in +the tube. When the atmosphere is damp, the pressure being less, the +metal sinks." + +"Grandpa," said Harry, "when you think of it, isn't quicksilver a funny +word?" + +"Yes; it was so named by people who lived many hundreds of years ago. +They called it _living silver_ also. It is the only metal found in a +liquid state; and so many strange changes did it pass through under +their experiments, that it seemed to them really a living thing. If +they tried to pick it up, it would slip out of their fingers. When +thoroughly shaken, it became a fine powder. They boasted that it had +the faculty of swallowing any other metal, while powerful heat caused +it to disappear entirely. It is now known among metals as mercury. Can +you tell me, Fred, some of the metals?" + +"Oh yes, sir! There are gold, silver, iron, lead and copper." + +"That is right. But, you know, all these are hard; some of them can be +chipped with a knife, but they cannot be dipped up in pails, unless +they have first been melted. Yet mercury can be frozen so hard that it +may be hammered out like lead, and sometimes it takes the form of +square crystals. Yet it can be made to boil, and then sends off a +colorless vapor." + +"Grandpa." said Fred, who had scarcely listened to the last words, "if +mercury can be dipped up in pails, it must be very easy to get it. I +read somewhere that gold and silver are so mixed in with the rock that +it takes a great deal of time and money to separate them." + +"That is true; but mercury is not always obtained easily. It forms part +of a soft, red rock called cinnabar, composed of mercury and sulphur. +The cinnabar is crushed and exposed to heat, when the metal, in the +form of vapor, passes into a vessel suited to the purpose, where it is +cooled. Then, being reduced to its liquid state, it is pure and fit for +use. When men working in the mines heat the rocks, the quicksilver will +sometimes roll out in drops as large as a pigeon's egg, and fall on the +ground in millions of sparkling globules. Think how very beautiful it +must be, the dark red rock glittering on every side with the living +silver, while every crack and crevice is filled with it! + +"Visitors to the mines of Idria are shown an experiment that I think +would interest you boys. In large iron kettles filled with mercury are +placed huge stones, and these stones do not sink." + +"Why, grandpa! how can that be?" + +"Did you ever see wood floating on water?" + +"Yes, sir, but that is different." + +"But the principle is the same; can you tell me why?" + +Both the boys looked puzzled. + +"It is only because the wood does not weigh so much as water; neither +are the stones as heavy as mercury, therefore they cannot sink." + +"I wish we could go into the mines. Can't you take us, sometime, +grandpa?" said Harry. + +"That is asking rather too much, my child, for quicksilver is not a +common metal. There are in the world only four important localities +from which it is obtained. These are California, Peru, Austria, and +Almaden in Spain. The mines nearest us are in California. I think I +shall never go as far as that, but I hope you both may before you reach +my age. + +"It is a curious story how the mines in Peru were discovered. Cinnabar, +when ground very fine, will make a beautiful red paint. The Indians +used this to ornament their bodies on grand occasions. This caused the +country where they lived to be examined, and the cinnabar was found. +The Romans used this paint hundreds of years ago in decorating their +images and in painting pictures. It is very highly valued now, and we +call it vermilion." + +"Fred," continued Mr. Lenox, "you spoke of the difficulty of +separating gold and silver from the rock in which they are found. Did +you know that our wonderful mercury renders valuable aid in this? The +rock that contains the precious metal is crushed fine, sifted and +washed until as much as possible of the gold or silver is removed; then +it is placed in a vessel with the quicksilver, which seems immediately +to absorb it, thus separating it entirely from every particle of sand +or rock. If the metal to be cleansed is gold, you will see a pasty mass +or amalgam, as it is called, of a yellowish tinge. This is heated, and +the mercury flies away, leaving behind it the pure gold." + +"How did people learn to do this?" asked Fred. + +"They did not learn it all at once. It was only by years of patient +effort and frequent failure that they finally succeeded. + +"You know there are many gold and silver mines in California," +continued grandpa. "Near some of them large mines of quicksilver have +been discovered. You can imagine that this caused great rejoicing, for +all the quicksilver previously used was sent in ships to this part of +the world, which, of course, made it scarce and very expensive. Now, we +can send away quantities to other countries after supplying our own +wants. + +"Notwithstanding that this strange metal renders such service to +mankind--for I could tell you of many other useful things it does--it +is a deadly poison. Its vapor is so dangerous that persons searching +for it often die from breathing the air where it is found. About +seventy years ago, the mines in Austria, took fire, and thirteen +hundred workmen were poisoned, and many of them died. The water that +was used to quench the fire being pumped into the river Idria, all the +fish died excepting the eels. Since that time, spiders and rats have +deserted the mines. + +"Mercury is carried in sheepskin bags and cast-iron bottles. It is so +heavy that an ordinary cork would soon be forced out by it, therefore +an iron stopper must be screwed in. + +"Once, some bags of mercury were stored in the hold of a foreign +vessel; unfortunately, a few of the bags were rotten and leaked. Every +person on board was poisoned, and every piece of metal connected with +the vessel received a silvery coating of mercury." + +"It is dreadful! Fred, don't let us touch it," said Harry. + +"Don't be frightened yet, Harry. Did you know that mercury is used as a +medicine? It is given in very small doses." + +"I am sure I shall never take it," exclaimed Fred. + +"Perhaps you may have done so already," replied their grandfather, +laughing. "Did you ever hear of blue-pill and calomel? They both are +preparations of mercury." + +Just then the sun shone into the room so brightly that every one turned +to the windows. Such a sparkle! The evergreens were covered with +shining ice-drops, and the tall trees pointed their glistening branches +toward the few clouds that were hurrying over the blue sky. + +"I am not sorry it rained, after all," said Fred. "I have enjoyed the +morning so much that I forgot the play we were going to have." + +Two happy, tired boys went to sleep that night, and the next morning +they started for home. They both agreed in thinking they had never +enjoyed a more delightful visit at grandpapa's. + + + + +THE WOODS IN WINTER + + +There is scarcely any place so lonely as the depths of the woods in +winter. Everything is quiet, cold and solemn. Occasionally a rabbit may +go jumping over the snow, and if the woods are really wild woods, we +may sometimes get a sight of a deer. Now and then, too, some poor +person who has been picking up bits of fallen branches for firewood may +be met bending under his load, or pulling it along on a sled. In some +parts of the country, wood-cutters and hunters are sometimes seen, but +generally there are few persons who care to wander in the woods in +winter. The open roads for sleighing, and the firm ice for skating, +offer many more inducements to pleasure-seekers. + +But young people who do not mind trudging through snow, and walking +where they must make their own path-way, may find among the great black +trunks of the forest trees, and under the naked branches stretching out +overhead, many phases of nature that will be both new and +interesting--especially to those whose lives have been spent in cities. + + +[Illustration: THE WOODS IN WINTER.] + + + + +CRUMBS FROM OLDER READING. + +II. + +BY JULIA E. SARGENT. + + +IRVING. + + +Washington Irving has so many things for us, and we have heard so much +that is pleasant of him, that a good time with him may be expected; and +you would not read far in Irving's books before learning that no one +believed in "good times" more than he. The name of his home on the +Hudson would tell you that. "Sunnyside" is not the name a gloomy man +would choose. + +Perhaps you will like best to hear that many of you often stand where +Irving stood, and walk the streets he knew so well, for New York City +was Irving's birthplace, and there many of the seventy-six years of his +life were spent. One of his books is a funny description of his native +town in the days of its old Dutch governors. He does not call it +Irving's, but "Knickerbocker's History of New York." And as only Irving +knew anything of Diedrich Knickerbocker outside this book, we will let +him tell you that "the old gentleman died shortly after the publication +of his work." Of course, Irving can say what he chooses about +Knickerbocker's book, so he gives it as his opinion that, "To tell the +truth, it is not a whit better than it should be." But Sir Walter +Scott, in a letter to a friend, says of these funny papers of Irving's: +"I have been employed these few evenings in reading them aloud to Mrs. +S. and two ladies who are our guests, and our sides have been +absolutely sore with laughing." All Irving's histories are not +"make-believe," and some day you will read Irving's "Life of +Columbus," and "Life of Washington," completed just before his death in +1859, without thinking of them as histories. He wrote the "Life of +Columbus" in Spain. Can you tell me why that was the best place to +write it? + +Would you like to know where the boy Irving might often have been seen +when he was not devouring the contents of some book of travels? "How +wistfully," he wrote, "would I wander about the pier-heads in fine +weather? and watch the parting ships, bound to distant climes!" + +Not many years after, he wrote from England, "I saw the last blue line +of my native land fade away like a cloud in the horizon." He was then +in England, where he visited Westminster Abbey, Stratford-on-Avon, and +many other grand and famous places. Of these, and much that is neither +grand nor famous, he has written in the "Sketch-book," giving this +reason for so naming word-paintings: "As it is the fashion for modern +tourists to travel pencil in hand and bring home their portfolios +filled with sketches, I am disposed to get up a few for the +entertainment of my friends." Is it not as good as a picture to hear +this man, who had no little ones of his own, tell of "three fine, +rosy-cheeked boys," who chanced to be his companions in a stage-coach? +This is what he writes: + +"They were returning home for the holidays in high glee and promising +themselves a world of enjoyment. It was delightful to hear the gigantic +plans of the little rogues. * * * They were full of anticipations of +the meeting with the family and household, down to the very cat and +dog, and of the joy they were to give their little sisters by the +presents with which their pockets were crammed; but the meeting to +which they seemed to look forward with the greatest impatience was with +Bantam, which I found to be a pony." When he had heard what a +remarkable animal this pony was said to be, Irving gave his attention +to other things until he heard a shout from the little travelers. Let +him tell the rest of the story. + +"They had been looking out of the coach-windows for the last few miles, +recognizing every tree and cottage as they approached home, and now +there was a general burst of joy. 'There's John! and there's old Carlo! +and there's Bantam!' cried the happy little rogues, clapping their +hands. At the end of a lane there was an old, sober-looking servant in +livery waiting for them; he was accompanied by a superannuated pointer, +and by the redoubtable Bantam, a little old rat of a pony, with a +shaggy mane and long, rusty tail, who stood dozing quietly by the +roadside, little dreaming of the bustling times that awaited him. Off +they set at last, one on the pony, with the dog bounding and barking +before him, and the others holding John's hands, both talking at once. +* * * We stopped a few moments afterward to water the horses, and on +resuming our route a turn of the road brought us in sight of a neat +country-seat. I could just distinguish the forms of a lady and two +young girls in the portico, and I saw my little comrades with Bantam, +Carlo, and old John trooping along the carriage-road. I leaned out of +the coach window in hopes of witnessing the happy meeting, but a grove +of trees shut it from my sight." + +"If ever love, as poets sing, delights to visit a cottage, it must be +the cottage of an English peasant," Irving thinks, and goes on to write +in his own pleasant fashion of many pleasant things in English country +life, saying: "Those who see the Englishman only in town are apt to +form an unfavorable opinion of his social character. * * * Wherever he +happens to be, he is on the point of going somewhere else; at the +moment when he is talking on one subject, his mind is wandering to +another; and while he is paying a friendly visit, he is calculating how +he shall economize time so as to pay the other visits allotted in the +morning." + +The "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a genuine ghost story. It is not very +startling, but very, very funny, when you know what scared poor Ichabod +Crane on his midnight ride that last time he went courting Governor +Wouter Van Twiller's only daughter. + +You must read for yourselves the famous story of Rip Van Winkle and the +nap he took. It is too long for me to give in Irving's words, and "Rip +Van Winkle" is just such a story as no one but Irving knows how to +tell. + +In another of his interesting stories in the "Sketch Book," told, he +says, by a queer old traveler to as queer a company gathered in a great +inn-kitchen, Irving describes the busy making-ready for a wedding. The +bride's father, he says, "had in truth nothing exactly to do." + +Do you suppose he was content to do nothing "when all the world was in +a hurry?" + +This is the way in which he helped: "He worried from top to bottom of +the castle with an air of infinite anxiety; he continually called the +servants from their work to exhort them to be diligent, and buzzed +about every hall and chamber as idly restless and importunate as a +blue-bottle fly on a warm summer's day." The book of Irving's that some +of you will like best of all is "The Alhambra." The Alhambra is the +ancient and romantic palace of the Moors. When he was in Spain, Irving +spent many dreamy days amid its ruined splendors, whence the last of +the Moors was long since driven into exile. We have good reason to be +glad that Irving saw the Alhambra, for this book is what came of it. We +shall all want to go where Irving went, after reading what he says of +the Alhambra by moonlight. "The garden beneath my window is gently +lighted up, the orange and citron trees are tipped with silver, the +fountain sparkles in the moonbeams, and even the blush of the rose is +faintly visible. * * * The whole edifice reminds one of the enchanted +palace of an Arabian tale." + +These, you know, are only crumbs, and crumbs which show Irving's "warm +heart" more, perhaps, than his "fine brain." + +To learn of his literary talent and well-deserved fame, of his rich +fancy and his wonderful ability for story-telling, you can better +afford to wait than to miss knowing how healthy, happy, and truly +lovable was this man's nature. Now, with only one of the many sober, +earnest thoughts, we must lay aside his books. + +"If thou art a child, and hast ever added a sorrow to the soul, or a +furrow to the silvered brow of an affectionate parent; if thou art a +friend and hast ever wronged in thought, or word, or deed, the spirit +that generously confided in thee, then be sure that every unkind look, +every ungracious word, every ungentle action, will come thronging back +upon thy memory." + + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE BOY IN THE BOX. + +BY HELEN C. BARNARD. + + +"You haven't any more ambition than a snail, Joe Somerby!" said +energetic Mrs. Somerby to her husband, as, with sleeves rolled to the +elbow, she scoured the kitchen paint. + +Joe, who was smoking behind the stove, slowly removed his pipe to +reply: + +"Wal, if I haint, I haint; and that's the end on 't!" + +"What would become of us if I was easy, too?" continued his spicy +partner. "Why can't you have a little grit?" + +Joe puffed away silently. + +"Now, you pretend to carry on the rag business, you spend all your +money a-buying and a-storing of 'em away; the back room's full, the +attic's full, the barn's full,--I can't stir hand or foot for them +rags! Why on earth don't you sell 'em?" + +"Waiting for 'em to rise, marm!" + +"Always a-waiting!" retorted Mrs. Somerby, thrusting her +scrubbing-brush and pail into a closet, and slamming the door upon her +finger. "Before you get through, the chance goes by. Joe," in a coaxing +tone, "I've had a presentiment." + +Joe evinced no interest, but removed his pipe to say: + +"Now, wife, don't get uneasy. Let's be comfortable." + +"Yes, I feel a presentiment about those rags;" the little woman whisked +into a chair beside her lord. "They say the paper manufacturers are +giving a big price now, husband. Why can't you take a load to the city +to-day? I've been thinking of it all the morning." + +"I'll do my own thinking, marm," said Joe, with dignity. He rose, +however, and laid his pipe away. + +Mrs. Somerby said no more, sure that she had roused him from his torpid +condition. She wound Joe up to the starting-point, just as she did her +kitchen-clock, and he kept upon his course as steadily as that ancient +time-piece. She was just the wife for ease-loving Joe, whom her brisk +ways never wounded, for he knew her heart was full of tenderness for +him. + +An hour later Joe drove into the yard. Mrs. Somerby flew out with a +lump of sugar for a jaded-looking horse, bought by Joe to speculate +upon, and who ate everything he could get, including his bedding, and +never grew fat. + +"I'll make a trotter of him in a month, and sell him to some of the +grandees!" Joe said, but his system failed or the material was +poor,--old Jack slouched along as if each step was likely to be his +last. But despite this, Jack had become very dear to the childless +couple, and they were as blind as doating parents to his defects. + +"Bless his heart!" cried Mrs. Somerby, as Jack whinnied at her +approach, and thrust his ugly nose into her hand. + +Mr. Somerby felt of Jack's ribs with a professional air, and said: + +"I'm trying a new system with this 'ere beast; I think he's picking up +a grain." + +"He'll pick up the grain, no doubt," playfully retorted his wife. "Now +then, I'll help you off. Those paper men'll have all they want if +you're not on hand. I'm glad I put you up to sorting the stuff last +week." + +"You'll 'put me up' till I'm clean gone," said Joe, winking to himself, +as he followed his lively wife. "Let them bags alone, marm. You can be +putting me up a big lunch." + +"It's all ready, under the wagon-seat. By good rights, Joe, you'd ought +to have a boy to help you." + +"It isn't a woman's work, I know," said he, kindly. "You just sit here +and look on." + +Joe swung her up on a bale as if she had been a child. Inspired by her +bright eyes he worked with a will. The wagon was soon loaded. Mrs. Joe +ran for his overcoat and best hat, gave him a wifely kiss, and watched +him depart from the low brown door-way. + +"She's the best bargain I ever made," thought Joe, as he jogged toward +the city. "I'm not quite up to her time, I know," continued he, and +there was a tender look in his sleepy eyes. "Howsomedever, I'll make a +lucky hit yet!" + +The prospect was so cheering that Joe actually snapped the whip at the +"trotter" who was meditating with his head between his knees. Jack, +however, did not increase his gait, but plodded on. It was bitter cold, +and Joe had to exercise himself to keep warm. It was afternoon when the +laden cart entered the city. Hungry Jack had stopped twice, and gazed +around at his master in dumb reproach. Joe was hungry, too; so he +hurried into a square, in the business part of the city, covered his +pet with an old quilt, and giving him his food, went to dispose of his +cargo. But Joe's purchasers had gone to dinner, so he returned, mounted +the cart, and began upon his own lunch. + +"Now, if they don't want my stuff, my wife's 'presentiment' 's gone +up," said the elegant Joe, "and I've had this cold trip for nothing." + +Just here a remarkable event occurred. Jack suddenly threw up his +meditative head, shied, and stood upon his hind-legs. + +[Illustration: "THE BOY WAS ON HIS KNEES."] + +"Hey there!" cried his master, delighted at this token of life. "Yer a +trotter, after all?" + +"Yer old nag scart, mister?" asked several small boys, who hovered +about. + +"He's a leetle lively!" said Joe, proudly. "Keep clear of his heels, +boys." + +Jack subsided, but eyed a pile of boxes in a court on the left. + +"What ails ye, Jack?" + +"It's the hermit ails him!" cried one, pointing toward a huge box from +one side of which somebody's head and shoulders protruded. + +"Quit scaring my horse!" cried Joe. + +The face was startlingly pale, and the eyes had a troubled, eager +look--the look of anxious care; but Joe knew their owner was a boy, +although he quickly disappeared in the box. Mr. Somerby resumed his +lunch, but kept the reins in case Jack should be startled when the boy +came out. But he did not appear; there was no sign of life in the box. +Joe thought he was either up to some more mischief or afraid; the +latter seemed most likely, as he recalled the white, still face. + +Joe got down from his cart and quietly peeped in. He was somewhat +astonished at first, for the boy was on his knees. The sight stirred +his sympathies strangely. The pallid lips were moving; soon, low words +came forth: + +"I don't know how to speak to you, dear Lord; but please help me. +Mother prayed to you, and you helped her. Oh! help me, I pray, for +Jesus' sake. Amen." + +The listener drew back to brush the tears from his eyes. + +"'Minds me o' Parson Willoughby's sermon--'Help, Lord, or I perish!' I +wish my wife was here. I declare I do. The little chap must be in +trouble!" + +Joe peeped in again. The boy did not see him as he was partly turned +from the opening. He threaded a rusty needle, and proceeded to patch +his coat. Joe could see the anxious puckers in his face as he bent over +the task. + +"I do wish she was here!" Joe cried, aloud. + +The boy turned quickly. + +"Why don't you go home, lad? You'll freeze to death here." + +"This is my home." + +"Sho! Do you mean to say you _live_ here?" + +"Yes." The lad hesitated, then asked, "Are you from the country, sir?" + +"Wal, yes, I be. Though folks don't generally mistrust it when I'm +slicked up. But I don't stand no quizzing." + +The boy appeared surprised at this sudden outburst, and said, with a +frank, manly air that appeased Joe: + +"I thought if you lived a long way off I wouldn't mind answering your +questions. I'm English, and my name's John Harper. I don't mix with the +street boys, so they call me the hermit!" + +"Don't you 'mix' with your own folks, neither!" + +"They were lost at sea in our passage to this country," was the low +reply. "Sometimes I wish I'd died with them, and not been saved for +such a miserable life. Can't get work, though I've tried hard enough, +and I'd rather starve than beg. I can't beg!" he cried, despairingly. +"I'm ordered off for a vagrant if I warm myself in the depots, and I +don't suppose the city o' Boston'll let me stay here long." + +"Don't get down at the mouth--don't!" said honest Joe, in a choking +voice, as the extent of this misery dawned upon him. + +"There, you know all," said the boy, bitterly. "I scared your horse, or +I wouldn't tell so much. Besides, you look kinder than the men I meet. +Perhaps they're not so hard on such as me where you live?" + +But Joe had gone, his face twitching with suppressed emotion. + +"I'll take the hunger out o' them eyes, anyhow!" He grasped the +six-quart lunch pail, and, hastening back, cried, as he brandished it +about the lad's head, "Just you help a feller eat that, old chap. My +wife 'ud rave at me if I brought any of it home. Help ye'self!" + +Hunger got the better of John Harper's pride. He ate gladly. There +wasn't a crumb left when he returned the pail. The light of hope began +to dawn in his sad eyes,--who could be brave while famishing! + +Meantime, Joe had been puzzling his wits and wishing his wife was there +to devise some plan for the wayfarer. + +"I wonder if you'd mind my horse a spell, while I go about my +business?" + +So the pale hermit crept out of his box, and mounted the wagon, well +protected by an extra coat that comfort-loving Joe always carried. + +"He'll think he's earned it, if I give him money," was Joe's kind +thought. "He's proud, and don't want no favors. I'll give the lad a +lift, and then--" + +After "the lift," what was before the homeless boy? Somehow he had +crept into Joe's sympathies wonderfully. He couldn't bear to look +forward to the hour when Jack and he must leave him to his fate. A +chance word from the paper manufacturer put a new idea into Joe's +brain. He bought all the cargo at a good price, and engaged the stock +at home. + +"I'll bring it in soon," said Joe, putting his purse in a safe place. +"I don't keep no help to sort my stuff, or I'd be on hand to-morrow." + +"Ah," said the bland dealer, little thinking what a train of events he +was starting. "You are doing a good business; why don't you keep a boy? +I know one who is faithful and needy!" + +"Yes, yes, he's in my cart, done up in my coat!" cried Joe, suddenly. +He beamed upon the bewildered dealer, and rushed for the door, almost +crazy with the new idea. + +"My wife said I'd ought to have a boy, too," he thought, almost running +toward the spot where he had left the cart, Jack, and the solitary +figure in the great coat. Joe grasped the boy. "I've got a plan for +you, John Harper. I want a boy to help me; the dealer says so, my wife +says so, and I say so. You must go home with me to-night. We'll carry +this load to the store-house; then pitch in your baggage and start for +a better place than this, my lad!" + +It was, indeed, "a better place" for "the boy in the box,"--a place +where he found rest and food and shelter. After a little, he grew into +the hearts of the childless couple that they called him their own. +John went to school winters, and helped Mr. Somerby summers, and got +ahead so fast in his happy surroundings that ambitious Mrs. Somerby had +him educated. He is now a prosperous merchant, and a text for old Joe +to enlarge upon when his wife gets too spicy. + +"You wan't nowheres around when I found our John," he often says, "and +he's the best bargain I ever made, next to you!" + + + + +THE COCK AND THE SUN. + +BY J.P.B. + + +[Illustration] + + + A cock sees the sun as he climbs up the east; + "Good-morning, Sir Sun, it's high time you appear; + I've been calling you up for an hour at least; + I'm ashamed of your slowness at this time of year!" + + The sun, as he quietly rose into view, + Looked down on the cock with a show of fine scorn; + "You may not be aware, my young friend, but it's true, + That I rose once or twice before you, sir, were born!" + + + + +[Illustration: "GRUN-SEL, GRUN-SEL, GRUN-SEL!"] + + + + +THE LONDON CHICK-WEED MAN. + +BY ALEXANDER WAINWRIGHT. + + +Birds and flowers do much to enliven the dusky house-windows of the +London streets, and both are attended to with great care. The birds are +treated to some luxuries which our American pets scarcely know of at +all, in their domestic state, and among these are two small plants +called chick-weed and groundsel, which grow abundantly along the hedges +and in the fields on the outskirts of the smoky city. Both chick-weed +and groundsel are insignificant little things, but the epicurean lark, +canary, or goldfinch finds in it a most agreeable and beneficial +article of diet, quite as much superior to other green stuff as--in the +minds of some boys and girls--ice-cream and sponge-cake are superior to +roast-beef and potatoes. + +On Sunday afternoons and holidays, the lanes where the groundsel and +chick-weed grow are frequented by the citizens of the laboring class, +who, although the city is quite near and its smoke blackens the leaves, +call this the country and enjoy it as such. It is a pretty sight to see +them, when they are well behaved; and should one notice the boys and +girls, many of them would be found hunting under the hawthorn +hedge-rows for chick-weed and groundsel to be taken home for the pet +birds. + +But all the birds of London do not depend on the industry of their +owners for these luxuries. Some men make a trade of gathering and +selling the plants, and the picture which is opposite this page will +give the reader a good idea of how they look. Their business has one +decided advantage. It needs no capital or tools, and a strong pair of +legs and a knife are all that its followers really want. Perhaps it is +on this account that the groundsel and chick-weed sellers are all very +poor, and the raggedness of some is pitiable in the extreme, as the +picture shows. Their shoes are shockingly dilapidated, owing to their +long daily marches into the country, and the rest of their clothes are +nearly as bad. + +The one that we have illustrated is a fair example, but despite his +poverty-stricken appearance, his torn, loose sleeves and useless boots, +he is not at all repulsive. His face tells of want and toil; he has +slung a shabby old basket over his shoulders, in which he carries his +load, and, with a bunch in his hand, he saunters along the street, +proclaiming his trade, "Grun-sel, grun-sel, grun-sel!" Besides the +groundsel and the chick-weed, he has small pieces of turf for sale, of +which larks are very fond. + +The birds in their cages at the open windows chirp and put their pretty +little heads aside when they hear him coming; they know perfectly well +who he is and what he brings, and their twitter shapes itself into a +greeting. The old raven perched on the edge of the basket feels like a +superior being, and wonders why other birds make such a fuss over a +little green stuff, but that is only because he has coarser tastes. + + + + +JOHNNY. + +BY SARGENT FLINT. + + +Johnny was in disgrace. "Drandma" had set him down uncomfortably hard +in his little wooden chair by the fire-place, and told him not to move +one inch right or left till she came back; she also told him to think +over how naughty he had been all day; but some way it seemed easier +just then to think of his grandma's short-comings. + +He looked through his tears at the candle in the tall silver +candlestick, and by half shutting his eyes he could make three candles, +and by blinking a little he could see pretty colors; but amusement +tends to dry tears, and Johnny wanted to cry. + +He caught the old cat and watched his tears slide off her smooth fur, +but when he held her head on one side and let a large round tear run +into her ear, she left him in indignation. Then he looked out of the +window. The snow was falling fast, as it had been all day. + +"Drandma!" he called, but the old lady was busy in the next room, and +could not, or would not hear him, so he walked to the door and said: +"Drandma, may I sweep a path for drandpa?" + +This time "drandma" did hear and see him too. He was brought back and +reseated, with marks of flour here and there on his little checked +apron. + +We must not blame grandma too much; it was a very long time since she +was a child, and Johnny, to use her own words, "had almost worn her +soul out of her." + +When Johnny's mother died, his home was in New York, and while Johnny +sat in his little chair by the fire-place, he was thinking of New York, +wondering if he ever should see it again,--the great stores with their +bright windows,--and, above all, hear the never-ending bustle and hum +that would drown the noise of twenty great clocks like grandpa's. Then +he thought how he had been deluded in coming to Plowfield; stories of +bright green fields, butterflies, hay-carts piled high with hay, and +'way up on the top a little boy named Johnny. + +A horse would be there, a cow (wrongly supposed by city people to mean +always a plentiful supply of milk), and a blue checked apron; but no +one mentioned the apron, and no one said that winter came in Plowfield; +not that they meant to deceive Johnny--they couldn't remember +everything, but it came all the same, and the bright green fields were +brown and bare; then Johnny didn't like them at all, and when the snow +came, grandma said if he went out he'd have the croup. + +The butterflies forgot Johnny. + +He did have _one_ ride on the hay, but grandpa didn't have much hay. + +The horse was not such a great comfort after all; he never drove except +taking hold of what reins grandpa didn't use, and the cow--yes, Johnny +did like the cow--she was a very good cow, but, if Johnny could have +expressed himself, he would have said that she was a little +_monotonous_. + +Johnny couldn't remember his mother, which was fortunate then, or he +would have cried for her. He saw his father only once a month; he was +making money very fast in the dingy little office away down town in New +York, and spending it almost as fast in a house away up town for +Johnny's new mamma, and, with Plowfield so far away, it was no wonder +Johnny's father was always on the move. He ought to have been there +that very day; the heavy snow perhaps had prevented; that was one +reason why Johnny had been so naughty. + +He sat quite still after he was brought back. He was too indignant to +cry; he felt as if there was no such thing as justice or generosity in +grandmothers. + +After a while he felt that he had thought of something that would do +justice to his feelings. + +"Drandma," he cried, "I wish I'd smashed the bowl to-day when I spilt +the cream!" + +Grandma didn't say anything for fear Johnny would know she was +laughing. + +He grew more and more indignant; he never in his life had felt so +naughty. He thought of all the rebellious things he had ever heard of, +and making a few choice selections, mentioned them to his grandmother, +and she, laughing, stored them away, to tell grandpa, consoling herself +with the idea that if he was bad he wasn't stupid. + +Suddenly, among other brilliant ideas, came the thought that sometimes +boys ran away; Mike's boy Jerry ran away (Mike was the man who worked +for grandpa), and he didn't have any money, and Johnny had fifteen +cents; besides, when he got on the cars he could tell the conductor to +charge it to his father; of course, he knew his father; he came from +New York every month. + +He listened till he heard grandma go to the shed for wood, and before +she came back her small grandson was some distance from the house in +the deep snow, putting on his coat and tying his comforter over his +ears. + +As he looked back and saw the shadow of grandma as she put down the +wood, he said: "I guess I'll make _her_ cry pretty soon." + +After the wood, grandma seemed to find quite a number of things either +to take up or put down, so for a little while Johnny was forgotten. Did +you ever notice that grandmothers, and mothers too, are always begging +for a little quiet, yet, if they ever get a bit, nothing seems to make +them more uneasy? + +Grandma thought Johnny was unusually still--she thought, "and is asleep +on the lounge." So she was not alarmed when she saw the little empty +chair, but when no Johnny appeared on the lounge or anywhere in the +room, she felt worried. + +"Johnny!" she called all through the house and wood-shed. Then she +missed the little coat, cap, and comforter. + +"If he has gone to meet his grandpa, he'll freeze to death. Oh, why +didn't I amuse him till his grandpa came," she thought. She opened the +door and tried to call, but a cloud of snow beat her back. Wrapping +herself comfortably, she started down the white road she thought Johnny +had taken. + +She called and called his name, and in her excitement expected every +moment to find him frozen. She promised the wind and snow that, if they +would only spare her Johnny, her dead daughter's baby, that in place of +his impatient old grandma there should be one as patient as Job! + +She had nearly reached the depot. She heard the evening train, she saw +the glare of the great lamp on the engine though the glass that covered +it was half hidden by the blinding snow. She heard a sleigh coming +toward her, and said to herself, "No matter who it is, I will stop him, +and he shall help me." The bells came nearer and nearer, and the sleigh +stopped. "Where are you going, my good woman? It is a rough night, +isn't it, for a woman to be out?" + +Any other time, how grandma would have laughed!--grandpa didn't know +his own wife! + +"Take her in, father," said another voice. Poor grandma! It was +Johnny's father who spoke. + +[Illustration: JOHNNY STARTS TO RUN AWAY.] + +"Oh, Johnny's lost!" she cried, as she tottered into the sleigh. "He +will freeze before we can find him." + +The old lady was taken home, and grandpa and Johnny's father started +off, quite naturally in the wrong direction, for Johnny. + + + * * * * * + + +For a while, Johnny went on manfully; but soon his little fingers and +toes began to beg him to go back. He refused to notice their petition, +and wished grandma could see him, as the wind whirled him round and +round and almost buried him in the snow. He thought he had gone about +ten miles, when he heard bells. He turned to one side for the sleigh to +pass, when he heard a voice he knew. + +"Oh, Jerry," he cried, "please take me in!" + +Jerry stopped, and asked, "Who are ye?" + +"I'm Johnny," said our small hero, quite meekly. + +"And where may ye be bound to, Johnny?" said Jerry. + +"To the depot. I'm going to New York," said Johnny, who thought this a +mild way to tell Jerry he was running away. + +"This road niver took any one to the depot, Jacky. If I hadn't come +this way, yer'd been froze stiff in the mornin'." + +Here Jerry rolled his eyes in a dreadful manner, and trembled like one +terribly frightened. Johnny would have cried hard, but he remembered +how brave Jerry was when he ran away, so he winked hard to keep back +the tears, and said: + +"Do you think I shall 'froze' now, Jerry?" + +Jerry thought not, if he minded him. So he lifted him into the sleigh, +and they drove on. + +"Is this the depot?" asked Johnny, when they stopped. + +"Ye be hard on the depot. This is my house." said Jerry. + +As he opened the door, his mother said, "I've looked afther yez since +the dark, and what have ye there?" as she saw Johnny. + +Mike, Jerry's father, sat by the stove, and there was a baby on the +floor. Johnny thought he never had seen such a funny place. + +He liked the baby best, although its yellow flannel night-dress was +dirty; but it wasn't quite his idea of a baby. + +"What shall we do wid him, Mike?" said the lady of the house, as she +saw Johnny's head bobbing and his eyes closing. + +"I thought ye'd kape him here till the next train for New York," said +Jerry, laughing. + +Mike laid down his pipe, and began to put on his coat. + +"Is it to go out again that yez will, this arful night, Mike?" said +Maggie. + +"Lay him out on the bed; lave him to slape here to-night, Maggie. I'll +go and make it aisy wid the old folks," said Mike. + +He found grandma sitting before the fire-place. Bottles of all sizes +stood on the table, and blankets hung on chairs by the fire. The old +lady's face was pale, and Mike afterward told Maggie, "The hands of her +shook like a lafe, and she had the same look on her that she had when +they tould her Johnny's mother was dead. And when I tould her the boy +was safe wid yez here--Ah, Maggie, she's a leddy!" said Mike, lowering +his voice. + +"Well, what did she say?" said Maggie. + +"She said I betther sit down an' ate some supper, to warm meself," said +Mike. + +Poor grandma! She declared afterward she didn't know Mike was such a +good-looking man, and so kind-hearted, too. But she didn't keep him +long to praise him, but hurried him off to find grandpa. + +Mike found the brilliant pair, going over and over the same ground. You +need not laugh, little reader; that's just what your father would do, +if you were lost. + +Five minutes after they had learned where Johnny was, they were +standing over him in Mike's house--standing over him, and the baby in +the yellow flannel night-dress, for they were both in one bed, and +Johnny's father saw them about as clearly as Johnny had seen the +candle. + +The family were thanked individually and collectively, from Mike down +to the baby, who, when Johnny left, was covered with sweetmeats and +toys, brought from New York to Johnny. + +The next morning, at breakfast, Johnny learned many things, among them +that it was very wrong to run away, and he must be punished, and +grandma should decide how severely. + +"I will punish him myself," said grandma, "by removing all temptation +to do so again." + +Johnny is too young now to appreciate his pleasant sentence, but in +after years, when his sins are heavier, he will miss his gentle judge. + +He was to leave Plowfield the next day for New York; but he was to come +back again with the summer, and many were the promises he made of good +behavior. + +When the time came for him to go, he clung so to his grandma that his +father said: + +"You need not go, Johnny, if you would rather stay." + +"No," said Johnny, "I want to go; but why don't they have drandmas and +fathers live in the same house?" + +At last, he was all tucked in the sleigh, and grandpa had started. + +"Stop! wait!" said Johnny, "I forgot something." + +He jumped out of the sleigh, ran back to grandma, clasped his arms +around her neck, and whispered in her ear: + +"I'm sorry, drandma, 'cause I spilt the cream, and I'm awfil glad I +didn't smash the bowl." + + + + +A MONUMENT WITH A STORY. + +BY FANNIE ROPER FEUDGE. + + +Many times have I heard English people say, as if they really pitied +us: "Your country has no monuments yet; but then she is so young--only +two hundred years old--and, of course, cannot be expected to have +either monuments or a history." Yet we have some monuments, and a +chapter or two of history, that the mother-country does not too fondly +or frequently remember. But I am not going to write now of the Bunker +Hill Monument, nor of the achievement at New Orleans, nor of the +surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. I want to tell of another +land nearer its infancy than ours, with a history scarcely +three-quarters of a century old, but with one monument, at least, that +is well worth seeing, and that cannot be thought of without emotions of +loving admiration and reverence. The memorial is of bronze, and tells a +story of privation and suffering, but of glorious heroism, and victory +even in death. + +Everybody knows something of the great island, Australia, the largest +in the world, reckoned by some geographers as the fifth continent. I +might almost have said its age is less than one-quarter of a century, +instead of three. It was visited by the great adventurer, William +Dampier, about the year 1690, and again, eighty years after, by Cook, +on his first voyage around the world. It is only within the present +generation that we have come to know it well. England's penal colony +there, and Cook's stories of the marvelous beauty and fertility of the +land, were never wholly forgotten; but almost nothing was done in the +way of exploration, especially of the interior, and the world remained +ignorant of both its extent and its resources until 1860, in August of +which year two brave-hearted young men, by name Burke and Wills, +determined to find out all that they could of the unknown central +regions. It is in memory of these men that Australia's first monument +has been erected. Let me tell you their story. + +Burke was in the prime of life, a strong, brave man, who delighted in +daring and even dangerous exploits. Wills, an astronomer, was younger, +and not so ardent, but prudent, wise, sagacious, and thus well fitted +to be the companion of the adventurous Burke. Their object was to trace +a course from south to north of Australia, and explore the interior, +where hitherto no European had set foot. + +Fifteen hardy adventurers were induced to form the little company; +twenty-seven camels were imported from India, for carrying the tents, +provisions and implements needed upon such a journey, a fifteen-months' +supply of provisions was laid in, and large vessels were provided for +holding ample stores of water, whenever the route should lie through +arid regions. + +Thus burdened with baggage and equipments, the explorers started out. +Their progress was necessarily slow, but the greatest difficulty with +which the leaders had to contend was a spirit of envy and discontent +among their followers. This led to an entire change in Burke's plans, +and perhaps also to the sad catastrophe which ended them. + +Instead of keeping his men together, as at first intended, he divided +the company into three squads. Assigning the command of two of these to +Lieutenants Wright and Brahe, and leaving them behind at an early stage +of the journey, together with most of the baggage and provisions, Burke +took Wills, with two others of the most resolute of his company, and +pushed boldly forward, determined to reach the northern coast if +possible, but, at any rate, not to return unless the want of water and +provisions should compel him. + +A place called Cooper's Creek, about the center of the Australian +continent, was to serve as a rendezvous for the entire company; one of +the squads was directed to remain at this point for three months, and +longer if practicable; another squad was told to rest a while at +Menindie, and then join the first; while Burke, Wills, Gray and King +were to prosecute their journey northward, do their utmost to +accomplish the main object of the expedition, and return to Cooper's +Creek. Had this plan been faithfully executed, all might have gone +well. But hardly had Burke taken his departure when quarrels for +pre-eminence broke out among the men he had left behind; then sickness +and death thinned the ranks and disheartened the survivors, and they +failed to carry out the programme Burke had laid down. Wright stayed at +Menindie until the last of January before setting out for the +rendezvous; while Brahe, who had charge of most of the provisions, +instead of remaining for three months at Cooper's Creek, deserted that +post long before the time arranged, and left behind neither water nor +provisions. + +In two months Burke and his companions reached the borders of the Gulf +of Carpentaria, at the extreme north of the continent, having solved +the problem, and found a pathway to the North Pacific. Then, worn and +weary, they set out to return. Their forward march had been +exhausting, as the frequent attacks of bands of savage natives and the +many deadly serpents had made it dangerous to halt for rest either by +day or night. The heat, too, was excessive, and sometimes for days +together the travelers were almost without water, while but sparing use +could be made of the few provisions they had been able to carry. +Feeling sure of relief at Cooper's Creek, however, and jubilant at +their success, the four almost starving men turned about and pressed +bravely on, but they arrived only to find the post deserted, and +neither water nor provisions left to fill their pressing need. + +In utter dismay, they sat down to consider what could be done, when one +of the party happened to see the word "dig" cut on the bark of a tree, +and digging below it, they found a casket containing a letter from +Brahe, which showed that he had left the post that very morning, and +that our travelers had arrived just _seven hours too late_! + +Imagine, if you can, how terribly tantalizing was this news, and how +hard it must have seemed to these heroic men, after having suffered so +much, braved so many dangers, and tasted the first sweets of success, +to die of starvation just at the time when they had hoped relief would +be at hand--to be so nearly saved, and to miss the certainty of rescue +by only a few hours! Eagerly they searched in every direction for some +trace of their comrades, and called loudly their names, but the echo of +their own voices was the only answer. As a last effort for relief, they +attempted to reach Mount Despair, a cattle station one hundred and +fifty leagues away, but they finally gave up in complete +discouragement, when one more day's march might have brought them to +the summit and saved their lives. + +For several weeks these brave fellows fought off their terrible fate, +sometimes hoping, oftener despairing, and at last, one after another, +they lay down far apart in the dreary solitude of the wilderness, to +die of starvation. + +All this and more was learned by Captain Howitt, who commanded an +expedition of search sent out from Melbourne, some nine months after +the departure of Burke and his company, not a word of news having been +received concerning them, and many fears being felt for the safety of +the little band. On Howitt's arrival at Cooper's Creek he, too, found +the word "dig," where the four despairing men had seen it; and beneath +the tree was buried, not only the paper left by Brahe, but Burke's +journal, giving the details of the journey to the coast, discoveries +made, and the terrible last scenes. + +At every step of Burke's pathway new objects of interest had elicited +his surprise and admiration. Not only were there fertile plains and +beautiful, flower-dotted prairies, but lagoons of salt water, hills of +red sand, and vast mounds that seemed to tell of a time when the region +was thickly populated, though now it was all but untrod by man. A range +of lofty mountains, discovered by Burke in the north, he called the +Standish Mountains, and a lovely valley outspread at their foot he +named the Land of Promise. + +But alas! Great portions of Burke's journey had to be made through +rugged and barren regions, destitute of water, and with nothing that +could serve as food for man or beast. Driven to extremities by hunger, +the pioneers devoured the venomous reptiles they killed, and on one +occasion Burke came near dying from the poison of a snake he had eaten. +All their horses were killed for food, and all their camels but two. +Perhaps these also went at a later day, for toward the last the records +in the journal became short, and were written at long intervals. + +Once the party was obliged to halt with poor Gray, and wait till he had +breathed his last, when the three mourning survivors went on in silence +without their comrade. + +A letter from young Wills, addressed to his father, is dated June 29th. +The words are few, but they are full of meaning. + +"My death here, within a few hours, is certain, but my soul is calm," +he wrote. + +The next day he died, as was supposed by the last record; though the +precise time could not be known, as he had gone forth alone to make one +more search for relief, and had met his solitary fate calmly, as a hero +should. Howitt, after long search, found the remains of his friend +stretched on the sand, and nearly covered with leaves. + +The closing sentence in Burke's journal is dated one day earlier than +young Wills's letter. It runs: + +"We have gained the shores of the ocean, but we have been aband--" + +It is not, of course, known why the last word was never finished. It +may have been that he felt too keenly the cruelty of his companions' +desertion of him to bring himself to write the word; or perhaps the +death agony overtook him before he could finish it. At any rate, it +speaks a whole crushing world of reproach to those whose disregard of +duty cost their noble leader's life. It has its lessons for us all. + +Burke's skeleton also was found, covered with leaves and boughs that +had been placed there, it is supposed, by the pitying natives, who +found the dead hero where, in bitter loneliness, he heaved his dying +sigh, unflinching to the last. + +Howitt wrapped the remains in the flag of his country, and left them in +their resting-place. Then he returned to Melbourne, and made +preparations for their removal and subsequent burial. They rest now in +that beautiful city near the sea, beneath the great bronze monument. +There are two figures, rather larger than life, Burke standing, Wills +in a sitting posture. On the pedestal are three bass-reliefs, one +showing the return to Cooper's Creek, another the death of Burke, and +the third the finding of his remains. This is a fitting tribute to the +memory of the brave explorers, but a far nobler and more enduring +memorial exists in the rapid growth and present prosperous condition of +that vast island, results that are largely the fruit of their labors +and devotion. + +King survived, but he was wasted almost to a skeleton, and it was +months before he could tell the story of suffering he alone knew. + + + + +TWO WAYS. + +BY MARY C. BARTLETT. + + + "If I had a fortune," quoth bright little Win, + "I'd spend it in Sunday-schools. Then, don't you see, + Wicked boys would be taught that to steal is a sin, + And would leave all our apples for you and for me." + + "If _I_ had a fortune," quoth twin-brother Will, + "I'd spend it in fruit-orchards. Then, don't you see, + Wicked boys should all pick till they'd eaten their fill, + And they wouldn't _want_ apples from you or from me." + + + + +A HORSE AT SEA. + +[SEE FRONTISPIECE.] + + +His name is Charley. A common name for a horse, and yet he was a most +uncommon horse, of a sweet and cheerful disposition, and celebrated for +his travels over the sea. This is his portrait, taken the day before he +left America, for the benefit of sorrowing friends. He looks as if he +thought he was going abroad. There is something in his eye and the +expressive flirt of his tail that seems to suggest strange doings. +Charley is going to Scotland, over the sea, and he is having his feet +cared for by the Doctor. He stands very steady now, even on three legs. +When he afterward went aboard the good steamship "California" it was as +much as he could do to keep steady on all four. + +[Illustration] + +Poor Charley! He was dreadfully sick on the voyage. He had a fine +state-room, but the motion of the ship was too much for his nerves, and +he was very ill. So they had to bring him, bed and all, on deck. The +steamer was rolling from side to side, for the waves ran high, and the +tall masts swayed this way and that with a slow and solemn motion. Poor +Charley didn't appreciate the beauty of the sea, and thought the whole +voyage a most unhappy experience. Then he had to be hoisted out of the +hatchway in a most undignified manner. The frontispiece shows you how +this was done. They put him in his box and put a rope round it and +fastened the rope to the donkey engine, a little steam-engine which is +used for hoisting and such purposes. How humiliating for a horse to be +dragged aloft by a donkey engine! The captain stood near to give the +signal when the steamer rested for a moment on a level keel. The donkey +engine puffed, and the sailors stood ready to steer the patient upward, +just as you see in the picture. + +Charley grew very serious as he rose higher and higher, but a man held +him by the head and whispered comfort in his ear. At last, he reached +the deck in safety, and they gave him a place in a breezy nook beside +some other four-footed passengers, and he immediately recovered. + + + + +TIDY AND VIOLET; OR, THE TWO DONKEYS. + + +There was once a little boy who was not very strong, and it was thought +right that he should be a great deal in the open air, and therefore it +was also thought right that he should have a donkey. + +The plan was for this little boy to take long rides, and for his mamma +to ride on another donkey, and for his papa to walk by the side of +both. + +The two donkeys that were procured for this purpose had belonged to +poor people, and had lived hard lives lately, out upon the common, +because the poor people had no employment for them, and so could get no +money to give the donkeys better food. They were glad, therefore, when +the gentleman said that he wanted to buy a donkey for his little boy, +and that he would try these two for a time, and then take the one he +liked best. + +So the gentleman and the lady and the boy took their excursion day +after day with the two donkeys. + +Now, one of these was a thin-looking white donkey, and the other was a +stout black donkey; and one was called "Violet" and the other "Tidy." + +The little boy liked the black donkey best, because he was bigger and +handsomer, "I like Tidy," he said; "dear papa, I like Tidy." + +"Stop!" said his papa. "Let us wait a bit; let us try them a little +longer." + +The party did not go out every day; sometimes the gentleman and lady +were engaged, and the donkeys remained idly in the gentleman's field. + +And then, when they had done eating, they used sometimes to talk. + +"Is not this happiness?" said the meek white donkey. "Instead of the +dry grass of the common, to have this rich, green, juicy grass, and +this clear stream of water, and these shady trees; and then, instead of +doing hard work and being beaten, to go out only now and then with a +kind lady and gentleman, and a dear little boy, for a quiet walk:--is +it not a happy change, Tidy?" + +"Yes," said Tidy, flinging his hind-legs high in the air. + +"Oh!" said Violet, "I hope you will not do that when the young +gentleman is on your back." + +"Why not?" said Tidy. + +"Because," said Violet, "you may throw him off, and perhaps kill him; +and consider how cruel that would be, after all his kindness to us." + +"Oh," said Tidy, "people always call us donkeys stupid and lazy and +slow, and they praise the horse for being spirited and lively; and so +the horses get corn and hay and everything that is good, and we get +nothing but grass. But I intend to be lively and spirited and get +corn." + +"Take care what you do, Tidy," said Violet. "The gentleman wishes to +buy a quiet donkey, to carry his little boy gently. If we do not behave +ourselves well, he surely will send us back to the common." + +But Tidy was foolish and proud, and, the next time he went out, he +began to frisk about very gayly. + +"I fear," said the gentleman, "that the good grass has spoiled Tidy." + +[Illustration] + +Tidy heard this, but, like other young and foolish things, he would not +learn. Soon, the little dog Grip passed by, and Tidy laid his ears back +on his neck and rushed at Grip to bite him. + +"Really," said the gentleman, "Tidy is getting quite vicious. When we +get home, we will send Tidy away, and we will keep Violet." + +Tidy, as you may believe, was sorry enough then. But it was too late. +He was sent away to the bare common. But Violet still lives in the +gentleman's field, eats nice grass, goes easy journeys, and is plump +and happy. + + + + +[Illustration] + + +JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT. + + +Poets have a great deal to answer for, and they should be careful what +they say, for they've no idea what an influence they have. Now, I'm +told that about one hundred and fifty years ago, one by the name of +Thomson (Thomson without a _p_) sang: + + "Hail, gentle Spring! Ethereal mildness, hail!" + +and made no end of trouble, of course. March being the first spring +month, was the first to hear the command, and so, ever since, she has +been trying her best to hail. Failing in this, as she nearly always +does, her only recourse is to blow; and blow she does, with a will. So +don't blame her, my chicks, if she deals roughly with you this year, +blows your hair into your eyes, and nearly takes you off your feet. +It's all the fault of that poet Thomson. + +I suppose if he had sung to our great American cataract, he would have +told it to trickle, or drip, or something of that sort; and then what +would have become of all the wedding tours? Mrs. Sigourney, my birds +tell me, was a poet of the right sort. She sang, "Roll on, +Niagara!"--and it has rolled on ever since. + +Talking of fluids, here's a letter telling + + +HOW CHERRY PLAYED WITH WATER. + +A good friend sends Jack this true horse-story: + + At my summer home, the very coolest and pleasantest spot to be + found on a hot day is a grassy knoll, shaded by a great tree. Close + by is the horse-trough, which is supplied with water from the well + a few rods off. One sultry day, my little boy and I went to play + under the shade of this tree. The trough was full of clean, + sparkling water, and I lingered there even after the two horses, + "Cherry" and "Dash," had been brought out and tied to the tree; for + they, too, had found their house uncomfortable, and had begged with + their expressive eyes to be taken out-of-doors. + + Now, the water in the trough looked very tempting, and soon my boy + Willy put his little hand in, and then rolling up his sleeve, + plunged in his arm and began to splash the water, throwing it + around, wetting us all, horses included. We left the tree, and were + going into the house, when we heard a loud thumping, and splashing; + turning round, we saw Cherry, with his fore-leg in the trough, + knocking his great iron shoe against the side of it, sending the + water flying in all directions, and making the water in the trough + all black and muddy. Now, these horses had drunk from this trough + three times a day for two months, and spent many a morning under + that very tree, and it had never occurred to either of them to play + such a trick until they had seen Willy do it. + + Willy was so much pleased that he gave Cherry several lumps of + sugar to reward him for his naughtiness; but James, the coachman, + took a different view, and gave him a sound scolding, and I am + afraid whipped him; although I protested that Willy was more to + blame than poor Cherry, who had only imitated his little master. + + C.C.B. + + +THREE SPIDERS. + +Another enemy to my friends the birds! This time it's a spider. He +lives near the Amazon River, they tell me, builds a strong web across a +deep hole in a tree, and waits at the back of the hole until a bird or +a lizard is caught in the meshes. Then out he pounces, and kills his +prey by poison. And yet this dreadful creature has a body only an inch +and a half in length! + +Then there's a spider named Kara-Kurt, who lives in Turkestan; and, +though he is no bigger than a finger-nail, he can jump several feet. He +hides in the grass, and his bite is poisonous; but I'm glad to say he +doesn't kill birds. + +In the same country is a long-legged spider, who has long hair and a +body as big as a hen's egg. When he walks he seems as large as a man's +double fists. What a fellow to meet on a narrow pathway! I think most +people would be polite enough to let him have the whole of the walk. +Little Miss Muffett would have been scared out of her senses if such a +huge spider had "sat down beside her." + + +SPECIAL DISPATCH. + +The Little Schoolma'am says Thomson didn't say "_Hail_, gentle Spring!" +He said, "Come, gentle Spring!" Dear, dear! I beg his pardon. But, like +as not, some other poet said it, if Thomson didn't. Or perhaps they've +sung so much about Spring that March, taking it all to herself, thinks +she may as well blow her own trumpet, too. + +Poor March! In old times she used to be the first month of the +year,--and now she is only the third. May be, that is what troubles +her. Nobody likes to be put back in that way. + + +ABOUT PARROTS. + +Deacon Green was talking about parrots the other day. He said he once +knew a parrot that was not as polite as "Pippity," the one mentioned in +a story called "Tower-Mountain." The parrot that he knew would swear +whenever he opened his bill. It had been taught by the sailors on board +the ship in which it had come from South America. When the deacon knew +it, it belonged to the widow of a very strict minister. It had been +brought to her by her nephew, a midshipman, as a Christmas present. It +was lucky for him, just then, that the old lady was stone deaf. She was +very cross with the neighbors when they told her what wicked words the +bird used. It was a great pet, and she would not believe anything bad +about it. But at last it swore at a visitor who was a bishop, and soon +after, it was no more. + +Since the Deacon told that story I have had a paragram about another +parrot; one that lived in Edinburgh, Scotland, five years ago. This one +could laugh, weep, sing songs, make a noise like "smacking the lips," +and talk. His talking was not merely by rote; he would speak at the +right times, and say what was just right to be said then and there. He +spoke the words plainly, bowed, nodded, shook his head, winked, rolled +from side to side, or made other motions suited to the sense of what he +was saying. His voice was full and clear, and he could pitch it high or +low, and make it seem joyful or sad. Many curious tales, are told of +him, but the most remarkable thing about him is that he actually lived +and really did the things named. + +That's what the paragram says. Stop--let me think a moment. May be that +parrot himself sent it? But no; he wasn't smart enough for _that_; I +remember, now, the signature was "Chambers." + + +THE WRITING OF THE PULSE. + +Did you ever hear of a sphygmograph? Of course not. Well, in its +present improved state, it is something new and very wonderful. It +takes its name from two Greek words, _sphugmos_, the pulse, and +_grapho_, I describe. It is an implement to be used by physicians, and +forces the patient's pulse to tell its own story, or, in other words, +make a full confession of all its ups and downs and irregularities. Not +only make a confession, my beloveds, but actually _write_ it down in +plain black and white! + +So you see that a man's pulse in Maine may write a letter to a +physician in Mexico, telling him just what it's about, and precisely in +what manner its owner's heart beats--how fast or slow, and, in fact, +ever so much more. + +Now, isn't that queer? Should you like to see some specimens of +pulse-writing? Here they are: + +[Illustration: 1.] + +[Illustration: 2.] + +[Illustration: 3.] + +[Illustration: 4.] + +No. 1, according to the doctors, writes that he is the pulse of a +strong, healthy boy, and that his owner is getting on admirably. No. 2 +writes that his proprietor has trouble with his heart. No. 3 tells a +sad story of typhoid fever; and No. 4 says that his owner is dying. + +I am only a Jack-in-the-Pulpit, you know, quite dependent upon what +the birds and other bipeds tell me, so you cannot expect a full +description and explanation of the sphygmograph here. Ask your papas +and friends about it. + +There's a great deal going on in the world that you and I know very +little about; but such things as the sphygmograph give us a hint of the +achievements of science in its efforts to help God's children out of +their many ills and pains. + +The deacon says that, wonderful as the sphygmograph is, the pulse +itself is more wonderful still--a fact which no good ST. NICHOLAS child +will deny. + + +A PERUVIAN BONANZA. + +You've heard, I suppose, that they expect soon to open up a new and +wonderfully rich deposit of silver in the mines of Peru? No! Well, +then, it's high time you were warned about it. Take your Jack's advice, +my youngsters, and be very careful about things. Why, if they go on +finding big bonanzas in this reckless way, silver will be too cheap for +use as money! And then what will they do? They'll have to use something +in place of it, of course; but there's no telling what it will be. Only +think, they might choose double-almonds, or something of that kind! + +But don't allow yourselves to be cast down about it, my dears. Try to +keep up your spirits, and remember that, if the worst comes to the +worst, good children will never be so plenty that people will cease to +appreciate a good child. That's a bit of solid comfort for you, any +way. + + +LUMBER AND TIMBER. + +Which of you can state the exact distinction, if there is any, between +lumber and timber, without consulting the dictionary? + + +QUEER NAMES FOR TOWNS. + +Now, what am I to do with this? If the Little Schoolma'am sees it, she +may want to give the boys and girls of the Red School-house a new sort +of geography lesson, or perhaps a spelling task to her dictation. That +would be a little hard on them: so perhaps I'd better turn over the +letter to you just as it is, my chicks. + + Washington, D.C. + + DEAR JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT: Here are the names of some towns in the + United States. They are so funny that I send them to you, and I + hope you will like it. Do you think the Little Schoolma'am would + know where all these places are? + + Toby Guzzle, Ouray, Kickapoo, T.B., Ono, O.Z., Doe Gully Run, Omio, + Nippenose, Eau Gallie, Need More, Kandiyohi, Nobob, Cob Moo Sa, We + Wo Ka, Ty Ty, Osakis, Why Not, Happy Jack, U Bet, Choptack, + Fussville, Good Thunder's Ford, Apopka, Burnt Ordinary, Crum Elbow, + Busti, Cheektowaga, Yuba Dam, Dycusburgh, Chuckatuck, Ni Wot, Buck + Snort, What Cheer, Forks of Little Sandy, Towash, Sopchoppy, Thiry + Daems, Vicar's Switch, Omph Ghent, Peculiar. + + I have found a great many more, but these are the queerest I could + pick out.--Yours truly, + + WILLIAM B. + + +ANSWERS TO RIDDLES. + +Here are two answers, out of the three, to the riddles I gave you last +month: TOBACCO, and CARES (Caress). The archbishop's puzzle has been +too much for you, I'm afraid, my dears. I'll give you until next month. +Then we'll see. + + + + +THE LETTER-BOX. + + + Washington, D.C. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Not long ago I read in your delightful magazine + a poem, entitled "Red Riding Hood," by John G. Whittier. It + recalled to me some visits which I made to the great and good poet, + my friend of many years. + + My acquaintance with him began when I was a school-girl in Salem. + Then he lived in Amesbury, on the "shining Merrimack," as he calls + it, with his sister, a most beautiful and lovable person. + + I remember distinctly my first visit to them. The little white + house, with green blinds, on Friend street, looked very quiet and + home-like, and when I received the warm welcome of the poet and his + sister I felt that peace dwelt there. At one side of the house + there was a little vine-wreathed porch, upon which opened the + glass-door of the "garden room," the poet's favorite sitting room, + the windows of which looked out upon a pleasant, old-fashioned + garden. Against the walls were books and some pictures, among which + were "Whittier's Birthplace in Haverhill," and "The Barefoot Boy," + the latter illustrating the sweet little poem of that name. + + In the parlor hung a picture of the loved and cherished mother, who + had died some years before, a lovely, aged face, full of strength + and sweet repose. In a case were some specimens of the bird + referred to in "The Cry of a Lost Soul," a poem which so pleased + the Emperor of Brazil that he sent these birds to the poet. + + At the head of the staircase hung a pictured cluster of pansies, + painted by a lady, a friend of the poet. He called my attention to + their wonderful resemblance to human faces. In the chamber assigned + to me hung a large portrait of Whittier, painted in his youth. It + was just as I had heard him described in my childhood. There were + the clustering curls, the smooth brow, the brilliant dark eyes, the + firm, resolute mouth. + + We spent a very pleasant evening in the little garden room, in + quiet, cheerful conversation. The poet and his sister talked of + their life on the old farm, which Whittier has described in "Snow + Bound," and he showed me a quaint old book written by Thomas + Elwood, a friend of Milton. It was the only book of poetry that + Whittier had been able to get to read when a boy. + + Like all distinguished writers, Whittier has a large number of + letters from persons whom he does not know, and many strangers go + to see him. Miss Whittier said that one evening the bell rang, and + Whittier went to the door. A young man in officer's uniform stood + there. "Is this Mr. Whittier?" he asked. "Yes," was the answer. "I + only wanted to shake hands with you, sir," and grasping the poet's + hand he shook it warmly, and hastened away. + + Some years after my first visit a great sorrow befell Whittier in + the loss of his sister. After that, a niece kept house for him. She + is now married, and he spends most of his time with some cousins at + "Oak Knoll," a delightful place near Danvers. It was there that I + last had the pleasure of seeing him, one golden day in October. The + house is situated on an eminence, surrounded by fine trees, which + were then clad in their richest robes of crimson and bronze and + gold. Through the glowing leaves we caught glimpses of the deep + blue sky and the distant hills. We had a pleasant walk through the + orchard, in which lay heaps of rosy apples, and across fields and + meadows, where we gathered grasses and wild flowers. And we saw the + pigs and cows and horses, and had the company of three splendid + dogs, great favorites of the host. We had also for a companion a + dear, bright little girl, a cousin of the poet. She is the "little + lass," the "Red Riding Hood" of his poem. + + After a most enjoyable day I came away reluctantly, but happy at + leaving my friend in such a pleasant home, and among the charming + and refreshing country scenes that he loves so well.--Yours truly, + + C.L.F. + + + * * * * * + + +AGNES'S MOTHER, whose letter was printed in the "Letter-Box" for +January last, will oblige the Editors by sending them Agnes's address. + + + * * * * * + + + Uxbridge, Mass. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Last summer, we stayed a week on Prudence + Island, in Narragansett Bay, where the blackberries sprinkle + thickly the ground, and mosquitoes, in some parts of the island, + sprinkle thickly the air. Prudence, Patience, Hope, and Despair are + four islands near together; they were named by the owner after his + daughters. Prudence has some twelve or fifteen houses; but in + Revolutionary times there were, it is said, seventy families on the + island. The British set fire to everything, and the island was + devastated. One old hornbeam-tree is pointed out as the only tree + that escaped destruction. The wood of this kind of tree is so hard + that it does not burn easily. This tree is sometimes called "iron + wood," and "lever wood," as the wood is used to make levers. This + old tree has all its branches at the top, umbrella-wise, as if the + lower branches had been destroyed in some way, for it is not the + nature of the tree to grow in this fashion. I could barely reach + one little twig of pale, discolored leaves, to bring home as a + memento. Prudence is the largest of the four islands, Patience, + next in size, lies a little north of it. Hope, on the west side, is + a picturesque mass of rock; and Despair lies just north of Hope, a + solid rock, nearly or quite covered at high tide. + + ADDY L. FARNUM. + + + * * * * * + + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have a question to ask you, and if you will + answer it you will greatly oblige me. This is the question: May + leaves be of any size to make a folio or quarto?--Yours truly, K. + +A sheet of paper of any size, folded in two equal parts, makes two +leaves of folio size; folded evenly once more, four leaves of quarto +size. But book-publishers use these words arbitrarily. With them a +sheet about 19 by 24 inches is supposed to be the proper size, unless +otherwise specified. A folio leaf is, consequently, about 12 by 19 +inches; a quarto leaf, about 9 by 12 inches: an octavo leaf, about 6 by +9 inches. + + + * * * * * + + + Fordham, N. Y. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have a Polish rooster, I wonder if you have + ever seen one? If not, I will describe it. It has a very large + top-knot, very much larger than a duck's, although it is not at all + like it. + + WILLIE A. RICHARDSON. + + + * * * * * + + +Here is a letter that was sent to Santa Claus, last Christmas: + + MR. SANTA CLAUSES, + NEW YORK CITY. + + I don't know your number, but I gest you will get it. + + MY DEAR OLD SANTA CLAUSES: I know you are awful poor for Mama sed + so but I do want so Many things and when I Commence to Writting to + you I feel like crying. Cause you know my papa is dead and mama is + auful poor to but I do want a Dolly so bad not like they give of + the Christmas tree but a real Dolly that open and shut it eyes but + O I want so many other things but I wont ask for them for you will + Think I am auful selfage and want to Take evythink from others + little Girls but when you ben all around if you have one picture + Book left pleas send it to me. Dear Santa Clauses plese don't + forget me because I live in Perth Amboy. + + From + + GRACE L.T. + + + * * * * * + + + New York City. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am reading a history of the late Civil War, + and often come across names of different parts of an army. I would + like to ask you two questions: + + 1. How many men usually are there in a corps, division, brigade, + and company? + + 2. How many guns are there in a field-battery? + + If you will answer these, you will greatly oblige your friend and + reader, + + GRANT SQUIRES. + +In the United States service, the "company," in time of war, contains +98 non-commissioned officers and privates, and 3 officers; total, 101. +The regiment consists of ten companies. A brigade usually consists of +four regiments, and, if the ranks are full, should contain about 4,000 +men. It sometimes happens that five or six regiments may be comprised +in one brigade. A division contains usually three, sometimes four, +brigades, and with full ranks would number from 12,000 to 15,000 men. A +corps contains three divisions, and should number, say, 45,000 men. In +actual conflict, these figures will, of course, widely vary; regiments +being reduced by losses to, perhaps, an average of 300 men each, and +the brigades, divisions, etc., to numbers correspondingly smaller. A +field-battery has either four or six guns, in the United States service +usually the latter number, and from 150 to 250 men. The English and +French Armies are not very dissimilar from our own in the matter of +organization; but in the German army the company contains 250 men, and +the regiment 3,000, and they have but two regiments in a brigade. + + + * * * * * + + + Pittsburg, Pa. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I want to tell you What a nice time I had on + vacation. I enjoyed the holidays so much that it makes me happy to + tell everybody. Our Sunday-school gave a treat on Christmas night, + and the church was very handsomely decorated. Above the center, in + amongst the evergreen wreaths, was a shining star made by jets of + gas. The pastor, Mr. Vincent, said this was to represent the Star + of Bethlehem. Then the large Christmas-tree was loaded with gifts, + and when lighted up I pretty near thought I was going to see + Aladdin's wonderful lamp and Cinderella from fairy-land. I am sure + every one felt happy, and we sang the Christmas carols louder than + ever, so loudly that the church trembled. But may be it was the + organ made it tremble. + + LILLIE S. + + + * * * * * + + +MR. EDWIN HODDER, the author of the new serial, "Drifted into Port," +which begins in this number, is an English gentleman, and he wrote this +story, not only to tell the adventures of his heroes and his heroines, +but to give American boys and girls an idea of life at an English +school. We think that the doings of Howard, Digby, Madelaine, and the +rest, will be greatly interesting to our readers, especially as these +young people leave the school after a while, and have adventures of a +novel kind in some romantic, sea-girt islands. + + + * * * * * + + +BESSIE G.--Your letter is not such a one as we are apt to answer in the +"Letter-Box." But the best possible message we can send you, and one +that you will understand, and apply to your own case, is a beautiful +little poem which will interest all readers. We shall give it to you +entire. We take it from a treasured old newspaper slip, and regret that +we do not know the author's name. + + +THE SINGING-LESSON. + + A nightingale made a mistake; + She sang a few notes out of tune, + Her heart was ready to break, + And she hid from the moon. + She wrung her claws, poor thing, + But was far too proud to speak. + She tucked her head under her wing, + And pretended to be asleep. + + A lark, arm-in-arm with a thrush, + Came sauntering up to the place; + The nightingale felt herself blush, + Though feathers hid her face. + She knew they had heard her song, + She FELT them snicker and sneer, + She thought this life was too long, + And wished she could skip a year. + + "O nightingale!" cooed a dove, + "O nightingale, what's the use, + You bird of beauty and love, + Why behave like a goose? + Don't skulk away from our sight, + Like a common, contemptible fowl: + You bird of joy and delight, + Why behave like an owl? + + "Only think of all you have done; + Only think of all you can do; + A false note is really fun, + From such a bird as you! + Lift up your proud little crest; + Open your musical beak; + Other birds have to do their best, + You need only SPEAK." + + The nightingale shyly took + Her head from under her wing, + And, giving the dove a look, + Straightway began to sing. + There was never a bird could pass; + The night was divinely calm; + And the people stood on the grass + To hear that wonderful psalm! + + The nightingale did not care, + She only sang to the skies; + Her song ascended there, + And there she fixed her eyes. + The people that stood below + She knew but little about; + And this story's a moral, I know, + If you'll try to find it out! + + + * * * * * + + + Northern Vermont. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: "Little Joanna" is only three years and a half + old, but her father and mother take the ST. NICHOLAS for her; and + although she is so very young, she enjoys it as much as the older + ones. She liked the little poem called "Cricket on the Hearth," and + has learned to repeat some of it. In the December number she liked + the poem about the tea-kettle; she cries every time she hears + about poor "Little Tweet," and laughs at the "Magician and his + Bee," and at Polly's stopping the horses with the big green + umbrella. But she laughs the hardest at the picture of the little + girl who was so afraid of the turtle, and Edna, the kitchen-girl, + told her if the turtle should get hold of the little girl's toe, he + wouldn't let go till it thundered. After "Little Joanna" has seen + the pictures and heard the stories she can understand, her mamma + sends the ST. NICHOLAS to some little cousins in Massachusetts, who + in their turn forward it to some more cousins in far away Iowa. So + we all feel the ST. NICHOLAS merits the heartiest welcome of any + magazine.--Yours, + + "LITTLE JOANNA'S" AUNTIE. + + + * * * * * + + + Dayton, O. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I like your "Letter-Box" so much, and I always + read it first. My brother and I fight which shall read ST. NICHOLAS + first. He always speaks for it the month before. Then sister reads + it out loud to keep us quiet. I wish we had had more of the + Pattikins. I liked them real well. + + The biggest thing in Dayton is the Soldiers' Home, three miles from + town. It is the largest of all the Homes, though they have a small + one at Milwaukee, Wis., and several others. They have three + thousand disabled soldiers here, and a big hospital, a church built + of stone, barracks, stores, dining-room, library, and everything + just like a little town. Then lovely lawns, gardens, lakes, + fountains, rustic bridges, etc. Lots of people say it is much + prettier than Central Park, and I think so, too. The soldiers have + most all of them lost their legs or arms, and some both. Lots of + blind ones lost their sight in battle, from the powder. They get + tipsy, too,--I guess because they get tired and feel sick. Nobody + cares, only they get locked up and fined. Papa says he don't + believe blue ribbon will keep them sober. Everybody wears blue + ribbon here, but I don't, because I don't want to get tipsy anyhow. + + General Butler is the big boss of the Home. He comes every fall, + and walks around. They always have an arch for him. Colonel Brown + is Governor. He only has one arm, and was in Libby Prison. I wish + the boys and girls could all come and spend the day here. They have + a big deer-park, and lots of animals of all kinds, as good as a + show, and a splendid band that gives concerts, and they have dress + parades by the Brown Guards. I asked Papa how much it cost to run + it a year, and he wrote down for me, so I would not forget, + $360,740.81, last year. Hope you will find room to publish this. + Harry says you wont. Harry is my brother.--Your friend, + + CLARENCE SNYDER. + + + * * * * * + + + Trenton, N.J. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have read a great many letters in your ST. + NICHOLAS, and I always like to read them, for they are so funny. So + I thought I would write you a letter and tell you about my poor + little cat. It was given me when two weeks old, and I only had it a + month before it died--and, do you believe, I saw it die! It was + taken sick, and I cried awful. I don't know what was the matter + with it, but I think it had the colic, for it lay as quiet as a + mouse; and then it died. Oh, how sorry I was! My friend got a + little box and buried it right under my window, so I could often + think of it. So I hope you will all wish me better luck with my + cats. Be sure and give my love to Jack.--From your little friend, + + JENNIE H. + + + * * * * * + + + San Francisco, Cal. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have often read in the "Letter-Box" some other + little stories which boys and girls have written. + + I will now write about the wire-cable railroads of this city. The + first one constructed was on Clay street, between Kearney street + and Leavenworth street. The road has now been continued out to Van + Ness avenue. + + The second was constructed by the Sutter Street R.R. Company from + Sansom street to Larkin street, a distance of one mile. + + The best of all the railroads in the city is on California street, + between Kearney and Fillmore streets, a distance of two miles. It + is considered the best built wire-cable road in the United States, + and is owned by the great railroad king of California, Leland + Stanford. + + I have a little railroad track seven and a half feet long, with + fifteen feet of string, which I call a cable. The invention of the + gripping attachment is my own. + + R.H. BASFORD. + + + * * * * * + + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Will you please, for a few moments, imagine + yourself blind, deaf and dumb, so that you may have a fair idea of + the boy about whom I want to tell you? + + His name is James Caton. He is fifteen years old and lives in the + Deaf Mute Institution, on the Hudson River, near New York. He was + born deaf and dumb, and two years ago a severe sickness left him + blind. Before this he had learned to read and write, and talk with + his fingers. He uses a pencil and his fingers to ask for what he + wants, and tell you how he feels. People can talk to him by + spelling words with their fingers against the palm of his hand, and + he is so bright and quick that they cannot spell too fast for him. + He is fond of his lessons, but sometimes, in adding a long column + of figures, he makes mistakes that vex him sadly. Only think how + hard it must be to add twenty or thirty large numbers that you + cannot see! But when James finds his temper rising he puts it right + down, calls back his patience, and goes to work more strenuously + than ever. One day, his teacher, a lady, told him the Bible story + of Cain, who killed his brother and became a wanderer. Some time + after, she asked him "Who was Cain?" and he answered, "Cain was a + tramp!" She takes pains to tell him about the great events of the + day, such as the dreadful war between Russia and Turkey, and he + understands this so well that he can describe it with wonderful + effect. He stands out on the floor like an orator, and with the + most graceful, animated and expressive signs and gestures, gives + the positions of the armies, their meeting, the beating of the + drums, the waving of the flags, and the firing of the cannon. + Watching him, one can see the battle-field and all its pomp and + horror. + + James was in the country during the summer, and there he lay on the + soft grass, smelled the sweet flowers, and tried to remember their + forms and colors. He leaned against the strong tree trunks and + measured them with his arms, and the sweet, cool breezes from the + river came to refresh and strengthen him. + + James has a chum, Charles McCormick, who is almost as badly off as + himself--perhaps you will think him worse off. He was born deaf and + dumb, and when three years old he fell on the railroad track and + the cars cut off both his arms! These two boys love each other + dearly. They go into the woods together to gather flowers. Charles + goes first because he has the eyes, and when he finds the flowers + he stoops down and touches them with the stump of his arm, while + James passes his hand down his friend's shoulder and picks them! So + they do together what neither could do alone, and both are as happy + as birds!--Your friend, + + E.S. MILLER. + + + * * * * * + + + Hampstead, England. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am eleven years old, and this is the first + time I have ever written to you, so I am going to tell you about my + dear little squirrel, "Bob." He is beautifully soft, and his back + and head are gray, but his legs and tail are red; he has four long + teeth, and he bites very much, if we vex him. He eats nuts and + fruit, and he is very fond of bread and milk. When we had him + first, he used to run up the curtains and bite them all into holes. + Every Sunday he would be brought downstairs while we were at + dinner, and papa would give him nuts; but he got so cross that papa + would not let him come down again. In the summer, we brought out + his cage into the garden; but one Sunday papa opened the cage door, + and out jumped Bob. He ran to the wall (which was all covered with + ivy), and began to climb it; but papa caught him by his hind-leg + and stopped him, and he gave papa such a bite on his hand. So I + would not let him go out again. Last summer, mamma took us all down + to Wales; but it was too far to take Bob, so we left him to my + governess, who took him home with her. But one unlucky day she let + him out in the conservatory, and did not shut the window; so he got + a chance and ran away out into the road, and he did not come back. + She offered a reward, and two days afterward he was found outside + the window of an empty house. Soon after that we all came home, + and I was very glad to see Bob again, naughty as he was. There is a + very funny thing which I ought to have told about first; it is that + my Bob was brought up by a cat, and not in the woods at all. I do + not think there is anything more to tell you about him.--I am your + little reader, + + LAURA B. LEWIS. + + + * * * * * + + + HOW TO MAKE A FAIRY FOREST. + + In the first place, you must live in the country, where you can + find that early spring flower, the blood-root or _sanguinaria_. + Wherever it grows it generally is seen in great + abundance--flowering in the Middle States about the first of April. + The roots are tuberous, resembling Madeira vines, and they do not + penetrate very deeply into the earth. Therefore, when the ground is + not frozen on its surface, these tubers can be quite easily + procured. In the latter part of March, after removing a layer of + dead leaves, or a light covering of leaf mold, the plants may be + found, and, at that time will have large brown or greenish brown + buds in great abundance, all very neatly wrapped up in conical + rolls. A basket should be carefully filled with these tubers, + without shaking all the earth from them, and some of the flakiest + and greenest pieces of moss that can be found adhering to the rocks + must also be put into the basket. + + When you reach home, take a large dish or pan and dispose these + tubers upon it, first having sprinkled it ever so lightly with the + earth found in the bottom of the basket. Place the roots quite + close together, taking care to keep the large, pointed, + live-looking buds on the top, pack them closely; side by side, + until the dish is full, then lay your bits of moss daintily over + them, or between them when the beds are large, set them in the + sweet spring sunshine, in a south or east window, sprinkle them + daily with slightly tepid water, and on some fine morning you will + find a little bed of pure white flowers, that will tell you a tale + of the woods which will charm your young souls. + + Sanguinaria treated in this way will generally so far anticipate + its natural time of flowering as to present you the smiling, + perfumed faces of its blossoms while the fields may yet be covered + with snow. + + But this is not the end. After these snowy blossoms have performed + their mission of beauty, they will drop off upon the carpet of + moss, and, in a short time, will be succeeded by the leaves of the + plant, which are large and irregular, but very beautiful, and each + leaf is supported by a stem which comes directly from the ground, + giving the impression of a miniature tree. A large dish of these + little trees springing from the moss makes the Fairy Forest, and an + imaginative girl, or possibly boy, well steeped in fairy lore, may + imagine many wonderful things to happen herein. + + If you have little friends; or relatives who live in the city and + cannot go into the woods to look for the sanguinaria, you can + easily pack a pasteboard box full of the roots and moss, and send + it to them by express, or, if it is not too heavy, by mail. + + GRANDMOTHER GREY. + + + + +THE RIDDLE-BOX. + + +A COMMON ADAGE. + +[Illustration.] + + +LITERARY ENIGMA. + + 1. MY 26 39 66 55 40 48 44 11 12 is a poet of ancient Greece. + + 2. My 25 24 33 8 42 is a poet of ancient Italy. + + 3. My 69 36 14 50 18 3 41 is a poet of England. + + 4. My 22 58 65 37 9 by 59 21 53 23 47 28 is a German poem. + + 5. My 47 62 64 38 is a historian of England. + + 6. My 30 46 54 48 15 32 is a popular American writer. + + 7. My 34 7 46 57 41 50 70 is a Scottish writer. + + 8. My 6 13 67 16 1 17 68 63 5 52 is an English poet. + + 9. My 47 24 2 23 10 68 63 43 4 is an American writer of fiction. + +10. My 49 41 19 56 35 is an eminent geologist. + +11. My 16 24 27 41 is a scientist of England. + +12. My 45 61 60 67 37 13 31 is one of America's living writers. + +13. My 61 7 20 29 is another American writer. + +The whole is an extract of two lines (seventy letters) from a noted +English poem. + +F.H.R. + + +TRANSPOSITIONS. + +In each of the following sentences fill the blank or blanks in the +first part with words whose letters, when transposed, will suitably +fill the remaining blank or blanks. + +1. ---- ---- ---- words with a man in a ----. 2. Did you see the +tiger ---- on me with his ---- eyes? 3. McDonald said: "---- ---- +ragged ---- remind you of Scotland." 4. The knots may be ---- +more easily than ----. 5. ---- ---- told me an ---- which amused +all in his tent. 6. I hung the ---- on the ---- round of the rack. +7. The witness is of small value if he can ---- ---- information +that is more ---- than this. 8. The ---- ---- as they look over +the precipices in their steep ----. + + +EASY REVERSALS. + +1. Reverse a color, and give a poet. 2. Reverse a musical pipe, and +give an animal. 3. Reverse an entrance, and give a measure of surface. +4. Reverse an inclosure, and give a vehicle. 5. Reverse part of a ship, +and give an edible plant. 6. Reverse a noose, and give a small pond. +7. Reverse a kind of rail, and give a place of public sale. 8. Reverse +sentence passed, and give temper of mind. 9. Reverse a portion, and +give an igneous rock. 10. Reverse an apartment, and give an upland. + +ISOLA. + + +DOUBLE DIAMOND. + +The first and ninth words, together, make vegetables that grow in the +second upon the third in the fourth; the eighth, a girl, after +performing the fifth upon the first and ninth in the fourth, pulling +the second the while, did the sixth to get them into the house; here +the eighth soon had them upon the seventh, cooking for dinner. + +Perpendicular, heavy; horizontal, picking. + +G.L.C. + + +CURTAILMENTS AND BEHEADINGS. + + To the name of a gifted man, + Affix a letter, if you can, + And find his avocation. + + Curtail a piece of work he did, + You'll find a word that now is hid,-- + A madman's occupation. + + Behead another, you will find + Measures of a certain kind + Used by the English nation. + +G.L.C. + + +EASY NUMERICAL ENIGMA. + +The whole, composed of fourteen letters, names the hero of a well-known +book. The 1 7 3 4 8 is a singing-bird of America. The 9 10 2 6 12 is a +religious emblem. The 13 11 5 9 14 is an Oriental animal. + +ISOLA. + + +PICTORIAL ANAGRAM PROVERB-PUZZLE. + +[Illustration] + +The answer is a proverb of five words. Each numeral beneath the +pictures represents a letter in the word of the proverb indicated by +that numeral,--4 showing that the letter it designates belongs to the +fourth word of the proverb, 3 to the third word, and so on. + +Find a word that describes each picture and contains as many letters as +there are numerals beneath the picture itself. This is the first +process. + +Then put down, some distance apart, the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, to +correspond with the words of the proverb. Group beneath figure 4 all +the letters designated by the numeral 4 in the numbering beneath the +pictures (since, as already stated, all the letters there designated by +the numeral 4 belong to the fourth word of the proverb). You will thus +have in a group all the letters that the fourth word contains, and you +then will have only to transpose those letters in order to form the +word itself. Follow the same process of grouping and transposition in +forming each of the remaining words of the proverb. Of course, the +transposition need not be begun until all the letters are set apart in +their proper groups. + +J.B. + + +AN OLD MAXIM. + +BEHEADED AND CURTAILED. + +--IGH-- --are-- --pea--. --rea-- --ne-- --r-- --um--. + +C.D. + + +EASY UNIONS. + +1. Join ease and an ornament, by a vowel, and make recovering--thus: +rest-o-ring (restoring). 2. Join pleasant to the taste to a boy's +nickname, by a vowel, and make honeyed. 3. Join to bury to a bite of an +insect, by a vowel, and make what pleasant stories are. + +C.D. + + +RHOMBOID PUZZLE. + +ACROSS: 1. Portion of an ode. 2. A musical drama. 3. Soon. 4. Marked. +5. Flowers. + +DOWN: 1. In a cave. 2. A river. 3. To unclose. 4. The second dignitary +of a diocese. 5. A mistake. 6. High. 7. An affirmative. 8. A prefix. +9. In a shop. + +CYRIL DEANE. + + +DOUBLE CROSS-WORD ACROSTIC. + +THE WHOLE. + + Brothers are we, alike in form and mien, + Sometimes apart, but oft together seen. + One labors on, and toils beneath his load; + The other idly follows on the road. + One parts the sleeping infant's rosy lips; + The other veils the sun in dark eclipse. + One rises on the breath of morn, with scent + Of leaf and flower in fragrant incense blent; + The other's wavering aspiration dies + And falls where still the murky shadow lies. + At hospitable boards my first attends, + And greets well pleased the social group of friends; + But if my second his grim face shall show, + How dire the maledictions sent below! + Yet there are those who deem his presence blest, + A fitting joy to crown the social feast, + And make for him a quiet, calm retreat, + Where friends with friends in loving concourse meet. + +CROSS-WORDS. + + 1. Two brothers ever keeping side by side, + The closer they are pressed the more do they divide + + 2. Brothers again unite their ponderous strength, + Toiling all day throughout its tedious length. + + 3. I never met my sister; while she flies + I can but follow, calling out replies. + + 4. A casket fair, whose closely covered lid + A mother's hope, a nation's promise, hid. + + 5. A plant once used to drive sharp pain away, + Not valued greatly in this later day, + Except by those who fly when they are ill + To test the virtues of a patent pill. + +S.A.B. + + +EASY DIAMOND PUZZLE. + +In fruit, but not in flower; a period of time, a fresh-water fish; a +sea-bird; in strength, but not in power. + +ISOLA. + + +MALTESE-CROSS PUZZLE. + + * * * * * + * * * * * + * * * * * + * * * E * * * + * * * * * + * * * * * + * * * * * + +The middle letter, E, is given in the diagram. The centrals form two +words, and are read from top to bottom and from side to side, including +the middle letter. The words that form the limbs of the cross are read +from the outside toward the center, those forming the top and bottom +limbs being read horizontally, and those that form the arms, downward. + +CENTRAL PERPENDICULAR: Perfume. +CENTRAL HORIZONTAL: Strained. +TOP LIMB: 1. New. 2. A boy's name. 3. A consonant. +BOTTOM LIMB: 1. Plain. 2. A deed. 3. A consonant. +LEFT ARM: 1. Existence. 2. A tavern. 3. A consonant. +RIGHT ARM: 1. Unready. 2. A tree. 3. A consonant. + +A.C. CRETT. + + +POETICAL REBUS. + +The answer is a couplet in Sir Walter Scott's poem "Marmion." + +[Illustration] + + +NUMERICAL ENIGMA. + +The whole, eleven letters, is a songster. The 1 2 3 4 is adjacent. +The 5 6 7 is a metal. The 8 9 10 11 is a current of air. + +ISOLA. + + +DOUBLE ACROSTIC. + +1. What wood is sometimes called. 2. A character in "Hamlet." +3. Customary. 4. An underling of Satan's. 5. A common shrub. 6. A boy's +name meaning "manly." 7. An animal. 8. A place of security. 9. A body +of water. 10. A large bird of the vulture family. 11. The home of the +gods in Greek mythology. 12. A preposition. 13. A spelled number. + +The initials name a female author, and the finals a male author. + +S.M.P. + + +WORD SYNCOPATIONS. + +1. Take a bird from a saint's name, and leave something ladies wear. +2. Take the present from understanding, and leave a chief. 3. Take part +of a fish from explained, and leave a will. 4. Take a forfeit from +cultivated, and leave a color. 5. Take an insect from needed, and leave +joined. 6. Take a vessel from to supply, and leave to angle. + +CYRIL DEANE. + + +CHARADE. + + My first may be made of my last, + And carries mechanical force. + My last both lives and dyes for man, + May often be seen as a horse, + And serves him by day and by night + In ways very widely apart. + My whole is the name, well renowned, + Of a chief in the potter's art. + +L.W.H. + + +ABBREVIATIONS. + +1. Syncopate and curtail a greenish mineral, and leave a Turkish +officer. 2. Syncopate and curtail a royal ornament, and leave a +domestic animal. 3. Syncopate and curtail a fabled spirit, and leave a +coniferous tree. 4. Syncopate and curtail a small fruit, and leave an +opening. 5. Syncopate and curtail a motive power, and leave a body of +water. 6. Syncopate and curtail colorless, and leave a humorous man. +7. Syncopate and curtail stops, and leave a head-covering. 8. Syncopate +and curtail a sweet substance, and leave an agricultural implement. +9. Syncopate and curtail a carpenter's tool, and leave an insect. +10. Syncopate and curtail coins, and leave an inclosure. + +I. + + + + +ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN FEBRUARY NUMBER. + + +EASY DOUBLE CROSS-WORD ACROSTIC.--Initials, Birch; finals, Maple; +horizontals, BeaM, IdA, RomP, CorraL, HousE. + +SQUARE-WORD.--Ruler, Unite, Lithe, Ethel, Reels. + +NUMERICAL PUZZLE.--Vivid. + +HIDDEN ACROSTIC.--Minnehaha. + +EASY DECAPITATIONS.--1. Foil, oil. 2. Spear, pear. 3. Feel, eel. +4. Sledge, ledge. 5. Stag, tag. 6. Mace, ace. 7. Goats, oats. +8. Draw, raw. 9. Galley, alley. + +TRANSPOSITIONS.--1. Subtle, bustle. 2. Shah, hash. 3. Shearer, hearers. +4. Sharper, harpers. 5. Resorted, restored. 6. Negus, genus. + +CHARADE.--Manhattan (Man-hat-tan). + +GEOGRAPHICAL PUZZLE.--Queen Charlotte (1) went to Cork (2) to attend a +ball. She there met Three Sisters (3), named as follows; Alexandria +(4), Augusta (5), and Adelaide (6), in whom she was much interested. +Her dress was Cashmere (7), and though elegantly trimmed with Brussels +(8), it was, unfortunately, Toulon and Toulouse [too long and too +loose] (9). As she felt chilly [Chili] (10), she wore around her +shoulders a Paisley (11) shawl. Her jewelry was exclusively a Diamond +(12). Her shoes were of Morocco (13), and her handkerchief was perfumed +with Cologne (14). Being a Superior (15) dancer, she had distinguished +partners, whose names were Washington (16), Columbus (17), Madison +(18), Montgomery (19), Jackson (20), and Raleigh (21). Having boldly +said that she was hungry [Hungary] (22), she was escorted by La Fayette +(23) to a Table (24), where she freely partook of Salmon (25), some +Sandwich[es] (26), Orange (27), Champagne (28), and some Madeira (29). +After passing a Pleasant (30) evening, she bade Farewell (31) to her +hostess and was escorted home by Prince Edward (32). + +NUMERICAL ENIGMA.--Chinamen (chin-amen). + +ILLUSTRATED PUZZLE.--1. Hare (hair). 2. Beholder (bee-holder, the +hive). 3. Ear. 4. Clause (claws). 5. Wings. 6. Comb (honeycomb on the +ground). 7. Branch. 8. Leaves. 9 and 10. B I (bee-eye). 11. Tongue. +12. Pause (paws). + +CURTAILMENTS.--1. Teasel, tease, teas. 2. Planet, plane, plan. +3. Marsh, Mars, mar, ma. 4. Panel, pane, pan, pa. + +COMPLETE DIAGONAL.--Diagonals from left to right downward: +1. L. 2. Ed. 3. Sir. 4. Aver, 5. Eager. 6. Dale. 7. Law. 8. Po. +9. L. Horizontals: E A S E L + D A V I D + L A G E R + P A L E R + L O W E R + +EASY NUMERICAL ENIGMA.--Helen's Babies. + +SQUARE-WORD.--Czar, Zero, Arms, Rose. + +ANAGRAM DOUBLE-DIAMOND AND CONCEALED DOUBLE-SQUARE. + +Double Diamond: S + A T E + S P A R E + E R A + E + +Concealed Square: A T E + P A R + E R A + +PICTORIAL PROVERB PUZZLE.--"Let Hercules himself do what he may, The +cat will mew, the dog will have his day." + + + + +ANSWERS TO PUZZLES in the January number were received, before January +18, from Jas. J. Ormsbee, Fred M. Pease, Morris H. Turk, Susie +Hermance, M.W. Collet, Eddie Vultee, A.B.C., "M'sieur B.M.", Alice and +Mamie Taylor, Constance Grandpierre and Sadie Duffield, Winnie +Brookline, Charlie and Carrie Moyses, O.A.D., Baron P. Smith, F.U., +Mary B. Smith, Milly E. Adams and Perry Adams, W.H.C, Anita O. Ball, +"Bessie and her Cousin," Georgie Law, K.L. McD., Mary Wharton +Wadsworth, Nessie E. Stevens, Inez Okey, Nellie Baker, E. Farnham Todd, +Daisy Breaux, Lillie B. Dear, Mary C. Warren, Georgietta N. Congdon, +"King Wompster," Nellie Emerson; 255 Indiana street, Chicago; Bessie +Cary, Henry D. Todd, Jr., Finda Lippen, Jennie Beach, Mary Todd, Anna +E. Mathewson, Nellie Kellogg, Lucy E. Johnson, Charles Behrens, Clara +H. Hollis, Nellie Dennis, E.S.P., Bessie and Houghton Gilman, May C. +Woodruff, George Herbert White, H. Howell, Lizzie B. Clark; Bessie T.B. +Benedict, of Ventnor, Isle of Wight, England; B.M., and Jennie Wilson. + +"Oriole" answered all the puzzles in the January number. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 5, March, +1878, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. 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