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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 02:48:35 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 02:48:35 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/29983-8.txt b/29983-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4b766a4 --- /dev/null +++ b/29983-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6148 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, +Vol. V, August, 1878, No 10., by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. V, August, 1878, No 10. + Scribner's Illustrated + +Author: Various + +Editor: Mary Mapes Dodge + +Release Date: September 14, 2009 [EBook #29983] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS MAGAZINE *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + + +ST. NICHOLAS. + + Vol. V. AUGUST, 1878. No. 10. + +[Copyright, 1878, by Scribner & Co.] + + + + +KING CHEESE. + +(_A Story of the Paris Exhibition of 1867._) + +BY J. T. TROWBRIDGE. + + + Where many a cloud-wreathed mountain blanches + Eternally in the blue abyss, + And tosses its torrents and avalanches + Thundering from cliff and precipice, + There is the lovely land of the Swiss,-- + Land of lakes and of icy seas, + Of chamois and chalets, + And beautiful valleys, + Musical boxes, watches, and cheese. + + Picturesque, with its landscapes green and cool, + Sleek cattle standing in shadow or pool, + And dairy-maids bearing pail and stool,-- + That is the quaint little town of Nulle. + + There, one day, in the old town-hall, + Gathered the worthy burghers all, + Great and small, + Short and tall, + At the burgomaster's call. + + The stout and fat, the lean and lame, + From house and shop, and dairy and pasture, + In queer old costumes, up they came, + Obedient to the burgomaster. + + He made a speech--"Fellow-citizens: There is + To be, as you know, + A wonderful show, + A Universal Fair, at Paris; + Where every country its product carries, + Whatever most beautiful, useful, or rare is, + To please and surprise, + And perhaps win a prize. + Now here is the question + Which craves your counsel and suggestion-- + With you it lies: + So, after wise + And careful consideration of it, + Say, what shall _we_ send for our honor and profit?" + + Some said this thing, some said that; + Then up rose a burgher, ruddy and fat, + Rounder and redder than all the rest, + With a nose like a rose, and an asthmatic chest; + And says he, with a wheeze, + Like the buzzing of bees: + "I propose, if you please, + That we send 'em a _cheese_." + + Then a lithe little man + Took the floor, and began, + In a high, squeaky voice: "I approve of the plan; + But I wish to amend + What's proposed by my friend: + A BIG CHEESE, I think, is the thing we should send." + + Then up jumped a third, + To put in a word, + And amend the amendment they had just heard; + "A ROYAL BIG CHEESE" was the phrase he preferred. + + The question was moved, + Discussed and approved, + And the vote was unanimous, that it behooved + Their ancient, venerable corporation, + To send such a cheese as should honor the nation. + So ended the solemn convocation; + And, after due deliberation, + The burgomaster made proclamation, + Inviting people of every station, + Each according to his vocation, + With patriotic emulation + To join in a general jubilation, + And get up a cheese for the grand occasion. + Then shortly began the preparation. + +[Illustration: "PEASANT GIRLS BRINGING THE MILK."] + + One morning was heard a mighty clamoring, + With sounds of sawing and planing and hammering. + The painters, forsaking their easels and pallets, + Came to look on, or assist in the labor; + The joiners were there with their chisels and mallets; + Trades of all grades, every man with his neighbor; + The carpenters, coopers, + And stout iron-hoopers, + Erecting a press for the thing to be done in, + A tub big enough to put ton after ton in, + And gutters for rivers of liquid to run in. + March was the month the work was begun in,-- + If that could be work they saw nothing but fun in; + 'Twas finished in April, and long before May + Everything was prepared for the curd and the + whey. + + Then the bells were set ringing-- + The milking began; + All over the land went the dairy-maids singing; + Boy and man, + Cart, pail, and can, + And peasant girls, each in her pretty dress, + From highway and by-way all round, came bringing, + Morning and evening, the milk to the press. + Then it took seven wise-heads together to guess + Just how much rennet, no more and no less, + Should be added, to curdle and thicken the mess. + + So, having been properly warmed and stirred, + The cheese was set; and now, at a word, + Ten strong men fell to cutting the curd. + Some whey was reheated; + The cutting repeated; + Each part of the process most carefully treated, + For fear they might find, when the whole was completed, + Their plan had by some mischance been defeated. + + Now the weavers come bringing the web they were spinning, + A cloth for the curd, of the stoutest of linen. + The ten men attack it, + And tumble and pack it + Within the vast vat in its dripping gray jacket; + And the press is set going with clatter and racket. + The great screw descends, as the long levers play, + And the curd, like some crushed living creature, gives way; + It sighs in its troubles-- + The pressure redoubles! + It mutters and sputters, + And hisses and bubbles, + While down the deep gutters, + From every pore spirted, rush torrents of whey. + + The cheese was pressed, and turned, and cured; + And so was made, as I am assured, + The rich-odored, great-girdled Emperor + Of all the cheeses that ever were. + + Then, everything ready, what should they have else, + In starting His Majesty on his travels, + But a great procession up and down + Through the streets of the quaint old town? + + So they made + A grand parade, + With marching train-band, guild, and trade: + The burgomaster in robes arrayed, + Gold chain, and mace, and gay cockade, + Great keys carried, and flags displayed, + Pompous marshal and spruce young aide, + Carriage and foot and cavalcade; + While big drums thundered and trumpets brayed, + And all the bands of the canton played; + The fountain spouted lemonade, + Children drank of the bright cascade; + Spectators of every rank and grade, + The young and merry, the grave and staid, + Alike with cheers the show surveyed, + From street and window and balustrade,-- + Ladies in jewels and brocade, + Gray old grandam, and peasant maid + With cap, short skirt, and dangling braid; + And youngsters shouted, and horses neighed, + And all the curs in concert bayed: + 'T was thus with pomp and masquerade, + On a broad triumphal chariot laid, + Beneath a canopy's moving shade, + By eight cream-colored steeds conveyed, + To the ringing of bells and cannonade, + King Cheese his royal progress made. + + So to the Paris Exposition, + His Majesty went on his famous mission. + +[Illustration: "SO THEY MADE A GRAND PARADE."] + + At the great French Fair! + Everything under the sun is there, + Whatever is made by the hand of man: + Silks from China and Hindostan, + Grotesque bronzes from Japan; + Products of Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, + Lapland, Finland, I know not what land-- + North land, south land, cold land, hot land,-- + From Liberia, + From Siberia,-- + Every fabric and invention, + From every country you can mention: + From Algeria and Sardinia; + From Ohio and Virginia; + Egypt, Siam, Palestine; + Lands of the palm-tree, lands of the pine; + Lands of tobacco, cotton, and rice, + Of iron, of ivory, and of spice, + Of gold and silver and diamond,-- + From the farthest land, and the land beyond. + + And everybody is there to see: + From Mexico and Mozambique; + Spaniard, Yankee, Heathen Chinee; + Modern Roman and modern Greek; + Frenchman and Prussian, + Turk and Russian, + Foes that have been, or foes to be: + Through miles on miles + Of spacious aisles, + 'Mid the wealth of the world in gorgeous piles, + Loiter and flutter the endless files! + + Encircled all day by a wondering throng, + That gathers early and lingers long, + Behold where glows, in his golden rind, + The marvel the burghers of Nulle designed! + There chatters the cheery _bourgeoisie_; + And children are lifted high to see; + And "Will it go up in the sky to-night?" + Asks little ma'm'selle, in the arms of her mother,-- + "Rise over the houses and give us light? + Is this where it sets when it goes out of sight?" + For she takes King Cheese for his elder brother! + + + But now it is night, and the crowds have departed; + The vast dim halls are still and deserted; + Only the ghost-like watchmen go, + Through shimmer and shadow, to and fro; + While the moon in the sky, + With his half-shut eye, + Peers smilingly in at his rival below. + + At this mysterious hour, what is it + That comes to pay the Fair a visit? + The gates are all barred, + With a faithful guard + Without and within; and yet 'tis clear + Somebody--or something--is entering here! + +[Illustration: "ENCIRCLED ALL DAY BY A WONDERING THRONG."] + + There is a Paris underground, + Where dwells another nation; + Where neither lawyer nor priest is found, + Nor money nor taxation; + And scarce a glimmer, and scarce a sound + Reaches those solitudes profound, + But silence and darkness close it round,-- + A horrible habitation! + Its streets are the sewers, where rats abound; + Where swarms, unstifled, unstarved, undrowned, + Their ravenous population. + + Underground Paris has heard of the Fair; + And up from the river, from alley and square, + To the wonderful palace the rats repair; + And one old forager, grizzled and spare,-- + The wisest to plan and the boldest to dare, + To smell out a prize or to find out a snare,-- + In some dark corner, beneath some stair + (I never learned how, and I never knew where), + Has gnawed his way into the grand affair; + First one rat, and then a pair, + And now a dozen or more are there. + They caper and scamper, and blink and stare, + While the drowsy watchman nods in his chair. + But little a hungry rat will care + For the loveliest lacquered or inlaid ware, + Jewels most precious, or stuffs most rare;-- + There's a marvelous smell of cheese in the air! + They all make a rush for the delicate fare; + But the shrewd old fellow squeaks out, "Beware! + 'T is a prize indeed, but I say, forbear! + For cats may catch us and men may scare, + And a well-set trap is a rat's despair; + But if we are wise, and would have our share + With perfect safety to hide and hair, + Now listen, and we will our plans prepare." + + The watchman rouses, the rats are gone; + On a thousand windows gleams the dawn; + And now once more + Through every door, + With hustle and bustle, the great crowds pour; + And nobody hears a soft little sound, + As of sawing or gnawing, somewhere underground. + + At length, the judges, going their round, + Awarding the prizes, enter the hall, + Where, amid cheeses big and small, + Reposes the sovereign of them all. + They put their tape round it, and tap it and bore it; + And bowing before it, + As if to adore it, + Like worshipers of the sun, they stand,-- + Slice in hand, + Pleased and bland, + While their bosoms glow and their hearts expand. + They smell and they taste; + And, the rind replaced, + The foremost, smacking his lips, says: "Messieurs! + Of all fine cheeses at market or fair,-- + Holland or Rochefort, Stilton or Cheshire, + Neufchâtel, Milanese,-- + There never was cheese, + I am free to declare, + That at all could compare + With this great Gruyère!" + + In short, so exceedingly well it pleases, + They award it a prize over all the cheeses. + +[Illustration: "FIRST, ONE RAT."] + + That prize is the pride of the whole Swiss nation; + And the town of Nulle, in its exultation, + Without a dissenting voice, decrees + To the poor of Paris a gift of the cheese. + Paris, in grateful recognition + Of this munificence, sends a commission-- + Four stately officials, of high position-- + To take King Cheese from the Exhibition, + And, in behalf of the poor, to thank, + With speeches and toasts, the Swiss for their gift. + The speeches they made, the toasts they drank; + Eight Normandy horses, strong and swift, + At the entrance wait + For the golden freight; + And all the porters are there to lift, + Prepared for a long and a strong embrace, + In moving His Greatness a little space. + They strain at the signal, each man in his place: + "Heave, ho!"--when, lo! as light as a feather, + Down tumbles, down crumbles, the King of the Cheeses, + With seven men, all in a heap together! + Up scramble the porters, with laughter and sneezes; + While sudden, mighty amazement seizes + The high officials, until they find + A curious bore + In the platform floor, + And another to match in the nether rind,-- + Just one big rat-hole, and no more; + By which, as it seemed, had ventured in + One rat, at first, and a hundred had followed, + And feasted, and left--to the vast chagrin + Of the worthy burghers of Nulle--as thin + And shabby a shell as ever was hollowed; + Now nothing but just + A crushed-in crust, + A cart-load of scraps and a pungent dust! + + So the newspapers say; but though they call + King Cheese a hoax, he was hardly that. + And the poor he fed, as you see, after all; + For who is so poor as a Paris rat? + +[Illustration: "DOWN TUMBLES, DOWN CRUMBLES, THE KING OF THE +CHEESES."] + + + + +RODS FOR FIVE. + +BY SARAH WINTER KELLOGG. + + +Not birch-rods; fishing-rods. They were going fishing, these five young +people, of whom I shall treat "under four heads," as the ministers +say,--1, names; 2, ages; 3, appearance; 4, their connection. + +1. Their names were John and Elsie Singletree, Puss Leek, Luke Lord, and +Jacob Isaac; the last had no surname. + +2. John was fifteen and a few months past; Elsie was thirteen and many +months past; Puss Leek was fourteen to a day; Luke Lord crowded John so +closely, there was small room for superior age to claim precedence, or +for the shelter which inferior age makes on certain occasions; Jacob +Isaac was "thutteen, gwyne on fou'teen." + +3. John Singletree was a dark-eyed, sharp-eyed, wiry, briery boy. Elsie, +of the same name, was much like him, being a dark-eyed, sharp-eyed, +wiry, briery girl. Her father used to call her Sweet-brier and +Sweet-pickle, because, he said, she was sweet but sharp. Puss Leek had +long, heavy, blonde hair, that hung almost to her knees when it was +free, which it seldom was, for Puss braided it every morning, the first +thing,--not loosely, to give it a fat look, hinting of its luxuriance, +but just as hard as she could, quite to Elsie's annoyance, who used to +say, resentfully, "You're so afraid that somebody'll think that you are +vain of your hair." Puss's ears were over large for perfect beauty, and +her eyes a trifle too deeply set; but I've half a mind to say that she +was a beauty, in spite of these, for, after all, the ears had a generous +look, in harmony with the frank, open face, and the shadowed eye was +the softest, sweetest blue eye I ever saw. She had been called Puss when +a baby, because of her nestling, kitten-like way, and the odd name clung +to her. Luke Lord was homely; but he didn't care a bit. He was so jolly +and good-natured that everybody liked him, and he liked everybody, and +so was happy. He had light hair, very light for fifteen years, and a +peculiar teetering gait, which was not unmanly, however. It made people +laugh at him, but he didn't care a bit. Jacob Isaac was a "cullud +pusson," as he would have said, protesting against the word "negro." +"Nigger," he used to say, "is de mos' untolerbulis word neber did year." +It was the word he applied to whatever moved his anger or contempt. It +was his descriptive epithet for the old hen that flew at him for +abducting her traipsing chicken; for the spotted pig that led him that +hour's chase; for the goat that butted, and the cow that hooked; and for +gray Selim when he stood on his hind legs and let Jacob Isaac over the +sleek haunches. + +But to return to No. 4. John and Elsie Singletree were brother and +sister. Puss Leek was Elsie's boarding-school friend, and her guest. +Luke Lord was a neighboring boy invited to join the fishing-party, to +honor Puss Leek's birthday, and to help John protect the girls. Jacob +Isaac was hired to "g'long" as general waiter, to do things that none of +the others wanted to do--to do the drudgery while they did the +frolicking. + +They were all on horseback,--John riding beside Puss Leek, protecting +her; Luke riding beside Elsie, and protecting her; Jacob Isaac riding +beside his shadow, and protecting the lunch-basket, carried on the +pommel of his saddle. + +"I keep thinking about the 'snack,'" said Puss Leek's protector, before +they had made a mile of their journey. + +"What do you think about it?" asked the protected. + +"I keep thinking how good it'll taste. Aunt Calline makes mighty good +pound-cake. I do love pound-cake!" + +"_Like_ it, you mean, John," said his sister Elsie, looking back over +her shoulder. + +"I _don't_ mean like," said John. "If there is anything I love better +than father and mother, brother and sister, it's pound-cake." + +"But there isn't anything," said Puss. + +"My kingdom for a slice!" said John, with a tragic air. "I don't believe +I can stand it to wait till lunch-time." + +"Why, it hasn't been a half-hour since you ate breakfast. Are you +hungry?" Elsie said. + +"No, I'm not hungry; I'm _ha'nted_." John pronounced the word with a +flatness unwritable. "The pound-cake ha'nts me; the fried chicken +ha'nts me; the citron ha'nts me. I see 'em!" John glared at the vacant +air as though he saw an apparition. "I taste 'em! I smell 'em! I feel +moved to call on him" (here Jacob Isaac was indicated by a backward +glance and movement) "to yield the _wittles_ or his life. Look here!" he +added, suddenly reining-up his horse and speaking in dead earnest, +"let's eat the snack now. Halt!" he cried to the advance couple, "we're +going to eat." + +"Going to eat?" cried Elsie. "You're not in earnest?" + +"Yes, I am. I can't rest. The cake and things ha'nt me." + +"Well, do for pity's sake eat something, and get done with it," Elsie +said. + +"But you must wait for me," John persisted. "I'll have to spread the +things out on the grass. I keep thinking how good they'll taste eaten +off the grass. There's where the ha'ntin' comes in." + +"Did you ever hear anything so ridiculous?" said Elsie to the others. +"But I suppose we had better humor him; he wont give us any rest till we +do; he's so persistent. When he gets headed one way, he's like a pig." +Elsie began to pull at the bridle to bring her horse alongside a stump. +"Puss and I can get some flowers during the repast." + +"I call this a most peculiar proceeding," said her protector, leaping +from his horse, and hastening to help her to "'light." + +Jacob Isaac gladly relinquished the lunch-basket, which had begun to +make his arm ache, and soon John had the "ha'nting things" spread. Then +he sat down Turk-like to eating; the others stood around, amused +spectators, while chicken, beaten biscuits, strawberry tart, pound-cake +disappeared as though they enjoyed being eaten. + +"I believe I'm getting 'ha'nted,' too," said Luke Lord, whose mouth +began to water,--the things seemed to taste so good to John. + +"Good for you!" John said, cordially. "Come along! Help yourself to a +chicken-wing." + +"Why, Luke, you aint going to eating!" Elsie said. + +"Yes, I am; John's made me hungry." + +"Me, too," said Jacob Isaac. + +"Of course, you're hungry," said John. "Come along! Hold your two +hands." + +"Let's go look for sweet-Williams and blue-flags," Puss proposed to +Elsie. + +"No; if we go away, the boys will eat everything up. Just look at them! +Did ever you see such eatists? You boys, stop eating all the lunch." + +"Aint you girls getting 'ha'nted?'" Luke asked. "If you don't come soon, +there wont be left for you." + +"I believe that's so," said Puss confidentially to Elsie. "I reckon +we'll have to take our share now, or not at all. We've got to eat in +self-defense." + +And so it came about that those five ridiculous children sat there, less +than a mile on their journey, and less than an hour from their +breakfast, and ate, ate, ate, till there was nothing of their lunch left +except a half biscuit and a chicken neck. John, fertile in invention, +proposed that they should go back home and get something more for +dinner; but Puss said everybody would laugh at them, and Elsie thought +they wouldn't be able to eat anything more that day, and, if they should +be hungry, they could have a fish-fry. + +"Aint no use totin' this yere basekit 'long no mawr," Jacob Isaac +suggested. "I'll leave it hang in this yere sass'fras saplin'." When it +was intimated that it would be needed for the remainder of the lunch, he +said there wasn't any "'mainder." "What's lef' needn't pester you-all; +I'll jis eat it." + +Arrived at the water, the boys baited the hooks, at which the girls gave +little shrieks, and hid their eyes, demanding to know of the boys how +they would like to be treated as they were treating the worms. + +"The poor creatures!" said Puss. + +"So helpless!" added Elsie, peeping through her fingers at the boys. +"Aren't the hooks ready yet?" + +"Yours is," and Luke delivered a rod into her hands. + +"And here's yours, Puss," John said. "Drop it in." + +Soon there were five rods extended over the water, and five corks were +floating which might have told of robbed molasses-jugs and vinegar-jugs, +and five young people were laughing, and talking nonsense by the---- How +is nonsense estimated? Everybody kept asking everybody else if he had +had a bite, and everybody was guilty of giving false alarms. As for +Elsie, she shrieked out, "A bite!" at every provocation,--whenever the +current bore unusually against her line, when the floating hook dragged +bottom or encountered a twig. + +"Jupiter!" said John, growing impatient at the idle drifting of his +cork. "I can't stand this, Elsie. You girls stop talking. You chatter +like magpies; you scare the fish. Girls oughtn't ever to go fishing." + +Jacob Isaac snickered, and remarked _sotto voce_: "He talks hisse'f maw +'n the res' of the ladies." + +Elsie did not heed John's attack. Her eye was riveted on her bobbing +cork; her cheeks were glowing with excitement; her heart was beating +wildly. There was a pulling at her line. + +"Keep quiet!" she called. "I've got a bite." + +"You would have, if I could get at your arm," said John, who didn't +believe she had a bite. + +"I have, truly," she said, excitedly. "Look!" + +All came tramping, crowding about her. + +"I feel him pull," she said, eagerly. + +"Well, get him out," said Luke. + +"Shall I pull him or jerk him?" Elsie was nearly breathless. + +"If I knew about his size, I could tell you," said Luke. "If he's big, +give him a dignified pull; if he's a little chap, jerk him; no business +to be little." + +"Oh! I'm afraid it will hurt him," said Puss. + +"Out with him!" said Luke. + +"I'm afraid the line will break," said Elsie, all in a quiver. + +"No, it wont," said John. + +"The rod might snap," said Elsie. + +"Here, let me take the rod," John proposed. + +"No, no; I'm going to catch the fish myself," Elsie said, in vehement +protest. + +"Then jerk, sharp and strong," her brother said. + +Elsie made ready; steadied her eager brain; planted her feet firmly; +braced her muscles by her will; and then, with a shriek, threw up her +rod, "as high as the sky," Puss said. There was a fleeting vision of a +dripping white-bellied fish going skyward; and then a faint thud was +heard. + +"She's thrown it a half-mile, or less, in the bushes," said Luke. + +"And there's her hook in the top of that tree," said John. "What gumps +girls are when you take them out-of-doors!" + +All went into the bushes to look for the astonished fish. They looked, +and looked, and looked; listened for its beating and flopping against +the ground. + +After a while, Luke said he thought it must be one of the climbing fish +described by Agassiz, and that it had gone up a tree. + +"I mos' found it twice't; but it was a frog an' a lizar', 'stead uv the +fish," said Jacob Isaac. + +To this day, it remains a mystery where Elsie's fish went to. + +Jacob Isaac climbed the tree to rescue Elsie's hook and line, while the +other boys went down the stream to find a cat-fish hole that they had +heard of. + +"Don't pull at the line that way," Puss said to the thrasher in the +tree-top; "you'll break it. There, the hook is caught on that twig. You +must go out on the limb and unhitch it." + +"Lim' hangs over the watto," Jacob Isaac said; but he crawled out on it, +and reached for the hook. + +Then Elsie shrieked, for crashing through the branches came Jacob Isaac, +and splashed back-foremost into the water. Then there was confusion. +Jacob called to the girls to help him; they called to the boys to help; +the boys, ignorant of the accident, shouted back that they were going on +to where they could have quiet, and went tramping away. Then Elsie tried +to tell Jacob Isaac how to swim, while Puss Leek darted off to where the +horses were tethered. She mounted the one she had ridden--a gentle +thing, aged eighteen. Then she came crashing through the bushes and +brush, clucking and jerking the bridle, dashed down the bank, and +plunged into the stream. + +[Illustration: "HE KNELT ON THE BANK TO FIX HIS BAIT."] + +Elsie held her breath at the sight. The water rose to the flanks, but +Puss kept her head steady, sat her saddle coolly, and, when Jacob Isaac +appeared, put out a resolute hand, and got hold of his +jacket,--speaking, meanwhile, a soothing word to the horse, which was +now drinking. She got the boy's head above water. + +"I'll hold on to you; and you must hold on to the stirrup and to the +horse's mane," she said. + +Jacob Isaac, without a word, got hold as directed. Puss held on with a +good grip, as she had promised, and the careful old horse pawed through +the water to the bank--only a few yards distant, by the way. + +"Thankee, Miss Puss," is what Jacob Isaac said, as he stretched himself +on a log to dry. + +"Puss, you're a hero," is what Elsie said, adding immediately: "Those +hateful boys! Great protectors they are!" + +John had found up-stream a deep hole in the shade of some large trees. +Just above it the creek tumbled and foamed over a rocky bed. John said +to Luke: "It just empties the fish in here by the basketfuls. All we've +got to do is to empty 'em out,"--and he knelt on the bank to fix his +bait. + +But Luke was not satisfied. "You'll never catch any fish there," said +he. "The current's too swift." And off went he, to look for a likelier +place. + +Yet neither of the boys had better luck than when with the girls, and +both soon went back to them. When Elsie's vivid account of the rescue +had been given, the boys stared at Puss with a new interest, as though +she had undergone some transformation in their brief absence. + +Then somebody suggested that they must hurry up and catch something for +dinner. So all five dropped hooks into the water, everybody pledged to +silence, Fishing was now business; it meant dinner or no dinner. + +For some moments, the fishers sat or stood in statuesque silence, eyes +on the corks. Then Jacob Isaac showed signs of excitement. + +"I's got a fish, show's yer bawn," he called, dancing about on the bank. + +"Let me see it," John challenged. + +"Aint pulled it out yit," said Jacob Isaac, jumping and capering. + +"What's the matter with you? What are you cavorting about in that style +for?" John asked. + +"Playin' 'im!" answered Jacob Isaac, running backward and forward, and +every other way. + +"Is that the way they play a fish?" Elsie said, gazing. "I never knew +before how they did it." + +She went over to where the jubilant fisherman was yet skipping about, +and asked if she might play the fish a while. + +"Law, Miss Elsie! he'd pull yo' overboa'd! Yo' couldn't hol' 'im no maw +'n nuffin. He's mighty strong; stronges' fish ever did see." + +But Elsie teased till Jacob Isaac gave the rod into her hand, when she +danced forward and back, chassé-ed, and executed other figures of a +quadrille, till Puss Leek came up to play the fish. She wasn't so much +like a katydid as Elsie, or so much like a wired jumping-jack as Jacob +Isaac. She played the fish so awkwardly that John came up and took the +rod from her hand. He had no sooner felt the pull at the line than he +began to laugh and "pshaw! pshaw!" and said that all in that party were +gumps and geese, except himself and Luke. + +"You wouldn't except Luke," Elsie interrupted, "if he wasn't a big boy. +You'd call him a gump and a goose, if he was a girl." + +"If he was a girl, he would be a gump and a goose," said this saucy +John. "This fish," he continued, "which you've been playing, is a piece +of brush. Oh! how you did play it! This is the way that Jacob Isaac +played it." John jumped and danced and hopped and strutted and plunged, +till everybody was screaming with laughter. "And this is the way that +Elsie played it." He got hold of his coat-skirts after the manner of an +affected girl with her dress; then he hugged the rod to his bosom, and +capered, flitted, pranced. Then, having reproduced Puss Leek's +"playing," he said, grandly: "I shall now proceed to land this monster +of the deep." + +"He made a great show of getting ready, and then pulled, pulled, pulled, +pulled,--when out and up there came, not the brush everybody was +expecting, but a fine, beautiful fish. + +You ought to have heard, then, the cheers of those surprised boys and +girls! Jacob Isaac danced, turned somersaults, walked on his hands, and +for one supreme half-second stood on his head. + +"Looks like he was playing a whale or a sea-serpent," said Luke, between +his bursts of laughter. + +"You're all playing a fool that you've caught," said John, who had +joined in the laugh against himself, "and you've a right to." + +[Illustration: JOHN AND HIS VELOCIPEDE. + +1.--HE GETS A GOOD START, + +2.--HAS A FINE RUN DOWN-HILL, + +3.--AND COMES TO A SUDDEN STOP.] + + + + +HOW TO TRAVEL. + +BY SUSAN ANNA BROWN. + + +This article does not refer to the journey to Europe, toward which +almost all young people are looking. When the opportunity for foreign +travel comes, there are plenty of guide-books and letters from abroad +which will tell you just what to take with you, and what you ought to do +in every situation. This is for short, every-day trips, which people +take without much thought; but as there is a right and a wrong way of +doing even little things, young folks may as well take care that they +receive and give the most pleasure possible in a short journey, and +then, when the trip across the ocean comes, they will not be annoying +themselves and others by continual mistakes. + +As packing a trunk is usually the first preparation for a trip, we will +begin with that. + +It is a very good way to collect what is most important before you +begin, so that you may not leave out any necessary article. Think over +what you will be likely to need; for a little care before you start may +save you a great deal of inconvenience in the end. Be sure, before you +begin, that your trunk is in good order, and that you have the key. And +when you shut it for the last time, do not leave the straps sticking out +upon the outside. Put your heavy things at the bottom, packing them +tightly, so that they will not rattle about when the trunk is reversed. +Put the small articles in the tray. Anything which will be likely to be +scratched or defaced by rubbing, should be wrapped in a handkerchief and +laid among soft things. If you must carry anything breakable, do it up +carefully, and put it in the center of the trunk, packing clothing +closely about it. Bottles should have the corks tied in with strong +twine. Put them near articles which cannot be injured by the contents, +if a breakage occurs. Tack on your trunk a card with your permanent +address. As this card is to be consulted only if the trunk is lost, it +is not necessary to be constantly changing it. Take in the +traveling-bag, pins and a needle and thread, so that, in case of any +accident to your clothes, they can be repaired without troubling any one +else. A postal-card and a pencil and paper take up but little room, and +may be very convenient. The best way to carry your lunch is in a +pasteboard box, which can be thrown away after you have disposed of the +contents. + +Put your money in an inner pocket, reserving in your purse only what you +will be likely to need on the way, so that you may be able to press your +way through a crowd without fear of pickpockets. Your purse should also +contain your name and address. + +Try to be ready, so that you will not be hurried at the last moment; and +this does not mean that it is necessary to be at the station a long time +before the train leaves. To be punctual does not mean to be _too early_, +but to be just early enough. + +Try to find out, before you start, what train and car you ought to take, +and have your trunk properly checked. Put the check in some safe place, +but first look at the number, so that you may identify the check if lost +by you and found by others. Have your ticket where you can easily get +it, and need not be obliged to appear, when the conductor comes, as if +it was a perfect surprise to you that he should ask for it. + +Of course, you have a right to the best seat which is vacant, and, if +there is plenty of room, you can put your bundles beside or opposite +you; but remember that you have only paid for one seat, and be ready at +once to make room for another passenger, if necessary, without acting as +though you were conferring a favor. + +If you have several packages, and wish to put any of them in the rack +over your head, you will be less likely to forget them, if you put all +together, than you will if you keep a part in your hand. + +If you _must_ read in the cars, never in any circumstances take a book +that has not fair, clear type; and stop reading at the earliest approach +of twilight. If, as you read, you hold your ticket, or some other plain +piece of paper, under the line you are reading, sliding it down as you +proceed, you will find that you can read almost as rapidly, and with +much less injury to your eyes. A newspaper is the worst reading you can +have, as the print is usually indistinct, and it is impossible to hold +it still. + +You may not care to read in the cars when in motion, but it is +convenient to have a book with you, in case the train should be delayed. + +If your friends accompany you to the station, be careful that your last +words are not too personal or too loud. Young people are apt to overlook +this, and thus sometimes make themselves ridiculous before the other +passengers by joking and laughing in a way which might be perfectly +proper at home, but which before a company of strangers is not in good +taste. + +If you meet acquaintances, do not call out their names so distinctly as +to introduce them to the other passengers, as it is never pleasant for +people to have the attention of strangers called to them in that way. If +you are alone, do not be too ready to make acquaintances. Reply politely +to any civil remark or offer of assistance, but do not allow yourself to +be drawn into conversation, unless it is with some one of whose +trustworthiness you are reasonably sure, and even then do not forget +that you are talking to a perfect stranger. + +If you cannot have everything just as you prefer, remember that you are +in a public conveyance, and that the other passengers have as much right +to their way as you have to yours. If you find that your open window +annoys your neighbor, do not refuse to shut it; and if the case is +reversed, do not complain, unless you are really afraid of taking cold, +and cannot conveniently change your seat. Above all things, do not get +into a dispute about it, like the two women, one of whom declared that +she should die if the window was open, and the other responded that she +should stifle if it was shut, until one of the passengers requested the +conductor to open it a while and kill one, and then shut it and kill the +other, that the rest might have peace. + +There are few situations where the disposition is more thoroughly shown +than it is in traveling. A long journey is considered by some people to +be a perfect test of the temper. There are many ways in which an +unselfish person will find an opportunity to be obliging. It is +surprising to see how people who consider themselves kind and polite +members of society can sometimes forget all their good manners in the +cars, showing a perfect disregard of the comfort--and even the +rights--of others, which would banish them from decent society if shown +elsewhere. + +To return to particular directions: Do not entertain those who are +traveling with you by constant complaints of the dust or the heat or the +cold. The others are probably as much annoyed by these things as you +are, and fault-finding will only make them the more unpleasant to all. +Be careful what you say about those near you, as a thoughtless remark to +a friend in too loud a tone may cause a real heartache. Many a weary +mother has been pained by hearing complaints of a fretful child, whose +crying most probably distresses her more than any one else. Instead of +saying, "Why will people travel with babies?" remember that it is +sometimes unavoidable, and do not disfigure your face by a frown at the +disturbance, but try to do what you can to make the journey pleasant for +those around you, at least by a serene and cheerful face. A person who +really wishes to be helpful to others, will find plenty of opportunities +to "lend a hand" without becoming conspicuous in any way. + +Do not ask too many questions of other passengers. Keep your eyes and +ears open, and you will know as much as the rest do. If you wish to +inquire about anything, let it be of the conductor, whose business it is +to answer you, and do not detain him unnecessarily. Remember what he +tells you, that you may not be like the woman Gail Hamilton describes, +who asked the conductor the same question every time he came around, as +if she thought he had undergone a moral change during his absence, and +might answer her more truthfully. + +If you get out of the car at any station on your way, be sure to observe +which car it was, and which train, so that you need not go about +inquiring where you belong when you wish to return to your seat. + +A large proportion of the accidents which happen every year are caused +by carelessness. Young people are afraid of seeming timid and anxious, +and will sometimes, in avoiding this, risk their lives very foolishly. +They step from the train before it has fairly stopped, or put their +heads out of the window when the car is in motion, or rest the elbow on +the sill of an open window in such a way that a passing train may cause +serious, if not fatal, injury. Sometimes they pass carelessly from one +car to another when the train is still, forgetting that it may start at +any moment and throw them off their balance. Many similar exposures can +be avoided by a little care and thought. + +These are very plain, simple rules, which it may be supposed are already +known to every one; but a little observation will show that they are not +always put in practice. + +A great deal has been left unsaid here on the advantages and pleasures +of travel; but, without a knowledge of the simple details we have given, +one will be sure to miss much of the culture and enjoyment which might +otherwise be gained by it. + +[Illustration: AN EXCITING RIDE.] + + + + +THE SWALLOWS. + +BY DORA READ GOODALE. + + + Dear birds that greet us with the spring, + That fly along the sunny blue, + That hover round your last year's nests, + Or cut the shining heavens thro', + That skim along the meadow grass, + Among the flowers sweet and fair, + That croon upon the pointed roof, + Or, quiv'ring, balance in the air; + Ye heralds of the summer days, + As quick ye dart across the lea, + Tho' other birds be fairer, yet + The dearest of all birds are ye. + + Dear as the messengers of spring + Before the buds have opened wide, + Dear when our other birds are here, + Dear in the burning summertide; + But when the lonely autumn wind + About the flying forest grieves, + In vain we look for you, and find-- + Your empty nests beneath the eaves. + + + + +UNDER THE LILACS + +BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT. + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +BOWS AND ARROWS. + + +If Sancho's abduction made a stir, one may easily imagine with what +warmth and interest he was welcomed back when his wrongs and wanderings +were known. For several days he held regular levees, that curious boys +and sympathizing girls might see and pity the changed and curtailed dog. +Sancho behaved with dignified affability, and sat upon his mat in the +coach-house pensively eying his guests, and patiently submitting to +their caresses; while Ben and Thorny took turns to tell the few tragical +facts which were not shrouded in the deepest mystery. If the interesting +sufferer could only have spoken, what thrilling adventures and +hair-breadth escapes he might have related. But, alas! he was dumb, and +the secrets of that memorable month never were revealed. + +The lame paw soon healed, the dingy color slowly yielded to many +washings, the woolly coat began to knot up into little curls, a new +collar handsomely marked made him a respectable dog, and Sancho was +himself again. But it was evident that his sufferings were not +forgotten; his once sweet temper was a trifle soured, and, with a few +exceptions, he had lost his faith in mankind. Before, he had been the +most benevolent and hospitable of dogs; now, he eyed all strangers +suspiciously, and the sight of a shabby man made him growl and bristle +up, as if the memory of his wrongs still burned hotly within him. + +Fortunately, his gratitude was stronger than his resentment, and he +never seemed to forget that he owed his life to Betty,--running to meet +her whenever she appeared, instantly obeying her commands, and suffering +no one to molest her when he walked watchfully beside her, with her hand +upon his neck, as they had walked out of the almost fatal back-yard +together, faithful friends forever. + +Miss Celia called them little Una and her lion, and read the pretty +story to the children when they wondered what she meant. Ben, with great +pains, taught the dog to spell "Betty," and surprised her with a display +of this new accomplishment, which gratified her so much that she was +never tired of seeing Sanch paw the five red letters into place, then +come and lay his nose in her hand, as if he added: "That's the name of +my dear mistress." + +Of course Bab was glad to have everything pleasant and friendly again, +but in a little dark corner of her heart there was a drop of envy, and a +desperate desire to do something which would make every one in her small +world like and praise her as they did Betty. Trying to be as good and +gentle did not satisfy her; she must _do_ something brave or surprising, +and no chance for distinguishing herself in that way seemed likely to +appear. Betty was as fond as ever, and the boys were very kind to her; +but she felt that they both liked "little Betcinda," as they called her, +best, because she found Sanch, and never seemed to know that she had +done anything brave in defending him against all odds. Bab did not tell +any one how she felt, but endeavored to be amiable while waiting for her +chance to come, and when it did arrive made the most of it, though there +was nothing heroic to add a charm. + +Miss Celia's arm had been doing very well, but it would, of course, be +useless for some time longer. Finding that the afternoon readings amused +herself as much as they did the children, she kept them up, and brought +out all her old favorites, enjoying a double pleasure in seeing that her +young audience relished them as much as she did when a child; for to all +but Thorny they were brand new. Out of one of these stories came much +amusement for all, and satisfaction for one of the party. + +"Celia, did you bring our old bows?" asked her brother, eagerly, as she +put down the book from which she had been reading Miss Edgeworth's +capital story of "Waste not Want not; or, Two Strings to your Bow." + +"Yes, I brought all the playthings we left stored away in uncle's garret +when we went abroad. The bows are in the long box where you found the +mallets, fishing-rods and bats. The old quivers and a few arrows are +there also, I believe. What is the idea now?" asked Miss Celia in her +turn, as Thorny bounced up in a great hurry. + +"I'm going to teach Ben to shoot. Grand fun this hot weather, and by and +by we'll have an archery meeting, and you can give us a prize. Come on, +Ben. I've got plenty of whip-cord to rig up the bows, and then we'll +show the ladies some first-class shooting." + +"_I_ can't; never had a decent bow in my life. The little gilt one I +used to wave round when I was a Coopid wasn't worth a cent to go," +answered Ben, feeling as if that painted "prodigy" must have been a very +distant connection of the respectable young person now walking off +arm-in-arm with the lord of the manor. + +"Practice is all you want. I used to be a capital shot, but I don't +believe I could hit anything but a barn-door now," answered Thorny, +encouragingly. + +As the boys vanished, with much tramping of boots and banging of doors, +Bab observed, in the young-ladyish tone she was apt to use when she +composed her active little mind and body to the feminine task of +needlework: + +"We used to make bows of whalebone when we were little girls, but we are +too old to play so now." + +"I'd like to, but Bab wont, 'cause she's most 'leven years old," said +honest Betty, placidly rubbing her needle in the "ruster," as she called +the family emery-bag. + +"Grown people enjoy archery, as bow and arrow shooting is called, +especially in England. I was reading about it the other day, and saw a +picture of Queen Victoria with her bow, so you needn't be ashamed of it, +Bab," said Miss Celia, rummaging among the books and papers in her sofa +corner to find the magazine she wanted, thinking a new play would be as +good for the girls as for the big boys. + +"A queen, just think!" and Betty looked much impressed by the fact, as +well as uplifted by the knowledge that her friend did not agree in +thinking her silly because she preferred playing with a harmless +home-made toy to firing stones or snapping a pop-gun. + +"In old times, bows and arrows were used to fight great battles with, +and we read how the English archers shot so well that the air was dark +with arrows, and many men were killed." + +"So did the Indians have 'em, and I've got some stone +arrow-heads,--found 'em by the river, in the dirt!" cried Bab, waking +up, for battles interested her more than queens. + +"While you finish your stints I'll tell you a little story about the +Indians," said Miss Celia, lying back on her cushions, while the needles +began to go again, for the prospect of a story could not be resisted. + +"A century or more ago, in a small settlement on the banks of the +Connecticut,--which means the Long River of Pines,--there lived a little +girl called Matty Kilburn. On a hill stood the fort where the people ran +for protection in any danger, for the country was new and wild, and more +than once the Indians had come down the river in their canoes and burned +the houses, killed men, and carried away women and children. Matty +lived alone with her father, but felt quite safe in the log-house, for +he was never far away. One afternoon, as the farmers were all busy in +their fields, the bell rang suddenly,--a sign that there was danger +near,--and, dropping their rakes or axes, the men hurried to their +houses to save wives and babies, and such few treasures as they could. +Mr. Kilburn caught up his gun with one hand and his little girl with the +other, and ran as fast as he could toward the fort. But before he could +reach it he heard a yell, and saw the red men coming up from the river. +Then he knew it would be in vain to try to get in, so he looked about +for a safe place to hide Matty till he could come for her. He was a +brave man, and could fight, so he had no thought of hiding while his +neighbors needed help; but the dear little daughter must be cared for +first. + +In the corner of the lonely pasture which they dared not cross, stood a +big hollow elm, and there the farmer hastily hid Matty, dropping her +down into the dim nook, round the mouth of which young shoots had grown, +so that no one would have suspected any hole was there. + +'Lie still, child, till I come; say your prayers and wait for father,' +said the man, as he parted the leaves for a last glance at the small, +frightened face looking up at him. + +'Come soon,' whispered Matty, and tried to smile bravely, as a stout +settler's girl should. + +"Mr. Kilburn went away, and was taken prisoner in the fight, carried off, +and for years no one knew if he was alive or dead. People missed Matty, +but supposed she was with her father, and never expected to see her +again. A great while afterward the poor man came back, having escaped +and made his way through the wilderness to his old home. His first +question was for Matty, but no one had seen her; and when he told where +he had left her, they shook their heads as if they thought he was crazy. +But they went to look, that he might be satisfied; and he was; for there +they found some little bones, some faded bits of cloth, and two rusty +silver buckles marked with Matty's name in what had once been her shoes. +An Indian arrow lay there, too, showing why she had never cried for +help, but waited patiently so long for father to come and find her." + +If Miss Celia expected to see the last bit of hem done when her story +ended, she was disappointed; for not a dozen stitches had been taken. +Betty was using her crash-towel for a handkerchief, and Bab's lay on the +ground as she listened with snapping eyes to the little tragedy. + +"Is it true?" asked Betty, hoping to find relief in being told that it +was not. + +"Yes; I have seen the tree, and the mound where the fort was, and the +rusty buckles in an old farm-house where other Kilburns live, near the +spot where it all happened," answered Miss Celia, looking out the +picture of Victoria to console her auditors. + +"We'll play that in the old apple-tree. Betty can scrooch down, and I'll +be the father, and put leaves on her, and then I'll be a great Injun and +fire at her. I can make arrows, and it will be fun, wont it?" cried Bab, +charmed with the new drama in which she could act the leading parts. + +"No, it wont! I don't like to go in a cobwebby hole, and have you play +kill me. I'll make a nice fort of hay, and be all safe, and you can put +Dinah down there for Matty. I don't love her any more, now her last eye +has tumbled out, and you may shoot her just as much as you like." + +Before Bab could agree to this satisfactory arrangement, Thorny +appeared, singing, as he aimed at a fat robin, whose red waistcoat +looked rather warm and winterish that August day: + + "So he took up his bow, + And he feathered his arrow, + And said: 'I will shoot + This little cock-sparrow.'" + +"But he didn't," chirped the robin, flying away, with a contemptuous +flirt of his rusty-black tail. + +"That is exactly what you must promise _not_ to do, boys. Fire away at +your targets as much as you like, but do not harm any living creature," +said Miss Celia, as Ben followed armed and equipped with her own +long-unused accouterments. + +"Of course we wont if you say so; but, with a little practice, I _could_ +bring down a bird as well as that fellow you read to me about with his +woodpeckers and larks and herons," answered Thorny, who had much enjoyed +the article, while his sister lamented over the destruction of the +innocent birds. + +"You'd do well to borrow the Squire's old stuffed owl for a target; +there would be some chance of your hitting him, he is so big," said his +sister, who always made fun of the boy when he began to brag. + +Thorny's only reply was to send his arrow straight up so far out of +sight that it was a long while coming down again to stick quivering in +the ground near by, whence Sancho brought it in his mouth, evidently +highly approving of a game in which he could join. + +"Not bad for a beginning. Now, Ben, fire away." + +But Ben's experience with bows was small, and, in spite of his +praiseworthy efforts to imitate his great exemplar, the arrow only +turned a feeble sort of somersault, and descended perilously near Bab's +uplifted nose. + +"If you endanger other people's life and liberty in your pursuit of +happiness, I shall have to confiscate your arms, boys. Take the orchard +for your archery ground; that is safe, and we can see you as we sit +here. I wish I had two hands, so that I could paint you a fine, gay +target," and Miss Celia looked regretfully at the injured arm, which as +yet was of little use. + +"I wish you could shoot, too; you used to beat all the girls, and I was +proud of you," answered Thorny, with the air of a fond elder brother; +though, at the time he alluded to, he was about twelve, and hardly up to +his sister's shoulder. + +"Thank you. I shall be happy to give my place to Bab and Betty if you +will make them some bows and arrows; they could not use those long +ones." + +The young gentlemen did not take the hint as quickly as Miss Celia hoped +they would; in fact, both looked rather blank at the suggestion, as boys +generally do when it is proposed that girls--especially small +ones--shall join in any game they are playing. + +"P'r'aps it would be too much trouble," began Betty, in her winning +little voice. + +"I can make my own," declared Bab, with an independent toss of the head. + +"Not a bit; I'll make you the jolliest small bow that ever was, +Betcinda," Thorny hastened to say, softened by the appealing glance of +the little maid. + +"You can use mine, Bab; you've got such a strong fist, I guess you could +pull it," added Ben, remembering that it would not be amiss to have a +comrade who shot worse than he did, for he felt very inferior to Thorny +in many ways, and, being used to praise, had missed it very much since +he retired to private life. + +"I will be umpire, and brighten up the silver arrow I sometimes pin my +hair with, for a prize, unless we can find something better," proposed +Miss Celia, glad to see that question settled, and every prospect of the +new play being a pleasant amusement for the hot weather. + +It was astonishing how soon archery became the fashion in that town, for +the boys discussed it enthusiastically all that evening, formed the +"William Tell Club" next day, with Bab and Betty as honorary members, +and, before the week was out, nearly every lad was seen, like young +Norval, "With bended bow and quiver full of arrows," shooting away, with +a charming disregard of the safety of their fellow-citizens. Banished by +the authorities to secluded spots, the members of the club set up their +targets and practiced indefatigably, especially Ben, who soon discovered +that his early gymnastics had given him a sinewy arm and a true eye; +and, taking Sanch into partnership as picker-up, he got more shots out +of an hour than those who had to run to and fro. + +[Illustration: MATTY KILBURN AND HER FATHER AT THE TREE.] + +Thorny easily recovered much of his former skill, but his strength had +not fully returned, and he soon grew tired. Bab, on the contrary, threw +herself into the contest heart and soul, and tugged away at the new bow +Miss Celia gave her, for Ben's was too heavy. No other girls were +admitted, so the outsiders got up a club of their own, and called it +"The Victoria," the name being suggested by the magazine article, which +went the rounds as general guide and reference-book. Bab and Betty +belonged to this club also, and duly reported the doings of the boys, +with whom they had a right to shoot if they chose, but soon waived the +right, plainly seeing that their absence would be regarded in the light +of a favor. + +The archery fever raged as fiercely as the baseball epidemic had done +before it, and not only did the magazine circulate freely, but Miss +Edgeworth's story, which was eagerly read, and so much admired that the +girls at once mounted green ribbons, and the boys kept yards of +whip-cord in their pockets, like the provident Benjamin of the tale. + +Every one enjoyed the new play very much, and something grew out of it +which was a lasting pleasure to many, long after the bows and arrows +were forgotten. Seeing how glad the children were to get a new story, +Miss Celia was moved to send a box of books--old and new--to the town +library, which was but scantily supplied, as country libraries are apt +to be. This donation produced a good effect; for other people hunted up +all the volumes they could spare for the same purpose, and the dusty +shelves in the little room behind the post-office filled up amazingly. +Coming in vacation time they were hailed with delight, and ancient books +of travel, as well as modern tales, were feasted upon by happy young +folks, with plenty of time to enjoy them in peace. + +The success of her first attempt at being a public benefactor pleased +Miss Celia very much, and suggested other ways in which she might serve +the quiet town, where she seemed to feel that work was waiting for her +to do. She said little to any one but the friend over the sea, yet +various plans were made then that blossomed beautifully by and by. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +SPEAKING PIECES. + + +The first of September came all too soon, and school began. Among the +boys and girls who went trooping up to the "East Corner knowledge-box," +as they called it, was our friend Ben, with a pile of neat books under +his arm. He felt very strange, and decidedly shy; but put on a bold +face, and let nobody guess that, though nearly thirteen, he had never +been to school before. Miss Celia had told his story to Teacher, and +she, being a kind little woman, with young brothers of her own, made +things as easy for him as she could. In reading and writing he did very +well, and proudly took his place among lads of his own age; but when it +came to arithmetic and geography, he had to go down a long way, and +begin almost at the beginning, in spite of Thorny's efforts to "tool him +along fast." It mortified him sadly, but there was no help for it; and +in some of the classes he had dear little Betty to condole with him when +he failed, and smile contentedly when he got above her, as he soon began +to do,--for she was not a quick child, and plodded through First Parts +long after sister Bab was flourishing away among girls much older than +herself. + +Fortunately, Ben was a short boy and a clever one, so he did not look +out of place among the ten and eleven year olders, and fell upon his +lessons with the same resolution with which he used to take a new leap, +or practice patiently till he could touch his heels with his head. That +sort of exercise had given him a strong, elastic little body; this kind +was to train his mind, and make its faculties as useful, quick and sure, +as the obedient muscles, nerves and eye, which kept him safe where +others would have broken their necks. He knew this, and found much +consolation in the fact that, though mental arithmetic was a hopeless +task, he _could_ turn a dozen somersaults, and come up as steady as a +judge. When the boys laughed at him for saying that China was in Africa, +he routed them entirely by his superior knowledge of the animals +belonging to that wild country; and when "First class in reading" was +called, he marched up with the proud consciousness that the shortest boy +in it did better than tall Moses Towne or fat Sam Kitteridge. + +Teacher praised him all she honestly could, and corrected his many +blunders so quietly that he soon ceased to be a deep, distressful red +during recitation, and tugged away so manfully that no one could help +respecting him for his efforts, and trying to make light of his +failures. So the first hard week went by, and though the boy's heart had +sunk many a time at the prospect of a protracted wrestle with his own +ignorance, he made up his mind to win, and went at it again on the +Monday with fresh zeal, all the better and braver for a good, cheery +talk with Miss Celia in the Sunday evening twilight. + +He did not tell her one of his greatest trials, however, because he +thought she could not help him there. Some of the children rather looked +down upon him, called him "tramp" and "beggar," twitted him with having +been a circus boy, and lived in a tent like a gypsy. They did not mean +to be cruel, but did it for the sake of teasing, never stopping to think +how much such sport can make a fellow-creature suffer. Being a plucky +fellow, Ben pretended not to mind; but he did feel it keenly, because +he wanted to start afresh, and be like other boys. He was not ashamed of +the old life, but finding those around him disapproved of it, he was +glad to let it be forgotten,--even by himself,--for his latest +recollections were not happy ones, and present comforts made past +hardships seem harder than before. + +He said nothing of this to Miss Celia, but she found it out, and liked +him all the better for keeping some of his small worries to himself. Bab +and Betty came over on Monday afternoon full of indignation at some +boyish insult Sam had put upon Ben, and finding them too full of it to +enjoy the reading, Miss Celia asked what the matter was. Then both +little girls burst out in a rapid succession of broken exclamations +which did not give a very clear idea of the difficulty: + +"Sam didn't like it because Ben jumped farther than he did----" + +"And he said Ben ought to be in the poor-house." + +"And Ben said _he_ ought to be in a pig-pen." + +"So he had!--such a greedy thing, bringing lovely big apples and not +giving any one a single bite!" + +"Then he was mad, and we all laughed, and he said, 'Want to fight?'" + +"And Ben said, 'No, thanky, not much fun in pounding a feather-bed.'" + +"Oh, he was _awfully_ mad then and chased Ben up the big maple." + +"He's there now, for Sam wont let him come down till he takes it all +back." + +"Ben wont, and I do believe he'll have to stay up all night," said +Betty, distressfully. + +"He wont care, and we'll have fun firing up his supper. Nut-cakes and +cheese will go splendidly; and may be baked pears wouldn't get smashed, +he's such a good catch," added Bab, decidedly relishing the prospect. + +"If he does not come by tea-time we will go and look after him. It seems +to me I have heard something about Sam's troubling him before, haven't +I?" asked Miss Celia, ready to defend her protégé against all unfair +persecution. + +"Yes'm, Sam and Mose are always plaguing Ben. They are big boys and we +can't make them stop. I wont let the girls do it, and the little boys +don't dare to, since Teacher spoke to them," answered Bab. + +"Why does not Teacher speak to the big ones?" + +"Ben wont tell of them or let us. He says he'll fight his own battles +and hates tell-tales. I guess his wont like to have us tell you, but I +don't care, for it _is_ too bad," and Betty looked ready to cry over her +friend's tribulations. + +"I'm glad you did, for I will attend to it and stop this sort of +thing," said Miss Celia, after the children had told some of the +tormenting speeches which had tried poor Ben. + +Just then, Thorny appeared, looking much amused, and the little girls +both called out in a breath: "Did you see Ben and get him down?" + +"He got himself down in the neatest way you can imagine," and Thorny +laughed at the recollection. + +"Where is Sam?" asked Bab. + +"Staring up at the sky to see where Ben has flown to." + +"Oh, tell about it!" begged Betty. + +"Well, I came along and found Ben treed, and Sam stoning him. I stopped +that at once and told the 'fat boy' to be off. He said he wouldn't till +Ben begged his pardon, and Ben said he wouldn't do it if he stayed up +for a week. I was just preparing to give that rascal a scientific +thrashing when a load of hay came along and Ben dropped on to it so +quietly that Sam, who was trying to bully me, never saw him go. It +tickled me so, I told Sam I guessed I'd let him off that time, and +walked away, leaving him to hunt for Ben and wonder where the dickens he +had vanished to." + +The idea of Sam's bewilderment tickled the others as much as Thorny, and +they all had a good laugh over it before Miss Celia asked: + +"Where has Ben gone now?" + +"Oh, he'll take a little ride and then slip down and race home full of +the fun of it. But I've got to settle Sam. I wont have our Ben hectored +by any one----" + +"But yourself," put in his sister, with a sly smile, for Thorny _was_ +rather domineering at times. + +"He doesn't mind my poking him up now and then, it's good for him, and I +always take his part against other people. Sam is a bully and so is +Mose, and I'll thrash them both if they don't stop." + +Anxious to curb her brother's pugnacious propensities, Miss Celia +proposed milder measures, promising to speak to the boys herself if +there was any more trouble. + +"I have been thinking that we should have some sort of merry-making for +Ben on his birthday. My plan was a very simple one, but I will enlarge +it and have all the young folks come, and Ben shall be king of the fun. +He needs encouragement in well-doing, for he does try, and now the first +hard part is nearly over I am sure he will get on bravely. If we treat +him with respect and show our regard for him, others will follow our +example, and that will be better than fighting about it." + +"So it will! What shall we do to make our party tip-top?" asked Thorny, +falling into the trap at once, for he dearly loved to get up +theatricals, and had not had any for a long time. + +"We will plan something splendid, a 'grand combination,' as you used to +call your droll mixtures of tragedy, comedy, melodrama and farce," +answered his sister, with her head already full of lively plots. + +"We'll startle the natives. I don't believe they ever saw a play in all +their lives, hey Bab?" + +"I've seen a circus." + +"We dress up and do 'Babes in the Wood,'" added Betty, with dignity. + +"Pho! that's nothing. I'll show you acting that will make your hair +stand on end, and you shall act too. Bab will be capital for the naughty +girls," began Thorny, excited by the prospect of producing a sensation +on the boards, and always ready to tease the girls. + +Before Betty could protest that she did not want her hair to stand up, +or Bab could indignantly decline the rôle offered her, a shrill whistle +was heard, and Miss Celia whispered, with a warning look: + +"Hush! Ben is coming, and he must not know anything about this yet." + +The next day was Wednesday, and in the afternoon Miss Celia went to hear +the children "speak pieces," though it was very seldom that any of the +busy matrons and elder sisters found time or inclination for these +displays of youthful oratory. Miss Celia and Mrs. Moss were all the +audience on this occasion, but Teacher was both pleased and proud to see +them, and a general rustle went through the school as they came in, all +the girls turning from the visitors to nod at Bab and Betty, who smiled +all over their round faces to see "Ma" sitting up "side of Teacher," and +the boys grinned at Ben, whose heart began to beat fast at the thought +of his dear mistress coming so far to hear him say his piece. + +Thorny had recommended Marco Bozzaris, but Ben preferred John Gilpin, +and ran the famous race with much spirit, making excellent time in some +parts and having to be spurred a little in others, but came out all +right, though quite breathless at the end, sitting down amid great +applause, some of which, curiously enough, seemed to come from outside; +which in fact it did, for Thorny was bound to hear but would not come +in, lest his presence should abash one orator at least. + +Other pieces followed, all more or less patriotic and warlike, among the +boys; sentimental among the girls. Sam broke down in his attempt to give +one of Webster's great speeches. Little Cy Fay boldly attacked + + "Again to the battle, Achaians!" + +and shrieked his way through it in a shrill, small voice, bound to do +honor to the older brother who had trained him, even if he broke a +vessel in the attempt. Billy chose a well-worn piece, but gave it a new +interest by his style of delivery; for his gestures were so spasmodic he +looked as if going into a fit, and he did such astonishing things with +his voice that one never knew whether a howl or a growl would come next. +When + + "The woods against a stormy sky + Their giant branches tossed;" + +Billy's arms went round like the sails of a windmill; the "hymns of +lofty cheer" not only "shook the depths of the desert gloom," but the +small children on their little benches, and the schoolhouse literally +rang "to the anthems of the free!" When "the ocean eagle soared," Billy +appeared to be going bodily up, and the "pines of the forest roared" as +if they had taken lessons of Van Amburgh's biggest lion. "Woman's +fearless eye" was expressed by a wild glare; "manhood's brow, severely +high," by a sudden clutch at the reddish locks falling over the orator's +hot forehead, and a sounding thump on his blue checked bosom told where +"the fiery heart of youth" was located. "What sought they thus afar?" he +asked, in such a natural and inquiring tone, with his eye fixed on Mamie +Peters, that the startled innocent replied, "Dunno," which caused the +speaker to close in haste, devoutly pointing a stubby finger upward at +the last line. + +This was considered the gem of the collection, and Billy took his seat +proudly conscious that his native town boasted an orator who, in time, +would utterly eclipse Edward Everett and Wendell Phillips. + +Sally Folsom led off with "The Coral Grove," chosen for the express +purpose of making her friend Almira Mullet start and blush, when she +recited the second line of that pleasing poem, + + "Where the purple _mullet_ and gold-fish rove." + +One of the older girls gave Wordsworth's "Lost Love" in a pensive tone, +clasping her hands and bringing out the "O" as if a sudden twinge of +toothache seized her when she ended. + + "But she is in her grave, and O, + The difference to me!" + +Bab always chose a funny piece, and on this afternoon set them all +laughing by the spirit with which she spoke the droll poem, "Pussy's +Class," which some of my young readers may have read. The "meou" and the +"sptzzs" were capital, and when the "fond mamma rubbed her nose," the +children shouted, for Miss Bab made a paw of her hand and ended with an +impromptu purr, which was considered the best imitation ever presented +to an appreciative public. Betty bashfully murmured "Little White +Lilly," swaying to and fro as regularly as if in no other way could the +rhymes be ground out of her memory. + +[Illustration: "THE OCEAN EAGLE SOARED."] + +"That is all, I believe. If either of the ladies would like to say a few +words to the children, I should be pleased to have them," said Teacher, +politely, pausing before she dismissed school with a song. + +"Please'm, I'd like to speak my piece," answered Miss Celia, obeying a +sudden impulse; and, stepping forward with her hat in her hand, she made +a pretty courtesy before she recited Mary Howitt's sweet little ballad, +"Mabel on Midsummer Day." + +She looked so young and merry, used such simple but expressive gestures, +and spoke in such a clear, soft voice that the children sat as if +spellbound, learning several lessons from this new teacher, whose +performance charmed them from beginning to end, and left a moral which +all could understand and carry away in that last verse: + + "'Tis good to make all duty sweet, + To be alert and kind; + 'Tis good, like Little Mabel, + To have a willing mind." + +Of course there was an enthusiastic clapping when Miss Celia sat down, +but even while hands applauded, consciences pricked, and undone tasks, +complaining words and sour faces seemed to rise up reproachfully before +many of the children, as well as their own faults of elocution. + +"Now we will sing," said Teacher, and a great clearing of throats +ensued, but before a note could be uttered, the half-open door swung +wide, and Sancho, with Ben's hat on, walked in upon his hind legs, and +stood with his paws meekly folded, while a voice from the entry sang +rapidly: + + "Benny had a little dog, + His fleece was white as snow, + And everywhere that Benny went + The dog was sure to go. + + He went into the school one day, + Which was against the rule; + It made the children laugh and play + To see a dog----" + +Mischievous Thorny got no further, for a general explosion of laughter +drowned the last words, and Ben's command "Out, you rascal!" sent Sanch +to the right-about in double-quick time. + +Miss Celia tried to apologize for her bad brother, and Teacher tried to +assure her that it didn't matter in the least as this was always a merry +time, and Mrs. Moss vainly shook her finger at her naughty daughters; +they as well as the others would have their laugh out, and only +partially sobered down when the bell rang for "Attention." They thought +they were to be dismissed, and repressed their giggles as well as they +could in order to get a good start for a vociferous roar when they got +out. But, to their great surprise, the pretty lady stood up again and +said, in her friendly way: + +"I just want to thank you for this pleasant little exhibition, and ask +leave to come again, I also wish to invite you all to my boy's birthday +party on Saturday week. The archery meeting is to be in the afternoon, +and both clubs will be there, I believe. In the evening we are going to +have some fun, when we can laugh as much as we please without breaking +any of the rules. In Ben's name I invite you, and hope you will all +come, for we mean to make this the happiest birthday he ever had." + +There were twenty pupils in the room, but the eighty hands and feet made +such a racket at this announcement that an outsider would have thought a +hundred children, at least, must have been at it. Miss Celia was a +general favorite because she nodded to all the girls, called the boys by +their last names, even addressing some of the largest as "Mr.," which +won their hearts at once, so that if she had invited them all to come +and be whipped they would have gone, sure that it was some delightful +joke. With what eagerness they accepted the present invitation one can +easily imagine, though they never guessed why she gave it in that way, +and Ben's face was a sight to see, he was so pleased and proud at the +honor done him that he did not know where to look, and was glad to rush +out with the other boys and vent his emotions in whoops of delight. He +knew that some little plot was being concocted for his birthday, but +never dreamed of anything so grand as asking the whole school, Teacher +and all. The effect of the invitation was seen with comical rapidity, +for the boys became overpowering in their friendly attentions to Ben. +Even Sam, fearing he might be left out, promptly offered the peaceful +olive-branch in the shape of a big apple, warm from his pocket, and Mose +proposed a trade in jack-knives which would be greatly to Ben's +advantage. But Thorny made the noblest sacrifice of all, for he said to +his sister, as they walked home together: + +"I'm not going to try for the prize at all. I shoot so much better than +the rest, having had more practice, you know, that it is hardly fair. +Ben and Billy are next best, and about even, for Ben's strong wrist +makes up for Billy's true eye, and both want to win. If I am out of the +way Ben stands a good chance, for the other fellows don't amount to +much." + +"Bab does; she shoots nearly as well as Ben, and wants to win even more +than he or Billy. She must have her chance at any rate." + +"So she may, but she wont do anything; girls can't, though it's good +exercise and pleases them to try." + +"If I had full use of both my arms I'd show you that girls _can_ do a +great deal when they like. Don't be too lofty, young man, for you may +have to come down," laughed Miss Celia, amused by his airs. + +"No fear," and Thorny calmly departed to set his targets for Ben's +practice. + +"We shall see," and from that moment Miss Celia made Bab her especial +pupil, feeling that a little lesson would be good for Mr. Thorny, who +rather lorded it over the other young people. There was a spice of +mischief in it, for Miss Celia was very young at heart, in spite of her +twenty-four years, and she was bound to see that her side had a fair +chance, believing that girls can do whatever they are willing to strive +patiently and wisely for. + +So she kept Bab at work early and late, giving her all the hints and +help she could with only one efficient hand, and Bab was delighted to +think she did well enough to shoot with the club. Her arms ached and her +fingers grew hard with twanging the bow, but she was indefatigable, and +being a strong, tall child of her age, with a great love of all athletic +sports, she got on fast and well, soon learning to send arrow after +arrow with ever increasing accuracy nearer and nearer to the bull's-eye. + +The boys took very little notice of her, being much absorbed in their +own affairs, but Betty did for Bab what Sancho did for Ben, and trotted +after arrows till her short legs were sadly tired, though her patience +never gave out. She was so sure Bab would win that she cared nothing +about her own success, practicing little and seldom hitting anything +when she tried. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +BEN'S BIRTHDAY. + + +A superb display of flags flapped gayly in the breeze on the September +morning when Ben proudly entered his teens. An irruption of bunting +seemed to have broken out all over the old house, for banners of every +shape and size, color and design flew from chimney-top and gable, porch +and gate-way, making the quiet place look as lively as a circus tent, +which was just what Ben most desired and delighted in. + +The boys had been up very early to prepare the show, and when it was +ready enjoyed it hugely, for the fresh wind made the pennons cut strange +capers. The winged lion of Venice looked as if trying to fly away home; +the Chinese dragon appeared to brandish his forked tail as he clawed at +the Burmese peacock; the double-headed eagle of Russia pecked at the +Turkey crescent with one beak, while the other seemed to be screaming to +the English royal beast, "Come on and lend a paw." In the hurry of +hoisting, the Siamese elephant got turned upside down, and now danced +gayly on his head, with the stars and stripes waving proudly over him. A +green flag with a yellow harp and sprig of shamrock hung in sight of the +kitchen window, and Katy, the cook, got breakfast to the tune of "St. +Patrick's day in the morning." Sancho's kennel was half hidden under a +rustling paper imitation of the gorgeous Spanish banner, and the scarlet +sun-and-moon flag of Arabia snapped and flaunted from the pole over the +coach-house, as a delicate compliment to Lita, Arabian horses being +considered the finest in the world. + +The little girls came out to see, and declared it was the loveliest +sight they ever beheld, while Thorny played "Hail Columbia" on his fife, +and Ben, mounting the gate-post, crowed long and loud like a happy +cockerel who had just reached his majority. He had been surprised and +delighted with the gifts he found in his room on awaking, and guessed +why Miss Celia and Thorny gave him such pretty things, for among them +was a match-box made like a mouse-trap. The doggy buttons and the horsey +whip were treasures indeed, for Miss Celia had not given them when they +first planned to do so, because Sancho's return seemed to be joy and +reward enough for that occasion. But he did not forget to thank Mrs. +Moss for the cake she sent him, nor the girls for the red mittens which +they had secretly and painfully knit. Bab's was long and thin, with a +very pointed thumb, Betty's short and wide, with a stubby thumb, and all +their mother's pulling and pressing could not make them look alike, to +the great affliction of the little knitters. Ben, however, assured them +that he rather preferred odd ones, as then he could always tell which +was right and which left. He put them on immediately and went about +cracking the new whip with an expression of content which was droll to +see, while the children followed after, full of admiration for the hero +of the day. + +They were very busy all the morning preparing for the festivities to +come, and as soon as dinner was over every one scrambled into his or her +best clothes as fast as possible, because, although invited to come at +two, impatient boys and girls were seen hovering about the avenue as +early as one. + +The first to arrive, however, was an uninvited guest, for just as Bab +and Betty sat down on the porch steps, in their stiff pink calico frocks +and white ruffled aprons, to repose a moment before the party came in, +a rustling was heard among the lilacs and out stepped Alfred Tennyson +Barlow, looking like a small Robin Hood, in a green blouse with a silver +buckle on his broad belt, a feather in his little cap and a bow in his +hand. + +"I have come to shoot. I heard about it. My papa told me what arching +meant. Will there be any little cakes? I like them." + +With these opening remarks the poet took a seat and calmly awaited a +response. The young ladies, I regret to say, giggled, then remembering +their manners, hastened to inform him that there _would_ be heaps of +cakes, also that Miss Celia would not mind his coming without an +invitation, they were quite sure. + +"She asked me to come that day. I have been very busy. I had measles. Do +you have them here?" asked the guest, as if anxious to compare notes on +the sad subject. + +"We had ours ever so long ago. What have you been doing besides having +measles?" said Betty, showing a polite interest. + +"I had a fight with a bumble-bee." + +"Who beat?" demanded Bab. + +"I did. I ran away and he couldn't catch me." + +"Can you shoot nicely?" + +"I hit a cow. She did not mind at all. I guess she thought it was a +fly." + +"Did your mother know you were coming?" asked Bab, feeling an interest +in runaways. + +"No; she is gone to drive, so I could not ask her." + +"It is very wrong to disobey. My Sunday-school book says that children +who are naughty that way never go to heaven," observed virtuous Betty, +in a warning tone. + +"I do not wish to go," was the startling reply. + +"Why not?" asked Betty, severely. + +"They don't have any dirt there. My mamma says so. I am fond of dirt. I +shall stay here where there is plenty of it," and the candid youth began +to grub in the mold with the satisfaction of a genuine boy. + +"I am afraid you're a very bad child." + +"Oh yes, I am. My papa often says so and he knows all about it," replied +Alfred with an involuntary wriggle suggestive of painful memories. Then, +as if anxious to change the conversation from its somewhat personal +channel, he asked, pointing to a row of grinning heads above the wall, +"Do you shoot at those?" + +Bab and Betty looked up quickly and recognized the familiar faces of +their friends peering down at them, like a choice collection of trophies +or targets. + +"I should think you'd be ashamed to peek before the party was ready!" +cried Bab, frowning darkly upon the merry young ladies. + +"Miss Celia told _us_ to come before two, and be ready to receive folks, +if she wasn't down," added Betty, importantly. + +"It is striking two now. Come along, girls," and over scrambled Sally +Folsom, followed by three or four kindred spirits, just as their hostess +appeared. + +"You look like Amazons storming a fort," she said, as the girls came up, +each carrying her bow and arrows, while green ribbons flew in every +direction. "How do you do, sir? I have been hoping you would call +again," added Miss Celia, shaking hands with the pretty boy, who +regarded with benign interest the giver of little cakes. + +Here a rush of boys took place, and further remarks were cut short, for +every one was in a hurry to begin. So the procession was formed at once, +Miss Celia taking the lead, escorted by Ben in the post of honor, while +the boys and girls paired off behind, arm in arm, bow on shoulder, in +martial array. Thorny and Billy were the band, and marched before, +fifing and drumming "Yankee Doodle" with a vigor which kept feet moving +briskly, made eyes sparkle, and young hearts dance under the gay gowns +and summer jackets. The interesting stranger was elected to bear the +prize, laid out on a red pin-cushion, and did so with great dignity, as +he went beside the standard-bearer, Cy Fay, who bore Ben's choicest +flag, snow white, with a green wreath surrounding a painted bow and +arrow, and with the letters W. T. C. done in red below. + +Such a merry march all about the place, out at the Lodge gate, up and +down the avenue, along the winding-paths till they halted in the orchard +where the target stood and seats were placed for the archers, while they +waited for their turns. Various rules and regulations were discussed, +and then the fun began. Miss Celia had insisted that the girls should be +invited to shoot with the boys, and the lads consented without much +concern, whispering to one another with condescending shrugs--"Let 'em +try, if they like, they can't do anything." + +There were various trials of skill before the great match came off, and +in these trials the young gentlemen discovered that two at least of the +girls _could_ do something, for Bab and Sally shot better than many of +the boys, and were well rewarded for their exertions by the change which +took place in the faces and conversation of their mates. + +"Why, Bab, you do as well as if I'd taught you myself," said Thorny, +much surprised and not altogether pleased at the little girl's skill. + +"A lady taught me, and I mean to beat every one of you," answered Bab, +saucily, while her sparkling eyes turned to Miss Celia with a +mischievous twinkle in them. + +"Not a bit of it," declared Thorny, stoutly; but he went to Ben and +whispered, "Do your best, old fellow, for sister has taught Bab all the +scientific points, and the little rascal is ahead of Billy." + +"She wont get ahead of _me_," said Ben, picking out his best arrow, and +trying the string of his bow with a confident air which re-assured +Thorny, who found it impossible to believe that a girl ever could, +would, or should excel a boy in anything he cared to try. + +It really did look as if Bab would beat when the match for the prize +came off, and the children got more and more excited as the six who were +to try for it took turns at the bull's-eye. Thorny was umpire and kept +account of each shot, for the arrow which went nearest the middle would +win. Each had three shots, and very soon the lookers on saw that Ben and +Bab were the best marksmen, and one of them would surely get the silver +arrow. + +Sam, who was too lazy to practice, soon gave up the contest, saying, as +Thorny did, "It wouldn't be fair for such a big fellow to try with the +little chaps," which made a laugh, as his want of skill was painfully +evident. But Mose went at it gallantly, and if his eye had been as true +as his arms were strong, the "little chaps" would have trembled. But his +shots were none of them as near as Billy's, and he retired after the +third failure, declaring that it was impossible to shoot against the +wind, though scarcely a breath was stirring. + +Sally Folsom was bound to beat Bab, and twanged away in great style; all +in vain, however, as with tall Maria Newcome, the third girl who +attempted the trial. Being a little near-sighted, she had borrowed her +sister's eye-glasses, and thereby lessened her chance of success; for +the pinch on her nose distracted her attention, and not one of her +arrows went beyond the second ring, to her great disappointment. Billy +did very well, but got nervous when his last shot came, and just missed +the bull's-eye by being in a hurry. + +Bab and Ben each had one turn more, and as they were about even, that +last arrow would decide the victory. Both had sent a shot into the +bull's-eye, but neither was exactly in the middle; so there was room to +do better, even, and the children crowded round, crying eagerly, "Now, +Ben!" "Now, Bab!" "Hit her up, Ben!" "Beat him, Bab!" while Thorny +looked as anxious as if the fate of the country depended on the success +of his man. Bab's turn came first, and as Miss Celia examined her bow to +see that all was right, the little girl said, with her eyes on her +rival's excited face: + +"I want to beat, but Ben will feel _so_ bad, I 'most hope I sha'n't." + +"Losing a prize sometimes makes one happier than gaining it. You have +proved that you could do better than most of them, so, if you do not +beat, you may still feel proud," answered Miss Celia, giving back the +bow with a smile that said more than her words. + +It seemed to give Bab a new idea, for in a minute all sorts of +recollections, wishes and plans, rushed through her lively little mind, +and she followed a sudden generous impulse as blindly as she often did a +willful one. + +"I guess he'll beat," she said, softly, with a quick sparkle of the +eyes, as she stepped to her place and fired without taking her usual +careful aim. + +[Illustration: PRACTICING FOR THE MATCH.] + +Her shot struck almost as near the center on the right as her last one +had hit on the left, and there was a shout of delight from the girls as +Thorny announced it before he hurried back to Ben, whispering anxiously: + +"Steady, old man, steady; you _must_ beat that, or we shall never hear +the last of it." + +Ben did not say, "She wont get ahead of me," as he had said at the +first; he set his teeth, threw off his hat, and knitting his brows with +a resolute expression, prepared to take steady aim, though his heart +beat fast, and his thumb trembled as he pressed it on the bow-string. + +"I hope you'll beat, I truly do," said Bab, at his elbow; and as if the +breath that framed the generous wish helped it on its way, the arrow +flew straight to the bull's-eye, hitting, apparently, the very spot +where Bab's best shot had left a hole. + +"A tie! a tie!" cried the girls, as a general rush took place toward the +target. + +"No; Ben's is nearest. Ben's beat! Hooray!" shouted the boys, throwing +up their hats. + +There was only a hair's-breadth difference, and Bab could honestly have +disputed the decision; but she did not, though for an instant she could +not help wishing that the cry had been, "Bab's beat! Hurrah!" it sounded +so pleasant. Then she saw Ben's beaming face, Thorny's intense relief, +and caught the look Miss Celia sent her over the heads of the boys, and +decided, with a sudden warm glow all over her little face, that losing a +prize _did_ sometimes make one happier than winning it. Up went her best +hat, and she burst out in a shrill, "Rah, rah, rah!" that sounded very +funny coming all alone after the general clamor had subsided. + +"Good for you, Bab! you are an honor to the club, and I'm proud of you," +said Prince Thorny, with a hearty hand-shake; for, as his man had won, +he could afford to praise the rival who had put him on his mettle though +she _was_ a girl. + +Bab was much uplifted by the royal commendation, but a few minutes later +felt pleased as well as proud when Ben, having received the prize, came +to her, as she stood behind a tree sucking her blistered thumb, while +Betty braided up her disheveled locks. + +"I think it would be fairer to call it a tie, Bab, for it nearly was, +and I want you to wear this. I wanted the fun of beating, but I don't +care a bit for this girl's thing, and I'd rather see it on you." + +As he spoke, Ben offered the rosette of green ribbon which held the +silver arrow, and Bab's eyes brightened as they fell upon the pretty +ornament, for to her "the girl's thing" was almost as good as the +victory. + +"Oh no; you must wear it to show who won. Miss Celia wouldn't like it. I +don't mind not getting it; I did better than all the rest, and I guess I +shouldn't like to beat _you_," answered Bab, unconsciously putting into +childish words the sweet generosity which makes so many sisters glad to +see their brothers carry off the prizes of life, while they are content +to know that they have earned them and can do without the praise. + +But if Bab was generous, Ben was just; and though he could not explain +the feeling, would not consent to take all the glory without giving his +little friend a share. + +"You _must_ wear it; I shall feel real mean if you don't. You worked +harder than I did, and it was only luck my getting this. Do, Bab, to +please me," he persisted, awkwardly trying to fasten the ornament in the +middle of Bab's white apron. + +"Then I will. Now do you forgive me for losing Sancho?" asked Bab, with +a wistful look which made Ben say, heartily: + +"I did that when he came home." + +"And you don't think I'm horrid?" + +"Not a bit of it; you are first-rate, and I'll stand by you like a man, +for you are 'most as good as a boy!" cried Ben, anxious to deal +handsomely with his feminine rival, whose skill had raised her immensely +in his opinion. + +Feeling that he could not improve that last compliment, Bab was fully +satisfied, and let him leave the prize upon her breast, conscious that +she had some claim to it. + +"That is where it should be, and Ben is a true knight, winning the prize +that he may give it to his lady, while he is content with the victory," +said Miss Celia, laughingly, to Teacher, as the children ran off to join +in the riotous games which soon made the orchard ring. + +"He learned that at the circus 'tunnyments,' as he calls them. He is a +nice boy, and I am much interested in him; for he has the two things +that do most toward making a man, patience and courage," answered +Teacher, smiling also as she watched the young knight play leap-frog, +and the honored lady tearing about in a game of tag. + +"Bab is a nice child, too," said Miss Celia; "she is as quick as a flash +to catch an idea and carry it out, though very often the ideas are wild +ones. She could have won just now, I fancy, if she had tried, but took +the notion into her head that it was nobler to let Ben win, and so atone +for the trouble she gave him in losing the dog. I saw a very sweet look +on her face just now, and am sure that Ben will never know why he beat." + +"She does such things at school sometimes, and I can't bear to spoil her +little atonements, though they are not always needed or very wise," +answered Teacher. "Not long ago I found that she had been giving her +lunch day after day to a poor child who seldom had any, and when I asked +her why, she said, with tears, 'I used to laugh at Abby, because she had +only crusty, dry bread, and so she wouldn't bring any. I _ought_ to give +her mine and be hungry, it was so mean to make fun of her poorness.'" + +"Did you stop the sacrifice?" + +"No; I let Bab 'go halves,' and added an extra bit to my own lunch, so I +could make my contribution likewise." + +"Come and tell me about Abby's folks, I want to make friends with our +poor people, for soon I shall have a right to help them;" and, putting +her arm in Teacher's, Miss Celia led her away for a quiet chat in the +porch, making her guest's visit a happy holiday by confiding several +plans and asking advice in the friendliest way. + +(_To be continued._) + +[Illustration] + + + + +"HAPPY FIELDS OF SUMMER." + +BY LUCY LARCOM. + + +[Illustration] + + Happy fields of summer, all your airy grasses + Whispering and bowing when the west wind passes,-- + Happy lark and nestling, hid beneath the mowing, + Root sweet music in you, to the white clouds growing! + + Happy fields of summer, softly billowed over + With the feathery red-top and the rosy clover,-- + Happy little children seek your shady places, + Lark-songs in their bosoms, sunshine on their faces! + + Happy little children, skies are bright above you, + Trees bend down to kiss you, breeze and blossom love you; + And we bless you, playing in the field-paths mazy, + Swinging with the harebell, dancing with the daisy! + + Happy fields of summer, touched with deeper beauty + As your tall grain ripens, tell the children duty + Is as sweet as pleasure;--tell them both are blended + In the best life-story, well begun and ended! + + + + +THE DIGGER-WASPS AT HOME. + +BY E. A. E. + + +July had come again, and brought with it such warm, sultry days that it +almost seemed as if no living creature could stir abroad. Nevertheless, +there was a wonderful deal going on in our garden. Through the air and +over the flower-beds hastened hundreds of little people. Some lived in +the trees and bushes, others in the ground, and all were hard at work. + +One morning, especially, there seemed to be something unusual going on; +the buzzing, and humming was fairly deafening. + +Whirr-r-r! whirr-r-r! What was that great creature that darted past my +face? And here came another, and another; why, the garden was full of +them! + +Big brown-and-yellow wasps these strangers were, and all in a most +desperate hurry. Scores of them were already hard at work digging away +in the firmly packed sand of the path. + +As these new-comers seemed to care very little who watched them at their +work, I sat down on an upturned flower-pot in the shade of a friendly +lilac, determined to make their acquaintance. + +Hardly had I settled myself before one of the wasps approached. She +seemed searching for something, for she flew rapidly back and forth, now +alighting for a moment--now darting away again. At last she dropped upon +the ground close to me and began to bite the earth with her strong jaws. +When quite a little heap lay before her she pushed it to one side with +her hind feet and then returned to her digging. In five minutes she had +an opening big enough to get into; every time she appeared she backed up +out of it pushing a huge load of sand as big as herself behind her. Soon +all around the hole was a high bank of earth, and she found it necessary +to make a path across it, and push her loads over that. Two hours' hard +work, and the house was finished. It was very simply planned, and had +only one room down at the end of a long, narrow passage. But simple as +it was, this little creature had done more work in the two hours than a +man could do in a day. That is, of course, taking her size into +consideration. And she did not even now stop to rest. Not she! With one +last look into the house, to make sure she was leaving all as it should +be, she flew away. In a moment her strong wings had taken her quite out +of sight but it was not long before she re-appeared. Back and forth she +hastened, at one moment flying through the grape-arbor, at the next +wheeling above the cabbage-bed. All this time the object of her search, +a fat young locust, was quietly sitting on a gate-post, quite +forgetting, as even locusts sometimes will, that he had an enemy in the +world. + +A moment later and the wasp's sharp eyes had found him out; and then, +quick as lightning, she darted down upon him, and pierced him with her +sting. When the locust lay perfectly still, the wasp seized him and flew +off. Arrived at her hole, she tumbled him head foremost in at the door, +expecting him, of course, to fall quite to the bottom. But her +calculations had been slightly at fault; the locust was too fat to go +in, and there he stuck with his head and shoulders in the hole and his +body in the air. Here was a dilemma! But my wasp friend was evidently +not one to be overcome by difficulties of this sort. She flew off again, +and this time returned with two other wasps; they crowded round the +hole, and began digging away the earth which pressed close about the +locust. In a short time they seemed satisfied, for they stood up and +pushed at the object of their toils. Slowly he slid down out of sight, +and she who had brought him hurried after. She laid an egg close to him +in her house; then, hurrying up, began to carry back the earth she had +before taken out, and in a short time the door was securely closed. Then +she scraped away, and patted down all the loose earth, till she had made +it quite impossible for any evil-minded creature to find any traces of +her home. + +The wasp knew very well that her egg would soon hatch out; that the +little white grub, her chick, would at once begin to feed upon the +locust, which would supply food till the young one was full-grown. + +The following morning I again visited the garden, to see how the +home-making progressed. Soon a handsome wasp came running toward my +seat, under the lilac, near which was a newly made hole. + +"She knows me! she is no longer afraid!" But no; she stopped short and +raised her long, delicate antennæ, evidently on the lookout for danger. +She could not be the same wasp I had watched yesterday; but how was I to +make sure? They seemed all exactly alike. + +I was all this time as motionless as if I had been turned to stone. + +She came a step or two nearer, and, at last, quite re-assured, hurried +down into her hole. What a long time she stayed! but, at last, on +watching the opening intently, I saw something coming toward daylight. +It was a great ball of earth, quite filling the hole, that the wasp was +forcing up by her hind legs. With one mighty heave the ball rolled out, +scattering itself in all directions, as it broke apart. + +[Illustration: MAKING A HOME.] + +I noticed at this time, and afterward, that as the depth of the holes +increased and it took longer journeys to reach the surface, the wasps +always pressed the earth they wished to get rid of into these compact +balls, and so managed to bring up a much greater quantity at once than +would otherwise be possible. The wasp now walked entirely round the +hole, pushing carefully back the loose sand which seemed likely to fall +in again. This done, she was up and away. She was in search now of the +insect near which to lay her egg, but although she came in sight of +several, she could get no nearer. + +The inhabitants of our garden were learning how dangerous these new +settlers might be, and kept well out of her way. At last, as she poised +herself high in the air, and rested on her broad, strong wings for an +instant, she spied, far beneath her, a small grasshopper. It was the +work of only a second to pounce upon him, and to lay him out on his back +perfectly insensible. + +But now a difficulty arose. How could she, borne down by this heavy +weight, manage to rise into the air? The locust of the day before had +been caught upon a high post, and in order to carry him the wasp had +only to fly down. This was a wholly different case. At last an idea +seemed to occur to her: she jumped astride of the grasshopper, seized +its head with her fore feet, and ran along the ground. + +Ha! This was famous; but hard work, nevertheless, and she had often to +let go and rest. She entered the broad path in which her house was, but +somehow she had become bewildered, and mistook a neighbor's hole for her +own. As she dismounted before it, and looked in, the owner angrily +darted out, buzzing in a frightful manner. Our poor friend, much +abashed, proceeded to the next house, and the next, everywhere meeting +with the same reception. + +"How stupid of her," I thought, "not to know her own home!" but just +then she saw the entrance, ran swiftly toward it, and in another minute +she and her burden were both safely in-doors. + +Presently she came out and again flew off. She had laid her egg close to +the grasshopper, but the amount of provision was not enough, so she had +now gone in search of another insect, with which to fill her larder. + +As soon as she was out of sight, a tiny creature flew down into the +hole. She, too, had her egg to lay, and here was just the opportunity. +Inside of the digger-wasp's egg the little ichneumon fly placed another +and a very much smaller one, after which she darted away, just in time +to escape meeting the returning mother, who, coming back laden with a +second grasshopper, placed it close to the first, and set about closing +the door. But all her careful work would be of no avail; no child of +hers would ever come out of this house a perfect full-grown insect like +herself. + +This is what happened: + +In time the two eggs hatched. The young digger-wasp set to work upon the +grasshopper, and the little ichneumon began to eat the wasp-grub. At +last the young wasp died, and at that moment there flew out from his +body a little fly. + +[Illustration: AT THE WRONG HOUSE.] + +It rested a minute, then turned and pushed its way through the soft +earth till it reached daylight. It waved its wings gently up and down a +few times, and darted away and out of sight. + +The digger-wasps had been living for some weeks in our garden, when, +one afternoon, there came up a fearful thunder-storm. The rain poured +down in torrents. Where had been shortly before neatly kept paths about +our house, we saw now rapid little rivers tearing up sand and gravel as +they raced down-hill, and doing all the damage their short lives would +allow. But all of a sudden the sun burst out from the clouds, the rain +stopped, and the water which had fallen sank into the ground. + +I did not waste many minutes in reaching the garden. What a sight met my +eyes! The broad path stretched itself out before me smooth and wet; not +a single hole remained,--all were buried deep under the sand. Instead of +the air being, as was usual, fairly alive with busy, happy creatures, +there was now, here and there, a miserable mud-covered insect clinging +to a leaf, and wearily trying to clean its heavy wings. + +What a sad ending to the gay, bright summer! + +The next day, however, I found a few survivors hard at work digging +again; but this time every hole was sloping instead of perpendicular. +After much thought, I came to the conclusion that these clever little +creatures had found the way to prevent such another calamity as had +overtaken them the day before. Formerly, the first drops of an unusually +hard shower filled the holes instantly, drowning the inmates. Now, this +could not happen, especially if the openings were placed, as most of +them were, under the shelter of the big grape-leaves which at many +points rested on the edge of the path. This all took place two years +ago; but each summer since then has brought with it some of our old +friends, the digger-wasps. + +[Illustration: AFTER THE RAIN-STORM.] + + + + +THE EMERGENCY MISTRESS. + +(_A Fairy Tale._) + +BY FRANK R. STOCKTON. + + +Jules Vatermann was a wood-cutter, and a very good one. He always had +employment, for he understood his business so well, and was so +industrious and trustworthy, that every one in the neighborhood where he +lived, who wanted wood cut, was glad to get him to do it. + +Jules had a very ordinary and commonplace life until he was a +middle-aged man, and then something remarkable happened to him. It +happened on the twenty-fifth of January, in a very cold winter. Jules +was forty-five years old, that year, and he remembered the day of the +month, because in the morning, before he started out to his work, he had +remarked that it was just one month since Christmas. + +The day before, Jules had cut down a tall tree, and he had been busy all +the morning sawing it into logs of the proper length and splitting it up +and making a pile of it. + +When dinner-time came around, Jules sat down on one of the logs and +opened his basket. He had plenty to eat,--good bread and sausage, and a +bottle of beer, for he was none of your poor wood-cutters. + +As he was cutting a sausage, he looked up and saw something coming from +behind his wood-pile. + +At first, he thought it was a dog, for it was about the right size for a +small dog, but in a moment he saw it was a little man. He was a little +man indeed, for he was not more than two feet high. He was dressed in +brown clothes and wore a peaked cap, and he must have been pretty old, +for he had a full white beard. Although otherwise warmly clad, he wore +on his feet only shoes and no stockings and came hopping along through +the deep snow as if his feet were very cold. + +When he saw this little old man, Jules said never a word. He merely +thought to himself: "This is some sort of a fairy-man." + +But the little old person came close to Jules, and drawing up one foot, +as if it was so cold that he could stand on it no longer, he said: + +"Please, sir, my feet are almost frozen." + +"Oh, ho!" thought Jules, "I know all about that. This is one of the +fairy-folks who come in distress to a person, and if that person is kind +to them, he is made rich and happy; but if he turns them away, he soon +finds himself in all sorts of misery. I shall be very careful." And then +he said aloud: "Well, sir, what can I do for you?" + +[Illustration: JULES AND THE LITTLE MAN.] + +"That is a strange question," said the dwarf. "If you were to walk by +the side of a deep stream, and were to see a man sinking in the water, +would you stop and ask him what you could do for him?" + +"Would you like my stockings?" said Jules, putting down his knife and +sausage, and preparing to pull off one of his boots. "I will let you +have them." + +"No, no!" said the other. "They are miles too big for me." + +"Will you have my cap or my scarf in which to wrap your feet and warm +them?" + +"No, no!" said the dwarf. "I don't put my feet in caps and scarfs." + +"Well, tell me what you would like," said Jules. "Shall I make a fire?" + +"No, I will not tell you," said the fairy-man. "You have kept me +standing here long enough." + +Jules could not see what this had to do with it. He was getting very +anxious. If he were only a quick-witted fellow, so as to think of +exactly the right thing to do, he might make his fortune. But he could +think of nothing more. + +"I wish, sir, that you would tell me just what you would like for your +cold feet," said Jules, in an entreating tone, "for I shall be very glad +to give it to you, if it is at all possible." + +"If your ax were half as dull as your brain," said the dwarf, "you would +not cut much wood. Good-day!"--and he skipped away behind the wood-pile. + +Jules jumped up and looked after him, but he was gone. These +fairy-people have a strange way of disappearing. + +Jules was not married and had no home of his own. He lived with a good +couple who had a little house and an only daughter, and that was about +the sum of their possessions. The money Jules paid for his living helped +them a little, and they managed to get along. But they were quite poor. + +Jules was not poor. He had no one but himself to support, and he had +laid by a sum of money for himself when he should be too old to work. + +But you never saw a man so disappointed as he was that evening as he sat +by the fire after supper. + +He had told the family all about his meeting with the dwarf, and +lamented again and again that he had lost such a capital chance of +making his fortune. + +"If I only could have thought what it was best to do!" he said, again +and again. + +"I know what I should have done," said Selma, the only daughter of the +poor couple, a girl about eleven years old. + +"What?" asked Jules, eagerly. + +"I should have just snatched the little fellow up, and rubbed his feet +and wrapped them in my shawl until they were warm," said she. + +"But he would not have liked that," said Jules. "He was an old man and +very particular." + +"I would not care," said Selma; "I wouldn't let such a little fellow +stand suffering in the snow, and I wouldn't care how old he was." + +"I hope you'll never meet any of these fairy-people," said Jules. "You'd +drive them out of the country with your roughness, and we might all +whistle for our fortunes." + +Selma laughed and said no more about it. + +Every day after that, Jules looked for the dwarf-man, but he did not see +him again. Selma looked for him, too, for her curiosity had been much +excited; but as she was not allowed to go to the woods in the winter, of +course she never saw him. + +But, at last, summer came; and, one day, as she was walking by a little +stream which ran through the woods, whom should she see, sitting on the +bank, but the dwarf-man! She knew him in an instant, from Jules' +descriptions. He was busily engaged in fishing, but he did not fish like +any one else in the world. He had a short pole, which was floating in +the water, and in his hand he held a string which was fastened to one +end of the pole. + +When Selma saw what the old fellow was doing, she burst out laughing. +She knew it was not very polite, but she could not help it. + +"What's the matter?" said he, turning quickly toward her. + +"I'm sorry I laughed at you, sir," said Selma, "but that's no way to +fish." + +"Much you know about it," said the dwarf. "This is the only way to fish. +You let your pole float, with a piece of bait on a hook fastened to the +big end of the pole. Then you fasten a line to the little end. When a +fish bites, you haul in the pole by means of the string." + +"Have you caught anything yet?" asked Selma. + +"No, not yet," replied the dwarf. + +"Well, I'm sure I can fish better than that. Would you mind letting me +try a little while?" + +"Not at all--not at all!" said the dwarf, handing the line to Selma. "If +you think you can fish better than I can, do it by all means." + +Selma took the line and pulled in the pole. Then she unfastened the hook +and bait which was on the end of the pole, and tied it to the end of the +line, with a little piece of stone for a sinker. She then took up the +pole, threw in the line, and fished like common people. In less than a +minute she had a bite, and, giving a jerk, she drew out a fat little +fish as long as her hand. + +"Hurrah!" cried the little old man, giving a skip in the air; and then, +turning away from the stream, he shouted, "Come here!" + +Selma turned around to see whom he was calling to, and she perceived +another gnome, who was running toward them. When he came near, she saw +that he was much younger than the fisher-gnome. + +"Hello!" cried the old fellow, "I've caught one." + +Selma was amazed to hear this. She looked at the old gnome, who was +taking the fish off the hook, as if she were astonished that he could +tell such a falsehood. + +"What is this other person's name?" said she to him. + +"His name," said the old gnome, looking up, "is Class 60, H." + +"Is that all the name he has?" asked Selma, in surprise. + +"Yes. And it is a very good name. It shows just who and what he is." + +"Well, then, Mr. Class 60, H," said Selma, "that old--person did not +catch the fish. I caught it myself." + +"Very good! Very good!" said Class 60, H, laughing and clapping his +hands. "Capital! See here!" said he, addressing the older dwarf, and he +knelt down and whispered something in his ear. + +"Certainly," said the old gnome. "That's just what I was thinking of. +Will you mention it to her? I must hurry and show this fish while it is +fresh,"--and, so saying, he walked rapidly away with the little fish, +and the pole and tackle. + +"My dear Miss," said Class 60, H, approaching Selma, "would you like to +visit the home of the gnomes,--to call, in fact, on the Queen Dowager of +all the Gnomes?" + +"Go down underground, where you live?" asked Selma. "Would it be safe +down there, and when could I get back again?" + +"Safe, dear miss? Oh, perfectly so! And the trip will not take you more +than a couple of hours. I assure you that you will be back in plenty of +time for supper. Will you go, if I send a trusty messenger for you? You +may never have another chance to see our country." + +Selma thought that this was very probable, and she began to consider the +matter. + +As soon as Class 60, H, saw that she was really trying to make up her +mind whether or not to go, he cried out: + +"Good! I see you have determined to go. Wait here five minutes and the +messenger will be with you," and then he rushed off as fast as he could +run. + +"I didn't say I would go," thought Selma, "but I guess I will." + +In a very few minutes, Selma heard a deep voice behind her say: "Well, +are you ready?" + +Turning suddenly, she saw, standing close to her, a great black bear! + +Frightened dreadfully, she turned to run, but the bear called out: +"Stop! You needn't be frightened. I'm tame." + +The surprise of hearing a bear speak overcame poor Selma's terror; she +stopped, and looked around. + +"Come back," said the bear; "I will not hurt you in the least. I am sent +to take you to the Queen Dowager of the Gnomes. I don't mind your being +frightened at me. I'm used to it. But I am getting a little tired of +telling folks that I am tame," and he yawned wearily. + +"You are to take me?" said Selma, still a little frightened, and very +certain that, if she had known a bear was to be sent for her, she never +would have consented to go. + +"Yes," said the bear. "You can get on my back and I will give you a nice +ride. Come on! Don't keep me waiting, please." + +There was nothing to be done but to obey, for Selma did not care to have +a dispute with a bear, even if he were tame, and so she got upon his +back, where she had a very comfortable seat, holding fast to his long +hair. + +The bear walked slowly but steadily into the very heart of the forest, +among the great trees and the rocks. It was so lonely and solemn here +that Selma felt afraid again. + +"Suppose we were to meet with robbers," said she. + +"Robbers!" said the bear, with a laugh. "That's good! Robbers, indeed! +You needn't be afraid of robbers. If we were to meet any of them, you +would be the last person they'd ever meet." + +"Why?" asked Selma. + +"I'd tear 'em all into little bits," said the bear, in a tone which +quite restored Selma's confidence, and made her feel very glad that she +had a bear to depend upon in those lonely woods. + +It was not very long before they came to an opening in a bank of earth, +behind a great tree. Into this the bear walked, for it was wide enough, +and so high that Selma did not even have to lower her head, as they +passed in. They were now in a long winding passage, which continually +seemed as if it was just coming to an end, but which turned and twisted, +first one way and then another, and always kept going down and down. +Before long they began to meet gnomes, who very respectfully stepped +aside to let them pass. They now went through several halls and courts, +cut in the earth, and, directly, the bear stopped before a door. + +"You get off here," said the bear; and, when Selma had slid off his +back, he rose up on his hind legs and gave a great knock with the iron +knocker on the door. Then he went away. + +In a moment, the door opened, and there stood a little old gnome-woman, +dressed in brown, and wearing a lace cap. + +"Come in!" she said; and Selma entered the room. "The Queen Dowager will +see you in a few minutes," said the little old woman. "I am her +housekeeper. I'll go and tell her you're here, and, meantime, it would +be well for you to get your answers all ready, so as to lose no time." + +Selma was about to ask what answers she meant, but the housekeeper was +gone before she could say a word. + +The room was a curious one. There were some little desks and stools in +it, and in the center stood a great brown ball, some six or seven feet +in diameter. While she was looking about at these things, a little door +in the side of the ball opened, and out stepped Class 60, H. + +"One thing I didn't tell you," said he, hurriedly. "I was afraid if I +mentioned it you wouldn't come. The Queen Dowager wants a governess for +her grandson, the Gnome Prince. Now, please don't say you can't do it, +for I'm sure you'll suit exactly. The little fellow has had lots of +teachers, but he wants one of a different kind now. This is the +school-room. That ball is the globe where he studies his geography. It's +only the under part of the countries that he has to know about, and so +they are marked out on the inside of the globe. What they want now is a +special teacher, and after having come here, and had the Queen Dowager +notified, it wouldn't do to back out, you know." + +"How old is the Prince?" asked Selma. + +"About seventy-eight," said the gnome. + +"Why, he's an old man," cried Selma. + +"Not at all, my dear miss," said Class 60, H. "It takes a long time for +us to get old. The Prince is only a small boy; if he were a human boy, +he would be about five years of age. I don't look old, do I?" + +"No," said Selma. + +"Well, I'm three hundred and fifty-two, next Monday. And as for Class +20, P,--the old fellow you saw fishing,--he is nine hundred and sixty." + +"Well, you are all dreadfully old, and you have very funny names," said +Selma. + +"In this part of the world," said the other, "all gnomes, except those +belonging to the nobility and the royal family, are divided into +classes, and lettered. This is much better than having names, for you +know it is very hard to get enough names to go around, so that every one +can have his own. But here comes the housekeeper," and Class 60, H, +retired quickly into the hollow globe. + +"Her Majesty will see you," said the housekeeper; and she conducted +Selma into the next room, where, on a little throne, with a high back +and rockers, sat the Queen Dowager. She seemed rather smaller than the +other gnomes, and was very much wrinkled and wore spectacles. She had +white hair, with little curls on each side, and was dressed in brown +silk. + +[Illustration: "'ROBBERS!' SAID THE BEAR. 'THAT'S GOOD! ROBBERS, +INDEED!'"] + +She looked at Selma over her spectacles. + +"This is the applicant?" said she. + +"Yes, this is she," said the housekeeper. + +"She looks young," remarked the Queen Dowager. + +"Very true," said the housekeeper, "but she cannot be any older at +present." + +"You are right," said Her Majesty; "we will examine her." + +So saying, she took up a paper which lay on the table, and which seemed +to have a lot of items written on it. + +"Get ready," said she to the housekeeper, who opened a large blank-book +and made ready to record Selma's answers. + +The Queen Dowager read from the paper the first question: + +"What are your qualifications?" + +Selma, standing there before this little old queen and this little old +housekeeper, was somewhat embarrassed, and a question like this did not +make her feel any more at her ease. She could not think what +qualifications she had. As she did not answer at once, the Queen Dowager +turned to the housekeeper and said: + +"Put down, 'Asked, but not given.'" + +The housekeeper set that down, and then she jumped up and looked over +the list of questions. + +"We must be careful," said she, in a whisper, to the Queen Dowager, +"what we ask her. It won't do to put all the questions to her. Suppose +you try number twenty-eight?" + +"All right," said Her Majesty; and, when the housekeeper had sat down +again by her book, she addressed Selma and asked: + +"Are you fond of children?" + +"Yes, ma'am," said Selma. + +"Good!" cried the Queen Dowager; "that is an admirable answer." + +And the housekeeper nodded and smiled at Selma, as if she was very much +pleased. + +"'Eighty-two' would be a good one to ask next," suggested the +housekeeper. + +Her Majesty looked for "Eighty-two," and read it out: + +"Do you like pie?" + +"Very much, ma'am," said Selma. + +"Capital! capital!" said Her Majesty. "That will do. I see no need of +asking her any other questions. Do you?" said she, turning to the +housekeeper. + +"None whatever," said the other. "She answered all but one, and that one +she didn't really miss." + +"There is no necessity for any further bother," said the Queen Dowager. +"She is engaged." + +And then she arose from the throne and left the room. + +"Now, my dear girl," said the housekeeper, "I will induct you into your +duties. They are simple." + +"But I should like to know," said Selma, "if I'm to stay here all the +time. I can't leave my father and mother----" + +"Oh! you wont have to do that," interrupted the housekeeper. "You will +take the Prince home with you." + +"Home with me?" exclaimed Selma. + +"Yes. It would be impossible for you to teach him properly here. We want +him taught Emergencies--that is, what to do in case of the various +emergencies which may arise. Nothing of the kind ever arises down here. +Everything goes on always in the usual way. But on the surface of the +earth, where he will often go, when he grows up, they are very common, +and you have been selected as a proper person to teach him what to do +when any of them occur to him. By the way, what are your terms?" + +"I don't know," said Selma. "Whatever you please." + +"That will suit very well,--very well indeed," said the housekeeper. "I +think you are the very person we want." + +"Thank you," said Selma; and just then a door opened and the Queen +Dowager put in her head. + +"Is she inducted?" she asked. + +"Yes," said the housekeeper. + +"Then here is the Prince," said the Queen Dowager, entering the room and +leading by the hand a young gnome about a foot high. He had on a ruffled +jacket and trousers, and a little peaked cap. His royal grandmother led +him to Selma. + +"You will take him," she said, "for a session of ten months. At the end +of that time we shall expect him to be thoroughly posted in emergencies. +While he is away, he will drop all his royal titles and be known as +Class 81, Q. His parents and I have taken leave of him. Good-bye!" + +And she left the room, with her little handkerchief to her eyes. + +"Now, then," said the housekeeper, "the sooner you are off, the better. +The bear is waiting." + +So saying, she hurried Selma and the Prince through the school-room, +and, when they opened the door, there stood the bear, all ready. Selma +mounted him, and the housekeeper handed up the Prince, first kissing +him good-bye. Then off they started. + +The Prince, or, as he must now be called, Class 81, Q, was a very quiet +and somewhat bashful little fellow; and, although Selma talked a good +deal to him, on the way, he did not say much. The bear carried them to +the edge of the woods, and then Selma took the little fellow in her arms +and ran home with him. + +It may well be supposed that the appearance of their daughter with the +young gnome in her arms greatly astonished the worthy cottagers, and +they were still more astonished when they heard her story. + +"You must do your best, my dear," said her mother, "and this may prove a +very good thing for you, as well as for this little master here." + +Selma promised to do as well as she could, and her father said he would +try and think of some good emergencies, so that the little fellow could +be well trained. + +Everybody seemed to be highly satisfied, even Class 81, Q, himself, who +sat cross-legged on a wooden chair surveying everything about him; but +when Jules Vatermann came home, he was very much dissatisfied, indeed. + +"Confound it!" he said, when he heard the story. "I should have done +all this. That should have been my pupil, and the good luck should have +been mine. The gnome-man came first to me, and, if he had waited a +minute, I should have thought of the right thing to do. I could teach +that youngster far better than you, Selma. What do you know about +emergencies?" + +Selma and her parents said nothing. Jules had been quite cross-grained +since the twenty-fifth of January, when he had met the gnome, and they +had learned to pay but little attention to his fault-finding and +complaining. + +The little gnome soon became quite at home in the cottage, and grew very +much attached to Selma. He was quiet, but sensible and bright, and knew +a great deal more than most children of five. Selma did not have many +opportunities to educate him in her peculiar branch. Very commonplace +things generally happened in the cottage. + +One day, however, the young gnome was playing with the cat, and began to +pull his tail. The cat, not liking this, began to scratch Class 81, Q. +At this, the little fellow cried and yelled, while the cat scratched all +the more fiercely. But Selma, who ran into the room on hearing the +noise, was equal to the emergency. She called out, instantly: + +"Let go of his tail!" + +The gnome let go, and the cat bounded away. + +The lesson of this incident was then carefully impressed on her pupil's +mind by Selma, who now thought that she had at last begun to do her +duty by him. + +A day or two after this, Selma was sent by her mother on an errand to +the nearest village. As it would be dark before she returned, she did +not take the little gnome with her. About sunset, when Jules Vatermann +returned from his work, he found the youngster playing by himself in the +kitchen. + +Instantly, a wicked thought rushed into the mind of Jules. Snatching up +the young gnome, he ran off with him as fast as he could go. As he ran, +he thought to himself: + +"Now is my chance. I know what to do, this time. I'll just keep this +young rascal and make his people pay me a pretty sum for his ransom. +I'll take him to the city, where the gnomes never go, and leave him +there, in safe hands, while I come back and make terms. Good for you, at +last, Jules!" + +So, on he hurried, as fast as he could go. The road soon led him into a +wood, and he had to go more slowly. Poor little Class 81, Q, cried and +besought Jules to let him go, but the hard-hearted wood-cutter paid no +attention to his distress. + +Suddenly, Jules stopped. He heard something, and then he saw something. +He began to tremble. A great bear was coming along the road, directly +toward him! + +What should he do? He could not meet that dreadful creature. He +hesitated but a moment. The bear was now quite near, and, at the first +growl it gave, Jules dropped the young gnome, and turned and ran away at +the top of his speed. The bear started to run after him, not noticing +little Class 81, Q, who was standing in the road; but as he passed the +little fellow, who had never seen any bear except the tame one which +belonged to the gnomes, and who thought this animal was his old friend, +he seized him by the long hair on his legs and began to climb up on his +back. + +The bear, feeling some strange creature on him, stopped and looked back. +The moment the young gnome saw the fiery eyes and the glittering teeth +of the beast, he knew that he had made a mistake; this was no tame bear. + +The savage beast growled, and, reaching back as far as he could, snapped +at the little fellow on his back, who quickly got over on the other +side. Then the bear reached back on that side, and Class 81, Q, was +obliged to slip over again. The bear became very angry, and turned +around and around in his efforts to get at the young gnome, who was +nearly frightened to death. He could not think what in the world he +should do. He could only remember that, in a great emergency,--but not +quite as bad a one as this,--his teacher had come to his aid with the +counsel, "Let go of his tail." He would gladly let go of the bear's +tail, but the bear had none--at least, none that he could see. So what +was he to do? "Let go of his tail!" cried the poor little fellow, to +himself. "Oh, if he only had a tail!" + +Before long, the bear himself began to be frightened. This was something +entirely out of the common run of things. Never before in his life had +he met with a little creature who stuck to him like that. He did not +know what might happen next, and so he ran as hard as he could go toward +his cave. Perhaps his wife, the old mother-bear, might be able to get +this thing off. Away he dashed, and, turning sharply around a corner, +little Class 81, Q, was jolted off, and was glad enough to find himself +on the ground, with the bear running away through the woods. + +The little fellow rubbed his knees and elbows, and, finding that he was +not at all hurt, set off to find the cottage of his friend Selma, as +well as he could. He had no idea which way to go, for the bear had +turned around and around so often that he had become quite bewildered. +However, he resolved to trudge along, hoping to meet some one who could +tell him how to go back to Selma. + +After a while, the moon rose, and then he could see a little better; but +it was still quite dark in the woods, and he was beginning to be very +tired, when he heard a noise as if some one was talking. He went toward +the voice, and soon saw a man sitting on a rock by the road-side. + +When he came nearer, he saw that the man was Jules, who was wailing and +moaning and upbraiding himself. + +"Ah me!" said the conscience-stricken wood-cutter, "Ah me! I am a wretch +indeed. I have given myself up into the power of the Evil One. Not only +did I steal that child from his home, and from the good people who have +always befriended me, but I have left him to be devoured by a wild beast +of the forest. Whatever shall I do? Satan himself has got me in his +power, through my own covetousness and greed. How--oh! how--can I ever +get away from him?" + +The little gnome had now approached quite close to Jules, and, running +up to him, he said: + +"Let go of his tail!" + +If the advice was good for him in an emergency, it might be good for +others. + +Jules started to his feet and stood staring at the youngster he had +thought devoured. + +"Whoever would have supposed," said he, at last, "that a little heathen +midget like that, born underground, like a mole, would ever come to me +and tell me my Christian duty. And he's right, too. Satan would never +have got hold of me if I hadn't been holding to him all these months, +hoping to get some good by it. I'll do it, my boy. I'll let go of his +tail, now and forever." And, without thinking to ask Class 81, Q, how he +got away from the bear, he took him up in his arms and ran home as fast +as he could go. + +During the rest of the young gnome's stay with Selma, he had several +other good bits of advice in regard to emergencies, but none that was of +such general application as this counsel to let go of a cat's tail, or +the tail of anything else that was giving him trouble. + +At the expiration of the session, the Queen Dowager was charmed with the +improvement in her grandson. Having examined him in regard to his +studies, she felt sure that he was now perfectly able to take care of +himself in any emergency that might occur to him. + +On the morning after he left, Selma, when she awoke, saw lying on the +floor the little jacket and trousers of her late pupil. At first, she +thought it was the little fellow himself; but when she jumped up and +took hold of the clothes, she could not move them. They were filled with +gold. + +This was the pay for the tuition of Class 81, Q. + + + + +CHURNING. + +BY SARA KEABLES HUNT. + + +[Illustration] + + I'm such an unfortunate dog, oh, dear! + To leave my nap and the sunshine clear, + And down in the cellar--the cold dark place-- + I must turn my steps and sorrowful face, + And begin the daily churning. + + To be sure, I've enough to eat, you know, + And I can rest while the men must mow; + But oh! how I'd like to hide away + When I hear them come to the door and say: + "It's time for the dog to be churning!" + + So here I tread, and the wheel goes round, + And the dasher comes down with a weary sound; + But after awhile the butter is done, + Then off I go to some richer fun + Than this weary, dreary churning. + + There's a lesson, though, in this work of mine, + That thou, little one, may'st take to be thine: + We each have our duties, both great and small, + And, if we want butter for bread at all, + Some one must do the churning. + + And then, again, I think that this life, + With its tread-mill of duties, joy and strife, + Is like to a churn. Press on! Press on! + For by and by the work will be done,-- + With no more need of churning. + + + + +THE MOON, FROM A FROG'S POINT OF VIEW. + +BY FLETA FORRESTER. + + +Miss Frog sat, in the cool of the evening, under a plantain-leaf, by the +side of her blue and placid lake. + +The day had been excessively warm, and so, as she sat, she gracefully +waved, backward and forward, one of her delicate web feet. + +It was a beautiful, natural fan, and served, admirably, the purpose +intended. + +Around Miss Frog arose the varied warble of other frogs. The little +polliwogs had all been put to bed; and now, came stealing on, the season +for silent thoughts. Always anxious to improve her mind, Miss Frog gazed +about her to find a subject on which to fasten her attention. + +She had been once sent to a southern lake to finish her education, and +was really quite superior to ordinary frogs. + +"There is no one here, in this mud-hole, to appreciate me," she +regretfully sighed, as two silly frogs passed her leaf, flirting so hard +that neither of them observed her. + +She drew around her her shawl of lace, made from the finest cobwebs of +Florida--and sulked. + +Just then arose the moon, taking its solitary, silvery way across the +sky. + +Her attention was arrested at once. + +"How like to a polliwog it is!" she rapturously exclaimed, "save that it +lacks a tail." + +"And a glorified polliwog it is, daughter of the water!" croaked a +sudden hoarse voice beside her. + +She hopped with fright, and gasped as if about to faint; but calmed +herself again as she recognized the tones of the rough-skinned Sage of +the Frogs, who dwells alone in some remote corner of the lake. He it is +who always sings, "Kerdunk!" when he condescends to sing at all. + +This learned hermit, after clearing his throat repeatedly, thus +explained himself: + +"There is a legend, connected with our race, that runs in this wise:" + + * * * * * + +"Ahem!" + +Upon a time, in a certain valley, where once flowed a considerable +stream, the waters suddenly failed and the stream died away. + +Upon the unfortunate frogs who dwelt there, in vast numbers, the hot +summer sun shone its fiercest rays unhindered. + + * * * * * + +"Dreadful!" piped Miss Frog. + +"Yes, it did!" said the Sage, reproachfully, "and if you wish to hear +this story, you must be careful not to interrupt me again, thoughtless +girl!" + +As Miss Frog was very desirous, indeed, of hearing the story, she +remained quiet, and the hermit frog continued: + + * * * * * + +The waters dried away, and hundreds of wretched frogs died on those +scorching fields. Dying fishes gasped with their last breath for a drop +of cool water, and joined their wails to those of our suffering kindred. + +At length, one old trout, who had held out to the last, confessed: + +"Miserable I! and wicked! _I_ have caused this drouth! And now I have no +power to remedy the evil I have done!" + +At this, all of the frogs who were not yet dead gathered around the +tough old trout, and listened to his words. + +"That was an evil day," gasped the speckled sinner, "when I poked my +nose out of water to dare a saucy kingfisher, who was mocking the whole +fish tribe in his usual dashing manner. 'Catch me, if you can!' I cried, +darting about at my ease. + +"But the bird beguiled me. He made me believe that, if I would only work +a little hole through that dam there, I could descend with the escaping +waters to the stream below, and make my way to the sea, where, as I +heard, the fishes were all kings, and ate nothing but diamonds for +dinner. + +[Illustration: "OH-H-H! BOO-HOO-HOO!"] + +"I enticed all the trout that I could influence to assist me, and we +wriggled and wriggled our noses into the gravel for a long time, +apparently to no purpose. + +"But, at last, a little leak started, and our water dripped away, drop +by drop; but not in sufficient volume to carry us with it. + +"When the waters had receded, so as to make the stream very low, back +came that artful kingfisher, to dive for us in the shallow pools. + +"And now, what the drouth had not destroyed that tempter has gorged +himself upon. + +"'Oh-h-h! Boo-hoo-hoo!'" + +The frogs freely forgave him because he cried. + +But the problem remained, how was the supply of water to be renewed. + +At this juncture, an earnest, meek-eyed polliwog flopped feebly, and +said: "Show me the place where these waters leak away." + +Astonished at her manner, the sobbing trout indicated the spot. + +[Illustration: THE TADPOLE TO THE RESCUE.] + +"Drag me thither by my tail!" exclaimed the heroine, resolutely. + +Then the frogs used their last remaining strength to do as she bade +them, and waited, in exhausted surprise, to see what would happen next. + +"Good-bye!" wept the brave little polliwog, wriggling with feeling, and +groaning some. "If any of you survive me, tell it to your children that +I laid myself in the breach!" + +With these few farewell words she crowded herself into the hole, out of +their sight. + +Presently, the stream began to rise and the pools to fill up. The frogs +sat knee-deep in water, and the fishes swam upon their sides. + +[Illustration: "IN THE SKY."] + +Day by day things improved, and the fishes began to sit up in bed, while +the frogs were heard incessantly blessing the little polliwog. One +night, she appeared to them in the sky, as you see her to-night; +returning nightly, for many nights, to beam at them; growing larger and +brighter at every appearance. + + * * * * * + +"Such," said the Sage, concluding, "is our Legend of the Moon!" And he +leaped into the waves with a resounding plump! + +Miss Frog felt so many different sensations at once that she dropped her +lower jaw involuntarily, and sat so, unconscious of aught until awakened +from her reverie by a cricket jumping suddenly into her throat. + +Hastily gulping him down, she gathered her shawl about her, and, with a +spring, sprawled graciously toward her wave. + + + + +DAB KINZER: A STORY OF A GROWING BOY. + +BY WILLIAM O. STODDARD. + + +CHAPTER IX. + +Ham Morris was a thoughtful and kind-hearted fellow, beyond a doubt, and +a valuable friend for a growing boy like Dab Kinzer. It is not +everybody's brother-in-law who would find time, during his wedding trip, +to hunt up even so very pretty a New England village as Grantley, and +inquire into questions of board and lodging and schooling. + +Mrs. Myers, to the hospitalities of whose cool and roomy-looking +boarding-house Ham had been commended by Mr. Hart, was so crowded with +"summer boarders," liberally advertised for in the great city, that she +hardly had a corner for Ham and his bride. She was glad enough that she +had made the effort to find one, however, when she learned what was the +nature of the stranger's business. There was a look of undisguised +astonishment on the faces of the regular guests, all around, when they +gathered for the next meal. It happened to be supper, but they all +looked at the table and then at one another; and it was a pity Ham and +Miranda did not understand those glances, or make a longer visit. They +might have learned more about Mrs. Myers if not the Academy. As it was, +they only gained a very high opinion of her cookery and hospitality, as +well as an increase of respect for the "institution of learning," and +for that excellent gentleman, Mr. Hart, with a dim hope that Dabney +Kinzer might enjoy the inestimable advantages offered by Grantley and +Mrs. Myers, and the society of Mr. Hart's two wonderful boys. + +Miranda was inclined to stand up for her brother, somewhat, but finally +agreed with Ham that-- + +"What Dabney needs is schooling and polish, my dear. It'll be good for +him to board in the same house with two such complete young gentlemen." + +"Of course, Ham. And then he'll be sure of having plenty to eat. There +was almost too much on the table." + +"Not if the boarders had all been boys of Dab's age and appetite. Mrs. +Myers is evidently accustomed to them, I should say." + +So she was, indeed, as all the summer boarders were ready to testify at +the next morning's breakfast-table. There was one thing, among others, +that Mrs. Myers failed to tell Mr. and Mrs. Morris. She forgot to say +that the house she lived in, with the outlying farm belonging to it and +nearly all the things in it, were the property of Mr. Joseph Hart, +having cost that gentleman very little more than a sharp lawsuit. +Neither did she say a word about how long or short a time Mr. Hart had +given her to pay him his price for it. All that would have been none of +Ham's business or Miranda's. Still, it might have had its importance. + +So it might, if either or both of them could have been at the +breakfast-table of the Hart homestead the morning after Annie Foster's +sudden departure. The table was there with the breakfast things on it, +and husband and wife, one at either end, as usual; but the side-seats +were vacant. + +"Where are Joe and Foster, Maria?" asked Mr. Hart. + +"Gone on some errand of their own, I think. Something about Annie." + +"About Annie! Look here, Maria, if Annie can't take a joke----" + +"So I say," began his wife; but just then a loud voice sounded in the +entry, and the two boys came in and took their places at the table. In a +moment more "Fuz" whispered to his brother: + +"I'm glad Annie's gone, for one. She was too stiff and steep for any +kind of comfort." + +"Boys," said Mr. Hart, observing them, "what have you been up to now? +I'm afraid there wont be much comfort for anybody till you fellows get +back to Grantley." + +"Well," replied Joe, "so we didn't have to board at Mother Myers', I +wouldn't care how soon we go." + +"Well, your cousin is sure to go, and I'm almost certain of another boy +besides the missionary's son. That'll fill up Mrs. Myers' house, and you +can board somewhere else." + +"Hurrah for that!" exclaimed the young gentleman whose name, from that +of his lawyer relative, had been shortened to mere "Fuz." And yet they +were not so bad-looking a pair, as boys go. The elder, Joe,--a loud, +hoarse-voiced, black-eyed boy of seventeen,--was, nevertheless, not much +taller than his younger brother. The latter was as dark in eyes and hair +as Joe, but paler, and with a sidewise glance of his unpleasant eyes, +which suggested a perpetual state of inquiry whether anybody else had +anything he wanted. The two boys were the very sort to play the meanest +kind of practical jokes, and yet there was something of a resemblance +between their mother and her sister, the mother of Ford and Annie +Foster. There's really no accounting for some things, and the two Hart +boys were, as yet, among the unaccountables. + +Not one of that whole list of boys, however, inland or on the sea-shore, +had any notion whatever of what things the future was getting ready for +them. Dab Kinzer and Ford Foster, particularly, had no idea that the +world contained such a place as Grantley, or such a landlady as Mrs. +Myers. + +As for Dabney, it would hardly be fair to leave him standing there any +longer, with his two strings of fish in his hands, while Ford Foster +volubly narrated the stirring events of the day. + +"Are you sure the black boy was not hurt, Ford?" asked his kind-hearted +mother. + +"Hurt, mother? Why, he seems to be a kind of fish. They all know him, +and went right past my hook to his all the while." + +"Dear me!" exclaimed Mrs. Foster, "I forgot. Annie, this is Ford's +friend, Dabney Kinzer, our neighbor." + +"Wont you shake hands with me, Mr. Kinzer?" asked Annie, with a +malicious twinkle of fun in her merry blue eyes. + +Poor Dabney! He had been in quite a "state of mind" for at least three +minutes; but he would hardly have been his own mother's son if he had +let himself be entirely "posed." Up rose his long right arm with the +heavy string of fish at the end of it, and Annie's fun burst out into a +musical laugh, just as her brother exclaimed: + +"There, now, I'd like to see the other boy of your size can do that. +Look here, Dab, where'd you get your training?" + +"I mustn't drop the fish, you see," began Dab, but Ford interrupted him +with: + +"No, indeed. You've given me half I've got, as it is. Annie, have you +looked at the crabs? You ought to have seen Dick Lee with a lot of 'em +gripping in his hair." + +"In his hair?" + +"When he was down through the bottom of his boat. They'd have eaten him +up if they'd had a chance. You see he's no shell on him." + +"Exactly," said Annie, as Dab lowered his fish. "Well, Dabney, I wish +you would thank your mother for sending my trunk over. Your sisters, +too. I've no doubt we shall be very neighborly." + +It was wonderfully pleasant to be called by his first name, and yet it +seemed to bring something into Dabney Kinzer's throat. + +"She considers me a boy, and she means I'd better take my fish home," +was the thought which came to him, and he was right to a fraction. So +the great lump in his throat took a very wayward and boyish form, and +came out as a reply, accompanied by a low bow. + +"I will, thank you. Good afternoon, Mrs. Foster. I'll see you to-night, +Ford, about Monday and the yacht. Good afternoon, Annie." + +And then he marched out with his fish. + +"Mother, did you hear him call me 'Annie?'" + +"Yes; and I heard you call him 'Dabney.'" + +"But he's only a boy----" + +"I don't care!" exclaimed Ford, "he's an odd fellow, but he's a good +one. Did you see how wonderfully strong he is in his arms? I couldn't +lift those fish at arm's length to save my life." + +It was quite likely that Dab Kinzer's rowing, and all that sort of +thing, had developed more strength of muscle than even he himself was +aware of; but, for all that, he went home with his very ears tingling, +"Could she have thought me ill-bred or impertinent?" he muttered to +himself. + +Thought? + +Poor Dab Kinzer! Annie Foster had so much else to think of, just then, +for she was compelled to go over, for Ford's benefit, the whole story of +her tribulations at her uncle's, and the many rudenesses of Joe Hart and +his brother Fuz. + +"They ought to be drowned," said Ford. + +"In ink," added Annie; "just as they drowned my poor cuffs and collars." + + +CHAPTER X. + +"Look at Dabney Kinzer," whispered Jenny Walters to her mother, in +church, the next morning. "Did you ever see anybody's hair as smooth as +that?" + +And smooth it was, certainly; and he looked, all over, as if he had +given all the care in the world to his personal appearance. How was +Annie Foster to guess that he had got himself up so unusually on her +account? She did not guess it; but when she met him at the church door, +after service, she was careful to address him as "Mr. Kinzer," and that +made poor Dabney blush to his very eyes. + +"There!" he exclaimed; "I know it." + +"Know what?" asked Annie. + +"Know what you're thinking." + +"Do you, indeed?" + +"Yes, you think I'm like the crabs." + +"What _do_ you mean?" + +[Illustration: GOING THROUGH THE BREAKERS. [SEE PAGE 683.]] + +"You think I was green enough till you spoke to me, and now I'm boiled +red in the face." + +Annie could not help laughing,--a little, quiet, Sunday morning sort of +a laugh,--but she was beginning to think her brother's friend was not a +bad specimen of a Long Island "country boy." Ford, indeed, had come +home, the previous evening, from a long conference with Dab, brimful of +the proposed yachting cruise, and his father had freely given his +consent, much against the will of Mrs. Foster. + +"My dear," said the lawyer, "I feel sure a woman of Mrs. Kinzer's good +sense would not permit her son to go out in that way if she did not feel +safe about him. He's been brought up to it, you know, and so has the +colored boy who is to go with them." + +"Yes, mother," argued Ford, "there isn't half the danger there is in +driving around New York in a carriage." + +"There might be a storm." + +"The horses might run away." + +"Or you might upset." + +"So might a carriage." + +But the end of it all was that Ford was to go, and Annie was more than +half sorry she could not go with him. She said so to Dabney, as soon as +her little laugh was ended, that Sunday morning. + +"Some time or other, I'd be glad to have you," replied Dab, "but not +this trip." + +"Why not?" + +"We mean to go right across the bay and try some fishing." + +"Couldn't I fish?" + +"Well, no. I don't think you could." + +"Why couldn't I?" + +"Because,--well, because you'd most likely be too sea-sick by the time +we got there." + +Just then a low, clear voice, behind Dabney, quietly remarked: "How +smooth his hair is!" And Dab's face turned red again. Annie Foster heard +it as distinctly as he did, and she walked right away with her mother, +for fear she should laugh again. + +"It's my own hair, Jenny Walters," said Dab, almost savagely. + +"I should hope it was." + +"I should like to know what you go to church for, anyhow?" + +"To hear people talk about sailing and fishing. How much do you s'pose a +young lady like Miss Foster cares about small boys?" + +"Or little girls either? Not much; but Annie and I mean to have a good +sail before long." + +"Annie and I!" + +Jenny's pert little nose seemed to turn up more than ever as she walked +away, for she had not beaten her old playfellow quite as badly as usual. +There were several sharp things on the very tip of her tongue, but she +was too much put out and vexed to try to say them just then. As for +Dabney, a "sail" was not so wonderful a thing for him, and that Sunday +was therefore a good deal like all others; but Ford Foster's mind was in +a sort of turmoil all day. In fact, just after tea, that evening, his +father asked him: + +"What book is that you are reading, Ford?" + +"Captain Cook's 'Voyages.'" + +"And the other in your lap?" + +"'Robinson Crusoe.'" + +"Well, you might have worse books than they are, even for Sunday, that's +a fact, though you ought to have better; but which of them do you and +Dabney Kinzer mean to imitate to-morrow?" + +"Crusoe," promptly responded Ford. + +"I see. And so you've got Dick Lee to go along as your Man-Friday." + +"He's Dab's man, not mine." + +"Oh, and you mean to be Crusoe number two? Well, don't get cast away on +too desolate an island, that's all." + +Ford slipped into the library and put the books away. It had been +Samantha Kinzer's room, and had plenty of shelves, in addition to the +very elegant "cases" Mr. Foster had brought from the city with him. + +The next morning, within half an hour after breakfast, every member of +the two families was down at the landing to see their young sailors make +their start, and they were all compelled to admit that Dab and Dick +seemed to know precisely what they were about. As for Ford, that young +gentleman was wise enough, with all those eyes watching him, not to try +anything he was not sure of, though he explained that "Dab is captain, +Annie, you know. I'm under his orders to-day." + +Dick Lee was hardly the wisest fellow in the world, for he added, very +encouragingly: "An' you's doin' tip-top for a green hand, you is." + +The wind was blowing right off shore, and did not seem to promise +anything more than a smart breeze. It was easy enough to handle the +little craft in the inlet, and in a marvelously short time she was +dancing out upon the blue waves of the spreading "bay." It was a good +deal more like a land-locked "sound" than any sort of a bay, with that +long, low, narrow sand-island cutting it off from the ocean. + +"I don't wonder Ham Morris called her the 'Swallow,'" remarked Ford. +"How she skims! Can you get in under the deck, there, forward? That's +the cabin?" + +"Yes, that's the cabin," replied Dab; "but Ham had the door put in with +a slide, water-tight. It's fitted with rubber. We can put our things in +there, but it's too small for anything else." + +"What's it made so tight for?" + +"Oh, Ham says he's made his yacht a life-boat. Those places at the sides +and under the seats are all air-tight. She might capsize, but she'd +never sink. Don't you see?" + +"I see. How it blows!" + +"It's a little fresh. How'd you like to be wrecked?" + +"Good fun," said Ford. "I got wrecked on the cars the other day." + +"On the cars?" + +"Why, yes. I forgot to tell you about that." + +And then followed a very vivid and graphic description of the sad fate +of the pig and the locomotive. The wonder was how Ford should have +failed to tell it before. No such failure would have been possible if +his head and tongue had not been so wonderfully busy about so many other +things ever since his arrival. + +"I'm glad it was I instead of Annie," he said, at length. + +"Of course. Didn't you tell me your sister came through all alone?" + +"Yes; she ran away from those cousins of mine. Oh, wont I pay them off +when I get to Grantley!" + +"Where's that? What did they do?" + +The "Swallow" was flying along nicely now, with Dab at the tiller and +Dick Lee tending sail, and Dab could listen with all his ears to Ford +Foster's account of his sister's tribulations. + +"Aint they older and bigger than you?" asked Dabney, as Ford closed his +recital. "What can you do with two of 'em?" + +"They can't box worth a cent, and I can. Anyhow, I mean to teach them +better manners." + +"You can box?" + +"Had a splendid teacher." + +"Will you show me how, when we get back?" + +"We can practice all we choose. I've two pair of gloves." + +"Hurrah for that! Ease her, Dick! It's blowing pretty fresh. We'll have +a tough time tacking home against such a breeze as this. May be it'll +change before night." + +"Capt'in Dab," calmly remarked Dick, "we's on'y a mile to run." + +"Well, what of it?" + +"Is you goin' fo' de inlet?" + +"Of course. What else can we do? That's what we started for." + +"Looks kind o' dirty, dat's all." + +So far as Ford could see, both the sky and the water looked clean +enough, but Dick was right about the weather. In fact, if Captain Dabney +Kinzer had been a more experienced and prudent seaman, he would have +kept the "Swallow" inside the bar, that day, at any risk of Ford +Foster's good opinion. As it was, even Dick Lee's keen eyes hardly +comprehended how threatening was the foggy haze that was lying low on +the water, miles and miles away to seaward. + +It was magnificently exciting fun, at all events, and the "Swallow" +fully merited all that had been said in her favor. The "mile to run" was +a very short one, and it seemed to Ford Foster that the end of it would +bring them up high and dry on the sandy beach. + +The narrow "strait" of the inlet was hardly visible at any considerable +distance. It opened to view, however, as they drew near, and Dab Kinzer +rose higher than ever in his friend's good opinion as the swift little +vessel shot unerringly into the contracted channel. + +"Pretty near where we're to try our fishing, aint we?" he asked. + +"Just outside, there. Get ready, Dick. Sharp now!" + +And then, in another minute, the white sails were down, jib and main, +the "Swallow" was drifting along under "bare poles," and Dick Lee and +Ford were waiting for orders to drop the grapnel. + +"Heave!" + +Over went the iron. + +"Now for some weak-fish. It's about three fathoms, and the tide's near +the turn." + +Alas for human calculations! The grapnel caught on the bottom, surely +and firmly; but the moment there came any strain on the seemingly stout +hawser that held it, the latter parted like a thread, and the "Swallow" +was adrift! + +"Somebody's done gone cut dat rope!" shouted Dick, as he caught up the +treacherous bit of hemp. + +There was an anxious look on Dab's face for a moment, as he shouted: +"Sharp now, boys, or we'll be rolling in the surf in three minutes! Haul +away, Dick! Haul with him, Ford! Up with her! There, that'll give us +headway." + +Ford Foster looked out to seaward, even as he hauled his best on the +sail halliards. All along the line of the coast, at distances varying +from a hundred yards or so to nearly a mile, there was an irregular line +of foaming breakers. An awful thing for a boat like the "Swallow" to run +into. + +Perhaps; but ten times worse for a larger craft, for the latter would be +shattered on the shoals where the bit of a yacht would find plenty of +water under her, if she did not at the same time find too much _over_ +her. + +"Can't we go back through the inlet in the bar?" asked Ford. + +"Not with this wind in our teeth, and it's getting worse every minute. +No more will it do to try and keep inside the surf." + +"What can we do, then?" + +"Take the smoothest places and run 'em. The sea isn't very rough +outside. It's our only chance." + +Poor Ford Foster's heart sank within him, but he saw a resolute look on +"Captain Kinzer's" face which gave him a little confidence, and he +turned to look at the surf. The only way for the "Swallow" to penetrate +that dangerous barrier of broken water was to "take it nose on," as Dick +Lee expressed it, and that was clearly what Dab Kinzer intended. + +There were places of comparative smoothness, here and there, in the +foaming and plunging line, but they were bad enough, at the best, and +would have been a great deal worse but for that stiff breeze off shore. + +Bows foremost, full sail, rising like a cork on the long, strong +billows, which would have rolled her over and over if she had not been +really so skillfully handled,--once or twice pitching dangerously, and +shipping water enough to wet her brave young mariners to the skin, and +call for vigorous baling afterward,--the "Swallow" battled gallantly +with her danger for a few minutes, and then Dab Kinzer shouted: + +"Hurrah, boys! We're out at sea!" + +"Dat's so," said Dick. + +"So it is," remarked Ford, a little gloomily; "but how will we ever get +ashore again?" + +"Well," replied Dab, "if it doesn't come on to blow too hard, we'll run +right on down the coast. If the wind lulled, or whopped around a little, +we'd find our way in, easy enough, long before night. We might have a +tough time beating home across the bay. Anyhow, we're safe enough now." + +"How about fishing?" + +"Guess we wont bother 'em much, but you might try for a blue fish. +Sometimes they're capital fun, right along here." + + +CHAPTER XI. + +There's no telling how many anxious people there may have been in that +region, after tea-time that evening, but of two or three circles we may +be reasonably sure. Good Mrs. Foster could not endure to stay at home, +and her husband and Annie were very willing to go over to the Kinzers' +with her, and listen to the encouraging talk of Dabney's stout-hearted +and sensible mother. + +"O, Mrs. Kinzer, do you think they are in any danger?" + +"I hope not. I don't see why they need be, unless they try to return +across the bay against this wind." + +"But don't you think they'll try? Do you mean they wont be home +to-night?" exclaimed Mr. Foster, himself. + +"I sincerely hope not," said the widow, calmly. "I should hardly feel +like trusting Dabney out in the boat again if he should do so foolish a +thing." + +"But where can he stay?" + +"At anchor, somewhere, or on the island. Almost anywhere but tacking on +the bay. He'd be really safer out at sea than trying to get home." + +"Out at sea!" + +There was something dreadful in the very idea of it, and Annie Foster +turned pale enough when she thought of the gay little yacht, and her +brother out on the broad Atlantic in it, with no better crew than Dab +Kinzer and Dick Lee. Samantha and her sisters were hardly as steady +about it as their mother, but they were careful to conceal their +misgivings from their neighbors, which was very kindly, indeed, in the +circumstances. + +There was little use in trying to think or talk of anything else besides +the boys, however, with the sound of the "high wind" in the trees out by +the road-side, and a very anxious circle was that, up to the late hour +at which the members of it separated for the night. + +But there were other troubled hearts in that vicinity. Old Bill Lee +himself had been out fishing, all day, with very poor luck; but he +forgot all about that when he learned that Dick and his young white +friends had not returned. He even pulled back to the mouth of the inlet, +to see if the gathering darkness would yield him any signs of his boy. +He did not know it; but, while he was gone, Dick's mother, after +discussing her anxieties with some of her dark-skinned neighbors, half +weepingly unlocked her one "clothes-press," and took out the suit which +had been the pride of her absent son. She had never admired them half as +much before, but they seemed to need a red neck-tie to set them off; and +so the gorgeous result of Dick's fishing and trading came out of its +hiding-place, and was arranged on the white coverlet of her own bed with +the rest of his best garments. + +"Jus' de t'ing for a handsome young feller like Dick," she muttered to +herself: + +"Wot for'd an ole woman like me want to put on any sech fool finery. +He's de bestest boy in de worl', he is. Dat is, onless dar aint not'in' +happened to 'im." + +But if the folks on shore were uneasy about the "Swallow" and her crew, +how was it with the latter themselves, as the darkness closed around +them, out there upon the tossing water? + +Very cool, indeed, had been Captain Dab Kinzer, and he had encouraged +the others to go on with their blue-fishing, even when it was pretty +tough work to keep the "Swallow" from "scudding." He was anxious not to +get too far from shore, for there was no telling what sort of weather +might be coming. It was curious, too, what very remarkable luck they +had, or rather, Ford and Dick; for Dab would not leave the tiller a +moment. Splendid fellows were those blue-fish, and work it was to pull +in the heaviest of them. That's just the sort of weather they bite best +in; but it is not often such young fishermen venture to take advantage +of it. Only the stanchest and best-seasoned old salts of Montauk or New +London would have felt altogether at home, that afternoon, in the +"Swallow." + +"Don't fish any more," said Dabney, at last. "You've caught ten times as +many as we ever thought of catching. Whoppers, too, some of 'em." + +"Biggest fishing ever I did," remarked Ford, as if that meant a great +deal. + +"Or mos' anybody else out dis yer way," added Dick. "I isn't 'shamed to +show dem fish anywhar." + +"No more I aint," said Dab; "but you're getting too tired, and so am I. +We must have a good hearty lunch, and put the "Swallow" before the wind +for a while. I daren't risk any more of these cross-seas. We might get +pitched over any minute." + +"Dat's so," said Dick. "And I's awful hungry." + +The "Swallow" was well enough provisioned, not to speak of the +blue-fish, and there was water enough on board for several days, if they +should happen to need it; but there was very little danger of that, +unless the wind should continue to be altogether against them. + +It was blowing hard when the boys finished their dinner, but no harder +than it had already blown, several times, that day, and the "Swallow" +seemed to be putting forth her very best qualities as a "sea-boat." No +immediate danger, apparently; but there was one "symptom" which Dab +discerned, as he glanced around the horizon, which gave him more +anxiety than either the stiff breeze or the rough sea. + +The coming darkness? + +No; for stars and light-houses can be seen at night, and steering is +easy enough by them. + +A fog is the darkest thing at sea, whether by night or day, and Dabney +saw signs of one coming. Rain might come with it, but that would be of +small account. + +"Boys," said Dabney, "do you know we're out of sight of land at last?" + +"Oh no, we're not," replied Ford, confidently; "look yonder." + +"That isn't land, Ford; that's only a fog-bank, and we shall be all in +the dark in ten minutes. The wind is changing, too, and I hardly know +where we are." + +"Look at your compass." + +"That tells me the wind is changing a little, and it's going down; but I +wouldn't dare to run toward the shore in a fog and in the night." + +"Why not?" + +"Why? Don't you remember those breakers? Would you like to be blown +through them, and not see where you were going?" + +"No," said Ford. "I rather guess I wouldn't." + +"Jest you let Capt'in Kinzer handle dis yer boat," almost crustily, +interposed Dick Lee. "He's de on'y feller on board dat un'erstands +nagivation." + +"Shouldn't wonder if you're right," said Ford, good humoredly. "At all +events I sha'n't interfere. But, Dab, what do you mean to do?" + +"Swing a lantern at the mast-head and sail right along. You and Dick get +a nap, by and by, if you can. I wont try to sleep till daylight." + +"Sleep! Catch me sleeping!" + +"You must, and so must Dick, when the time comes. Wont do to get all +worn out together. Who'd handle the boat?" + +Ford's respect for Dabney Kinzer was growing, hourly. Here was this +overgrown gawk of a green country boy, just out of his roundabouts, who +had never spent more than a day at a time in the great city, and never +lived in any kind of a boarding-house: in fact, here was a fellow who +had had no advantages whatever, coming out as a sort of a hero. Even +Ford did not quite understand it, Dab was so quiet and matter-of-course +about it all; and as for the youngster himself, he had no idea that he +was behaving any better than any other boy could, should and would have +behaved, in those very peculiar circumstances. + +At all events, however, the gay and buoyant little "Swallow," with her +signal-lantern swinging at her mast-head, was soon dancing away through +the deepening darkness and the fog, and her steady young commander was +congratulating himself that there seemed to be a good deal less of wind +and sea, even if more of mist. + +"I couldn't expect everything to suit me," he said to himself. "And now +I hope we sha'n't run down anybody. Hullo! Isn't that a red light, +though the haze, yonder?" + + +CHAPTER XII. + +There was yet another "gathering" of human beings on the wind-swept +surface of the Atlantic, that evening, to whose minds it had come with +no small degree of anxiety. Not, perhaps, as great as that of the three +families over there on the shore of the bay, or even of the boys, +tossing along in their bubble of a yacht; but the officers, and not a +few of the passengers and crew, of the great, iron-builded ocean +steamer, were anything but easy in their minds. + +Had they no pilot on board? To be sure they had, but they had, somehow, +seemed to bring that fog along with them, and the captain had a +half-defined suspicion that neither he nor the pilot knew exactly where +they were. That is a bad condition for a great ship to be in, and that, +too, so near a coast which requires good seamanship and skillful +pilotage in the best of weather. Not that the captain would have +confessed his doubt to the pilot, or the pilot to the captain, and that +was where the real danger lay. If they could only have permitted +themselves to speak of their possible peril, it would probably have +disappeared. + +The steamer was French and her captain a French naval officer, and very +likely he and the pilot did not understand each other any too well. That +speed should be lessened, under the circumstances, was a matter of +course; but not to have gone on at all would have been even wiser. Not +to speak of the shore they were nearing, they might be sure they were +not the only craft steaming or sailing over those busy waters, and +vessels have sometimes run against one another in a fog as thick as +that. Something could be done in that direction, and lanterns with +bright colors were freely swung out; but the fog was likely to diminish +their usefulness, somewhat. None of the passengers were in a mood to go +to bed, with the end of their voyage so near, and they seemed, one and +all, disposed to discuss the fog. All but one, and he a boy. + +A boy of about Dab Kinzer's age, slender and delicate looking, with +curly, light-brown hair, blue eyes, and a complexion which would have +been fair but for the traces it bore of a hotter sun than that of either +France or America. He seemed to be all alone, and to be feeling very +lonely, that night; and he was leaning over the rail, peering out into +the mist, humming to himself a sweet, wild air, in a strange, musical +tone. + +Very strange. Very musical. Perhaps no such words had ever before gone +out over the waves of that part of the Atlantic; for Frank Harley was a +missionary's son, "going home to be educated," and the sweet, low-voiced +song was a Hindustanee hymn which his mother had taught him in far-away +India. + +Suddenly the hymn was cut short by the hoarse voice of the look-out, as +it announced: "A white light, close aboard, on the windward bow." + +And that was rapidly followed by even hoarser hails, replied to by a +voice which was clear and strong enough but not hoarse at all. The next +moment something, which was either a white sail or a ghost, came +slipping along through the fog, and then the conversation did not +require to be shouted any longer. Frank could even hear one person say +to another, out there in the mist: "Aint it a big thing, Ford, that you +know French. I mean to study it as soon as we get home." + +"It's as easy as eating. Shall I tell 'em we've got some fish?" + +"Of course. Sell 'em the whole cargo." + +"Sell them? Why not make them a present?" + +"We may need the money to get home with. They're a splendid lot. Enough +for the whole cabin full." + +"Dat's a fack. Capt'in Dab Kinzer's de man for me, he is." + +"How much then?" + +"Twenty-five dollars for the lot. They're worth it. 'Specially if we +lose Ham's boat." + +Dab's philosophy was a little out of gear, but a perfect rattle of +questions and answers followed, in French, and, somewhat to Frank +Harley's astonishment, the bargain was promptly concluded. + +How were they to get the fish on board? Nothing easier, since the little +"Swallow" could run along so nicely under the stern of the great +steamer, while a large basket was swung out at the end of a long, +slender spar, with a pulley to lower and raise it. Even the boys from +Long Island were astonished at the number and size of the prime, freshly +caught blue-fish to which they were treating the passengers of the +"Prudhomme," and the basket had to come and go again and again. + +The steamer's steward, on his part, avowed that he had never before met +so honest a lot of Yankee fishermen. Perhaps not; for high prices and +short weight are apt to go together where "luxuries" are selling. The +pay itself was handed out in the same basket which went for the fish. + +The wind was not nearly as high as it had been, and the sea had for some +time been going down. + +Twenty minutes later, Frank Harley heard, for he understood French very +well: + +"Hallo, the boat! What are you following us for?" + +"Oh, we wont run you down. Don't be alarmed. We've lost our way out +here, and we're going to follow you in. Hope you know where you are." + +And then there was a cackle of surprise and laughter among the steamer's +officers, in which Frank and some of the passengers joined, and the +saucy little "fishing-boat" came steadily on in the wake of her gigantic +guide. + +"This is grand for us," remarked Dab Kinzer to Ford, as he kept his eyes +on the after-lantern of the "Prudhomme." "They pay all our pilot fees." + +"But they're going to New York." + +"So are we, if to-morrow doesn't come out clear and with a good wind to +go home by." + +"It's better than crossing the Atlantic in the dark, anyhow. But what a +price we got for those fish!" + +"They're ready to pay well for such things at the end of the voyage," +said Dab. "I expected they'd try and beat us down a peg. They generally +do. We only got about fair market price, after all, only we got rid of +our whole catch at one sale." + +Hour followed hour, and the "Swallow" followed the steamer, and the fog +followed them both so densely that sometimes even Dick Lee's keen eyes +could with difficulty make out the "Prudhomme's" light. And now Ford +Foster ventured to take a bit of a nap, so sure did he feel that all the +danger was over, and that "Captain Kinzer" was equal to what Dick Lee +called the "nagivation" of that yacht. How long he had slept he could +not have guessed, but he was suddenly awakened by a great cry from out +the mist beyond them, and the loud exclamation of Dab Kinzer, still at +the tiller: + +"I believe she's run ashore!" + +It was a loud cry, indeed, and there was good reason for it. Well for +all on board the great French steamship that she was running no faster +at the time, and that there was no hurricane of a gale to make things +worse for her. Pilot and captain had both together missed their +reckoning,--neither of them could ever afterward tell how,--and there +they were stuck fast in the sand, with the noise of breakers ahead of +them and the dense fog all around. + +Frank Harley peered anxiously over the rail again, but he could not have +complained that he was "wrecked in sight of shore;" for the steamer was +anything but a wreck yet, and there was no such thing as a shore in +sight. + +"It's an hour to sunrise," said Dab to Ford, after the latter had +managed to comprehend the situation. "We may as well run further in and +see what we can see." + +It must have been aggravating to the people on the steamer to see that +cockle-shell of a yacht dancing safely along over the shoal on which +their "leviathan" had struck, and to hear Ford Foster sing out: "If we'd +known you meant to run in here, we'd have followed some other pilot." + +"They're in no danger at all," said Dab. "If their own boats don't take +'em all ashore, the coast-wreckers will." + +"The Government life-savers, I s'pose you mean?" + +"Yes, they're all along here, everywhere. Hark! there goes the distress +gun. Bang away! It sounds a good deal more mad than scared." + +So it did, and so they really were--captain, pilot, passengers and all. + +"Captain Kinzer" found that he could safely run in for a couple of +hundred yards or so; but there were signs of surf beyond, and he had no +anchor to hold on by. His only course was to tack back and forth, as +carefully as possible, and wait for daylight, as the French sailors were +doing, with what patience they could command. + +In less than half an hour, however, a pair of long, graceful, +buoyant-looking life-boats, manned each by an officer and eight rowers, +came shooting through the mist, in response to the repeated summons of +the steamer's cannon. + +"It's all right now," said Dab. "I knew they wouldn't be long in coming. +Let's find where we are." + +That was easy enough. The steamer had gone ashore on a sand-bar a +quarter of a mile from the beach and a short distance from Seabright, on +the Jersey coast; and there was no probability of any worse harm coming +to her than the delay in her voyage, and the cost of pulling her out +from the sandy bed into which she had so blindly thrust herself. The +passengers would, most likely, be taken ashore with their baggage, and +sent to the city overland. + +"In fact," said Ford Foster, "a sand-bar isn't as bad for a steamer as a +pig is for a locomotive." + +"The train you was wrecked in," said Dab, "was running fast. Perhaps the +pig was. Now, the sand-bar was standing still, and the steamer was going +slow. My! what a crash there'd have been, if she'd been running ten or +twelve knots an hour with a heavy sea on." + +By daylight there were plenty of other craft around, including yachts +and sail-boats from Long Branch, and "all along shore," and the Long +Island boys treated the occupants of these as if they had sent for them +and were glad to see them. + +"Seems to me, your're inclined to be inquisitive, Dab," said Ford, as +his friend peered sharply into and around one craft after another, but +just then Dabney sung out: + +"Hullo, Jersey, what are you doing with two grapnels? Is that boat of +yours balky?" + +"Mind your eye, youngster. They're both mine, I reckon." + +"You might sell me one cheap," continued Dab, "considering how you got +'em. Give you ten cents for the big one." + +Ford thought he understood the matter, and said nothing; but the "Jersey +wrecker" had "picked up" those two anchors, one time and another, and +had no objection at all to talking "trade." + +"Ten cents! Let you have it for fifty dollars." + +"Is it gold, or only silver gilt?" + +"Pure gold, my boy, but seein' it's you, I'll say ten dollars." + +"Take your pay in clams?" + +"Oh, hush, I haint no time to gabble. Mebbe I'll git a job here, 'round +this yer wreck. If you want the grapn'l, what'll you gimme?" + +"Five dollars, gold, take it or leave it," said Dab, as he pulled out a +coin from the pay he had taken for his blue-fish. + +In three minutes more the "Swallow" was furnished with a much larger and +better anchor than the one she had lost the day before, and Dick Lee +exclaimed: + +"It jes' takes Capt'in Kinzer!" + +For some minutes before this, as the light grew clearer and the fog +lifted a little, Frank Harley had been watching them from the rail of +the "Prudhomme" and wondering if all the fisher-boys in America dressed +as well as these two. + +"Hullo, you!" was the greeting which now came to his ears. "Go ashore in +my boat?" + +"Not till I have eaten some of your fish for breakfast," replied Frank. +"What's your name?" + +"Captain Dabney Kinzer, of 'most anywhere on Long Island. What's yours?" + +"Frank Harley, of Rangoon." + +"I declare!" almost shouted Ford Foster, "if you're not the chap my +sister Annie told me of. You're going to Albany, to my uncle, Joe +Hart's, aren't you?" + +"Yes, to Mr. Hart's, and then to Grantley, to school." + +"That's it. Well, you just come along with us, then. Get your kit out of +your state-room. We can send over to the city for the rest of your +baggage after it gets in." + +"Along with you, where?" + +"To my father's house, instead of ashore among those wreckers and +hotel-people. The captain'll tell you it's all right." + +It was a trifle irregular, no doubt, but there was the "Prudhomme" +ashore, and all "landing rules" were a little out of joint by reason of +that circumstance. The "Swallow" lay at anchor while Frank got his +breakfast, and such of his baggage as was not "stowed away," and, +meantime, Captain Kinzer and his "crew" made a very deep hole in their +own supplies, for their night of danger and excitement had made them +wonderfully hungry. + +"Do you mean to sail home?" asked Ford, in some astonishment. + +"Why not? If we could do it in the night and in a storm, we surely can +in a day of such splendid weather as is coming. The wind's all right +too, what there is of it." + +[Illustration: THE WELCOME ON THE BEACH.] + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +The wind was indeed "all right," but even Dab forgot, for the moment, +that the "Swallow" would go further and faster before a gale than she +was likely to with the comparatively mild southerly breeze which was +blowing. He was by no means likely to get home by dinner-time. As for +danger, there would be absolutely none, unless the weather should again +become stormy, which was not at all probable at that season. And so, +with genuine boyish confidence in boys, after some further conversation +over the rail, Frank Harley went on board the "Swallow" as a passenger, +and the gay little craft slipped lightly away from the neighborhood of +the very forlorn-looking stranded steamer. + +"They'll have her off in less'n a week," said Ford to Frank. "My +father'll know just what to do about your baggage, and so forth." + +There were endless questions to be asked and answered on both sides, but +at last Dab yawned a very sleepy yawn and said: "Ford, you've had your +nap. Wake up Dick there, and let him take his turn at the tiller. The +sea's as smooth as a lake, and I believe I'll go to sleep for an hour or +so. You and Frank keep watch while Dick steers." + +Whatever Dab said was "orders," now, on board the "Swallow," and Ford's +only reply was: "If you haven't earned a good nap, then nobody has." + +In five minutes more the patient and skillful young "captain" was +sleeping like a top. + +"Look at him," said Ford Foster to Frank Harley. "I don't know what he's +made of. He's been at that tiller for twenty-three hours, by the watch, +in all sorts of weather, and never budged." + +"They don't make that kind of boy in India," replied Frank. + +"He's de best feller you ebber seen," added Dick Lee. "I's jes' proud of +'im, I is." + +Smoothly and swiftly and safely the "Swallow" was bearing her precious +cargo across the summer sea, but the morning had brought no comfort to +the two homes at the head of the inlet, or the cabin in the village. Old +Bill Lee was out in the best boat he could borrow, by early daylight, +and more than one of his sympathizing neighbors followed him a little +later. There was no doubt at all that a thorough search would be made of +the bay and the island, and so Mr. Foster wisely remained at home to +comfort his wife and daughter. + +"That sort of boy," mourned Annie, "is always getting into some kind of +mischief." + +"Annie," exclaimed her mother, "Ford is a good boy, and he does not run +into mischief." + +"I didn't mean Ford; I meant that Dabney Kinzer. I wish we'd never seen +him, or his sail-boat either." + +"Annie," said her father, reprovingly, "if we live by the water, Ford +_will_ go out on it, and he'd better do so in good company. Wait a +while." + +Summer days are long, but some of them are a good deal longer than +others, and that was one of the longest any of those people had ever +known. For once, even dinner was more than half neglected in the Kinzer +family circle. At the Fosters' it was forgotten almost altogether. Long +as the day was, and so dreary, in spite of all the bright, warm +sunshine, there was no help for it; the hours would not hurry, and the +wanderers would not return. Tea-time came at last, and with it the +Fosters all came over to Mrs. Kinzer's again, to take tea and to tell +her of several fishermen who had returned from the bay without having +discovered a sign of the "Swallow" or its crew. + +Stout-hearted Mrs. Kinzer talked bravely and encouragingly, +nevertheless, and did not seem to abate an ounce of her confidence in +her son. It seemed as if, in leaving off his roundabouts, Dabney must +have suddenly grown a great many "sizes" in his mother's estimation. +Perhaps that was because he did not leave them off too soon. + +There they sat, the two mothers and the rest, looking gloomy enough, +while, over there in her bit of a brown house in the village, Mrs. Lee +sat in very much the same frame of mind, trying to relieve her feelings +by smoothing imaginary wrinkles out of her boy's best clothes, and +planning for him any number of bright red neck-ties, if he would only +come back to wear them. + +The neighbors were becoming more than a little interested and even +excited about the matter; but what was there to be done? + +Telegrams had been sent to other points on the coast, and all the +fishermen notified. It was really one of those puzzling cases where even +the most neighborly can do no better than "wait a while." + +Still, there were nearly a dozen people, of all sorts, including Bill +Lee, lingering around the "landing" as late as eight o'clock, when some +one of them suddenly exclaimed: + +"There's a light, coming in." + +And others followed with: "And a boat under it." "Ham's boat carried a +light." "I'll bet it's her." "No, it isn't." "Hold on and see." + +There was not long to "hold on," for in three minutes more the "Swallow" +swept gracefully in with the tide, and the voice of Dab Kinzer shouted +merrily: "Home again! Here we are!" + +Such a ringing volley of cheers answered him! It was heard and +understood away there in the parlor of the Morris house, and brought +every soul of that anxious circle right up standing. + +"Must be it's Dab!" exclaimed Mrs. Kinzer. + +"Oh, mother," said Annie, "is Ford safe?" + +"They wouldn't cheer like that, my dear, if anything had happened," +remarked Mr. Foster, but, in spite of his coolness, the city lawyer +forgot to put his hat on, as he dashed out of the front gate, and down +the road toward the landing. + +Then came one of those times that it takes a whole orchestra and a +gallery of paintings to tell anything about, for Mrs. Lee as well as her +husband was at the beach, and within a minute after "Captain Kinzer" and +his crew had landed, poor Dick was being hugged and scolded within an +inch of his life, and the other two boys found themselves in the midst +of a tumult of embraces and cheers. + +Frank Harley's turn came soon, moreover, for Ford Foster found his +balance, and introduced the "passenger from India" to his father. + +"Frank Harley!" exclaimed Mr. Foster, "I've heard of you, certainly, but +how did you--boys, I don't understand----" + +"Oh, father, it's all right! We took Frank off the French steamer after +she ran ashore." + +"Ran ashore?" + +"Yes; down the Jersey coast. We got in company with her in the fog, +after the storm. That was yesterday evening." + +"Down the Jersey coast! Do you mean you've been out at sea?" + +"Yes, father; and I'd go again, with Dab Kinzer for captain. Do you +know, father, he never left the rudder of the 'Swallow' from the moment +we started until seven o'clock this morning?" + +"You owe him your lives!" almost shouted Mr. Foster; and Ford added, +"Indeed, we do." + +It was Dab's own mother's arms that had been around him from the instant +he made his appearance, and Samantha and Keziah and Pamela had had to +be content with a kiss or so apiece; but dear old Mrs. Foster stopped +smoothing Ford's hair and forehead, just then, and gave Dab a right +motherly hug, as if she could not express herself in any other way. + +As for Annie Foster, her face was suspiciously red at the moment, but +she walked right up to Dab, after her mother released him, and said: + +"Captain Kinzer, I've been saying dreadful things about you, but I beg +pardon." + +"I'll be entirely satisfied, Miss Annie," returned Dabney, "if you'll +ask somebody to get us something to eat." + +"Eat!" exclaimed Mrs. Kinzer, "Why, the poor fellows! Of course they're +hungry." + +Of course they were, every one; and the supper-table, after all, was the +best place in the world to hear the particulars of their wonderful +cruise. + +Meantime, Dick Lee was led home to a capital supper of his own, and as +soon as that was over he was rigged out in his Sunday clothes,--red silk +neck-tie and all,--and invited to tell the story of his adventures to a +roomful of admiring neighbors. + +He told it well, modestly ascribing pretty much everything to Dab +Kinzer; but there was no reason, in anything he said, for one of his +father's friends to ask, next morning: + +"Bill Lee, does you mean for to say as dem boys run down de French +steamah in dat ar' boat?" + +"Not dat, not zackly." + +"'Cause, if you does, I jes' want to say I's been down a-lookin' at her, +and she aint even snubbed her bowsprit." + +(_To be continued._) + + + + +GERTY. + +BY MARGARET W. HAMILTON. + + +Ugh! How cold it was!--sleet driving in your face, wind whistling about +your ears, cold penetrating everywhere! "A regular nipper," thought Dick +Kelsey, standing in a door-way, kicking his feet in toeless boots to +warm them, and blowing his chilled fingers, for in the pockets of his +ragged trousers the keen air had stiffened them. He was revolving a +weighty question in his mind. Which should he do,--go down to "Ma'am +Vesey's" and get one of her hot mutton pies, or stray a little farther +up the alley, where an old sailor kept a little coffee-house for the +benefit of newsboys and boot-blacks such as he? Should it be coffee or +mutton pie? + +"I'll toss up for it!" said Dick, finally; and, fumbling in his pockets, +the copper was produced ready for the test. + +Just then, his attention was suddenly diverted. Close to him sounded a +voice, weak and not very melodious, but bravely singing: + + "There is a happy land + Far, far away, + Where saints in glory stand + Bright, bright as day!" + +Dick listened in silence till the last little quaver had died away, and +then said: "Whew! That was purty, anyhow. Where is the piper, I wonder!" +He looked about for the musician, but could see no one. He was the only +person in the alley. + +Again the song began, and this time he traced the voice to the house +against which he had been leaning. The window was just at his right, and +through one of the broken panes came the notes. Dick's modesty was not a +burden to him, so it was the work of only a moment to put his face to +the hole in the window and take a view. + +A small room, not very nice to see, was what he saw; then, as his eye +became used to the dim light, he espied on a low bed in the corner a +little girl gazing at him with a pair of big black eyes. + +"I say, there! Was it you pipin' away so fine?" began Dick, without the +slightest embarrassment. + +"If you mean, was I a-singin'?--I was," answered the child from the bed, +not seeming at all surprised at this sudden intrusion upon her privacy. + +"I say, who are you, anyhow?" + +"I'm Gerty, and I stay here all the day while mother is away washing; +and she locks the door so no one can't get in," explained the girl. + +"My eye!" was Dick's return. "And what are you in bed for?" + +"Oh, I have a pain in my back, an' I lie down most of the time," replied +Gerty in the most cheerful manner possible, as if a pain in the back +were the one desirable thing, while Dick withdrew his head to ponder +over this new experience. + +A girl locked in a room like that, lying in bed with pain most of the +time, with nothing to do, yet cheerful and bright--this was something +he could not understand. All at once his face brightened. Back went his +eyes to the window. + +"I say, got anything to eat in there?" + +"Oh yes, some crackers; and to-night maybe mother'll buy some milk." + +"Pooh!" said Dick, with scorn. "Crackers and milk! Did you ever eat a +mutton pie?" + +"A mutton pie," repeated Gerty, slowly. "No, I guess not." + +"Oh, they're bully! Hot from Ma'am Vesey's! Tip-top! Wait a minute,"--a +needless caution, for Gerty could not possibly have done anything else. + +Away ran Dick down the alley and around the corner, halting breathless +before Ma'am Vesey. + +"Gi'e me one, quick!" he cried. "Hot, too. No, I wont eat it; put it in +some paper." The old woman had offered him one from the oven. + +"Seems to me we're gettin' mighty fine," she said; for Dick was an old +customer, and never before had he waited for a pie to be wrapped up. + +"Never you mind, old lady," was his good-natured, if somewhat +disrespectful, reply; and, dropping some pennies, he seized his treasure +and was off again. + +Gerty's eager fingers soon held the pie, which Dick dexterously tossed +on the bed, and Dick's eyes fairly shone as he watched the half-starved +little one swallow the dainty in rapid mouthfuls. + +"Oh, I never in all my life tasted anything half so good! Don't you want +some?" questioned the child, whose enjoyment was so keen she feared it +hardly could be right. + +"No, indeed!"--this with hearty emphasis. "I've had 'em. I'm goin' now," +he added, reluctantly, "but I'll come back again 'fore long." + +"Oh, do!" said Gerty, "an' I'll sing you some more of 'Happy Land,' if +you want me; and I know another song, too. I learned them up to the +horspital when I was there. You see, I was peddlin' matches and +shoe-strings, and it was 'most dark and awful slippery, and the horses +hit me afore I knowed it; and then they picked me up, and I didn't know +nothin', and couldn't tell where I lived, and so they took me to the +horspital; and the next day I told 'em where mother was, and she came. +But the doctors said I had better stay, and p'r'aps they could help me. +But they couldn't, you know, cos the pain in my back was too bad. And +mother, she washes, and I watch the daylight, and wait for night, and +sing; and when the pain aint too bad, the day don't seem so very long." + +"My eye!" was all Dick could say, as he beat a hasty retreat, rubbing +the much appealed-to member with a corner of his ragged coat. + +"Well, them's hard lines, anyhow," he soliloquized, as he went to the +printing-office. "An' she's chipper, too. Game as anything," he went on +to himself. "Now, I'm just goin' to keep my eye on that little un, and +some o' my spare coppers'll help her, I guess." + +How he worked that night! His papers fairly flew, he sold them so fast; +and when, under a friendly street-lamp, he counted his gains, a +prolonged whistle was his first comment. + +"More'n any night this week," he pondered. "Did me good to go 'thout the +pie. Gerty'll have an orange to-morrow." + +So, next morning, when the last journal had been sold, a fruit-stand was +grandly patronized. + +"The biggest, best orange you got, and never mind what it costs." Then +but a few moments to reach Gerty's alley, and Gerty's window. + +Yes, there she was, just the same as yesterday, and the pinched face +grew bright when she saw her new friend peering at her. + +"Oh! you're come, are you?" joyfully. "Mother said you wouldn't, when I +told her, but I said you would. She wouldn't leave the door unlocked, +cos she didn't know nothing about you; but she said, if you came to-day, +you could come back to-night when she was home, and come in." + +"Oh, may I?" said Dick, rather gruffly; for he hardly liked the idea of +meeting strangers. + +"Yes," went on Gerty; "I'll sing lots, if you want; and mother'll be +glad to see you, too." + +"All right; mebbe I'll come. And say, here's suthin for ye," and the +orange shot through the window. + +"Oh, my!" she gasped, "how nice! Is it really for me?" And Dick +answered, "Yes, eat it now." + +Half his pleasure was in watching her eager relish of the fruit; and as +Gerty needed no second bidding, the orange rapidly disappeared, she +pausing now and again to look across gratefully at Dick and utter +indistinct expressions of delight. + +"Now shall I sing?" she asked, when the last delicious mouthful was +fairly swallowed; for she was anxious to make some return for the +pleasure he had given her. + +"All right," responded Dick, "I'm ready." + +So the thin little voice began again the old refrain; Gerty singing with +honest fervor, Dick listening in rapt attention. Following "Happy Land" +came "I want to be an angel," "Little drops of water," etc.; and when +full justice had been done to these well-worn tunes, Dick suggested a +change. + +"Don't you sing 'Mulligan Guards'?" he questioned, at the close of one +of the hymns. + +"No," said Gerty, perplexed. "They didn't sing that up to the +horspital." + +"Oh, mebbe they don't sing it to the horspital; but I've heard 'em sing +it bully to the circus. I say," he went on suddenly, "was you ever +there--to the circus, I mean?" + +"No," said Gerty, eagerly. "What do they do?" + +"Oh, it's beautiful!" was Dick's answer. "All bright, you know, and +warm, and the wimmin is dressed awful fine, and the men, too; and the +horses prance around; and they have music and tumbling, and--oh, lots of +things!" + +"My! and you've been there?" + +"Oh yes, I've been!" Then, as he watched her sparkling eyes, "Look here, +I'll take you. I could carry you, you know, and we'd go early, and I'd +put you up against a post, and----Don't you want to go?" + +"Want to go?" she repeated with rapture. "Oh, it's too good to be true! +I was scared just a-thinkin' of it. Oh, if mother'd let me an' I could! +Wouldn't I be too heavy? Mother says I'm light as a feather,--and I +wouldn't weigh more'n I could help," she added, wistfully. + +"Never you mind," was Dick's hearty reply. "I'll come to-night and see +the old lady,--your mother, I mean,--and we'll go next week, if she'll +let you." + +So it was decided; and when Dick said "good-bye," and ran off, Gerty +settled back with a sigh, half of delight and half of anxiety, lest her +wild, wonderful hope should never be fulfilled. + +But Dick came that night, and Gerty's mother, when she saw Dick's +honest, earnest face, and her little girl's eager, pleading eyes, gave +consent. + +The next Monday night was fixed upon, and this was Thursday. "Four +days," counted Gerty on her fingers; and oh, they seemed so long! But +even four days _will_ crawl away, and Monday night came at last. By +seven o'clock, Dick appeared, his face clean and shining, radiant with +delight. + +Gerty was dressed in the one dress owned by her mother beside her +working one, and the shrunken little figure looked pathetically absurd +in its ample proportions. It was much too long for her, of course, but +her mother pinned up the skirt. Good old Peggotty Winters, the +apple-woman, who lived in the back room, had lent her warm shawl for the +occasion, and the little French hair-dresser on the top floor had loaned +a knitted hood which had quite an elegant effect. So Gerty considered +herself dressed in a style befitting the event; and if she and Dick were +satisfied, no one else need criticise. + +"Pooh!" was Dick's comment as he lifted her in his arms. "Like a baby, +aint you?" + +"Oh, I'm so glad you don't think I'm heavy! It's the first time I ever +was glad to be thin," sighed Gerty, clinging around his neck. + +Then away they went, out through alleys and across side-streets to the +main artery of travel, where Dick threaded his way slowly through +throngs of gay people. At length, after what seemed miles to Gerty, they +halted in front of a brilliantly lighted building, and in another +moment were in the dazzling entrance-way. + +On went Dick slowly, patiently, with his burden, down the aisle, as near +to the front as possible, and--they were there! + +Gerty was carefully set down in a corner place, and her shawl opened a +little to serve as a pillow; and then she began to look about her, +gazing with awe-struck curiosity at the great arena and the mysterious +doors. + +After a while the house seemed full, the musicians came out and took +their places, the gas suddenly blazed more brightly, and the band struck +up a gay popular air. Gerty felt as if she must scream with delight and +expectation. + +Presently, the music stopped, there was a bustle of preparation, a bell +tinkled, and the great doors slowly swung open. Gerty saw beautiful +ladies, all bright and glittering with spangles, and handsome horses in +gorgeous trappings, and great strong men in tights, all the wonders and +sights of the circus, and the funny jokes and antics of the clown and +pantaloon. And Gerty had never known anything half so fine; and there +was riding and jumping and tumbling, and all manner of fun, until the +doors shut again. + +"Wasn't it lovely?" whispered Gerty. "Is that all?" + +"Not half," said Dick; and Gerty leaned back to think it all over and +watch for the repetition. But the next scene was different; there came +an immense elephant, some little white poodle-dogs, and some mules, and +everybody clapped hands and laughed, and was delighted. At last, the +climax of ecstasy was reached,--a beautiful procession of all the gayly +dressed and glittering performers, with their wonderful steeds, the wise +old elephant, the queer little poodles, and the fun-provoking mules; and +the band struck up some stirring music, and Gerty was dumb with +admiration. But in another minute the arena was empty, the heavy doors +had shut out all the life and magnificence, the band was hushed, the +lights were dimmed, and Dick told her it was over. + +Carefully he folded her in the shawl again, and once more the cold night +air blew in her face. Not a word could she say all the way home, but +when she sank in her mother's arms it was with the whisper, "I've seen +'Happy Land';" and Dick felt, somehow, as if no other comment were +needed. + +And the winter days went on, Dick's faithful service and devotion never +ceasing. The window was mended, but Dick had a key to the door, and +spent many an hour with the sufferer. As spring approached, the two +watchers noted a change in the girl. She was weaker, and her pain +constant; and when Dick carried her out to the park in the April +sunshine, he was shocked to find her weight almost nothing in his arms. + +Yes, Gerty was dying, slowly but surely; and Dick grew exceeding +sorrowful. By and by, she even could not be carried out-of-doors, but +lay all day on her little couch. Then Dick brought flowers and fruit, +and talked gayly of the next winter, when, said he, "We'll go every week +to the circus, Gerty." + +[Illustration: AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE CIRCUS.] + +"No, Dick," said the child, quietly, "I shall never go there again. But +oh! 't'll be suthin better!"--at which Dick rushed off hastily, and soon +after got into a quarrel with a fellow newsboy who had hinted that his +eyes were red. Anon he was back with some fresh gift, only to struggle +again with the choking grief. + +And then came the end--quietly, peacefully. Near the close of a July +day, when the setting sun glorified every corner of the room, Gerty left +her pain, and, with a farewell sigh, was at rest. + +"Oh, Gerty!" sobbed Dick, "don't forget me!" + +Ah, Dick, you are held in everlasting remembrance, and more than one +angel is glad at thoughts of you, in the "Happy Land!" + + + + +THE CROW THAT THE CROW CROWED. + +BY S. CONANT FOSTER. + + + "Ho! ho!" + Said the crow: + "So I'm not s'posed to know + Where the rye and the wheat + And the corn kernels grow-- + Oh! no, + Ho! ho! + + "He! he! + Farmer Lee, + When I fly from my tree, + Just you see where the tops + Of the corn-ears will be + Watch me! + He! he!" + + Switch-swirch, + With a lurch, + Flopped the bird from his perch + As he spread out his wings + And set forth on his search-- + His search-- + Switch-swirch. + + Click!-bang!-- + How it rang, + How the small bullet sang + As it sped through the air-- + And the crow, with a pang, + Went spang-- + Chi-bang. + + THE TAIL FEATHERS. + + Now know, + That to crow + Often brings one to woe; + Which the lines up above + Have been put there to show, + And so, + Don't crow. + + + + +THE LONDON MILK-WOMAN. + +BY ALEXANDER WAINWRIGHT. + + +Very sturdy in form and honest in face is the London milk-woman shown in +our picture. She has broad English features, smoothly parted hair, and a +nice white frill running round her old-fashioned, curtained bonnet. Her +boots are strong, and her dress is warm--the petticoats cut short to +prevent them from draggling in the mud. A wooden yoke fits to her +shoulders, which are almost as broad as a man's, and from the yoke hang +her cans, filled with milk and cream, the little ones being hooked to +the larger ones. + +The London day has opened on a storm, and the snow lies thick on the +area railings, the lamp-posts and the roofs; but the morning is not too +cold or stormy for her. Oh, no! the mornings never are. It may rain, or +blow, or snow the hardest that ever was known, no inclemency of weather +keeps her from her morning round, and in the dull cold of London frosts +and the yellow obscurity of London fogs, she appears in the streets, +uttering her familiar cry, "Me-oh! me-oh!" which is her way of calling +milk. + +Pretty kitchen-maids come up the area steps with their pitchers to meet +her, and detain her with much gossip. The one in the picture, whose arms +are comfortably folded under her white apron, may be telling her that +the mistress's baby is sick, and that the doctor despairs of its life. +She may even be saying to her: "The only thing it can swallow, poor +little dear, is a little milk and arrowroot, and the doctor says unless +it can have this it must die." A great deal of the London milk is +adulterated, and, perhaps, this honest-looking milk-woman knows that +water has been added to hers. May be, she has babies of her own, and +then her heart must be sore when she realizes that the little sick one +upstairs may perish through her employer's greed for undue profits. + +[Illustration: AT THE AREA GATE.] + +To-morrow, she may find the blinds drawn close down at that house, and +the maid-of-all-work red-eyed and tearful; then she will turn away, +bitterly feeling the pressure of her yoke on her shoulders, although, +from her looks, she herself appears to be incapable of dishonesty; she +is, and more than that, kindly, cheery, and industrious. Her cans are +polished to the brilliancy of burnished silver, and betoken the most +scrupulous cleanliness. Many breakfast-tables depend upon her for that +rich cream which emits a delicious flavor from her cans, in the sharp +morning air. "Me-oh! me-oh!" We turn over in bed when we hear her, and +know that it is time to get up. + + + + +[Illustration] + +ALICE'S SUPPER. + + + Far down in the valley the wheat grows deep, + And the reapers are making the cradles sweep; + And this is the song that I hear them sing, + While cheery and loud their voices ring: + "'Tis the finest wheat that ever did grow, + And it is for Alice's supper--ho! ho!" + + [Illustration] + + Far down by the river the old mill stands, + And the miller is rubbing his dusty old hands; + And these are the words of the miller's lay, + As he watches the mill-stones grinding away: + "'Tis the finest flour that money can buy, + And it is for Alice's supper--hi! hi!" + +[Illustration] + + Down-stairs in the kitchen the fire doth glow, + And cook is a-kneading the soft white dough; + And this is the song she is singing to-day, + As merry and busy she's working away: + "'T is the finest dough whether near or afar, + And it is for Alice's supper--ha! ha!" + +[Illustration] + + To the nursery now comes mother, at last,-- + And what in her hand is she bringing so fast? + 'T is a plateful of something, all yellow and white, + And she sings as she comes, with her smile so bright: + "'T is the best bread and butter I ever did see, + And it is for Alice's supper--he! he!" + + + + +[Illustration] + +JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT. + + +"Warm!" you say? + +Don't mention it, but take it good-naturedly. + +And, now, let's be quiet and have a talk about + + +HEARING FLIES WALK. + +"Ho, ho; nobody can do that!" + +But anybody _can_ do that,--with a microphone. + +"And what's a microphone?" + +Why, it's a machine by which very low sounds, that don't seem to be +sounds at all, may be made to grow so loud and clear that you can easily +hear them. If any of you come across one of these things, my dears, just +take it to some quiet green spot, and coax it to let you hear the grass +grow. + +There's one feature of the microphone that is likely to be troublesome; +it makes loud noises sound hundreds of times louder. Something must be +done, therefore, to prevent the use of these machines on any Fourth of +July. That would be what nobody could stand, I should think. + + +A CRAB THAT MOWS GRASS. + +Isn't this dreadful? In India--a long way off, I'm glad to say--there is +a kind of crab that eats the juicy stalks of grass, rice, and other +plants. He snips off the stalks with his sharp pincers, and, when he has +made a big enough sheaf, sidles off home with it to his burrow in the +ground, to feast upon it. + +Ugh! I hope I shall never hear the cruel click of his pincers anywhere +near me! + + +WASHERWOMEN IN TUBS. + +Over here, as I've heard, the clothes to be washed are put in tubs, and +the washerwomen or washermen stand outside at work. But I'm told that in +some parts of Europe the washerwomen themselves get into the tubs. They +do this to keep their feet dry. The tubs or barrels are empty, and are +set along the river banks in the water, and each washerwoman stands in +her tub and washes the clothes in the river, pounding, and soaping, and +rinsing them, on a board, without changing her position. + + +MICE IN A PIANO. + + + Chicago, Ill. + + DEAR JACK: I have long wished to tell you of a little incident that + occurred in our family. + + About a year ago we bought an upright grand piano, and after we had + had it a few months we noticed that one of the keys would stay down + when touched, unless struck very quickly and lightly, and the next + day another acted in the same way. That evening, after the boys had + gone to bed, father and myself were sitting by the grate fire, when + we thought we heard a nibbling in the corner of the room where the + piano stood. I exclaimed, "Do you think it possible a mouse can be + in the piano?" "Oh no!" he said; "it is probably behind it." We + moved the piano, and found a little of the carpet gnawed, and a few + nut-shells. Then we examined the piano inside, as far as possible, + but found no traces there. I played a noisy tune, to frighten the + mouse away, and we thought no more about it. + + Two or three days after, more of the keys stayed down, and I said, + "That piano must be fixed." The tuner came, and the children all + stood around him, with curious eyes, as he took the instrument + apart. Presently I heard a great shout. What do you think? In one + corner, on the key-board, where every touch of the keys must have + jarred it, was a mouse's nest, with five young ones in it! Those + mice must have been fond of music! The mother mouse sprang out and + escaped; but the nest and the little ones were destroyed. + + Well, what do you suppose the nest was made of? Bits of felt and + soft leather from the hammers and pedal; and the mouse had gnawed + in two most of the strips of leather that pull back the hammers! + So, when the piano had been fixed, there was a pretty heavy bill + for repairs.--Very truly yours, + + P. L. S. + + +RATTLE-BOXES. + +You'd hardly believe how old-fashioned rattle-boxes are,--those noisy +things that babies love to shake. Why, they are almost as old-fashioned +as some of the very first babies would look nowadays. A few very ancient +writers mention these toys, but, instead of calling them, simply, +"rattle-boxes," they refer to them as "symbols of eternal agitation, +which is necessary to life!" + +Deacon Green says that this high-sounding saying may have been wise for +its times, when the sleepy young world needed shaking, perhaps, to get +it awake and keep it lively. "But, in these days," he adds, "the boot is +on the other leg. People are a little too go-ahead, if anything, and try +to do too much in too short time. Real rest, and plenty of it, is just +as necessary to life as agitation can be." + +Remember this, my chicks, all through vacation; but don't mistake +laziness for rest. + + +A MOTHER WITH TWO MILLION CHILDREN. + +No, not the old woman who lived in a shoe,--though old parties of the +kind I mean have been found with their houses fixed to old rubber +high-boots,--but a quiet old mother, who never utters a word, and whose +house is all door-way, as I'm told. Every year she opens the door and +turns two million wee bairns upon the world. + +Away they rush, the door snaps shut behind them, and they can never come +back any more! They don't seem to mind that very much, however, for they +go dancing away in countless armies, without ever jostling, or meeting, +or even touching one another. + +And how large a ball-room do you suppose a troop of them would need? +One drop of water is large enough for thousands upon thousands of them +to sport in! + +The mother is the oyster, and her children are the little oysters, and a +curious family they must be, if all this is true, as I'm led to believe. + + +A CHINESE FLOATING VILLAGE. + +The Little Schoolma'am wishes you a good and lively vacation, and sends +you a picture of a Chinese Floating Village,--a cool and pleasant kind +of village to live in through the summer, I've no doubt, with plashing +water, and fresh breezes, all about you. She goes on to say: + +"In China, where there are about four hundred and fifty millions of +people, not only the land, but also much of the water, is covered with +towns and streets; and, although the Chinese are more than eleven times +as numerous as the people of the United States, their country is not +half as large as ours,--even leaving Alaska out of the count. So that +China is pretty well crowded. + +[Illustration: A CHINESE FLOATING VILLAGE.] + +"In the picture, the little boats belong to poor people, but the big +ones, called 'junks,' belong to folks who are better off. Sometimes +junks are used by rich people for traveling, and then they are built +almost as roomy, and fitted up quite as comfortably, as the homes on +shore. + +"There are no railroads in China worth mentioning, so traveling has to +be done by highroad, or by river and canal; and, as this last, though +easy, is a very slow way, it is a good thing when, like the snail, a +traveler can take his house with him." + + +INFORMATION WANTED. + + Providence, R. I. + + Jack-in-the-Pulpit: SIR: I write to ask if any of your little birds + ever crossed the Equator; and, when just above it, whereabouts in + the sky did they look for the sun at noon? + + If you will answer this you will oblige me very much, as I have + been wondering for about a month past. + + Don't think this foolish. + + EDWIN S. THOMPSON. + +None of my feathered friends ever told me about this; but, perhaps, some +of you smart chicks who have just passed good examinations can answer +Edwin's question. If so, I'd be glad to hear from you; especially if +you'd let me know, also, what kind of a thing the equator _is_, and by +what marks or signs a bird or anybody might make sure he had pitched +upon it? + + +A BIRD THAT SEWS. + + Sandy Spring, Md. + + DEAR JACK: Have you ever heard of a bird that sews? Perhaps you + have, and some of your chicks have not. He is not much larger than + the humming-bird, and looks like a ball of yellow worsted flying + through the air. For his nest he chooses two leaves on the outside + of a tree, and these he sews firmly together, except at the + entrance, using a fiber for thread, and his long, sharp bill as a + needle. When this is done, he puts in some down plucked from his + breast, and his snug home is complete. He is sometimes called the + "tailor-bird."--Your friend, + + M. B. T. + + +A BEE "SOLD." + +Talk about the instinct of animals! I'm sure my little friends the bees +are as bright as any, yet I heard, the other day, a strange thing about +one. There was a flower-like sea-anemone, near the top of a little pool +of water, when a bee came buzzing along and alighted on the pretty +thing, no doubt mistaking it for a blossom. That anemone was an animal, +and had no honey. Now, where was the instinct of that bee? That's what I +want to know. + + + + +THE LETTER-BOX. + + West Roxbury, Mass. + +Dear St. Nicholas: I saw in your June number, in the "Letter-Box," an +account of a turtle; so I thought I would tell you about "Gopher Jimmy." +My uncle brought him from Florida. He is a gopher, and different from +the common kind of turtle. His back is yellow, with black ridges on it. +His feet are yellow and scaly. Gophers burrow in the ground; and, when +full grown, a man cannot pull one out of its burrow, and a child can +ride easily on its back. I feed mine on clover. He likes to bask in the +sun. My uncle named him "Gopher Jimmy." When full grown, they can move +with a weight of 200 pounds. Jimmy is a young one.--Your devoted reader, + + FRANCIS H. ALLEN. + + + Baltimore, Md + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Perhaps the other readers of your magazine have heard +of "Tyrian purple," a dye which once sold in the shops of ancient Rome +for its own weight in silver. Well, after a while, the way to make this +dye was forgotten,--probably because those who had the secret died +without telling it to others. And now I want to let you know what I have +learned lately, in reading, about how the secret was found again, after +hundreds of years. + +A French naturalist, named Lacazo Duthiers, was on board a ship, when, +one day, he saw a sailor marking his clothes and the sails of the ship +with a sharp-pointed stick, which, every now and then, he dipped into a +little shell held in his other hand. At first, the lines were only a +faint yellow in color; but, after being a few minutes in the sun, they +became greenish, then violet, and last of all, a bright, beautiful +purple, the exact shade called by the ancients "Tyrian purple"--a color +that never fades by washing, or exposure to heat or damp, but ever grows +brighter and clearer! The naturalist was rejoiced, and after trial found +that he really had discovered again the long-lost secret. He felt well +repaid for keeping his eyes open. The little shell was the "wide-mouthed +purpura," as some call it, some three inches long, found in the +Mediterranean Sea, and on the coasts of France, Ireland and Great +Britain. My book says that the difficulty of obtaining and preserving +these shells must always render "Tyrian purple" a rare and expensive +color. + +I remember, too, that the Babylonians thought "Tyrian purple" too sacred +for the use of mortals, so they used it only in the dress of their +idols. Romulus, king of Rome, adopted it as the regal color, and the +Roman emperors forbade any besides themselves to wear it, on penalty of +death.--Yours truly, F. R. F. + + +The boys and girls who solved the poetical charade printed on page 639 +of the July number, must have noticed that it is an unusually good one, +and we are sure that all our readers will admire the charade, after +comparing it with its solution, which we publish upon page 704 of this +number. + + + Alexandria, Ohio. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I should like to know who would succeed to the throne +in case of Queen Victoria's and her eldest son's deaths. My brother and +I sold hickory-nuts and onions to get the St. Nicholas last fall. We +have taken it ever since it was published. I am ten years old. + + WILLIE CASTLE. + + +Prince Albert Victor, the Prince of Wales's eldest son, if then alive, +would succeed to the English throne after Queen Victoria, in case of the +previous death of her eldest son,--the Prince of Wales. A general answer +to this question will be found in the "Letter-Box" for May, 1877 (Vol. +IV., page 509), in a reply to an inquiry from "Julia." + + + Brunswick, Maine. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: It has occurred to me that some of my St. Nicholas +friends may like to know what I have learned from ancient books about +the constellation Ursa Major, or the Dipper, which, in St. Nicholas for +January, 1877 (vol. iv., p. 168), Professor Proctor has likened to a +monkey climbing a pole. It is about the other title of this +constellation, "Great Bear." I need not describe the group itself, for +that has been done already by Professor Proctor in ST. NICHOLAS for +December, 1876. + +Sailors, in very ancient times, were without compasses and charts, and +when voyaging guided themselves by studying the situations and motions +of the heavenly bodies. They saw that most of the stars passed up from +the horizon and rose toward the zenith, the point right over head, and +then dropped westward to hide themselves beyond the earth. After a time +they noted some stars which never set, but every night, in fair weather, +were seen at that side where the sun never appears, or, in other words, +were seen at their left side, when their faces were toward the sunrise. +They did not long hesitate how to use these stars. And when, during foul +weather, the sailors were tossed to and fro, these same constant stars, +that again appeared after the storm, indicated to them their true +position, and, as it were, _spoke to them_. This caused them to give +more exact study to the constellations in that same part of the heavens. +None appeared more remarkable than that among which they reckoned seven +of the brightest stars, taking up a large space. Some who watched this +star-group, as it seemed to turn around in the sky, named it the +"Wheel," or "Chariot." The Phoenician pilots called it, sometimes, +"Parrosis," the Indicator, the Rule, or "Callisto," the Deliverance, the +Safety of Sailors. But it was more commonly named "Doubé," signifying +the "speaking constellation," or the "constellation which gives advice." +Now, the word "Doubé" signified also to the Phoenicians a "she-bear," +and the Greeks are supposed to have received and used the word in its +wrong sense, and to have passed it down to us without correction. This +explanation seems plausible to me; and now, whenever I see the +star-group we call the "Dipper," I think how gladly it was hailed by +poor storm-tossed sailors upon the narrow seas, in the early ages, +before the "lily of the needle pointed to the pole."--Yours truly, + + R. A. S. + + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: The flowers are all in bloom; it looks so pretty. +Here is a little piece of poetry: + + Lieutenant G---- + Was lost in the sea, + He was found in the foam, + But he was carried home + To his wife, + Who was the joy of his life, + His lovely brunette, + His idolized pet. + She went to a ball, + And this is all. + +I have a little sister named Henrietta, but we call her "Wackie," +because when she cries she goes "Wackie, wackie, wackie!" I remain, your +constant reader, + + ROWENA T. EWING. + + + Camp Grant, A. T. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am a little army boy. The other day my papa went +down to Mexico, and I went with him. The first day I rode fifty-seven +miles on a mule; the next day, thirty-five miles; and the third day, +forty miles. If you know any boy East, eleven years of age, who can do +that, tell me his name. Lots of Indians out here. + + PAUL COMPTON. + + +Here is an account of how four enterprising girls from an inland +district spent ten summer days by themselves at the sea-side. + + +FOUR "INLAND" GIRLS BY THE SEA. + +For boys there are all sorts of real camping-out, fishing and hunting +parties, and it's almost enough to set their sisters wild with envy. +Nevertheless, "we girls"--four of us--succeeded one year in having a +deal of holiday enjoyment all by ourselves out of the old sea. This is +how we did it, what sort of place it was, and how we lived: + +We engaged a room in a cottage close to the sea, not fifty miles from +Boston. We paid one dollar per day for a medium-sized chamber, with the +privilege of parlor, dining-room, kitchen, kitchen utensils, and china. +Our cottage had fine sea-views from three sides, and roomy balconies all +around, where the salt breezes came up fresh and strong. We had a large +closet for our one trunk, not a Saratoga and not full of finery, for we +had run away from work, company, fashion. We spent whole days in +Balmoral and calico redingotes. + +We took with us a few pounds of Graham flour, some fresh eggs, pickles, +tumbler of jelly, plenty of delicately corned beef,--boiled and +pressed,--salt and pepper and French mustard; some tea and coffee and +condensed milk. Fresh vegetables, milk and fruits, could be obtained +from neighbors; and fun it was to be one's own milkmaid and market +merchant; but still more fun to play gypsy and forage for light +driftwood for firing. Then, at a pinch, there were a baker and a +fish-man within easy reach. + +The place was quiet, and nobody disturbed us, by day or by night; and it +was delightful to go to sleep, lulled by the music of the waves and +pleasant breeze. + +We took turns presiding over the meals of the day, and none but the +day's caterer had any thought or care about that day's bill of fare. + +The oldest of our party was "Aunty True," one of the real folks, and a +confirmed Grahamite. The next in age was Helen Chapman, the head and +front of the quartette; a good botanist and geologist, and acquainted +with all manner of things that live in the sea, and from her we had +delightful object lessons fresh from Nature. Next came I, and then Jo, +the youngest of us, a girl of fifteen, ready to run wild on the least +excuse. She was fairly quelled and awe-struck, however, at her first +sight of the sea. "You'll never get me to go into that!" she exclaimed, +fairly shuddering. Yet that very day she was enjoying, bare-foot, the +cool, soft sand, and playing with the foamy wavelets as the tide came +in. But she screamed like an Indian if but invited to plunge beneath the +curling surf. There was every day fresh fun in the water,--we frolicked +like fishes in their own element. And what ludicrous sights we enjoyed +watching the bathers who came from the hotels and +boarding-houses,--whole family parties, big and little! + +Our party had fine weather, for in our ten days there was only a half +day of cloud and rain; but it would have been a fresh delight to see the +ocean in a storm. + +The last of our pleasures was watching the sun rise out of the sea, a +crimson streak, growing into the great red sun! + + C. N. EFF. + + + Charleston, S. C. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I would like to tell the boys and girls how to make a +pretty little ornament. You take a shell, and bore two holes in each +side, then run a piece of ribbon in each hole with a bow on the top, and +it has a very pretty effect. It can hold knickknacks, or a plant; but if +you want it for a plant, you must bore a hole in the bottom for +drainage.--Your friend, + + CARMEN BALAGUER. + + +E. M.--George Washington's wife was called "Lady" Washington out of +respect for her husband's high position as President, at a time when +titles of courtesy were sometimes given to people not of noble rank who +were in authority. The title has always clung to Martha Washington, +partly from custom, and partly also from the great reverence of all +Americans for General Washington and his wife. + +Florence Wilcox, M. B., Isabelle Roorbach, and Lillie M. Sutphen sent +answers to E. M.'s question. + + + Baltimore, Md. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I would like to tell you my experience with wild +mice. Some time ago I spent the summer in the Sierra Nevada range. Our +family had a little cabin right in the woods, built of single boards. +One day our servant went to her valise, which had been left slightly +open; to her surprise, she found, neatly packed away, in one corner, a +small quantity of bird-seed; she at once accused a young friend, who was +staying with us, of having put it there for fun; but the accused pleaded +"not guilty," and the matter began to look mysterious. One day my papa +took down a pair of heavy mining boots, which were hung from the +rafters; he went to put his foot in, and found he couldn't; then he +turned the boot upside down. A lot of bird-seed ran out! The mystery +thickened. Another time a little dish of uncooked rice was left in the +kitchen overnight. The next morning the rice had disappeared. Then we +began to suspect mice, and hunted for the rice. It was three or four +days before we found it, in a box containing sewing materials, on the +top shelf of a cupboard. Then we took the same rice and put it in with +some broken bits of cracker, and tied a string to one of the pieces. +Papa left all on the kitchen floor. It had disappeared the next day, +except the bit with the string; this the wise little mice had not +touched. That night we heard pattering all over the house. Next day we +began to hunt for the rice again; but it was only just before we left +the cabin that we found it. It was in the tray of a trunk; and the end +of the matter was, that the poor mice had all their trouble for nothing. + +I am a little girl just nine and a half, and have every number of ST. +NICHOLAS, and have them all bound, and love it dearly.--Yours truly, + + LIZETTE A. FISHER. + + +A correspondent sends us the following description of what she calls the +"Island of Juan Fernandez," near Paris. + + * * * * * + +One of the most attractive places for out-door amusement, just outside +of Paris, is a spot fitted out to be a counterpart of the Island of Juan +Fernandez, described by Daniel de Foe in his story of Robinson Crusoe. + +After leaving the railroad depot, you enter an omnibus on which are +painted the words "Robinson Crusoe." This leaves you at an arch-way +bearing the curious inscription: "A mimic island of Juan Fernandez, the +abode of Robinson Crusoe, dear to the heart of childhood, and a +reminder of our days of innocence." You pass under this with high hope, +and are not disappointed. + +Inside, you find a kind of gypsy camp. Groups of open "summer-houses," +built of bark, unhewn wood, and moss, are clustered here and there. Some +stand on the earth, others are in grottoes or by shady rocks, and some +are even among the branches of the great trees. All these houses are +meant for resting-places while you are being served with such delicacies +as pleasure-seekers from Paris are wont to require. In each of those +huts, which are in the trees, stands a waiter who draws up the luncheon, +the creams, or ices, in a kind of bucket, which has been filled by +another waiter below. All is done deftly and silently, and you are as +little disturbed as was Elijah by the ravens who waited on him. + +The trees in which these houses are built are large old forest-trees, +each strong enough in the fork to hold safely the foundation of a small +cottage; and the winding stairs by which you get up into the tree are +hidden by a leafy drapery of ivy, which covers the trunk also, and hangs +in fluttering festoons from limb to limb. + +From one of these comfortable perches you look down upon a lively scene +of foliage, flowers, greensward, gay costumes and frolicking children. +The view is wide, and has many features that would be strange to "dear +old Robinson Crusoe." His cabin is multiplied into a hamlet, and his +hermit life is gone. But you still recognize the place as a modernized +portrait of the island of De Foe's wonderful book. And, as if to furnish +you with a fresh piece of evidence, yonder appears Robinson Crusoe +himself, in his coat of skins, and bearing his musket and huge umbrella. + +Instead of Man Friday, Will Atkins, and the rest, you see donkeys +carrying laughing children and led by queer-looking old women. And you +heave a little sigh when you think: "How few of these French boys and +girls really know old Crusoe and his adventures! To them this charming +place has nothing whatever to do with running away to sea, shipwrecks, +cannibals, mutinies, and such things. It is nothing but a new kind of +pleasure-ground to them." + +However, everybody feels at home here, and so everybody is happy; for, +after all, looking for happiness is much like the old woman's search for +her spectacles, which all the time are just above her nose. + +O dear delightful island, how glad we were to chance upon you right here +in gay, care-free Paris! And what an enchanted day we spent amid your +thousand delights and thronging memories! + + C. V. N. C. U. + + +HERE are two welcome little letters received some time ago from a boy +and girl in Europe: + + Nice, France. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am in Europe now, in Nice. I have seen a great deal +already. Nice is a nice place. And it is the only city in the world that +one may call "Nice" always. I can talk French now a little, enough to be +understood. I go to the "Promenade des Anglais" by the sea every +morning, and I like it very much. Nice is situated in the south-eastern +part of France, very near Italy. It once did belong to Italy. It was +given to Napoleon III. as a reward for helping the late king of Italy, +Victor Emanuel II., to the throne of Sardinia. I get the ST. NICHOLAS +sent from home, and like the stories very much.--Your loving subscriber, + + CHARLES JASTRON. + (Age 12.) + + + Nice, France. + +DARLING ST. NICHOLAS: I am a little girl seven years old, and I live in +Nice. I enjoy myself very much here, and have a great deal of fun. I +have nothing to do. I like it here very much. There are a great many +mountains here, but now I do not know any more to write.--Your loving +reader, + + NELLIE JASTRON. + + + Pittsburgh, Penn. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have never written to you before, but I have +thought about it several times. I live in the east end of the city. I +like your magazine very much, and always read it through. I had a +dispute to-day with a boy friend of mine. It was about the gypsies, who +camp near our place every year. He said that not all people who lived +that way were gypsies; but that only those who were descended from the +Egyptians were so named. I did not agree with him, because, in the first +place, I do not think that they are descended from the Egyptians, and, +in the second place, I think that all people who live in that way are +called gypsies, no matter what country they come from. I must now +close.--Your constant reader, + + FRANK WARD. + + + New York, N. Y. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Did you know that we once had musical watchmen in +this country? Less than fifty years ago, it was quite usual in +Pennsylvania for the watchmen to sing the passing hours during the +night. I suppose the custom was brought over by the Germans, who settled +in the Keystone State. I fancy it must have been sleepy work for the +poor watchman, calling the quiet hours, and adding, as he always did, +his little weather report; at least, he invented a very drowsy, +sing-song sort of tune for it. + +In these days of telegraphing, and other scientific improvements, we +should think it a very uncertain, and rather stupid, way to judge of the +weather, to say it was "past ten o'clock on a starry evening," or "a +cloudy evening," or "a frosty morning." Now, we have only to pick up the +morning paper, and consult "Old Probabilities," who nearly always +forecasts truly. But in those times there were no telegraph wires +running the length and breadth of the land, and no Signal Service, +either, so that the regular cry of the watchman may have been held in +high esteem; and, perhaps, the sleepy folk would raise an ear from the +pillow to hear the "probabilities" for the coming day, and lie down +again to arrange business or pleasure accordingly. + +A hundred years ago the people of Philadelphia were startled by a +famous cry of a watchman at dead of night, making every one who heard it +wild with joy. It was just after the battle of Yorktown, the last of the +Revolution, when Lord Cornwallis and his army surrendered to Washington. +The bearer of the news of victory, entering Philadelphia, stopped an old +watchman to ask the way to the State House, where Congress was in +session, waiting for news from the army. As soon as the watchman heard +the glad tidings, he started off on his rounds, singing out to his +monotonous tune the remarkable words-- + + "Past four o'clock, Cornwallis is taken!" + +Up flew the windows on all sides, and every ear was strained to catch +the joyful sound. The old bell sent forth a glad peal, houses were +thrown open and illuminated, and the streets were filled with happy +people congratulating one another, paying visits, and drinking toasts; +so that, could but one thousand of the seven thousand British soldiers +captured that day by Washington have entered the city that night, they +might have taken it without a struggle.--Yours very truly, + + E. A. S. + + + St. James House, King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: A few days ago my brother and I had a little bazaar +which I should like to tell you about. We had been collecting and making +things for a good long time, so we had nearly forty, most of which we +made ourselves, but some were given to us by friends. I copied some of +the things out of "A Hundred Christmas Presents," in ST. NICHOLAS for +November, 1877. They were very pretty, especially the little +wheelbarrow. We had a little refreshment stall with sweets, +ginger-snaps, etc., and they sold more quickly than anything. We got £1, +1s., a guinea, which we sent to an orphan institution in London. + +I like your magazine very much, I do not know which part is the +best.--Yours truly, + + M. Y. GIBSON. + + + Bay Shore, Long Island. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I lived in Germany over four years, so I know +something about it. I should like to tell you about rafts on the Elbe. + +They are of several kinds. Some are of boards all ready to be sold, +others of round timber, just cut; another kind is of squared logs, and a +fourth of both logs and boards. As the Elbe is not a rapid river, the +unaided progress of a raft is very slow. So each man on it has a pole +with an iron point on one end, while the other end fits to the shoulder; +and the men pole along most of the time. To each end of the raft there +are fastened three or four oars about twenty feet long; and with these +they steer. The Elbe is so shallow that in the summer time boys walk +through it; but in the spring the snow melting in the mountains at the +river's source (Bohemia) makes freshets which carry off animals, boards, +planks and sometimes houses. Under the arch-ways of the bridge at +Dresden during these freshets, there are suspended large nets, two +corners of each of which are fastened to the railing of the bridge, the +lower side is heavily weighted and dropped, and so the net catches +anything which comes down the stream.--Yours respectfully, + + FRANK BERGH TAYLOR. + + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I wish that you would tell me how to make skeleton +leaves. I have seen some done just lovely, and so I think that I should +like to try--even if I don't succeed--to make some myself. I am going to +the country this summer to stay quite a long time, and so I shall have a +chance to get a great many different kinds of leaves.--Your constant +reader, + + IRENE C. W. + + Irene's question is answered in Volume III. of ST. NICHOLAS, pages + 115 and 116,--the number for December, 1875. + + +THE VOYAGES AND ADVENTURES OF VASCO DA GAMA. By George M. Towle. Eight +Full-page Illustrations. Published by Lee & Shepard, Boston. In 294 +pages of clear type this book gives a cleverly condensed account of the +most interesting events in the life of Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese +navigator who first found the way from Europe to India around the Cape +of Good Hope. His daring nobility of character and true and exciting +adventures are presented in such a way as to delight boys and girls, and +yet the romance that cannot be taken from the story is not allowed to +interfere with historical truth. As the first of a series entitled +"Heroes of History," this volume makes a good start in a pleasant and +fruitful field. + + + + +THE RIDDLE-BOX. + + +DOUBLE ACROSTIC. + +The initials and finals name a flower. 1. A fruit. 2. A Shakspearean +character. 3. A neck of land. 4. A spice. + + ISOLA. + + +NUMERICAL ENIGMA. + + It was 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 to the teacher's 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 me to go + home early, that I escaped the shower. + + C. D. + + +PICTORIAL TRANSPOSITION PUZZLES. + +Find for each picture a word, or words, that will correctly describe it, +and then transpose the letters of the descriptive word so as to form +another word, which will answer to the definition given below the +picture. + + B. + +[Illustration: 1. Aromatic kernels of a much used kind.] + +[Illustration: 2. Sovereigns.] + + +DIAMOND PUZZLE. + +1. In martin, not in curlew. 2. A rather showy bird. 3. A very showy +bird. 4. An Oriental animal. 5. In sparrow. + + C. O. + + +SQUARE-WORD. + +1. A wading-bird. 2. A talking-bird. 3. To turn aside. 4. Steadiness of +courage, or fortitude. 5. To go in. + + R. K. D. + + + + +SHAKSPEAREAN REBUS. + +[Illustration: A three-line quotation from one of Shakspeare's plays.] + + +GEOGRAPHICAL DOUBLE ACROSTIC. + +The initials name a large country of Asia, and the finals a country of +Europe renowned for its climate. + +1. A country of South America. 2. An ancient name for a narrow strait in +South-eastern Europe. 3. A British possession in Asia. 4. A kingdom of +Northern Hindostan. 5. A North American mountain system. + + SEDGWICK. + + +METAGRAM. + +I am a word, with meanings many; To plunge, is just as good as any. With +new head, I'm a piece of money; With other head, I'm "sweet as honey." +Another still, I'm a projection; One more, I sever all connection. +Another change, I'm the teeth to stick in; Another still, I plague your +chicken. One more new head, and I'm to taste; One more, and I discharge +with haste. + + I. W. H. + + +VERY EASY HIDDEN FURNITURE. + +(FOR LITTLE FOLKS.) + +1. May got a tablet for her Christmas. 2. My father walks so fast! 3. +Such air as we breathe in our school-room is hurtful. 4. My brother's +tools are always out of place. 5. What? not going to the party to-night? +6. Vic! Ribbons are out of place on school-girls. 7. _What_ spool-cotton +is the best to use? 8. Boys, stop that racket! 9. Lily made skips going +along to school every day. + + C. I. J. + + +DOUBLE CROSS-WORD ENIGMA. + + 1. In shelf, but not in seat; + 2. In food, but not in meat; + 3. In slow, but not in fast; + 4. In model, but not in cast; + 5. In hovel, but not in hut; + 6. In almonds, but not in nut. + + Read this aright, and you will find + Two Yankee poets will come to mind. + + I. E. + + +TRANSPOSITIONS. + +In each of the following sentences, fill the first blank, or set of +blanks, with an appropriate word, or set of words, the letters of which +may be transposed to fill the remaining blanks, as often as these blanks +occur. + +Thus, in No. 1, the first blank may be appropriately filled with the +word "warned." The letters of this word, when transposed once, give +"warden" for the second blank, and, transposed again, "wander" for the +third. + +1. Though ---- before setting forth, the church ---- lost his way and +continued to ---- helplessly for some time. + +2. If a ----, or even a ---- had ---- at will through that well-kept +----, the plants would have been in great ----. + +3. If ---- grow in the Levantine island of ----, at least ----and ---- +are to be found there. This was told me as a ---- fact. + +4. Neither a precious stone such as a ----, nor a ---- ---- of pealed +willow, nor even a ---- of the sweet-pea vine, is of much account to an +animal so savage as the ----. W. + + +PROVERB REBUS. + +[Illustration] + + +CHARADE. + + Within my first, by no breeze stirred, + My second, mirrored, saw my third, + And plucked it, juicy, ripe and red, + From a stray branch just overhead. + + A town in India, owned by France, + My whole, might well enrich romance. + + J. P. B. + + +HOUR-GLASS PUZZLE. + +Central, read downward, an implement formerly used in war and the chase. +Horizontals: 1. To sing in solemn measure. 2. Mineral produce. 3. In +administrator. 4. A part of a toothed wheel. 5. An arbor. + + C. H. S. + + +CONTRACTIONS. + +1. Curtail a color, and leave the forehead. 2. Curtail a joiner's tool, +and leave a plot or draught. 3. Curtail a machine tool, and leave an +article used in house-building. 4. Curtail a shrub, and leave warmth. 5. +Curtail another shrub, and leave fog. 6. Curtail an ornament, and leave +a fruit. 7. Curtail a badge of dignity or power, and leave a bird. 8. +Curtail a thrust, and leave an organ of the human body. 9. Curtail a +number, and leave a building for defense. + + I. A. + + +WORD-SYNCOPATIONS. + +In each of the following sentences, remove one of the defined words from +the other, and leave a complete word. + +1. Take always from a young hare, and leave to allow. 2. Take a tree +from random cutting, and leave to throw. 3. Take part of the eye from +cuttings, and leave what children often say the kettle does. 4. Take a +sty from a workman in wood, and leave a carrier. 5. Take a favorite from +floor-coverings, and leave vehicles. + + CYRIL DEANE. + + + + +ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN JULY NUMBER. + +DIAMOND REMAINDERS.--1. Dry. 2. Elope. 3. Drovers. 4. Spend. 5. Try. +Remaining diamond: 1. R. 2. Lop. 3. Rover. 4. Pen. 5. R. + +A CONCEALED BILL-OF-FARE.--1. Tea. 2. Beef. 3. Butter. 4. Ham. 5. Egg. +6. Meat. 7. Pie. 8. Fish. 9. Shad. 10. Salad. 11. Peas. 12. Hash. + +EASY "ANNIVERSARY" PUZZLES.--Three anniversaries: 1. Fourth of July; J +is a fourth part of the word "July." 2. First of May; M is the first +letter of the word "May." 3. Holidays; hollied A's. + +GEOGRAPHICAL SINGLE ACROSTIC.--Liverpool 1. Liffey. 2. Irrawaddy. 3. +Vienne. 4. Euphrates. 5. Rhone. 6. Po. 7. Oder. 8. Ohio. 9. Lena. + +EASY HIDDEN LATIN PROVERB.--Tempus fugit: (Time flies.) Totem pushed: +Orfugito. + +DROP-LETTER PUZZLE.--"Make hay while the sun shines." + +SQUARE-WORD.--1. Bread. 2. Rumor. 3. Emery. 4. Aorta. 5. Dryad. + +ANAGRAM DOUBLE-DIAMOND AND INCLOSED DOUBLE WORD-SQUARE.--Diamond, +across: 1, R; 2, hat; 3, mated; 4, pen; 5, S. Word-square, downward: 1, +Hap; 2, ate; 3, ten. + +EASY BEHEADINGS.--1. Y-awning. 2. G-ape. 3. W-ant. 4. C-rate. 5. +S-crape. 6. P-lace. 7. L-oaf. 8. S-hocks. 9. S-pin. 10. B-lot. 11. +B-ranch. 12. S-lack. + +SHAKSPEAREAN ENIGMA.--Rosalind. + +PICTORIAL PUZZLE.--Patience: Pan, pence, ape, can, cane, cent, ice, +pint, tin, ten, tie, net, pie, tea, cat, cape. + +NUMERICAL PUZZLE.--Belle's letters; _Belles-lettres._ + +CHARADE.--Harpsichord: Harp, sigh, chord. + +SYNCOPATIONS.--1. Pilaster, plaster, paster, pater. 2. Harem, harm, ham. +3. Clamp, clap, cap. + +ACROSTIC.--Mignonette. 1. MaN. 2. IcE. 3. GnaT. 4. NuT. 5. OdE. + +DOUBLE, REVERSED ACROSTIC.-- + + D--i--D + E--k--E + E--v--E + D--eifie--D + +ENIGMA.--Hans Christian Andersen. 1. Shasta. 2. Chin. 3. Reins. 4. Red. +5. Nan. + +EASY ENIGMA.--Tennis: Sin, net. + +BIOGRAPHICAL DOUBLE ACROSTIC.--Abraham Lincoln. 1. AdmiraL. 2. BandittI. +3. RobiN. 4. ArC. 5. HerO. 6. AnviL. 7. MarteN. + +HOUR-GLASS PUZZLE.--Chamois. 1. DisCern, 2. ScHah. 3. DAn. 4. M. 5. FOe. +6. PaIns. 7. VasSals. + +REVERSALS.--1. Flow, wolf. 2. Draw, ward. 3. Gulp, plug, 4. Laud, dual. +5. Leer, reel. + + +ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN THE JUNE NUMBER were received, before June 18, +from "Allie," Milly E. Adams, Maude Adams, George J. Fiske, Jeanie A. +Christie, "Fannie," Edward Vultee, "Aimée," Estella Lohmeyer, Bertha +Keferstein, Willie B. Deas, "Winnie," "Vulcan," "St. Nicholas Club," +Chas. Carhart, "Patrolman Gilhooley," Harry Price, Frankie Price, M. W. +C., "Prebo," "Cozy Club," E. S. G., M. H. G., "Lillian," Gertrude H., +Bessie G., Georgie B., Adèle F. Freeman, Nessie E. Stevens, Minnie +Thiebaud, Eleanor P. Hughes, Ella Blanke, Kittie Blanke, "Bessie and her +Cousin," Alice Robinson, C. S. King, Wm. H. McGee, Adèle G. D., E. F. +T., Nettie Kabrick, Debe D. Moore, Neils E. Hansen, Isabel Lauck, "O. +K.," Alfred Terry Barnes, Florence Wilcox, Francis H. Earp, Imogene M. +Wood, Horace F. W., Rowen S. McClure, Julia Crofton, "The P. L. C.," S. +Norris Knapp, "K. Y. Z.," "Nameless," W. C. Eichelberger, John Cress, +Daisy Briggs, Romeo Friganzi De Plonzies De Flon, G. P. Dravo, Marshall +B. Clarke, Mary L. Fenimore, Bessie H. Jones, Samuel Hoyt Brady, Edith +McKeever, R. Townsend McKeever, Annie L. Volkmar, E. Gilchrist, H. B. +Ayers, S. A. Gregory, Virgie Gregory, "Caprice," Lewis G. Davis, Charles +Fritts, Frances Hunter, Ray T. French, Nellie Zimmerman, Kittie Tuers, +Etta Taylor, Guardie Kimball, Lulu Loomis, W. A. Ricker, Florence R. +Swain, Nellie Baker, Gracie Van Wagenen, Rosie Van Wagenen, C. B. +Murray, Gertrude Cheever, Albert T. Emery, Florence Van Rensselaer, +"Hard and Tough," Nellie Emerson, Hans Oehme, Paul Oehme, C. N. +Cogswell, Louisa Blake, W. H. Patten, Clara F. Allen, Caroline Howard, +Helen Jackson, Ethel S. Mason, Helen S. Rodenstein, Harry Durand, +Charles H. Stout, Sarah Duffield, Constance Grand-Pierre, "Prince +Arthur," Madeleine Boniville, K. Beddle, Georgine C. Schnitzspahn, Mamie +Robbins, C. L. S. Tingley, A. M. Holz, "Black Prince," J. R. Garfield, +Anna E. Mathewson, "Adrienne," Grace A. Smith, M. H. Bradley, Gladys H. +Wilkinson, and "John Gilpin." + +THE LABYRINTH PUZZLE was solved by Esther L. Fiske, "Aimée," Estella +Lohmeyer, Bertha Keferstein, "Vulcan," "Patrolman Gilhooley," Chas. H. +Stout, M. W. C., "Cozy Club," R. M., Nessie E. Stevens, Minnie Thiebaud, +Eleanor P. Hughes, Ella Blanke, Kittie Blanke, "Bessie and her Cousin," +Adèle G. D., Horace F. W., S. Norris Knapp, W. C. Eichelberger, John +Cress, Romeo Friganzi De Plonzies De Flon, Samuel Hoyt Brady, Eddie K. +Earle, R. Townsend McKeever, Nettie F. Mack, "Caprice," C. Maud Olney, +Frances Hunter, Charles Fritts, Harvey E. Mason, Lulu B. Monroe, Nellie +Baker, Nellie Emerson, Caroline Howard, "Diaconos," Sarah Duffield, +Constance Grand-Pierre, William T. Gray, K. Beddle, Georgine C. +Schnitzspahn, Gladys H. Wilkinson, and H. Martin Vail. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and +Girls, Vol. V, August, 1878, No 10., by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. 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August, 1878, No. 10, by Various. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + +body { + margin-left: 15%; + margin-right: 15%; +} + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; +} + +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; +} + +div.centered {text-align: center;} /* work around for IE centering with CSS problem part 1 */ + div.centered table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;} /* work around for IE centering with CSS problem part 2 */ + + +.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; +} /* page numbers */ + + +.blockquot { + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + + + + + +.center {text-align: center;} + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + +.caption {font-weight: bold; font-size: smaller;} + +/* Images */ +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; + margin-top: 3em; +} + +.figleft { + float: left; + clear: left; + margin-left: 0; + margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-right: 1em; + padding: 0; + text-align: center; +} + +.figright { + float: right; + clear: right; + margin-left: 1em; + margin-bottom: + 1em; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-right: 0; + padding: 0; + text-align: center; +} + + +/* Poetry */ +.poem { + margin-left:10%; + margin-right:10%; + text-align: left; +} + +.poem br {display: none;} + +.poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + +.poem span.i0 { + display: block; + margin-left: 0em; + padding-left: 3em; + text-indent: -3em; +} + +.poem span.i2 { + display: block; + margin-left: 2em; + padding-left: 3em; + text-indent: -3em; +} + +.poem span.i4 { + display: block; + margin-left: 4em; + padding-left: 3em; + text-indent: -3em; +} + .poem span.i5 {display: block; margin-left: 5em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i6 {display: block; margin-left: 6em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + + + +.cpoem {width: 35em; margin: 0 auto;} /* centers text and maintains left justified margin */ + +.cpoem1 {width: 25em; margin: 0 auto;} /* centers text and maintains left justified margin */ + + + div.backleft { + background: top left no-repeat; + } + + div.sandbag-left { + float:left; + clear:left; + padding-right: 10px; + } + +.author {text-align: right; margin-right: 5%;} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, +Vol. V, August, 1878, No 10., by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. V, August, 1878, No 10. + Scribner's Illustrated + +Author: Various + +Editor: Mary Mapes Dodge + +Release Date: September 14, 2009 [EBook #29983] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS MAGAZINE *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<p> <br /><br /><br /></p> +<h1>ST. NICHOLAS.</h1> + + +<div class='centered'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" width="55%" cellspacing="0" summary="volume number and date"> +<tr><th align='left'>Vol. V.</th><th align='center'>AUGUST, 1878.</th><th align='right'>No. 10.</th></tr> +</table></div> + + +<p class="center">[Copyright, 1878, by Scribner & Co.]</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<h3>CONTENTS</h3> + +<div class='centered'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="CONTENTS"> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#KING_CHEESE">KING CHEESE.</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#RODS_FOR_FIVE">RODS FOR FIVE.</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#HOW_TO_TRAVEL">HOW TO TRAVEL.</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#THE_SWALLOWS">THE SWALLOWS.</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#UNDER_THE_LILACS">UNDER THE LILACS</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#HAPPY_FIELDS_OF_SUMMER">"HAPPY FIELDS OF SUMMER."</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#THE_DIGGER-WASPS_AT_HOME">THE DIGGER-WASPS AT HOME.</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#THE_EMERGENCY_MISTRESS">THE EMERGENCY MISTRESS.</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHURNING">CHURNING.</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#THE_MOON_FROM_A_FROGS_POINT_OF_VIEW">THE MOON, FROM A FROG'S POINT OF VIEW.</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#DAB_KINZER_A_STORY_OF_A_GROWING_BOY">DAB KINZER: A STORY OF A GROWING BOY.</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#GERTY">GERTY.</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#THE_CROW_THAT_THE_CROW_CROWED">THE CROW THAT THE CROW CROWED.</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#THE_LONDON_MILK-WOMAN">THE LONDON MILK-WOMAN.</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#ALICE_SUPPER">ALICE'S SUPPER.</a></td></tr> + + +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#JACK_IN_THE_PULPIT">JACK IN THE PULPIT.</a></td></tr> + + + +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#THE_LETTER-BOX">THE LETTER-BOX.</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#THE_RIDDLE-BOX">THE RIDDLE-BOX.</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#SHAKSPEAREAN_REBUS">SHAKSPEAREAN REBUS.</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#ANSWERS_TO_PUZZLES_IN_JULY_NUMBER">ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN JULY NUMBER.</a></td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_641" id="Page_641">[Pg 641]</a></span></p> + + + + + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> +<h2><a name="KING_CHEESE" id="KING_CHEESE"></a>KING CHEESE.</h2> + +<p class="center">(<i>A Story of the Paris Exhibition of 1867.</i>)</p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By J. T. Trowbridge.</span></p> + +<div class="cpoem"> +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Where many a cloud-wreathed mountain blanches<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Eternally in the blue abyss,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And tosses its torrents and avalanches<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Thundering from cliff and precipice,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">There is the lovely land of the Swiss,—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Land of lakes and of icy seas,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Of chamois and chalets,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">And beautiful valleys,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Musical boxes, watches, and cheese.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Picturesque, with its landscapes green and cool,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sleek cattle standing in shadow or pool,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And dairy-maids bearing pail and stool,—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That is the quaint little town of Nulle.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">There, one day, in the old town-hall,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Gathered the worthy burghers all,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Great and small,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Short and tall,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">At the burgomaster's call.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">The stout and fat, the lean and lame,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From house and shop, and dairy and pasture,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In queer old costumes, up they came,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Obedient to the burgomaster.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">He made a speech—"Fellow-citizens: There is<br /></span> +<span class="i6">To be, as you know,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">A wonderful show,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A Universal Fair, at Paris;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where every country its product carries,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whatever most beautiful, useful, or rare is,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">To please and surprise,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">And perhaps win a prize.<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Now here is the question<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Which craves your counsel and suggestion—<br /></span> +<span class="i6">With you it lies:<br /></span> +<span class="i6">So, after wise<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And careful consideration of it,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Say, what shall <i>we</i> send for our honor and profit?"<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Some said this thing, some said that;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then up rose a burgher, ruddy and fat,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Rounder and redder than all the rest,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With a nose like a rose, and an asthmatic chest;<br /></span> +<span class="i6">And says he, with a wheeze,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Like the buzzing of bees:<br /></span> +<span class="i6">"I propose, if you please,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">That we send 'em a <i>cheese</i>."<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i6">Then a lithe little man<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Took the floor, and began,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In a high, squeaky voice: "I approve of the plan;<br /></span> +<span class="i6">But I wish to amend<br /></span> +<span class="i6">What's proposed by my friend:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A <span class="smcap">BIG CHEESE</span>, I think, is the thing we should send."<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i6">Then up jumped a third,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">To put in a word,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And amend the amendment they had just heard;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"A ROYAL BIG CHEESE" was the phrase he preferred.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i6">The question was moved,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Discussed and approved,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the vote was unanimous, that it behooved<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_642" id="Page_642">[Pg 642]</a></span><span class="i0">Their ancient, venerable corporation,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To send such a cheese as should honor the nation.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So ended the solemn convocation;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And, after due deliberation,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The burgomaster made proclamation,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Inviting people of every station,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Each according to his vocation,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With patriotic emulation<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To join in a general jubilation,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And get up a cheese for the grand occasion.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then shortly began the preparation.<br /></span> +</div></div></div> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/illus-642.png" width="500" height="438" alt=""PEASANT GIRLS BRINGING THE MILK."" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"PEASANT GIRLS BRINGING THE MILK."</span> +</div> + +<div class="cpoem"> +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">One morning was heard a mighty clamoring,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With sounds of sawing and planing and hammering.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The painters, forsaking their easels and pallets,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Came to look on, or assist in the labor;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The joiners were there with their chisels and mallets;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Trades of all grades, every man with his neighbor;<br /></span> +<span class="i6">The carpenters, coopers,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">And stout iron-hoopers,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Erecting a press for the thing to be done in,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A tub big enough to put ton after ton in,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And gutters for rivers of liquid to run in.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">March was the month the work was begun in,—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">If that could be work they saw nothing but fun in;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">'Twas finished in April, and long before May<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Everything was prepared for the curd and the<br /></span> +<span class="i0">whey.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i6">Then the bells were set ringing—<br /></span> +<span class="i6">The milking began;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">All over the land went the dairy-maids singing;<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Boy and man,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Cart, pail, and can,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And peasant girls, each in her pretty dress,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_643" id="Page_643">[Pg 643]</a></span><br /></span> +<span class="i0">From highway and by-way all round, came bringing,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Morning and evening, the milk to the press.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then it took seven wise-heads together to guess<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Just how much rennet, no more and no less,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Should be added, to curdle and thicken the mess.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">So, having been properly warmed and stirred,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The cheese was set; and now, at a word,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ten strong men fell to cutting the curd.<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Some whey was reheated;<br /></span> +<span class="i6">The cutting repeated;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Each part of the process most carefully treated,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For fear they might find, when the whole was completed,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Their plan had by some mischance been defeated.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Now the weavers come bringing the web they were spinning,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A cloth for the curd, of the stoutest of linen.<br /></span> +<span class="i6">The ten men attack it,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">And tumble and pack it<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Within the vast vat in its dripping gray jacket;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the press is set going with clatter and racket.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The great screw descends, as the long levers play,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the curd, like some crushed living creature, gives way;<br /></span> +<span class="i6">It sighs in its troubles—<br /></span> +<span class="i6">The pressure redoubles!<br /></span> +<span class="i8">It mutters and sputters,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">And hisses and bubbles,<br /></span> +<span class="i8">While down the deep gutters,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From every pore spirted, rush torrents of whey.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">The cheese was pressed, and turned, and cured;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And so was made, as I am assured,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The rich-odored, great-girdled Emperor<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of all the cheeses that ever were.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Then, everything ready, what should they have else,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In starting His Majesty on his travels,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But a great procession up and down<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Through the streets of the quaint old town?<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i6">So they made<br /></span> +<span class="i6">A grand parade,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With marching train-band, guild, and trade:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The burgomaster in robes arrayed,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Gold chain, and mace, and gay cockade,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Great keys carried, and flags displayed,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Pompous marshal and spruce young aide,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Carriage and foot and cavalcade;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">While big drums thundered and trumpets brayed,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And all the bands of the canton played;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The fountain spouted lemonade,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Children drank of the bright cascade;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Spectators of every rank and grade,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The young and merry, the grave and staid,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Alike with cheers the show surveyed,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From street and window and balustrade,—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ladies in jewels and brocade,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Gray old grandam, and peasant maid<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With cap, short skirt, and dangling braid;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And youngsters shouted, and horses neighed,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And all the curs in concert bayed:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">'T was thus with pomp and masquerade,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">On a broad triumphal chariot laid,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Beneath a canopy's moving shade,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">By eight cream-colored steeds conveyed,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To the ringing of bells and cannonade,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">King Cheese his royal progress made.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">So to the Paris Exposition,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">His Majesty went on his famous mission.<br /></span> +</div></div></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;"> +<img src="images/illus-643.png" width="650" height="283" alt=""SO THEY MADE A GRAND PARADE."" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"SO THEY MADE A GRAND PARADE."</span> +</div> + +<div class="cpoem"> +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i8">At the great French Fair!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Everything under the sun is there,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whatever is made by the hand of man:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Silks from China and Hindostan,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Grotesque bronzes from Japan;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Products of Iceland, Ireland, Scotland,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Lapland, Finland, I know not what land—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">North land, south land, cold land, hot land,—<br /></span> +<span class="i6">From Liberia,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">From Siberia,—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Every fabric and invention,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From every country you can mention:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From Algeria and Sardinia;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From Ohio and Virginia;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Egypt, Siam, Palestine;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Lands of the palm-tree, lands of the pine;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Lands of tobacco, cotton, and rice,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of iron, of ivory, and of spice,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of gold and silver and diamond,—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From the farthest land, and the land beyond.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">And everybody is there to see:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From Mexico and Mozambique;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Spaniard, Yankee, Heathen Chinee;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Modern Roman and modern Greek;<br /></span> +<span class="i5">Frenchman and Prussian,<br /></span> +<span class="i5">Turk and Russian,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Foes that have been, or foes to be:<br /></span> +<span class="i5">Through miles on miles<br /></span> +<span class="i5">Of spacious aisles,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">'Mid the wealth of the world in gorgeous piles,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Loiter and flutter the endless files!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Encircled all day by a wondering throng,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That gathers early and lingers long,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Behold where glows, in his golden rind,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The marvel the burghers of Nulle designed!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">There chatters the cheery <i>bourgeoisie</i>;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And children are lifted high to see;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And "Will it go up in the sky to-night?"<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Asks little ma'm'selle, in the arms of her mother,—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Rise over the houses and give us light?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Is this where it sets when it goes out of sight?"<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For she takes King Cheese for his elder brother!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> + +<span class="i0">But now it is night, and the crowds have departed;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The vast dim halls are still and deserted;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Only the ghost-like watchmen go,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Through shimmer and shadow, to and fro;<br /></span> +<span class="i5">While the moon in the sky,<br /></span> +<span class="i5">With his half-shut eye,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Peers smilingly in at his rival below.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">At this mysterious hour, what is it<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That comes to pay the Fair a visit?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_644" id="Page_644">[Pg 644]</a></span><br /></span> +<span class="i6">The gates are all barred,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">With a faithful guard<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Without and within; and yet 'tis clear<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Somebody—or something—is entering here!<br /></span> +</div></div></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/illus-644a.png" width="500" height="430" alt=""ENCIRCLED ALL DAY BY A WONDERING THRONG."" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"ENCIRCLED ALL DAY BY A WONDERING THRONG."</span> +</div> + +<div class="cpoem"> +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">There is a Paris underground,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Where dwells another nation;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where neither lawyer nor priest is found,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Nor money nor taxation;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And scarce a glimmer, and scarce a sound<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Reaches those solitudes profound,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But silence and darkness close it round,—<br /></span> +<span class="i2">A horrible habitation!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Its streets are the sewers, where rats abound;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where swarms, unstifled, unstarved, undrowned,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Their ravenous population.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Underground Paris has heard of the Fair;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And up from the river, from alley and square,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To the wonderful palace the rats repair;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And one old forager, grizzled and spare,—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The wisest to plan and the boldest to dare,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To smell out a prize or to find out a snare,—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In some dark corner, beneath some stair<br /></span> +<span class="i0">(I never learned how, and I never knew where),<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Has gnawed his way into the grand affair;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">First one rat, and then a pair,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And now a dozen or more are there.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">They caper and scamper, and blink and stare,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">While the drowsy watchman nods in his chair.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But little a hungry rat will care<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For the loveliest lacquered or inlaid ware,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Jewels most precious, or stuffs most rare;—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">There's a marvelous smell of cheese in the air!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">They all make a rush for the delicate fare;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But the shrewd old fellow squeaks out, "Beware!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">'T is a prize indeed, but I say, forbear!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For cats may catch us and men may scare,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And a well-set trap is a rat's despair;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But if we are wise, and would have our share<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With perfect safety to hide and hair,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Now listen, and we will our plans prepare."<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">The watchman rouses, the rats are gone;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">On a thousand windows gleams the dawn;<br /></span> +<span class="i6">And now once more<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Through every door,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With hustle and bustle, the great crowds pour;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And nobody hears a soft little sound,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As of sawing or gnawing, somewhere underground.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">At length, the judges, going their round,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Awarding the prizes, enter the hall,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where, amid cheeses big and small,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Reposes the sovereign of them all.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">They put their tape round it, and tap it and bore it;<br /></span> +<span class="i6">And bowing before it,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">As if to adore it,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Like worshipers of the sun, they stand,—<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Slice in hand,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Pleased and bland,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">While their bosoms glow and their hearts expand.<br /></span> +<span class="i6">They smell and they taste;<br /></span> +<span class="i6">And, the rind replaced,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The foremost, smacking his lips, says: "Messieurs!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of all fine cheeses at market or fair,—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Holland or Rochefort, Stilton or Cheshire,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Neufchâtel, Milanese,—<br /></span> +<span class="i6">There never was cheese,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">I am free to declare,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">That at all could compare<br /></span> +<span class="i6">With this great Gruyère!"<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">In short, so exceedingly well it pleases,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">They award it a prize over all the cheeses.<br /></span> +</div></div></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/illus-644b.png" width="400" height="260" alt=""FIRST, ONE RAT."" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"FIRST, ONE RAT."</span> +</div> + +<div class="cpoem"> +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">That prize is the pride of the whole Swiss nation;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the town of Nulle, in its exultation,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Without a dissenting voice, decrees<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To the poor of Paris a gift of the cheese.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Paris, in grateful recognition<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of this munificence, sends a commission—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Four stately officials, of high position—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To take King Cheese from the Exhibition,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And, in behalf of the poor, to thank,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With speeches and toasts, the Swiss for their gift.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The speeches they made, the toasts they drank;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Eight Normandy horses, strong and swift,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">At the entrance wait<br /></span> +<span class="i6">For the golden freight;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And all the porters are there to lift,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Prepared for a long and a strong embrace,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In moving His Greatness a little space.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">They strain at the signal, each man in his place:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Heave, ho!"—when, lo! as light as a feather,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Down tumbles, down crumbles, the King of the Cheeses,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With seven men, all in a heap together!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Up scramble the porters, with laughter and sneezes;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">While sudden, mighty amazement seizes<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The high officials, until they find<br /></span> +<span class="i6">A curious bore<br /></span> +<span class="i6">In the platform floor,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And another to match in the nether rind,—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Just one big rat-hole, and no more;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">By which, as it seemed, had ventured in<br /></span> +<span class="i0">One rat, at first, and a hundred had followed,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And feasted, and left—to the vast chagrin<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_645" id="Page_645">[Pg 645]</a></span><br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of the worthy burghers of Nulle—as thin<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And shabby a shell as ever was hollowed;<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Now nothing but just<br /></span> +<span class="i6">A crushed-in crust,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A cart-load of scraps and a pungent dust!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">So the newspapers say; but though they call<br /></span> +<span class="i0">King Cheese a hoax, he was hardly that.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the poor he fed, as you see, after all;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For who is so poor as a Paris rat?<br /></span> +</div></div></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/illus-645.png" width="500" height="432" alt=""DOWN TUMBLES, DOWN CRUMBLES, THE KING OF THE +CHEESES."" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"DOWN TUMBLES, DOWN CRUMBLES, THE KING OF THE +CHEESES."</span> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="RODS_FOR_FIVE" id="RODS_FOR_FIVE"></a>RODS FOR FIVE.</h2> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By Sarah Winter Kellogg.</span></p> + + +<p>Not birch-rods; fishing-rods. They were going fishing, these five young +people, of whom I shall treat "under four heads," as the ministers +say,—1, names; 2, ages; 3, appearance; 4, their connection.</p> + +<p>1. Their names were John and Elsie Singletree, Puss Leek, Luke Lord, and +Jacob Isaac; the last had no surname.</p> + +<p>2. John was fifteen and a few months past; Elsie was thirteen and many +months past; Puss Leek was fourteen to a day; Luke Lord crowded John so +closely, there was small room for superior age to claim precedence, or +for the shelter which inferior age makes on certain occasions; Jacob +Isaac was "thutteen, gwyne on fou'teen."</p> + +<p>3. John Singletree was a dark-eyed, sharp-eyed, wiry, briery boy. Elsie, +of the same name, was much like him, being a dark-eyed, sharp-eyed, +wiry, briery girl. Her father used to call her Sweet-brier and +Sweet-pickle, because, he said, she was sweet but sharp. Puss Leek had +long, heavy, blonde hair, that hung almost to her knees when it was +free, which it seldom was, for Puss braided it every morning, the first +thing,—not loosely, to give it a fat look, hinting of its luxuriance, +but just as hard as she could, quite to Elsie's annoyance, who used to +say, resentfully, "You're so afraid that somebody'll think that you are +vain of your hair." Puss's ears were over large for perfect beauty, and +her eyes a trifle too deeply set; but I've half a mind to say that she +was a beauty, in spite of these, for, after all, the ears had a generous +look, in har<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_646" id="Page_646">[Pg 646]</a></span>mony with the frank, open face, and the shadowed eye was +the softest, sweetest blue eye I ever saw. She had been called Puss when +a baby, because of her nestling, kitten-like way, and the odd name clung +to her. Luke Lord was homely; but he didn't care a bit. He was so jolly +and good-natured that everybody liked him, and he liked everybody, and +so was happy. He had light hair, very light for fifteen years, and a +peculiar teetering gait, which was not unmanly, however. It made people +laugh at him, but he didn't care a bit. Jacob Isaac was a "cullud +pusson," as he would have said, protesting against the word "negro." +"Nigger," he used to say, "is de mos' untolerbulis word neber did year." +It was the word he applied to whatever moved his anger or contempt. It +was his descriptive epithet for the old hen that flew at him for +abducting her traipsing chicken; for the spotted pig that led him that +hour's chase; for the goat that butted, and the cow that hooked; and for +gray Selim when he stood on his hind legs and let Jacob Isaac over the +sleek haunches.</p> + +<p>But to return to No. 4. John and Elsie Singletree were brother and +sister. Puss Leek was Elsie's boarding-school friend, and her guest. +Luke Lord was a neighboring boy invited to join the fishing-party, to +honor Puss Leek's birthday, and to help John protect the girls. Jacob +Isaac was hired to "g'long" as general waiter, to do things that none of +the others wanted to do—to do the drudgery while they did the +frolicking.</p> + +<p>They were all on horseback,—John riding beside Puss Leek, protecting +her; Luke riding beside Elsie, and protecting her; Jacob Isaac riding +beside his shadow, and protecting the lunch-basket, carried on the +pommel of his saddle.</p> + +<p>"I keep thinking about the 'snack,'" said Puss Leek's protector, before +they had made a mile of their journey.</p> + +<p>"What do you think about it?" asked the protected.</p> + +<p>"I keep thinking how good it'll taste. Aunt Calline makes mighty good +pound-cake. I do love pound-cake!"</p> + +<p>"<i>Like</i> it, you mean, John," said his sister Elsie, looking back over +her shoulder.</p> + +<p>"I <i>don't</i> mean like," said John. "If there is anything I love better +than father and mother, brother and sister, it's pound-cake."</p> + +<p>"But there isn't anything," said Puss.</p> + +<p>"My kingdom for a slice!" said John, with a tragic air. "I don't believe +I can stand it to wait till lunch-time."</p> + +<p>"Why, it hasn't been a half-hour since you ate breakfast. Are you +hungry?" Elsie said.</p> + +<p>"No, I'm not hungry; I'm <i>ha'nted</i>." John pronounced the word with a +flatness unwritable. "The pound-cake ha'nts me; the fried chicken +ha'nts me; the citron ha'nts me. I see 'em!" John glared at the vacant +air as though he saw an apparition. "I taste 'em! I smell 'em! I feel +moved to call on him" (here Jacob Isaac was indicated by a backward +glance and movement) "to yield the <i>wittles</i> or his life. Look here!" he +added, suddenly reining-up his horse and speaking in dead earnest, +"let's eat the snack now. Halt!" he cried to the advance couple, "we're +going to eat."</p> + +<p>"Going to eat?" cried Elsie. "You're not in earnest?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I am. I can't rest. The cake and things ha'nt me."</p> + +<p>"Well, do for pity's sake eat something, and get done with it," Elsie +said.</p> + +<p>"But you must wait for me," John persisted. "I'll have to spread the +things out on the grass. I keep thinking how good they'll taste eaten +off the grass. There's where the ha'ntin' comes in."</p> + +<p>"Did you ever hear anything so ridiculous?" said Elsie to the others. +"But I suppose we had better humor him; he wont give us any rest till we +do; he's so persistent. When he gets headed one way, he's like a pig." +Elsie began to pull at the bridle to bring her horse alongside a stump. +"Puss and I can get some flowers during the repast."</p> + +<p>"I call this a most peculiar proceeding," said her protector, leaping +from his horse, and hastening to help her to "'light."</p> + +<p>Jacob Isaac gladly relinquished the lunch-basket, which had begun to +make his arm ache, and soon John had the "ha'nting things" spread. Then +he sat down Turk-like to eating; the others stood around, amused +spectators, while chicken, beaten biscuits, strawberry tart, pound-cake +disappeared as though they enjoyed being eaten.</p> + +<p>"I believe I'm getting 'ha'nted,' too," said Luke Lord, whose mouth +began to water,—the things seemed to taste so good to John.</p> + +<p>"Good for you!" John said, cordially. "Come along! Help yourself to a +chicken-wing."</p> + +<p>"Why, Luke, you aint going to eating!" Elsie said.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I am; John's made me hungry."</p> + +<p>"Me, too," said Jacob Isaac.</p> + +<p>"Of course, you're hungry," said John. "Come along! Hold your two +hands."</p> + +<p>"Let's go look for sweet-Williams and blue-flags," Puss proposed to +Elsie.</p> + +<p>"No; if we go away, the boys will eat everything up. Just look at them! +Did ever you see such eatists? You boys, stop eating all the lunch."</p> + +<p>"Aint you girls getting 'ha'nted?'" Luke asked. "If you don't come soon, +there wont be left for you."</p> + +<p>"I believe that's so," said Puss confidentially to Elsie. "I reckon +we'll have to take our share now, or not at all. We've got to eat in +self-defense."</p> + +<p>And so it came about that those five ridiculous children sat there, less +than a mile on their journey, and less than an hour from their +breakfast, and ate, ate, ate, till there was nothing of their lunch left +except a half biscuit and a chicken neck. John, fertile in invention, +proposed that they should go back home and get something more for +dinner; but Puss said everybody would laugh at them, and Elsie thought +they wouldn't be able to eat anything more that day, and, if they should +be hungry, they could have a fish-fry.</p> + +<p>"Aint no use totin' this yere basekit 'long no mawr," Jacob Isaac +suggested. "I'll leave it hang in this yere sass'fras saplin'." When it +was intimated that it would be needed for the remainder of the lunch, he +said there wasn't any "'mainder." "What's lef' needn't pester you-all; +I'll jis eat it."</p> + +<p>Arrived at the water, the boys baited the hooks, at which the girls gave +little shrieks, and hid their eyes, demanding to know of the boys how +they would like to be treated as they were treating the worms.</p> + +<p>"The poor creatures!" said Puss.</p> + +<p>"So helpless!" added Elsie, peeping through her fingers at the boys. +"Aren't the hooks ready yet?"</p> + +<p>"Yours is," and Luke delivered a rod into her hands.</p> + +<p>"And here's yours, Puss," John said. "Drop it in."</p> + +<p>Soon there were five rods extended over the water, and five corks were +floating which might have told of robbed molasses-jugs and vinegar-jugs, +and five young people were laughing, and talking nonsense by the—— How +is nonsense estimated? Everybody kept asking everybody else if he had +had a bite, and everybody was guilty of giving false alarms. As for +Elsie, she shrieked out, "A bite!" at every provocation,—whenever the +current bore unusually against her line, when the floating hook dragged +bottom or encountered a twig.</p> + +<p>"Jupiter!" said John, growing impatient at the idle drifting of his +cork. "I can't stand this, Elsie. You girls stop talking. You chatter +like magpies; you scare the fish. Girls oughtn't ever to go fishing."</p> + +<p>Jacob Isaac snickered, and remarked <i>sotto voce</i>: "He talks hisse'f maw +'n the res' of the ladies."</p> + +<p>Elsie did not heed John's attack. Her eye was riveted on her bobbing +cork; her cheeks were glowing with excitement; her heart was beating +wildly. There was a pulling at her line.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_647" id="Page_647">[Pg 647]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Keep quiet!" she called. "I've got a bite."</p> + +<p>"You would have, if I could get at your arm," said John, who didn't +believe she had a bite.</p> + +<p>"I have, truly," she said, excitedly. "Look!"</p> + +<p>All came tramping, crowding about her.</p> + +<p>"I feel him pull," she said, eagerly.</p> + +<p>"Well, get him out," said Luke.</p> + +<p>"Shall I pull him or jerk him?" Elsie was nearly breathless.</p> + +<p>"If I knew about his size, I could tell you," said Luke. "If he's big, +give him a dignified pull; if he's a little chap, jerk him; no business +to be little."</p> + +<p>"Oh! I'm afraid it will hurt him," said Puss.</p> + +<p>"Out with him!" said Luke.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid the line will break," said Elsie, all in a quiver.</p> + +<p>"No, it wont," said John.</p> + +<p>"The rod might snap," said Elsie.</p> + +<p>"Here, let me take the rod," John proposed.</p> + +<p>"No, no; I'm going to catch the fish myself," Elsie said, in vehement +protest.</p> + +<p>"Then jerk, sharp and strong," her brother said.</p> + +<p>Elsie made ready; steadied her eager brain; planted her feet firmly; +braced her muscles by her will; and then, with a shriek, threw up her +rod, "as high as the sky," Puss said. There was a fleeting vision of a +dripping white-bellied fish going skyward; and then a faint thud was +heard.</p> + +<p>"She's thrown it a half-mile, or less, in the bushes," said Luke.</p> + +<p>"And there's her hook in the top of that tree," said John. "What gumps +girls are when you take them out-of-doors!"</p> + +<p>All went into the bushes to look for the astonished fish. They looked, +and looked, and looked; listened for its beating and flopping against +the ground.</p> + +<p>After a while, Luke said he thought it must be one of the climbing fish +described by Agassiz, and that it had gone up a tree.</p> + +<p>"I mos' found it twice't; but it was a frog an' a lizar', 'stead uv the +fish," said Jacob Isaac.</p> + +<p>To this day, it remains a mystery where Elsie's fish went to.</p> + +<p>Jacob Isaac climbed the tree to rescue Elsie's hook and line, while the +other boys went down the stream to find a cat-fish hole that they had +heard of.</p> + +<p>"Don't pull at the line that way," Puss said to the thrasher in the +tree-top; "you'll break it. There, the hook is caught on that twig. You +must go out on the limb and unhitch it."</p> + +<p>"Lim' hangs over the watto," Jacob Isaac said; but he crawled out on it, +and reached for the hook.</p> + +<p>Then Elsie shrieked, for crashing through the branches came Jacob Isaac, +and splashed back-foremost into the water. Then there was con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_648" id="Page_648">[Pg 648]</a></span>fusion. +Jacob called to the girls to help him; they called to the boys to help; +the boys, ignorant of the accident, shouted back that they were going on +to where they could have quiet, and went tramping away. Then Elsie tried +to tell Jacob Isaac how to swim, while Puss Leek darted off to where the +horses were tethered. She mounted the one she had ridden—a gentle +thing, aged eighteen. Then she came crashing through the bushes and +brush, clucking and jerking the bridle, dashed down the bank, and +plunged into the stream.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 445px;"> +<img src="images/illus-648.png" width="445" height="600" alt=""HE KNELT ON THE BANK TO FIX HIS BAIT."" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"HE KNELT ON THE BANK TO FIX HIS BAIT."</span> +</div> + +<p>Elsie held her breath at the sight. The water rose to the flanks, but +Puss kept her head steady, sat her saddle coolly, and, when Jacob Isaac +appeared, put out a resolute hand, and got hold of his +jacket,—speaking, meanwhile, a soothing word to the horse, which was +now drinking. She got the boy's head above water.</p> + +<p>"I'll hold on to you; and you must hold on to the stirrup and to the +horse's mane," she said.</p> + +<p>Jacob Isaac, without a word, got hold as directed. Puss held on with a +good grip, as she had promised, and the careful old horse pawed through +the water to the bank—only a few yards distant, by the way.</p> + +<p>"Thankee, Miss Puss," is what Jacob Isaac said, as he stretched himself +on a log to dry.</p> + +<p>"Puss, you're a hero," is what Elsie said, adding immediately: "Those +hateful boys! Great protectors they are!"</p> + +<p>John had found up-stream a deep hole in the shade of some large trees. +Just above it the creek tumbled and foamed over a rocky bed. John said +to Luke: "It just empties the fish in here by the basketfuls. All we've +got to do is to empty 'em out,"—and he knelt on the bank to fix his +bait.</p> + +<p>But Luke was not satisfied. "You'll never catch any fish there," said +he. "The current's too swift." And off went he, to look for a likelier +place.</p> + +<p>Yet neither of the boys had better luck than when with the girls, and +both soon went back to them. When Elsie's vivid account of the rescue +had been given, the boys stared at Puss with a new interest, as though +she had undergone some transformation in their brief absence.</p> + +<p>Then somebody suggested that they must hurry up and catch something for +dinner. So all five dropped hooks into the water, everybody pledged to +silence, Fishing was now business; it meant dinner or no dinner.</p> + +<p>For some moments, the fishers sat or stood in statuesque silence, eyes +on the corks. Then Jacob Isaac showed signs of excitement.</p> + +<p>"I's got a fish, show's yer bawn," he called, dancing about on the bank.</p> + +<p>"Let me see it," John challenged.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_649" id="Page_649">[Pg 649]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Aint pulled it out yit," said Jacob Isaac, jumping and capering.</p> + +<p>"What's the matter with you? What are you cavorting about in that style +for?" John asked.</p> + +<p>"Playin' 'im!" answered Jacob Isaac, running backward and forward, and +every other way.</p> + +<p>"Is that the way they play a fish?" Elsie said, gazing. "I never knew +before how they did it."</p> + +<p>She went over to where the jubilant fisherman was yet skipping about, +and asked if she might play the fish a while.</p> + +<p>"Law, Miss Elsie! he'd pull yo' overboa'd! Yo' couldn't hol' 'im no maw +'n nuffin. He's mighty strong; stronges' fish ever did see."</p> + +<p>But Elsie teased till Jacob Isaac gave the rod into her hand, when she +danced forward and back, chassé-ed, and executed other figures of a +quadrille, till Puss Leek came up to play the fish. She wasn't so much +like a katydid as Elsie, or so much like a wired jumping-jack as Jacob +Isaac. She played the fish so awkwardly that John came up and took the +rod from her hand. He had no sooner felt the pull at the line than he +began to laugh and "pshaw! pshaw!" and said that all in that party were +gumps and geese, except himself and Luke.</p> + +<p>"You wouldn't except Luke," Elsie interrupted, "if he wasn't a big boy. +You'd call him a gump and a goose, if he was a girl."</p> + +<p>"If he was a girl, he would be a gump and a goose," said this saucy +John. "This fish," he continued, "which you've been playing, is a piece +of brush. Oh! how you did play it! This is the way that Jacob Isaac +played it." John jumped and danced and hopped and strutted and plunged, +till everybody was screaming with laughter. "And this is the way that +Elsie played it." He got hold of his coat-skirts after the manner of an +affected girl with her dress; then he hugged the rod to his bosom, and +capered, flitted, pranced. Then, having reproduced Puss Leek's +"playing," he said, grandly: "I shall now proceed to land this monster +of the deep."</p> + +<p>"He made a great show of getting ready, and then pulled, pulled, pulled, +pulled,—when out and up there came, not the brush everybody was +expecting, but a fine, beautiful fish.</p> + +<p>You ought to have heard, then, the cheers of those surprised boys and +girls! Jacob Isaac danced, turned somersaults, walked on his hands, and +for one supreme half-second stood on his head.</p> + +<p>"Looks like he was playing a whale or a sea-serpent," said Luke, between +his bursts of laughter.</p> + +<p>"You're all playing a fool that you've caught," said John, who had +joined in the laugh against himself, "and you've a right to."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_650" id="Page_650">[Pg 650]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;"> +<span class="caption">JOHN AND HIS VELOCIPEDE.</span> +<img src="images/illus-650.png" width="700" height="396" alt="JOHN AND HIS VELOCIPEDE. + +" title="" /> +<span class="caption"> + +1.—HE GETS A GOOD START, + +2.—HAS A FINE RUN DOWN-HILL, + +3.—AND COMES TO A SUDDEN STOP.</span> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="HOW_TO_TRAVEL" id="HOW_TO_TRAVEL"></a>HOW TO TRAVEL.</h2> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By Susan Anna Brown</span>.</p> + + +<p>This article does not refer to the journey to Europe, toward which +almost all young people are looking. When the opportunity for foreign +travel comes, there are plenty of guide-books and letters from abroad +which will tell you just what to take with you, and what you ought to do +in every situation. This is for short, every-day trips, which people +take without much thought; but as there is a right and a wrong way of +doing even little things, young folks may as well take care that they +receive and give the most pleasure possible in a short journey, and +then, when the trip across the ocean comes, they will not be annoying +themselves and others by continual mistakes.</p> + +<p>As packing a trunk is usually the first preparation for a trip, we will +begin with that.</p> + +<p>It is a very good way to collect what is most important before you +begin, so that you may not leave out any necessary article. Think over +what you will be likely to need; for a little care before you start may +save you a great deal of inconvenience in the end. Be sure, before you +begin, that your trunk is in good order, and that you have the key. And +when you shut it for the last time, do not leave the straps sticking out +upon the outside. Put your heavy things at the bottom, packing them +tightly, so that they will not rattle about when the trunk is reversed. +Put the small articles in the tray. Anything which will be likely to be +scratched or defaced by rubbing, should be wrapped in a handkerchief and +laid among soft things. If you must carry anything breakable, do it up +carefully, and put it in the center of the trunk, packing clothing +closely about it. Bottles should have the corks tied in with strong +twine. Put them near articles which cannot be injured by the contents, +if a breakage occurs. Tack on your trunk a card with your permanent +address. As this card is to be consulted only if the trunk is lost, it +is not necessary to be constantly changing it. Take in the +traveling-bag, pins and a needle and thread, so that, in case of any +accident to your clothes, they can be repaired without troubling any one +else. A postal-card and a pencil and paper take up but little room, and +may be very convenient. The best way to carry your lunch is in a +pasteboard box, which can be thrown away after you have disposed of the +contents.</p> + +<p>Put your money in an inner pocket, reserving in your purse only what you +will be likely to need on the way, so that you may be able to press your +way through a crowd without fear of pickpockets. Your purse should also +contain your name and address.</p> + +<p>Try to be ready, so that you will not be hurried at the last moment; and +this does not mean that it is necessary to be at the station a long time +before the train leaves. To be punctual does not mean to be <i>too early</i>, +but to be just early enough.</p> + +<p>Try to find out, before you start, what train and car you ought to take, +and have your trunk properly checked. Put the check in some safe place, +but first look at the number, so that you may identify the check if lost +by you and found by others. Have your ticket where you can easily get +it, and need not be obliged to appear, when the conductor comes, as if +it was a perfect surprise to you that he should ask for it.</p> + +<p>Of course, you have a right to the best seat which is vacant, and, if +there is plenty of room, you can put your bundles beside or opposite +you; but remember that you have only paid for one seat, and be ready at +once to make room for another passenger, if necessary, without acting as +though you were conferring a favor.</p> + +<p>If you have several packages, and wish to put any of them in the rack +over your head, you will be less likely to forget them, if you put all +together, than you will if you keep a part in your hand.</p> + +<p>If you <i>must</i> read in the cars, never in any circumstances take a book +that has not fair, clear type; and stop reading at the earliest approach +of twilight. If, as you read, you hold your ticket, or some other plain +piece of paper, under the line you are reading, sliding it down as you +proceed, you will find that you can read almost as rapidly, and with +much less injury to your eyes. A newspaper is the worst reading you can +have, as the print is usually indistinct, and it is impossible to hold +it still.</p> + +<p>You may not care to read in the cars when in motion, but it is +convenient to have a book with you, in case the train should be delayed.</p> + +<p>If your friends accompany you to the station, be careful that your last +words are not too personal or too loud. Young people are apt to overlook +this,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_651" id="Page_651">[Pg 651]</a></span> and thus sometimes make themselves ridiculous before the other +passengers by joking and laughing in a way which might be perfectly +proper at home, but which before a company of strangers is not in good +taste.</p> + +<p>If you meet acquaintances, do not call out their names so distinctly as +to introduce them to the other passengers, as it is never pleasant for +people to have the attention of strangers called to them in that way. If +you are alone, do not be too ready to make acquaintances. Reply politely +to any civil remark or offer of assistance, but do not allow yourself to +be drawn into conversation, unless it is with some one of whose +trustworthiness you are reasonably sure, and even then do not forget +that you are talking to a perfect stranger.</p> + +<p>If you cannot have everything just as you prefer, remember that you are +in a public conveyance, and that the other passengers have as much right +to their way as you have to yours. If you find that your open window +annoys your neighbor, do not refuse to shut it; and if the case is +reversed, do not complain, unless you are really afraid of taking cold, +and cannot conveniently change your seat. Above all things, do not get +into a dispute about it, like the two women, one of whom declared that +she should die if the window was open, and the other responded that she +should stifle if it was shut, until one of the passengers requested the +conductor to open it a while and kill one, and then shut it and kill the +other, that the rest might have peace.</p> + +<p>There are few situations where the disposition is more thoroughly shown +than it is in traveling. A long journey is considered by some people to +be a perfect test of the temper. There are many ways in which an +unselfish person will find an opportunity to be obliging. It is +surprising to see how people who consider themselves kind and polite +members of society can sometimes forget all their good manners in the +cars, showing a perfect disregard of the comfort—and even the +rights—of others, which would banish them from decent society if shown +elsewhere.</p> + +<p>To return to particular directions: Do not entertain those who are +traveling with you by constant complaints of the dust or the heat or the +cold. The others are probably as much annoyed by these things as you +are, and fault-finding will only make them the more unpleasant to all. +Be careful what you say about those near you, as a thoughtless remark to +a friend in too loud a tone may cause a real heartache. Many a weary +mother has been pained by hearing complaints of a fretful child, whose +crying most probably distresses her more than any one else. Instead of +saying, "Why will people travel with babies?" remember that it is +sometimes unavoidable, and do not disfigure your face by a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_652" id="Page_652">[Pg 652]</a></span> frown at the +disturbance, but try to do what you can to make the journey pleasant for +those around you, at least by a serene and cheerful face. A person who +really wishes to be helpful to others, will find plenty of opportunities +to "lend a hand" without becoming conspicuous in any way.</p> + +<p>Do not ask too many questions of other passengers. Keep your eyes and +ears open, and you will know as much as the rest do. If you wish to +inquire about anything, let it be of the conductor, whose business it is +to answer you, and do not detain him unnecessarily. Remember what he +tells you, that you may not be like the woman Gail Hamilton describes, +who asked the conductor the same question every time he came around, as +if she thought he had undergone a moral change during his absence, and +might answer her more truthfully.</p> + +<p>If you get out of the car at any station on your way, be sure to observe +which car it was, and which train, so that you need not go about +inquiring where you belong when you wish to return to your seat.</p> + +<p>A large proportion of the accidents which happen every year are caused +by carelessness. Young people are afraid of seeming timid and anxious, +and will sometimes, in avoiding this, risk their lives very foolishly. +They step from the train before it has fairly stopped, or put their +heads out of the window when the car is in motion, or rest the elbow on +the sill of an open window in such a way that a passing train may cause +serious, if not fatal, injury. Sometimes they pass carelessly from one +car to another when the train is still, forgetting that it may start at +any moment and throw them off their balance. Many similar exposures can +be avoided by a little care and thought.</p> + +<p>These are very plain, simple rules, which it may be supposed are already +known to every one; but a little observation will show that they are not +always put in practice.</p> + +<p>A great deal has been left unsaid here on the advantages and pleasures +of travel; but, without a knowledge of the simple details we have given, +one will be sure to miss much of the culture and enjoyment which might +otherwise be gained by it.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/illus-652.png" width="600" height="436" alt="AN EXCITING RIDE." title="" /> +<span class="caption">AN EXCITING RIDE.</span> +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_653" id="Page_653">[Pg 653]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="THE_SWALLOWS" id="THE_SWALLOWS"></a>THE SWALLOWS.</h2> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By Dora Read Goodale</span>.</p> + +<div class="cpoem"> +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Dear birds that greet us with the spring,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That fly along the sunny blue,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That hover round your last year's nests,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or cut the shining heavens thro',<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That skim along the meadow grass,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Among the flowers sweet and fair,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That croon upon the pointed roof,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or, quiv'ring, balance in the air;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ye heralds of the summer days,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As quick ye dart across the lea,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Tho' other birds be fairer, yet<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The dearest of all birds are ye.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Dear as the messengers of spring<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Before the buds have opened wide,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Dear when our other birds are here,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Dear in the burning summertide;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But when the lonely autumn wind<br /></span> +<span class="i0">About the flying forest grieves,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In vain we look for you, and find—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Your empty nests beneath the eaves.<br /></span> +</div></div></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="UNDER_THE_LILACS" id="UNDER_THE_LILACS"></a>UNDER THE LILACS</h2> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By Louisa M. Alcott</span>.</p> + +<h4><span class="smcap">Chapter XVIII.</span></h4> + +<h4>BOWS AND ARROWS.</h4> + + +<p>If Sancho's abduction made a stir, one may easily imagine with what +warmth and interest he was welcomed back when his wrongs and wanderings +were known. For several days he held regular levees, that curious boys +and sympathizing girls might see and pity the changed and curtailed dog. +Sancho behaved with dignified affability, and sat upon his mat in the +coach-house pensively eying his guests, and patiently submitting to +their caresses; while Ben and Thorny took turns to tell the few tragical +facts which were not shrouded in the deepest mystery. If the interesting +sufferer could only have spoken, what thrilling adventures and +hair-breadth escapes he might have related. But, alas! he was dumb, and +the secrets of that memorable month never were revealed.</p> + +<p>The lame paw soon healed, the dingy color slowly yielded to many +washings, the woolly coat began to knot up into little curls, a new +collar handsomely marked made him a respectable dog, and Sancho was +himself again. But it was evident that his sufferings were not +forgotten; his once sweet temper was a trifle soured, and, with a few +exceptions, he had lost his faith in mankind. Before, he had been the +most benevolent and hospitable of dogs; now, he eyed all strangers +suspiciously, and the sight of a shabby man made him growl and bristle +up, as if the memory of his wrongs still burned hotly within him.</p> + +<p>Fortunately, his gratitude was stronger than his resentment, and he +never seemed to forget that he owed his life to Betty,—running to meet +her whenever she appeared, instantly obeying her commands, and suffering +no one to molest her when he walked watchfully beside her, with her hand +upon his neck,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_654" id="Page_654">[Pg 654]</a></span> as they had walked out of the almost fatal back-yard +together, faithful friends forever.</p> + +<p>Miss Celia called them little Una and her lion, and read the pretty +story to the children when they wondered what she meant. Ben, with great +pains, taught the dog to spell "Betty," and surprised her with a display +of this new accomplishment, which gratified her so much that she was +never tired of seeing Sanch paw the five red letters into place, then +come and lay his nose in her hand, as if he added: "That's the name of +my dear mistress."</p> + +<p>Of course Bab was glad to have everything pleasant and friendly again, +but in a little dark corner of her heart there was a drop of envy, and a +desperate desire to do something which would make every one in her small +world like and praise her as they did Betty. Trying to be as good and +gentle did not satisfy her; she must <i>do</i> something brave or surprising, +and no chance for distinguishing herself in that way seemed likely to +appear. Betty was as fond as ever, and the boys were very kind to her; +but she felt that they both liked "little Betcinda," as they called her, +best, because she found Sanch, and never seemed to know that she had +done anything brave in defending him against all odds. Bab did not tell +any one how she felt, but endeavored to be amiable while waiting for her +chance to come, and when it did arrive made the most of it, though there +was nothing heroic to add a charm.</p> + +<p>Miss Celia's arm had been doing very well, but it would, of course, be +useless for some time longer. Finding that the afternoon readings amused +herself as much as they did the children, she kept them up, and brought +out all her old favorites, enjoying a double pleasure in seeing that her +young audience relished them as much as she did when a child; for to all +but Thorny they were brand new. Out of one of these stories came much +amusement for all, and satisfaction for one of the party.</p> + +<p>"Celia, did you bring our old bows?" asked her brother, eagerly, as she +put down the book from which she had been reading Miss Edgeworth's +capital story of "Waste not Want not; or, Two Strings to your Bow."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I brought all the playthings we left stored away in uncle's garret +when we went abroad. The bows are in the long box where you found the +mallets, fishing-rods and bats. The old quivers and a few arrows are +there also, I believe. What is the idea now?" asked Miss Celia in her +turn, as Thorny bounced up in a great hurry.</p> + +<p>"I'm going to teach Ben to shoot. Grand fun this hot weather, and by and +by we'll have an archery meeting, and you can give us a prize. Come on, +Ben. I've got plenty of whip-cord to rig up the bows, and then we'll +show the ladies some first-class shooting."</p> + +<p>"<i>I</i> can't; never had a decent bow in my life. The little gilt one I +used to wave round when I was a Coopid wasn't worth a cent to go," +answered Ben, feeling as if that painted "prodigy" must have been a very +distant connection of the respectable young person now walking off +arm-in-arm with the lord of the manor.</p> + +<p>"Practice is all you want. I used to be a capital shot, but I don't +believe I could hit anything but a barn-door now," answered Thorny, +encouragingly.</p> + +<p>As the boys vanished, with much tramping of boots and banging of doors, +Bab observed, in the young-ladyish tone she was apt to use when she +composed her active little mind and body to the feminine task of +needlework:</p> + +<p>"We used to make bows of whalebone when we were little girls, but we are +too old to play so now."</p> + +<p>"I'd like to, but Bab wont, 'cause she's most 'leven years old," said +honest Betty, placidly rubbing her needle in the "ruster," as she called +the family emery-bag.</p> + +<p>"Grown people enjoy archery, as bow and arrow shooting is called, +especially in England. I was reading about it the other day, and saw a +picture of Queen Victoria with her bow, so you needn't be ashamed of it, +Bab," said Miss Celia, rummaging among the books and papers in her sofa +corner to find the magazine she wanted, thinking a new play would be as +good for the girls as for the big boys.</p> + +<p>"A queen, just think!" and Betty looked much impressed by the fact, as +well as uplifted by the knowledge that her friend did not agree in +thinking her silly because she preferred playing with a harmless +home-made toy to firing stones or snapping a pop-gun.</p> + +<p>"In old times, bows and arrows were used to fight great battles with, +and we read how the English archers shot so well that the air was dark +with arrows, and many men were killed."</p> + +<p>"So did the Indians have 'em, and I've got some stone +arrow-heads,—found 'em by the river, in the dirt!" cried Bab, waking +up, for battles interested her more than queens.</p> + +<p>"While you finish your stints I'll tell you a little story about the +Indians," said Miss Celia, lying back on her cushions, while the needles +began to go again, for the prospect of a story could not be resisted.</p> + +<p>"A century or more ago, in a small settlement on the banks of the +Connecticut,—which means the Long River of Pines,—there lived a little +girl called Matty Kilburn. On a hill stood the fort where the people ran +for protection in any danger, for the country was new and wild, and more +than once the Indians had come down the river in their canoes and burned +the houses, killed men, and carried away women and children. Matty +lived alone with her father, but felt quite safe in the log-house, for +he was never far away. One afternoon, as the farmers were all busy in +their fields, the bell rang suddenly,—a sign that there was danger +near,—and, dropping their rakes or axes, the men hurried to their +houses to save wives and babies, and such few treasures as they could. +Mr. Kilburn caught up his gun with one hand and his little girl with the +other, and ran as fast as he could toward the fort. But before he could +reach it he heard a yell, and saw the red men coming up from the river. +Then he knew it would be in vain to try to get in, so he looked about +for a safe place to hide Matty till he could come for her. He was a +brave man, and could fight, so he had no thought of hiding while his +neighbors needed help; but the dear little daughter must be cared for +first.</p> + +<p>In the corner of the lonely pasture which they dared not cross, stood a +big hollow elm, and there the farmer hastily hid Matty, dropping her +down into the dim nook, round the mouth of which young shoots had grown, +so that no one would have suspected any hole was there.</p> + +<p>'Lie still, child, till I come; say your prayers and wait for father,' +said the man, as he parted the leaves for a last glance at the small, +frightened face looking up at him.</p> + +<p>'Come soon,' whispered Matty, and tried to smile bravely, as a stout +settler's girl should.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Kilburn went away, and was taken prisoner in the fight, carried off, +and for years no one knew if he was alive or dead. People missed Matty, +but supposed she was with her father, and never expected to see her +again. A great while afterward the poor man came back, having escaped +and made his way through the wilderness to his old home. His first +question was for Matty, but no one had seen her; and when he told where +he had left her, they shook their heads as if they thought he was crazy. +But they went to look, that he might be satisfied; and he was; for there +they found some little bones, some faded bits of cloth, and two rusty +silver buckles marked with Matty's name in what had once been her shoes. +An Indian arrow lay there, too, showing why she had never cried for +help, but waited patiently so long for father to come and find her."</p> + +<p>If Miss Celia expected to see the last bit of hem done when her story +ended, she was disappointed; for not a dozen stitches had been taken. +Betty was using her crash-towel for a handkerchief, and Bab's lay on the +ground as she listened with snapping eyes to the little tragedy.</p> + +<p>"Is it true?" asked Betty, hoping to find relief in being told that it +was not.</p> + +<p>"Yes; I have seen the tree, and the mound<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_655" id="Page_655">[Pg 655]</a></span> where the fort was, and the +rusty buckles in an old farm-house where other Kilburns live, near the +spot where it all happened," answered Miss Celia, looking out the +picture of Victoria to console her auditors.</p> + +<p>"We'll play that in the old apple-tree. Betty can scrooch down, and I'll +be the father, and put leaves on her, and then I'll be a great Injun and +fire at her. I can make arrows, and it will be fun, wont it?" cried Bab, +charmed with the new drama in which she could act the leading parts.</p> + +<p>"No, it wont! I don't like to go in a cobwebby hole, and have you play +kill me. I'll make a nice fort of hay, and be all safe, and you can put +Dinah down there for Matty. I don't love her any more, now her last eye +has tumbled out, and you may shoot her just as much as you like."</p> + +<p>Before Bab could agree to this satisfactory arrangement, Thorny +appeared, singing, as he aimed at a fat robin, whose red waistcoat +looked rather warm and winterish that August day:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"So he took up his bow,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And he feathered his arrow,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And said: 'I will shoot<br /></span> +<span class="i0">This little cock-sparrow.'"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>"But he didn't," chirped the robin, flying away, with a contemptuous +flirt of his rusty-black tail.</p> + +<p>"That is exactly what you must promise <i>not</i> to do, boys. Fire away at +your targets as much as you like, but do not harm any living creature," +said Miss Celia, as Ben followed armed and equipped with her own +long-unused accouterments.</p> + +<p>"Of course we wont if you say so; but, with a little practice, I <i>could</i> +bring down a bird as well as that fellow you read to me about with his +woodpeckers and larks and herons," answered Thorny, who had much enjoyed +the article, while his sister lamented over the destruction of the +innocent birds.</p> + +<p>"You'd do well to borrow the Squire's old stuffed owl for a target; +there would be some chance of your hitting him, he is so big," said his +sister, who always made fun of the boy when he began to brag.</p> + +<p>Thorny's only reply was to send his arrow straight up so far out of +sight that it was a long while coming down again to stick quivering in +the ground near by, whence Sancho brought it in his mouth, evidently +highly approving of a game in which he could join.</p> + +<p>"Not bad for a beginning. Now, Ben, fire away."</p> + +<p>But Ben's experience with bows was small, and, in spite of his +praiseworthy efforts to imitate his great exemplar, the arrow only +turned a feeble sort of somersault, and descended perilously near Bab's +uplifted nose.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_656" id="Page_656">[Pg 656]</a></span></p> + +<p>"If you endanger other people's life and liberty in your pursuit of +happiness, I shall have to confiscate your arms, boys. Take the orchard +for your archery ground; that is safe, and we can see you as we sit +here. I wish I had two hands, so that I could paint you a fine, gay +target," and Miss Celia looked regretfully at the injured arm, which as +yet was of little use.</p> + +<p>"I wish you could shoot, too; you used to beat all the girls, and I was +proud of you," answered Thorny, with the air of a fond elder brother; +though, at the time he alluded to, he was about twelve, and hardly up to +his sister's shoulder.</p> + +<p>"Thank you. I shall be happy to give my place to Bab and Betty if you +will make them some bows and arrows; they could not use those long +ones."</p> + +<p>The young gentlemen did not take the hint as quickly as Miss Celia hoped +they would; in fact, both looked rather blank at the suggestion, as boys +generally do when it is proposed that girls—especially small +ones—shall join in any game they are playing.</p> + +<p>"P'r'aps it would be too much trouble," began Betty, in her winning +little voice.</p> + +<p>"I can make my own," declared Bab, with an independent toss of the head.</p> + +<p>"Not a bit; I'll make you the jolliest small bow that ever was, +Betcinda," Thorny hastened to say, softened by the appealing glance of +the little maid.</p> + +<p>"You can use mine, Bab; you've got such a strong fist, I guess you could +pull it," added Ben, remembering that it would not be amiss to have a +comrade who shot worse than he did, for he felt very inferior to Thorny +in many ways, and, being used to praise, had missed it very much since +he retired to private life.</p> + +<p>"I will be umpire, and brighten up the silver arrow I sometimes pin my +hair with, for a prize, unless we can find something better," proposed +Miss Celia, glad to see that question settled, and every prospect of the +new play being a pleasant amusement for the hot weather.</p> + +<p>It was astonishing how soon archery became the fashion in that town, for +the boys discussed it enthusiastically all that evening, formed the +"William Tell Club" next day, with Bab and Betty as honorary members, +and, before the week was out, nearly every lad was seen, like young +Norval, "With bended bow and quiver full of arrows," shooting away, with +a charming disregard of the safety of their fellow-citizens. Banished by +the authorities to secluded spots, the members of the club set up their +targets and practiced indefatigably, especially Ben, who soon discovered +that his early gymnastics had given him a sinewy arm and a true eye; +and, taking Sanch into partnership as picker-up, he got more shots out +of an hour than those who had to run to and fro.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 392px;"> +<img src="images/illus-656.png" width="392" height="600" alt="MATTY KILBURN AND HER FATHER AT THE TREE." title="" /> +<span class="caption">MATTY KILBURN AND HER FATHER AT THE TREE.</span> +</div> + +<p>Thorny easily recovered much of his former skill, but his strength had +not fully returned, and he soon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_657" id="Page_657">[Pg 657]</a></span> grew tired. Bab, on the contrary, threw +herself into the contest heart and soul, and tugged away at the new bow +Miss Celia gave her, for Ben's was too heavy. No other girls were +admitted, so the outsiders got up a club of their own, and called it +"The Victoria," the name being suggested by the magazine article, which +went the rounds as general guide and reference-book. Bab and Betty +belonged to this club also, and duly reported the doings of the boys, +with whom they had a right to shoot if they chose, but soon waived the +right, plainly seeing that their absence would be regarded in the light +of a favor.</p> + +<p>The archery fever raged as fiercely as the baseball epidemic had done +before it, and not only did the magazine circulate freely, but Miss +Edgeworth's story, which was eagerly read, and so much admired that the +girls at once mounted green ribbons, and the boys kept yards of +whip-cord in their pockets, like the provident Benjamin of the tale.</p> + +<p>Every one enjoyed the new play very much, and something grew out of it +which was a lasting pleasure to many, long after the bows and arrows +were forgotten. Seeing how glad the children were to get a new story, +Miss Celia was moved to send a box of books—old and new—to the town +library, which was but scantily supplied, as country libraries are apt +to be. This donation produced a good effect; for other people hunted up +all the volumes they could spare for the same purpose, and the dusty +shelves in the little room behind the post-office filled up amazingly. +Coming in vacation time they were hailed with delight, and ancient books +of travel, as well as modern tales, were feasted upon by happy young +folks, with plenty of time to enjoy them in peace.</p> + +<p>The success of her first attempt at being a public benefactor pleased +Miss Celia very much, and suggested other ways in which she might serve +the quiet town, where she seemed to feel that work was waiting for her +to do. She said little to any one but the friend over the sea, yet +various plans were made then that blossomed beautifully by and by.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h4>Chapter XIX.</h4> + +<h4>SPEAKING PIECES.</h4> + + +<p>The first of September came all too soon, and school began. Among the +boys and girls who went trooping up to the "East Corner knowledge-box," +as they called it, was our friend Ben, with a pile of neat books under +his arm. He felt very strange, and decidedly shy; but put on a bold +face, and let nobody guess that, though nearly thirteen, he had never +been to school before. Miss Celia had told his story to Teacher, and +she, being a kind little woman, with young brothers of her own, made +things as easy for him as she could. In reading and writing he did very +well, and proudly took his place among lads of his own age; but when it +came to arithmetic and geography, he had to go down a long way, and +begin almost at the beginning, in spite of Thorny's efforts to "tool him +along fast." It mortified him sadly, but there was no help for it; and +in some of the classes he had dear little Betty to condole with him when +he failed, and smile contentedly when he got above her, as he soon began +to do,—for she was not a quick child, and plodded through First Parts +long after sister Bab was flourishing away among girls much older than +herself.</p> + +<p>Fortunately, Ben was a short boy and a clever one, so he did not look +out of place among the ten and eleven year olders, and fell upon his +lessons with the same resolution with which he used to take a new leap, +or practice patiently till he could touch his heels with his head. That +sort of exercise had given him a strong, elastic little body; this kind +was to train his mind, and make its faculties as useful, quick and sure, +as the obedient muscles, nerves and eye, which kept him safe where +others would have broken their necks. He knew this, and found much +consolation in the fact that, though mental arithmetic was a hopeless +task, he <i>could</i> turn a dozen somersaults, and come up as steady as a +judge. When the boys laughed at him for saying that China was in Africa, +he routed them entirely by his superior knowledge of the animals +belonging to that wild country; and when "First class in reading" was +called, he marched up with the proud consciousness that the shortest boy +in it did better than tall Moses Towne or fat Sam Kitteridge.</p> + +<p>Teacher praised him all she honestly could, and corrected his many +blunders so quietly that he soon ceased to be a deep, distressful red +during recitation, and tugged away so manfully that no one could help +respecting him for his efforts, and trying to make light of his +failures. So the first hard week went by, and though the boy's heart had +sunk many a time at the prospect of a protracted wrestle with his own +ignorance, he made up his mind to win, and went at it again on the +Monday with fresh zeal, all the better and braver for a good, cheery +talk with Miss Celia in the Sunday evening twilight.</p> + +<p>He did not tell her one of his greatest trials, however, because he +thought she could not help him there. Some of the children rather looked +down upon him, called him "tramp" and "beggar," twitted him with having +been a circus boy, and lived in a tent like a gypsy. They did not mean +to be cruel, but did it for the sake of teasing, never stopping to think +how much such sport can make a fellow-creature suffer. Being a plucky +fellow, Ben pretended not to mind; but he did feel it keenly,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_658" id="Page_658">[Pg 658]</a></span> because +he wanted to start afresh, and be like other boys. He was not ashamed of +the old life, but finding those around him disapproved of it, he was +glad to let it be forgotten,—even by himself,—for his latest +recollections were not happy ones, and present comforts made past +hardships seem harder than before.</p> + +<p>He said nothing of this to Miss Celia, but she found it out, and liked +him all the better for keeping some of his small worries to himself. Bab +and Betty came over on Monday afternoon full of indignation at some +boyish insult Sam had put upon Ben, and finding them too full of it to +enjoy the reading, Miss Celia asked what the matter was. Then both +little girls burst out in a rapid succession of broken exclamations +which did not give a very clear idea of the difficulty:</p> + +<p>"Sam didn't like it because Ben jumped farther than he did——"</p> + +<p>"And he said Ben ought to be in the poor-house."</p> + +<p>"And Ben said <i>he</i> ought to be in a pig-pen."</p> + +<p>"So he had!—such a greedy thing, bringing lovely big apples and not +giving any one a single bite!"</p> + +<p>"Then he was mad, and we all laughed, and he said, 'Want to fight?'"</p> + +<p>"And Ben said, 'No, thanky, not much fun in pounding a feather-bed.'"</p> + +<p>"Oh, he was <i>awfully</i> mad then and chased Ben up the big maple."</p> + +<p>"He's there now, for Sam wont let him come down till he takes it all +back."</p> + +<p>"Ben wont, and I do believe he'll have to stay up all night," said +Betty, distressfully.</p> + +<p>"He wont care, and we'll have fun firing up his supper. Nut-cakes and +cheese will go splendidly; and may be baked pears wouldn't get smashed, +he's such a good catch," added Bab, decidedly relishing the prospect.</p> + +<p>"If he does not come by tea-time we will go and look after him. It seems +to me I have heard something about Sam's troubling him before, haven't +I?" asked Miss Celia, ready to defend her protégé against all unfair +persecution.</p> + +<p>"Yes'm, Sam and Mose are always plaguing Ben. They are big boys and we +can't make them stop. I wont let the girls do it, and the little boys +don't dare to, since Teacher spoke to them," answered Bab.</p> + +<p>"Why does not Teacher speak to the big ones?"</p> + +<p>"Ben wont tell of them or let us. He says he'll fight his own battles +and hates tell-tales. I guess his wont like to have us tell you, but I +don't care, for it <i>is</i> too bad," and Betty looked ready to cry over her +friend's tribulations.</p> + +<p>"I'm glad you did, for I will attend to it and stop this sort of +thing," said Miss Celia, after the children had told some of the +tormenting speeches which had tried poor Ben.</p> + +<p>Just then, Thorny appeared, looking much amused, and the little girls +both called out in a breath: "Did you see Ben and get him down?"</p> + +<p>"He got himself down in the neatest way you can imagine," and Thorny +laughed at the recollection.</p> + +<p>"Where is Sam?" asked Bab.</p> + +<p>"Staring up at the sky to see where Ben has flown to."</p> + +<p>"Oh, tell about it!" begged Betty.</p> + +<p>"Well, I came along and found Ben treed, and Sam stoning him. I stopped +that at once and told the 'fat boy' to be off. He said he wouldn't till +Ben begged his pardon, and Ben said he wouldn't do it if he stayed up +for a week. I was just preparing to give that rascal a scientific +thrashing when a load of hay came along and Ben dropped on to it so +quietly that Sam, who was trying to bully me, never saw him go. It +tickled me so, I told Sam I guessed I'd let him off that time, and +walked away, leaving him to hunt for Ben and wonder where the dickens he +had vanished to."</p> + +<p>The idea of Sam's bewilderment tickled the others as much as Thorny, and +they all had a good laugh over it before Miss Celia asked:</p> + +<p>"Where has Ben gone now?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, he'll take a little ride and then slip down and race home full of +the fun of it. But I've got to settle Sam. I wont have our Ben hectored +by any one——"</p> + +<p>"But yourself," put in his sister, with a sly smile, for Thorny <i>was</i> +rather domineering at times.</p> + +<p>"He doesn't mind my poking him up now and then, it's good for him, and I +always take his part against other people. Sam is a bully and so is +Mose, and I'll thrash them both if they don't stop."</p> + +<p>Anxious to curb her brother's pugnacious propensities, Miss Celia +proposed milder measures, promising to speak to the boys herself if +there was any more trouble.</p> + +<p>"I have been thinking that we should have some sort of merry-making for +Ben on his birthday. My plan was a very simple one, but I will enlarge +it and have all the young folks come, and Ben shall be king of the fun. +He needs encouragement in well-doing, for he does try, and now the first +hard part is nearly over I am sure he will get on bravely. If we treat +him with respect and show our regard for him, others will follow our +example, and that will be better than fighting about it."</p> + +<p>"So it will! What shall we do to make our party tip-top?" asked Thorny, +falling into the trap at once, for he dearly loved to get up +theatricals, and had not had any for a long time.</p> + +<p>"We will plan something splendid, a 'grand combination,' as you used to +call your droll mixtures of tragedy, comedy, melodrama and farce," +answered his sister, with her head already full of lively plots.</p> + +<p>"We'll startle the natives. I don't believe they ever saw a play in all +their lives, hey Bab?"</p> + +<p>"I've seen a circus."</p> + +<p>"We dress up and do 'Babes in the Wood,'" added Betty, with dignity.</p> + +<p>"Pho! that's nothing. I'll show you acting that will make your hair +stand on end, and you shall act too. Bab will be capital for the naughty +girls," began Thorny, excited by the prospect of producing a sensation +on the boards, and always ready to tease the girls.</p> + +<p>Before Betty could protest that she did not want her hair to stand up, +or Bab could indignantly decline the rôle offered her, a shrill whistle +was heard, and Miss Celia whispered, with a warning look:</p> + +<p>"Hush! Ben is coming, and he must not know anything about this yet."</p> + +<p>The next day was Wednesday, and in the afternoon Miss Celia went to hear +the children "speak pieces," though it was very seldom that any of the +busy matrons and elder sisters found time or inclination for these +displays of youthful oratory. Miss Celia and Mrs. Moss were all the +audience on this occasion, but Teacher was both pleased and proud to see +them, and a general rustle went through the school as they came in, all +the girls turning from the visitors to nod at Bab and Betty, who smiled +all over their round faces to see "Ma" sitting up "side of Teacher," and +the boys grinned at Ben, whose heart began to beat fast at the thought +of his dear mistress coming so far to hear him say his piece.</p> + +<p>Thorny had recommended Marco Bozzaris, but Ben preferred John Gilpin, +and ran the famous race with much spirit, making excellent time in some +parts and having to be spurred a little in others, but came out all +right, though quite breathless at the end, sitting down amid great +applause, some of which, curiously enough, seemed to come from outside; +which in fact it did, for Thorny was bound to hear but would not come +in, lest his presence should abash one orator at least.</p> + +<p>Other pieces followed, all more or less patriotic and warlike, among the +boys; sentimental among the girls. Sam broke down in his attempt to give +one of Webster's great speeches. Little Cy Fay boldly attacked</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Again to the battle, Achaians!"</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>and shrieked his way through it in a shrill, small voice, bound to do +honor to the older brother who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_659" id="Page_659">[Pg 659]</a></span> had trained him, even if he broke a +vessel in the attempt. Billy chose a well-worn piece, but gave it a new +interest by his style of delivery; for his gestures were so spasmodic he +looked as if going into a fit, and he did such astonishing things with +his voice that one never knew whether a howl or a growl would come next. +When</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"The woods against a stormy sky<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Their giant branches tossed;"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Billy's arms went round like the sails of a windmill; the "hymns of +lofty cheer" not only "shook the depths of the desert gloom," but the +small children on their little benches, and the schoolhouse literally +rang "to the anthems of the free!" When "the ocean eagle soared," Billy +appeared to be going bodily up, and the "pines of the forest roared" as +if they had taken lessons of Van Amburgh's biggest lion. "Woman's +fearless eye" was expressed by a wild glare; "manhood's brow, severely +high," by a sudden clutch at the reddish locks falling over the orator's +hot forehead, and a sounding thump on his blue checked bosom told where +"the fiery heart of youth" was located. "What sought they thus afar?" he +asked, in such a natural and inquiring tone, with his eye fixed on Mamie +Peters, that the startled innocent replied, "Dunno," which caused the +speaker to close in haste, devoutly pointing a stubby finger upward at +the last line.</p> + +<p>This was considered the gem of the collection, and Billy took his seat +proudly conscious that his native town boasted an orator who, in time, +would utterly eclipse Edward Everett and Wendell Phillips.</p> + +<p>Sally Folsom led off with "The Coral Grove," chosen for the express +purpose of making her friend Almira Mullet start and blush, when she +recited the second line of that pleasing poem,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Where the purple <i>mullet</i> and gold-fish rove."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>One of the older girls gave Wordsworth's "Lost Love" in a pensive tone, +clasping her hands and bringing out the "O" as if a sudden twinge of +toothache seized her when she ended.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"But she is in her grave, and O,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The difference to me!"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Bab always chose a funny piece, and on this afternoon set them all +laughing by the spirit with which she spoke the droll poem, "Pussy's +Class," which some of my young readers may have read. The "meou" and the +"sptzzs" were capital, and when the "fond mamma rubbed her nose," the +children shouted, for Miss Bab made a paw of her hand and ended with an +impromptu purr, which was considered the best imitation ever presented +to an appreciative public. Betty bashfully murmured "Little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_660" id="Page_660">[Pg 660]</a></span> White +Lilly," swaying to and fro as regularly as if in no other way could the +rhymes be ground out of her memory.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 377px;"> +<img src="images/illus-660.png" width="377" height="500" alt=""THE OCEAN EAGLE SOARED"" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"THE OCEAN EAGLE SOARED."</span> +</div> + +<p>"That is all, I believe. If either of the ladies would like to say a few +words to the children, I should be pleased to have them," said Teacher, +politely, pausing before she dismissed school with a song.</p> + +<p>"Please'm, I'd like to speak my piece," answered Miss Celia, obeying a +sudden impulse; and, stepping forward with her hat in her hand, she made +a pretty courtesy before she recited Mary Howitt's sweet little ballad, +"Mabel on Midsummer Day."</p> + +<p>She looked so young and merry, used such simple but expressive gestures, +and spoke in such a clear, soft voice that the children sat as if +spellbound, learning several lessons from this new teacher, whose +performance charmed them from beginning to end, and left a moral which +all could understand and carry away in that last verse:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"'Tis good to make all duty sweet,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To be alert and kind;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">'Tis good, like Little Mabel,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To have a willing mind."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Of course there was an enthusiastic clapping when Miss Celia sat down, +but even while hands applauded, consciences pricked, and undone tasks, +complaining words and sour faces seemed to rise up reproachfully before +many of the children, as well as their own faults of elocution.</p> + +<p>"Now we will sing," said Teacher, and a great clearing of throats +ensued, but before a note could be uttered, the half-open door swung +wide, and Sancho, with Ben's hat on, walked in upon his hind legs, and +stood with his paws meekly folded, while a voice from the entry sang +rapidly:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Benny had a little dog,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">His fleece was white as snow,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And everywhere that Benny went<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The dog was sure to go.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">He went into the school one day,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Which was against the rule;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It made the children laugh and play<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To see a dog——"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Mischievous Thorny got no further, for a general explosion of laughter +drowned the last words, and Ben's command "Out, you rascal!" sent Sanch +to the right-about in double-quick time.</p> + +<p>Miss Celia tried to apologize for her bad brother, and Teacher tried to +assure her that it didn't matter in the least as this was always a merry +time, and Mrs. Moss vainly shook her finger at her naughty daughters; +they as well as the others would have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_661" id="Page_661">[Pg 661]</a></span> their laugh out, and only +partially sobered down when the bell rang for "Attention." They thought +they were to be dismissed, and repressed their giggles as well as they +could in order to get a good start for a vociferous roar when they got +out. But, to their great surprise, the pretty lady stood up again and +said, in her friendly way:</p> + +<p>"I just want to thank you for this pleasant little exhibition, and ask +leave to come again, I also wish to invite you all to my boy's birthday +party on Saturday week. The archery meeting is to be in the afternoon, +and both clubs will be there, I believe. In the evening we are going to +have some fun, when we can laugh as much as we please without breaking +any of the rules. In Ben's name I invite you, and hope you will all +come, for we mean to make this the happiest birthday he ever had."</p> + +<p>There were twenty pupils in the room, but the eighty hands and feet made +such a racket at this announcement that an outsider would have thought a +hundred children, at least, must have been at it. Miss Celia was a +general favorite because she nodded to all the girls, called the boys by +their last names, even addressing some of the largest as "Mr.," which +won their hearts at once, so that if she had invited them all to come +and be whipped they would have gone, sure that it was some delightful +joke. With what eagerness they accepted the present invitation one can +easily imagine, though they never guessed why she gave it in that way, +and Ben's face was a sight to see, he was so pleased and proud at the +honor done him that he did not know where to look, and was glad to rush +out with the other boys and vent his emotions in whoops of delight. He +knew that some little plot was being concocted for his birthday, but +never dreamed of anything so grand as asking the whole school, Teacher +and all. The effect of the invitation was seen with comical rapidity, +for the boys became overpowering in their friendly attentions to Ben. +Even Sam, fearing he might be left out, promptly offered the peaceful +olive-branch in the shape of a big apple, warm from his pocket, and Mose +proposed a trade in jack-knives which would be greatly to Ben's +advantage. But Thorny made the noblest sacrifice of all, for he said to +his sister, as they walked home together:</p> + +<p>"I'm not going to try for the prize at all. I shoot so much better than +the rest, having had more practice, you know, that it is hardly fair. +Ben and Billy are next best, and about even, for Ben's strong wrist +makes up for Billy's true eye, and both want to win. If I am out of the +way Ben stands a good chance, for the other fellows don't amount to +much."</p> + +<p>"Bab does; she shoots nearly as well as Ben, and wants to win even more +than he or Billy. She must have her chance at any rate."</p> + +<p>"So she may, but she wont do anything; girls can't, though it's good +exercise and pleases them to try."</p> + +<p>"If I had full use of both my arms I'd show you that girls <i>can</i> do a +great deal when they like. Don't be too lofty, young man, for you may +have to come down," laughed Miss Celia, amused by his airs.</p> + +<p>"No fear," and Thorny calmly departed to set his targets for Ben's +practice.</p> + +<p>"We shall see," and from that moment Miss Celia made Bab her especial +pupil, feeling that a little lesson would be good for Mr. Thorny, who +rather lorded it over the other young people. There was a spice of +mischief in it, for Miss Celia was very young at heart, in spite of her +twenty-four years, and she was bound to see that her side had a fair +chance, believing that girls can do whatever they are willing to strive +patiently and wisely for.</p> + +<p>So she kept Bab at work early and late, giving her all the hints and +help she could with only one efficient hand, and Bab was delighted to +think she did well enough to shoot with the club. Her arms ached and her +fingers grew hard with twanging the bow, but she was indefatigable, and +being a strong, tall child of her age, with a great love of all athletic +sports, she got on fast and well, soon learning to send arrow after +arrow with ever increasing accuracy nearer and nearer to the bull's-eye.</p> + +<p>The boys took very little notice of her, being much absorbed in their +own affairs, but Betty did for Bab what Sancho did for Ben, and trotted +after arrows till her short legs were sadly tired, though her patience +never gave out. She was so sure Bab would win that she cared nothing +about her own success, practicing little and seldom hitting anything +when she tried.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h4><a name="Chapter_XX" id="Chapter_XX"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XX.</span></h4> + +<h4>BEN'S BIRTHDAY.</h4> + + +<p>A superb display of flags flapped gayly in the breeze on the September +morning when Ben proudly entered his teens. An irruption of bunting +seemed to have broken out all over the old house, for banners of every +shape and size, color and design flew from chimney-top and gable, porch +and gate-way, making the quiet place look as lively as a circus tent, +which was just what Ben most desired and delighted in.</p> + +<p>The boys had been up very early to prepare the show, and when it was +ready enjoyed it hugely, for the fresh wind made the pennons cut strange +capers. The winged lion of Venice looked as if trying to fly away home; +the Chinese dragon appeared to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_662" id="Page_662">[Pg 662]</a></span> brandish his forked tail as he clawed at +the Burmese peacock; the double-headed eagle of Russia pecked at the +Turkey crescent with one beak, while the other seemed to be screaming to +the English royal beast, "Come on and lend a paw." In the hurry of +hoisting, the Siamese elephant got turned upside down, and now danced +gayly on his head, with the stars and stripes waving proudly over him. A +green flag with a yellow harp and sprig of shamrock hung in sight of the +kitchen window, and Katy, the cook, got breakfast to the tune of "St. +Patrick's day in the morning." Sancho's kennel was half hidden under a +rustling paper imitation of the gorgeous Spanish banner, and the scarlet +sun-and-moon flag of Arabia snapped and flaunted from the pole over the +coach-house, as a delicate compliment to Lita, Arabian horses being +considered the finest in the world.</p> + +<p>The little girls came out to see, and declared it was the loveliest +sight they ever beheld, while Thorny played "Hail Columbia" on his fife, +and Ben, mounting the gate-post, crowed long and loud like a happy +cockerel who had just reached his majority. He had been surprised and +delighted with the gifts he found in his room on awaking, and guessed +why Miss Celia and Thorny gave him such pretty things, for among them +was a match-box made like a mouse-trap. The doggy buttons and the horsey +whip were treasures indeed, for Miss Celia had not given them when they +first planned to do so, because Sancho's return seemed to be joy and +reward enough for that occasion. But he did not forget to thank Mrs. +Moss for the cake she sent him, nor the girls for the red mittens which +they had secretly and painfully knit. Bab's was long and thin, with a +very pointed thumb, Betty's short and wide, with a stubby thumb, and all +their mother's pulling and pressing could not make them look alike, to +the great affliction of the little knitters. Ben, however, assured them +that he rather preferred odd ones, as then he could always tell which +was right and which left. He put them on immediately and went about +cracking the new whip with an expression of content which was droll to +see, while the children followed after, full of admiration for the hero +of the day.</p> + +<p>They were very busy all the morning preparing for the festivities to +come, and as soon as dinner was over every one scrambled into his or her +best clothes as fast as possible, because, although invited to come at +two, impatient boys and girls were seen hovering about the avenue as +early as one.</p> + +<p>The first to arrive, however, was an uninvited guest, for just as Bab +and Betty sat down on the porch steps, in their stiff pink calico frocks +and white ruffled aprons, to repose a moment before the party came in, +a rustling was heard among the lilacs and out stepped Alfred Tennyson +Barlow, looking like a small Robin Hood, in a green blouse with a silver +buckle on his broad belt, a feather in his little cap and a bow in his +hand.</p> + +<p>"I have come to shoot. I heard about it. My papa told me what arching +meant. Will there be any little cakes? I like them."</p> + +<p>With these opening remarks the poet took a seat and calmly awaited a +response. The young ladies, I regret to say, giggled, then remembering +their manners, hastened to inform him that there <i>would</i> be heaps of +cakes, also that Miss Celia would not mind his coming without an +invitation, they were quite sure.</p> + +<p>"She asked me to come that day. I have been very busy. I had measles. Do +you have them here?" asked the guest, as if anxious to compare notes on +the sad subject.</p> + +<p>"We had ours ever so long ago. What have you been doing besides having +measles?" said Betty, showing a polite interest.</p> + +<p>"I had a fight with a bumble-bee."</p> + +<p>"Who beat?" demanded Bab.</p> + +<p>"I did. I ran away and he couldn't catch me."</p> + +<p>"Can you shoot nicely?"</p> + +<p>"I hit a cow. She did not mind at all. I guess she thought it was a +fly."</p> + +<p>"Did your mother know you were coming?" asked Bab, feeling an interest +in runaways.</p> + +<p>"No; she is gone to drive, so I could not ask her."</p> + +<p>"It is very wrong to disobey. My Sunday-school book says that children +who are naughty that way never go to heaven," observed virtuous Betty, +in a warning tone.</p> + +<p>"I do not wish to go," was the startling reply.</p> + +<p>"Why not?" asked Betty, severely.</p> + +<p>"They don't have any dirt there. My mamma says so. I am fond of dirt. I +shall stay here where there is plenty of it," and the candid youth began +to grub in the mold with the satisfaction of a genuine boy.</p> + +<p>"I am afraid you're a very bad child."</p> + +<p>"Oh yes, I am. My papa often says so and he knows all about it," replied +Alfred with an involuntary wriggle suggestive of painful memories. Then, +as if anxious to change the conversation from its somewhat personal +channel, he asked, pointing to a row of grinning heads above the wall, +"Do you shoot at those?"</p> + +<p>Bab and Betty looked up quickly and recognized the familiar faces of +their friends peering down at them, like a choice collection of trophies +or targets.</p> + +<p>"I should think you'd be ashamed to peek before the party was ready!" +cried Bab, frowning darkly upon the merry young ladies.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_663" id="Page_663">[Pg 663]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Miss Celia told <i>us</i> to come before two, and be ready to receive folks, +if she wasn't down," added Betty, importantly.</p> + +<p>"It is striking two now. Come along, girls," and over scrambled Sally +Folsom, followed by three or four kindred spirits, just as their hostess +appeared.</p> + +<p>"You look like Amazons storming a fort," she said, as the girls came up, +each carrying her bow and arrows, while green ribbons flew in every +direction. "How do you do, sir? I have been hoping you would call +again," added Miss Celia, shaking hands with the pretty boy, who +regarded with benign interest the giver of little cakes.</p> + +<p>Here a rush of boys took place, and further remarks were cut short, for +every one was in a hurry to begin. So the procession was formed at once, +Miss Celia taking the lead, escorted by Ben in the post of honor, while +the boys and girls paired off behind, arm in arm, bow on shoulder, in +martial array. Thorny and Billy were the band, and marched before, +fifing and drumming "Yankee Doodle" with a vigor which kept feet moving +briskly, made eyes sparkle, and young hearts dance under the gay gowns +and summer jackets. The interesting stranger was elected to bear the +prize, laid out on a red pin-cushion, and did so with great dignity, as +he went beside the standard-bearer, Cy Fay, who bore Ben's choicest +flag, snow white, with a green wreath surrounding a painted bow and +arrow, and with the letters W. T. C. done in red below.</p> + +<p>Such a merry march all about the place, out at the Lodge gate, up and +down the avenue, along the winding-paths till they halted in the orchard +where the target stood and seats were placed for the archers, while they +waited for their turns. Various rules and regulations were discussed, +and then the fun began. Miss Celia had insisted that the girls should be +invited to shoot with the boys, and the lads consented without much +concern, whispering to one another with condescending shrugs—"Let 'em +try, if they like, they can't do anything."</p> + +<p>There were various trials of skill before the great match came off, and +in these trials the young gentlemen discovered that two at least of the +girls <i>could</i> do something, for Bab and Sally shot better than many of +the boys, and were well rewarded for their exertions by the change which +took place in the faces and conversation of their mates.</p> + +<p>"Why, Bab, you do as well as if I'd taught you myself," said Thorny, +much surprised and not altogether pleased at the little girl's skill.</p> + +<p>"A lady taught me, and I mean to beat every one of you," answered Bab, +saucily, while her sparkling eyes turned to Miss Celia with a +mischievous twinkle in them.</p> + +<p>"Not a bit of it," declared Thorny, stoutly; but he went to Ben and +whispered, "Do your best, old fellow, for sister has taught Bab all the +scientific points, and the little rascal is ahead of Billy."</p> + +<p>"She wont get ahead of <i>me</i>," said Ben, picking out his best arrow, and +trying the string of his bow with a confident air which re-assured +Thorny, who found it impossible to believe that a girl ever could, +would, or should excel a boy in anything he cared to try.</p> + +<p>It really did look as if Bab would beat when the match for the prize +came off, and the children got more and more excited as the six who were +to try for it took turns at the bull's-eye. Thorny was umpire and kept +account of each shot, for the arrow which went nearest the middle would +win. Each had three shots, and very soon the lookers on saw that Ben and +Bab were the best marksmen, and one of them would surely get the silver +arrow.</p> + +<p>Sam, who was too lazy to practice, soon gave up the contest, saying, as +Thorny did, "It wouldn't be fair for such a big fellow to try with the +little chaps," which made a laugh, as his want of skill was painfully +evident. But Mose went at it gallantly, and if his eye had been as true +as his arms were strong, the "little chaps" would have trembled. But his +shots were none of them as near as Billy's, and he retired after the +third failure, declaring that it was impossible to shoot against the +wind, though scarcely a breath was stirring.</p> + +<p>Sally Folsom was bound to beat Bab, and twanged away in great style; all +in vain, however, as with tall Maria Newcome, the third girl who +attempted the trial. Being a little near-sighted, she had borrowed her +sister's eye-glasses, and thereby lessened her chance of success; for +the pinch on her nose distracted her attention, and not one of her +arrows went beyond the second ring, to her great disappointment. Billy +did very well, but got nervous when his last shot came, and just missed +the bull's-eye by being in a hurry.</p> + +<p>Bab and Ben each had one turn more, and as they were about even, that +last arrow would decide the victory. Both had sent a shot into the +bull's-eye, but neither was exactly in the middle; so there was room to +do better, even, and the children crowded round, crying eagerly, "Now, +Ben!" "Now, Bab!" "Hit her up, Ben!" "Beat him, Bab!" while Thorny +looked as anxious as if the fate of the country depended on the success +of his man. Bab's turn came first, and as Miss Celia examined her bow to +see that all was right, the little girl said, with her eyes on her +rival's excited face:</p> + +<p>"I want to beat, but Ben will feel <i>so</i> bad, I 'most hope I sha'n't."</p> + +<p>"Losing a prize sometimes makes one happier than gaining it. You have +proved that you could do better than most of them, so, if you do not +beat, you may still feel proud," answered Miss Celia, giv<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_664" id="Page_664">[Pg 664]</a></span>ing back the +bow with a smile that said more than her words.</p> + +<p>It seemed to give Bab a new idea, for in a minute all sorts of +recollections, wishes and plans, rushed through her lively little mind, +and she followed a sudden generous impulse as blindly as she often did a +willful one.</p> + +<p>"I guess he'll beat," she said, softly, with a quick sparkle of the +eyes, as she stepped to her place and fired without taking her usual +careful aim.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/illus-0716-1.png" width="600" height="389" alt="PRACTICING FOR THE MATCH." title="" /> +<span class="caption">PRACTICING FOR THE MATCH.</span> +</div> + +<p>Her shot struck almost as near the center on the right as her last one +had hit on the left, and there was a shout of delight from the girls as +Thorny announced it before he hurried back to Ben, whispering anxiously:</p> + +<p>"Steady, old man, steady; you <i>must</i> beat that, or we shall never hear +the last of it."</p> + +<p>Ben did not say, "She wont get ahead of me," as he had said at the +first; he set his teeth, threw off his hat, and knitting his brows with +a resolute expression, prepared to take steady aim, though his heart +beat fast, and his thumb trembled as he pressed it on the bow-string.</p> + +<p>"I hope you'll beat, I truly do," said Bab, at his elbow; and as if the +breath that framed the generous wish helped it on its way, the arrow +flew straight to the bull's-eye, hitting, apparently, the very spot +where Bab's best shot had left a hole.</p> + +<p>"A tie! a tie!" cried the girls, as a general rush took place toward the +target.</p> + +<p>"No; Ben's is nearest. Ben's beat! Hooray!" shouted the boys, throwing +up their hats.</p> + +<p>There was only a hair's-breadth difference, and Bab could honestly have +disputed the decision; but she did not, though for an instant she could +not help wishing that the cry had been, "Bab's beat! Hurrah!" it sounded +so pleasant. Then she saw Ben's beaming face, Thorny's intense relief, +and caught the look Miss Celia sent her over the heads of the boys, and +decided, with a sudden warm glow all over her little face, that losing a +prize <i>did</i> sometimes make one happier than winning it. Up went her best +hat, and she burst out in a shrill, "Rah, rah, rah!" that sounded very +funny coming all alone after the general clamor had subsided.</p> + +<p>"Good for you, Bab! you are an honor to the club, and I'm proud of you," +said Prince Thorny, with a hearty hand-shake; for, as his man had won, +he could afford to praise the rival who had put him on his mettle though +she <i>was</i> a girl.</p> + +<p>Bab was much uplifted by the royal commendation, but a few minutes later +felt pleased as well as proud when Ben, having received the prize, came +to her, as she stood behind a tree sucking her blistered thumb, while +Betty braided up her disheveled locks.</p> + +<p>"I think it would be fairer to call it a tie, Bab,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_665" id="Page_665">[Pg 665]</a></span> for it nearly was, +and I want you to wear this. I wanted the fun of beating, but I don't +care a bit for this girl's thing, and I'd rather see it on you."</p> + +<p>As he spoke, Ben offered the rosette of green ribbon which held the +silver arrow, and Bab's eyes brightened as they fell upon the pretty +ornament, for to her "the girl's thing" was almost as good as the +victory.</p> + +<p>"Oh no; you must wear it to show who won. Miss Celia wouldn't like it. I +don't mind not getting it; I did better than all the rest, and I guess I +shouldn't like to beat <i>you</i>," answered Bab, unconsciously putting into +childish words the sweet generosity which makes so many sisters glad to +see their brothers carry off the prizes of life, while they are content +to know that they have earned them and can do without the praise.</p> + +<p>But if Bab was generous, Ben was just; and though he could not explain +the feeling, would not consent to take all the glory without giving his +little friend a share.</p> + +<p>"You <i>must</i> wear it; I shall feel real mean if you don't. You worked +harder than I did, and it was only luck my getting this. Do, Bab, to +please me," he persisted, awkwardly trying to fasten the ornament in the +middle of Bab's white apron.</p> + +<p>"Then I will. Now do you forgive me for losing Sancho?" asked Bab, with +a wistful look which made Ben say, heartily:</p> + +<p>"I did that when he came home."</p> + +<p>"And you don't think I'm horrid?"</p> + +<p>"Not a bit of it; you are first-rate, and I'll stand by you like a man, +for you are 'most as good as a boy!" cried Ben, anxious to deal +handsomely with his feminine rival, whose skill had raised her immensely +in his opinion.</p> + +<p>Feeling that he could not improve that last compliment, Bab was fully +satisfied, and let him leave the prize upon her breast, conscious that +she had some claim to it.</p> + +<p>"That is where it should be, and Ben is a true knight, winning the prize +that he may give it to his lady, while he is content with the victory," +said Miss Celia, laughingly, to Teacher, as the children ran off to join +in the riotous games which soon made the orchard ring.</p> + +<p>"He learned that at the circus 'tunnyments,' as he calls them. He is a +nice boy, and I am much interested in him; for he has the two things +that do most toward making a man, patience and courage," answered +Teacher, smiling also as she watched the young knight play leap-frog, +and the honored lady tearing about in a game of tag.</p> + +<p>"Bab is a nice child, too," said Miss Celia; "she is as quick as a flash +to catch an idea and carry it out, though very often the ideas are wild +ones. She could have won just now, I fancy, if she had tried, but took +the notion into her head that it was nobler to let Ben win, and so atone +for the trouble she gave him in losing the dog. I saw a very sweet look +on her face just now, and am sure that Ben will never know why he beat."</p> + +<p>"She does such things at school sometimes, and I can't bear to spoil her +little atonements, though they are not always needed or very wise," +answered Teacher. "Not long ago I found that she had been giving her +lunch day after day to a poor child who seldom had any, and when I asked +her why, she said, with tears, 'I used to laugh at Abby, because she had +only crusty, dry bread, and so she wouldn't bring any. I <i>ought</i> to give +her mine and be hungry, it was so mean to make fun of her poorness.'"</p> + +<p>"Did you stop the sacrifice?"</p> + +<p>"No; I let Bab 'go halves,' and added an extra bit to my own lunch, so I +could make my contribution likewise."</p> + +<p>"Come and tell me about Abby's folks, I want to make friends with our +poor people, for soon I shall have a right to help them;" and, putting +her arm in Teacher's, Miss Celia led her away for a quiet chat in the +porch, making her guest's visit a happy holiday by confiding several +plans and asking advice in the friendliest way.</p> + +<p class="center">(<i>To be continued.</i>)</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/illus-665.png" width="400" height="166" alt="" title="" /> +</div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_666" id="Page_666">[Pg 666]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="HAPPY_FIELDS_OF_SUMMER" id="HAPPY_FIELDS_OF_SUMMER"></a>"HAPPY FIELDS OF SUMMER."</h2> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By Lucy Larcom.</span></p> + + +<div class="backleft" style="background-image: url(images/illus-0718-1.png); height: 100%;"> +<div class="sandbag" style="width:500px; height:269px;"> </div> +<div class="sandbag" style="width:185px; height:125px;"> </div> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i6"><span class="smcap">appy</span> fields of summer, all your airy grasses<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Whispering and bowing when the west wind passes,—<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Happy lark and nestling, hid beneath the mowing,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Root sweet music in you, to the white clouds growing!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i6">Happy fields of summer, softly billowed over<br /></span> +<span class="i6">With the feathery red-top and the rosy clover,—<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Happy little children seek your shady places,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Lark-songs in their bosoms, sunshine on their faces!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i6">Happy little children, skies are bright above you,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Trees bend down to kiss you, breeze and blossom love you;<br /></span> +<span class="i6">And we bless you, playing in the field-paths mazy,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Swinging with the harebell, dancing with the daisy!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i6">Happy fields of summer, touched with deeper beauty<br /></span> +<span class="i6">As your tall grain ripens, tell the children duty<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Is as sweet as pleasure;—tell them both are blended<br /></span> +<span class="i6">In the best life-story, well begun and ended!<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_667" id="Page_667">[Pg 667]</a></span></div></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="THE_DIGGER-WASPS_AT_HOME" id="THE_DIGGER-WASPS_AT_HOME"></a>THE DIGGER-WASPS AT HOME.</h2> + +<p class="center">BY E. A. E.</p> + + +<p>July had come again, and brought with it such warm, sultry days that it +almost seemed as if no living creature could stir abroad. Nevertheless, +there was a wonderful deal going on in our garden. Through the air and +over the flower-beds hastened hundreds of little people. Some lived in +the trees and bushes, others in the ground, and all were hard at work.</p> + +<p>One morning, especially, there seemed to be something unusual going on; +the buzzing, and humming was fairly deafening.</p> + +<p>Whirr-r-r! whirr-r-r! What was that great creature that darted past my +face? And here came another, and another; why, the garden was full of +them!</p> + +<p>Big brown-and-yellow wasps these strangers were, and all in a most +desperate hurry. Scores of them were already hard at work digging away +in the firmly packed sand of the path.</p> + +<p>As these new-comers seemed to care very little who watched them at their +work, I sat down on an upturned flower-pot in the shade of a friendly +lilac, determined to make their acquaintance.</p> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 350px;"> +<img src="images/illus-0719-1.png" width="350" height="309" alt="MAKING A HOME." title="" /> +<span class="caption">MAKING A HOME.</span> +</div> + +<p>Hardly had I settled myself before one of the wasps approached. She +seemed searching for something, for she flew rapidly back and forth, now +alighting for a moment—now darting away again. At last she dropped upon +the ground close to me and began to bite the earth with her strong jaws. +When quite a little heap lay before her she pushed it to one side with +her hind feet and then returned to her digging. In five minutes she had +an opening big enough to get into; every time she appeared she backed up +out of it pushing a huge load of sand as big as herself behind her. Soon +all around the hole was a high bank of earth, and she found it necessary +to make a path across it, and push her loads over that. Two hours' hard +work, and the house was finished. It was very simply planned, and had +only one room down at the end of a long, narrow passage. But simple as +it was, this little creature had done more work in the two hours than a +man could do in a day. That is, of course, taking her size into +consideration. And she did not even now stop to rest. Not she! With one +last look into the house, to make sure she was leaving all as it should +be, she flew away. In a moment her strong wings had taken her quite out +of sight but it was not long before she re-appeared. Back and forth she +hastened, at one moment flying through the grape-arbor, at the next +wheeling above the cabbage-bed. All this time the object of her search, +a fat young locust, was quietly sitting on a gate-post, quite +forgetting, as even locusts sometimes will, that he had an enemy in the +world.</p> + +<p>A moment later and the wasp's sharp eyes had found him out; and then, +quick as lightning, she darted down upon him, and pierced him with her +sting. When the locust lay perfectly still, the wasp seized him and flew +off. Arrived at her hole, she tumbled him head foremost in at the door, +expecting him, of course, to fall quite to the bottom. But her +calculations had been slightly at fault; the locust was too fat to go +in, and there he stuck with his head and shoulders in the hole and his +body in the air. Here was a dilemma! But my wasp friend was evidently +not one to be overcome by difficulties of this sort. She flew off again, +and this time returned with two other wasps; they crowded round the +hole, and began digging away the earth which pressed close about the +locust. In a short time they seemed satisfied, for they stood up and +pushed at the object of their toils. Slowly he slid down out of sight, +and she who had brought him hurried after. She laid an egg close to him +in her house; then, hurrying up, began to carry back the earth she had +before taken out, and in a short time the door was securely closed. Then +she scraped away, and patted down all the loose earth, till she had made +it quite impossible for any evil-minded creature to find any traces of +her home.</p> + +<p>The wasp knew very well that her egg would soon hatch out; that the +little white grub, her chick, would at once begin to feed upon the +locust, which would supply food till the young one was full-grown.</p> + +<p>The following morning I again visited the garden, to see how the +home-making progressed. Soon a handsome wasp came running toward my +seat, under the lilac, near which was a newly made hole.</p> + +<p>"She knows me! she is no longer afraid!" But no; she stopped short and +raised her long, delicate antennæ, evidently on the lookout for danger. +She could not be the same wasp I had watched yesterday; but how was I to +make sure? They seemed all exactly alike.</p> + +<p>I was all this time as motionless as if I had been turned to stone.</p> + +<p>She came a step or two nearer, and, at last, quite re-assured, hurried +down into her hole. What a long time she stayed! but, at last, on +watching the opening intently, I saw something coming toward<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_668" id="Page_668">[Pg 668]</a></span> daylight. +It was a great ball of earth, quite filling the hole, that the wasp was +forcing up by her hind legs. With one mighty heave the ball rolled out, +scattering itself in all directions, as it broke apart.</p> + + + +<p>I noticed at this time, and afterward, that as the depth of the holes +increased and it took longer journeys to reach the surface, the wasps +always pressed the earth they wished to get rid of into these compact +balls, and so managed to bring up a much greater quantity at once than +would otherwise be possible. The wasp now walked entirely round the +hole, pushing carefully back the loose sand which seemed likely to fall +in again. This done, she was up and away. She was in search now of the +insect near which to lay her egg, but although she came in sight of +several, she could get no nearer.</p> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 350px;"> +<img src="images/illus-0721-1.png" width="350" height="328" alt="AFTER THE RAIN-STORM." title="" /> +<span class="caption">AFTER THE RAIN-STORM.</span> +</div> + +<p>The inhabitants of our garden were learning how dangerous these new +settlers might be, and kept well out of her way. At last, as she poised +herself high in the air, and rested on her broad, strong wings for an +instant, she spied, far beneath her, a small grasshopper. It was the +work of only a second to pounce upon him, and to lay him out on his back +perfectly insensible.</p> + +<p>But now a difficulty arose. How could she, borne down by this heavy +weight, manage to rise into the air? The locust of the day before had +been caught upon a high post, and in order to carry him the wasp had +only to fly down. This was a wholly different case. At last an idea +seemed to occur to her: she jumped astride of the grasshopper, seized +its head with her fore feet, and ran along the ground.</p> + +<p>Ha! This was famous; but hard work, nevertheless, and she had often to +let go and rest. She entered the broad path in which her house was, but +somehow she had become bewildered, and mistook a neighbor's hole for her +own. As she dismounted before it, and looked in, the owner angrily +darted out, buzzing in a frightful manner. Our poor friend, much +abashed, proceeded to the next house, and the next, everywhere meeting +with the same reception.</p> + +<p>"How stupid of her," I thought, "not to know her own home!" but just +then she saw the entrance, ran swiftly toward it, and in another minute +she and her burden were both safely in-doors.</p> + + + +<p>Presently she came out and again flew off. She had laid her egg close to +the grasshopper, but the amount of provision was not enough, so she had +now gone in search of another insect, with which to fill her larder.</p> + +<p>As soon as she was out of sight, a tiny creature flew down into the +hole. She, too, had her egg to lay, and here was just the opportunity. +Inside of the digger-wasp's egg the little ichneumon fly placed another +and a very much smaller one, after which she darted away, just in time +to escape meeting the returning mother, who, coming back laden with a +second grasshopper, placed it close to the first, and set about closing +the door. But all her careful work would be of no avail; no child of +hers would ever come out of this house a perfect full-grown insect like +herself.</p> + +<p>This is what happened:</p> + +<p>In time the two eggs hatched. The young digger-wasp set to work upon the +grasshopper, and the little ichneumon began to eat the wasp-grub. At +last the young wasp died, and at that moment there flew out from his +body a little fly.</p> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 350px;"> +<img src="images/illus-0720-1.png" width="350" height="340" alt="AT THE WRONG HOUSE." title="" /> +<span class="caption">AT THE WRONG HOUSE.</span> +</div> + +<p>It rested a minute, then turned and pushed its way through the soft +earth till it reached daylight. It waved its wings gently up and down a +few times, and darted away and out of sight.</p> + +<p>The digger-wasps had been living for some weeks<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_669" id="Page_669">[Pg 669]</a></span> in our garden, when, +one afternoon, there came up a fearful thunder-storm. The rain poured +down in torrents. Where had been shortly before neatly kept paths about +our house, we saw now rapid little rivers tearing up sand and gravel as +they raced down-hill, and doing all the damage their short lives would +allow. But all of a sudden the sun burst out from the clouds, the rain +stopped, and the water which had fallen sank into the ground.</p> + +<p>I did not waste many minutes in reaching the garden. What a sight met my +eyes! The broad path stretched itself out before me smooth and wet; not +a single hole remained,—all were buried deep under the sand. Instead of +the air being, as was usual, fairly alive with busy, happy creatures, +there was now, here and there, a miserable mud-covered insect clinging +to a leaf, and wearily trying to clean its heavy wings.</p> + +<p>What a sad ending to the gay, bright summer!</p> + +<p>The next day, however, I found a few survivors hard at work digging +again; but this time every hole was sloping instead of perpendicular. +After much thought, I came to the conclusion that these clever little +creatures had found the way to prevent such another calamity as had +overtaken them the day before. Formerly, the first drops of an unusually +hard shower filled the holes instantly, drowning the inmates. Now, this +could not happen, especially if the openings were placed, as most of +them were, under the shelter of the big grape-leaves which at many +points rested on the edge of the path. This all took place two years +ago; but each summer since then has brought with it some of our old +friends, the digger-wasps.</p> + + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="THE_EMERGENCY_MISTRESS" id="THE_EMERGENCY_MISTRESS"></a>THE EMERGENCY MISTRESS.</h2> + +<p class="center">(<i>A Fairy Tale.</i>)</p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By Frank R. Stockton</span>.</p> + + +<p>Jules Vatermann was a wood-cutter, and a very good one. He always had +employment, for he understood his business so well, and was so +industrious and trustworthy, that every one in the neighborhood where he +lived, who wanted wood cut, was glad to get him to do it.</p> + +<p>Jules had a very ordinary and commonplace life until he was a +middle-aged man, and then something remarkable happened to him. It +happened on the twenty-fifth of January, in a very cold winter. Jules +was forty-five years old, that year, and he remembered the day of the +month, because in the morning, before he started out to his work, he had +remarked that it was just one month since Christmas.</p> + +<p>The day before, Jules had cut down a tall tree, and he had been busy all +the morning sawing it into logs of the proper length and splitting it up +and making a pile of it.</p> + +<p>When dinner-time came around, Jules sat down on one of the logs and +opened his basket. He had plenty to eat,—good bread and sausage, and a +bottle of beer, for he was none of your poor wood-cutters.</p> + +<p>As he was cutting a sausage, he looked up and saw something coming from +behind his wood-pile.</p> + +<p>At first, he thought it was a dog, for it was about the right size for a +small dog, but in a moment he saw it was a little man. He was a little +man indeed, for he was not more than two feet high. He was dressed in +brown clothes and wore a peaked cap, and he must have been pretty old, +for he had a full white beard. Although otherwise warmly clad, he wore +on his feet only shoes and no stockings<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_670" id="Page_670">[Pg 670]</a></span> and came hopping along through +the deep snow as if his feet were very cold.</p> + +<p>When he saw this little old man, Jules said never a word. He merely +thought to himself: "This is some sort of a fairy-man."</p> + +<p>But the little old person came close to Jules, and drawing up one foot, +as if it was so cold that he could stand on it no longer, he said:</p> + +<p>"Please, sir, my feet are almost frozen."</p> + +<p>"Oh, ho!" thought Jules, "I know all about that. This is one of the +fairy-folks who come in distress to a person, and if that person is kind +to them, he is made rich and happy; but if he turns them away, he soon +finds himself in all sorts of misery. I shall be very careful." And then +he said aloud: "Well, sir, what can I do for you?"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/illus-0722-1.png" width="500" height="376" alt="JULES AND THE LITTLE MAN." title="" /> +<span class="caption">JULES AND THE LITTLE MAN.</span> +</div> + +<p>"That is a strange question," said the dwarf. "If you were to walk by +the side of a deep stream, and were to see a man sinking in the water, +would you stop and ask him what you could do for him?"</p> + +<p>"Would you like my stockings?" said Jules, putting down his knife and +sausage, and preparing to pull off one of his boots. "I will let you +have them."</p> + +<p>"No, no!" said the other. "They are miles too big for me."</p> + +<p>"Will you have my cap or my scarf in which to wrap your feet and warm +them?"</p> + +<p>"No, no!" said the dwarf. "I don't put my feet in caps and scarfs."</p> + +<p>"Well, tell me what you would like," said Jules. "Shall I make a fire?"</p> + +<p>"No, I will not tell you," said the fairy-man. "You have kept me +standing here long enough."</p> + +<p>Jules could not see what this had to do with it. He was getting very +anxious. If he were only a quick-witted fellow, so as to think of +exactly the right thing to do, he might make his fortune. But he could +think of nothing more.</p> + +<p>"I wish, sir, that you would tell me just what you would like for your +cold feet," said Jules, in an entreating tone, "for I shall be very glad +to give it to you, if it is at all possible."</p> + +<p>"If your ax were half as dull as your brain," said the dwarf, "you would +not cut much wood. Good-day!"—and he skipped away behind the wood-pile.</p> + +<p>Jules jumped up and looked after him, but he was gone. These +fairy-people have a strange way of disappearing.</p> + +<p>Jules was not married and had no home of his own. He lived with a good +couple who had a little house and an only daughter, and that was about +the sum of their possessions. The money Jules paid for his living helped +them a little, and they managed to get along. But they were quite poor.</p> + +<p>Jules was not poor. He had no one but himself to support, and he had +laid by a sum of money for himself when he should be too old to work.</p> + +<p>But you never saw a man so disappointed as he was that evening as he sat +by the fire after supper.</p> + +<p>He had told the family all about his meeting with the dwarf, and +lamented again and again that he had lost such a capital chance of +making his fortune.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_671" id="Page_671">[Pg 671]</a></span></p> + +<p>"If I only could have thought what it was best to do!" he said, again +and again.</p> + +<p>"I know what I should have done," said Selma, the only daughter of the +poor couple, a girl about eleven years old.</p> + +<p>"What?" asked Jules, eagerly.</p> + +<p>"I should have just snatched the little fellow up, and rubbed his feet +and wrapped them in my shawl until they were warm," said she.</p> + +<p>"But he would not have liked that," said Jules. "He was an old man and +very particular."</p> + +<p>"I would not care," said Selma; "I wouldn't let such a little fellow +stand suffering in the snow, and I wouldn't care how old he was."</p> + +<p>"I hope you'll never meet any of these fairy-people," said Jules. "You'd +drive them out of the country with your roughness, and we might all +whistle for our fortunes."</p> + +<p>Selma laughed and said no more about it.</p> + +<p>Every day after that, Jules looked for the dwarf-man, but he did not see +him again. Selma looked for him, too, for her curiosity had been much +excited; but as she was not allowed to go to the woods in the winter, of +course she never saw him.</p> + +<p>But, at last, summer came; and, one day, as she was walking by a little +stream which ran through the woods, whom should she see, sitting on the +bank, but the dwarf-man! She knew him in an instant, from Jules' +descriptions. He was busily engaged in fishing, but he did not fish like +any one else in the world. He had a short pole, which was floating in +the water, and in his hand he held a string which was fastened to one +end of the pole.</p> + +<p>When Selma saw what the old fellow was doing, she burst out laughing. +She knew it was not very polite, but she could not help it.</p> + +<p>"What's the matter?" said he, turning quickly toward her.</p> + +<p>"I'm sorry I laughed at you, sir," said Selma, "but that's no way to +fish."</p> + +<p>"Much you know about it," said the dwarf. "This is the only way to fish. +You let your pole float, with a piece of bait on a hook fastened to the +big end of the pole. Then you fasten a line to the little end. When a +fish bites, you haul in the pole by means of the string."</p> + +<p>"Have you caught anything yet?" asked Selma.</p> + +<p>"No, not yet," replied the dwarf.</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm sure I can fish better than that. Would you mind letting me +try a little while?"</p> + +<p>"Not at all—not at all!" said the dwarf, handing the line to Selma. "If +you think you can fish better than I can, do it by all means."</p> + +<p>Selma took the line and pulled in the pole. Then she unfastened the hook +and bait which was on the end of the pole, and tied it to the end of the +line, with a little piece of stone for a sinker. She then took up the +pole, threw in the line, and fished like common people. In less than a +minute she had a bite, and, giving a jerk, she drew out a fat little +fish as long as her hand.</p> + +<p>"Hurrah!" cried the little old man, giving a skip in the air; and then, +turning away from the stream, he shouted, "Come here!"</p> + +<p>Selma turned around to see whom he was calling to, and she perceived +another gnome, who was running toward them. When he came near, she saw +that he was much younger than the fisher-gnome.</p> + +<p>"Hello!" cried the old fellow, "I've caught one."</p> + +<p>Selma was amazed to hear this. She looked at the old gnome, who was +taking the fish off the hook, as if she were astonished that he could +tell such a falsehood.</p> + +<p>"What is this other person's name?" said she to him.</p> + +<p>"His name," said the old gnome, looking up, "is Class 60, H."</p> + +<p>"Is that all the name he has?" asked Selma, in surprise.</p> + +<p>"Yes. And it is a very good name. It shows just who and what he is."</p> + +<p>"Well, then, Mr. Class 60, H," said Selma, "that old—person did not +catch the fish. I caught it myself."</p> + +<p>"Very good! Very good!" said Class 60, H, laughing and clapping his +hands. "Capital! See here!" said he, addressing the older dwarf, and he +knelt down and whispered something in his ear.</p> + +<p>"Certainly," said the old gnome. "That's just what I was thinking of. +Will you mention it to her? I must hurry and show this fish while it is +fresh,"—and, so saying, he walked rapidly away with the little fish, +and the pole and tackle.</p> + +<p>"My dear Miss," said Class 60, H, approaching Selma, "would you like to +visit the home of the gnomes,—to call, in fact, on the Queen Dowager of +all the Gnomes?"</p> + +<p>"Go down underground, where you live?" asked Selma. "Would it be safe +down there, and when could I get back again?"</p> + +<p>"Safe, dear miss? Oh, perfectly so! And the trip will not take you more +than a couple of hours. I assure you that you will be back in plenty of +time for supper. Will you go, if I send a trusty messenger for you? You +may never have another chance to see our country."</p> + +<p>Selma thought that this was very probable, and she began to consider the +matter.</p> + +<p>As soon as Class 60, H, saw that she was really trying to make up her +mind whether or not to go, he cried out:</p> + +<p>"Good! I see you have determined to go. Wait here five minutes and the +messenger will be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_672" id="Page_672">[Pg 672]</a></span> with you," and then he rushed off as fast as he could +run.</p> + +<p>"I didn't say I would go," thought Selma, "but I guess I will."</p> + +<p>In a very few minutes, Selma heard a deep voice behind her say: "Well, +are you ready?"</p> + +<p>Turning suddenly, she saw, standing close to her, a great black bear!</p> + +<p>Frightened dreadfully, she turned to run, but the bear called out: +"Stop! You needn't be frightened. I'm tame."</p> + +<p>The surprise of hearing a bear speak overcame poor Selma's terror; she +stopped, and looked around.</p> + +<p>"Come back," said the bear; "I will not hurt you in the least. I am sent +to take you to the Queen Dowager of the Gnomes. I don't mind your being +frightened at me. I'm used to it. But I am getting a little tired of +telling folks that I am tame," and he yawned wearily.</p> + +<p>"You are to take me?" said Selma, still a little frightened, and very +certain that, if she had known a bear was to be sent for her, she never +would have consented to go.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the bear. "You can get on my back and I will give you a nice +ride. Come on! Don't keep me waiting, please."</p> + +<p>There was nothing to be done but to obey, for Selma did not care to have +a dispute with a bear, even if he were tame, and so she got upon his +back, where she had a very comfortable seat, holding fast to his long +hair.</p> + +<p>The bear walked slowly but steadily into the very heart of the forest, +among the great trees and the rocks. It was so lonely and solemn here +that Selma felt afraid again.</p> + +<p>"Suppose we were to meet with robbers," said she.</p> + +<p>"Robbers!" said the bear, with a laugh. "That's good! Robbers, indeed! +You needn't be afraid of robbers. If we were to meet any of them, you +would be the last person they'd ever meet."</p> + +<p>"Why?" asked Selma.</p> + +<p>"I'd tear 'em all into little bits," said the bear, in a tone which +quite restored Selma's confidence, and made her feel very glad that she +had a bear to depend upon in those lonely woods.</p> + +<p>It was not very long before they came to an opening in a bank of earth, +behind a great tree. Into this the bear walked, for it was wide enough, +and so high that Selma did not even have to lower her head, as they +passed in. They were now in a long winding passage, which continually +seemed as if it was just coming to an end, but which turned and twisted, +first one way and then another, and always kept going down and down. +Before long they began to meet gnomes, who very respectfully stepped +aside to let them pass. They now went through several halls and courts, +cut in the earth, and, directly, the bear stopped before a door.</p> + +<p>"You get off here," said the bear; and, when Selma had slid off his +back, he rose up on his hind legs and gave a great knock with the iron +knocker on the door. Then he went away.</p> + +<p>In a moment, the door opened, and there stood a little old gnome-woman, +dressed in brown, and wearing a lace cap.</p> + +<p>"Come in!" she said; and Selma entered the room. "The Queen Dowager will +see you in a few minutes," said the little old woman. "I am her +housekeeper. I'll go and tell her you're here, and, meantime, it would +be well for you to get your answers all ready, so as to lose no time."</p> + +<p>Selma was about to ask what answers she meant, but the housekeeper was +gone before she could say a word.</p> + +<p>The room was a curious one. There were some little desks and stools in +it, and in the center stood a great brown ball, some six or seven feet +in diameter. While she was looking about at these things, a little door +in the side of the ball opened, and out stepped Class 60, H.</p> + +<p>"One thing I didn't tell you," said he, hurriedly. "I was afraid if I +mentioned it you wouldn't come. The Queen Dowager wants a governess for +her grandson, the Gnome Prince. Now, please don't say you can't do it, +for I'm sure you'll suit exactly. The little fellow has had lots of +teachers, but he wants one of a different kind now. This is the +school-room. That ball is the globe where he studies his geography. It's +only the under part of the countries that he has to know about, and so +they are marked out on the inside of the globe. What they want now is a +special teacher, and after having come here, and had the Queen Dowager +notified, it wouldn't do to back out, you know."</p> + +<p>"How old is the Prince?" asked Selma.</p> + +<p>"About seventy-eight," said the gnome.</p> + +<p>"Why, he's an old man," cried Selma.</p> + +<p>"Not at all, my dear miss," said Class 60, H. "It takes a long time for +us to get old. The Prince is only a small boy; if he were a human boy, +he would be about five years of age. I don't look old, do I?"</p> + +<p>"No," said Selma.</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm three hundred and fifty-two, next Monday. And as for Class +20, P,—the old fellow you saw fishing,—he is nine hundred and sixty."</p> + +<p>"Well, you are all dreadfully old, and you have very funny names," said +Selma.</p> + +<p>"In this part of the world," said the other, "all gnomes, except those +belonging to the nobility and the royal family, are divided into +classes, and let<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_673" id="Page_673">[Pg 673]</a></span>tered. This is much better than having names, for you +know it is very hard to get enough names to go around, so that every one +can have his own. But here comes the housekeeper," and Class 60, H, +retired quickly into the hollow globe.</p> + +<p>"Her Majesty will see you," said the housekeeper; and she conducted +Selma into the next room, where, on a little throne, with a high back +and rockers, sat the Queen Dowager. She seemed rather smaller than the +other gnomes, and was very much wrinkled and wore spectacles. She had +white hair, with little curls on each side, and was dressed in brown +silk.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/illus-0723-1.png" width="500" height="385" alt=""'ROBBERS!' SAID THE BEAR. 'THAT'S GOOD! ROBBERS, +INDEED!'"" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"'ROBBERS!' SAID THE BEAR. 'THAT'S GOOD! ROBBERS, +INDEED!'"</span> +</div> + +<p>She looked at Selma over her spectacles.</p> + +<p>"This is the applicant?" said she.</p> + +<p>"Yes, this is she," said the housekeeper.</p> + +<p>"She looks young," remarked the Queen Dowager.</p> + +<p>"Very true," said the housekeeper, "but she cannot be any older at +present."</p> + +<p>"You are right," said Her Majesty; "we will examine her."</p> + +<p>So saying, she took up a paper which lay on the table, and which seemed +to have a lot of items written on it.</p> + +<p>"Get ready," said she to the housekeeper, who opened a large blank-book +and made ready to record Selma's answers.</p> + +<p>The Queen Dowager read from the paper the first question:</p> + +<p>"What are your qualifications?"</p> + +<p>Selma, standing there before this little old queen and this little old +housekeeper, was somewhat embarrassed, and a question like this did not +make her feel any more at her ease. She could not think what +qualifications she had. As she did not answer at once, the Queen Dowager +turned to the housekeeper and said:</p> + +<p>"Put down, 'Asked, but not given.'"</p> + +<p>The housekeeper set that down, and then she jumped up and looked over +the list of questions.</p> + +<p>"We must be careful," said she, in a whisper, to the Queen Dowager, +"what we ask her. It won't do to put all the questions to her. Suppose +you try number twenty-eight?"</p> + +<p>"All right," said Her Majesty; and, when the housekeeper had sat down +again by her book, she addressed Selma and asked:</p> + +<p>"Are you fond of children?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, ma'am," said Selma.</p> + +<p>"Good!" cried the Queen Dowager; "that is an admirable answer."</p> + +<p>And the housekeeper nodded and smiled at Selma, as if she was very much +pleased.</p> + +<p>"'Eighty-two' would be a good one to ask next," suggested the +housekeeper.</p> + +<p>Her Majesty looked for "Eighty-two," and read it out:</p> + +<p>"Do you like pie?"</p> + +<p>"Very much, ma'am," said Selma.</p> + +<p>"Capital! capital!" said Her Majesty. "That will do. I see no need of +asking her any other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_674" id="Page_674">[Pg 674]</a></span> questions. Do you?" said she, turning to the +housekeeper.</p> + +<p>"None whatever," said the other. "She answered all but one, and that one +she didn't really miss."</p> + +<p>"There is no necessity for any further bother," said the Queen Dowager. +"She is engaged."</p> + +<p>And then she arose from the throne and left the room.</p> + +<p>"Now, my dear girl," said the housekeeper, "I will induct you into your +duties. They are simple."</p> + +<p>"But I should like to know," said Selma, "if I'm to stay here all the +time. I can't leave my father and mother——"</p> + +<p>"Oh! you wont have to do that," interrupted the housekeeper. "You will +take the Prince home with you."</p> + +<p>"Home with me?" exclaimed Selma.</p> + +<p>"Yes. It would be impossible for you to teach him properly here. We want +him taught Emergencies—that is, what to do in case of the various +emergencies which may arise. Nothing of the kind ever arises down here. +Everything goes on always in the usual way. But on the surface of the +earth, where he will often go, when he grows up, they are very common, +and you have been selected as a proper person to teach him what to do +when any of them occur to him. By the way, what are your terms?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know," said Selma. "Whatever you please."</p> + +<p>"That will suit very well,—very well indeed," said the housekeeper. "I +think you are the very person we want."</p> + +<p>"Thank you," said Selma; and just then a door opened and the Queen +Dowager put in her head.</p> + +<p>"Is she inducted?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the housekeeper.</p> + +<p>"Then here is the Prince," said the Queen Dowager, entering the room and +leading by the hand a young gnome about a foot high. He had on a ruffled +jacket and trousers, and a little peaked cap. His royal grandmother led +him to Selma.</p> + +<p>"You will take him," she said, "for a session of ten months. At the end +of that time we shall expect him to be thoroughly posted in emergencies. +While he is away, he will drop all his royal titles and be known as +Class 81, Q. His parents and I have taken leave of him. Good-bye!"</p> + +<p>And she left the room, with her little handkerchief to her eyes.</p> + +<p>"Now, then," said the housekeeper, "the sooner you are off, the better. +The bear is waiting."</p> + +<p>So saying, she hurried Selma and the Prince through the school-room, +and, when they opened the door, there stood the bear, all ready. Selma +mounted him, and the housekeeper handed up the Prince, first kissing +him good-bye. Then off they started.</p> + +<p>The Prince, or, as he must now be called, Class 81, Q, was a very quiet +and somewhat bashful little fellow; and, although Selma talked a good +deal to him, on the way, he did not say much. The bear carried them to +the edge of the woods, and then Selma took the little fellow in her arms +and ran home with him.</p> + +<p>It may well be supposed that the appearance of their daughter with the +young gnome in her arms greatly astonished the worthy cottagers, and +they were still more astonished when they heard her story.</p> + +<p>"You must do your best, my dear," said her mother, "and this may prove a +very good thing for you, as well as for this little master here."</p> + +<p>Selma promised to do as well as she could, and her father said he would +try and think of some good emergencies, so that the little fellow could +be well trained.</p> + +<p>Everybody seemed to be highly satisfied, even Class 81, Q, himself, who +sat cross-legged on a wooden chair surveying everything about him; but +when Jules Vatermann came home, he was very much dissatisfied, indeed.</p> + +<p>"Confound it!" he said, when he heard the story. "I should have done +all this. That should have been my pupil, and the good luck should have +been mine. The gnome-man came first to me, and, if he had waited a +minute, I should have thought of the right thing to do. I could teach +that youngster far better than you, Selma. What do you know about +emergencies?"</p> + +<p>Selma and her parents said nothing. Jules had been quite cross-grained +since the twenty-fifth of January, when he had met the gnome, and they +had learned to pay but little attention to his fault-finding and +complaining.</p> + +<p>The little gnome soon became quite at home in the cottage, and grew very +much attached to Selma. He was quiet, but sensible and bright, and knew +a great deal more than most children of five. Selma did not have many +opportunities to educate him in her peculiar branch. Very commonplace +things generally happened in the cottage.</p> + +<p>One day, however, the young gnome was playing with the cat, and began to +pull his tail. The cat, not liking this, began to scratch Class 81, Q. +At this, the little fellow cried and yelled, while the cat scratched all +the more fiercely. But Selma, who ran into the room on hearing the +noise, was equal to the emergency. She called out, instantly:</p> + +<p>"Let go of his tail!"</p> + +<p>The gnome let go, and the cat bounded away.</p> + +<p>The lesson of this incident was then carefully impressed on her pupil's +mind by Selma, who now<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_675" id="Page_675">[Pg 675]</a></span> thought that she had at last begun to do her +duty by him.</p> + +<p>A day or two after this, Selma was sent by her mother on an errand to +the nearest village. As it would be dark before she returned, she did +not take the little gnome with her. About sunset, when Jules Vatermann +returned from his work, he found the youngster playing by himself in the +kitchen.</p> + +<p>Instantly, a wicked thought rushed into the mind of Jules. Snatching up +the young gnome, he ran off with him as fast as he could go. As he ran, +he thought to himself:</p> + +<p>"Now is my chance. I know what to do, this time. I'll just keep this +young rascal and make his people pay me a pretty sum for his ransom. +I'll take him to the city, where the gnomes never go, and leave him +there, in safe hands, while I come back and make terms. Good for you, at +last, Jules!"</p> + +<p>So, on he hurried, as fast as he could go. The road soon led him into a +wood, and he had to go more slowly. Poor little Class 81, Q, cried and +besought Jules to let him go, but the hard-hearted wood-cutter paid no +attention to his distress.</p> + +<p>Suddenly, Jules stopped. He heard something, and then he saw something. +He began to tremble. A great bear was coming along the road, directly +toward him!</p> + +<p>What should he do? He could not meet that dreadful creature. He +hesitated but a moment. The bear was now quite near, and, at the first +growl it gave, Jules dropped the young gnome, and turned and ran away at +the top of his speed. The bear started to run after him, not noticing +little Class 81, Q, who was standing in the road; but as he passed the +little fellow, who had never seen any bear except the tame one which +belonged to the gnomes, and who thought this animal was his old friend, +he seized him by the long hair on his legs and began to climb up on his +back.</p> + +<p>The bear, feeling some strange creature on him, stopped and looked back. +The moment the young gnome saw the fiery eyes and the glittering teeth +of the beast, he knew that he had made a mistake; this was no tame bear.</p> + +<p>The savage beast growled, and, reaching back as far as he could, snapped +at the little fellow on his back, who quickly got over on the other +side. Then the bear reached back on that side, and Class 81, Q, was +obliged to slip over again. The bear became very angry, and turned +around and around in his efforts to get at the young gnome, who was +nearly frightened to death. He could not think what in the world he +should do. He could only remember that, in a great emergency,—but not +quite as bad a one as this,—his teacher had come to his aid with the +counsel, "Let go of his tail." He would gladly let go of the bear's +tail, but the bear had none—at least, none that he could see. So what +was he to do? "Let go of his tail!" cried the poor little fellow, to +himself. "Oh, if he only had a tail!"</p> + +<p>Before long, the bear himself began to be frightened. This was something +entirely out of the common run of things. Never before in his life had +he met with a little creature who stuck to him like that. He did not +know what might happen next, and so he ran as hard as he could go toward +his cave. Perhaps his wife, the old mother-bear, might be able to get +this thing off. Away he dashed, and, turning sharply around a corner, +little Class 81, Q, was jolted off, and was glad enough to find himself +on the ground, with the bear running away through the woods.</p> + +<p>The little fellow rubbed his knees and elbows, and, finding that he was +not at all hurt, set off to find the cottage of his friend Selma, as +well as he could. He had no idea which way to go, for the bear had +turned around and around so often that he had become quite bewildered. +However, he resolved to trudge along, hoping to meet some one who could +tell him how to go back to Selma.</p> + +<p>After a while, the moon rose, and then he could see a little better; but +it was still quite dark in the woods, and he was beginning to be very +tired, when he heard a noise as if some one was talking. He went toward +the voice, and soon saw a man sitting on a rock by the road-side.</p> + +<p>When he came nearer, he saw that the man was Jules, who was wailing and +moaning and upbraiding himself.</p> + +<p>"Ah me!" said the conscience-stricken wood-cutter, "Ah me! I am a wretch +indeed. I have given myself up into the power of the Evil One. Not only +did I steal that child from his home, and from the good people who have +always befriended me, but I have left him to be devoured by a wild beast +of the forest. Whatever shall I do? Satan himself has got me in his +power, through my own covetousness and greed. How—oh! how—can I ever +get away from him?"</p> + +<p>The little gnome had now approached quite close to Jules, and, running +up to him, he said:</p> + +<p>"Let go of his tail!"</p> + +<p>If the advice was good for him in an emergency, it might be good for +others.</p> + +<p>Jules started to his feet and stood staring at the youngster he had +thought devoured.</p> + +<p>"Whoever would have supposed," said he, at last, "that a little heathen +midget like that, born underground, like a mole, would ever come to me +and tell me my Christian duty. And he's right, too. Satan would never +have got hold of me if I hadn't been holding to him all these months, +hoping to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_676" id="Page_676">[Pg 676]</a></span> get some good by it. I'll do it, my boy. I'll let go of his +tail, now and forever." And, without thinking to ask Class 81, Q, how he +got away from the bear, he took him up in his arms and ran home as fast +as he could go.</p> + +<p>During the rest of the young gnome's stay with Selma, he had several +other good bits of advice in regard to emergencies, but none that was of +such general application as this counsel to let go of a cat's tail, or +the tail of anything else that was giving him trouble.</p> + +<p>At the expiration of the session, the Queen Dowager was charmed with the +improvement in her grandson. Having examined him in regard to his +studies, she felt sure that he was now perfectly able to take care of +himself in any emergency that might occur to him.</p> + +<p>On the morning after he left, Selma, when she awoke, saw lying on the +floor the little jacket and trousers of her late pupil. At first, she +thought it was the little fellow himself; but when she jumped up and +took hold of the clothes, she could not move them. They were filled with +gold.</p> + +<p>This was the pay for the tuition of Class 81, Q.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHURNING" id="CHURNING"></a>CHURNING.</h2> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By Sara Keables Hunt.</span></p> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/illus-0724-1.png" width="500" height="396" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">I'm such an unfortunate dog, oh, dear!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To leave my nap and the sunshine clear,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And down in the cellar—the cold dark place—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I must turn my steps and sorrowful face,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And begin the daily churning.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">To be sure, I've enough to eat, you know,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And I can rest while the men must mow;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But oh! how I'd like to hide away<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When I hear them come to the door and say:<br /></span> +<span class="i2">"It's time for the dog to be churning!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_677" id="Page_677">[Pg 677]</a></span><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">So here I tread, and the wheel goes round,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the dasher comes down with a weary sound;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But after awhile the butter is done,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then off I go to some richer fun<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Than this weary, dreary churning.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">There's a lesson, though, in this work of mine,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That thou, little one, may'st take to be thine:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">We each have our duties, both great and small,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And, if we want butter for bread at all,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Some one must do the churning.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">And then, again, I think that this life,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With its tread-mill of duties, joy and strife,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Is like to a churn. Press on! Press on!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For by and by the work will be done,—<br /></span> +<span class="i2">With no more need of churning.<br /></span> +</div></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="THE_MOON_FROM_A_FROGS_POINT_OF_VIEW" id="THE_MOON_FROM_A_FROGS_POINT_OF_VIEW"></a>THE MOON, FROM A FROG'S POINT OF VIEW.</h2> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By Fleta Forrester.</span></p> + + +<p>Miss Frog sat, in the cool of the evening, under a plantain-leaf, by the +side of her blue and placid lake.</p> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 330px;"> +<img src="images/illus-678b.png" width="330" height="350" alt=""OH-H-H! BOO-HOO-HOO!"" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"OH-H-H! BOO-HOO-HOO!"</span> +</div> +<p>The day had been excessively warm, and so, as she sat, she gracefully +waved, backward and forward, one of her delicate web feet.</p> + +<p>It was a beautiful, natural fan, and served, admirably, the purpose +intended.</p> + +<p>Around Miss Frog arose the varied warble of other frogs. The little +polliwogs had all been put to bed; and now, came stealing on, the season +for silent thoughts. Always anxious to improve her mind, Miss Frog gazed +about her to find a subject on which to fasten her attention.</p> + +<p>She had been once sent to a southern lake to finish her education, and +was really quite superior to ordinary frogs.</p> + +<p>"There is no one here, in this mud-hole, to appreciate me," she +regretfully sighed, as two silly frogs passed her leaf, flirting so hard +that neither of them observed her.</p> + +<p>She drew around her her shawl of lace, made from the finest cobwebs of +Florida—and sulked.</p> + +<p>Just then arose the moon, taking its solitary, silvery way across the +sky.</p> + +<p>Her attention was arrested at once.</p> + +<p>"How like to a polliwog it is!" she rapturously exclaimed, "save that it +lacks a tail."</p> + + + +<p>"And a glorified polliwog it is, daughter of the water!" croaked a +sudden hoarse voice beside her.</p> + +<p>She hopped with fright, and gasped as if about to faint; but calmed +herself again as she recognized the tones of the rough-skinned Sage of +the Frogs, who dwells alone in some remote corner of the lake. He it is +who always sings, "Kerdunk!" when he condescends to sing at all.</p> + +<p>This learned hermit, after clearing his throat repeatedly, thus +explained himself:</p> + +<p>"There is a legend, connected with our race, that runs in this wise:"</p> + +<hr style="width: 25%;" /> + +<p>"Ahem!"</p> + +<p>Upon a time, in a certain valley, where once flowed a considerable +stream, the waters suddenly failed and the stream died away.</p> + +<p>Upon the unfortunate frogs who dwelt there, in vast numbers, the hot +summer sun shone its fiercest rays unhindered.</p> + +<hr style="width: 25%;" /> + +<p>"Dreadful!" piped Miss Frog.</p> + +<p>"Yes, it did!" said the Sage, reproachfully, "and if you wish to hear +this story, you must be careful not to interrupt me again, thoughtless +girl!"</p> + +<p>As Miss Frog was very desirous, indeed, of hearing the story, she +remained quiet, and the hermit frog continued:</p> + +<hr style="width: 25%;" /> + +<p>The waters dried away, and hundreds of wretched frogs died on those +scorching fields. Dying fishes gasped with their last breath for a drop +of cool water, and joined their wails to those of our suffering kindred.</p> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 330px;"> +<img src="images/illus-678c.png" width="330" height="350" alt="THE TADPOLE TO THE RESCUE." title="" /> +<span class="caption">THE TADPOLE TO THE RESCUE.</span> +</div> + +<p>At length, one old trout, who had held out to the last, confessed:</p> + +<p>"Miserable I! and wicked! <i>I</i> have caused this drouth! And now I have no +power to remedy the evil I have done!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_678" id="Page_678">[Pg 678]</a></span></p> + +<p>At this, all of the frogs who were not yet dead gathered around the +tough old trout, and listened to his words.</p> + +<p>"That was an evil day," gasped the speckled sinner, "when I poked my +nose out of water to dare a saucy kingfisher, who was mocking the whole +fish tribe in his usual dashing manner. 'Catch me, if you can!' I cried, +darting about at my ease.</p> + +<p>"But the bird beguiled me. He made me believe that, if I would only work +a little hole through that dam there, I could descend with the escaping +waters to the stream below, and make my way to the sea, where, as I +heard, the fishes were all kings, and ate nothing but diamonds for +dinner.</p> + + + +<p>"I enticed all the trout that I could influence to assist me, and we +wriggled and wriggled our noses into the gravel for a long time, +apparently to no purpose.</p> + +<p>"But, at last, a little leak started, and our water dripped away, drop +by drop; but not in sufficient volume to carry us with it.</p> + +<p>"When the waters had receded, so as to make the stream very low, back +came that artful kingfisher, to dive for us in the shallow pools.</p> + +<p>"And now, what the drouth had not destroyed that tempter has gorged +himself upon.</p> + +<p>"'Oh-h-h! Boo-hoo-hoo!'"</p> + +<p>The frogs freely forgave him because he cried.</p> + +<p>But the problem remained, how was the supply of water to be renewed.</p> + +<p>At this juncture, an earnest, meek-eyed polliwog flopped feebly, and +said: "Show me the place where these waters leak away."</p> + +<p>Astonished at her manner, the sobbing trout indicated the spot.</p> + + +<p>"Drag me thither by my tail!" exclaimed the heroine, resolutely.</p> + +<p>Then the frogs used their last remaining strength to do as she bade +them, and waited, in exhausted surprise, to see what would happen next.</p> + +<p>"Good-bye!" wept the brave little polliwog, wriggling with feeling, and +groaning some. "If any of you survive me, tell it to your children that +I laid myself in the breach!"</p> + +<p>With these few farewell words she crowded herself into the hole, out of +their sight.</p> + +<p>Presently, the stream began to rise and the pools to fill up. The frogs +sat knee-deep in water, and the fishes swam upon their sides.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 330px;"> +<img src="images/illus-698.png" width="330" height="350" alt=""IN THE SKY."" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"IN THE SKY."</span> +</div> + +<p>Day by day things improved, and the fishes began to sit up in bed, while +the frogs were heard incessantly blessing the little polliwog. One +night,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_679" id="Page_679">[Pg 679]</a></span> she appeared to them in the sky, as you see her to-night; +returning nightly, for many nights, to beam at them; growing larger and +brighter at every appearance.</p> + +<hr style="width: 25%;" /> + +<p>"Such," said the Sage, concluding, "is our Legend of the Moon!" And he +leaped into the waves with a resounding plump!</p> + +<p>Miss Frog felt so many different sensations at once that she dropped her +lower jaw involuntarily, and sat so, unconscious of aught until awakened +from her reverie by a cricket jumping suddenly into her throat.</p> + +<p>Hastily gulping him down, she gathered her shawl about her, and, with a +spring, sprawled graciously toward her wave.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="DAB_KINZER_A_STORY_OF_A_GROWING_BOY" id="DAB_KINZER_A_STORY_OF_A_GROWING_BOY"></a>DAB KINZER: A STORY OF A GROWING BOY.</h2> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By William O. Stoddard.</span></p> + +<h4><span class="smcap">Chapter IX.</span></h4> + + +<p>Ham Morris was a thoughtful and kind-hearted fellow, beyond a doubt, and +a valuable friend for a growing boy like Dab Kinzer. It is not +everybody's brother-in-law who would find time, during his wedding trip, +to hunt up even so very pretty a New England village as Grantley, and +inquire into questions of board and lodging and schooling.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Myers, to the hospitalities of whose cool and roomy-looking +boarding-house Ham had been commended by Mr. Hart, was so crowded with +"summer boarders," liberally advertised for in the great city, that she +hardly had a corner for Ham and his bride. She was glad enough that she +had made the effort to find one, however, when she learned what was the +nature of the stranger's business. There was a look of undisguised +astonishment on the faces of the regular guests, all around, when they +gathered for the next meal. It happened to be supper, but they all +looked at the table and then at one another; and it was a pity Ham and +Miranda did not understand those glances, or make a longer visit. They +might have learned more about Mrs. Myers if not the Academy. As it was, +they only gained a very high opinion of her cookery and hospitality, as +well as an increase of respect for the "institution of learning," and +for that excellent gentleman, Mr. Hart, with a dim hope that Dabney +Kinzer might enjoy the inestimable advantages offered by Grantley and +Mrs. Myers, and the society of Mr. Hart's two wonderful boys.</p> + +<p>Miranda was inclined to stand up for her brother, somewhat, but finally +agreed with Ham that—</p> + +<p>"What Dabney needs is schooling and polish, my dear. It'll be good for +him to board in the same house with two such complete young gentlemen."</p> + +<p>"Of course, Ham. And then he'll be sure of having plenty to eat. There +was almost too much on the table."</p> + +<p>"Not if the boarders had all been boys of Dab's age and appetite. Mrs. +Myers is evidently accustomed to them, I should say."</p> + +<p>So she was, indeed, as all the summer boarders were ready to testify at +the next morning's breakfast-table. There was one thing, among others, +that Mrs. Myers failed to tell Mr. and Mrs. Morris. She forgot to say +that the house she lived in, with the outlying farm belonging to it and +nearly all the things in it, were the property of Mr. Joseph Hart, +having cost that gentleman very little more than a sharp lawsuit. +Neither did she say a word about how long or short a time Mr. Hart had +given her to pay him his price for it. All that would have been none of +Ham's business or Miranda's. Still, it might have had its importance.</p> + +<p>So it might, if either or both of them could have been at the +breakfast-table of the Hart homestead the morning after Annie Foster's +sudden departure. The table was there with the breakfast things on it, +and husband and wife, one at either end, as usual; but the side-seats +were vacant.</p> + +<p>"Where are Joe and Foster, Maria?" asked Mr. Hart.</p> + +<p>"Gone on some errand of their own, I think. Something about Annie."</p> + +<p>"About Annie! Look here, Maria, if Annie can't take a joke——"</p> + +<p>"So I say," began his wife; but just then a loud voice sounded in the +entry, and the two boys came in and took their places at the table. In a +moment more "Fuz" whispered to his brother:</p> + +<p>"I'm glad Annie's gone, for one. She was too stiff and steep for any +kind of comfort."</p> + +<p>"Boys," said Mr. Hart, observing them, "what have you been up to now? +I'm afraid there wont<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_680" id="Page_680">[Pg 680]</a></span> be much comfort for anybody till you fellows get +back to Grantley."</p> + +<p>"Well," replied Joe, "so we didn't have to board at Mother Myers', I +wouldn't care how soon we go."</p> + +<p>"Well, your cousin is sure to go, and I'm almost certain of another boy +besides the missionary's son. That'll fill up Mrs. Myers' house, and you +can board somewhere else."</p> + +<p>"Hurrah for that!" exclaimed the young gentleman whose name, from that +of his lawyer relative, had been shortened to mere "Fuz." And yet they +were not so bad-looking a pair, as boys go. The elder, Joe,—a loud, +hoarse-voiced, black-eyed boy of seventeen,—was, nevertheless, not much +taller than his younger brother. The latter was as dark in eyes and hair +as Joe, but paler, and with a sidewise glance of his unpleasant eyes, +which suggested a perpetual state of inquiry whether anybody else had +anything he wanted. The two boys were the very sort to play the meanest +kind of practical jokes, and yet there was something of a resemblance +between their mother and her sister, the mother of Ford and Annie +Foster. There's really no accounting for some things, and the two Hart +boys were, as yet, among the unaccountables.</p> + +<p>Not one of that whole list of boys, however, inland or on the sea-shore, +had any notion whatever of what things the future was getting ready for +them. Dab Kinzer and Ford Foster, particularly, had no idea that the +world contained such a place as Grantley, or such a landlady as Mrs. +Myers.</p> + +<p>As for Dabney, it would hardly be fair to leave him standing there any +longer, with his two strings of fish in his hands, while Ford Foster +volubly narrated the stirring events of the day.</p> + +<p>"Are you sure the black boy was not hurt, Ford?" asked his kind-hearted +mother.</p> + +<p>"Hurt, mother? Why, he seems to be a kind of fish. They all know him, +and went right past my hook to his all the while."</p> + +<p>"Dear me!" exclaimed Mrs. Foster, "I forgot. Annie, this is Ford's +friend, Dabney Kinzer, our neighbor."</p> + +<p>"Wont you shake hands with me, Mr. Kinzer?" asked Annie, with a +malicious twinkle of fun in her merry blue eyes.</p> + +<p>Poor Dabney! He had been in quite a "state of mind" for at least three +minutes; but he would hardly have been his own mother's son if he had +let himself be entirely "posed." Up rose his long right arm with the +heavy string of fish at the end of it, and Annie's fun burst out into a +musical laugh, just as her brother exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"There, now, I'd like to see the other boy of your size can do that. +Look here, Dab, where'd you get your training?"</p> + +<p>"I mustn't drop the fish, you see," began Dab, but Ford interrupted him +with:</p> + +<p>"No, indeed. You've given me half I've got, as it is. Annie, have you +looked at the crabs? You ought to have seen Dick Lee with a lot of 'em +gripping in his hair."</p> + +<p>"In his hair?"</p> + +<p>"When he was down through the bottom of his boat. They'd have eaten him +up if they'd had a chance. You see he's no shell on him."</p> + +<p>"Exactly," said Annie, as Dab lowered his fish. "Well, Dabney, I wish +you would thank your mother for sending my trunk over. Your sisters, +too. I've no doubt we shall be very neighborly."</p> + +<p>It was wonderfully pleasant to be called by his first name, and yet it +seemed to bring something into Dabney Kinzer's throat.</p> + +<p>"She considers me a boy, and she means I'd better take my fish home," +was the thought which came to him, and he was right to a fraction. So +the great lump in his throat took a very wayward and boyish form, and +came out as a reply, accompanied by a low bow.</p> + +<p>"I will, thank you. Good afternoon, Mrs. Foster. I'll see you to-night, +Ford, about Monday and the yacht. Good afternoon, Annie."</p> + +<p>And then he marched out with his fish.</p> + +<p>"Mother, did you hear him call me 'Annie?'"</p> + +<p>"Yes; and I heard you call him 'Dabney.'"</p> + +<p>"But he's only a boy——"</p> + +<p>"I don't care!" exclaimed Ford, "he's an odd fellow, but he's a good +one. Did you see how wonderfully strong he is in his arms? I couldn't +lift those fish at arm's length to save my life."</p> + +<p>It was quite likely that Dab Kinzer's rowing, and all that sort of +thing, had developed more strength of muscle than even he himself was +aware of; but, for all that, he went home with his very ears tingling, +"Could she have thought me ill-bred or impertinent?" he muttered to +himself.</p> + +<p>Thought?</p> + +<p>Poor Dab Kinzer! Annie Foster had so much else to think of, just then, +for she was compelled to go over, for Ford's benefit, the whole story of +her tribulations at her uncle's, and the many rudenesses of Joe Hart and +his brother Fuz.</p> + +<p>"They ought to be drowned," said Ford.</p> + +<p>"In ink," added Annie; "just as they drowned my poor cuffs and collars."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> +<h4><a name="Chapter_X" id="Chapter_X"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter X.</span></h4> + + +<p>"Look at Dabney Kinzer," whispered Jenny Walters to her mother, in +church, the next morning. "Did you ever see anybody's hair as smooth as +that?"</p> + +<p>And smooth it was, certainly; and he looked, all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_681" id="Page_681">[Pg 681]</a></span> over, as if he had +given all the care in the world to his personal appearance. How was +Annie Foster to guess that he had got himself up so unusually on her +account? She did not guess it; but when she met him at the church door, +after service, she was careful to address him as "Mr. Kinzer," and that +made poor Dabney blush to his very eyes.</p> + +<p>"There!" he exclaimed; "I know it."</p> + +<p>"Know what?" asked Annie.</p> + +<p>"Know what you're thinking."</p> + +<p>"Do you, indeed?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, you think I'm like the crabs."</p> + +<p>"What <i>do</i> you mean?"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/illus-0728-1.png" width="600" height="435" alt="GOING THROUGH THE BREAKERS. [SEE PAGE 683." title="" /> +<span class="caption">GOING THROUGH THE BREAKERS. [SEE PAGE <a href="#Page_683">683</a>.]</span> +</div> + +<p>"You think I was green enough till you spoke to me, and now I'm boiled +red in the face."</p> + +<p>Annie could not help laughing,—a little, quiet, Sunday morning sort of +a laugh,—but she was beginning to think her brother's friend was not a +bad specimen of a Long Island "country boy." Ford, indeed, had come +home, the previous evening, from a long conference with Dab, brimful of +the proposed yachting cruise, and his father had freely given his +consent, much against the will of Mrs. Foster.</p> + +<p>"My dear," said the lawyer, "I feel sure a woman of Mrs. Kinzer's good +sense would not permit her son to go out in that way if she did not feel +safe about him. He's been brought up to it, you know, and so has the +colored boy who is to go with them."</p> + +<p>"Yes, mother," argued Ford, "there isn't half the danger there is in +driving around New York in a carriage."</p> + +<p>"There might be a storm."</p> + +<p>"The horses might run away."</p> + +<p>"Or you might upset."</p> + +<p>"So might a carriage."</p> + +<p>But the end of it all was that Ford was to go, and Annie was more than +half sorry she could not go with him. She said so to Dabney, as soon as +her little laugh was ended, that Sunday morning.</p> + +<p>"Some time or other, I'd be glad to have you," replied Dab, "but not +this trip."</p> + +<p>"Why not?"</p> + +<p>"We mean to go right across the bay and try some fishing."</p> + +<p>"Couldn't I fish?"</p> + +<p>"Well, no. I don't think you could."</p> + +<p>"Why couldn't I?"</p> + +<p>"Because,—well, because you'd most likely be too sea-sick by the time +we got there."</p> + +<p>Just then a low, clear voice, behind Dabney,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_682" id="Page_682">[Pg 682]</a></span> quietly remarked: "How +smooth his hair is!" And Dab's face turned red again. Annie Foster heard +it as distinctly as he did, and she walked right away with her mother, +for fear she should laugh again.</p> + +<p>"It's my own hair, Jenny Walters," said Dab, almost savagely.</p> + +<p>"I should hope it was."</p> + +<p>"I should like to know what you go to church for, anyhow?"</p> + +<p>"To hear people talk about sailing and fishing. How much do you s'pose a +young lady like Miss Foster cares about small boys?"</p> + +<p>"Or little girls either? Not much; but Annie and I mean to have a good +sail before long."</p> + +<p>"Annie and I!"</p> + +<p>Jenny's pert little nose seemed to turn up more than ever as she walked +away, for she had not beaten her old playfellow quite as badly as usual. +There were several sharp things on the very tip of her tongue, but she +was too much put out and vexed to try to say them just then. As for +Dabney, a "sail" was not so wonderful a thing for him, and that Sunday +was therefore a good deal like all others; but Ford Foster's mind was in +a sort of turmoil all day. In fact, just after tea, that evening, his +father asked him:</p> + +<p>"What book is that you are reading, Ford?"</p> + +<p>"Captain Cook's 'Voyages.'"</p> + +<p>"And the other in your lap?"</p> + +<p>"'Robinson Crusoe.'"</p> + +<p>"Well, you might have worse books than they are, even for Sunday, that's +a fact, though you ought to have better; but which of them do you and +Dabney Kinzer mean to imitate to-morrow?"</p> + +<p>"Crusoe," promptly responded Ford.</p> + +<p>"I see. And so you've got Dick Lee to go along as your Man-Friday."</p> + +<p>"He's Dab's man, not mine."</p> + +<p>"Oh, and you mean to be Crusoe number two? Well, don't get cast away on +too desolate an island, that's all."</p> + +<p>Ford slipped into the library and put the books away. It had been +Samantha Kinzer's room, and had plenty of shelves, in addition to the +very elegant "cases" Mr. Foster had brought from the city with him.</p> + +<p>The next morning, within half an hour after breakfast, every member of +the two families was down at the landing to see their young sailors make +their start, and they were all compelled to admit that Dab and Dick +seemed to know precisely what they were about. As for Ford, that young +gentleman was wise enough, with all those eyes watching him, not to try +anything he was not sure of, though he explained that "Dab is captain, +Annie, you know. I'm under his orders to-day."</p> + +<p>Dick Lee was hardly the wisest fellow in the world, for he added, very +encouragingly: "An' you's doin' tip-top for a green hand, you is."</p> + +<p>The wind was blowing right off shore, and did not seem to promise +anything more than a smart breeze. It was easy enough to handle the +little craft in the inlet, and in a marvelously short time she was +dancing out upon the blue waves of the spreading "bay." It was a good +deal more like a land-locked "sound" than any sort of a bay, with that +long, low, narrow sand-island cutting it off from the ocean.</p> + +<p>"I don't wonder Ham Morris called her the 'Swallow,'" remarked Ford. +"How she skims! Can you get in under the deck, there, forward? That's +the cabin?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, that's the cabin," replied Dab; "but Ham had the door put in with +a slide, water-tight. It's fitted with rubber. We can put our things in +there, but it's too small for anything else."</p> + +<p>"What's it made so tight for?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, Ham says he's made his yacht a life-boat. Those places at the sides +and under the seats are all air-tight. She might capsize, but she'd +never sink. Don't you see?"</p> + +<p>"I see. How it blows!"</p> + +<p>"It's a little fresh. How'd you like to be wrecked?"</p> + +<p>"Good fun," said Ford. "I got wrecked on the cars the other day."</p> + +<p>"On the cars?"</p> + +<p>"Why, yes. I forgot to tell you about that."</p> + +<p>And then followed a very vivid and graphic description of the sad fate +of the pig and the locomotive. The wonder was how Ford should have +failed to tell it before. No such failure would have been possible if +his head and tongue had not been so wonderfully busy about so many other +things ever since his arrival.</p> + +<p>"I'm glad it was I instead of Annie," he said, at length.</p> + +<p>"Of course. Didn't you tell me your sister came through all alone?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; she ran away from those cousins of mine. Oh, wont I pay them off +when I get to Grantley!"</p> + +<p>"Where's that? What did they do?"</p> + +<p>The "Swallow" was flying along nicely now, with Dab at the tiller and +Dick Lee tending sail, and Dab could listen with all his ears to Ford +Foster's account of his sister's tribulations.</p> + +<p>"Aint they older and bigger than you?" asked Dabney, as Ford closed his +recital. "What can you do with two of 'em?"</p> + +<p>"They can't box worth a cent, and I can. Anyhow, I mean to teach them +better manners."</p> + +<p>"You can box?"</p> + +<p>"Had a splendid teacher."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_683" id="Page_683">[Pg 683]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Will you show me how, when we get back?"</p> + +<p>"We can practice all we choose. I've two pair of gloves."</p> + +<p>"Hurrah for that! Ease her, Dick! It's blowing pretty fresh. We'll have +a tough time tacking home against such a breeze as this. May be it'll +change before night."</p> + +<p>"Capt'in Dab," calmly remarked Dick, "we's on'y a mile to run."</p> + +<p>"Well, what of it?"</p> + +<p>"Is you goin' fo' de inlet?"</p> + +<p>"Of course. What else can we do? That's what we started for."</p> + +<p>"Looks kind o' dirty, dat's all."</p> + +<p>So far as Ford could see, both the sky and the water looked clean +enough, but Dick was right about the weather. In fact, if Captain Dabney +Kinzer had been a more experienced and prudent seaman, he would have +kept the "Swallow" inside the bar, that day, at any risk of Ford +Foster's good opinion. As it was, even Dick Lee's keen eyes hardly +comprehended how threatening was the foggy haze that was lying low on +the water, miles and miles away to seaward.</p> + +<p>It was magnificently exciting fun, at all events, and the "Swallow" +fully merited all that had been said in her favor. The "mile to run" was +a very short one, and it seemed to Ford Foster that the end of it would +bring them up high and dry on the sandy beach.</p> + +<p>The narrow "strait" of the inlet was hardly visible at any considerable +distance. It opened to view, however, as they drew near, and Dab Kinzer +rose higher than ever in his friend's good opinion as the swift little +vessel shot unerringly into the contracted channel.</p> + +<p>"Pretty near where we're to try our fishing, aint we?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Just outside, there. Get ready, Dick. Sharp now!"</p> + +<p>And then, in another minute, the white sails were down, jib and main, +the "Swallow" was drifting along under "bare poles," and Dick Lee and +Ford were waiting for orders to drop the grapnel.</p> + +<p>"Heave!"</p> + +<p>Over went the iron.</p> + +<p>"Now for some weak-fish. It's about three fathoms, and the tide's near +the turn."</p> + +<p>Alas for human calculations! The grapnel caught on the bottom, surely +and firmly; but the moment there came any strain on the seemingly stout +hawser that held it, the latter parted like a thread, and the "Swallow" +was adrift!</p> + +<p>"Somebody's done gone cut dat rope!" shouted Dick, as he caught up the +treacherous bit of hemp.</p> + +<p>There was an anxious look on Dab's face for a moment, as he shouted: +"Sharp now, boys, or we'll be rolling in the surf in three minutes! Haul +away, Dick! Haul with him, Ford! Up with her! There, that'll give us +headway."</p> + +<p>Ford Foster looked out to seaward, even as he hauled his best on the +sail halliards. All along the line of the coast, at distances varying +from a hundred yards or so to nearly a mile, there was an irregular line +of foaming breakers. An awful thing for a boat like the "Swallow" to run +into.</p> + +<p>Perhaps; but ten times worse for a larger craft, for the latter would be +shattered on the shoals where the bit of a yacht would find plenty of +water under her, if she did not at the same time find too much <i>over</i> +her.</p> + +<p>"Can't we go back through the inlet in the bar?" asked Ford.</p> + +<p>"Not with this wind in our teeth, and it's getting worse every minute. +No more will it do to try and keep inside the surf."</p> + +<p>"What can we do, then?"</p> + +<p>"Take the smoothest places and run 'em. The sea isn't very rough +outside. It's our only chance."</p> + +<p>Poor Ford Foster's heart sank within him, but he saw a resolute look on +"Captain Kinzer's" face which gave him a little confidence, and he +turned to look at the surf. The only way for the "Swallow" to penetrate +that dangerous barrier of broken water was to "take it nose on," as Dick +Lee expressed it, and that was clearly what Dab Kinzer intended.</p> + +<p>There were places of comparative smoothness, here and there, in the +foaming and plunging line, but they were bad enough, at the best, and +would have been a great deal worse but for that stiff breeze off shore.</p> + +<p>Bows foremost, full sail, rising like a cork on the long, strong +billows, which would have rolled her over and over if she had not been +really so skillfully handled,—once or twice pitching dangerously, and +shipping water enough to wet her brave young mariners to the skin, and +call for vigorous baling afterward,—the "Swallow" battled gallantly +with her danger for a few minutes, and then Dab Kinzer shouted:</p> + +<p>"Hurrah, boys! We're out at sea!"</p> + +<p>"Dat's so," said Dick.</p> + +<p>"So it is," remarked Ford, a little gloomily; "but how will we ever get +ashore again?"</p> + +<p>"Well," replied Dab, "if it doesn't come on to blow too hard, we'll run +right on down the coast. If the wind lulled, or whopped around a little, +we'd find our way in, easy enough, long before night. We might have a +tough time beating home across the bay. Anyhow, we're safe enough now."</p> + +<p>"How about fishing?"</p> + +<p>"Guess we wont bother 'em much, but you<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_684" id="Page_684">[Pg 684]</a></span> might try for a blue fish. +Sometimes they're capital fun, right along here."</p> + + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> +<h4><span class="smcap">Chapter XI.</span></h4> + + +<p>There's no telling how many anxious people there may have been in that +region, after tea-time that evening, but of two or three circles we may +be reasonably sure. Good Mrs. Foster could not endure to stay at home, +and her husband and Annie were very willing to go over to the Kinzers' +with her, and listen to the encouraging talk of Dabney's stout-hearted +and sensible mother.</p> + +<p>"O, Mrs. Kinzer, do you think they are in any danger?"</p> + +<p>"I hope not. I don't see why they need be, unless they try to return +across the bay against this wind."</p> + +<p>"But don't you think they'll try? Do you mean they wont be home +to-night?" exclaimed Mr. Foster, himself.</p> + +<p>"I sincerely hope not," said the widow, calmly. "I should hardly feel +like trusting Dabney out in the boat again if he should do so foolish a +thing."</p> + +<p>"But where can he stay?"</p> + +<p>"At anchor, somewhere, or on the island. Almost anywhere but tacking on +the bay. He'd be really safer out at sea than trying to get home."</p> + +<p>"Out at sea!"</p> + +<p>There was something dreadful in the very idea of it, and Annie Foster +turned pale enough when she thought of the gay little yacht, and her +brother out on the broad Atlantic in it, with no better crew than Dab +Kinzer and Dick Lee. Samantha and her sisters were hardly as steady +about it as their mother, but they were careful to conceal their +misgivings from their neighbors, which was very kindly, indeed, in the +circumstances.</p> + +<p>There was little use in trying to think or talk of anything else besides +the boys, however, with the sound of the "high wind" in the trees out by +the road-side, and a very anxious circle was that, up to the late hour +at which the members of it separated for the night.</p> + +<p>But there were other troubled hearts in that vicinity. Old Bill Lee +himself had been out fishing, all day, with very poor luck; but he +forgot all about that when he learned that Dick and his young white +friends had not returned. He even pulled back to the mouth of the inlet, +to see if the gathering darkness would yield him any signs of his boy. +He did not know it; but, while he was gone, Dick's mother, after +discussing her anxieties with some of her dark-skinned neighbors, half +weepingly unlocked her one "clothes-press," and took out the suit which +had been the pride of her absent son. She had never admired them half as +much before, but they seemed to need a red neck-tie to set them off; and +so the gorgeous result of Dick's fishing and trading came out of its +hiding-place, and was arranged on the white coverlet of her own bed with +the rest of his best garments.</p> + +<p>"Jus' de t'ing for a handsome young feller like Dick," she muttered to +herself:</p> + +<p>"Wot for'd an ole woman like me want to put on any sech fool finery. +He's de bestest boy in de worl', he is. Dat is, onless dar aint not'in' +happened to 'im."</p> + +<p>But if the folks on shore were uneasy about the "Swallow" and her crew, +how was it with the latter themselves, as the darkness closed around +them, out there upon the tossing water?</p> + +<p>Very cool, indeed, had been Captain Dab Kinzer, and he had encouraged +the others to go on with their blue-fishing, even when it was pretty +tough work to keep the "Swallow" from "scudding." He was anxious not to +get too far from shore, for there was no telling what sort of weather +might be coming. It was curious, too, what very remarkable luck they +had, or rather, Ford and Dick; for Dab would not leave the tiller a +moment. Splendid fellows were those blue-fish, and work it was to pull +in the heaviest of them. That's just the sort of weather they bite best +in; but it is not often such young fishermen venture to take advantage +of it. Only the stanchest and best-seasoned old salts of Montauk or New +London would have felt altogether at home, that afternoon, in the +"Swallow."</p> + +<p>"Don't fish any more," said Dabney, at last. "You've caught ten times as +many as we ever thought of catching. Whoppers, too, some of 'em."</p> + +<p>"Biggest fishing ever I did," remarked Ford, as if that meant a great +deal.</p> + +<p>"Or mos' anybody else out dis yer way," added Dick. "I isn't 'shamed to +show dem fish anywhar."</p> + +<p>"No more I aint," said Dab; "but you're getting too tired, and so am I. +We must have a good hearty lunch, and put the "Swallow" before the wind +for a while. I daren't risk any more of these cross-seas. We might get +pitched over any minute."</p> + +<p>"Dat's so," said Dick. "And I's awful hungry."</p> + +<p>The "Swallow" was well enough provisioned, not to speak of the +blue-fish, and there was water enough on board for several days, if they +should happen to need it; but there was very little danger of that, +unless the wind should continue to be altogether against them.</p> + +<p>It was blowing hard when the boys finished their dinner, but no harder +than it had already blown, several times, that day, and the "Swallow" +seemed to be putting forth her very best qualities as a "sea-boat." No +immediate danger, apparently; but there was one "symptom" which Dab +discerned, as he glanced around the horizon, which gave him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_685" id="Page_685">[Pg 685]</a></span> more +anxiety than either the stiff breeze or the rough sea.</p> + +<p>The coming darkness?</p> + +<p>No; for stars and light-houses can be seen at night, and steering is +easy enough by them.</p> + +<p>A fog is the darkest thing at sea, whether by night or day, and Dabney +saw signs of one coming. Rain might come with it, but that would be of +small account.</p> + +<p>"Boys," said Dabney, "do you know we're out of sight of land at last?"</p> + +<p>"Oh no, we're not," replied Ford, confidently; "look yonder."</p> + +<p>"That isn't land, Ford; that's only a fog-bank, and we shall be all in +the dark in ten minutes. The wind is changing, too, and I hardly know +where we are."</p> + +<p>"Look at your compass."</p> + +<p>"That tells me the wind is changing a little, and it's going down; but I +wouldn't dare to run toward the shore in a fog and in the night."</p> + +<p>"Why not?"</p> + +<p>"Why? Don't you remember those breakers? Would you like to be blown +through them, and not see where you were going?"</p> + +<p>"No," said Ford. "I rather guess I wouldn't."</p> + +<p>"Jest you let Capt'in Kinzer handle dis yer boat," almost crustily, +interposed Dick Lee. "He's de on'y feller on board dat un'erstands +nagivation."</p> + +<p>"Shouldn't wonder if you're right," said Ford, good humoredly. "At all +events I sha'n't interfere. But, Dab, what do you mean to do?"</p> + +<p>"Swing a lantern at the mast-head and sail right along. You and Dick get +a nap, by and by, if you can. I wont try to sleep till daylight."</p> + +<p>"Sleep! Catch me sleeping!"</p> + +<p>"You must, and so must Dick, when the time comes. Wont do to get all +worn out together. Who'd handle the boat?"</p> + +<p>Ford's respect for Dabney Kinzer was growing, hourly. Here was this +overgrown gawk of a green country boy, just out of his roundabouts, who +had never spent more than a day at a time in the great city, and never +lived in any kind of a boarding-house: in fact, here was a fellow who +had had no advantages whatever, coming out as a sort of a hero. Even +Ford did not quite understand it, Dab was so quiet and matter-of-course +about it all; and as for the youngster himself, he had no idea that he +was behaving any better than any other boy could, should and would have +behaved, in those very peculiar circumstances.</p> + +<p>At all events, however, the gay and buoyant little "Swallow," with her +signal-lantern swinging at her mast-head, was soon dancing away through +the deepening darkness and the fog, and her steady young commander was +congratulating himself that there seemed to be a good deal less of wind +and sea, even if more of mist.</p> + +<p>"I couldn't expect everything to suit me," he said to himself. "And now +I hope we sha'n't run down anybody. Hullo! Isn't that a red light, +though the haze, yonder?"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> +<h4><a name="Chapter_XII" id="Chapter_XII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XII.</span></h4> + + +<p>There was yet another "gathering" of human beings on the wind-swept +surface of the Atlantic, that evening, to whose minds it had come with +no small degree of anxiety. Not, perhaps, as great as that of the three +families over there on the shore of the bay, or even of the boys, +tossing along in their bubble of a yacht; but the officers, and not a +few of the passengers and crew, of the great, iron-builded ocean +steamer, were anything but easy in their minds.</p> + +<p>Had they no pilot on board? To be sure they had, but they had, somehow, +seemed to bring that fog along with them, and the captain had a +half-defined suspicion that neither he nor the pilot knew exactly where +they were. That is a bad condition for a great ship to be in, and that, +too, so near a coast which requires good seamanship and skillful +pilotage in the best of weather. Not that the captain would have +confessed his doubt to the pilot, or the pilot to the captain, and that +was where the real danger lay. If they could only have permitted +themselves to speak of their possible peril, it would probably have +disappeared.</p> + +<p>The steamer was French and her captain a French naval officer, and very +likely he and the pilot did not understand each other any too well. That +speed should be lessened, under the circumstances, was a matter of +course; but not to have gone on at all would have been even wiser. Not +to speak of the shore they were nearing, they might be sure they were +not the only craft steaming or sailing over those busy waters, and +vessels have sometimes run against one another in a fog as thick as +that. Something could be done in that direction, and lanterns with +bright colors were freely swung out; but the fog was likely to diminish +their usefulness, somewhat. None of the passengers were in a mood to go +to bed, with the end of their voyage so near, and they seemed, one and +all, disposed to discuss the fog. All but one, and he a boy.</p> + +<p>A boy of about Dab Kinzer's age, slender and delicate looking, with +curly, light-brown hair, blue eyes, and a complexion which would have +been fair but for the traces it bore of a hotter sun than that of either +France or America. He seemed to be all alone, and to be feeling very +lonely, that night;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_686" id="Page_686">[Pg 686]</a></span> and he was leaning over the rail, peering out into +the mist, humming to himself a sweet, wild air, in a strange, musical +tone.</p> + +<p>Very strange. Very musical. Perhaps no such words had ever before gone +out over the waves of that part of the Atlantic; for Frank Harley was a +missionary's son, "going home to be educated," and the sweet, low-voiced +song was a Hindustanee hymn which his mother had taught him in far-away +India.</p> + +<p>Suddenly the hymn was cut short by the hoarse voice of the look-out, as +it announced: "A white light, close aboard, on the windward bow."</p> + +<p>And that was rapidly followed by even hoarser hails, replied to by a +voice which was clear and strong enough but not hoarse at all. The next +moment something, which was either a white sail or a ghost, came +slipping along through the fog, and then the conversation did not +require to be shouted any longer. Frank could even hear one person say +to another, out there in the mist: "Aint it a big thing, Ford, that you +know French. I mean to study it as soon as we get home."</p> + +<p>"It's as easy as eating. Shall I tell 'em we've got some fish?"</p> + +<p>"Of course. Sell 'em the whole cargo."</p> + +<p>"Sell them? Why not make them a present?"</p> + +<p>"We may need the money to get home with. They're a splendid lot. Enough +for the whole cabin full."</p> + +<p>"Dat's a fack. Capt'in Dab Kinzer's de man for me, he is."</p> + +<p>"How much then?"</p> + +<p>"Twenty-five dollars for the lot. They're worth it. 'Specially if we +lose Ham's boat."</p> + +<p>Dab's philosophy was a little out of gear, but a perfect rattle of +questions and answers followed, in French, and, somewhat to Frank +Harley's astonishment, the bargain was promptly concluded.</p> + +<p>How were they to get the fish on board? Nothing easier, since the little +"Swallow" could run along so nicely under the stern of the great +steamer, while a large basket was swung out at the end of a long, +slender spar, with a pulley to lower and raise it. Even the boys from +Long Island were astonished at the number and size of the prime, freshly +caught blue-fish to which they were treating the passengers of the +"Prudhomme," and the basket had to come and go again and again.</p> + +<p>The steamer's steward, on his part, avowed that he had never before met +so honest a lot of Yankee fishermen. Perhaps not; for high prices and +short weight are apt to go together where "luxuries" are selling. The +pay itself was handed out in the same basket which went for the fish.</p> + +<p>The wind was not nearly as high as it had been, and the sea had for some +time been going down.</p> + +<p>Twenty minutes later, Frank Harley heard, for he understood French very +well:</p> + +<p>"Hallo, the boat! What are you following us for?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, we wont run you down. Don't be alarmed. We've lost our way out +here, and we're going to follow you in. Hope you know where you are."</p> + +<p>And then there was a cackle of surprise and laughter among the steamer's +officers, in which Frank and some of the passengers joined, and the +saucy little "fishing-boat" came steadily on in the wake of her gigantic +guide.</p> + +<p>"This is grand for us," remarked Dab Kinzer to Ford, as he kept his eyes +on the after-lantern of the "Prudhomme." "They pay all our pilot fees."</p> + +<p>"But they're going to New York."</p> + +<p>"So are we, if to-morrow doesn't come out clear and with a good wind to +go home by."</p> + +<p>"It's better than crossing the Atlantic in the dark, anyhow. But what a +price we got for those fish!"</p> + +<p>"They're ready to pay well for such things at the end of the voyage," +said Dab. "I expected they'd try and beat us down a peg. They generally +do. We only got about fair market price, after all, only we got rid of +our whole catch at one sale."</p> + +<p>Hour followed hour, and the "Swallow" followed the steamer, and the fog +followed them both so densely that sometimes even Dick Lee's keen eyes +could with difficulty make out the "Prudhomme's" light. And now Ford +Foster ventured to take a bit of a nap, so sure did he feel that all the +danger was over, and that "Captain Kinzer" was equal to what Dick Lee +called the "nagivation" of that yacht. How long he had slept he could +not have guessed, but he was suddenly awakened by a great cry from out +the mist beyond them, and the loud exclamation of Dab Kinzer, still at +the tiller:</p> + +<p>"I believe she's run ashore!"</p> + +<p>It was a loud cry, indeed, and there was good reason for it. Well for +all on board the great French steamship that she was running no faster +at the time, and that there was no hurricane of a gale to make things +worse for her. Pilot and captain had both together missed their +reckoning,—neither of them could ever afterward tell how,—and there +they were stuck fast in the sand, with the noise of breakers ahead of +them and the dense fog all around.</p> + +<p>Frank Harley peered anxiously over the rail again, but he could not have +complained that he was "wrecked in sight of shore;" for the steamer was +anything but a wreck yet, and there was no such thing as a shore in +sight.</p> + +<p>"It's an hour to sunrise," said Dab to Ford, after the latter had +managed to comprehend the situa<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_687" id="Page_687">[Pg 687]</a></span>tion. "We may as well run further in and +see what we can see."</p> + +<p>It must have been aggravating to the people on the steamer to see that +cockle-shell of a yacht dancing safely along over the shoal on which +their "leviathan" had struck, and to hear Ford Foster sing out: "If we'd +known you meant to run in here, we'd have followed some other pilot."</p> + +<p>"They're in no danger at all," said Dab. "If their own boats don't take +'em all ashore, the coast-wreckers will."</p> + +<p>"The Government life-savers, I s'pose you mean?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, they're all along here, everywhere. Hark! there goes the distress +gun. Bang away! It sounds a good deal more mad than scared."</p> + +<p>So it did, and so they really were—captain, pilot, passengers and all.</p> + +<p>"Captain Kinzer" found that he could safely run in for a couple of +hundred yards or so; but there were signs of surf beyond, and he had no +anchor to hold on by. His only course was to tack back and forth, as +carefully as possible, and wait for daylight, as the French sailors were +doing, with what patience they could command.</p> + +<p>In less than half an hour, however, a pair of long, graceful, +buoyant-looking life-boats, manned each by an officer and eight rowers, +came shooting through the mist, in response to the repeated summons of +the steamer's cannon.</p> + +<p>"It's all right now," said Dab. "I knew they wouldn't be long in coming. +Let's find where we are."</p> + +<p>That was easy enough. The steamer had gone ashore on a sand-bar a +quarter of a mile from the beach and a short distance from Seabright, on +the Jersey coast; and there was no probability of any worse harm coming +to her than the delay in her voyage, and the cost of pulling her out +from the sandy bed into which she had so blindly thrust herself. The +passengers would, most likely, be taken ashore with their baggage, and +sent to the city overland.</p> + +<p>"In fact," said Ford Foster, "a sand-bar isn't as bad for a steamer as a +pig is for a locomotive."</p> + +<p>"The train you was wrecked in," said Dab, "was running fast. Perhaps the +pig was. Now, the sand-bar was standing still, and the steamer was going +slow. My! what a crash there'd have been, if she'd been running ten or +twelve knots an hour with a heavy sea on."</p> + +<p>By daylight there were plenty of other craft around, including yachts +and sail-boats from Long Branch, and "all along shore," and the Long +Island boys treated the occupants of these as if they had sent for them +and were glad to see them.</p> + +<p>"Seems to me, your're inclined to be inquisitive, Dab," said Ford, as +his friend peered sharply into and around one craft after another, but +just then Dabney sung out:</p> + +<p>"Hullo, Jersey, what are you doing with two grapnels? Is that boat of +yours balky?"</p> + +<p>"Mind your eye, youngster. They're both mine, I reckon."</p> + +<p>"You might sell me one cheap," continued Dab, "considering how you got +'em. Give you ten cents for the big one."</p> + +<p>Ford thought he understood the matter, and said nothing; but the "Jersey +wrecker" had "picked up" those two anchors, one time and another, and +had no objection at all to talking "trade."</p> + +<p>"Ten cents! Let you have it for fifty dollars."</p> + +<p>"Is it gold, or only silver gilt?"</p> + +<p>"Pure gold, my boy, but seein' it's you, I'll say ten dollars."</p> + +<p>"Take your pay in clams?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, hush, I haint no time to gabble. Mebbe I'll git a job here, 'round +this yer wreck. If you want the grapn'l, what'll you gimme?"</p> + +<p>"Five dollars, gold, take it or leave it," said Dab, as he pulled out a +coin from the pay he had taken for his blue-fish.</p> + +<p>In three minutes more the "Swallow" was furnished with a much larger and +better anchor than the one she had lost the day before, and Dick Lee +exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"It jes' takes Capt'in Kinzer!"</p> + +<p>For some minutes before this, as the light grew clearer and the fog +lifted a little, Frank Harley had been watching them from the rail of +the "Prudhomme" and wondering if all the fisher-boys in America dressed +as well as these two.</p> + +<p>"Hullo, you!" was the greeting which now came to his ears. "Go ashore in +my boat?"</p> + +<p>"Not till I have eaten some of your fish for breakfast," replied Frank. +"What's your name?"</p> + +<p>"Captain Dabney Kinzer, of 'most anywhere on Long Island. What's yours?"</p> + +<p>"Frank Harley, of Rangoon."</p> + +<p>"I declare!" almost shouted Ford Foster, "if you're not the chap my +sister Annie told me of. You're going to Albany, to my uncle, Joe +Hart's, aren't you?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, to Mr. Hart's, and then to Grantley, to school."</p> + +<p>"That's it. Well, you just come along with us, then. Get your kit out of +your state-room. We can send over to the city for the rest of your +baggage after it gets in."</p> + +<p>"Along with you, where?"</p> + +<p>"To my father's house, instead of ashore among those wreckers and +hotel-people. The captain'll tell you it's all right."</p> + +<p>It was a trifle irregular, no doubt, but there was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_688" id="Page_688">[Pg 688]</a></span> the "Prudhomme" +ashore, and all "landing rules" were a little out of joint by reason of +that circumstance. The "Swallow" lay at anchor while Frank got his +breakfast, and such of his baggage as was not "stowed away," and, +meantime, Captain Kinzer and his "crew" made a very deep hole in their +own supplies, for their night of danger and excitement had made them +wonderfully hungry.</p> + +<p>"Do you mean to sail home?" asked Ford, in some astonishment.</p> + +<p>"Why not? If we could do it in the night and in a storm, we surely can +in a day of such splendid weather as is coming. The wind's all right +too, what there is of it."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/illus-0729-1.png" width="600" height="439" alt="THE WELCOME ON THE BEACH." title="" /> +<span class="caption">THE WELCOME ON THE BEACH.</span> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> +<h4><a name="Chapter_XIII" id="Chapter_XIII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XIII.</span></h4> + + +<p>The wind was indeed "all right," but even Dab forgot, for the moment, +that the "Swallow" would go further and faster before a gale than she +was likely to with the comparatively mild southerly breeze which was +blowing. He was by no means likely to get home by dinner-time. As for +danger, there would be absolutely none, unless the weather should again +become stormy, which was not at all probable at that season. And so, +with genuine boyish confidence in boys, after some further conversation +over the rail, Frank Harley went on board the "Swallow" as a passenger, +and the gay little craft slipped lightly away from the neighborhood of +the very forlorn-looking stranded steamer.</p> + +<p>"They'll have her off in less'n a week," said Ford to Frank. "My +father'll know just what to do about your baggage, and so forth."</p> + +<p>There were endless questions to be asked and answered on both sides, but +at last Dab yawned a very sleepy yawn and said: "Ford, you've had your +nap. Wake up Dick there, and let him take his turn at the tiller. The +sea's as smooth as a lake, and I believe I'll go to sleep for an hour or +so. You and Frank keep watch while Dick steers."</p> + +<p>Whatever Dab said was "orders," now, on board the "Swallow," and Ford's +only reply was: "If you haven't earned a good nap, then nobody has."</p> + +<p>In five minutes more the patient and skillful young "captain" was +sleeping like a top.</p> + +<p>"Look at him," said Ford Foster to Frank Harley. "I don't know what he's +made of. He's been at that tiller for twenty-three hours, by the watch, +in all sorts of weather, and never budged."</p> + +<p>"They don't make that kind of boy in India," replied Frank.</p> + +<p>"He's de best feller you ebber seen," added Dick Lee. "I's jes' proud of +'im, I is."</p> + +<p>Smoothly and swiftly and safely the "Swallow" was bearing her precious +cargo across the summer sea, but the morning had brought no comfort to +the two homes at the head of the inlet, or the cabin in the village. Old +Bill Lee was out in the best boat he could borrow, by early daylight, +and more than one of his sympathizing neighbors followed him a little +later. There was no doubt at all that a thorough search would be made of +the bay and the island, and so Mr. Foster wisely remained at home to +comfort his wife and daughter.</p> + +<p>"That sort of boy," mourned Annie, "is always getting into some kind of +mischief."</p> + +<p>"Annie," exclaimed her mother, "Ford is a good boy, and he does not run +into mischief."</p> + +<p>"I didn't mean Ford; I meant that Dabney Kinzer. I wish we'd never seen +him, or his sail-boat either."</p> + +<p>"Annie," said her father, reprovingly, "if we live by the water, Ford +<i>will</i> go out on it, and he'd better do so in good company. Wait a +while."</p> + +<p>Summer days are long, but some of them are a good deal longer than +others, and that was one of the longest any of those people had ever +known. For once, even dinner was more than half neglected in the Kinzer +family circle. At the Fosters' it was forgotten almost altogether. Long +as the day was, and so dreary, in spite of all the bright, warm +sunshine, there was no help for it; the hours would not hurry, and the +wanderers would not return. Tea-time came at last, and with it the +Fosters all came over to Mrs. Kinzer's again, to take tea and to tell +her of several fishermen who had returned from the bay without having +discovered a sign of the "Swallow" or its crew.</p> + +<p>Stout-hearted Mrs. Kinzer talked bravely and encouragingly, +nevertheless, and did not seem to abate an ounce of her confidence in +her son. It seemed as if, in leaving off his roundabouts, Dabney must +have suddenly grown a great many "sizes" in his mother's estimation. +Perhaps that was because he did not leave them off too soon.</p> + +<p>There they sat, the two mothers and the rest, looking gloomy enough, +while, over there in her bit of a brown house in the village, Mrs. Lee +sat in very much the same frame of mind, trying to relieve her feelings +by smoothing imaginary wrinkles out of her boy's best clothes, and +planning for him any number of bright red neck-ties, if he would only +come back to wear them.</p> + +<p>The neighbors were becoming more than a little interested and even +excited about the matter; but what was there to be done?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_689" id="Page_689">[Pg 689]</a></span></p> + +<p>Telegrams had been sent to other points on the coast, and all the +fishermen notified. It was really one of those puzzling cases where even +the most neighborly can do no better than "wait a while."</p> + +<p>Still, there were nearly a dozen people, of all sorts, including Bill +Lee, lingering around the "landing" as late as eight o'clock, when some +one of them suddenly exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"There's a light, coming in."</p> + +<p>And others followed with: "And a boat under it." "Ham's boat carried a +light." "I'll bet it's her." "No, it isn't." "Hold on and see."</p> + +<p>There was not long to "hold on," for in three minutes more the "Swallow" +swept gracefully in with the tide, and the voice of Dab Kinzer shouted +merrily: "Home again! Here we are!"</p> + +<p>Such a ringing volley of cheers answered him! It was heard and +understood away there in the parlor of the Morris house, and brought +every soul of that anxious circle right up standing.</p> + +<p>"Must be it's Dab!" exclaimed Mrs. Kinzer.</p> + +<p>"Oh, mother," said Annie, "is Ford safe?"</p> + +<p>"They wouldn't cheer like that, my dear, if anything had happened," +remarked Mr. Foster, but, in spite of his coolness, the city lawyer +forgot to put his hat on, as he dashed out of the front gate, and down +the road toward the landing.</p> + +<p>Then came one of those times that it takes a whole orchestra and a +gallery of paintings to tell anything about, for Mrs. Lee as well as her +husband was at the beach, and within a minute after "Captain Kinzer" and +his crew had landed, poor Dick was being hugged and scolded within an +inch of his life, and the other two boys found themselves in the midst +of a tumult of embraces and cheers.</p> + +<p>Frank Harley's turn came soon, moreover, for Ford Foster found his +balance, and introduced the "passenger from India" to his father.</p> + +<p>"Frank Harley!" exclaimed Mr. Foster, "I've heard of you, certainly, but +how did you—boys, I don't understand——"</p> + +<p>"Oh, father, it's all right! We took Frank off the French steamer after +she ran ashore."</p> + +<p>"Ran ashore?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; down the Jersey coast. We got in company with her in the fog, +after the storm. That was yesterday evening."</p> + +<p>"Down the Jersey coast! Do you mean you've been out at sea?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, father; and I'd go again, with Dab Kinzer for captain. Do you +know, father, he never left the rudder of the 'Swallow' from the moment +we started until seven o'clock this morning?"</p> + +<p>"You owe him your lives!" almost shouted Mr. Foster; and Ford added, +"Indeed, we do."</p> + +<p>It was Dab's own mother's arms that had been around him from the instant +he made his ap<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_690" id="Page_690">[Pg 690]</a></span>pearance, and Samantha and Keziah and Pamela had had to +be content with a kiss or so apiece; but dear old Mrs. Foster stopped +smoothing Ford's hair and forehead, just then, and gave Dab a right +motherly hug, as if she could not express herself in any other way.</p> + +<p>As for Annie Foster, her face was suspiciously red at the moment, but +she walked right up to Dab, after her mother released him, and said:</p> + +<p>"Captain Kinzer, I've been saying dreadful things about you, but I beg +pardon."</p> + +<p>"I'll be entirely satisfied, Miss Annie," returned Dabney, "if you'll +ask somebody to get us something to eat."</p> + +<p>"Eat!" exclaimed Mrs. Kinzer, "Why, the poor fellows! Of course they're +hungry."</p> + +<p>Of course they were, every one; and the supper-table, after all, was the +best place in the world to hear the particulars of their wonderful +cruise.</p> + +<p>Meantime, Dick Lee was led home to a capital supper of his own, and as +soon as that was over he was rigged out in his Sunday clothes,—red silk +neck-tie and all,—and invited to tell the story of his adventures to a +roomful of admiring neighbors.</p> + +<p>He told it well, modestly ascribing pretty much everything to Dab +Kinzer; but there was no reason, in anything he said, for one of his +father's friends to ask, next morning:</p> + +<p>"Bill Lee, does you mean for to say as dem boys run down de French +steamah in dat ar' boat?"</p> + +<p>"Not dat, not zackly."</p> + +<p>"'Cause, if you does, I jes' want to say I's been down a-lookin' at her, +and she aint even snubbed her bowsprit."</p> + +<p class="center">(<i>To be continued.</i>)</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="GERTY" id="GERTY"></a>GERTY.</h2> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By Margaret W. Hamilton.</span></p> + + +<p>Ugh! How cold it was!—sleet driving in your face, wind whistling about +your ears, cold penetrating everywhere! "A regular nipper," thought Dick +Kelsey, standing in a door-way, kicking his feet in toeless boots to +warm them, and blowing his chilled fingers, for in the pockets of his +ragged trousers the keen air had stiffened them. He was revolving a +weighty question in his mind. Which should he do,—go down to "Ma'am +Vesey's" and get one of her hot mutton pies, or stray a little farther +up the alley, where an old sailor kept a little coffee-house for the +benefit of newsboys and boot-blacks such as he? Should it be coffee or +mutton pie?</p> + +<p>"I'll toss up for it!" said Dick, finally; and, fumbling in his pockets, +the copper was produced ready for the test.</p> + +<p>Just then, his attention was suddenly diverted. Close to him sounded a +voice, weak and not very melodious, but bravely singing:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"There is a happy land<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Far, far away,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where saints in glory stand<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bright, bright as day!"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Dick listened in silence till the last little quaver had died away, and +then said: "Whew! That was purty, anyhow. Where is the piper, I wonder!" +He looked about for the musician, but could see no one. He was the only +person in the alley.</p> + +<p>Again the song began, and this time he traced the voice to the house +against which he had been leaning. The window was just at his right, and +through one of the broken panes came the notes. Dick's modesty was not a +burden to him, so it was the work of only a moment to put his face to +the hole in the window and take a view.</p> + +<p>A small room, not very nice to see, was what he saw; then, as his eye +became used to the dim light, he espied on a low bed in the corner a +little girl gazing at him with a pair of big black eyes.</p> + +<p>"I say, there! Was it you pipin' away so fine?" began Dick, without the +slightest embarrassment.</p> + +<p>"If you mean, was I a-singin'?—I was," answered the child from the bed, +not seeming at all surprised at this sudden intrusion upon her privacy.</p> + +<p>"I say, who are you, anyhow?"</p> + +<p>"I'm Gerty, and I stay here all the day while mother is away washing; +and she locks the door so no one can't get in," explained the girl.</p> + +<p>"My eye!" was Dick's return. "And what are you in bed for?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, I have a pain in my back, an' I lie down most of the time," replied +Gerty in the most cheerful manner possible, as if a pain in the back +were the one desirable thing, while Dick withdrew his head to ponder +over this new experience.</p> + +<p>A girl locked in a room like that, lying in bed with pain most of the +time, with nothing to do, yet cheerful and bright—this was something +he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_691" id="Page_691">[Pg 691]</a></span> could not understand. All at once his face brightened. Back went his +eyes to the window.</p> + +<p>"I say, got anything to eat in there?"</p> + +<p>"Oh yes, some crackers; and to-night maybe mother'll buy some milk."</p> + +<p>"Pooh!" said Dick, with scorn. "Crackers and milk! Did you ever eat a +mutton pie?"</p> + +<p>"A mutton pie," repeated Gerty, slowly. "No, I guess not."</p> + +<p>"Oh, they're bully! Hot from Ma'am Vesey's! Tip-top! Wait a minute,"—a +needless caution, for Gerty could not possibly have done anything else.</p> + +<p>Away ran Dick down the alley and around the corner, halting breathless +before Ma'am Vesey.</p> + +<p>"Gi'e me one, quick!" he cried. "Hot, too. No, I wont eat it; put it in +some paper." The old woman had offered him one from the oven.</p> + +<p>"Seems to me we're gettin' mighty fine," she said; for Dick was an old +customer, and never before had he waited for a pie to be wrapped up.</p> + +<p>"Never you mind, old lady," was his good-natured, if somewhat +disrespectful, reply; and, dropping some pennies, he seized his treasure +and was off again.</p> + +<p>Gerty's eager fingers soon held the pie, which Dick dexterously tossed +on the bed, and Dick's eyes fairly shone as he watched the half-starved +little one swallow the dainty in rapid mouthfuls.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I never in all my life tasted anything half so good! Don't you want +some?" questioned the child, whose enjoyment was so keen she feared it +hardly could be right.</p> + +<p>"No, indeed!"—this with hearty emphasis. "I've had 'em. I'm goin' now," +he added, reluctantly, "but I'll come back again 'fore long."</p> + +<p>"Oh, do!" said Gerty, "an' I'll sing you some more of 'Happy Land,' if +you want me; and I know another song, too. I learned them up to the +horspital when I was there. You see, I was peddlin' matches and +shoe-strings, and it was 'most dark and awful slippery, and the horses +hit me afore I knowed it; and then they picked me up, and I didn't know +nothin', and couldn't tell where I lived, and so they took me to the +horspital; and the next day I told 'em where mother was, and she came. +But the doctors said I had better stay, and p'r'aps they could help me. +But they couldn't, you know, cos the pain in my back was too bad. And +mother, she washes, and I watch the daylight, and wait for night, and +sing; and when the pain aint too bad, the day don't seem so very long."</p> + +<p>"My eye!" was all Dick could say, as he beat a hasty retreat, rubbing +the much appealed-to member with a corner of his ragged coat.</p> + +<p>"Well, them's hard lines, anyhow," he soliloquized, as he went to the +printing-office. "An' she's chipper, too. Game as anything," he went on +to himself. "Now, I'm just goin' to keep my eye on that little un, and +some o' my spare coppers'll help her, I guess."</p> + +<p>How he worked that night! His papers fairly flew, he sold them so fast; +and when, under a friendly street-lamp, he counted his gains, a +prolonged whistle was his first comment.</p> + +<p>"More'n any night this week," he pondered. "Did me good to go 'thout the +pie. Gerty'll have an orange to-morrow."</p> + +<p>So, next morning, when the last journal had been sold, a fruit-stand was +grandly patronized.</p> + +<p>"The biggest, best orange you got, and never mind what it costs." Then +but a few moments to reach Gerty's alley, and Gerty's window.</p> + +<p>Yes, there she was, just the same as yesterday, and the pinched face +grew bright when she saw her new friend peering at her.</p> + +<p>"Oh! you're come, are you?" joyfully. "Mother said you wouldn't, when I +told her, but I said you would. She wouldn't leave the door unlocked, +cos she didn't know nothing about you; but she said, if you came to-day, +you could come back to-night when she was home, and come in."</p> + +<p>"Oh, may I?" said Dick, rather gruffly; for he hardly liked the idea of +meeting strangers.</p> + +<p>"Yes," went on Gerty; "I'll sing lots, if you want; and mother'll be +glad to see you, too."</p> + +<p>"All right; mebbe I'll come. And say, here's suthin for ye," and the +orange shot through the window.</p> + +<p>"Oh, my!" she gasped, "how nice! Is it really for me?" And Dick +answered, "Yes, eat it now."</p> + +<p>Half his pleasure was in watching her eager relish of the fruit; and as +Gerty needed no second bidding, the orange rapidly disappeared, she +pausing now and again to look across gratefully at Dick and utter +indistinct expressions of delight.</p> + +<p>"Now shall I sing?" she asked, when the last delicious mouthful was +fairly swallowed; for she was anxious to make some return for the +pleasure he had given her.</p> + +<p>"All right," responded Dick, "I'm ready."</p> + +<p>So the thin little voice began again the old refrain; Gerty singing with +honest fervor, Dick listening in rapt attention. Following "Happy Land" +came "I want to be an angel," "Little drops of water," etc.; and when +full justice had been done to these well-worn tunes, Dick suggested a +change.</p> + +<p>"Don't you sing 'Mulligan Guards'?" he questioned, at the close of one +of the hymns.</p> + +<p>"No," said Gerty, perplexed. "They didn't sing that up to the +horspital."</p> + +<p>"Oh, mebbe they don't sing it to the horspital; but I've heard 'em sing +it bully to the circus. I say," he went on suddenly, "was you ever +there—to the circus, I mean?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_692" id="Page_692">[Pg 692]</a></span></p> + +<p>"No," said Gerty, eagerly. "What do they do?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, it's beautiful!" was Dick's answer. "All bright, you know, and +warm, and the wimmin is dressed awful fine, and the men, too; and the +horses prance around; and they have music and tumbling, and—oh, lots of +things!"</p> + +<p>"My! and you've been there?"</p> + +<p>"Oh yes, I've been!" Then, as he watched her sparkling eyes, "Look here, +I'll take you. I could carry you, you know, and we'd go early, and I'd +put you up against a post, and——Don't you want to go?"</p> + +<p>"Want to go?" she repeated with rapture. "Oh, it's too good to be true! +I was scared just a-thinkin' of it. Oh, if mother'd let me an' I could! +Wouldn't I be too heavy? Mother says I'm light as a feather,—and I +wouldn't weigh more'n I could help," she added, wistfully.</p> + +<p>"Never you mind," was Dick's hearty reply. "I'll come to-night and see +the old lady,—your mother, I mean,—and we'll go next week, if she'll +let you."</p> + +<p>So it was decided; and when Dick said "good-bye," and ran off, Gerty +settled back with a sigh, half of delight and half of anxiety, lest her +wild, wonderful hope should never be fulfilled.</p> + +<p>But Dick came that night, and Gerty's mother, when she saw Dick's +honest, earnest face, and her little girl's eager, pleading eyes, gave +consent.</p> + +<p>The next Monday night was fixed upon, and this was Thursday. "Four +days," counted Gerty on her fingers; and oh, they seemed so long! But +even four days <i>will</i> crawl away, and Monday night came at last. By +seven o'clock, Dick appeared, his face clean and shining, radiant with +delight.</p> + +<p>Gerty was dressed in the one dress owned by her mother beside her +working one, and the shrunken little figure looked pathetically absurd +in its ample proportions. It was much too long for her, of course, but +her mother pinned up the skirt. Good old Peggotty Winters, the +apple-woman, who lived in the back room, had lent her warm shawl for the +occasion, and the little French hair-dresser on the top floor had loaned +a knitted hood which had quite an elegant effect. So Gerty considered +herself dressed in a style befitting the event; and if she and Dick were +satisfied, no one else need criticise.</p> + +<p>"Pooh!" was Dick's comment as he lifted her in his arms. "Like a baby, +aint you?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'm so glad you don't think I'm heavy! It's the first time I ever +was glad to be thin," sighed Gerty, clinging around his neck.</p> + +<p>Then away they went, out through alleys and across side-streets to the +main artery of travel, where Dick threaded his way slowly through +throngs of gay people. At length, after what seemed miles to Gerty, they +halted in front of a brilliantly lighted building, and in another +moment were in the dazzling entrance-way.</p> + +<p>On went Dick slowly, patiently, with his burden, down the aisle, as near +to the front as possible, and—they were there!</p> + +<p>Gerty was carefully set down in a corner place, and her shawl opened a +little to serve as a pillow; and then she began to look about her, +gazing with awe-struck curiosity at the great arena and the mysterious +doors.</p> + +<p>After a while the house seemed full, the musicians came out and took +their places, the gas suddenly blazed more brightly, and the band struck +up a gay popular air. Gerty felt as if she must scream with delight and +expectation.</p> + +<p>Presently, the music stopped, there was a bustle of preparation, a bell +tinkled, and the great doors slowly swung open. Gerty saw beautiful +ladies, all bright and glittering with spangles, and handsome horses in +gorgeous trappings, and great strong men in tights, all the wonders and +sights of the circus, and the funny jokes and antics of the clown and +pantaloon. And Gerty had never known anything half so fine; and there +was riding and jumping and tumbling, and all manner of fun, until the +doors shut again.</p> + +<p>"Wasn't it lovely?" whispered Gerty. "Is that all?"</p> + +<p>"Not half," said Dick; and Gerty leaned back to think it all over and +watch for the repetition. But the next scene was different; there came +an immense elephant, some little white poodle-dogs, and some mules, and +everybody clapped hands and laughed, and was delighted. At last, the +climax of ecstasy was reached,—a beautiful procession of all the gayly +dressed and glittering performers, with their wonderful steeds, the wise +old elephant, the queer little poodles, and the fun-provoking mules; and +the band struck up some stirring music, and Gerty was dumb with +admiration. But in another minute the arena was empty, the heavy doors +had shut out all the life and magnificence, the band was hushed, the +lights were dimmed, and Dick told her it was over.</p> + +<p>Carefully he folded her in the shawl again, and once more the cold night +air blew in her face. Not a word could she say all the way home, but +when she sank in her mother's arms it was with the whisper, "I've seen +'Happy Land';" and Dick felt, somehow, as if no other comment were +needed.</p> + +<p>And the winter days went on, Dick's faithful service and devotion never +ceasing. The window was mended, but Dick had a key to the door, and +spent many an hour with the sufferer. As spring approached, the two +watchers noted a change in the girl. She was weaker, and her pain +constant; and when Dick carried her out to the park in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_693" id="Page_693">[Pg 693]</a></span> April +sunshine, he was shocked to find her weight almost nothing in his arms.</p> + +<p>Yes, Gerty was dying, slowly but surely; and Dick grew exceeding +sorrowful. By and by, she even could not be carried out-of-doors, but +lay all day on her little couch. Then Dick brought flowers and fruit, +and talked gayly of the next winter, when, said he, "We'll go every week +to the circus, Gerty."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 404px;"> +<img src="images/illus-0730-1.png" width="404" height="550" alt="AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE CIRCUS." title="" /> +<span class="caption">AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE CIRCUS.</span> +</div> + +<p>"No, Dick," said the child, quietly, "I shall never go there again. But +oh! 't'll be suthin better!"—at which Dick rushed off hastily, and soon +after got into a quarrel with a fellow newsboy who had hinted that his +eyes were red. Anon he was back with some fresh gift, only to struggle +again with the choking grief.</p> + +<p>And then came the end—quietly, peacefully. Near the close of a July +day, when the setting sun glorified every corner of the room, Gerty left +her pain, and, with a farewell sigh, was at rest.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Gerty!" sobbed Dick, "don't forget me!"</p> + +<p>Ah, Dick, you are held in everlasting remembrance, and more than one +angel is glad at thoughts of you, in the "Happy Land!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_694" id="Page_694">[Pg 694]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="THE_CROW_THAT_THE_CROW_CROWED" id="THE_CROW_THAT_THE_CROW_CROWED"></a>THE CROW THAT THE CROW CROWED.</h2> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By S. Conant Foster.</span></p> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i6">"Ho! ho!"<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Said the crow:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"So I'm not s'posed to know<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where the rye and the wheat<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the corn kernels grow—<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Oh! no,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Ho! ho!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i6">"He! he!<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Farmer Lee,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When I fly from my tree,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Just you see where the tops<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of the corn-ears will be<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Watch me!<br /></span> +<span class="i6">He! he!"<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i6">Switch-swirch,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">With a lurch,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Flopped the bird from his perch<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As he spread out his wings<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And set forth on his search—<br /></span> +<span class="i6">His search—<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Switch-swirch.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i6">Click!-bang!—<br /></span> +<span class="i6">How it rang,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">How the small bullet sang<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As it sped through the air—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the crow, with a pang,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Went spang—<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Chi-bang.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">The Tail Feathers</span>.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i6">Now know,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">That to crow<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Often brings one to woe;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Which the lines up above<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Have been put there to show,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">And so,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Don't crow.<br /></span> +</div></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="THE_LONDON_MILK-WOMAN" id="THE_LONDON_MILK-WOMAN"></a>THE LONDON MILK-WOMAN.</h2> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By Alexander Wainwright.</span></p> + + +<p>Very sturdy in form and honest in face is the London milk-woman shown in +our picture. She has broad English features, smoothly parted hair, and a +nice white frill running round her old-fashioned, curtained bonnet. Her +boots are strong, and her dress is warm—the petticoats cut short to +prevent them from draggling in the mud. A wooden yoke fits to her +shoulders, which are almost as broad as a man's, and from the yoke hang +her cans, filled with milk and cream, the little ones being hooked to +the larger ones.</p> + +<p>The London day has opened on a storm, and the snow lies thick on the +area railings, the lamp-posts and the roofs; but the morning is not too +cold or stormy for her. Oh, no! the mornings never are. It may rain, or +blow, or snow the hardest that ever was known, no inclemency of weather +keeps her from her morning round, and in the dull cold of London frosts +and the yellow obscurity of London fogs, she appears in the streets, +uttering her familiar cry, "Me-oh! me-oh!" which is her way of calling +milk.</p> + +<p>Pretty kitchen-maids come up the area steps with their pitchers to meet +her, and detain her with much gossip. The one in the picture, whose arms +are comfortably folded under her white apron, may be telling her that +the mistress's baby is sick, and that the doctor despairs of its life. +She may even be saying to her: "The only thing it can swallow, poor +little dear, is a little milk and arrowroot, and the doctor says unless +it can have this it must die." A great deal of the London milk is +adulterated, and, perhaps, this honest-looking milk-woman knows that +water has been added to hers. May be, she has babies of her own, and +then her heart must be sore when she realizes that the little sick one +upstairs may perish through her employer's greed for undue profits.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 395px;"> +<img src="images/illus-0731-1.png" width="395" height="600" alt="AT THE AREA GATE." title="" /> +<span class="caption">AT THE AREA GATE.</span> +</div> + +<p>To-morrow, she may find the blinds drawn close down at that house, and +the maid-of-all-work red-eyed and tearful; then she will turn away, +bitterly feeling the pressure of her yoke on her shoulders, although, +from her looks, she herself appears to be incapable of dishonesty; she +is, and more than that,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_695" id="Page_695">[Pg 695]</a></span> kindly, cheery, and industrious. Her cans are +polished to the brilliancy of burnished silver, and betoken the most +scrupulous cleanliness. Many breakfast-tables depend upon her for that +rich cream which emits a delicious flavor from her cans, in the sharp +morning air. "Me-oh! me-oh!" We turn over in bed when we hear her, and +know that it is time to get up.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_696" id="Page_696">[Pg 696]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="ALICE_SUPPER" id="ALICE_SUPPER"></a>ALICE'S SUPPER.</h2> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/illus-0732-1.png" width="400" height="226" alt="" title="Alice's supper" /> +</div> + +<div class="cpoem1"> +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Far down in the valley the wheat grows deep,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the reapers are making the cradles sweep;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And this is the song that I hear them sing,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">While cheery and loud their voices ring:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"'Tis the finest wheat that ever did grow,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And it is for Alice's supper—ho! ho!"<br /></span> +</div></div></div> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/illus-0733-1.png" width="400" height="233" alt="" title="ALICE'S SUPPER" /> +</div> + +<div class="cpoem1"> +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Far down by the river the old mill stands,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the miller is rubbing his dusty old hands;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And these are the words of the miller's lay,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As he watches the mill-stones grinding away:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"'Tis the finest flour that money can buy,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And it is for Alice's supper—hi! hi!"<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_697" id="Page_697">[Pg 697]</a></span></div></div> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/illus-0734-1.png" width="400" height="233" alt="" title="ALICE'S SUPPER" /> +</div> + +<div class="cpoem1"> +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Down-stairs in the kitchen the fire doth glow,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And cook is a-kneading the soft white dough;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And this is the song she is singing to-day,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As merry and busy she's working away:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"'T is the finest dough whether near or afar,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And it is for Alice's supper—ha! ha!"<br /></span> +</div></div></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/illus-0735-1.png" width="400" height="255" alt="" title="ALICE'S SUPPER" /> +</div> + +<div class="cpoem1"> +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">To the nursery now comes mother, at last,—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And what in her hand is she bringing so fast?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">'T is a plateful of something, all yellow and white,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And she sings as she comes, with her smile so bright:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"'T is the best bread and butter I ever did see,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And it is for Alice's supper—he! he!"<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_698" id="Page_698">[Pg 698]</a></span></div></div></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="JACK_IN_THE_PULPIT" id="JACK_IN_THE_PULPIT"></a>JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT.</h2> + + + +<p>"Warm!" you say?</p> + +<p>Don't mention it, but take it good-naturedly.</p> + +<p>And, now, let's be quiet and have a talk about</p> + + +<h4>HEARING FLIES WALK.</h4> + +<p>"Ho, ho; nobody can do that!"</p> + +<p>But anybody <i>can</i> do that,—with a microphone.</p> + +<p>"And what's a microphone?"</p> + +<p>Why, it's a machine by which very low sounds, that don't seem to be +sounds at all, may be made to grow so loud and clear that you can easily +hear them. If any of you come across one of these things, my dears, just +take it to some quiet green spot, and coax it to let you hear the grass +grow.</p> + +<p>There's one feature of the microphone that is likely to be troublesome; +it makes loud noises sound hundreds of times louder. Something must be +done, therefore, to prevent the use of these machines on any Fourth of +July. That would be what nobody could stand, I should think.</p> + + +<h4>A CRAB THAT MOWS GRASS.</h4> + +<p>Isn't this dreadful? In India—a long way off, I'm glad to say—there is +a kind of crab that eats the juicy stalks of grass, rice, and other +plants. He snips off the stalks with his sharp pincers, and, when he has +made a big enough sheaf, sidles off home with it to his burrow in the +ground, to feast upon it.</p> + +<p>Ugh! I hope I shall never hear the cruel click of his pincers anywhere +near me!</p> + + +<h4>WASHERWOMEN IN TUBS.</h4> + +<p>Over here, as I've heard, the clothes to be washed are put in tubs, and +the washerwomen or washermen stand outside at work. But I'm told that in +some parts of Europe the washerwomen themselves get into the tubs. They +do this to keep their feet dry. The tubs or barrels are empty, and are +set along the river banks in the water, and each washerwoman stands in +her tub and washes the clothes in the river, pounding, and soaping, and +rinsing them, on a board, without changing her position.</p> + + +<h4>MICE IN A PIANO.</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p class="author"> +Chicago, Ill. +</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear Jack</span>: I have long wished to tell you of a little incident that +occurred in our family.</p> + +<p>About a year ago we bought an upright grand piano, and after we had +had it a few months we noticed that one of the keys would stay down +when touched, unless struck very quickly and lightly, and the next +day another acted in the same way. That evening, after the boys had +gone to bed, father and myself were sitting by the grate fire, when +we thought we heard a nibbling in the corner of the room where the +piano stood. I exclaimed, "Do you think it possible a mouse can be +in the piano?" "Oh no!" he said; "it is probably behind it." We +moved the piano, and found a little of the carpet gnawed, and a few +nut-shells. Then we examined the piano inside, as far as possible, +but found no traces there. I played a noisy tune, to frighten the +mouse away, and we thought no more about it.</p> + +<p>Two or three days after, more of the keys stayed down, and I said, +"That piano must be fixed." The tuner came, and the children all +stood around him, with curious eyes, as he took the instrument +apart. Presently I heard a great shout. What do you think? In one +corner, on the key-board, where every touch of the keys must have +jarred it, was a mouse's nest, with five young ones in it! Those +mice must have been fond of music! The mother mouse sprang out and +escaped; but the nest and the little ones were destroyed.</p> + +<p>Well, what do you suppose the nest was made of? Bits of felt and +soft leather from the hammers and pedal; and the mouse had gnawed +in two most of the strips of leather that pull back the hammers! +So, when the piano had been fixed, there was a pretty heavy bill +for repairs.—Very truly yours,</p> + +<p class="author"> +P. L. S. +</p> + +</div> + + +<h4>RATTLE-BOXES.</h4> + +<p>You'd hardly believe how old-fashioned rattle-boxes are,—those noisy +things that babies love to shake. Why, they are almost as old-fashioned +as some of the very first babies would look nowadays. A few very ancient +writers mention these toys, but, instead of calling them, simply, +"rattle-boxes," they refer to them as "symbols of eternal agitation, +which is necessary to life!"</p> + +<p>Deacon Green says that this high-sounding saying may have been wise for +its times, when the sleepy young world needed shaking, perhaps, to get +it awake and keep it lively. "But, in these days," he adds, "the boot is +on the other leg. People are a little too go-ahead, if anything, and try +to do too much in too short time. Real rest, and plenty of it, is just +as necessary to life as agitation can be."</p> + +<p>Remember this, my chicks, all through vacation; but don't mistake +laziness for rest.</p> + + +<h4>A MOTHER WITH TWO MILLION CHILDREN.</h4> + +<p>No, not the old woman who lived in a shoe,—though old parties of the +kind I mean have been found with their houses fixed to old rubber +high-boots,—but a quiet old mother, who never utters a word, and whose +house is all door-way, as I'm told. Every year she opens the door and +turns two million wee bairns upon the world.</p> + +<p>Away they rush, the door snaps shut behind them, and they can never come +back any more! They don't seem to mind that very much, however, for they +go dancing away in countless armies, without ever jostling, or meeting, +or even touching one another.</p> + +<p>And how large a ball-room do you suppose a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_699" id="Page_699">[Pg 699]</a></span> troop of them would need? +One drop of water is large enough for thousands upon thousands of them +to sport in!</p> + +<p>The mother is the oyster, and her children are the little oysters, and a +curious family they must be, if all this is true, as I'm led to believe.</p> + + +<h4>A CHINESE FLOATING VILLAGE.</h4> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/illus-0737-1.png" width="600" height="382" alt="A CHINESE FLOATING VILLAGE." title="" /> +<span class="caption">A CHINESE FLOATING VILLAGE.</span> +</div> + +<p>The Little Schoolma'am wishes you a good and lively vacation, and sends +you a picture of a Chinese Floating Village,—a cool and pleasant kind +of village to live in through the summer, I've no doubt, with plashing +water, and fresh breezes, all about you. She goes on to say:</p> + +<p>"In China, where there are about four hundred and fifty millions of +people, not only the land, but also much of the water, is covered with +towns and streets; and, although the Chinese are more than eleven times +as numerous as the people of the United States, their country is not +half as large as ours,—even leaving Alaska out of the count. So that +China is pretty well crowded.</p> + + + +<p>"In the picture, the little boats belong to poor people, but the big +ones, called 'junks,' belong to folks who are better off. Sometimes +junks are used by rich people for traveling, and then they are built +almost as roomy, and fitted up quite as comfortably, as the homes on +shore.</p> + +<p>"There are no railroads in China worth mentioning, so traveling has to +be done by highroad, or by river and canal; and, as this last, though +easy, is a very slow way, it is a good thing when, like the snail, a +traveler can take his house with him."</p> + + +<h4>INFORMATION WANTED.</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="author">Providence, R. I.</p> + +<p>Jack-in-the-Pulpit: <span class="smcap">Sir:</span> I write to ask if any of your little birds +ever crossed the Equator; and, when just above it, whereabouts in +the sky did they look for the sun at noon?</p> + +<p>If you will answer this you will oblige me very much, as I have +been wondering for about a month past.</p> + +<p>Don't think this foolish.</p> + +<p class="author"> +<span class="smcap">Edwin S. Thompson.</span> +</p> + +</div> + +<p>None of my feathered friends ever told me about this; but, perhaps, some +of you smart chicks who have just passed good examinations can answer +Edwin's question. If so, I'd be glad to hear from you; especially if +you'd let me know, also, what kind of a thing the equator <i>is</i>, and by +what marks or signs a bird or anybody might make sure he had pitched +upon it?</p> + + +<h4>A BIRD THAT SEWS.</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="author"> Sandy Spring, Md.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear Jack</span>: Have you ever heard of a bird that sews? Perhaps you +have, and some of your chicks have not. He is not much larger than +the humming-bird, and looks like a ball of yellow worsted flying +through the air. For his nest he chooses two leaves on the outside +of a tree, and these he sews firmly together, except at the +entrance, using a fiber for thread, and his long, sharp bill as a +needle. When this is done, he puts in some down plucked from his +breast, and his snug home is complete. He is sometimes called the +"tailor-bird."—Your friend,</p> + +<p class="author"> +M. B. T. +</p> + +</div> + + +<h4>A BEE "SOLD."</h4> + +<p>Talk about the instinct of animals! I'm sure my little friends the bees +are as bright as any, yet I heard, the other day, a strange thing about +one. There was a flower-like sea-anemone, near the top of a little pool +of water, when a bee came buzzing along and alighted on the pretty +thing, no doubt mistaking it for a blossom. That anemone was an animal, +and had no honey. Now, where was the instinct of that bee? That's what I +want to know.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_700" id="Page_700">[Pg 700]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="THE_LETTER-BOX" id="THE_LETTER-BOX"></a>THE LETTER-BOX.</h2> + +<p class="author">West Roxbury, Mass.</p> + +<p>Dear St. Nicholas: I saw in your June number, in the "Letter-Box," an +account of a turtle; so I thought I would tell you about "Gopher Jimmy." +My uncle brought him from Florida. He is a gopher, and different from +the common kind of turtle. His back is yellow, with black ridges on it. +His feet are yellow and scaly. Gophers burrow in the ground; and, when +full grown, a man cannot pull one out of its burrow, and a child can +ride easily on its back. I feed mine on clover. He likes to bask in the +sun. My uncle named him "Gopher Jimmy." When full grown, they can move +with a weight of 200 pounds. Jimmy is a young one.—Your devoted reader,</p> + +<p class="author"> +<span class="smcap">Francis H. Allen.</span> +</p> + + +<p class="author">Baltimore, Md</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: Perhaps the other readers of your magazine have heard +of "Tyrian purple," a dye which once sold in the shops of ancient Rome +for its own weight in silver. Well, after a while, the way to make this +dye was forgotten,—probably because those who had the secret died +without telling it to others. And now I want to let you know what I have +learned lately, in reading, about how the secret was found again, after +hundreds of years.</p> + +<p>A French naturalist, named Lacazo Duthiers, was on board a ship, when, +one day, he saw a sailor marking his clothes and the sails of the ship +with a sharp-pointed stick, which, every now and then, he dipped into a +little shell held in his other hand. At first, the lines were only a +faint yellow in color; but, after being a few minutes in the sun, they +became greenish, then violet, and last of all, a bright, beautiful +purple, the exact shade called by the ancients "Tyrian purple"—a color +that never fades by washing, or exposure to heat or damp, but ever grows +brighter and clearer! The naturalist was rejoiced, and after trial found +that he really had discovered again the long-lost secret. He felt well +repaid for keeping his eyes open. The little shell was the "wide-mouthed +purpura," as some call it, some three inches long, found in the +Mediterranean Sea, and on the coasts of France, Ireland and Great +Britain. My book says that the difficulty of obtaining and preserving +these shells must always render "Tyrian purple" a rare and expensive +color.</p> + +<p>I remember, too, that the Babylonians thought "Tyrian purple" too sacred +for the use of mortals, so they used it only in the dress of their +idols. Romulus, king of Rome, adopted it as the regal color, and the +Roman emperors forbade any besides themselves to wear it, on penalty of +death.—Yours truly, F. R. F.</p> + + +<p>The boys and girls who solved the poetical charade printed on page 639 +of the July number, must have noticed that it is an unusually good one, +and we are sure that all our readers will admire the charade, after +comparing it with its solution, which we publish upon page 704 of this +number.</p> + + +<p class="author">Alexandria, Ohio.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I should like to know who would succeed to the throne +in case of Queen Victoria's and her eldest son's deaths. My brother and +I sold hickory-nuts and onions to get the St. Nicholas last fall. We +have taken it ever since it was published. I am ten years old.</p> + +<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Willie Castle.</span> +</p> + + +<p>Prince Albert Victor, the Prince of Wales's eldest son, if then alive, +would succeed to the English throne after Queen Victoria, in case of the +previous death of her eldest son,—the Prince of Wales. A general answer +to this question will be found in the "Letter-Box" for May, 1877 (Vol. +IV., page 509), in a reply to an inquiry from "Julia."</p> + + +<p class="author">Brunswick, Maine.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: It has occurred to me that some of my St. Nicholas +friends may like to know what I have learned from ancient books about +the constellation Ursa Major, or the Dipper, which, in St. Nicholas for +January, 1877 (vol. iv., p. 168), Professor Proctor has likened to a +monkey climbing a pole. It is about the other title of this +constellation, "Great Bear." I need not describe the group itself, for +that has been done already by Professor Proctor in <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span> for +December, 1876.</p> + +<p>Sailors, in very ancient times, were without compasses and charts, and +when voyaging guided themselves by studying the situations and motions +of the heavenly bodies. They saw that most of the stars passed up from +the horizon and rose toward the zenith, the point right over head, and +then dropped westward to hide themselves beyond the earth. After a time +they noted some stars which never set, but every night, in fair weather, +were seen at that side where the sun never appears, or, in other words, +were seen at their left side, when their faces were toward the sunrise. +They did not long hesitate how to use these stars. And when, during foul +weather, the sailors were tossed to and fro, these same constant stars, +that again appeared after the storm, indicated to them their true +position, and, as it were, <i>spoke to them</i>. This caused them to give +more exact study to the constellations in that same part of the heavens. +None appeared more remarkable than that among which they reckoned seven +of the brightest stars, taking up a large space. Some who watched this +star-group, as it seemed to turn around in the sky, named it the +"Wheel," or "Chariot." The Phœnician pilots called it, sometimes, +"Parrosis," the Indicator, the Rule, or "Callisto," the Deliverance, the +Safety of Sailors. But it was more commonly named "Doubé," signifying +the "speaking constellation," or the "constellation which gives advice." +Now, the word "Doubé" signified also to the Phœnicians a "she-bear," +and the Greeks are supposed to have received and used the word in its +wrong sense, and to have passed it down to us without correction. This +explanation seems plausible to me; and now, whenever I see the +star-group we call the "Dipper," I think how gladly it was hailed by +poor storm-tossed sailors upon the narrow seas, in the early ages, +before the "lily of the needle pointed to the pole."—Yours truly,</p> + +<p class="author">R. A. S. +</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: The flowers are all in bloom; it looks so pretty. +Here is a little piece of poetry:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Lieutenant G——<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Was lost in the sea,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">He was found in the foam,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But he was carried home<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To his wife,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Who was the joy of his life,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">His lovely brunette,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">His idolized pet.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">She went to a ball,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And this is all.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>I have a little sister named Henrietta, but we call her "Wackie," +because when she cries she goes "Wackie, wackie, wackie!" I remain, your +constant reader,</p> + +<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Rowena T. Ewing.</span> +</p> + +<p class="author">Camp Grant, A. T. +</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I am a little army boy. The other day my papa went +down to Mexico, and I went with him. The first day I rode fifty-seven +miles on a mule; the next day, thirty-five miles; and the third day, +forty miles. If you know any boy East, eleven years of age, who can do +that, tell me his name. Lots of Indians out here.</p> + +<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Paul Compton.</span> +</p> + + +<p>Here is an account of how four enterprising girls from an inland +district spent ten summer days by themselves at the sea-side.</p> + + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Four "Island" Girls by the Sea.</span></p> + +<p>For boys there are all sorts of real camping-out, fishing and hunting +parties, and it's almost enough to set their sisters wild with envy. +Nevertheless, "we girls"—four of us—succeeded one year in having a +deal of holiday enjoyment all by ourselves out of the old sea. This is +how we did it, what sort of place it was, and how we lived:</p> + +<p>We engaged a room in a cottage close to the sea, not fifty miles from +Boston. We paid one dollar per day for a medium-sized chamber, with the +privilege of parlor, dining-room, kitchen, kitchen utensils, and china. +Our cottage had fine sea-views from three sides, and roomy balconies all +around, where the salt breezes came up fresh and strong. We had a large +closet for our one trunk, not a Saratoga and not full of finery, for we +had run away from work, company, fashion. We spent whole days in +Balmoral and calico redingotes.</p> + +<p>We took with us a few pounds of Graham flour, some fresh eggs, pickles, +tumbler of jelly, plenty of delicately corned beef,—boiled and +pressed,—salt and pepper and French mustard; some tea and coffee and +condensed milk. Fresh vegetables, milk and fruits, could be obtained +from neighbors; and fun it was to be one's own milkmaid and market +merchant; but still more fun to play gypsy and forage for light +driftwood for firing. Then, at a pinch, there were a baker and a +fish-man within easy reach.</p> + +<p>The place was quiet, and nobody disturbed us, by day or by night; and it +was delightful to go to sleep, lulled by the music of the waves and +pleasant breeze.</p> + +<p>We took turns presiding over the meals of the day, and none but the +day's caterer had any thought or care about that day's bill of fare.</p> + +<p>The oldest of our party was "Aunty True," one of the real folks, and a +confirmed Grahamite. The next in age was Helen Chapman, the head and +front of the quartette; a good botanist and geologist, and acquainted +with all manner of things that live in the sea, and from her we had +delightful object lessons fresh from Nature. Next<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_701" id="Page_701">[Pg 701]</a></span> came I, and then Jo, +the youngest of us, a girl of fifteen, ready to run wild on the least +excuse. She was fairly quelled and awe-struck, however, at her first +sight of the sea. "You'll never get me to go into that!" she exclaimed, +fairly shuddering. Yet that very day she was enjoying, bare-foot, the +cool, soft sand, and playing with the foamy wavelets as the tide came +in. But she screamed like an Indian if but invited to plunge beneath the +curling surf. There was every day fresh fun in the water,—we frolicked +like fishes in their own element. And what ludicrous sights we enjoyed +watching the bathers who came from the hotels and +boarding-houses,—whole family parties, big and little!</p> + +<p>Our party had fine weather, for in our ten days there was only a half +day of cloud and rain; but it would have been a fresh delight to see the +ocean in a storm.</p> + +<p>The last of our pleasures was watching the sun rise out of the sea, a +crimson streak, growing into the great red sun!</p> + +<p class="author"><span class="smcap">C. N. Eff.</span> +</p> + + +<p class="author">Charleston, S. C. +</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I would like to tell the boys and girls how to make a +pretty little ornament. You take a shell, and bore two holes in each +side, then run a piece of ribbon in each hole with a bow on the top, and +it has a very pretty effect. It can hold knickknacks, or a plant; but if +you want it for a plant, you must bore a hole in the bottom for +drainage.—Your friend,</p> + +<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Carmen Balaguer</span>. +</p> + + +<p>E. M.—George Washington's wife was called "Lady" Washington out of +respect for her husband's high position as President, at a time when +titles of courtesy were sometimes given to people not of noble rank who +were in authority. The title has always clung to Martha Washington, +partly from custom, and partly also from the great reverence of all +Americans for General Washington and his wife.</p> + +<p>Florence Wilcox, M. B., Isabelle Roorbach, and Lillie M. Sutphen sent +answers to E. M.'s question.</p> + + +<p class="author">Baltimore, Md. +</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I would like to tell you my experience with wild +mice. Some time ago I spent the summer in the Sierra Nevada range. Our +family had a little cabin right in the woods, built of single boards. +One day our servant went to her valise, which had been left slightly +open; to her surprise, she found, neatly packed away, in one corner, a +small quantity of bird-seed; she at once accused a young friend, who was +staying with us, of having put it there for fun; but the accused pleaded +"not guilty," and the matter began to look mysterious. One day my papa +took down a pair of heavy mining boots, which were hung from the +rafters; he went to put his foot in, and found he couldn't; then he +turned the boot upside down. A lot of bird-seed ran out! The mystery +thickened. Another time a little dish of uncooked rice was left in the +kitchen overnight. The next morning the rice had disappeared. Then we +began to suspect mice, and hunted for the rice. It was three or four +days before we found it, in a box containing sewing materials, on the +top shelf of a cupboard. Then we took the same rice and put it in with +some broken bits of cracker, and tied a string to one of the pieces. +Papa left all on the kitchen floor. It had disappeared the next day, +except the bit with the string; this the wise little mice had not +touched. That night we heard pattering all over the house. Next day we +began to hunt for the rice again; but it was only just before we left +the cabin that we found it. It was in the tray of a trunk; and the end +of the matter was, that the poor mice had all their trouble for nothing.</p> + +<p>I am a little girl just nine and a half, and have every number of <span class="smcap">St. +Nicholas</span>, and have them all bound, and love it dearly.—Yours truly,</p> + +<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Lizette A. Fisher</span>. +</p> + + +<p>A correspondent sends us the following description of what she calls the +"Island of Juan Fernandez," near Paris.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>One of the most attractive places for out-door amusement, just outside +of Paris, is a spot fitted out to be a counterpart of the Island of Juan +Fernandez, described by Daniel de Foe in his story of Robinson Crusoe.</p> + +<p>After leaving the railroad depot, you enter an omnibus on which are +painted the words "Robinson Crusoe." This leaves you at an arch-way +bearing the curious inscription: "A mimic island of Juan Fernandez, the +abode of Robinson Crusoe, dear to the heart of childhood, and a +reminder of our days of innocence." You pass under this with high hope, +and are not disappointed.</p> + +<p>Inside, you find a kind of gypsy camp. Groups of open "summer-houses," +built of bark, unhewn wood, and moss, are clustered here and there. Some +stand on the earth, others are in grottoes or by shady rocks, and some +are even among the branches of the great trees. All these houses are +meant for resting-places while you are being served with such delicacies +as pleasure-seekers from Paris are wont to require. In each of those +huts, which are in the trees, stands a waiter who draws up the luncheon, +the creams, or ices, in a kind of bucket, which has been filled by +another waiter below. All is done deftly and silently, and you are as +little disturbed as was Elijah by the ravens who waited on him.</p> + +<p>The trees in which these houses are built are large old forest-trees, +each strong enough in the fork to hold safely the foundation of a small +cottage; and the winding stairs by which you get up into the tree are +hidden by a leafy drapery of ivy, which covers the trunk also, and hangs +in fluttering festoons from limb to limb.</p> + +<p>From one of these comfortable perches you look down upon a lively scene +of foliage, flowers, greensward, gay costumes and frolicking children. +The view is wide, and has many features that would be strange to "dear +old Robinson Crusoe." His cabin is multiplied into a hamlet, and his +hermit life is gone. But you still recognize the place as a modernized +portrait of the island of De Foe's wonderful book. And, as if to furnish +you with a fresh piece of evidence, yonder appears Robinson Crusoe +himself, in his coat of skins, and bearing his musket and huge umbrella.</p> + +<p>Instead of Man Friday, Will Atkins, and the rest, you see donkeys +carrying laughing children and led by queer-looking old women. And you +heave a little sigh when you think: "How few of these French boys and +girls really know old Crusoe and his adventures! To them this charming +place has nothing whatever to do with running away to sea, shipwrecks, +cannibals, mutinies, and such things. It is nothing but a new kind of +pleasure-ground to them."</p> + +<p>However, everybody feels at home here, and so everybody is happy; for, +after all, looking for happiness is much like the old woman's search for +her spectacles, which all the time are just above her nose.</p> + +<p>O dear delightful island, how glad we were to chance upon you right here +in gay, care-free Paris! And what an enchanted day we spent amid your +thousand delights and thronging memories!</p> + +<p class="author">C. V. N. C. U. +</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Here</span> are two welcome little letters received some time ago from a boy +and girl in Europe:</p> + +<p class="author">Nice, France. +</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I am in Europe now, in Nice. I have seen a great deal +already. Nice is a nice place. And it is the only city in the world that +one may call "Nice" always. I can talk French now a little, enough to be +understood. I go to the "Promenade des Anglais" by the sea every +morning, and I like it very much. Nice is situated in the south-eastern +part of France, very near Italy. It once did belong to Italy. It was +given to Napoleon III. as a reward for helping the late king of Italy, +Victor Emanuel II., to the throne of Sardinia. I get the <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span> +sent from home, and like the stories very much.—Your loving subscriber,</p> + +<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Charles Jastron</span>.<br /> +(Age 12.) +</p> + +<p class="author">Nice, France. +</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Darling St. Nicholas</span>: I am a little girl seven years old, and I live in +Nice. I enjoy myself very much here, and have a great deal of fun. I +have nothing to do. I like it here very much. There are a great many +mountains here, but now I do not know any more to write.—Your loving +reader,</p> + +<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Nellie Jastron</span>. +</p> + +<p class="author">Pittsburgh, Penn. +</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I have never written to you before, but I have +thought about it several times. I live in the east end of the city. I +like your magazine very much, and always read it through. I had a +dispute to-day with a boy friend of mine. It was about the gypsies, who +camp near our place every year. He said that not all people who lived +that way were gypsies; but that only those who were descended from the +Egyptians were so named. I did not agree with him, because, in the first +place, I do not think that they are descended from the Egyptians, and, +in the second place, I think that all people who live in that way are +called gypsies, no matter what country they come from. I must now +close.—Your constant reader,</p> + +<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Frank Ward</span>. +</p> + +<p class="author">New York, N. Y. +</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: Did you know that we once had musical watchmen in +this country? Less than fifty years ago, it was quite usual in +Pennsylvania for the watchmen to sing the passing hours during the +night. I suppose the custom was brought over by the Germans, who settled +in the Keystone State. I fancy it must have been sleepy work for the +poor watchman, calling the quiet hours, and adding, as he always did, +his little weather report; at least, he invented a very drowsy, +sing-song sort of tune for it.</p> + +<p>In these days of telegraphing, and other scientific improvements, we +should think it a very uncertain, and rather stupid, way to judge of the +weather, to say it was "past ten o'clock on a starry evening," or "a +cloudy evening," or "a frosty morning." Now, we have only to pick up the +morning paper, and consult "Old Probabilities," who nearly always +forecasts truly. But in those times there were no telegraph wires +running the length and breadth of the land, and no Signal Service, +either, so that the regular cry of the watchman may have been held in +high esteem; and, perhaps, the sleepy folk would raise an ear from the +pillow to hear the "probabilities" for the coming day, and lie down +again to arrange business or pleasure accordingly.</p> + +<p>A hundred years ago the people of Philadelphia were startled by a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_702" id="Page_702">[Pg 702]</a></span> +famous cry of a watchman at dead of night, making every one who heard it +wild with joy. It was just after the battle of Yorktown, the last of the +Revolution, when Lord Cornwallis and his army surrendered to Washington. +The bearer of the news of victory, entering Philadelphia, stopped an old +watchman to ask the way to the State House, where Congress was in +session, waiting for news from the army. As soon as the watchman heard +the glad tidings, he started off on his rounds, singing out to his +monotonous tune the remarkable words—</p> + +<p class="center"> +"Past four o'clock, Cornwallis is taken!" +</p> + +<p>Up flew the windows on all sides, and every ear was strained to catch +the joyful sound. The old bell sent forth a glad peal, houses were +thrown open and illuminated, and the streets were filled with happy +people congratulating one another, paying visits, and drinking toasts; +so that, could but one thousand of the seven thousand British soldiers +captured that day by Washington have entered the city that night, they +might have taken it without a struggle.—Yours very truly,</p> + +<p class="author">E. A. S. +</p> + +<p class="author">St. James House, King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. +</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: A few days ago my brother and I had a little bazaar +which I should like to tell you about. We had been collecting and making +things for a good long time, so we had nearly forty, most of which we +made ourselves, but some were given to us by friends. I copied some of +the things out of "A Hundred Christmas Presents," in <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span> for +November, 1877. They were very pretty, especially the little +wheelbarrow. We had a little refreshment stall with sweets, +ginger-snaps, etc., and they sold more quickly than anything. We got £1, +1s., a guinea, which we sent to an orphan institution in London.</p> + +<p>I like your magazine very much, I do not know which part is the +best.—Yours truly,</p> + +<p class="author"><span class="smcap">M. Y. Gibson.</span> +</p> + +<p class="author">Bay Shore, Long Island. +</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I lived in Germany over four years, so I know +something about it. I should like to tell you about rafts on the Elbe.</p> + +<p>They are of several kinds. Some are of boards all ready to be sold, +others of round timber, just cut; another kind is of squared logs, and a +fourth of both logs and boards. As the Elbe is not a rapid river, the +unaided progress of a raft is very slow. So each man on it has a pole +with an iron point on one end, while the other end fits to the shoulder; +and the men pole along most of the time. To each end of the raft there +are fastened three or four oars about twenty feet long; and with these +they steer. The Elbe is so shallow that in the summer time boys walk +through it; but in the spring the snow melting in the mountains at the +river's source (Bohemia) makes freshets which carry off animals, boards, +planks and sometimes houses. Under the arch-ways of the bridge at +Dresden during these freshets, there are suspended large nets, two +corners of each of which are fastened to the railing of the bridge, the +lower side is heavily weighted and dropped, and so the net catches +anything which comes down the stream.—Yours respectfully,</p> + +<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Frank Bergh Taylor.</span> +</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I wish that you would tell me how to make skeleton +leaves. I have seen some done just lovely, and so I think that I should +like to try—even if I don't succeed—to make some myself. I am going to +the country this summer to stay quite a long time, and so I shall have a +chance to get a great many different kinds of leaves.—Your constant +reader,</p> + +<p class="author"><span class="smcap">Irene C. W</span>. +</p> + +<blockquote><p>Irene's question is answered in Volume III. of <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span>, pages 115 +and 116,—the number for December, 1875.</p></blockquote> + + +<p><span class="smcap">The Voyages and Adventures of Vasco da Gama</span>. By George M. Towle. Eight +Full-page Illustrations. Published by Lee & Shepard, Boston. In 294 +pages of clear type this book gives a cleverly condensed account of the +most interesting events in the life of Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese +navigator who first found the way from Europe to India around the Cape +of Good Hope. His daring nobility of character and true and exciting +adventures are presented in such a way as to delight boys and girls, and +yet the romance that cannot be taken from the story is not allowed to +interfere with historical truth. As the first of a series entitled +"Heroes of History," this volume makes a good start in a pleasant and +fruitful field.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="THE_RIDDLE-BOX" id="THE_RIDDLE-BOX"></a>THE RIDDLE-BOX.</h2> + + +<h4>DOUBLE ACROSTIC.</h4> + +<p>The initials and finals name a flower. 1. A fruit. 2. A Shakspearean +character. 3. A neck of land. 4. A spice.</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 2em;">Isola.</span> +</p> + + +<h4>NUMERICAL ENIGMA.</h4> + +<p> +It was 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 to the teacher's 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 me to go +home early, that I escaped the shower.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 2em;">C. D.</span> +</p> + + +<h4>PICTORIAL TRANSPOSITION PUZZLES.</h4> + +<p>Find for each picture a word, or words, that will correctly describe it, +and then transpose the letters of the descriptive word so as to form +another word, which will answer to the definition given below the +picture.</p> + +<p> + <span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 2em;">B.</span> +</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/illus-702a.png" width="600" height="109" alt="1. Aromatic kernels of a much used kind." title="" /> +<span class="caption">1. Aromatic kernels of a much used kind.</span> +</div> + + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/illus-702b.png" width="600" height="142" alt="2. Sovereigns." title="" /> +<span class="caption">2. Sovereigns.</span> +</div> + + +<h4>DIAMOND PUZZLE.</h4> + +<p>1. In martin, not in curlew. 2. A rather showy bird. 3. A very showy +bird. 4. An Oriental animal. 5. In sparrow.</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 2em;">C. O.</span> +</p> + + +<h4>SQUARE-WORD.</h4> + +<p>1. A wading-bird. 2. A talking-bird. 3. To turn aside. 4. Steadiness of +courage, or fortitude. 5. To go in.</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 2em;">R. K. D.</span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_703" id="Page_703">[Pg 703]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="SHAKSPEAREAN_REBUS" id="SHAKSPEAREAN_REBUS"></a>SHAKSPEAREAN REBUS.</h2> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;"> +<img src="images/illus-703.png" width="650" height="541" alt="A three-line quotation from one of Shakspeare's plays." title="" /> +<span class="caption">A three-line quotation from one of Shakspeare's plays.</span> +</div> + + +<h4>GEOGRAPHICAL DOUBLE ACROSTIC.</h4> + +<p>The initials name a large country of Asia, and the finals a country of +Europe renowned for its climate.</p> + +<p>1. A country of South America. 2. An ancient name for a narrow strait in +South-eastern Europe. 3. A British possession in Asia. 4. A kingdom of +Northern Hindostan. 5. A North American mountain system.</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 2em;">Sedgwick.</span> +</p> + + +<h4>METAGRAM.</h4> + +<p>I am a word, with meanings many; To plunge, is just as good as any. With +new head, I'm a piece of money; With other head, I'm "sweet as honey." +Another still, I'm a projection; One more, I sever all connection. +Another change, I'm the teeth to stick in; Another still, I plague your +chicken. One more new head, and I'm to taste; One more, and I discharge +with haste.</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 2em;">I. W. H.</span> +</p> + + +<h4>VERY EASY HIDDEN FURNITURE.</h4> + +<p class="center">(<span class="smcap">For Little Folks.</span>)</p> + +<p>1. May got a tablet for her Christmas. 2. My father walks so fast! 3. +Such air as we breathe in our school-room is hurtful. 4. My brother's +tools are always out of place. 5. What? not going to the party to-night? +6. Vic! Ribbons are out of place on school-girls. 7. <i>What</i> spool-cotton +is the best to use? 8. Boys, stop that racket! 9. Lily made skips going +along to school every day.</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 2em;">C. I. J.</span> +</p> + + +<h4>DOUBLE CROSS-WORD ENIGMA.</h4> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">1. In shelf, but not in seat;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">2. In food, but not in meat;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">3. In slow, but not in fast;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">4. In model, but not in cast;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">5. In hovel, but not in hut;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">6. In almonds, but not in nut.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Read this aright, and you will find</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Two Yankee poets will come to mind.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 2em;">I. E.</span><br /> +</p> + + +<h4>TRANSPOSITIONS.</h4> + +<p>In each of the following sentences, fill the first blank, or set of +blanks, with an appropriate word, or set of words, the letters of which +may be transposed to fill the remaining blanks, as often as these blanks +occur.</p> + +<p>Thus, in No. 1, the first blank may be appropriately filled with the +word "warned." The letters of this word, when transposed once, give +"warden" for the second blank, and, transposed again, "wander" for the +third.</p> + +<p>1. Though —— before setting forth, the church —— lost his way and +continued to —— helplessly for some time.</p> + +<p>2. If a ——, or even a —— had —— at will through that well-kept +——, the plants would have been in great ——.</p> + +<p>3. If —— grow in the Levantine island of ——, at least ——and —— +are to be found there. This was told me as a —— fact.</p> + +<p>4. Neither a precious stone such as a ——, nor a —— —— of pealed +willow, nor even a —— of the sweet-pea vine, is of much account to an +animal so savage as the ——. W.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_704" id="Page_704">[Pg 704]</a></span></p> + + +<h4>PROVERB REBUS.</h4> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/illus-0740-1.png" width="600" height="310" alt="" title="CHARADE" /> +</div> + + +<h4>CHARADE.</h4> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Within my first, by no breeze stirred,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">My second, mirrored, saw my third,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And plucked it, juicy, ripe and red,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From a stray branch just overhead.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">A town in India, owned by France,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">My whole, might well enrich romance.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">J. P. B.<br /></span></span> +</div></div> + + +<h4>HOUR-GLASS PUZZLE.</h4> + +<p>Central, read downward, an implement formerly used in war and the chase. +Horizontals: 1. To sing in solemn measure. 2. Mineral produce. 3. In +administrator. 4. A part of a toothed wheel. 5. An arbor.</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 2em;">C. H. S.</span> +</p> + + +<h4>CONTRACTIONS.</h4> + +<p>1. Curtail a color, and leave the forehead. 2. Curtail a joiner's tool, +and leave a plot or draught. 3. Curtail a machine tool, and leave an +article used in house-building. 4. Curtail a shrub, and leave warmth. 5. +Curtail another shrub, and leave fog. 6. Curtail an ornament, and leave +a fruit. 7. Curtail a badge of dignity or power, and leave a bird. 8. +Curtail a thrust, and leave an organ of the human body. 9. Curtail a +number, and leave a building for defense.</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 2em;">I. A.</span> +</p> + + +<h4>WORD-SYNCOPATIONS.</h4> + +<p>In each of the following sentences, remove one of the defined words from +the other, and leave a complete word.</p> + +<p>1. Take always from a young hare, and leave to allow. 2. Take a tree +from random cutting, and leave to throw. 3. Take part of the eye from +cuttings, and leave what children often say the kettle does. 4. Take a +sty from a workman in wood, and leave a carrier. 5. Take a favorite from +floor-coverings, and leave vehicles.</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 2em;">Cyril Deane.</span> +</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="ANSWERS_TO_PUZZLES_IN_JULY_NUMBER" id="ANSWERS_TO_PUZZLES_IN_JULY_NUMBER"></a>ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN JULY NUMBER.</h2> + +<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Diamond Remainders</span>.—1. Dry. 2. Elope. 3. Drovers. 4. Spend. 5. Try. +Remaining diamond: 1. R. 2. Lop. 3. Rover. 4. Pen. 5. R.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">A Concealed Bill-of-Fare</span>.—1. Tea. 2. Beef. 3. Butter. 4. Ham. 5. Egg. +6. Meat. 7. Pie. 8. Fish. 9. Shad. 10. Salad. 11. Peas. 12. Hash.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Easy "Anniversary" Puzzles</span>.—Three anniversaries: 1. Fourth of July; J +is a fourth part of the word "July." 2. First of May; M is the first +letter of the word "May." 3. Holidays; hollied A's.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Geographical Single Acrostic</span>.—Liverpool 1. Liffey. 2. Irrawaddy. 3. +Vienne. 4. Euphrates. 5. Rhone. 6. Po. 7. Oder. 8. Ohio. 9. Lena.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Easy Hidden Latin Proverb</span>.—Tempus fugit: (Time flies.) Totem pushed: +Orfugito.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Drop-Letter Puzzle</span>.—"Make hay while the sun shines."</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Square-Word</span>.—1. Bread. 2. Rumor. 3. Emery. 4. Aorta. 5. Dryad.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Anagram Double-Diamond and Inclosed Double Word-Square</span>.—Diamond, +across: 1, R; 2, hat; 3, mated; 4, pen; 5, S. Word-square, downward: 1, +Hap; 2, ate; 3, ten.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Easy Beheadings</span>.—1. Y-awning. 2. G-ape. 3. W-ant. 4. C-rate. 5. +S-crape. 6. P-lace. 7. L-oaf. 8. S-hocks. 9. S-pin. 10. B-lot. 11. +B-ranch. 12. S-lack.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Shakspearean Enigma</span>.—Rosalind.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Pictorial Puzzle</span>.—Patience: Pan, pence, ape, can, cane, cent, ice, +pint, tin, ten, tie, net, pie, tea, cat, cape.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Numerical Puzzle</span>.—Belle's letters; <i>Belles-lettres.</i></p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Charade</span>.—Harpsichord: Harp, sigh, chord.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Syncopations</span>.—1. Pilaster, plaster, paster, pater. 2. Harem, harm, ham. +3. Clamp, clap, cap.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Acrostic</span>.—Mignonette. 1. MaN. 2. IcE. 3. GnaT. 4. NuT. 5. OdE.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Double, Reversed Acrostic</span>.—</p> + + + +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Double, Reversed Acrostic"> +<tr><td align='left'>D—i—D</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>E—k—E</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>E—v—E</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>D—eifie—D</td></tr> +</table> + +<p><span class="smcap">Enigma</span>.—Hans Christian Andersen. 1. Shasta. 2. Chin. 3. Reins. 4. Red. +5. Nan.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Easy Enigma</span>.—Tennis: Sin, net.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Biographical Double Acrostic</span>.—Abraham Lincoln. 1. AdmiraL. 2. BandittI. +3. RobiN. 4. ArC. 5. HerO. 6. AnviL. 7. MarteN.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Hour-Glass Puzzle</span>.—Chamois. 1. DisCern, 2. ScHah. 3. DAn. 4. M. 5. FOe. +6. PaIns. 7. VasSals.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Reversals</span>.—1. Flow, wolf. 2. Draw, ward. 3. Gulp, plug, 4. Laud, dual. +5. Leer, reel.</p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Answers To Puzzles in the June Number</span> were received, before June 18, +from "Allie," Milly E. Adams, Maude Adams, George J. Fiske, Jeanie A. +Christie, "Fannie," Edward Vultee, "Aimée," Estella Lohmeyer, Bertha +Keferstein, Willie B. Deas, "Winnie," "Vulcan," "St. Nicholas Club," +Chas. Carhart, "Patrolman Gilhooley," Harry Price, Frankie Price, M. W. +C., "Prebo," "Cozy Club," E. S. G., M. H. G., "Lillian," Gertrude H., +Bessie G., Georgie B., Adèle F. Freeman, Nessie E. Stevens, Minnie +Thiebaud, Eleanor P. Hughes, Ella Blanke, Kittie Blanke, "Bessie and her +Cousin," Alice Robinson, C. S. King, Wm. H. McGee, Adèle G. D., E. F. +T., Nettie Kabrick, Debe D. Moore, Neils E. Hansen, Isabel Lauck, "O. +K.," Alfred Terry Barnes, Florence Wilcox, Francis H. Earp, Imogene M. +Wood, Horace F. W., Rowen S. McClure, Julia Crofton, "The P. L. C.," S. +Norris Knapp, "K. Y. Z.," "Nameless," W. C. Eichelberger, John Cress, +Daisy Briggs, Romeo Friganzi De Plonzies De Flon, G. P. Dravo, Marshall +B. Clarke, Mary L. Fenimore, Bessie H. Jones, Samuel Hoyt Brady, Edith +McKeever, R. Townsend McKeever, Annie L. Volkmar, E. Gilchrist, H. B. +Ayers, S. A. Gregory, Virgie Gregory, "Caprice," Lewis G. Davis, Charles +Fritts, Frances Hunter, Ray T. French, Nellie Zimmerman, Kittie Tuers, +Etta Taylor, Guardie Kimball, Lulu Loomis, W. A. Ricker, Florence R. +Swain, Nellie Baker, Gracie Van Wagenen, Rosie Van Wagenen, C. B. +Murray, Gertrude Cheever, Albert T. Emery, Florence Van Rensselaer, +"Hard and Tough," Nellie Emerson, Hans Oehme, Paul Oehme, C. N. +Cogswell, Louisa Blake, W. H. Patten, Clara F. Allen, Caroline Howard, +Helen Jackson, Ethel S. Mason, Helen S. Rodenstein, Harry Durand, +Charles H. Stout, Sarah Duffield, Constance Grand-Pierre, "Prince +Arthur," Madeleine Boniville, K. Beddle, Georgine C. Schnitzspahn, Mamie +Robbins, C. L. S. Tingley, A. M. Holz, "Black Prince," J. R. Garfield, +Anna E. Mathewson, "Adrienne," Grace A. Smith, M. H. Bradley, Gladys H. +Wilkinson, and "John Gilpin."</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">The Labyrinth Puzzle</span> was solved by Esther L. Fiske, "Aimée," Estella +Lohmeyer, Bertha Keferstein, "Vulcan," "Patrolman Gilhooley," Chas. H. +Stout, M. W. C., "Cozy Club," R. M., Nessie E. Stevens, Minnie Thiebaud, +Eleanor P. Hughes, Ella Blanke, Kittie Blanke, "Bessie and her Cousin," +Adèle G. D., Horace F. W., S. Norris Knapp, W. C. Eichelberger, John +Cress, Romeo Friganzi De Plonzies De Flon, Samuel Hoyt Brady, Eddie K. +Earle, R. Townsend McKeever, Nettie F. Mack, "Caprice," C. Maud Olney, +Frances Hunter, Charles Fritts, Harvey E. Mason, Lulu B. Monroe, Nellie +Baker, Nellie Emerson, Caroline Howard, "Diaconos," Sarah Duffield, +Constance Grand-Pierre, William T. Gray, K. Beddle, Georgine C. +Schnitzspahn, Gladys H. Wilkinson, and H. Martin Vail.</p></blockquote> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<p class="center">Transcriber's note:<br /> + +The table of contents was added by the transcriber. +</p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and +Girls, Vol. V, August, 1878, No 10., by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS MAGAZINE *** + +***** This file should be named 29983-h.htm or 29983-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/9/8/29983/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(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. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. 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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 Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. V, August, 1878, No 10. + Scribner's Illustrated + +Author: Various + +Editor: Mary Mapes Dodge + +Release Date: September 14, 2009 [EBook #29983] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS MAGAZINE *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + + +ST. NICHOLAS. + + Vol. V. AUGUST, 1878. No. 10. + +[Copyright, 1878, by Scribner & Co.] + + + + +KING CHEESE. + +(_A Story of the Paris Exhibition of 1867._) + +BY J. T. TROWBRIDGE. + + + Where many a cloud-wreathed mountain blanches + Eternally in the blue abyss, + And tosses its torrents and avalanches + Thundering from cliff and precipice, + There is the lovely land of the Swiss,-- + Land of lakes and of icy seas, + Of chamois and chalets, + And beautiful valleys, + Musical boxes, watches, and cheese. + + Picturesque, with its landscapes green and cool, + Sleek cattle standing in shadow or pool, + And dairy-maids bearing pail and stool,-- + That is the quaint little town of Nulle. + + There, one day, in the old town-hall, + Gathered the worthy burghers all, + Great and small, + Short and tall, + At the burgomaster's call. + + The stout and fat, the lean and lame, + From house and shop, and dairy and pasture, + In queer old costumes, up they came, + Obedient to the burgomaster. + + He made a speech--"Fellow-citizens: There is + To be, as you know, + A wonderful show, + A Universal Fair, at Paris; + Where every country its product carries, + Whatever most beautiful, useful, or rare is, + To please and surprise, + And perhaps win a prize. + Now here is the question + Which craves your counsel and suggestion-- + With you it lies: + So, after wise + And careful consideration of it, + Say, what shall _we_ send for our honor and profit?" + + Some said this thing, some said that; + Then up rose a burgher, ruddy and fat, + Rounder and redder than all the rest, + With a nose like a rose, and an asthmatic chest; + And says he, with a wheeze, + Like the buzzing of bees: + "I propose, if you please, + That we send 'em a _cheese_." + + Then a lithe little man + Took the floor, and began, + In a high, squeaky voice: "I approve of the plan; + But I wish to amend + What's proposed by my friend: + A BIG CHEESE, I think, is the thing we should send." + + Then up jumped a third, + To put in a word, + And amend the amendment they had just heard; + "A ROYAL BIG CHEESE" was the phrase he preferred. + + The question was moved, + Discussed and approved, + And the vote was unanimous, that it behooved + Their ancient, venerable corporation, + To send such a cheese as should honor the nation. + So ended the solemn convocation; + And, after due deliberation, + The burgomaster made proclamation, + Inviting people of every station, + Each according to his vocation, + With patriotic emulation + To join in a general jubilation, + And get up a cheese for the grand occasion. + Then shortly began the preparation. + +[Illustration: "PEASANT GIRLS BRINGING THE MILK."] + + One morning was heard a mighty clamoring, + With sounds of sawing and planing and hammering. + The painters, forsaking their easels and pallets, + Came to look on, or assist in the labor; + The joiners were there with their chisels and mallets; + Trades of all grades, every man with his neighbor; + The carpenters, coopers, + And stout iron-hoopers, + Erecting a press for the thing to be done in, + A tub big enough to put ton after ton in, + And gutters for rivers of liquid to run in. + March was the month the work was begun in,-- + If that could be work they saw nothing but fun in; + 'Twas finished in April, and long before May + Everything was prepared for the curd and the + whey. + + Then the bells were set ringing-- + The milking began; + All over the land went the dairy-maids singing; + Boy and man, + Cart, pail, and can, + And peasant girls, each in her pretty dress, + From highway and by-way all round, came bringing, + Morning and evening, the milk to the press. + Then it took seven wise-heads together to guess + Just how much rennet, no more and no less, + Should be added, to curdle and thicken the mess. + + So, having been properly warmed and stirred, + The cheese was set; and now, at a word, + Ten strong men fell to cutting the curd. + Some whey was reheated; + The cutting repeated; + Each part of the process most carefully treated, + For fear they might find, when the whole was completed, + Their plan had by some mischance been defeated. + + Now the weavers come bringing the web they were spinning, + A cloth for the curd, of the stoutest of linen. + The ten men attack it, + And tumble and pack it + Within the vast vat in its dripping gray jacket; + And the press is set going with clatter and racket. + The great screw descends, as the long levers play, + And the curd, like some crushed living creature, gives way; + It sighs in its troubles-- + The pressure redoubles! + It mutters and sputters, + And hisses and bubbles, + While down the deep gutters, + From every pore spirted, rush torrents of whey. + + The cheese was pressed, and turned, and cured; + And so was made, as I am assured, + The rich-odored, great-girdled Emperor + Of all the cheeses that ever were. + + Then, everything ready, what should they have else, + In starting His Majesty on his travels, + But a great procession up and down + Through the streets of the quaint old town? + + So they made + A grand parade, + With marching train-band, guild, and trade: + The burgomaster in robes arrayed, + Gold chain, and mace, and gay cockade, + Great keys carried, and flags displayed, + Pompous marshal and spruce young aide, + Carriage and foot and cavalcade; + While big drums thundered and trumpets brayed, + And all the bands of the canton played; + The fountain spouted lemonade, + Children drank of the bright cascade; + Spectators of every rank and grade, + The young and merry, the grave and staid, + Alike with cheers the show surveyed, + From street and window and balustrade,-- + Ladies in jewels and brocade, + Gray old grandam, and peasant maid + With cap, short skirt, and dangling braid; + And youngsters shouted, and horses neighed, + And all the curs in concert bayed: + 'T was thus with pomp and masquerade, + On a broad triumphal chariot laid, + Beneath a canopy's moving shade, + By eight cream-colored steeds conveyed, + To the ringing of bells and cannonade, + King Cheese his royal progress made. + + So to the Paris Exposition, + His Majesty went on his famous mission. + +[Illustration: "SO THEY MADE A GRAND PARADE."] + + At the great French Fair! + Everything under the sun is there, + Whatever is made by the hand of man: + Silks from China and Hindostan, + Grotesque bronzes from Japan; + Products of Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, + Lapland, Finland, I know not what land-- + North land, south land, cold land, hot land,-- + From Liberia, + From Siberia,-- + Every fabric and invention, + From every country you can mention: + From Algeria and Sardinia; + From Ohio and Virginia; + Egypt, Siam, Palestine; + Lands of the palm-tree, lands of the pine; + Lands of tobacco, cotton, and rice, + Of iron, of ivory, and of spice, + Of gold and silver and diamond,-- + From the farthest land, and the land beyond. + + And everybody is there to see: + From Mexico and Mozambique; + Spaniard, Yankee, Heathen Chinee; + Modern Roman and modern Greek; + Frenchman and Prussian, + Turk and Russian, + Foes that have been, or foes to be: + Through miles on miles + Of spacious aisles, + 'Mid the wealth of the world in gorgeous piles, + Loiter and flutter the endless files! + + Encircled all day by a wondering throng, + That gathers early and lingers long, + Behold where glows, in his golden rind, + The marvel the burghers of Nulle designed! + There chatters the cheery _bourgeoisie_; + And children are lifted high to see; + And "Will it go up in the sky to-night?" + Asks little ma'm'selle, in the arms of her mother,-- + "Rise over the houses and give us light? + Is this where it sets when it goes out of sight?" + For she takes King Cheese for his elder brother! + + + But now it is night, and the crowds have departed; + The vast dim halls are still and deserted; + Only the ghost-like watchmen go, + Through shimmer and shadow, to and fro; + While the moon in the sky, + With his half-shut eye, + Peers smilingly in at his rival below. + + At this mysterious hour, what is it + That comes to pay the Fair a visit? + The gates are all barred, + With a faithful guard + Without and within; and yet 'tis clear + Somebody--or something--is entering here! + +[Illustration: "ENCIRCLED ALL DAY BY A WONDERING THRONG."] + + There is a Paris underground, + Where dwells another nation; + Where neither lawyer nor priest is found, + Nor money nor taxation; + And scarce a glimmer, and scarce a sound + Reaches those solitudes profound, + But silence and darkness close it round,-- + A horrible habitation! + Its streets are the sewers, where rats abound; + Where swarms, unstifled, unstarved, undrowned, + Their ravenous population. + + Underground Paris has heard of the Fair; + And up from the river, from alley and square, + To the wonderful palace the rats repair; + And one old forager, grizzled and spare,-- + The wisest to plan and the boldest to dare, + To smell out a prize or to find out a snare,-- + In some dark corner, beneath some stair + (I never learned how, and I never knew where), + Has gnawed his way into the grand affair; + First one rat, and then a pair, + And now a dozen or more are there. + They caper and scamper, and blink and stare, + While the drowsy watchman nods in his chair. + But little a hungry rat will care + For the loveliest lacquered or inlaid ware, + Jewels most precious, or stuffs most rare;-- + There's a marvelous smell of cheese in the air! + They all make a rush for the delicate fare; + But the shrewd old fellow squeaks out, "Beware! + 'T is a prize indeed, but I say, forbear! + For cats may catch us and men may scare, + And a well-set trap is a rat's despair; + But if we are wise, and would have our share + With perfect safety to hide and hair, + Now listen, and we will our plans prepare." + + The watchman rouses, the rats are gone; + On a thousand windows gleams the dawn; + And now once more + Through every door, + With hustle and bustle, the great crowds pour; + And nobody hears a soft little sound, + As of sawing or gnawing, somewhere underground. + + At length, the judges, going their round, + Awarding the prizes, enter the hall, + Where, amid cheeses big and small, + Reposes the sovereign of them all. + They put their tape round it, and tap it and bore it; + And bowing before it, + As if to adore it, + Like worshipers of the sun, they stand,-- + Slice in hand, + Pleased and bland, + While their bosoms glow and their hearts expand. + They smell and they taste; + And, the rind replaced, + The foremost, smacking his lips, says: "Messieurs! + Of all fine cheeses at market or fair,-- + Holland or Rochefort, Stilton or Cheshire, + Neufchatel, Milanese,-- + There never was cheese, + I am free to declare, + That at all could compare + With this great Gruyere!" + + In short, so exceedingly well it pleases, + They award it a prize over all the cheeses. + +[Illustration: "FIRST, ONE RAT."] + + That prize is the pride of the whole Swiss nation; + And the town of Nulle, in its exultation, + Without a dissenting voice, decrees + To the poor of Paris a gift of the cheese. + Paris, in grateful recognition + Of this munificence, sends a commission-- + Four stately officials, of high position-- + To take King Cheese from the Exhibition, + And, in behalf of the poor, to thank, + With speeches and toasts, the Swiss for their gift. + The speeches they made, the toasts they drank; + Eight Normandy horses, strong and swift, + At the entrance wait + For the golden freight; + And all the porters are there to lift, + Prepared for a long and a strong embrace, + In moving His Greatness a little space. + They strain at the signal, each man in his place: + "Heave, ho!"--when, lo! as light as a feather, + Down tumbles, down crumbles, the King of the Cheeses, + With seven men, all in a heap together! + Up scramble the porters, with laughter and sneezes; + While sudden, mighty amazement seizes + The high officials, until they find + A curious bore + In the platform floor, + And another to match in the nether rind,-- + Just one big rat-hole, and no more; + By which, as it seemed, had ventured in + One rat, at first, and a hundred had followed, + And feasted, and left--to the vast chagrin + Of the worthy burghers of Nulle--as thin + And shabby a shell as ever was hollowed; + Now nothing but just + A crushed-in crust, + A cart-load of scraps and a pungent dust! + + So the newspapers say; but though they call + King Cheese a hoax, he was hardly that. + And the poor he fed, as you see, after all; + For who is so poor as a Paris rat? + +[Illustration: "DOWN TUMBLES, DOWN CRUMBLES, THE KING OF THE +CHEESES."] + + + + +RODS FOR FIVE. + +BY SARAH WINTER KELLOGG. + + +Not birch-rods; fishing-rods. They were going fishing, these five young +people, of whom I shall treat "under four heads," as the ministers +say,--1, names; 2, ages; 3, appearance; 4, their connection. + +1. Their names were John and Elsie Singletree, Puss Leek, Luke Lord, and +Jacob Isaac; the last had no surname. + +2. John was fifteen and a few months past; Elsie was thirteen and many +months past; Puss Leek was fourteen to a day; Luke Lord crowded John so +closely, there was small room for superior age to claim precedence, or +for the shelter which inferior age makes on certain occasions; Jacob +Isaac was "thutteen, gwyne on fou'teen." + +3. John Singletree was a dark-eyed, sharp-eyed, wiry, briery boy. Elsie, +of the same name, was much like him, being a dark-eyed, sharp-eyed, +wiry, briery girl. Her father used to call her Sweet-brier and +Sweet-pickle, because, he said, she was sweet but sharp. Puss Leek had +long, heavy, blonde hair, that hung almost to her knees when it was +free, which it seldom was, for Puss braided it every morning, the first +thing,--not loosely, to give it a fat look, hinting of its luxuriance, +but just as hard as she could, quite to Elsie's annoyance, who used to +say, resentfully, "You're so afraid that somebody'll think that you are +vain of your hair." Puss's ears were over large for perfect beauty, and +her eyes a trifle too deeply set; but I've half a mind to say that she +was a beauty, in spite of these, for, after all, the ears had a generous +look, in harmony with the frank, open face, and the shadowed eye was +the softest, sweetest blue eye I ever saw. She had been called Puss when +a baby, because of her nestling, kitten-like way, and the odd name clung +to her. Luke Lord was homely; but he didn't care a bit. He was so jolly +and good-natured that everybody liked him, and he liked everybody, and +so was happy. He had light hair, very light for fifteen years, and a +peculiar teetering gait, which was not unmanly, however. It made people +laugh at him, but he didn't care a bit. Jacob Isaac was a "cullud +pusson," as he would have said, protesting against the word "negro." +"Nigger," he used to say, "is de mos' untolerbulis word neber did year." +It was the word he applied to whatever moved his anger or contempt. It +was his descriptive epithet for the old hen that flew at him for +abducting her traipsing chicken; for the spotted pig that led him that +hour's chase; for the goat that butted, and the cow that hooked; and for +gray Selim when he stood on his hind legs and let Jacob Isaac over the +sleek haunches. + +But to return to No. 4. John and Elsie Singletree were brother and +sister. Puss Leek was Elsie's boarding-school friend, and her guest. +Luke Lord was a neighboring boy invited to join the fishing-party, to +honor Puss Leek's birthday, and to help John protect the girls. Jacob +Isaac was hired to "g'long" as general waiter, to do things that none of +the others wanted to do--to do the drudgery while they did the +frolicking. + +They were all on horseback,--John riding beside Puss Leek, protecting +her; Luke riding beside Elsie, and protecting her; Jacob Isaac riding +beside his shadow, and protecting the lunch-basket, carried on the +pommel of his saddle. + +"I keep thinking about the 'snack,'" said Puss Leek's protector, before +they had made a mile of their journey. + +"What do you think about it?" asked the protected. + +"I keep thinking how good it'll taste. Aunt Calline makes mighty good +pound-cake. I do love pound-cake!" + +"_Like_ it, you mean, John," said his sister Elsie, looking back over +her shoulder. + +"I _don't_ mean like," said John. "If there is anything I love better +than father and mother, brother and sister, it's pound-cake." + +"But there isn't anything," said Puss. + +"My kingdom for a slice!" said John, with a tragic air. "I don't believe +I can stand it to wait till lunch-time." + +"Why, it hasn't been a half-hour since you ate breakfast. Are you +hungry?" Elsie said. + +"No, I'm not hungry; I'm _ha'nted_." John pronounced the word with a +flatness unwritable. "The pound-cake ha'nts me; the fried chicken +ha'nts me; the citron ha'nts me. I see 'em!" John glared at the vacant +air as though he saw an apparition. "I taste 'em! I smell 'em! I feel +moved to call on him" (here Jacob Isaac was indicated by a backward +glance and movement) "to yield the _wittles_ or his life. Look here!" he +added, suddenly reining-up his horse and speaking in dead earnest, +"let's eat the snack now. Halt!" he cried to the advance couple, "we're +going to eat." + +"Going to eat?" cried Elsie. "You're not in earnest?" + +"Yes, I am. I can't rest. The cake and things ha'nt me." + +"Well, do for pity's sake eat something, and get done with it," Elsie +said. + +"But you must wait for me," John persisted. "I'll have to spread the +things out on the grass. I keep thinking how good they'll taste eaten +off the grass. There's where the ha'ntin' comes in." + +"Did you ever hear anything so ridiculous?" said Elsie to the others. +"But I suppose we had better humor him; he wont give us any rest till we +do; he's so persistent. When he gets headed one way, he's like a pig." +Elsie began to pull at the bridle to bring her horse alongside a stump. +"Puss and I can get some flowers during the repast." + +"I call this a most peculiar proceeding," said her protector, leaping +from his horse, and hastening to help her to "'light." + +Jacob Isaac gladly relinquished the lunch-basket, which had begun to +make his arm ache, and soon John had the "ha'nting things" spread. Then +he sat down Turk-like to eating; the others stood around, amused +spectators, while chicken, beaten biscuits, strawberry tart, pound-cake +disappeared as though they enjoyed being eaten. + +"I believe I'm getting 'ha'nted,' too," said Luke Lord, whose mouth +began to water,--the things seemed to taste so good to John. + +"Good for you!" John said, cordially. "Come along! Help yourself to a +chicken-wing." + +"Why, Luke, you aint going to eating!" Elsie said. + +"Yes, I am; John's made me hungry." + +"Me, too," said Jacob Isaac. + +"Of course, you're hungry," said John. "Come along! Hold your two +hands." + +"Let's go look for sweet-Williams and blue-flags," Puss proposed to +Elsie. + +"No; if we go away, the boys will eat everything up. Just look at them! +Did ever you see such eatists? You boys, stop eating all the lunch." + +"Aint you girls getting 'ha'nted?'" Luke asked. "If you don't come soon, +there wont be left for you." + +"I believe that's so," said Puss confidentially to Elsie. "I reckon +we'll have to take our share now, or not at all. We've got to eat in +self-defense." + +And so it came about that those five ridiculous children sat there, less +than a mile on their journey, and less than an hour from their +breakfast, and ate, ate, ate, till there was nothing of their lunch left +except a half biscuit and a chicken neck. John, fertile in invention, +proposed that they should go back home and get something more for +dinner; but Puss said everybody would laugh at them, and Elsie thought +they wouldn't be able to eat anything more that day, and, if they should +be hungry, they could have a fish-fry. + +"Aint no use totin' this yere basekit 'long no mawr," Jacob Isaac +suggested. "I'll leave it hang in this yere sass'fras saplin'." When it +was intimated that it would be needed for the remainder of the lunch, he +said there wasn't any "'mainder." "What's lef' needn't pester you-all; +I'll jis eat it." + +Arrived at the water, the boys baited the hooks, at which the girls gave +little shrieks, and hid their eyes, demanding to know of the boys how +they would like to be treated as they were treating the worms. + +"The poor creatures!" said Puss. + +"So helpless!" added Elsie, peeping through her fingers at the boys. +"Aren't the hooks ready yet?" + +"Yours is," and Luke delivered a rod into her hands. + +"And here's yours, Puss," John said. "Drop it in." + +Soon there were five rods extended over the water, and five corks were +floating which might have told of robbed molasses-jugs and vinegar-jugs, +and five young people were laughing, and talking nonsense by the---- How +is nonsense estimated? Everybody kept asking everybody else if he had +had a bite, and everybody was guilty of giving false alarms. As for +Elsie, she shrieked out, "A bite!" at every provocation,--whenever the +current bore unusually against her line, when the floating hook dragged +bottom or encountered a twig. + +"Jupiter!" said John, growing impatient at the idle drifting of his +cork. "I can't stand this, Elsie. You girls stop talking. You chatter +like magpies; you scare the fish. Girls oughtn't ever to go fishing." + +Jacob Isaac snickered, and remarked _sotto voce_: "He talks hisse'f maw +'n the res' of the ladies." + +Elsie did not heed John's attack. Her eye was riveted on her bobbing +cork; her cheeks were glowing with excitement; her heart was beating +wildly. There was a pulling at her line. + +"Keep quiet!" she called. "I've got a bite." + +"You would have, if I could get at your arm," said John, who didn't +believe she had a bite. + +"I have, truly," she said, excitedly. "Look!" + +All came tramping, crowding about her. + +"I feel him pull," she said, eagerly. + +"Well, get him out," said Luke. + +"Shall I pull him or jerk him?" Elsie was nearly breathless. + +"If I knew about his size, I could tell you," said Luke. "If he's big, +give him a dignified pull; if he's a little chap, jerk him; no business +to be little." + +"Oh! I'm afraid it will hurt him," said Puss. + +"Out with him!" said Luke. + +"I'm afraid the line will break," said Elsie, all in a quiver. + +"No, it wont," said John. + +"The rod might snap," said Elsie. + +"Here, let me take the rod," John proposed. + +"No, no; I'm going to catch the fish myself," Elsie said, in vehement +protest. + +"Then jerk, sharp and strong," her brother said. + +Elsie made ready; steadied her eager brain; planted her feet firmly; +braced her muscles by her will; and then, with a shriek, threw up her +rod, "as high as the sky," Puss said. There was a fleeting vision of a +dripping white-bellied fish going skyward; and then a faint thud was +heard. + +"She's thrown it a half-mile, or less, in the bushes," said Luke. + +"And there's her hook in the top of that tree," said John. "What gumps +girls are when you take them out-of-doors!" + +All went into the bushes to look for the astonished fish. They looked, +and looked, and looked; listened for its beating and flopping against +the ground. + +After a while, Luke said he thought it must be one of the climbing fish +described by Agassiz, and that it had gone up a tree. + +"I mos' found it twice't; but it was a frog an' a lizar', 'stead uv the +fish," said Jacob Isaac. + +To this day, it remains a mystery where Elsie's fish went to. + +Jacob Isaac climbed the tree to rescue Elsie's hook and line, while the +other boys went down the stream to find a cat-fish hole that they had +heard of. + +"Don't pull at the line that way," Puss said to the thrasher in the +tree-top; "you'll break it. There, the hook is caught on that twig. You +must go out on the limb and unhitch it." + +"Lim' hangs over the watto," Jacob Isaac said; but he crawled out on it, +and reached for the hook. + +Then Elsie shrieked, for crashing through the branches came Jacob Isaac, +and splashed back-foremost into the water. Then there was confusion. +Jacob called to the girls to help him; they called to the boys to help; +the boys, ignorant of the accident, shouted back that they were going on +to where they could have quiet, and went tramping away. Then Elsie tried +to tell Jacob Isaac how to swim, while Puss Leek darted off to where the +horses were tethered. She mounted the one she had ridden--a gentle +thing, aged eighteen. Then she came crashing through the bushes and +brush, clucking and jerking the bridle, dashed down the bank, and +plunged into the stream. + +[Illustration: "HE KNELT ON THE BANK TO FIX HIS BAIT."] + +Elsie held her breath at the sight. The water rose to the flanks, but +Puss kept her head steady, sat her saddle coolly, and, when Jacob Isaac +appeared, put out a resolute hand, and got hold of his +jacket,--speaking, meanwhile, a soothing word to the horse, which was +now drinking. She got the boy's head above water. + +"I'll hold on to you; and you must hold on to the stirrup and to the +horse's mane," she said. + +Jacob Isaac, without a word, got hold as directed. Puss held on with a +good grip, as she had promised, and the careful old horse pawed through +the water to the bank--only a few yards distant, by the way. + +"Thankee, Miss Puss," is what Jacob Isaac said, as he stretched himself +on a log to dry. + +"Puss, you're a hero," is what Elsie said, adding immediately: "Those +hateful boys! Great protectors they are!" + +John had found up-stream a deep hole in the shade of some large trees. +Just above it the creek tumbled and foamed over a rocky bed. John said +to Luke: "It just empties the fish in here by the basketfuls. All we've +got to do is to empty 'em out,"--and he knelt on the bank to fix his +bait. + +But Luke was not satisfied. "You'll never catch any fish there," said +he. "The current's too swift." And off went he, to look for a likelier +place. + +Yet neither of the boys had better luck than when with the girls, and +both soon went back to them. When Elsie's vivid account of the rescue +had been given, the boys stared at Puss with a new interest, as though +she had undergone some transformation in their brief absence. + +Then somebody suggested that they must hurry up and catch something for +dinner. So all five dropped hooks into the water, everybody pledged to +silence, Fishing was now business; it meant dinner or no dinner. + +For some moments, the fishers sat or stood in statuesque silence, eyes +on the corks. Then Jacob Isaac showed signs of excitement. + +"I's got a fish, show's yer bawn," he called, dancing about on the bank. + +"Let me see it," John challenged. + +"Aint pulled it out yit," said Jacob Isaac, jumping and capering. + +"What's the matter with you? What are you cavorting about in that style +for?" John asked. + +"Playin' 'im!" answered Jacob Isaac, running backward and forward, and +every other way. + +"Is that the way they play a fish?" Elsie said, gazing. "I never knew +before how they did it." + +She went over to where the jubilant fisherman was yet skipping about, +and asked if she might play the fish a while. + +"Law, Miss Elsie! he'd pull yo' overboa'd! Yo' couldn't hol' 'im no maw +'n nuffin. He's mighty strong; stronges' fish ever did see." + +But Elsie teased till Jacob Isaac gave the rod into her hand, when she +danced forward and back, chasse-ed, and executed other figures of a +quadrille, till Puss Leek came up to play the fish. She wasn't so much +like a katydid as Elsie, or so much like a wired jumping-jack as Jacob +Isaac. She played the fish so awkwardly that John came up and took the +rod from her hand. He had no sooner felt the pull at the line than he +began to laugh and "pshaw! pshaw!" and said that all in that party were +gumps and geese, except himself and Luke. + +"You wouldn't except Luke," Elsie interrupted, "if he wasn't a big boy. +You'd call him a gump and a goose, if he was a girl." + +"If he was a girl, he would be a gump and a goose," said this saucy +John. "This fish," he continued, "which you've been playing, is a piece +of brush. Oh! how you did play it! This is the way that Jacob Isaac +played it." John jumped and danced and hopped and strutted and plunged, +till everybody was screaming with laughter. "And this is the way that +Elsie played it." He got hold of his coat-skirts after the manner of an +affected girl with her dress; then he hugged the rod to his bosom, and +capered, flitted, pranced. Then, having reproduced Puss Leek's +"playing," he said, grandly: "I shall now proceed to land this monster +of the deep." + +"He made a great show of getting ready, and then pulled, pulled, pulled, +pulled,--when out and up there came, not the brush everybody was +expecting, but a fine, beautiful fish. + +You ought to have heard, then, the cheers of those surprised boys and +girls! Jacob Isaac danced, turned somersaults, walked on his hands, and +for one supreme half-second stood on his head. + +"Looks like he was playing a whale or a sea-serpent," said Luke, between +his bursts of laughter. + +"You're all playing a fool that you've caught," said John, who had +joined in the laugh against himself, "and you've a right to." + +[Illustration: JOHN AND HIS VELOCIPEDE. + +1.--HE GETS A GOOD START, + +2.--HAS A FINE RUN DOWN-HILL, + +3.--AND COMES TO A SUDDEN STOP.] + + + + +HOW TO TRAVEL. + +BY SUSAN ANNA BROWN. + + +This article does not refer to the journey to Europe, toward which +almost all young people are looking. When the opportunity for foreign +travel comes, there are plenty of guide-books and letters from abroad +which will tell you just what to take with you, and what you ought to do +in every situation. This is for short, every-day trips, which people +take without much thought; but as there is a right and a wrong way of +doing even little things, young folks may as well take care that they +receive and give the most pleasure possible in a short journey, and +then, when the trip across the ocean comes, they will not be annoying +themselves and others by continual mistakes. + +As packing a trunk is usually the first preparation for a trip, we will +begin with that. + +It is a very good way to collect what is most important before you +begin, so that you may not leave out any necessary article. Think over +what you will be likely to need; for a little care before you start may +save you a great deal of inconvenience in the end. Be sure, before you +begin, that your trunk is in good order, and that you have the key. And +when you shut it for the last time, do not leave the straps sticking out +upon the outside. Put your heavy things at the bottom, packing them +tightly, so that they will not rattle about when the trunk is reversed. +Put the small articles in the tray. Anything which will be likely to be +scratched or defaced by rubbing, should be wrapped in a handkerchief and +laid among soft things. If you must carry anything breakable, do it up +carefully, and put it in the center of the trunk, packing clothing +closely about it. Bottles should have the corks tied in with strong +twine. Put them near articles which cannot be injured by the contents, +if a breakage occurs. Tack on your trunk a card with your permanent +address. As this card is to be consulted only if the trunk is lost, it +is not necessary to be constantly changing it. Take in the +traveling-bag, pins and a needle and thread, so that, in case of any +accident to your clothes, they can be repaired without troubling any one +else. A postal-card and a pencil and paper take up but little room, and +may be very convenient. The best way to carry your lunch is in a +pasteboard box, which can be thrown away after you have disposed of the +contents. + +Put your money in an inner pocket, reserving in your purse only what you +will be likely to need on the way, so that you may be able to press your +way through a crowd without fear of pickpockets. Your purse should also +contain your name and address. + +Try to be ready, so that you will not be hurried at the last moment; and +this does not mean that it is necessary to be at the station a long time +before the train leaves. To be punctual does not mean to be _too early_, +but to be just early enough. + +Try to find out, before you start, what train and car you ought to take, +and have your trunk properly checked. Put the check in some safe place, +but first look at the number, so that you may identify the check if lost +by you and found by others. Have your ticket where you can easily get +it, and need not be obliged to appear, when the conductor comes, as if +it was a perfect surprise to you that he should ask for it. + +Of course, you have a right to the best seat which is vacant, and, if +there is plenty of room, you can put your bundles beside or opposite +you; but remember that you have only paid for one seat, and be ready at +once to make room for another passenger, if necessary, without acting as +though you were conferring a favor. + +If you have several packages, and wish to put any of them in the rack +over your head, you will be less likely to forget them, if you put all +together, than you will if you keep a part in your hand. + +If you _must_ read in the cars, never in any circumstances take a book +that has not fair, clear type; and stop reading at the earliest approach +of twilight. If, as you read, you hold your ticket, or some other plain +piece of paper, under the line you are reading, sliding it down as you +proceed, you will find that you can read almost as rapidly, and with +much less injury to your eyes. A newspaper is the worst reading you can +have, as the print is usually indistinct, and it is impossible to hold +it still. + +You may not care to read in the cars when in motion, but it is +convenient to have a book with you, in case the train should be delayed. + +If your friends accompany you to the station, be careful that your last +words are not too personal or too loud. Young people are apt to overlook +this, and thus sometimes make themselves ridiculous before the other +passengers by joking and laughing in a way which might be perfectly +proper at home, but which before a company of strangers is not in good +taste. + +If you meet acquaintances, do not call out their names so distinctly as +to introduce them to the other passengers, as it is never pleasant for +people to have the attention of strangers called to them in that way. If +you are alone, do not be too ready to make acquaintances. Reply politely +to any civil remark or offer of assistance, but do not allow yourself to +be drawn into conversation, unless it is with some one of whose +trustworthiness you are reasonably sure, and even then do not forget +that you are talking to a perfect stranger. + +If you cannot have everything just as you prefer, remember that you are +in a public conveyance, and that the other passengers have as much right +to their way as you have to yours. If you find that your open window +annoys your neighbor, do not refuse to shut it; and if the case is +reversed, do not complain, unless you are really afraid of taking cold, +and cannot conveniently change your seat. Above all things, do not get +into a dispute about it, like the two women, one of whom declared that +she should die if the window was open, and the other responded that she +should stifle if it was shut, until one of the passengers requested the +conductor to open it a while and kill one, and then shut it and kill the +other, that the rest might have peace. + +There are few situations where the disposition is more thoroughly shown +than it is in traveling. A long journey is considered by some people to +be a perfect test of the temper. There are many ways in which an +unselfish person will find an opportunity to be obliging. It is +surprising to see how people who consider themselves kind and polite +members of society can sometimes forget all their good manners in the +cars, showing a perfect disregard of the comfort--and even the +rights--of others, which would banish them from decent society if shown +elsewhere. + +To return to particular directions: Do not entertain those who are +traveling with you by constant complaints of the dust or the heat or the +cold. The others are probably as much annoyed by these things as you +are, and fault-finding will only make them the more unpleasant to all. +Be careful what you say about those near you, as a thoughtless remark to +a friend in too loud a tone may cause a real heartache. Many a weary +mother has been pained by hearing complaints of a fretful child, whose +crying most probably distresses her more than any one else. Instead of +saying, "Why will people travel with babies?" remember that it is +sometimes unavoidable, and do not disfigure your face by a frown at the +disturbance, but try to do what you can to make the journey pleasant for +those around you, at least by a serene and cheerful face. A person who +really wishes to be helpful to others, will find plenty of opportunities +to "lend a hand" without becoming conspicuous in any way. + +Do not ask too many questions of other passengers. Keep your eyes and +ears open, and you will know as much as the rest do. If you wish to +inquire about anything, let it be of the conductor, whose business it is +to answer you, and do not detain him unnecessarily. Remember what he +tells you, that you may not be like the woman Gail Hamilton describes, +who asked the conductor the same question every time he came around, as +if she thought he had undergone a moral change during his absence, and +might answer her more truthfully. + +If you get out of the car at any station on your way, be sure to observe +which car it was, and which train, so that you need not go about +inquiring where you belong when you wish to return to your seat. + +A large proportion of the accidents which happen every year are caused +by carelessness. Young people are afraid of seeming timid and anxious, +and will sometimes, in avoiding this, risk their lives very foolishly. +They step from the train before it has fairly stopped, or put their +heads out of the window when the car is in motion, or rest the elbow on +the sill of an open window in such a way that a passing train may cause +serious, if not fatal, injury. Sometimes they pass carelessly from one +car to another when the train is still, forgetting that it may start at +any moment and throw them off their balance. Many similar exposures can +be avoided by a little care and thought. + +These are very plain, simple rules, which it may be supposed are already +known to every one; but a little observation will show that they are not +always put in practice. + +A great deal has been left unsaid here on the advantages and pleasures +of travel; but, without a knowledge of the simple details we have given, +one will be sure to miss much of the culture and enjoyment which might +otherwise be gained by it. + +[Illustration: AN EXCITING RIDE.] + + + + +THE SWALLOWS. + +BY DORA READ GOODALE. + + + Dear birds that greet us with the spring, + That fly along the sunny blue, + That hover round your last year's nests, + Or cut the shining heavens thro', + That skim along the meadow grass, + Among the flowers sweet and fair, + That croon upon the pointed roof, + Or, quiv'ring, balance in the air; + Ye heralds of the summer days, + As quick ye dart across the lea, + Tho' other birds be fairer, yet + The dearest of all birds are ye. + + Dear as the messengers of spring + Before the buds have opened wide, + Dear when our other birds are here, + Dear in the burning summertide; + But when the lonely autumn wind + About the flying forest grieves, + In vain we look for you, and find-- + Your empty nests beneath the eaves. + + + + +UNDER THE LILACS + +BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT. + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +BOWS AND ARROWS. + + +If Sancho's abduction made a stir, one may easily imagine with what +warmth and interest he was welcomed back when his wrongs and wanderings +were known. For several days he held regular levees, that curious boys +and sympathizing girls might see and pity the changed and curtailed dog. +Sancho behaved with dignified affability, and sat upon his mat in the +coach-house pensively eying his guests, and patiently submitting to +their caresses; while Ben and Thorny took turns to tell the few tragical +facts which were not shrouded in the deepest mystery. If the interesting +sufferer could only have spoken, what thrilling adventures and +hair-breadth escapes he might have related. But, alas! he was dumb, and +the secrets of that memorable month never were revealed. + +The lame paw soon healed, the dingy color slowly yielded to many +washings, the woolly coat began to knot up into little curls, a new +collar handsomely marked made him a respectable dog, and Sancho was +himself again. But it was evident that his sufferings were not +forgotten; his once sweet temper was a trifle soured, and, with a few +exceptions, he had lost his faith in mankind. Before, he had been the +most benevolent and hospitable of dogs; now, he eyed all strangers +suspiciously, and the sight of a shabby man made him growl and bristle +up, as if the memory of his wrongs still burned hotly within him. + +Fortunately, his gratitude was stronger than his resentment, and he +never seemed to forget that he owed his life to Betty,--running to meet +her whenever she appeared, instantly obeying her commands, and suffering +no one to molest her when he walked watchfully beside her, with her hand +upon his neck, as they had walked out of the almost fatal back-yard +together, faithful friends forever. + +Miss Celia called them little Una and her lion, and read the pretty +story to the children when they wondered what she meant. Ben, with great +pains, taught the dog to spell "Betty," and surprised her with a display +of this new accomplishment, which gratified her so much that she was +never tired of seeing Sanch paw the five red letters into place, then +come and lay his nose in her hand, as if he added: "That's the name of +my dear mistress." + +Of course Bab was glad to have everything pleasant and friendly again, +but in a little dark corner of her heart there was a drop of envy, and a +desperate desire to do something which would make every one in her small +world like and praise her as they did Betty. Trying to be as good and +gentle did not satisfy her; she must _do_ something brave or surprising, +and no chance for distinguishing herself in that way seemed likely to +appear. Betty was as fond as ever, and the boys were very kind to her; +but she felt that they both liked "little Betcinda," as they called her, +best, because she found Sanch, and never seemed to know that she had +done anything brave in defending him against all odds. Bab did not tell +any one how she felt, but endeavored to be amiable while waiting for her +chance to come, and when it did arrive made the most of it, though there +was nothing heroic to add a charm. + +Miss Celia's arm had been doing very well, but it would, of course, be +useless for some time longer. Finding that the afternoon readings amused +herself as much as they did the children, she kept them up, and brought +out all her old favorites, enjoying a double pleasure in seeing that her +young audience relished them as much as she did when a child; for to all +but Thorny they were brand new. Out of one of these stories came much +amusement for all, and satisfaction for one of the party. + +"Celia, did you bring our old bows?" asked her brother, eagerly, as she +put down the book from which she had been reading Miss Edgeworth's +capital story of "Waste not Want not; or, Two Strings to your Bow." + +"Yes, I brought all the playthings we left stored away in uncle's garret +when we went abroad. The bows are in the long box where you found the +mallets, fishing-rods and bats. The old quivers and a few arrows are +there also, I believe. What is the idea now?" asked Miss Celia in her +turn, as Thorny bounced up in a great hurry. + +"I'm going to teach Ben to shoot. Grand fun this hot weather, and by and +by we'll have an archery meeting, and you can give us a prize. Come on, +Ben. I've got plenty of whip-cord to rig up the bows, and then we'll +show the ladies some first-class shooting." + +"_I_ can't; never had a decent bow in my life. The little gilt one I +used to wave round when I was a Coopid wasn't worth a cent to go," +answered Ben, feeling as if that painted "prodigy" must have been a very +distant connection of the respectable young person now walking off +arm-in-arm with the lord of the manor. + +"Practice is all you want. I used to be a capital shot, but I don't +believe I could hit anything but a barn-door now," answered Thorny, +encouragingly. + +As the boys vanished, with much tramping of boots and banging of doors, +Bab observed, in the young-ladyish tone she was apt to use when she +composed her active little mind and body to the feminine task of +needlework: + +"We used to make bows of whalebone when we were little girls, but we are +too old to play so now." + +"I'd like to, but Bab wont, 'cause she's most 'leven years old," said +honest Betty, placidly rubbing her needle in the "ruster," as she called +the family emery-bag. + +"Grown people enjoy archery, as bow and arrow shooting is called, +especially in England. I was reading about it the other day, and saw a +picture of Queen Victoria with her bow, so you needn't be ashamed of it, +Bab," said Miss Celia, rummaging among the books and papers in her sofa +corner to find the magazine she wanted, thinking a new play would be as +good for the girls as for the big boys. + +"A queen, just think!" and Betty looked much impressed by the fact, as +well as uplifted by the knowledge that her friend did not agree in +thinking her silly because she preferred playing with a harmless +home-made toy to firing stones or snapping a pop-gun. + +"In old times, bows and arrows were used to fight great battles with, +and we read how the English archers shot so well that the air was dark +with arrows, and many men were killed." + +"So did the Indians have 'em, and I've got some stone +arrow-heads,--found 'em by the river, in the dirt!" cried Bab, waking +up, for battles interested her more than queens. + +"While you finish your stints I'll tell you a little story about the +Indians," said Miss Celia, lying back on her cushions, while the needles +began to go again, for the prospect of a story could not be resisted. + +"A century or more ago, in a small settlement on the banks of the +Connecticut,--which means the Long River of Pines,--there lived a little +girl called Matty Kilburn. On a hill stood the fort where the people ran +for protection in any danger, for the country was new and wild, and more +than once the Indians had come down the river in their canoes and burned +the houses, killed men, and carried away women and children. Matty +lived alone with her father, but felt quite safe in the log-house, for +he was never far away. One afternoon, as the farmers were all busy in +their fields, the bell rang suddenly,--a sign that there was danger +near,--and, dropping their rakes or axes, the men hurried to their +houses to save wives and babies, and such few treasures as they could. +Mr. Kilburn caught up his gun with one hand and his little girl with the +other, and ran as fast as he could toward the fort. But before he could +reach it he heard a yell, and saw the red men coming up from the river. +Then he knew it would be in vain to try to get in, so he looked about +for a safe place to hide Matty till he could come for her. He was a +brave man, and could fight, so he had no thought of hiding while his +neighbors needed help; but the dear little daughter must be cared for +first. + +In the corner of the lonely pasture which they dared not cross, stood a +big hollow elm, and there the farmer hastily hid Matty, dropping her +down into the dim nook, round the mouth of which young shoots had grown, +so that no one would have suspected any hole was there. + +'Lie still, child, till I come; say your prayers and wait for father,' +said the man, as he parted the leaves for a last glance at the small, +frightened face looking up at him. + +'Come soon,' whispered Matty, and tried to smile bravely, as a stout +settler's girl should. + +"Mr. Kilburn went away, and was taken prisoner in the fight, carried off, +and for years no one knew if he was alive or dead. People missed Matty, +but supposed she was with her father, and never expected to see her +again. A great while afterward the poor man came back, having escaped +and made his way through the wilderness to his old home. His first +question was for Matty, but no one had seen her; and when he told where +he had left her, they shook their heads as if they thought he was crazy. +But they went to look, that he might be satisfied; and he was; for there +they found some little bones, some faded bits of cloth, and two rusty +silver buckles marked with Matty's name in what had once been her shoes. +An Indian arrow lay there, too, showing why she had never cried for +help, but waited patiently so long for father to come and find her." + +If Miss Celia expected to see the last bit of hem done when her story +ended, she was disappointed; for not a dozen stitches had been taken. +Betty was using her crash-towel for a handkerchief, and Bab's lay on the +ground as she listened with snapping eyes to the little tragedy. + +"Is it true?" asked Betty, hoping to find relief in being told that it +was not. + +"Yes; I have seen the tree, and the mound where the fort was, and the +rusty buckles in an old farm-house where other Kilburns live, near the +spot where it all happened," answered Miss Celia, looking out the +picture of Victoria to console her auditors. + +"We'll play that in the old apple-tree. Betty can scrooch down, and I'll +be the father, and put leaves on her, and then I'll be a great Injun and +fire at her. I can make arrows, and it will be fun, wont it?" cried Bab, +charmed with the new drama in which she could act the leading parts. + +"No, it wont! I don't like to go in a cobwebby hole, and have you play +kill me. I'll make a nice fort of hay, and be all safe, and you can put +Dinah down there for Matty. I don't love her any more, now her last eye +has tumbled out, and you may shoot her just as much as you like." + +Before Bab could agree to this satisfactory arrangement, Thorny +appeared, singing, as he aimed at a fat robin, whose red waistcoat +looked rather warm and winterish that August day: + + "So he took up his bow, + And he feathered his arrow, + And said: 'I will shoot + This little cock-sparrow.'" + +"But he didn't," chirped the robin, flying away, with a contemptuous +flirt of his rusty-black tail. + +"That is exactly what you must promise _not_ to do, boys. Fire away at +your targets as much as you like, but do not harm any living creature," +said Miss Celia, as Ben followed armed and equipped with her own +long-unused accouterments. + +"Of course we wont if you say so; but, with a little practice, I _could_ +bring down a bird as well as that fellow you read to me about with his +woodpeckers and larks and herons," answered Thorny, who had much enjoyed +the article, while his sister lamented over the destruction of the +innocent birds. + +"You'd do well to borrow the Squire's old stuffed owl for a target; +there would be some chance of your hitting him, he is so big," said his +sister, who always made fun of the boy when he began to brag. + +Thorny's only reply was to send his arrow straight up so far out of +sight that it was a long while coming down again to stick quivering in +the ground near by, whence Sancho brought it in his mouth, evidently +highly approving of a game in which he could join. + +"Not bad for a beginning. Now, Ben, fire away." + +But Ben's experience with bows was small, and, in spite of his +praiseworthy efforts to imitate his great exemplar, the arrow only +turned a feeble sort of somersault, and descended perilously near Bab's +uplifted nose. + +"If you endanger other people's life and liberty in your pursuit of +happiness, I shall have to confiscate your arms, boys. Take the orchard +for your archery ground; that is safe, and we can see you as we sit +here. I wish I had two hands, so that I could paint you a fine, gay +target," and Miss Celia looked regretfully at the injured arm, which as +yet was of little use. + +"I wish you could shoot, too; you used to beat all the girls, and I was +proud of you," answered Thorny, with the air of a fond elder brother; +though, at the time he alluded to, he was about twelve, and hardly up to +his sister's shoulder. + +"Thank you. I shall be happy to give my place to Bab and Betty if you +will make them some bows and arrows; they could not use those long +ones." + +The young gentlemen did not take the hint as quickly as Miss Celia hoped +they would; in fact, both looked rather blank at the suggestion, as boys +generally do when it is proposed that girls--especially small +ones--shall join in any game they are playing. + +"P'r'aps it would be too much trouble," began Betty, in her winning +little voice. + +"I can make my own," declared Bab, with an independent toss of the head. + +"Not a bit; I'll make you the jolliest small bow that ever was, +Betcinda," Thorny hastened to say, softened by the appealing glance of +the little maid. + +"You can use mine, Bab; you've got such a strong fist, I guess you could +pull it," added Ben, remembering that it would not be amiss to have a +comrade who shot worse than he did, for he felt very inferior to Thorny +in many ways, and, being used to praise, had missed it very much since +he retired to private life. + +"I will be umpire, and brighten up the silver arrow I sometimes pin my +hair with, for a prize, unless we can find something better," proposed +Miss Celia, glad to see that question settled, and every prospect of the +new play being a pleasant amusement for the hot weather. + +It was astonishing how soon archery became the fashion in that town, for +the boys discussed it enthusiastically all that evening, formed the +"William Tell Club" next day, with Bab and Betty as honorary members, +and, before the week was out, nearly every lad was seen, like young +Norval, "With bended bow and quiver full of arrows," shooting away, with +a charming disregard of the safety of their fellow-citizens. Banished by +the authorities to secluded spots, the members of the club set up their +targets and practiced indefatigably, especially Ben, who soon discovered +that his early gymnastics had given him a sinewy arm and a true eye; +and, taking Sanch into partnership as picker-up, he got more shots out +of an hour than those who had to run to and fro. + +[Illustration: MATTY KILBURN AND HER FATHER AT THE TREE.] + +Thorny easily recovered much of his former skill, but his strength had +not fully returned, and he soon grew tired. Bab, on the contrary, threw +herself into the contest heart and soul, and tugged away at the new bow +Miss Celia gave her, for Ben's was too heavy. No other girls were +admitted, so the outsiders got up a club of their own, and called it +"The Victoria," the name being suggested by the magazine article, which +went the rounds as general guide and reference-book. Bab and Betty +belonged to this club also, and duly reported the doings of the boys, +with whom they had a right to shoot if they chose, but soon waived the +right, plainly seeing that their absence would be regarded in the light +of a favor. + +The archery fever raged as fiercely as the baseball epidemic had done +before it, and not only did the magazine circulate freely, but Miss +Edgeworth's story, which was eagerly read, and so much admired that the +girls at once mounted green ribbons, and the boys kept yards of +whip-cord in their pockets, like the provident Benjamin of the tale. + +Every one enjoyed the new play very much, and something grew out of it +which was a lasting pleasure to many, long after the bows and arrows +were forgotten. Seeing how glad the children were to get a new story, +Miss Celia was moved to send a box of books--old and new--to the town +library, which was but scantily supplied, as country libraries are apt +to be. This donation produced a good effect; for other people hunted up +all the volumes they could spare for the same purpose, and the dusty +shelves in the little room behind the post-office filled up amazingly. +Coming in vacation time they were hailed with delight, and ancient books +of travel, as well as modern tales, were feasted upon by happy young +folks, with plenty of time to enjoy them in peace. + +The success of her first attempt at being a public benefactor pleased +Miss Celia very much, and suggested other ways in which she might serve +the quiet town, where she seemed to feel that work was waiting for her +to do. She said little to any one but the friend over the sea, yet +various plans were made then that blossomed beautifully by and by. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +SPEAKING PIECES. + + +The first of September came all too soon, and school began. Among the +boys and girls who went trooping up to the "East Corner knowledge-box," +as they called it, was our friend Ben, with a pile of neat books under +his arm. He felt very strange, and decidedly shy; but put on a bold +face, and let nobody guess that, though nearly thirteen, he had never +been to school before. Miss Celia had told his story to Teacher, and +she, being a kind little woman, with young brothers of her own, made +things as easy for him as she could. In reading and writing he did very +well, and proudly took his place among lads of his own age; but when it +came to arithmetic and geography, he had to go down a long way, and +begin almost at the beginning, in spite of Thorny's efforts to "tool him +along fast." It mortified him sadly, but there was no help for it; and +in some of the classes he had dear little Betty to condole with him when +he failed, and smile contentedly when he got above her, as he soon began +to do,--for she was not a quick child, and plodded through First Parts +long after sister Bab was flourishing away among girls much older than +herself. + +Fortunately, Ben was a short boy and a clever one, so he did not look +out of place among the ten and eleven year olders, and fell upon his +lessons with the same resolution with which he used to take a new leap, +or practice patiently till he could touch his heels with his head. That +sort of exercise had given him a strong, elastic little body; this kind +was to train his mind, and make its faculties as useful, quick and sure, +as the obedient muscles, nerves and eye, which kept him safe where +others would have broken their necks. He knew this, and found much +consolation in the fact that, though mental arithmetic was a hopeless +task, he _could_ turn a dozen somersaults, and come up as steady as a +judge. When the boys laughed at him for saying that China was in Africa, +he routed them entirely by his superior knowledge of the animals +belonging to that wild country; and when "First class in reading" was +called, he marched up with the proud consciousness that the shortest boy +in it did better than tall Moses Towne or fat Sam Kitteridge. + +Teacher praised him all she honestly could, and corrected his many +blunders so quietly that he soon ceased to be a deep, distressful red +during recitation, and tugged away so manfully that no one could help +respecting him for his efforts, and trying to make light of his +failures. So the first hard week went by, and though the boy's heart had +sunk many a time at the prospect of a protracted wrestle with his own +ignorance, he made up his mind to win, and went at it again on the +Monday with fresh zeal, all the better and braver for a good, cheery +talk with Miss Celia in the Sunday evening twilight. + +He did not tell her one of his greatest trials, however, because he +thought she could not help him there. Some of the children rather looked +down upon him, called him "tramp" and "beggar," twitted him with having +been a circus boy, and lived in a tent like a gypsy. They did not mean +to be cruel, but did it for the sake of teasing, never stopping to think +how much such sport can make a fellow-creature suffer. Being a plucky +fellow, Ben pretended not to mind; but he did feel it keenly, because +he wanted to start afresh, and be like other boys. He was not ashamed of +the old life, but finding those around him disapproved of it, he was +glad to let it be forgotten,--even by himself,--for his latest +recollections were not happy ones, and present comforts made past +hardships seem harder than before. + +He said nothing of this to Miss Celia, but she found it out, and liked +him all the better for keeping some of his small worries to himself. Bab +and Betty came over on Monday afternoon full of indignation at some +boyish insult Sam had put upon Ben, and finding them too full of it to +enjoy the reading, Miss Celia asked what the matter was. Then both +little girls burst out in a rapid succession of broken exclamations +which did not give a very clear idea of the difficulty: + +"Sam didn't like it because Ben jumped farther than he did----" + +"And he said Ben ought to be in the poor-house." + +"And Ben said _he_ ought to be in a pig-pen." + +"So he had!--such a greedy thing, bringing lovely big apples and not +giving any one a single bite!" + +"Then he was mad, and we all laughed, and he said, 'Want to fight?'" + +"And Ben said, 'No, thanky, not much fun in pounding a feather-bed.'" + +"Oh, he was _awfully_ mad then and chased Ben up the big maple." + +"He's there now, for Sam wont let him come down till he takes it all +back." + +"Ben wont, and I do believe he'll have to stay up all night," said +Betty, distressfully. + +"He wont care, and we'll have fun firing up his supper. Nut-cakes and +cheese will go splendidly; and may be baked pears wouldn't get smashed, +he's such a good catch," added Bab, decidedly relishing the prospect. + +"If he does not come by tea-time we will go and look after him. It seems +to me I have heard something about Sam's troubling him before, haven't +I?" asked Miss Celia, ready to defend her protege against all unfair +persecution. + +"Yes'm, Sam and Mose are always plaguing Ben. They are big boys and we +can't make them stop. I wont let the girls do it, and the little boys +don't dare to, since Teacher spoke to them," answered Bab. + +"Why does not Teacher speak to the big ones?" + +"Ben wont tell of them or let us. He says he'll fight his own battles +and hates tell-tales. I guess his wont like to have us tell you, but I +don't care, for it _is_ too bad," and Betty looked ready to cry over her +friend's tribulations. + +"I'm glad you did, for I will attend to it and stop this sort of +thing," said Miss Celia, after the children had told some of the +tormenting speeches which had tried poor Ben. + +Just then, Thorny appeared, looking much amused, and the little girls +both called out in a breath: "Did you see Ben and get him down?" + +"He got himself down in the neatest way you can imagine," and Thorny +laughed at the recollection. + +"Where is Sam?" asked Bab. + +"Staring up at the sky to see where Ben has flown to." + +"Oh, tell about it!" begged Betty. + +"Well, I came along and found Ben treed, and Sam stoning him. I stopped +that at once and told the 'fat boy' to be off. He said he wouldn't till +Ben begged his pardon, and Ben said he wouldn't do it if he stayed up +for a week. I was just preparing to give that rascal a scientific +thrashing when a load of hay came along and Ben dropped on to it so +quietly that Sam, who was trying to bully me, never saw him go. It +tickled me so, I told Sam I guessed I'd let him off that time, and +walked away, leaving him to hunt for Ben and wonder where the dickens he +had vanished to." + +The idea of Sam's bewilderment tickled the others as much as Thorny, and +they all had a good laugh over it before Miss Celia asked: + +"Where has Ben gone now?" + +"Oh, he'll take a little ride and then slip down and race home full of +the fun of it. But I've got to settle Sam. I wont have our Ben hectored +by any one----" + +"But yourself," put in his sister, with a sly smile, for Thorny _was_ +rather domineering at times. + +"He doesn't mind my poking him up now and then, it's good for him, and I +always take his part against other people. Sam is a bully and so is +Mose, and I'll thrash them both if they don't stop." + +Anxious to curb her brother's pugnacious propensities, Miss Celia +proposed milder measures, promising to speak to the boys herself if +there was any more trouble. + +"I have been thinking that we should have some sort of merry-making for +Ben on his birthday. My plan was a very simple one, but I will enlarge +it and have all the young folks come, and Ben shall be king of the fun. +He needs encouragement in well-doing, for he does try, and now the first +hard part is nearly over I am sure he will get on bravely. If we treat +him with respect and show our regard for him, others will follow our +example, and that will be better than fighting about it." + +"So it will! What shall we do to make our party tip-top?" asked Thorny, +falling into the trap at once, for he dearly loved to get up +theatricals, and had not had any for a long time. + +"We will plan something splendid, a 'grand combination,' as you used to +call your droll mixtures of tragedy, comedy, melodrama and farce," +answered his sister, with her head already full of lively plots. + +"We'll startle the natives. I don't believe they ever saw a play in all +their lives, hey Bab?" + +"I've seen a circus." + +"We dress up and do 'Babes in the Wood,'" added Betty, with dignity. + +"Pho! that's nothing. I'll show you acting that will make your hair +stand on end, and you shall act too. Bab will be capital for the naughty +girls," began Thorny, excited by the prospect of producing a sensation +on the boards, and always ready to tease the girls. + +Before Betty could protest that she did not want her hair to stand up, +or Bab could indignantly decline the role offered her, a shrill whistle +was heard, and Miss Celia whispered, with a warning look: + +"Hush! Ben is coming, and he must not know anything about this yet." + +The next day was Wednesday, and in the afternoon Miss Celia went to hear +the children "speak pieces," though it was very seldom that any of the +busy matrons and elder sisters found time or inclination for these +displays of youthful oratory. Miss Celia and Mrs. Moss were all the +audience on this occasion, but Teacher was both pleased and proud to see +them, and a general rustle went through the school as they came in, all +the girls turning from the visitors to nod at Bab and Betty, who smiled +all over their round faces to see "Ma" sitting up "side of Teacher," and +the boys grinned at Ben, whose heart began to beat fast at the thought +of his dear mistress coming so far to hear him say his piece. + +Thorny had recommended Marco Bozzaris, but Ben preferred John Gilpin, +and ran the famous race with much spirit, making excellent time in some +parts and having to be spurred a little in others, but came out all +right, though quite breathless at the end, sitting down amid great +applause, some of which, curiously enough, seemed to come from outside; +which in fact it did, for Thorny was bound to hear but would not come +in, lest his presence should abash one orator at least. + +Other pieces followed, all more or less patriotic and warlike, among the +boys; sentimental among the girls. Sam broke down in his attempt to give +one of Webster's great speeches. Little Cy Fay boldly attacked + + "Again to the battle, Achaians!" + +and shrieked his way through it in a shrill, small voice, bound to do +honor to the older brother who had trained him, even if he broke a +vessel in the attempt. Billy chose a well-worn piece, but gave it a new +interest by his style of delivery; for his gestures were so spasmodic he +looked as if going into a fit, and he did such astonishing things with +his voice that one never knew whether a howl or a growl would come next. +When + + "The woods against a stormy sky + Their giant branches tossed;" + +Billy's arms went round like the sails of a windmill; the "hymns of +lofty cheer" not only "shook the depths of the desert gloom," but the +small children on their little benches, and the schoolhouse literally +rang "to the anthems of the free!" When "the ocean eagle soared," Billy +appeared to be going bodily up, and the "pines of the forest roared" as +if they had taken lessons of Van Amburgh's biggest lion. "Woman's +fearless eye" was expressed by a wild glare; "manhood's brow, severely +high," by a sudden clutch at the reddish locks falling over the orator's +hot forehead, and a sounding thump on his blue checked bosom told where +"the fiery heart of youth" was located. "What sought they thus afar?" he +asked, in such a natural and inquiring tone, with his eye fixed on Mamie +Peters, that the startled innocent replied, "Dunno," which caused the +speaker to close in haste, devoutly pointing a stubby finger upward at +the last line. + +This was considered the gem of the collection, and Billy took his seat +proudly conscious that his native town boasted an orator who, in time, +would utterly eclipse Edward Everett and Wendell Phillips. + +Sally Folsom led off with "The Coral Grove," chosen for the express +purpose of making her friend Almira Mullet start and blush, when she +recited the second line of that pleasing poem, + + "Where the purple _mullet_ and gold-fish rove." + +One of the older girls gave Wordsworth's "Lost Love" in a pensive tone, +clasping her hands and bringing out the "O" as if a sudden twinge of +toothache seized her when she ended. + + "But she is in her grave, and O, + The difference to me!" + +Bab always chose a funny piece, and on this afternoon set them all +laughing by the spirit with which she spoke the droll poem, "Pussy's +Class," which some of my young readers may have read. The "meou" and the +"sptzzs" were capital, and when the "fond mamma rubbed her nose," the +children shouted, for Miss Bab made a paw of her hand and ended with an +impromptu purr, which was considered the best imitation ever presented +to an appreciative public. Betty bashfully murmured "Little White +Lilly," swaying to and fro as regularly as if in no other way could the +rhymes be ground out of her memory. + +[Illustration: "THE OCEAN EAGLE SOARED."] + +"That is all, I believe. If either of the ladies would like to say a few +words to the children, I should be pleased to have them," said Teacher, +politely, pausing before she dismissed school with a song. + +"Please'm, I'd like to speak my piece," answered Miss Celia, obeying a +sudden impulse; and, stepping forward with her hat in her hand, she made +a pretty courtesy before she recited Mary Howitt's sweet little ballad, +"Mabel on Midsummer Day." + +She looked so young and merry, used such simple but expressive gestures, +and spoke in such a clear, soft voice that the children sat as if +spellbound, learning several lessons from this new teacher, whose +performance charmed them from beginning to end, and left a moral which +all could understand and carry away in that last verse: + + "'Tis good to make all duty sweet, + To be alert and kind; + 'Tis good, like Little Mabel, + To have a willing mind." + +Of course there was an enthusiastic clapping when Miss Celia sat down, +but even while hands applauded, consciences pricked, and undone tasks, +complaining words and sour faces seemed to rise up reproachfully before +many of the children, as well as their own faults of elocution. + +"Now we will sing," said Teacher, and a great clearing of throats +ensued, but before a note could be uttered, the half-open door swung +wide, and Sancho, with Ben's hat on, walked in upon his hind legs, and +stood with his paws meekly folded, while a voice from the entry sang +rapidly: + + "Benny had a little dog, + His fleece was white as snow, + And everywhere that Benny went + The dog was sure to go. + + He went into the school one day, + Which was against the rule; + It made the children laugh and play + To see a dog----" + +Mischievous Thorny got no further, for a general explosion of laughter +drowned the last words, and Ben's command "Out, you rascal!" sent Sanch +to the right-about in double-quick time. + +Miss Celia tried to apologize for her bad brother, and Teacher tried to +assure her that it didn't matter in the least as this was always a merry +time, and Mrs. Moss vainly shook her finger at her naughty daughters; +they as well as the others would have their laugh out, and only +partially sobered down when the bell rang for "Attention." They thought +they were to be dismissed, and repressed their giggles as well as they +could in order to get a good start for a vociferous roar when they got +out. But, to their great surprise, the pretty lady stood up again and +said, in her friendly way: + +"I just want to thank you for this pleasant little exhibition, and ask +leave to come again, I also wish to invite you all to my boy's birthday +party on Saturday week. The archery meeting is to be in the afternoon, +and both clubs will be there, I believe. In the evening we are going to +have some fun, when we can laugh as much as we please without breaking +any of the rules. In Ben's name I invite you, and hope you will all +come, for we mean to make this the happiest birthday he ever had." + +There were twenty pupils in the room, but the eighty hands and feet made +such a racket at this announcement that an outsider would have thought a +hundred children, at least, must have been at it. Miss Celia was a +general favorite because she nodded to all the girls, called the boys by +their last names, even addressing some of the largest as "Mr.," which +won their hearts at once, so that if she had invited them all to come +and be whipped they would have gone, sure that it was some delightful +joke. With what eagerness they accepted the present invitation one can +easily imagine, though they never guessed why she gave it in that way, +and Ben's face was a sight to see, he was so pleased and proud at the +honor done him that he did not know where to look, and was glad to rush +out with the other boys and vent his emotions in whoops of delight. He +knew that some little plot was being concocted for his birthday, but +never dreamed of anything so grand as asking the whole school, Teacher +and all. The effect of the invitation was seen with comical rapidity, +for the boys became overpowering in their friendly attentions to Ben. +Even Sam, fearing he might be left out, promptly offered the peaceful +olive-branch in the shape of a big apple, warm from his pocket, and Mose +proposed a trade in jack-knives which would be greatly to Ben's +advantage. But Thorny made the noblest sacrifice of all, for he said to +his sister, as they walked home together: + +"I'm not going to try for the prize at all. I shoot so much better than +the rest, having had more practice, you know, that it is hardly fair. +Ben and Billy are next best, and about even, for Ben's strong wrist +makes up for Billy's true eye, and both want to win. If I am out of the +way Ben stands a good chance, for the other fellows don't amount to +much." + +"Bab does; she shoots nearly as well as Ben, and wants to win even more +than he or Billy. She must have her chance at any rate." + +"So she may, but she wont do anything; girls can't, though it's good +exercise and pleases them to try." + +"If I had full use of both my arms I'd show you that girls _can_ do a +great deal when they like. Don't be too lofty, young man, for you may +have to come down," laughed Miss Celia, amused by his airs. + +"No fear," and Thorny calmly departed to set his targets for Ben's +practice. + +"We shall see," and from that moment Miss Celia made Bab her especial +pupil, feeling that a little lesson would be good for Mr. Thorny, who +rather lorded it over the other young people. There was a spice of +mischief in it, for Miss Celia was very young at heart, in spite of her +twenty-four years, and she was bound to see that her side had a fair +chance, believing that girls can do whatever they are willing to strive +patiently and wisely for. + +So she kept Bab at work early and late, giving her all the hints and +help she could with only one efficient hand, and Bab was delighted to +think she did well enough to shoot with the club. Her arms ached and her +fingers grew hard with twanging the bow, but she was indefatigable, and +being a strong, tall child of her age, with a great love of all athletic +sports, she got on fast and well, soon learning to send arrow after +arrow with ever increasing accuracy nearer and nearer to the bull's-eye. + +The boys took very little notice of her, being much absorbed in their +own affairs, but Betty did for Bab what Sancho did for Ben, and trotted +after arrows till her short legs were sadly tired, though her patience +never gave out. She was so sure Bab would win that she cared nothing +about her own success, practicing little and seldom hitting anything +when she tried. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +BEN'S BIRTHDAY. + + +A superb display of flags flapped gayly in the breeze on the September +morning when Ben proudly entered his teens. An irruption of bunting +seemed to have broken out all over the old house, for banners of every +shape and size, color and design flew from chimney-top and gable, porch +and gate-way, making the quiet place look as lively as a circus tent, +which was just what Ben most desired and delighted in. + +The boys had been up very early to prepare the show, and when it was +ready enjoyed it hugely, for the fresh wind made the pennons cut strange +capers. The winged lion of Venice looked as if trying to fly away home; +the Chinese dragon appeared to brandish his forked tail as he clawed at +the Burmese peacock; the double-headed eagle of Russia pecked at the +Turkey crescent with one beak, while the other seemed to be screaming to +the English royal beast, "Come on and lend a paw." In the hurry of +hoisting, the Siamese elephant got turned upside down, and now danced +gayly on his head, with the stars and stripes waving proudly over him. A +green flag with a yellow harp and sprig of shamrock hung in sight of the +kitchen window, and Katy, the cook, got breakfast to the tune of "St. +Patrick's day in the morning." Sancho's kennel was half hidden under a +rustling paper imitation of the gorgeous Spanish banner, and the scarlet +sun-and-moon flag of Arabia snapped and flaunted from the pole over the +coach-house, as a delicate compliment to Lita, Arabian horses being +considered the finest in the world. + +The little girls came out to see, and declared it was the loveliest +sight they ever beheld, while Thorny played "Hail Columbia" on his fife, +and Ben, mounting the gate-post, crowed long and loud like a happy +cockerel who had just reached his majority. He had been surprised and +delighted with the gifts he found in his room on awaking, and guessed +why Miss Celia and Thorny gave him such pretty things, for among them +was a match-box made like a mouse-trap. The doggy buttons and the horsey +whip were treasures indeed, for Miss Celia had not given them when they +first planned to do so, because Sancho's return seemed to be joy and +reward enough for that occasion. But he did not forget to thank Mrs. +Moss for the cake she sent him, nor the girls for the red mittens which +they had secretly and painfully knit. Bab's was long and thin, with a +very pointed thumb, Betty's short and wide, with a stubby thumb, and all +their mother's pulling and pressing could not make them look alike, to +the great affliction of the little knitters. Ben, however, assured them +that he rather preferred odd ones, as then he could always tell which +was right and which left. He put them on immediately and went about +cracking the new whip with an expression of content which was droll to +see, while the children followed after, full of admiration for the hero +of the day. + +They were very busy all the morning preparing for the festivities to +come, and as soon as dinner was over every one scrambled into his or her +best clothes as fast as possible, because, although invited to come at +two, impatient boys and girls were seen hovering about the avenue as +early as one. + +The first to arrive, however, was an uninvited guest, for just as Bab +and Betty sat down on the porch steps, in their stiff pink calico frocks +and white ruffled aprons, to repose a moment before the party came in, +a rustling was heard among the lilacs and out stepped Alfred Tennyson +Barlow, looking like a small Robin Hood, in a green blouse with a silver +buckle on his broad belt, a feather in his little cap and a bow in his +hand. + +"I have come to shoot. I heard about it. My papa told me what arching +meant. Will there be any little cakes? I like them." + +With these opening remarks the poet took a seat and calmly awaited a +response. The young ladies, I regret to say, giggled, then remembering +their manners, hastened to inform him that there _would_ be heaps of +cakes, also that Miss Celia would not mind his coming without an +invitation, they were quite sure. + +"She asked me to come that day. I have been very busy. I had measles. Do +you have them here?" asked the guest, as if anxious to compare notes on +the sad subject. + +"We had ours ever so long ago. What have you been doing besides having +measles?" said Betty, showing a polite interest. + +"I had a fight with a bumble-bee." + +"Who beat?" demanded Bab. + +"I did. I ran away and he couldn't catch me." + +"Can you shoot nicely?" + +"I hit a cow. She did not mind at all. I guess she thought it was a +fly." + +"Did your mother know you were coming?" asked Bab, feeling an interest +in runaways. + +"No; she is gone to drive, so I could not ask her." + +"It is very wrong to disobey. My Sunday-school book says that children +who are naughty that way never go to heaven," observed virtuous Betty, +in a warning tone. + +"I do not wish to go," was the startling reply. + +"Why not?" asked Betty, severely. + +"They don't have any dirt there. My mamma says so. I am fond of dirt. I +shall stay here where there is plenty of it," and the candid youth began +to grub in the mold with the satisfaction of a genuine boy. + +"I am afraid you're a very bad child." + +"Oh yes, I am. My papa often says so and he knows all about it," replied +Alfred with an involuntary wriggle suggestive of painful memories. Then, +as if anxious to change the conversation from its somewhat personal +channel, he asked, pointing to a row of grinning heads above the wall, +"Do you shoot at those?" + +Bab and Betty looked up quickly and recognized the familiar faces of +their friends peering down at them, like a choice collection of trophies +or targets. + +"I should think you'd be ashamed to peek before the party was ready!" +cried Bab, frowning darkly upon the merry young ladies. + +"Miss Celia told _us_ to come before two, and be ready to receive folks, +if she wasn't down," added Betty, importantly. + +"It is striking two now. Come along, girls," and over scrambled Sally +Folsom, followed by three or four kindred spirits, just as their hostess +appeared. + +"You look like Amazons storming a fort," she said, as the girls came up, +each carrying her bow and arrows, while green ribbons flew in every +direction. "How do you do, sir? I have been hoping you would call +again," added Miss Celia, shaking hands with the pretty boy, who +regarded with benign interest the giver of little cakes. + +Here a rush of boys took place, and further remarks were cut short, for +every one was in a hurry to begin. So the procession was formed at once, +Miss Celia taking the lead, escorted by Ben in the post of honor, while +the boys and girls paired off behind, arm in arm, bow on shoulder, in +martial array. Thorny and Billy were the band, and marched before, +fifing and drumming "Yankee Doodle" with a vigor which kept feet moving +briskly, made eyes sparkle, and young hearts dance under the gay gowns +and summer jackets. The interesting stranger was elected to bear the +prize, laid out on a red pin-cushion, and did so with great dignity, as +he went beside the standard-bearer, Cy Fay, who bore Ben's choicest +flag, snow white, with a green wreath surrounding a painted bow and +arrow, and with the letters W. T. C. done in red below. + +Such a merry march all about the place, out at the Lodge gate, up and +down the avenue, along the winding-paths till they halted in the orchard +where the target stood and seats were placed for the archers, while they +waited for their turns. Various rules and regulations were discussed, +and then the fun began. Miss Celia had insisted that the girls should be +invited to shoot with the boys, and the lads consented without much +concern, whispering to one another with condescending shrugs--"Let 'em +try, if they like, they can't do anything." + +There were various trials of skill before the great match came off, and +in these trials the young gentlemen discovered that two at least of the +girls _could_ do something, for Bab and Sally shot better than many of +the boys, and were well rewarded for their exertions by the change which +took place in the faces and conversation of their mates. + +"Why, Bab, you do as well as if I'd taught you myself," said Thorny, +much surprised and not altogether pleased at the little girl's skill. + +"A lady taught me, and I mean to beat every one of you," answered Bab, +saucily, while her sparkling eyes turned to Miss Celia with a +mischievous twinkle in them. + +"Not a bit of it," declared Thorny, stoutly; but he went to Ben and +whispered, "Do your best, old fellow, for sister has taught Bab all the +scientific points, and the little rascal is ahead of Billy." + +"She wont get ahead of _me_," said Ben, picking out his best arrow, and +trying the string of his bow with a confident air which re-assured +Thorny, who found it impossible to believe that a girl ever could, +would, or should excel a boy in anything he cared to try. + +It really did look as if Bab would beat when the match for the prize +came off, and the children got more and more excited as the six who were +to try for it took turns at the bull's-eye. Thorny was umpire and kept +account of each shot, for the arrow which went nearest the middle would +win. Each had three shots, and very soon the lookers on saw that Ben and +Bab were the best marksmen, and one of them would surely get the silver +arrow. + +Sam, who was too lazy to practice, soon gave up the contest, saying, as +Thorny did, "It wouldn't be fair for such a big fellow to try with the +little chaps," which made a laugh, as his want of skill was painfully +evident. But Mose went at it gallantly, and if his eye had been as true +as his arms were strong, the "little chaps" would have trembled. But his +shots were none of them as near as Billy's, and he retired after the +third failure, declaring that it was impossible to shoot against the +wind, though scarcely a breath was stirring. + +Sally Folsom was bound to beat Bab, and twanged away in great style; all +in vain, however, as with tall Maria Newcome, the third girl who +attempted the trial. Being a little near-sighted, she had borrowed her +sister's eye-glasses, and thereby lessened her chance of success; for +the pinch on her nose distracted her attention, and not one of her +arrows went beyond the second ring, to her great disappointment. Billy +did very well, but got nervous when his last shot came, and just missed +the bull's-eye by being in a hurry. + +Bab and Ben each had one turn more, and as they were about even, that +last arrow would decide the victory. Both had sent a shot into the +bull's-eye, but neither was exactly in the middle; so there was room to +do better, even, and the children crowded round, crying eagerly, "Now, +Ben!" "Now, Bab!" "Hit her up, Ben!" "Beat him, Bab!" while Thorny +looked as anxious as if the fate of the country depended on the success +of his man. Bab's turn came first, and as Miss Celia examined her bow to +see that all was right, the little girl said, with her eyes on her +rival's excited face: + +"I want to beat, but Ben will feel _so_ bad, I 'most hope I sha'n't." + +"Losing a prize sometimes makes one happier than gaining it. You have +proved that you could do better than most of them, so, if you do not +beat, you may still feel proud," answered Miss Celia, giving back the +bow with a smile that said more than her words. + +It seemed to give Bab a new idea, for in a minute all sorts of +recollections, wishes and plans, rushed through her lively little mind, +and she followed a sudden generous impulse as blindly as she often did a +willful one. + +"I guess he'll beat," she said, softly, with a quick sparkle of the +eyes, as she stepped to her place and fired without taking her usual +careful aim. + +[Illustration: PRACTICING FOR THE MATCH.] + +Her shot struck almost as near the center on the right as her last one +had hit on the left, and there was a shout of delight from the girls as +Thorny announced it before he hurried back to Ben, whispering anxiously: + +"Steady, old man, steady; you _must_ beat that, or we shall never hear +the last of it." + +Ben did not say, "She wont get ahead of me," as he had said at the +first; he set his teeth, threw off his hat, and knitting his brows with +a resolute expression, prepared to take steady aim, though his heart +beat fast, and his thumb trembled as he pressed it on the bow-string. + +"I hope you'll beat, I truly do," said Bab, at his elbow; and as if the +breath that framed the generous wish helped it on its way, the arrow +flew straight to the bull's-eye, hitting, apparently, the very spot +where Bab's best shot had left a hole. + +"A tie! a tie!" cried the girls, as a general rush took place toward the +target. + +"No; Ben's is nearest. Ben's beat! Hooray!" shouted the boys, throwing +up their hats. + +There was only a hair's-breadth difference, and Bab could honestly have +disputed the decision; but she did not, though for an instant she could +not help wishing that the cry had been, "Bab's beat! Hurrah!" it sounded +so pleasant. Then she saw Ben's beaming face, Thorny's intense relief, +and caught the look Miss Celia sent her over the heads of the boys, and +decided, with a sudden warm glow all over her little face, that losing a +prize _did_ sometimes make one happier than winning it. Up went her best +hat, and she burst out in a shrill, "Rah, rah, rah!" that sounded very +funny coming all alone after the general clamor had subsided. + +"Good for you, Bab! you are an honor to the club, and I'm proud of you," +said Prince Thorny, with a hearty hand-shake; for, as his man had won, +he could afford to praise the rival who had put him on his mettle though +she _was_ a girl. + +Bab was much uplifted by the royal commendation, but a few minutes later +felt pleased as well as proud when Ben, having received the prize, came +to her, as she stood behind a tree sucking her blistered thumb, while +Betty braided up her disheveled locks. + +"I think it would be fairer to call it a tie, Bab, for it nearly was, +and I want you to wear this. I wanted the fun of beating, but I don't +care a bit for this girl's thing, and I'd rather see it on you." + +As he spoke, Ben offered the rosette of green ribbon which held the +silver arrow, and Bab's eyes brightened as they fell upon the pretty +ornament, for to her "the girl's thing" was almost as good as the +victory. + +"Oh no; you must wear it to show who won. Miss Celia wouldn't like it. I +don't mind not getting it; I did better than all the rest, and I guess I +shouldn't like to beat _you_," answered Bab, unconsciously putting into +childish words the sweet generosity which makes so many sisters glad to +see their brothers carry off the prizes of life, while they are content +to know that they have earned them and can do without the praise. + +But if Bab was generous, Ben was just; and though he could not explain +the feeling, would not consent to take all the glory without giving his +little friend a share. + +"You _must_ wear it; I shall feel real mean if you don't. You worked +harder than I did, and it was only luck my getting this. Do, Bab, to +please me," he persisted, awkwardly trying to fasten the ornament in the +middle of Bab's white apron. + +"Then I will. Now do you forgive me for losing Sancho?" asked Bab, with +a wistful look which made Ben say, heartily: + +"I did that when he came home." + +"And you don't think I'm horrid?" + +"Not a bit of it; you are first-rate, and I'll stand by you like a man, +for you are 'most as good as a boy!" cried Ben, anxious to deal +handsomely with his feminine rival, whose skill had raised her immensely +in his opinion. + +Feeling that he could not improve that last compliment, Bab was fully +satisfied, and let him leave the prize upon her breast, conscious that +she had some claim to it. + +"That is where it should be, and Ben is a true knight, winning the prize +that he may give it to his lady, while he is content with the victory," +said Miss Celia, laughingly, to Teacher, as the children ran off to join +in the riotous games which soon made the orchard ring. + +"He learned that at the circus 'tunnyments,' as he calls them. He is a +nice boy, and I am much interested in him; for he has the two things +that do most toward making a man, patience and courage," answered +Teacher, smiling also as she watched the young knight play leap-frog, +and the honored lady tearing about in a game of tag. + +"Bab is a nice child, too," said Miss Celia; "she is as quick as a flash +to catch an idea and carry it out, though very often the ideas are wild +ones. She could have won just now, I fancy, if she had tried, but took +the notion into her head that it was nobler to let Ben win, and so atone +for the trouble she gave him in losing the dog. I saw a very sweet look +on her face just now, and am sure that Ben will never know why he beat." + +"She does such things at school sometimes, and I can't bear to spoil her +little atonements, though they are not always needed or very wise," +answered Teacher. "Not long ago I found that she had been giving her +lunch day after day to a poor child who seldom had any, and when I asked +her why, she said, with tears, 'I used to laugh at Abby, because she had +only crusty, dry bread, and so she wouldn't bring any. I _ought_ to give +her mine and be hungry, it was so mean to make fun of her poorness.'" + +"Did you stop the sacrifice?" + +"No; I let Bab 'go halves,' and added an extra bit to my own lunch, so I +could make my contribution likewise." + +"Come and tell me about Abby's folks, I want to make friends with our +poor people, for soon I shall have a right to help them;" and, putting +her arm in Teacher's, Miss Celia led her away for a quiet chat in the +porch, making her guest's visit a happy holiday by confiding several +plans and asking advice in the friendliest way. + +(_To be continued._) + +[Illustration] + + + + +"HAPPY FIELDS OF SUMMER." + +BY LUCY LARCOM. + + +[Illustration] + + Happy fields of summer, all your airy grasses + Whispering and bowing when the west wind passes,-- + Happy lark and nestling, hid beneath the mowing, + Root sweet music in you, to the white clouds growing! + + Happy fields of summer, softly billowed over + With the feathery red-top and the rosy clover,-- + Happy little children seek your shady places, + Lark-songs in their bosoms, sunshine on their faces! + + Happy little children, skies are bright above you, + Trees bend down to kiss you, breeze and blossom love you; + And we bless you, playing in the field-paths mazy, + Swinging with the harebell, dancing with the daisy! + + Happy fields of summer, touched with deeper beauty + As your tall grain ripens, tell the children duty + Is as sweet as pleasure;--tell them both are blended + In the best life-story, well begun and ended! + + + + +THE DIGGER-WASPS AT HOME. + +BY E. A. E. + + +July had come again, and brought with it such warm, sultry days that it +almost seemed as if no living creature could stir abroad. Nevertheless, +there was a wonderful deal going on in our garden. Through the air and +over the flower-beds hastened hundreds of little people. Some lived in +the trees and bushes, others in the ground, and all were hard at work. + +One morning, especially, there seemed to be something unusual going on; +the buzzing, and humming was fairly deafening. + +Whirr-r-r! whirr-r-r! What was that great creature that darted past my +face? And here came another, and another; why, the garden was full of +them! + +Big brown-and-yellow wasps these strangers were, and all in a most +desperate hurry. Scores of them were already hard at work digging away +in the firmly packed sand of the path. + +As these new-comers seemed to care very little who watched them at their +work, I sat down on an upturned flower-pot in the shade of a friendly +lilac, determined to make their acquaintance. + +Hardly had I settled myself before one of the wasps approached. She +seemed searching for something, for she flew rapidly back and forth, now +alighting for a moment--now darting away again. At last she dropped upon +the ground close to me and began to bite the earth with her strong jaws. +When quite a little heap lay before her she pushed it to one side with +her hind feet and then returned to her digging. In five minutes she had +an opening big enough to get into; every time she appeared she backed up +out of it pushing a huge load of sand as big as herself behind her. Soon +all around the hole was a high bank of earth, and she found it necessary +to make a path across it, and push her loads over that. Two hours' hard +work, and the house was finished. It was very simply planned, and had +only one room down at the end of a long, narrow passage. But simple as +it was, this little creature had done more work in the two hours than a +man could do in a day. That is, of course, taking her size into +consideration. And she did not even now stop to rest. Not she! With one +last look into the house, to make sure she was leaving all as it should +be, she flew away. In a moment her strong wings had taken her quite out +of sight but it was not long before she re-appeared. Back and forth she +hastened, at one moment flying through the grape-arbor, at the next +wheeling above the cabbage-bed. All this time the object of her search, +a fat young locust, was quietly sitting on a gate-post, quite +forgetting, as even locusts sometimes will, that he had an enemy in the +world. + +A moment later and the wasp's sharp eyes had found him out; and then, +quick as lightning, she darted down upon him, and pierced him with her +sting. When the locust lay perfectly still, the wasp seized him and flew +off. Arrived at her hole, she tumbled him head foremost in at the door, +expecting him, of course, to fall quite to the bottom. But her +calculations had been slightly at fault; the locust was too fat to go +in, and there he stuck with his head and shoulders in the hole and his +body in the air. Here was a dilemma! But my wasp friend was evidently +not one to be overcome by difficulties of this sort. She flew off again, +and this time returned with two other wasps; they crowded round the +hole, and began digging away the earth which pressed close about the +locust. In a short time they seemed satisfied, for they stood up and +pushed at the object of their toils. Slowly he slid down out of sight, +and she who had brought him hurried after. She laid an egg close to him +in her house; then, hurrying up, began to carry back the earth she had +before taken out, and in a short time the door was securely closed. Then +she scraped away, and patted down all the loose earth, till she had made +it quite impossible for any evil-minded creature to find any traces of +her home. + +The wasp knew very well that her egg would soon hatch out; that the +little white grub, her chick, would at once begin to feed upon the +locust, which would supply food till the young one was full-grown. + +The following morning I again visited the garden, to see how the +home-making progressed. Soon a handsome wasp came running toward my +seat, under the lilac, near which was a newly made hole. + +"She knows me! she is no longer afraid!" But no; she stopped short and +raised her long, delicate antennae, evidently on the lookout for danger. +She could not be the same wasp I had watched yesterday; but how was I to +make sure? They seemed all exactly alike. + +I was all this time as motionless as if I had been turned to stone. + +She came a step or two nearer, and, at last, quite re-assured, hurried +down into her hole. What a long time she stayed! but, at last, on +watching the opening intently, I saw something coming toward daylight. +It was a great ball of earth, quite filling the hole, that the wasp was +forcing up by her hind legs. With one mighty heave the ball rolled out, +scattering itself in all directions, as it broke apart. + +[Illustration: MAKING A HOME.] + +I noticed at this time, and afterward, that as the depth of the holes +increased and it took longer journeys to reach the surface, the wasps +always pressed the earth they wished to get rid of into these compact +balls, and so managed to bring up a much greater quantity at once than +would otherwise be possible. The wasp now walked entirely round the +hole, pushing carefully back the loose sand which seemed likely to fall +in again. This done, she was up and away. She was in search now of the +insect near which to lay her egg, but although she came in sight of +several, she could get no nearer. + +The inhabitants of our garden were learning how dangerous these new +settlers might be, and kept well out of her way. At last, as she poised +herself high in the air, and rested on her broad, strong wings for an +instant, she spied, far beneath her, a small grasshopper. It was the +work of only a second to pounce upon him, and to lay him out on his back +perfectly insensible. + +But now a difficulty arose. How could she, borne down by this heavy +weight, manage to rise into the air? The locust of the day before had +been caught upon a high post, and in order to carry him the wasp had +only to fly down. This was a wholly different case. At last an idea +seemed to occur to her: she jumped astride of the grasshopper, seized +its head with her fore feet, and ran along the ground. + +Ha! This was famous; but hard work, nevertheless, and she had often to +let go and rest. She entered the broad path in which her house was, but +somehow she had become bewildered, and mistook a neighbor's hole for her +own. As she dismounted before it, and looked in, the owner angrily +darted out, buzzing in a frightful manner. Our poor friend, much +abashed, proceeded to the next house, and the next, everywhere meeting +with the same reception. + +"How stupid of her," I thought, "not to know her own home!" but just +then she saw the entrance, ran swiftly toward it, and in another minute +she and her burden were both safely in-doors. + +Presently she came out and again flew off. She had laid her egg close to +the grasshopper, but the amount of provision was not enough, so she had +now gone in search of another insect, with which to fill her larder. + +As soon as she was out of sight, a tiny creature flew down into the +hole. She, too, had her egg to lay, and here was just the opportunity. +Inside of the digger-wasp's egg the little ichneumon fly placed another +and a very much smaller one, after which she darted away, just in time +to escape meeting the returning mother, who, coming back laden with a +second grasshopper, placed it close to the first, and set about closing +the door. But all her careful work would be of no avail; no child of +hers would ever come out of this house a perfect full-grown insect like +herself. + +This is what happened: + +In time the two eggs hatched. The young digger-wasp set to work upon the +grasshopper, and the little ichneumon began to eat the wasp-grub. At +last the young wasp died, and at that moment there flew out from his +body a little fly. + +[Illustration: AT THE WRONG HOUSE.] + +It rested a minute, then turned and pushed its way through the soft +earth till it reached daylight. It waved its wings gently up and down a +few times, and darted away and out of sight. + +The digger-wasps had been living for some weeks in our garden, when, +one afternoon, there came up a fearful thunder-storm. The rain poured +down in torrents. Where had been shortly before neatly kept paths about +our house, we saw now rapid little rivers tearing up sand and gravel as +they raced down-hill, and doing all the damage their short lives would +allow. But all of a sudden the sun burst out from the clouds, the rain +stopped, and the water which had fallen sank into the ground. + +I did not waste many minutes in reaching the garden. What a sight met my +eyes! The broad path stretched itself out before me smooth and wet; not +a single hole remained,--all were buried deep under the sand. Instead of +the air being, as was usual, fairly alive with busy, happy creatures, +there was now, here and there, a miserable mud-covered insect clinging +to a leaf, and wearily trying to clean its heavy wings. + +What a sad ending to the gay, bright summer! + +The next day, however, I found a few survivors hard at work digging +again; but this time every hole was sloping instead of perpendicular. +After much thought, I came to the conclusion that these clever little +creatures had found the way to prevent such another calamity as had +overtaken them the day before. Formerly, the first drops of an unusually +hard shower filled the holes instantly, drowning the inmates. Now, this +could not happen, especially if the openings were placed, as most of +them were, under the shelter of the big grape-leaves which at many +points rested on the edge of the path. This all took place two years +ago; but each summer since then has brought with it some of our old +friends, the digger-wasps. + +[Illustration: AFTER THE RAIN-STORM.] + + + + +THE EMERGENCY MISTRESS. + +(_A Fairy Tale._) + +BY FRANK R. STOCKTON. + + +Jules Vatermann was a wood-cutter, and a very good one. He always had +employment, for he understood his business so well, and was so +industrious and trustworthy, that every one in the neighborhood where he +lived, who wanted wood cut, was glad to get him to do it. + +Jules had a very ordinary and commonplace life until he was a +middle-aged man, and then something remarkable happened to him. It +happened on the twenty-fifth of January, in a very cold winter. Jules +was forty-five years old, that year, and he remembered the day of the +month, because in the morning, before he started out to his work, he had +remarked that it was just one month since Christmas. + +The day before, Jules had cut down a tall tree, and he had been busy all +the morning sawing it into logs of the proper length and splitting it up +and making a pile of it. + +When dinner-time came around, Jules sat down on one of the logs and +opened his basket. He had plenty to eat,--good bread and sausage, and a +bottle of beer, for he was none of your poor wood-cutters. + +As he was cutting a sausage, he looked up and saw something coming from +behind his wood-pile. + +At first, he thought it was a dog, for it was about the right size for a +small dog, but in a moment he saw it was a little man. He was a little +man indeed, for he was not more than two feet high. He was dressed in +brown clothes and wore a peaked cap, and he must have been pretty old, +for he had a full white beard. Although otherwise warmly clad, he wore +on his feet only shoes and no stockings and came hopping along through +the deep snow as if his feet were very cold. + +When he saw this little old man, Jules said never a word. He merely +thought to himself: "This is some sort of a fairy-man." + +But the little old person came close to Jules, and drawing up one foot, +as if it was so cold that he could stand on it no longer, he said: + +"Please, sir, my feet are almost frozen." + +"Oh, ho!" thought Jules, "I know all about that. This is one of the +fairy-folks who come in distress to a person, and if that person is kind +to them, he is made rich and happy; but if he turns them away, he soon +finds himself in all sorts of misery. I shall be very careful." And then +he said aloud: "Well, sir, what can I do for you?" + +[Illustration: JULES AND THE LITTLE MAN.] + +"That is a strange question," said the dwarf. "If you were to walk by +the side of a deep stream, and were to see a man sinking in the water, +would you stop and ask him what you could do for him?" + +"Would you like my stockings?" said Jules, putting down his knife and +sausage, and preparing to pull off one of his boots. "I will let you +have them." + +"No, no!" said the other. "They are miles too big for me." + +"Will you have my cap or my scarf in which to wrap your feet and warm +them?" + +"No, no!" said the dwarf. "I don't put my feet in caps and scarfs." + +"Well, tell me what you would like," said Jules. "Shall I make a fire?" + +"No, I will not tell you," said the fairy-man. "You have kept me +standing here long enough." + +Jules could not see what this had to do with it. He was getting very +anxious. If he were only a quick-witted fellow, so as to think of +exactly the right thing to do, he might make his fortune. But he could +think of nothing more. + +"I wish, sir, that you would tell me just what you would like for your +cold feet," said Jules, in an entreating tone, "for I shall be very glad +to give it to you, if it is at all possible." + +"If your ax were half as dull as your brain," said the dwarf, "you would +not cut much wood. Good-day!"--and he skipped away behind the wood-pile. + +Jules jumped up and looked after him, but he was gone. These +fairy-people have a strange way of disappearing. + +Jules was not married and had no home of his own. He lived with a good +couple who had a little house and an only daughter, and that was about +the sum of their possessions. The money Jules paid for his living helped +them a little, and they managed to get along. But they were quite poor. + +Jules was not poor. He had no one but himself to support, and he had +laid by a sum of money for himself when he should be too old to work. + +But you never saw a man so disappointed as he was that evening as he sat +by the fire after supper. + +He had told the family all about his meeting with the dwarf, and +lamented again and again that he had lost such a capital chance of +making his fortune. + +"If I only could have thought what it was best to do!" he said, again +and again. + +"I know what I should have done," said Selma, the only daughter of the +poor couple, a girl about eleven years old. + +"What?" asked Jules, eagerly. + +"I should have just snatched the little fellow up, and rubbed his feet +and wrapped them in my shawl until they were warm," said she. + +"But he would not have liked that," said Jules. "He was an old man and +very particular." + +"I would not care," said Selma; "I wouldn't let such a little fellow +stand suffering in the snow, and I wouldn't care how old he was." + +"I hope you'll never meet any of these fairy-people," said Jules. "You'd +drive them out of the country with your roughness, and we might all +whistle for our fortunes." + +Selma laughed and said no more about it. + +Every day after that, Jules looked for the dwarf-man, but he did not see +him again. Selma looked for him, too, for her curiosity had been much +excited; but as she was not allowed to go to the woods in the winter, of +course she never saw him. + +But, at last, summer came; and, one day, as she was walking by a little +stream which ran through the woods, whom should she see, sitting on the +bank, but the dwarf-man! She knew him in an instant, from Jules' +descriptions. He was busily engaged in fishing, but he did not fish like +any one else in the world. He had a short pole, which was floating in +the water, and in his hand he held a string which was fastened to one +end of the pole. + +When Selma saw what the old fellow was doing, she burst out laughing. +She knew it was not very polite, but she could not help it. + +"What's the matter?" said he, turning quickly toward her. + +"I'm sorry I laughed at you, sir," said Selma, "but that's no way to +fish." + +"Much you know about it," said the dwarf. "This is the only way to fish. +You let your pole float, with a piece of bait on a hook fastened to the +big end of the pole. Then you fasten a line to the little end. When a +fish bites, you haul in the pole by means of the string." + +"Have you caught anything yet?" asked Selma. + +"No, not yet," replied the dwarf. + +"Well, I'm sure I can fish better than that. Would you mind letting me +try a little while?" + +"Not at all--not at all!" said the dwarf, handing the line to Selma. "If +you think you can fish better than I can, do it by all means." + +Selma took the line and pulled in the pole. Then she unfastened the hook +and bait which was on the end of the pole, and tied it to the end of the +line, with a little piece of stone for a sinker. She then took up the +pole, threw in the line, and fished like common people. In less than a +minute she had a bite, and, giving a jerk, she drew out a fat little +fish as long as her hand. + +"Hurrah!" cried the little old man, giving a skip in the air; and then, +turning away from the stream, he shouted, "Come here!" + +Selma turned around to see whom he was calling to, and she perceived +another gnome, who was running toward them. When he came near, she saw +that he was much younger than the fisher-gnome. + +"Hello!" cried the old fellow, "I've caught one." + +Selma was amazed to hear this. She looked at the old gnome, who was +taking the fish off the hook, as if she were astonished that he could +tell such a falsehood. + +"What is this other person's name?" said she to him. + +"His name," said the old gnome, looking up, "is Class 60, H." + +"Is that all the name he has?" asked Selma, in surprise. + +"Yes. And it is a very good name. It shows just who and what he is." + +"Well, then, Mr. Class 60, H," said Selma, "that old--person did not +catch the fish. I caught it myself." + +"Very good! Very good!" said Class 60, H, laughing and clapping his +hands. "Capital! See here!" said he, addressing the older dwarf, and he +knelt down and whispered something in his ear. + +"Certainly," said the old gnome. "That's just what I was thinking of. +Will you mention it to her? I must hurry and show this fish while it is +fresh,"--and, so saying, he walked rapidly away with the little fish, +and the pole and tackle. + +"My dear Miss," said Class 60, H, approaching Selma, "would you like to +visit the home of the gnomes,--to call, in fact, on the Queen Dowager of +all the Gnomes?" + +"Go down underground, where you live?" asked Selma. "Would it be safe +down there, and when could I get back again?" + +"Safe, dear miss? Oh, perfectly so! And the trip will not take you more +than a couple of hours. I assure you that you will be back in plenty of +time for supper. Will you go, if I send a trusty messenger for you? You +may never have another chance to see our country." + +Selma thought that this was very probable, and she began to consider the +matter. + +As soon as Class 60, H, saw that she was really trying to make up her +mind whether or not to go, he cried out: + +"Good! I see you have determined to go. Wait here five minutes and the +messenger will be with you," and then he rushed off as fast as he could +run. + +"I didn't say I would go," thought Selma, "but I guess I will." + +In a very few minutes, Selma heard a deep voice behind her say: "Well, +are you ready?" + +Turning suddenly, she saw, standing close to her, a great black bear! + +Frightened dreadfully, she turned to run, but the bear called out: +"Stop! You needn't be frightened. I'm tame." + +The surprise of hearing a bear speak overcame poor Selma's terror; she +stopped, and looked around. + +"Come back," said the bear; "I will not hurt you in the least. I am sent +to take you to the Queen Dowager of the Gnomes. I don't mind your being +frightened at me. I'm used to it. But I am getting a little tired of +telling folks that I am tame," and he yawned wearily. + +"You are to take me?" said Selma, still a little frightened, and very +certain that, if she had known a bear was to be sent for her, she never +would have consented to go. + +"Yes," said the bear. "You can get on my back and I will give you a nice +ride. Come on! Don't keep me waiting, please." + +There was nothing to be done but to obey, for Selma did not care to have +a dispute with a bear, even if he were tame, and so she got upon his +back, where she had a very comfortable seat, holding fast to his long +hair. + +The bear walked slowly but steadily into the very heart of the forest, +among the great trees and the rocks. It was so lonely and solemn here +that Selma felt afraid again. + +"Suppose we were to meet with robbers," said she. + +"Robbers!" said the bear, with a laugh. "That's good! Robbers, indeed! +You needn't be afraid of robbers. If we were to meet any of them, you +would be the last person they'd ever meet." + +"Why?" asked Selma. + +"I'd tear 'em all into little bits," said the bear, in a tone which +quite restored Selma's confidence, and made her feel very glad that she +had a bear to depend upon in those lonely woods. + +It was not very long before they came to an opening in a bank of earth, +behind a great tree. Into this the bear walked, for it was wide enough, +and so high that Selma did not even have to lower her head, as they +passed in. They were now in a long winding passage, which continually +seemed as if it was just coming to an end, but which turned and twisted, +first one way and then another, and always kept going down and down. +Before long they began to meet gnomes, who very respectfully stepped +aside to let them pass. They now went through several halls and courts, +cut in the earth, and, directly, the bear stopped before a door. + +"You get off here," said the bear; and, when Selma had slid off his +back, he rose up on his hind legs and gave a great knock with the iron +knocker on the door. Then he went away. + +In a moment, the door opened, and there stood a little old gnome-woman, +dressed in brown, and wearing a lace cap. + +"Come in!" she said; and Selma entered the room. "The Queen Dowager will +see you in a few minutes," said the little old woman. "I am her +housekeeper. I'll go and tell her you're here, and, meantime, it would +be well for you to get your answers all ready, so as to lose no time." + +Selma was about to ask what answers she meant, but the housekeeper was +gone before she could say a word. + +The room was a curious one. There were some little desks and stools in +it, and in the center stood a great brown ball, some six or seven feet +in diameter. While she was looking about at these things, a little door +in the side of the ball opened, and out stepped Class 60, H. + +"One thing I didn't tell you," said he, hurriedly. "I was afraid if I +mentioned it you wouldn't come. The Queen Dowager wants a governess for +her grandson, the Gnome Prince. Now, please don't say you can't do it, +for I'm sure you'll suit exactly. The little fellow has had lots of +teachers, but he wants one of a different kind now. This is the +school-room. That ball is the globe where he studies his geography. It's +only the under part of the countries that he has to know about, and so +they are marked out on the inside of the globe. What they want now is a +special teacher, and after having come here, and had the Queen Dowager +notified, it wouldn't do to back out, you know." + +"How old is the Prince?" asked Selma. + +"About seventy-eight," said the gnome. + +"Why, he's an old man," cried Selma. + +"Not at all, my dear miss," said Class 60, H. "It takes a long time for +us to get old. The Prince is only a small boy; if he were a human boy, +he would be about five years of age. I don't look old, do I?" + +"No," said Selma. + +"Well, I'm three hundred and fifty-two, next Monday. And as for Class +20, P,--the old fellow you saw fishing,--he is nine hundred and sixty." + +"Well, you are all dreadfully old, and you have very funny names," said +Selma. + +"In this part of the world," said the other, "all gnomes, except those +belonging to the nobility and the royal family, are divided into +classes, and lettered. This is much better than having names, for you +know it is very hard to get enough names to go around, so that every one +can have his own. But here comes the housekeeper," and Class 60, H, +retired quickly into the hollow globe. + +"Her Majesty will see you," said the housekeeper; and she conducted +Selma into the next room, where, on a little throne, with a high back +and rockers, sat the Queen Dowager. She seemed rather smaller than the +other gnomes, and was very much wrinkled and wore spectacles. She had +white hair, with little curls on each side, and was dressed in brown +silk. + +[Illustration: "'ROBBERS!' SAID THE BEAR. 'THAT'S GOOD! ROBBERS, +INDEED!'"] + +She looked at Selma over her spectacles. + +"This is the applicant?" said she. + +"Yes, this is she," said the housekeeper. + +"She looks young," remarked the Queen Dowager. + +"Very true," said the housekeeper, "but she cannot be any older at +present." + +"You are right," said Her Majesty; "we will examine her." + +So saying, she took up a paper which lay on the table, and which seemed +to have a lot of items written on it. + +"Get ready," said she to the housekeeper, who opened a large blank-book +and made ready to record Selma's answers. + +The Queen Dowager read from the paper the first question: + +"What are your qualifications?" + +Selma, standing there before this little old queen and this little old +housekeeper, was somewhat embarrassed, and a question like this did not +make her feel any more at her ease. She could not think what +qualifications she had. As she did not answer at once, the Queen Dowager +turned to the housekeeper and said: + +"Put down, 'Asked, but not given.'" + +The housekeeper set that down, and then she jumped up and looked over +the list of questions. + +"We must be careful," said she, in a whisper, to the Queen Dowager, +"what we ask her. It won't do to put all the questions to her. Suppose +you try number twenty-eight?" + +"All right," said Her Majesty; and, when the housekeeper had sat down +again by her book, she addressed Selma and asked: + +"Are you fond of children?" + +"Yes, ma'am," said Selma. + +"Good!" cried the Queen Dowager; "that is an admirable answer." + +And the housekeeper nodded and smiled at Selma, as if she was very much +pleased. + +"'Eighty-two' would be a good one to ask next," suggested the +housekeeper. + +Her Majesty looked for "Eighty-two," and read it out: + +"Do you like pie?" + +"Very much, ma'am," said Selma. + +"Capital! capital!" said Her Majesty. "That will do. I see no need of +asking her any other questions. Do you?" said she, turning to the +housekeeper. + +"None whatever," said the other. "She answered all but one, and that one +she didn't really miss." + +"There is no necessity for any further bother," said the Queen Dowager. +"She is engaged." + +And then she arose from the throne and left the room. + +"Now, my dear girl," said the housekeeper, "I will induct you into your +duties. They are simple." + +"But I should like to know," said Selma, "if I'm to stay here all the +time. I can't leave my father and mother----" + +"Oh! you wont have to do that," interrupted the housekeeper. "You will +take the Prince home with you." + +"Home with me?" exclaimed Selma. + +"Yes. It would be impossible for you to teach him properly here. We want +him taught Emergencies--that is, what to do in case of the various +emergencies which may arise. Nothing of the kind ever arises down here. +Everything goes on always in the usual way. But on the surface of the +earth, where he will often go, when he grows up, they are very common, +and you have been selected as a proper person to teach him what to do +when any of them occur to him. By the way, what are your terms?" + +"I don't know," said Selma. "Whatever you please." + +"That will suit very well,--very well indeed," said the housekeeper. "I +think you are the very person we want." + +"Thank you," said Selma; and just then a door opened and the Queen +Dowager put in her head. + +"Is she inducted?" she asked. + +"Yes," said the housekeeper. + +"Then here is the Prince," said the Queen Dowager, entering the room and +leading by the hand a young gnome about a foot high. He had on a ruffled +jacket and trousers, and a little peaked cap. His royal grandmother led +him to Selma. + +"You will take him," she said, "for a session of ten months. At the end +of that time we shall expect him to be thoroughly posted in emergencies. +While he is away, he will drop all his royal titles and be known as +Class 81, Q. His parents and I have taken leave of him. Good-bye!" + +And she left the room, with her little handkerchief to her eyes. + +"Now, then," said the housekeeper, "the sooner you are off, the better. +The bear is waiting." + +So saying, she hurried Selma and the Prince through the school-room, +and, when they opened the door, there stood the bear, all ready. Selma +mounted him, and the housekeeper handed up the Prince, first kissing +him good-bye. Then off they started. + +The Prince, or, as he must now be called, Class 81, Q, was a very quiet +and somewhat bashful little fellow; and, although Selma talked a good +deal to him, on the way, he did not say much. The bear carried them to +the edge of the woods, and then Selma took the little fellow in her arms +and ran home with him. + +It may well be supposed that the appearance of their daughter with the +young gnome in her arms greatly astonished the worthy cottagers, and +they were still more astonished when they heard her story. + +"You must do your best, my dear," said her mother, "and this may prove a +very good thing for you, as well as for this little master here." + +Selma promised to do as well as she could, and her father said he would +try and think of some good emergencies, so that the little fellow could +be well trained. + +Everybody seemed to be highly satisfied, even Class 81, Q, himself, who +sat cross-legged on a wooden chair surveying everything about him; but +when Jules Vatermann came home, he was very much dissatisfied, indeed. + +"Confound it!" he said, when he heard the story. "I should have done +all this. That should have been my pupil, and the good luck should have +been mine. The gnome-man came first to me, and, if he had waited a +minute, I should have thought of the right thing to do. I could teach +that youngster far better than you, Selma. What do you know about +emergencies?" + +Selma and her parents said nothing. Jules had been quite cross-grained +since the twenty-fifth of January, when he had met the gnome, and they +had learned to pay but little attention to his fault-finding and +complaining. + +The little gnome soon became quite at home in the cottage, and grew very +much attached to Selma. He was quiet, but sensible and bright, and knew +a great deal more than most children of five. Selma did not have many +opportunities to educate him in her peculiar branch. Very commonplace +things generally happened in the cottage. + +One day, however, the young gnome was playing with the cat, and began to +pull his tail. The cat, not liking this, began to scratch Class 81, Q. +At this, the little fellow cried and yelled, while the cat scratched all +the more fiercely. But Selma, who ran into the room on hearing the +noise, was equal to the emergency. She called out, instantly: + +"Let go of his tail!" + +The gnome let go, and the cat bounded away. + +The lesson of this incident was then carefully impressed on her pupil's +mind by Selma, who now thought that she had at last begun to do her +duty by him. + +A day or two after this, Selma was sent by her mother on an errand to +the nearest village. As it would be dark before she returned, she did +not take the little gnome with her. About sunset, when Jules Vatermann +returned from his work, he found the youngster playing by himself in the +kitchen. + +Instantly, a wicked thought rushed into the mind of Jules. Snatching up +the young gnome, he ran off with him as fast as he could go. As he ran, +he thought to himself: + +"Now is my chance. I know what to do, this time. I'll just keep this +young rascal and make his people pay me a pretty sum for his ransom. +I'll take him to the city, where the gnomes never go, and leave him +there, in safe hands, while I come back and make terms. Good for you, at +last, Jules!" + +So, on he hurried, as fast as he could go. The road soon led him into a +wood, and he had to go more slowly. Poor little Class 81, Q, cried and +besought Jules to let him go, but the hard-hearted wood-cutter paid no +attention to his distress. + +Suddenly, Jules stopped. He heard something, and then he saw something. +He began to tremble. A great bear was coming along the road, directly +toward him! + +What should he do? He could not meet that dreadful creature. He +hesitated but a moment. The bear was now quite near, and, at the first +growl it gave, Jules dropped the young gnome, and turned and ran away at +the top of his speed. The bear started to run after him, not noticing +little Class 81, Q, who was standing in the road; but as he passed the +little fellow, who had never seen any bear except the tame one which +belonged to the gnomes, and who thought this animal was his old friend, +he seized him by the long hair on his legs and began to climb up on his +back. + +The bear, feeling some strange creature on him, stopped and looked back. +The moment the young gnome saw the fiery eyes and the glittering teeth +of the beast, he knew that he had made a mistake; this was no tame bear. + +The savage beast growled, and, reaching back as far as he could, snapped +at the little fellow on his back, who quickly got over on the other +side. Then the bear reached back on that side, and Class 81, Q, was +obliged to slip over again. The bear became very angry, and turned +around and around in his efforts to get at the young gnome, who was +nearly frightened to death. He could not think what in the world he +should do. He could only remember that, in a great emergency,--but not +quite as bad a one as this,--his teacher had come to his aid with the +counsel, "Let go of his tail." He would gladly let go of the bear's +tail, but the bear had none--at least, none that he could see. So what +was he to do? "Let go of his tail!" cried the poor little fellow, to +himself. "Oh, if he only had a tail!" + +Before long, the bear himself began to be frightened. This was something +entirely out of the common run of things. Never before in his life had +he met with a little creature who stuck to him like that. He did not +know what might happen next, and so he ran as hard as he could go toward +his cave. Perhaps his wife, the old mother-bear, might be able to get +this thing off. Away he dashed, and, turning sharply around a corner, +little Class 81, Q, was jolted off, and was glad enough to find himself +on the ground, with the bear running away through the woods. + +The little fellow rubbed his knees and elbows, and, finding that he was +not at all hurt, set off to find the cottage of his friend Selma, as +well as he could. He had no idea which way to go, for the bear had +turned around and around so often that he had become quite bewildered. +However, he resolved to trudge along, hoping to meet some one who could +tell him how to go back to Selma. + +After a while, the moon rose, and then he could see a little better; but +it was still quite dark in the woods, and he was beginning to be very +tired, when he heard a noise as if some one was talking. He went toward +the voice, and soon saw a man sitting on a rock by the road-side. + +When he came nearer, he saw that the man was Jules, who was wailing and +moaning and upbraiding himself. + +"Ah me!" said the conscience-stricken wood-cutter, "Ah me! I am a wretch +indeed. I have given myself up into the power of the Evil One. Not only +did I steal that child from his home, and from the good people who have +always befriended me, but I have left him to be devoured by a wild beast +of the forest. Whatever shall I do? Satan himself has got me in his +power, through my own covetousness and greed. How--oh! how--can I ever +get away from him?" + +The little gnome had now approached quite close to Jules, and, running +up to him, he said: + +"Let go of his tail!" + +If the advice was good for him in an emergency, it might be good for +others. + +Jules started to his feet and stood staring at the youngster he had +thought devoured. + +"Whoever would have supposed," said he, at last, "that a little heathen +midget like that, born underground, like a mole, would ever come to me +and tell me my Christian duty. And he's right, too. Satan would never +have got hold of me if I hadn't been holding to him all these months, +hoping to get some good by it. I'll do it, my boy. I'll let go of his +tail, now and forever." And, without thinking to ask Class 81, Q, how he +got away from the bear, he took him up in his arms and ran home as fast +as he could go. + +During the rest of the young gnome's stay with Selma, he had several +other good bits of advice in regard to emergencies, but none that was of +such general application as this counsel to let go of a cat's tail, or +the tail of anything else that was giving him trouble. + +At the expiration of the session, the Queen Dowager was charmed with the +improvement in her grandson. Having examined him in regard to his +studies, she felt sure that he was now perfectly able to take care of +himself in any emergency that might occur to him. + +On the morning after he left, Selma, when she awoke, saw lying on the +floor the little jacket and trousers of her late pupil. At first, she +thought it was the little fellow himself; but when she jumped up and +took hold of the clothes, she could not move them. They were filled with +gold. + +This was the pay for the tuition of Class 81, Q. + + + + +CHURNING. + +BY SARA KEABLES HUNT. + + +[Illustration] + + I'm such an unfortunate dog, oh, dear! + To leave my nap and the sunshine clear, + And down in the cellar--the cold dark place-- + I must turn my steps and sorrowful face, + And begin the daily churning. + + To be sure, I've enough to eat, you know, + And I can rest while the men must mow; + But oh! how I'd like to hide away + When I hear them come to the door and say: + "It's time for the dog to be churning!" + + So here I tread, and the wheel goes round, + And the dasher comes down with a weary sound; + But after awhile the butter is done, + Then off I go to some richer fun + Than this weary, dreary churning. + + There's a lesson, though, in this work of mine, + That thou, little one, may'st take to be thine: + We each have our duties, both great and small, + And, if we want butter for bread at all, + Some one must do the churning. + + And then, again, I think that this life, + With its tread-mill of duties, joy and strife, + Is like to a churn. Press on! Press on! + For by and by the work will be done,-- + With no more need of churning. + + + + +THE MOON, FROM A FROG'S POINT OF VIEW. + +BY FLETA FORRESTER. + + +Miss Frog sat, in the cool of the evening, under a plantain-leaf, by the +side of her blue and placid lake. + +The day had been excessively warm, and so, as she sat, she gracefully +waved, backward and forward, one of her delicate web feet. + +It was a beautiful, natural fan, and served, admirably, the purpose +intended. + +Around Miss Frog arose the varied warble of other frogs. The little +polliwogs had all been put to bed; and now, came stealing on, the season +for silent thoughts. Always anxious to improve her mind, Miss Frog gazed +about her to find a subject on which to fasten her attention. + +She had been once sent to a southern lake to finish her education, and +was really quite superior to ordinary frogs. + +"There is no one here, in this mud-hole, to appreciate me," she +regretfully sighed, as two silly frogs passed her leaf, flirting so hard +that neither of them observed her. + +She drew around her her shawl of lace, made from the finest cobwebs of +Florida--and sulked. + +Just then arose the moon, taking its solitary, silvery way across the +sky. + +Her attention was arrested at once. + +"How like to a polliwog it is!" she rapturously exclaimed, "save that it +lacks a tail." + +"And a glorified polliwog it is, daughter of the water!" croaked a +sudden hoarse voice beside her. + +She hopped with fright, and gasped as if about to faint; but calmed +herself again as she recognized the tones of the rough-skinned Sage of +the Frogs, who dwells alone in some remote corner of the lake. He it is +who always sings, "Kerdunk!" when he condescends to sing at all. + +This learned hermit, after clearing his throat repeatedly, thus +explained himself: + +"There is a legend, connected with our race, that runs in this wise:" + + * * * * * + +"Ahem!" + +Upon a time, in a certain valley, where once flowed a considerable +stream, the waters suddenly failed and the stream died away. + +Upon the unfortunate frogs who dwelt there, in vast numbers, the hot +summer sun shone its fiercest rays unhindered. + + * * * * * + +"Dreadful!" piped Miss Frog. + +"Yes, it did!" said the Sage, reproachfully, "and if you wish to hear +this story, you must be careful not to interrupt me again, thoughtless +girl!" + +As Miss Frog was very desirous, indeed, of hearing the story, she +remained quiet, and the hermit frog continued: + + * * * * * + +The waters dried away, and hundreds of wretched frogs died on those +scorching fields. Dying fishes gasped with their last breath for a drop +of cool water, and joined their wails to those of our suffering kindred. + +At length, one old trout, who had held out to the last, confessed: + +"Miserable I! and wicked! _I_ have caused this drouth! And now I have no +power to remedy the evil I have done!" + +At this, all of the frogs who were not yet dead gathered around the +tough old trout, and listened to his words. + +"That was an evil day," gasped the speckled sinner, "when I poked my +nose out of water to dare a saucy kingfisher, who was mocking the whole +fish tribe in his usual dashing manner. 'Catch me, if you can!' I cried, +darting about at my ease. + +"But the bird beguiled me. He made me believe that, if I would only work +a little hole through that dam there, I could descend with the escaping +waters to the stream below, and make my way to the sea, where, as I +heard, the fishes were all kings, and ate nothing but diamonds for +dinner. + +[Illustration: "OH-H-H! BOO-HOO-HOO!"] + +"I enticed all the trout that I could influence to assist me, and we +wriggled and wriggled our noses into the gravel for a long time, +apparently to no purpose. + +"But, at last, a little leak started, and our water dripped away, drop +by drop; but not in sufficient volume to carry us with it. + +"When the waters had receded, so as to make the stream very low, back +came that artful kingfisher, to dive for us in the shallow pools. + +"And now, what the drouth had not destroyed that tempter has gorged +himself upon. + +"'Oh-h-h! Boo-hoo-hoo!'" + +The frogs freely forgave him because he cried. + +But the problem remained, how was the supply of water to be renewed. + +At this juncture, an earnest, meek-eyed polliwog flopped feebly, and +said: "Show me the place where these waters leak away." + +Astonished at her manner, the sobbing trout indicated the spot. + +[Illustration: THE TADPOLE TO THE RESCUE.] + +"Drag me thither by my tail!" exclaimed the heroine, resolutely. + +Then the frogs used their last remaining strength to do as she bade +them, and waited, in exhausted surprise, to see what would happen next. + +"Good-bye!" wept the brave little polliwog, wriggling with feeling, and +groaning some. "If any of you survive me, tell it to your children that +I laid myself in the breach!" + +With these few farewell words she crowded herself into the hole, out of +their sight. + +Presently, the stream began to rise and the pools to fill up. The frogs +sat knee-deep in water, and the fishes swam upon their sides. + +[Illustration: "IN THE SKY."] + +Day by day things improved, and the fishes began to sit up in bed, while +the frogs were heard incessantly blessing the little polliwog. One +night, she appeared to them in the sky, as you see her to-night; +returning nightly, for many nights, to beam at them; growing larger and +brighter at every appearance. + + * * * * * + +"Such," said the Sage, concluding, "is our Legend of the Moon!" And he +leaped into the waves with a resounding plump! + +Miss Frog felt so many different sensations at once that she dropped her +lower jaw involuntarily, and sat so, unconscious of aught until awakened +from her reverie by a cricket jumping suddenly into her throat. + +Hastily gulping him down, she gathered her shawl about her, and, with a +spring, sprawled graciously toward her wave. + + + + +DAB KINZER: A STORY OF A GROWING BOY. + +BY WILLIAM O. STODDARD. + + +CHAPTER IX. + +Ham Morris was a thoughtful and kind-hearted fellow, beyond a doubt, and +a valuable friend for a growing boy like Dab Kinzer. It is not +everybody's brother-in-law who would find time, during his wedding trip, +to hunt up even so very pretty a New England village as Grantley, and +inquire into questions of board and lodging and schooling. + +Mrs. Myers, to the hospitalities of whose cool and roomy-looking +boarding-house Ham had been commended by Mr. Hart, was so crowded with +"summer boarders," liberally advertised for in the great city, that she +hardly had a corner for Ham and his bride. She was glad enough that she +had made the effort to find one, however, when she learned what was the +nature of the stranger's business. There was a look of undisguised +astonishment on the faces of the regular guests, all around, when they +gathered for the next meal. It happened to be supper, but they all +looked at the table and then at one another; and it was a pity Ham and +Miranda did not understand those glances, or make a longer visit. They +might have learned more about Mrs. Myers if not the Academy. As it was, +they only gained a very high opinion of her cookery and hospitality, as +well as an increase of respect for the "institution of learning," and +for that excellent gentleman, Mr. Hart, with a dim hope that Dabney +Kinzer might enjoy the inestimable advantages offered by Grantley and +Mrs. Myers, and the society of Mr. Hart's two wonderful boys. + +Miranda was inclined to stand up for her brother, somewhat, but finally +agreed with Ham that-- + +"What Dabney needs is schooling and polish, my dear. It'll be good for +him to board in the same house with two such complete young gentlemen." + +"Of course, Ham. And then he'll be sure of having plenty to eat. There +was almost too much on the table." + +"Not if the boarders had all been boys of Dab's age and appetite. Mrs. +Myers is evidently accustomed to them, I should say." + +So she was, indeed, as all the summer boarders were ready to testify at +the next morning's breakfast-table. There was one thing, among others, +that Mrs. Myers failed to tell Mr. and Mrs. Morris. She forgot to say +that the house she lived in, with the outlying farm belonging to it and +nearly all the things in it, were the property of Mr. Joseph Hart, +having cost that gentleman very little more than a sharp lawsuit. +Neither did she say a word about how long or short a time Mr. Hart had +given her to pay him his price for it. All that would have been none of +Ham's business or Miranda's. Still, it might have had its importance. + +So it might, if either or both of them could have been at the +breakfast-table of the Hart homestead the morning after Annie Foster's +sudden departure. The table was there with the breakfast things on it, +and husband and wife, one at either end, as usual; but the side-seats +were vacant. + +"Where are Joe and Foster, Maria?" asked Mr. Hart. + +"Gone on some errand of their own, I think. Something about Annie." + +"About Annie! Look here, Maria, if Annie can't take a joke----" + +"So I say," began his wife; but just then a loud voice sounded in the +entry, and the two boys came in and took their places at the table. In a +moment more "Fuz" whispered to his brother: + +"I'm glad Annie's gone, for one. She was too stiff and steep for any +kind of comfort." + +"Boys," said Mr. Hart, observing them, "what have you been up to now? +I'm afraid there wont be much comfort for anybody till you fellows get +back to Grantley." + +"Well," replied Joe, "so we didn't have to board at Mother Myers', I +wouldn't care how soon we go." + +"Well, your cousin is sure to go, and I'm almost certain of another boy +besides the missionary's son. That'll fill up Mrs. Myers' house, and you +can board somewhere else." + +"Hurrah for that!" exclaimed the young gentleman whose name, from that +of his lawyer relative, had been shortened to mere "Fuz." And yet they +were not so bad-looking a pair, as boys go. The elder, Joe,--a loud, +hoarse-voiced, black-eyed boy of seventeen,--was, nevertheless, not much +taller than his younger brother. The latter was as dark in eyes and hair +as Joe, but paler, and with a sidewise glance of his unpleasant eyes, +which suggested a perpetual state of inquiry whether anybody else had +anything he wanted. The two boys were the very sort to play the meanest +kind of practical jokes, and yet there was something of a resemblance +between their mother and her sister, the mother of Ford and Annie +Foster. There's really no accounting for some things, and the two Hart +boys were, as yet, among the unaccountables. + +Not one of that whole list of boys, however, inland or on the sea-shore, +had any notion whatever of what things the future was getting ready for +them. Dab Kinzer and Ford Foster, particularly, had no idea that the +world contained such a place as Grantley, or such a landlady as Mrs. +Myers. + +As for Dabney, it would hardly be fair to leave him standing there any +longer, with his two strings of fish in his hands, while Ford Foster +volubly narrated the stirring events of the day. + +"Are you sure the black boy was not hurt, Ford?" asked his kind-hearted +mother. + +"Hurt, mother? Why, he seems to be a kind of fish. They all know him, +and went right past my hook to his all the while." + +"Dear me!" exclaimed Mrs. Foster, "I forgot. Annie, this is Ford's +friend, Dabney Kinzer, our neighbor." + +"Wont you shake hands with me, Mr. Kinzer?" asked Annie, with a +malicious twinkle of fun in her merry blue eyes. + +Poor Dabney! He had been in quite a "state of mind" for at least three +minutes; but he would hardly have been his own mother's son if he had +let himself be entirely "posed." Up rose his long right arm with the +heavy string of fish at the end of it, and Annie's fun burst out into a +musical laugh, just as her brother exclaimed: + +"There, now, I'd like to see the other boy of your size can do that. +Look here, Dab, where'd you get your training?" + +"I mustn't drop the fish, you see," began Dab, but Ford interrupted him +with: + +"No, indeed. You've given me half I've got, as it is. Annie, have you +looked at the crabs? You ought to have seen Dick Lee with a lot of 'em +gripping in his hair." + +"In his hair?" + +"When he was down through the bottom of his boat. They'd have eaten him +up if they'd had a chance. You see he's no shell on him." + +"Exactly," said Annie, as Dab lowered his fish. "Well, Dabney, I wish +you would thank your mother for sending my trunk over. Your sisters, +too. I've no doubt we shall be very neighborly." + +It was wonderfully pleasant to be called by his first name, and yet it +seemed to bring something into Dabney Kinzer's throat. + +"She considers me a boy, and she means I'd better take my fish home," +was the thought which came to him, and he was right to a fraction. So +the great lump in his throat took a very wayward and boyish form, and +came out as a reply, accompanied by a low bow. + +"I will, thank you. Good afternoon, Mrs. Foster. I'll see you to-night, +Ford, about Monday and the yacht. Good afternoon, Annie." + +And then he marched out with his fish. + +"Mother, did you hear him call me 'Annie?'" + +"Yes; and I heard you call him 'Dabney.'" + +"But he's only a boy----" + +"I don't care!" exclaimed Ford, "he's an odd fellow, but he's a good +one. Did you see how wonderfully strong he is in his arms? I couldn't +lift those fish at arm's length to save my life." + +It was quite likely that Dab Kinzer's rowing, and all that sort of +thing, had developed more strength of muscle than even he himself was +aware of; but, for all that, he went home with his very ears tingling, +"Could she have thought me ill-bred or impertinent?" he muttered to +himself. + +Thought? + +Poor Dab Kinzer! Annie Foster had so much else to think of, just then, +for she was compelled to go over, for Ford's benefit, the whole story of +her tribulations at her uncle's, and the many rudenesses of Joe Hart and +his brother Fuz. + +"They ought to be drowned," said Ford. + +"In ink," added Annie; "just as they drowned my poor cuffs and collars." + + +CHAPTER X. + +"Look at Dabney Kinzer," whispered Jenny Walters to her mother, in +church, the next morning. "Did you ever see anybody's hair as smooth as +that?" + +And smooth it was, certainly; and he looked, all over, as if he had +given all the care in the world to his personal appearance. How was +Annie Foster to guess that he had got himself up so unusually on her +account? She did not guess it; but when she met him at the church door, +after service, she was careful to address him as "Mr. Kinzer," and that +made poor Dabney blush to his very eyes. + +"There!" he exclaimed; "I know it." + +"Know what?" asked Annie. + +"Know what you're thinking." + +"Do you, indeed?" + +"Yes, you think I'm like the crabs." + +"What _do_ you mean?" + +[Illustration: GOING THROUGH THE BREAKERS. [SEE PAGE 683.]] + +"You think I was green enough till you spoke to me, and now I'm boiled +red in the face." + +Annie could not help laughing,--a little, quiet, Sunday morning sort of +a laugh,--but she was beginning to think her brother's friend was not a +bad specimen of a Long Island "country boy." Ford, indeed, had come +home, the previous evening, from a long conference with Dab, brimful of +the proposed yachting cruise, and his father had freely given his +consent, much against the will of Mrs. Foster. + +"My dear," said the lawyer, "I feel sure a woman of Mrs. Kinzer's good +sense would not permit her son to go out in that way if she did not feel +safe about him. He's been brought up to it, you know, and so has the +colored boy who is to go with them." + +"Yes, mother," argued Ford, "there isn't half the danger there is in +driving around New York in a carriage." + +"There might be a storm." + +"The horses might run away." + +"Or you might upset." + +"So might a carriage." + +But the end of it all was that Ford was to go, and Annie was more than +half sorry she could not go with him. She said so to Dabney, as soon as +her little laugh was ended, that Sunday morning. + +"Some time or other, I'd be glad to have you," replied Dab, "but not +this trip." + +"Why not?" + +"We mean to go right across the bay and try some fishing." + +"Couldn't I fish?" + +"Well, no. I don't think you could." + +"Why couldn't I?" + +"Because,--well, because you'd most likely be too sea-sick by the time +we got there." + +Just then a low, clear voice, behind Dabney, quietly remarked: "How +smooth his hair is!" And Dab's face turned red again. Annie Foster heard +it as distinctly as he did, and she walked right away with her mother, +for fear she should laugh again. + +"It's my own hair, Jenny Walters," said Dab, almost savagely. + +"I should hope it was." + +"I should like to know what you go to church for, anyhow?" + +"To hear people talk about sailing and fishing. How much do you s'pose a +young lady like Miss Foster cares about small boys?" + +"Or little girls either? Not much; but Annie and I mean to have a good +sail before long." + +"Annie and I!" + +Jenny's pert little nose seemed to turn up more than ever as she walked +away, for she had not beaten her old playfellow quite as badly as usual. +There were several sharp things on the very tip of her tongue, but she +was too much put out and vexed to try to say them just then. As for +Dabney, a "sail" was not so wonderful a thing for him, and that Sunday +was therefore a good deal like all others; but Ford Foster's mind was in +a sort of turmoil all day. In fact, just after tea, that evening, his +father asked him: + +"What book is that you are reading, Ford?" + +"Captain Cook's 'Voyages.'" + +"And the other in your lap?" + +"'Robinson Crusoe.'" + +"Well, you might have worse books than they are, even for Sunday, that's +a fact, though you ought to have better; but which of them do you and +Dabney Kinzer mean to imitate to-morrow?" + +"Crusoe," promptly responded Ford. + +"I see. And so you've got Dick Lee to go along as your Man-Friday." + +"He's Dab's man, not mine." + +"Oh, and you mean to be Crusoe number two? Well, don't get cast away on +too desolate an island, that's all." + +Ford slipped into the library and put the books away. It had been +Samantha Kinzer's room, and had plenty of shelves, in addition to the +very elegant "cases" Mr. Foster had brought from the city with him. + +The next morning, within half an hour after breakfast, every member of +the two families was down at the landing to see their young sailors make +their start, and they were all compelled to admit that Dab and Dick +seemed to know precisely what they were about. As for Ford, that young +gentleman was wise enough, with all those eyes watching him, not to try +anything he was not sure of, though he explained that "Dab is captain, +Annie, you know. I'm under his orders to-day." + +Dick Lee was hardly the wisest fellow in the world, for he added, very +encouragingly: "An' you's doin' tip-top for a green hand, you is." + +The wind was blowing right off shore, and did not seem to promise +anything more than a smart breeze. It was easy enough to handle the +little craft in the inlet, and in a marvelously short time she was +dancing out upon the blue waves of the spreading "bay." It was a good +deal more like a land-locked "sound" than any sort of a bay, with that +long, low, narrow sand-island cutting it off from the ocean. + +"I don't wonder Ham Morris called her the 'Swallow,'" remarked Ford. +"How she skims! Can you get in under the deck, there, forward? That's +the cabin?" + +"Yes, that's the cabin," replied Dab; "but Ham had the door put in with +a slide, water-tight. It's fitted with rubber. We can put our things in +there, but it's too small for anything else." + +"What's it made so tight for?" + +"Oh, Ham says he's made his yacht a life-boat. Those places at the sides +and under the seats are all air-tight. She might capsize, but she'd +never sink. Don't you see?" + +"I see. How it blows!" + +"It's a little fresh. How'd you like to be wrecked?" + +"Good fun," said Ford. "I got wrecked on the cars the other day." + +"On the cars?" + +"Why, yes. I forgot to tell you about that." + +And then followed a very vivid and graphic description of the sad fate +of the pig and the locomotive. The wonder was how Ford should have +failed to tell it before. No such failure would have been possible if +his head and tongue had not been so wonderfully busy about so many other +things ever since his arrival. + +"I'm glad it was I instead of Annie," he said, at length. + +"Of course. Didn't you tell me your sister came through all alone?" + +"Yes; she ran away from those cousins of mine. Oh, wont I pay them off +when I get to Grantley!" + +"Where's that? What did they do?" + +The "Swallow" was flying along nicely now, with Dab at the tiller and +Dick Lee tending sail, and Dab could listen with all his ears to Ford +Foster's account of his sister's tribulations. + +"Aint they older and bigger than you?" asked Dabney, as Ford closed his +recital. "What can you do with two of 'em?" + +"They can't box worth a cent, and I can. Anyhow, I mean to teach them +better manners." + +"You can box?" + +"Had a splendid teacher." + +"Will you show me how, when we get back?" + +"We can practice all we choose. I've two pair of gloves." + +"Hurrah for that! Ease her, Dick! It's blowing pretty fresh. We'll have +a tough time tacking home against such a breeze as this. May be it'll +change before night." + +"Capt'in Dab," calmly remarked Dick, "we's on'y a mile to run." + +"Well, what of it?" + +"Is you goin' fo' de inlet?" + +"Of course. What else can we do? That's what we started for." + +"Looks kind o' dirty, dat's all." + +So far as Ford could see, both the sky and the water looked clean +enough, but Dick was right about the weather. In fact, if Captain Dabney +Kinzer had been a more experienced and prudent seaman, he would have +kept the "Swallow" inside the bar, that day, at any risk of Ford +Foster's good opinion. As it was, even Dick Lee's keen eyes hardly +comprehended how threatening was the foggy haze that was lying low on +the water, miles and miles away to seaward. + +It was magnificently exciting fun, at all events, and the "Swallow" +fully merited all that had been said in her favor. The "mile to run" was +a very short one, and it seemed to Ford Foster that the end of it would +bring them up high and dry on the sandy beach. + +The narrow "strait" of the inlet was hardly visible at any considerable +distance. It opened to view, however, as they drew near, and Dab Kinzer +rose higher than ever in his friend's good opinion as the swift little +vessel shot unerringly into the contracted channel. + +"Pretty near where we're to try our fishing, aint we?" he asked. + +"Just outside, there. Get ready, Dick. Sharp now!" + +And then, in another minute, the white sails were down, jib and main, +the "Swallow" was drifting along under "bare poles," and Dick Lee and +Ford were waiting for orders to drop the grapnel. + +"Heave!" + +Over went the iron. + +"Now for some weak-fish. It's about three fathoms, and the tide's near +the turn." + +Alas for human calculations! The grapnel caught on the bottom, surely +and firmly; but the moment there came any strain on the seemingly stout +hawser that held it, the latter parted like a thread, and the "Swallow" +was adrift! + +"Somebody's done gone cut dat rope!" shouted Dick, as he caught up the +treacherous bit of hemp. + +There was an anxious look on Dab's face for a moment, as he shouted: +"Sharp now, boys, or we'll be rolling in the surf in three minutes! Haul +away, Dick! Haul with him, Ford! Up with her! There, that'll give us +headway." + +Ford Foster looked out to seaward, even as he hauled his best on the +sail halliards. All along the line of the coast, at distances varying +from a hundred yards or so to nearly a mile, there was an irregular line +of foaming breakers. An awful thing for a boat like the "Swallow" to run +into. + +Perhaps; but ten times worse for a larger craft, for the latter would be +shattered on the shoals where the bit of a yacht would find plenty of +water under her, if she did not at the same time find too much _over_ +her. + +"Can't we go back through the inlet in the bar?" asked Ford. + +"Not with this wind in our teeth, and it's getting worse every minute. +No more will it do to try and keep inside the surf." + +"What can we do, then?" + +"Take the smoothest places and run 'em. The sea isn't very rough +outside. It's our only chance." + +Poor Ford Foster's heart sank within him, but he saw a resolute look on +"Captain Kinzer's" face which gave him a little confidence, and he +turned to look at the surf. The only way for the "Swallow" to penetrate +that dangerous barrier of broken water was to "take it nose on," as Dick +Lee expressed it, and that was clearly what Dab Kinzer intended. + +There were places of comparative smoothness, here and there, in the +foaming and plunging line, but they were bad enough, at the best, and +would have been a great deal worse but for that stiff breeze off shore. + +Bows foremost, full sail, rising like a cork on the long, strong +billows, which would have rolled her over and over if she had not been +really so skillfully handled,--once or twice pitching dangerously, and +shipping water enough to wet her brave young mariners to the skin, and +call for vigorous baling afterward,--the "Swallow" battled gallantly +with her danger for a few minutes, and then Dab Kinzer shouted: + +"Hurrah, boys! We're out at sea!" + +"Dat's so," said Dick. + +"So it is," remarked Ford, a little gloomily; "but how will we ever get +ashore again?" + +"Well," replied Dab, "if it doesn't come on to blow too hard, we'll run +right on down the coast. If the wind lulled, or whopped around a little, +we'd find our way in, easy enough, long before night. We might have a +tough time beating home across the bay. Anyhow, we're safe enough now." + +"How about fishing?" + +"Guess we wont bother 'em much, but you might try for a blue fish. +Sometimes they're capital fun, right along here." + + +CHAPTER XI. + +There's no telling how many anxious people there may have been in that +region, after tea-time that evening, but of two or three circles we may +be reasonably sure. Good Mrs. Foster could not endure to stay at home, +and her husband and Annie were very willing to go over to the Kinzers' +with her, and listen to the encouraging talk of Dabney's stout-hearted +and sensible mother. + +"O, Mrs. Kinzer, do you think they are in any danger?" + +"I hope not. I don't see why they need be, unless they try to return +across the bay against this wind." + +"But don't you think they'll try? Do you mean they wont be home +to-night?" exclaimed Mr. Foster, himself. + +"I sincerely hope not," said the widow, calmly. "I should hardly feel +like trusting Dabney out in the boat again if he should do so foolish a +thing." + +"But where can he stay?" + +"At anchor, somewhere, or on the island. Almost anywhere but tacking on +the bay. He'd be really safer out at sea than trying to get home." + +"Out at sea!" + +There was something dreadful in the very idea of it, and Annie Foster +turned pale enough when she thought of the gay little yacht, and her +brother out on the broad Atlantic in it, with no better crew than Dab +Kinzer and Dick Lee. Samantha and her sisters were hardly as steady +about it as their mother, but they were careful to conceal their +misgivings from their neighbors, which was very kindly, indeed, in the +circumstances. + +There was little use in trying to think or talk of anything else besides +the boys, however, with the sound of the "high wind" in the trees out by +the road-side, and a very anxious circle was that, up to the late hour +at which the members of it separated for the night. + +But there were other troubled hearts in that vicinity. Old Bill Lee +himself had been out fishing, all day, with very poor luck; but he +forgot all about that when he learned that Dick and his young white +friends had not returned. He even pulled back to the mouth of the inlet, +to see if the gathering darkness would yield him any signs of his boy. +He did not know it; but, while he was gone, Dick's mother, after +discussing her anxieties with some of her dark-skinned neighbors, half +weepingly unlocked her one "clothes-press," and took out the suit which +had been the pride of her absent son. She had never admired them half as +much before, but they seemed to need a red neck-tie to set them off; and +so the gorgeous result of Dick's fishing and trading came out of its +hiding-place, and was arranged on the white coverlet of her own bed with +the rest of his best garments. + +"Jus' de t'ing for a handsome young feller like Dick," she muttered to +herself: + +"Wot for'd an ole woman like me want to put on any sech fool finery. +He's de bestest boy in de worl', he is. Dat is, onless dar aint not'in' +happened to 'im." + +But if the folks on shore were uneasy about the "Swallow" and her crew, +how was it with the latter themselves, as the darkness closed around +them, out there upon the tossing water? + +Very cool, indeed, had been Captain Dab Kinzer, and he had encouraged +the others to go on with their blue-fishing, even when it was pretty +tough work to keep the "Swallow" from "scudding." He was anxious not to +get too far from shore, for there was no telling what sort of weather +might be coming. It was curious, too, what very remarkable luck they +had, or rather, Ford and Dick; for Dab would not leave the tiller a +moment. Splendid fellows were those blue-fish, and work it was to pull +in the heaviest of them. That's just the sort of weather they bite best +in; but it is not often such young fishermen venture to take advantage +of it. Only the stanchest and best-seasoned old salts of Montauk or New +London would have felt altogether at home, that afternoon, in the +"Swallow." + +"Don't fish any more," said Dabney, at last. "You've caught ten times as +many as we ever thought of catching. Whoppers, too, some of 'em." + +"Biggest fishing ever I did," remarked Ford, as if that meant a great +deal. + +"Or mos' anybody else out dis yer way," added Dick. "I isn't 'shamed to +show dem fish anywhar." + +"No more I aint," said Dab; "but you're getting too tired, and so am I. +We must have a good hearty lunch, and put the "Swallow" before the wind +for a while. I daren't risk any more of these cross-seas. We might get +pitched over any minute." + +"Dat's so," said Dick. "And I's awful hungry." + +The "Swallow" was well enough provisioned, not to speak of the +blue-fish, and there was water enough on board for several days, if they +should happen to need it; but there was very little danger of that, +unless the wind should continue to be altogether against them. + +It was blowing hard when the boys finished their dinner, but no harder +than it had already blown, several times, that day, and the "Swallow" +seemed to be putting forth her very best qualities as a "sea-boat." No +immediate danger, apparently; but there was one "symptom" which Dab +discerned, as he glanced around the horizon, which gave him more +anxiety than either the stiff breeze or the rough sea. + +The coming darkness? + +No; for stars and light-houses can be seen at night, and steering is +easy enough by them. + +A fog is the darkest thing at sea, whether by night or day, and Dabney +saw signs of one coming. Rain might come with it, but that would be of +small account. + +"Boys," said Dabney, "do you know we're out of sight of land at last?" + +"Oh no, we're not," replied Ford, confidently; "look yonder." + +"That isn't land, Ford; that's only a fog-bank, and we shall be all in +the dark in ten minutes. The wind is changing, too, and I hardly know +where we are." + +"Look at your compass." + +"That tells me the wind is changing a little, and it's going down; but I +wouldn't dare to run toward the shore in a fog and in the night." + +"Why not?" + +"Why? Don't you remember those breakers? Would you like to be blown +through them, and not see where you were going?" + +"No," said Ford. "I rather guess I wouldn't." + +"Jest you let Capt'in Kinzer handle dis yer boat," almost crustily, +interposed Dick Lee. "He's de on'y feller on board dat un'erstands +nagivation." + +"Shouldn't wonder if you're right," said Ford, good humoredly. "At all +events I sha'n't interfere. But, Dab, what do you mean to do?" + +"Swing a lantern at the mast-head and sail right along. You and Dick get +a nap, by and by, if you can. I wont try to sleep till daylight." + +"Sleep! Catch me sleeping!" + +"You must, and so must Dick, when the time comes. Wont do to get all +worn out together. Who'd handle the boat?" + +Ford's respect for Dabney Kinzer was growing, hourly. Here was this +overgrown gawk of a green country boy, just out of his roundabouts, who +had never spent more than a day at a time in the great city, and never +lived in any kind of a boarding-house: in fact, here was a fellow who +had had no advantages whatever, coming out as a sort of a hero. Even +Ford did not quite understand it, Dab was so quiet and matter-of-course +about it all; and as for the youngster himself, he had no idea that he +was behaving any better than any other boy could, should and would have +behaved, in those very peculiar circumstances. + +At all events, however, the gay and buoyant little "Swallow," with her +signal-lantern swinging at her mast-head, was soon dancing away through +the deepening darkness and the fog, and her steady young commander was +congratulating himself that there seemed to be a good deal less of wind +and sea, even if more of mist. + +"I couldn't expect everything to suit me," he said to himself. "And now +I hope we sha'n't run down anybody. Hullo! Isn't that a red light, +though the haze, yonder?" + + +CHAPTER XII. + +There was yet another "gathering" of human beings on the wind-swept +surface of the Atlantic, that evening, to whose minds it had come with +no small degree of anxiety. Not, perhaps, as great as that of the three +families over there on the shore of the bay, or even of the boys, +tossing along in their bubble of a yacht; but the officers, and not a +few of the passengers and crew, of the great, iron-builded ocean +steamer, were anything but easy in their minds. + +Had they no pilot on board? To be sure they had, but they had, somehow, +seemed to bring that fog along with them, and the captain had a +half-defined suspicion that neither he nor the pilot knew exactly where +they were. That is a bad condition for a great ship to be in, and that, +too, so near a coast which requires good seamanship and skillful +pilotage in the best of weather. Not that the captain would have +confessed his doubt to the pilot, or the pilot to the captain, and that +was where the real danger lay. If they could only have permitted +themselves to speak of their possible peril, it would probably have +disappeared. + +The steamer was French and her captain a French naval officer, and very +likely he and the pilot did not understand each other any too well. That +speed should be lessened, under the circumstances, was a matter of +course; but not to have gone on at all would have been even wiser. Not +to speak of the shore they were nearing, they might be sure they were +not the only craft steaming or sailing over those busy waters, and +vessels have sometimes run against one another in a fog as thick as +that. Something could be done in that direction, and lanterns with +bright colors were freely swung out; but the fog was likely to diminish +their usefulness, somewhat. None of the passengers were in a mood to go +to bed, with the end of their voyage so near, and they seemed, one and +all, disposed to discuss the fog. All but one, and he a boy. + +A boy of about Dab Kinzer's age, slender and delicate looking, with +curly, light-brown hair, blue eyes, and a complexion which would have +been fair but for the traces it bore of a hotter sun than that of either +France or America. He seemed to be all alone, and to be feeling very +lonely, that night; and he was leaning over the rail, peering out into +the mist, humming to himself a sweet, wild air, in a strange, musical +tone. + +Very strange. Very musical. Perhaps no such words had ever before gone +out over the waves of that part of the Atlantic; for Frank Harley was a +missionary's son, "going home to be educated," and the sweet, low-voiced +song was a Hindustanee hymn which his mother had taught him in far-away +India. + +Suddenly the hymn was cut short by the hoarse voice of the look-out, as +it announced: "A white light, close aboard, on the windward bow." + +And that was rapidly followed by even hoarser hails, replied to by a +voice which was clear and strong enough but not hoarse at all. The next +moment something, which was either a white sail or a ghost, came +slipping along through the fog, and then the conversation did not +require to be shouted any longer. Frank could even hear one person say +to another, out there in the mist: "Aint it a big thing, Ford, that you +know French. I mean to study it as soon as we get home." + +"It's as easy as eating. Shall I tell 'em we've got some fish?" + +"Of course. Sell 'em the whole cargo." + +"Sell them? Why not make them a present?" + +"We may need the money to get home with. They're a splendid lot. Enough +for the whole cabin full." + +"Dat's a fack. Capt'in Dab Kinzer's de man for me, he is." + +"How much then?" + +"Twenty-five dollars for the lot. They're worth it. 'Specially if we +lose Ham's boat." + +Dab's philosophy was a little out of gear, but a perfect rattle of +questions and answers followed, in French, and, somewhat to Frank +Harley's astonishment, the bargain was promptly concluded. + +How were they to get the fish on board? Nothing easier, since the little +"Swallow" could run along so nicely under the stern of the great +steamer, while a large basket was swung out at the end of a long, +slender spar, with a pulley to lower and raise it. Even the boys from +Long Island were astonished at the number and size of the prime, freshly +caught blue-fish to which they were treating the passengers of the +"Prudhomme," and the basket had to come and go again and again. + +The steamer's steward, on his part, avowed that he had never before met +so honest a lot of Yankee fishermen. Perhaps not; for high prices and +short weight are apt to go together where "luxuries" are selling. The +pay itself was handed out in the same basket which went for the fish. + +The wind was not nearly as high as it had been, and the sea had for some +time been going down. + +Twenty minutes later, Frank Harley heard, for he understood French very +well: + +"Hallo, the boat! What are you following us for?" + +"Oh, we wont run you down. Don't be alarmed. We've lost our way out +here, and we're going to follow you in. Hope you know where you are." + +And then there was a cackle of surprise and laughter among the steamer's +officers, in which Frank and some of the passengers joined, and the +saucy little "fishing-boat" came steadily on in the wake of her gigantic +guide. + +"This is grand for us," remarked Dab Kinzer to Ford, as he kept his eyes +on the after-lantern of the "Prudhomme." "They pay all our pilot fees." + +"But they're going to New York." + +"So are we, if to-morrow doesn't come out clear and with a good wind to +go home by." + +"It's better than crossing the Atlantic in the dark, anyhow. But what a +price we got for those fish!" + +"They're ready to pay well for such things at the end of the voyage," +said Dab. "I expected they'd try and beat us down a peg. They generally +do. We only got about fair market price, after all, only we got rid of +our whole catch at one sale." + +Hour followed hour, and the "Swallow" followed the steamer, and the fog +followed them both so densely that sometimes even Dick Lee's keen eyes +could with difficulty make out the "Prudhomme's" light. And now Ford +Foster ventured to take a bit of a nap, so sure did he feel that all the +danger was over, and that "Captain Kinzer" was equal to what Dick Lee +called the "nagivation" of that yacht. How long he had slept he could +not have guessed, but he was suddenly awakened by a great cry from out +the mist beyond them, and the loud exclamation of Dab Kinzer, still at +the tiller: + +"I believe she's run ashore!" + +It was a loud cry, indeed, and there was good reason for it. Well for +all on board the great French steamship that she was running no faster +at the time, and that there was no hurricane of a gale to make things +worse for her. Pilot and captain had both together missed their +reckoning,--neither of them could ever afterward tell how,--and there +they were stuck fast in the sand, with the noise of breakers ahead of +them and the dense fog all around. + +Frank Harley peered anxiously over the rail again, but he could not have +complained that he was "wrecked in sight of shore;" for the steamer was +anything but a wreck yet, and there was no such thing as a shore in +sight. + +"It's an hour to sunrise," said Dab to Ford, after the latter had +managed to comprehend the situation. "We may as well run further in and +see what we can see." + +It must have been aggravating to the people on the steamer to see that +cockle-shell of a yacht dancing safely along over the shoal on which +their "leviathan" had struck, and to hear Ford Foster sing out: "If we'd +known you meant to run in here, we'd have followed some other pilot." + +"They're in no danger at all," said Dab. "If their own boats don't take +'em all ashore, the coast-wreckers will." + +"The Government life-savers, I s'pose you mean?" + +"Yes, they're all along here, everywhere. Hark! there goes the distress +gun. Bang away! It sounds a good deal more mad than scared." + +So it did, and so they really were--captain, pilot, passengers and all. + +"Captain Kinzer" found that he could safely run in for a couple of +hundred yards or so; but there were signs of surf beyond, and he had no +anchor to hold on by. His only course was to tack back and forth, as +carefully as possible, and wait for daylight, as the French sailors were +doing, with what patience they could command. + +In less than half an hour, however, a pair of long, graceful, +buoyant-looking life-boats, manned each by an officer and eight rowers, +came shooting through the mist, in response to the repeated summons of +the steamer's cannon. + +"It's all right now," said Dab. "I knew they wouldn't be long in coming. +Let's find where we are." + +That was easy enough. The steamer had gone ashore on a sand-bar a +quarter of a mile from the beach and a short distance from Seabright, on +the Jersey coast; and there was no probability of any worse harm coming +to her than the delay in her voyage, and the cost of pulling her out +from the sandy bed into which she had so blindly thrust herself. The +passengers would, most likely, be taken ashore with their baggage, and +sent to the city overland. + +"In fact," said Ford Foster, "a sand-bar isn't as bad for a steamer as a +pig is for a locomotive." + +"The train you was wrecked in," said Dab, "was running fast. Perhaps the +pig was. Now, the sand-bar was standing still, and the steamer was going +slow. My! what a crash there'd have been, if she'd been running ten or +twelve knots an hour with a heavy sea on." + +By daylight there were plenty of other craft around, including yachts +and sail-boats from Long Branch, and "all along shore," and the Long +Island boys treated the occupants of these as if they had sent for them +and were glad to see them. + +"Seems to me, your're inclined to be inquisitive, Dab," said Ford, as +his friend peered sharply into and around one craft after another, but +just then Dabney sung out: + +"Hullo, Jersey, what are you doing with two grapnels? Is that boat of +yours balky?" + +"Mind your eye, youngster. They're both mine, I reckon." + +"You might sell me one cheap," continued Dab, "considering how you got +'em. Give you ten cents for the big one." + +Ford thought he understood the matter, and said nothing; but the "Jersey +wrecker" had "picked up" those two anchors, one time and another, and +had no objection at all to talking "trade." + +"Ten cents! Let you have it for fifty dollars." + +"Is it gold, or only silver gilt?" + +"Pure gold, my boy, but seein' it's you, I'll say ten dollars." + +"Take your pay in clams?" + +"Oh, hush, I haint no time to gabble. Mebbe I'll git a job here, 'round +this yer wreck. If you want the grapn'l, what'll you gimme?" + +"Five dollars, gold, take it or leave it," said Dab, as he pulled out a +coin from the pay he had taken for his blue-fish. + +In three minutes more the "Swallow" was furnished with a much larger and +better anchor than the one she had lost the day before, and Dick Lee +exclaimed: + +"It jes' takes Capt'in Kinzer!" + +For some minutes before this, as the light grew clearer and the fog +lifted a little, Frank Harley had been watching them from the rail of +the "Prudhomme" and wondering if all the fisher-boys in America dressed +as well as these two. + +"Hullo, you!" was the greeting which now came to his ears. "Go ashore in +my boat?" + +"Not till I have eaten some of your fish for breakfast," replied Frank. +"What's your name?" + +"Captain Dabney Kinzer, of 'most anywhere on Long Island. What's yours?" + +"Frank Harley, of Rangoon." + +"I declare!" almost shouted Ford Foster, "if you're not the chap my +sister Annie told me of. You're going to Albany, to my uncle, Joe +Hart's, aren't you?" + +"Yes, to Mr. Hart's, and then to Grantley, to school." + +"That's it. Well, you just come along with us, then. Get your kit out of +your state-room. We can send over to the city for the rest of your +baggage after it gets in." + +"Along with you, where?" + +"To my father's house, instead of ashore among those wreckers and +hotel-people. The captain'll tell you it's all right." + +It was a trifle irregular, no doubt, but there was the "Prudhomme" +ashore, and all "landing rules" were a little out of joint by reason of +that circumstance. The "Swallow" lay at anchor while Frank got his +breakfast, and such of his baggage as was not "stowed away," and, +meantime, Captain Kinzer and his "crew" made a very deep hole in their +own supplies, for their night of danger and excitement had made them +wonderfully hungry. + +"Do you mean to sail home?" asked Ford, in some astonishment. + +"Why not? If we could do it in the night and in a storm, we surely can +in a day of such splendid weather as is coming. The wind's all right +too, what there is of it." + +[Illustration: THE WELCOME ON THE BEACH.] + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +The wind was indeed "all right," but even Dab forgot, for the moment, +that the "Swallow" would go further and faster before a gale than she +was likely to with the comparatively mild southerly breeze which was +blowing. He was by no means likely to get home by dinner-time. As for +danger, there would be absolutely none, unless the weather should again +become stormy, which was not at all probable at that season. And so, +with genuine boyish confidence in boys, after some further conversation +over the rail, Frank Harley went on board the "Swallow" as a passenger, +and the gay little craft slipped lightly away from the neighborhood of +the very forlorn-looking stranded steamer. + +"They'll have her off in less'n a week," said Ford to Frank. "My +father'll know just what to do about your baggage, and so forth." + +There were endless questions to be asked and answered on both sides, but +at last Dab yawned a very sleepy yawn and said: "Ford, you've had your +nap. Wake up Dick there, and let him take his turn at the tiller. The +sea's as smooth as a lake, and I believe I'll go to sleep for an hour or +so. You and Frank keep watch while Dick steers." + +Whatever Dab said was "orders," now, on board the "Swallow," and Ford's +only reply was: "If you haven't earned a good nap, then nobody has." + +In five minutes more the patient and skillful young "captain" was +sleeping like a top. + +"Look at him," said Ford Foster to Frank Harley. "I don't know what he's +made of. He's been at that tiller for twenty-three hours, by the watch, +in all sorts of weather, and never budged." + +"They don't make that kind of boy in India," replied Frank. + +"He's de best feller you ebber seen," added Dick Lee. "I's jes' proud of +'im, I is." + +Smoothly and swiftly and safely the "Swallow" was bearing her precious +cargo across the summer sea, but the morning had brought no comfort to +the two homes at the head of the inlet, or the cabin in the village. Old +Bill Lee was out in the best boat he could borrow, by early daylight, +and more than one of his sympathizing neighbors followed him a little +later. There was no doubt at all that a thorough search would be made of +the bay and the island, and so Mr. Foster wisely remained at home to +comfort his wife and daughter. + +"That sort of boy," mourned Annie, "is always getting into some kind of +mischief." + +"Annie," exclaimed her mother, "Ford is a good boy, and he does not run +into mischief." + +"I didn't mean Ford; I meant that Dabney Kinzer. I wish we'd never seen +him, or his sail-boat either." + +"Annie," said her father, reprovingly, "if we live by the water, Ford +_will_ go out on it, and he'd better do so in good company. Wait a +while." + +Summer days are long, but some of them are a good deal longer than +others, and that was one of the longest any of those people had ever +known. For once, even dinner was more than half neglected in the Kinzer +family circle. At the Fosters' it was forgotten almost altogether. Long +as the day was, and so dreary, in spite of all the bright, warm +sunshine, there was no help for it; the hours would not hurry, and the +wanderers would not return. Tea-time came at last, and with it the +Fosters all came over to Mrs. Kinzer's again, to take tea and to tell +her of several fishermen who had returned from the bay without having +discovered a sign of the "Swallow" or its crew. + +Stout-hearted Mrs. Kinzer talked bravely and encouragingly, +nevertheless, and did not seem to abate an ounce of her confidence in +her son. It seemed as if, in leaving off his roundabouts, Dabney must +have suddenly grown a great many "sizes" in his mother's estimation. +Perhaps that was because he did not leave them off too soon. + +There they sat, the two mothers and the rest, looking gloomy enough, +while, over there in her bit of a brown house in the village, Mrs. Lee +sat in very much the same frame of mind, trying to relieve her feelings +by smoothing imaginary wrinkles out of her boy's best clothes, and +planning for him any number of bright red neck-ties, if he would only +come back to wear them. + +The neighbors were becoming more than a little interested and even +excited about the matter; but what was there to be done? + +Telegrams had been sent to other points on the coast, and all the +fishermen notified. It was really one of those puzzling cases where even +the most neighborly can do no better than "wait a while." + +Still, there were nearly a dozen people, of all sorts, including Bill +Lee, lingering around the "landing" as late as eight o'clock, when some +one of them suddenly exclaimed: + +"There's a light, coming in." + +And others followed with: "And a boat under it." "Ham's boat carried a +light." "I'll bet it's her." "No, it isn't." "Hold on and see." + +There was not long to "hold on," for in three minutes more the "Swallow" +swept gracefully in with the tide, and the voice of Dab Kinzer shouted +merrily: "Home again! Here we are!" + +Such a ringing volley of cheers answered him! It was heard and +understood away there in the parlor of the Morris house, and brought +every soul of that anxious circle right up standing. + +"Must be it's Dab!" exclaimed Mrs. Kinzer. + +"Oh, mother," said Annie, "is Ford safe?" + +"They wouldn't cheer like that, my dear, if anything had happened," +remarked Mr. Foster, but, in spite of his coolness, the city lawyer +forgot to put his hat on, as he dashed out of the front gate, and down +the road toward the landing. + +Then came one of those times that it takes a whole orchestra and a +gallery of paintings to tell anything about, for Mrs. Lee as well as her +husband was at the beach, and within a minute after "Captain Kinzer" and +his crew had landed, poor Dick was being hugged and scolded within an +inch of his life, and the other two boys found themselves in the midst +of a tumult of embraces and cheers. + +Frank Harley's turn came soon, moreover, for Ford Foster found his +balance, and introduced the "passenger from India" to his father. + +"Frank Harley!" exclaimed Mr. Foster, "I've heard of you, certainly, but +how did you--boys, I don't understand----" + +"Oh, father, it's all right! We took Frank off the French steamer after +she ran ashore." + +"Ran ashore?" + +"Yes; down the Jersey coast. We got in company with her in the fog, +after the storm. That was yesterday evening." + +"Down the Jersey coast! Do you mean you've been out at sea?" + +"Yes, father; and I'd go again, with Dab Kinzer for captain. Do you +know, father, he never left the rudder of the 'Swallow' from the moment +we started until seven o'clock this morning?" + +"You owe him your lives!" almost shouted Mr. Foster; and Ford added, +"Indeed, we do." + +It was Dab's own mother's arms that had been around him from the instant +he made his appearance, and Samantha and Keziah and Pamela had had to +be content with a kiss or so apiece; but dear old Mrs. Foster stopped +smoothing Ford's hair and forehead, just then, and gave Dab a right +motherly hug, as if she could not express herself in any other way. + +As for Annie Foster, her face was suspiciously red at the moment, but +she walked right up to Dab, after her mother released him, and said: + +"Captain Kinzer, I've been saying dreadful things about you, but I beg +pardon." + +"I'll be entirely satisfied, Miss Annie," returned Dabney, "if you'll +ask somebody to get us something to eat." + +"Eat!" exclaimed Mrs. Kinzer, "Why, the poor fellows! Of course they're +hungry." + +Of course they were, every one; and the supper-table, after all, was the +best place in the world to hear the particulars of their wonderful +cruise. + +Meantime, Dick Lee was led home to a capital supper of his own, and as +soon as that was over he was rigged out in his Sunday clothes,--red silk +neck-tie and all,--and invited to tell the story of his adventures to a +roomful of admiring neighbors. + +He told it well, modestly ascribing pretty much everything to Dab +Kinzer; but there was no reason, in anything he said, for one of his +father's friends to ask, next morning: + +"Bill Lee, does you mean for to say as dem boys run down de French +steamah in dat ar' boat?" + +"Not dat, not zackly." + +"'Cause, if you does, I jes' want to say I's been down a-lookin' at her, +and she aint even snubbed her bowsprit." + +(_To be continued._) + + + + +GERTY. + +BY MARGARET W. HAMILTON. + + +Ugh! How cold it was!--sleet driving in your face, wind whistling about +your ears, cold penetrating everywhere! "A regular nipper," thought Dick +Kelsey, standing in a door-way, kicking his feet in toeless boots to +warm them, and blowing his chilled fingers, for in the pockets of his +ragged trousers the keen air had stiffened them. He was revolving a +weighty question in his mind. Which should he do,--go down to "Ma'am +Vesey's" and get one of her hot mutton pies, or stray a little farther +up the alley, where an old sailor kept a little coffee-house for the +benefit of newsboys and boot-blacks such as he? Should it be coffee or +mutton pie? + +"I'll toss up for it!" said Dick, finally; and, fumbling in his pockets, +the copper was produced ready for the test. + +Just then, his attention was suddenly diverted. Close to him sounded a +voice, weak and not very melodious, but bravely singing: + + "There is a happy land + Far, far away, + Where saints in glory stand + Bright, bright as day!" + +Dick listened in silence till the last little quaver had died away, and +then said: "Whew! That was purty, anyhow. Where is the piper, I wonder!" +He looked about for the musician, but could see no one. He was the only +person in the alley. + +Again the song began, and this time he traced the voice to the house +against which he had been leaning. The window was just at his right, and +through one of the broken panes came the notes. Dick's modesty was not a +burden to him, so it was the work of only a moment to put his face to +the hole in the window and take a view. + +A small room, not very nice to see, was what he saw; then, as his eye +became used to the dim light, he espied on a low bed in the corner a +little girl gazing at him with a pair of big black eyes. + +"I say, there! Was it you pipin' away so fine?" began Dick, without the +slightest embarrassment. + +"If you mean, was I a-singin'?--I was," answered the child from the bed, +not seeming at all surprised at this sudden intrusion upon her privacy. + +"I say, who are you, anyhow?" + +"I'm Gerty, and I stay here all the day while mother is away washing; +and she locks the door so no one can't get in," explained the girl. + +"My eye!" was Dick's return. "And what are you in bed for?" + +"Oh, I have a pain in my back, an' I lie down most of the time," replied +Gerty in the most cheerful manner possible, as if a pain in the back +were the one desirable thing, while Dick withdrew his head to ponder +over this new experience. + +A girl locked in a room like that, lying in bed with pain most of the +time, with nothing to do, yet cheerful and bright--this was something +he could not understand. All at once his face brightened. Back went his +eyes to the window. + +"I say, got anything to eat in there?" + +"Oh yes, some crackers; and to-night maybe mother'll buy some milk." + +"Pooh!" said Dick, with scorn. "Crackers and milk! Did you ever eat a +mutton pie?" + +"A mutton pie," repeated Gerty, slowly. "No, I guess not." + +"Oh, they're bully! Hot from Ma'am Vesey's! Tip-top! Wait a minute,"--a +needless caution, for Gerty could not possibly have done anything else. + +Away ran Dick down the alley and around the corner, halting breathless +before Ma'am Vesey. + +"Gi'e me one, quick!" he cried. "Hot, too. No, I wont eat it; put it in +some paper." The old woman had offered him one from the oven. + +"Seems to me we're gettin' mighty fine," she said; for Dick was an old +customer, and never before had he waited for a pie to be wrapped up. + +"Never you mind, old lady," was his good-natured, if somewhat +disrespectful, reply; and, dropping some pennies, he seized his treasure +and was off again. + +Gerty's eager fingers soon held the pie, which Dick dexterously tossed +on the bed, and Dick's eyes fairly shone as he watched the half-starved +little one swallow the dainty in rapid mouthfuls. + +"Oh, I never in all my life tasted anything half so good! Don't you want +some?" questioned the child, whose enjoyment was so keen she feared it +hardly could be right. + +"No, indeed!"--this with hearty emphasis. "I've had 'em. I'm goin' now," +he added, reluctantly, "but I'll come back again 'fore long." + +"Oh, do!" said Gerty, "an' I'll sing you some more of 'Happy Land,' if +you want me; and I know another song, too. I learned them up to the +horspital when I was there. You see, I was peddlin' matches and +shoe-strings, and it was 'most dark and awful slippery, and the horses +hit me afore I knowed it; and then they picked me up, and I didn't know +nothin', and couldn't tell where I lived, and so they took me to the +horspital; and the next day I told 'em where mother was, and she came. +But the doctors said I had better stay, and p'r'aps they could help me. +But they couldn't, you know, cos the pain in my back was too bad. And +mother, she washes, and I watch the daylight, and wait for night, and +sing; and when the pain aint too bad, the day don't seem so very long." + +"My eye!" was all Dick could say, as he beat a hasty retreat, rubbing +the much appealed-to member with a corner of his ragged coat. + +"Well, them's hard lines, anyhow," he soliloquized, as he went to the +printing-office. "An' she's chipper, too. Game as anything," he went on +to himself. "Now, I'm just goin' to keep my eye on that little un, and +some o' my spare coppers'll help her, I guess." + +How he worked that night! His papers fairly flew, he sold them so fast; +and when, under a friendly street-lamp, he counted his gains, a +prolonged whistle was his first comment. + +"More'n any night this week," he pondered. "Did me good to go 'thout the +pie. Gerty'll have an orange to-morrow." + +So, next morning, when the last journal had been sold, a fruit-stand was +grandly patronized. + +"The biggest, best orange you got, and never mind what it costs." Then +but a few moments to reach Gerty's alley, and Gerty's window. + +Yes, there she was, just the same as yesterday, and the pinched face +grew bright when she saw her new friend peering at her. + +"Oh! you're come, are you?" joyfully. "Mother said you wouldn't, when I +told her, but I said you would. She wouldn't leave the door unlocked, +cos she didn't know nothing about you; but she said, if you came to-day, +you could come back to-night when she was home, and come in." + +"Oh, may I?" said Dick, rather gruffly; for he hardly liked the idea of +meeting strangers. + +"Yes," went on Gerty; "I'll sing lots, if you want; and mother'll be +glad to see you, too." + +"All right; mebbe I'll come. And say, here's suthin for ye," and the +orange shot through the window. + +"Oh, my!" she gasped, "how nice! Is it really for me?" And Dick +answered, "Yes, eat it now." + +Half his pleasure was in watching her eager relish of the fruit; and as +Gerty needed no second bidding, the orange rapidly disappeared, she +pausing now and again to look across gratefully at Dick and utter +indistinct expressions of delight. + +"Now shall I sing?" she asked, when the last delicious mouthful was +fairly swallowed; for she was anxious to make some return for the +pleasure he had given her. + +"All right," responded Dick, "I'm ready." + +So the thin little voice began again the old refrain; Gerty singing with +honest fervor, Dick listening in rapt attention. Following "Happy Land" +came "I want to be an angel," "Little drops of water," etc.; and when +full justice had been done to these well-worn tunes, Dick suggested a +change. + +"Don't you sing 'Mulligan Guards'?" he questioned, at the close of one +of the hymns. + +"No," said Gerty, perplexed. "They didn't sing that up to the +horspital." + +"Oh, mebbe they don't sing it to the horspital; but I've heard 'em sing +it bully to the circus. I say," he went on suddenly, "was you ever +there--to the circus, I mean?" + +"No," said Gerty, eagerly. "What do they do?" + +"Oh, it's beautiful!" was Dick's answer. "All bright, you know, and +warm, and the wimmin is dressed awful fine, and the men, too; and the +horses prance around; and they have music and tumbling, and--oh, lots of +things!" + +"My! and you've been there?" + +"Oh yes, I've been!" Then, as he watched her sparkling eyes, "Look here, +I'll take you. I could carry you, you know, and we'd go early, and I'd +put you up against a post, and----Don't you want to go?" + +"Want to go?" she repeated with rapture. "Oh, it's too good to be true! +I was scared just a-thinkin' of it. Oh, if mother'd let me an' I could! +Wouldn't I be too heavy? Mother says I'm light as a feather,--and I +wouldn't weigh more'n I could help," she added, wistfully. + +"Never you mind," was Dick's hearty reply. "I'll come to-night and see +the old lady,--your mother, I mean,--and we'll go next week, if she'll +let you." + +So it was decided; and when Dick said "good-bye," and ran off, Gerty +settled back with a sigh, half of delight and half of anxiety, lest her +wild, wonderful hope should never be fulfilled. + +But Dick came that night, and Gerty's mother, when she saw Dick's +honest, earnest face, and her little girl's eager, pleading eyes, gave +consent. + +The next Monday night was fixed upon, and this was Thursday. "Four +days," counted Gerty on her fingers; and oh, they seemed so long! But +even four days _will_ crawl away, and Monday night came at last. By +seven o'clock, Dick appeared, his face clean and shining, radiant with +delight. + +Gerty was dressed in the one dress owned by her mother beside her +working one, and the shrunken little figure looked pathetically absurd +in its ample proportions. It was much too long for her, of course, but +her mother pinned up the skirt. Good old Peggotty Winters, the +apple-woman, who lived in the back room, had lent her warm shawl for the +occasion, and the little French hair-dresser on the top floor had loaned +a knitted hood which had quite an elegant effect. So Gerty considered +herself dressed in a style befitting the event; and if she and Dick were +satisfied, no one else need criticise. + +"Pooh!" was Dick's comment as he lifted her in his arms. "Like a baby, +aint you?" + +"Oh, I'm so glad you don't think I'm heavy! It's the first time I ever +was glad to be thin," sighed Gerty, clinging around his neck. + +Then away they went, out through alleys and across side-streets to the +main artery of travel, where Dick threaded his way slowly through +throngs of gay people. At length, after what seemed miles to Gerty, they +halted in front of a brilliantly lighted building, and in another +moment were in the dazzling entrance-way. + +On went Dick slowly, patiently, with his burden, down the aisle, as near +to the front as possible, and--they were there! + +Gerty was carefully set down in a corner place, and her shawl opened a +little to serve as a pillow; and then she began to look about her, +gazing with awe-struck curiosity at the great arena and the mysterious +doors. + +After a while the house seemed full, the musicians came out and took +their places, the gas suddenly blazed more brightly, and the band struck +up a gay popular air. Gerty felt as if she must scream with delight and +expectation. + +Presently, the music stopped, there was a bustle of preparation, a bell +tinkled, and the great doors slowly swung open. Gerty saw beautiful +ladies, all bright and glittering with spangles, and handsome horses in +gorgeous trappings, and great strong men in tights, all the wonders and +sights of the circus, and the funny jokes and antics of the clown and +pantaloon. And Gerty had never known anything half so fine; and there +was riding and jumping and tumbling, and all manner of fun, until the +doors shut again. + +"Wasn't it lovely?" whispered Gerty. "Is that all?" + +"Not half," said Dick; and Gerty leaned back to think it all over and +watch for the repetition. But the next scene was different; there came +an immense elephant, some little white poodle-dogs, and some mules, and +everybody clapped hands and laughed, and was delighted. At last, the +climax of ecstasy was reached,--a beautiful procession of all the gayly +dressed and glittering performers, with their wonderful steeds, the wise +old elephant, the queer little poodles, and the fun-provoking mules; and +the band struck up some stirring music, and Gerty was dumb with +admiration. But in another minute the arena was empty, the heavy doors +had shut out all the life and magnificence, the band was hushed, the +lights were dimmed, and Dick told her it was over. + +Carefully he folded her in the shawl again, and once more the cold night +air blew in her face. Not a word could she say all the way home, but +when she sank in her mother's arms it was with the whisper, "I've seen +'Happy Land';" and Dick felt, somehow, as if no other comment were +needed. + +And the winter days went on, Dick's faithful service and devotion never +ceasing. The window was mended, but Dick had a key to the door, and +spent many an hour with the sufferer. As spring approached, the two +watchers noted a change in the girl. She was weaker, and her pain +constant; and when Dick carried her out to the park in the April +sunshine, he was shocked to find her weight almost nothing in his arms. + +Yes, Gerty was dying, slowly but surely; and Dick grew exceeding +sorrowful. By and by, she even could not be carried out-of-doors, but +lay all day on her little couch. Then Dick brought flowers and fruit, +and talked gayly of the next winter, when, said he, "We'll go every week +to the circus, Gerty." + +[Illustration: AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE CIRCUS.] + +"No, Dick," said the child, quietly, "I shall never go there again. But +oh! 't'll be suthin better!"--at which Dick rushed off hastily, and soon +after got into a quarrel with a fellow newsboy who had hinted that his +eyes were red. Anon he was back with some fresh gift, only to struggle +again with the choking grief. + +And then came the end--quietly, peacefully. Near the close of a July +day, when the setting sun glorified every corner of the room, Gerty left +her pain, and, with a farewell sigh, was at rest. + +"Oh, Gerty!" sobbed Dick, "don't forget me!" + +Ah, Dick, you are held in everlasting remembrance, and more than one +angel is glad at thoughts of you, in the "Happy Land!" + + + + +THE CROW THAT THE CROW CROWED. + +BY S. CONANT FOSTER. + + + "Ho! ho!" + Said the crow: + "So I'm not s'posed to know + Where the rye and the wheat + And the corn kernels grow-- + Oh! no, + Ho! ho! + + "He! he! + Farmer Lee, + When I fly from my tree, + Just you see where the tops + Of the corn-ears will be + Watch me! + He! he!" + + Switch-swirch, + With a lurch, + Flopped the bird from his perch + As he spread out his wings + And set forth on his search-- + His search-- + Switch-swirch. + + Click!-bang!-- + How it rang, + How the small bullet sang + As it sped through the air-- + And the crow, with a pang, + Went spang-- + Chi-bang. + + THE TAIL FEATHERS. + + Now know, + That to crow + Often brings one to woe; + Which the lines up above + Have been put there to show, + And so, + Don't crow. + + + + +THE LONDON MILK-WOMAN. + +BY ALEXANDER WAINWRIGHT. + + +Very sturdy in form and honest in face is the London milk-woman shown in +our picture. She has broad English features, smoothly parted hair, and a +nice white frill running round her old-fashioned, curtained bonnet. Her +boots are strong, and her dress is warm--the petticoats cut short to +prevent them from draggling in the mud. A wooden yoke fits to her +shoulders, which are almost as broad as a man's, and from the yoke hang +her cans, filled with milk and cream, the little ones being hooked to +the larger ones. + +The London day has opened on a storm, and the snow lies thick on the +area railings, the lamp-posts and the roofs; but the morning is not too +cold or stormy for her. Oh, no! the mornings never are. It may rain, or +blow, or snow the hardest that ever was known, no inclemency of weather +keeps her from her morning round, and in the dull cold of London frosts +and the yellow obscurity of London fogs, she appears in the streets, +uttering her familiar cry, "Me-oh! me-oh!" which is her way of calling +milk. + +Pretty kitchen-maids come up the area steps with their pitchers to meet +her, and detain her with much gossip. The one in the picture, whose arms +are comfortably folded under her white apron, may be telling her that +the mistress's baby is sick, and that the doctor despairs of its life. +She may even be saying to her: "The only thing it can swallow, poor +little dear, is a little milk and arrowroot, and the doctor says unless +it can have this it must die." A great deal of the London milk is +adulterated, and, perhaps, this honest-looking milk-woman knows that +water has been added to hers. May be, she has babies of her own, and +then her heart must be sore when she realizes that the little sick one +upstairs may perish through her employer's greed for undue profits. + +[Illustration: AT THE AREA GATE.] + +To-morrow, she may find the blinds drawn close down at that house, and +the maid-of-all-work red-eyed and tearful; then she will turn away, +bitterly feeling the pressure of her yoke on her shoulders, although, +from her looks, she herself appears to be incapable of dishonesty; she +is, and more than that, kindly, cheery, and industrious. Her cans are +polished to the brilliancy of burnished silver, and betoken the most +scrupulous cleanliness. Many breakfast-tables depend upon her for that +rich cream which emits a delicious flavor from her cans, in the sharp +morning air. "Me-oh! me-oh!" We turn over in bed when we hear her, and +know that it is time to get up. + + + + +[Illustration] + +ALICE'S SUPPER. + + + Far down in the valley the wheat grows deep, + And the reapers are making the cradles sweep; + And this is the song that I hear them sing, + While cheery and loud their voices ring: + "'Tis the finest wheat that ever did grow, + And it is for Alice's supper--ho! ho!" + + [Illustration] + + Far down by the river the old mill stands, + And the miller is rubbing his dusty old hands; + And these are the words of the miller's lay, + As he watches the mill-stones grinding away: + "'Tis the finest flour that money can buy, + And it is for Alice's supper--hi! hi!" + +[Illustration] + + Down-stairs in the kitchen the fire doth glow, + And cook is a-kneading the soft white dough; + And this is the song she is singing to-day, + As merry and busy she's working away: + "'T is the finest dough whether near or afar, + And it is for Alice's supper--ha! ha!" + +[Illustration] + + To the nursery now comes mother, at last,-- + And what in her hand is she bringing so fast? + 'T is a plateful of something, all yellow and white, + And she sings as she comes, with her smile so bright: + "'T is the best bread and butter I ever did see, + And it is for Alice's supper--he! he!" + + + + +[Illustration] + +JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT. + + +"Warm!" you say? + +Don't mention it, but take it good-naturedly. + +And, now, let's be quiet and have a talk about + + +HEARING FLIES WALK. + +"Ho, ho; nobody can do that!" + +But anybody _can_ do that,--with a microphone. + +"And what's a microphone?" + +Why, it's a machine by which very low sounds, that don't seem to be +sounds at all, may be made to grow so loud and clear that you can easily +hear them. If any of you come across one of these things, my dears, just +take it to some quiet green spot, and coax it to let you hear the grass +grow. + +There's one feature of the microphone that is likely to be troublesome; +it makes loud noises sound hundreds of times louder. Something must be +done, therefore, to prevent the use of these machines on any Fourth of +July. That would be what nobody could stand, I should think. + + +A CRAB THAT MOWS GRASS. + +Isn't this dreadful? In India--a long way off, I'm glad to say--there is +a kind of crab that eats the juicy stalks of grass, rice, and other +plants. He snips off the stalks with his sharp pincers, and, when he has +made a big enough sheaf, sidles off home with it to his burrow in the +ground, to feast upon it. + +Ugh! I hope I shall never hear the cruel click of his pincers anywhere +near me! + + +WASHERWOMEN IN TUBS. + +Over here, as I've heard, the clothes to be washed are put in tubs, and +the washerwomen or washermen stand outside at work. But I'm told that in +some parts of Europe the washerwomen themselves get into the tubs. They +do this to keep their feet dry. The tubs or barrels are empty, and are +set along the river banks in the water, and each washerwoman stands in +her tub and washes the clothes in the river, pounding, and soaping, and +rinsing them, on a board, without changing her position. + + +MICE IN A PIANO. + + + Chicago, Ill. + + DEAR JACK: I have long wished to tell you of a little incident that + occurred in our family. + + About a year ago we bought an upright grand piano, and after we had + had it a few months we noticed that one of the keys would stay down + when touched, unless struck very quickly and lightly, and the next + day another acted in the same way. That evening, after the boys had + gone to bed, father and myself were sitting by the grate fire, when + we thought we heard a nibbling in the corner of the room where the + piano stood. I exclaimed, "Do you think it possible a mouse can be + in the piano?" "Oh no!" he said; "it is probably behind it." We + moved the piano, and found a little of the carpet gnawed, and a few + nut-shells. Then we examined the piano inside, as far as possible, + but found no traces there. I played a noisy tune, to frighten the + mouse away, and we thought no more about it. + + Two or three days after, more of the keys stayed down, and I said, + "That piano must be fixed." The tuner came, and the children all + stood around him, with curious eyes, as he took the instrument + apart. Presently I heard a great shout. What do you think? In one + corner, on the key-board, where every touch of the keys must have + jarred it, was a mouse's nest, with five young ones in it! Those + mice must have been fond of music! The mother mouse sprang out and + escaped; but the nest and the little ones were destroyed. + + Well, what do you suppose the nest was made of? Bits of felt and + soft leather from the hammers and pedal; and the mouse had gnawed + in two most of the strips of leather that pull back the hammers! + So, when the piano had been fixed, there was a pretty heavy bill + for repairs.--Very truly yours, + + P. L. S. + + +RATTLE-BOXES. + +You'd hardly believe how old-fashioned rattle-boxes are,--those noisy +things that babies love to shake. Why, they are almost as old-fashioned +as some of the very first babies would look nowadays. A few very ancient +writers mention these toys, but, instead of calling them, simply, +"rattle-boxes," they refer to them as "symbols of eternal agitation, +which is necessary to life!" + +Deacon Green says that this high-sounding saying may have been wise for +its times, when the sleepy young world needed shaking, perhaps, to get +it awake and keep it lively. "But, in these days," he adds, "the boot is +on the other leg. People are a little too go-ahead, if anything, and try +to do too much in too short time. Real rest, and plenty of it, is just +as necessary to life as agitation can be." + +Remember this, my chicks, all through vacation; but don't mistake +laziness for rest. + + +A MOTHER WITH TWO MILLION CHILDREN. + +No, not the old woman who lived in a shoe,--though old parties of the +kind I mean have been found with their houses fixed to old rubber +high-boots,--but a quiet old mother, who never utters a word, and whose +house is all door-way, as I'm told. Every year she opens the door and +turns two million wee bairns upon the world. + +Away they rush, the door snaps shut behind them, and they can never come +back any more! They don't seem to mind that very much, however, for they +go dancing away in countless armies, without ever jostling, or meeting, +or even touching one another. + +And how large a ball-room do you suppose a troop of them would need? +One drop of water is large enough for thousands upon thousands of them +to sport in! + +The mother is the oyster, and her children are the little oysters, and a +curious family they must be, if all this is true, as I'm led to believe. + + +A CHINESE FLOATING VILLAGE. + +The Little Schoolma'am wishes you a good and lively vacation, and sends +you a picture of a Chinese Floating Village,--a cool and pleasant kind +of village to live in through the summer, I've no doubt, with plashing +water, and fresh breezes, all about you. She goes on to say: + +"In China, where there are about four hundred and fifty millions of +people, not only the land, but also much of the water, is covered with +towns and streets; and, although the Chinese are more than eleven times +as numerous as the people of the United States, their country is not +half as large as ours,--even leaving Alaska out of the count. So that +China is pretty well crowded. + +[Illustration: A CHINESE FLOATING VILLAGE.] + +"In the picture, the little boats belong to poor people, but the big +ones, called 'junks,' belong to folks who are better off. Sometimes +junks are used by rich people for traveling, and then they are built +almost as roomy, and fitted up quite as comfortably, as the homes on +shore. + +"There are no railroads in China worth mentioning, so traveling has to +be done by highroad, or by river and canal; and, as this last, though +easy, is a very slow way, it is a good thing when, like the snail, a +traveler can take his house with him." + + +INFORMATION WANTED. + + Providence, R. I. + + Jack-in-the-Pulpit: SIR: I write to ask if any of your little birds + ever crossed the Equator; and, when just above it, whereabouts in + the sky did they look for the sun at noon? + + If you will answer this you will oblige me very much, as I have + been wondering for about a month past. + + Don't think this foolish. + + EDWIN S. THOMPSON. + +None of my feathered friends ever told me about this; but, perhaps, some +of you smart chicks who have just passed good examinations can answer +Edwin's question. If so, I'd be glad to hear from you; especially if +you'd let me know, also, what kind of a thing the equator _is_, and by +what marks or signs a bird or anybody might make sure he had pitched +upon it? + + +A BIRD THAT SEWS. + + Sandy Spring, Md. + + DEAR JACK: Have you ever heard of a bird that sews? Perhaps you + have, and some of your chicks have not. He is not much larger than + the humming-bird, and looks like a ball of yellow worsted flying + through the air. For his nest he chooses two leaves on the outside + of a tree, and these he sews firmly together, except at the + entrance, using a fiber for thread, and his long, sharp bill as a + needle. When this is done, he puts in some down plucked from his + breast, and his snug home is complete. He is sometimes called the + "tailor-bird."--Your friend, + + M. B. T. + + +A BEE "SOLD." + +Talk about the instinct of animals! I'm sure my little friends the bees +are as bright as any, yet I heard, the other day, a strange thing about +one. There was a flower-like sea-anemone, near the top of a little pool +of water, when a bee came buzzing along and alighted on the pretty +thing, no doubt mistaking it for a blossom. That anemone was an animal, +and had no honey. Now, where was the instinct of that bee? That's what I +want to know. + + + + +THE LETTER-BOX. + + West Roxbury, Mass. + +Dear St. Nicholas: I saw in your June number, in the "Letter-Box," an +account of a turtle; so I thought I would tell you about "Gopher Jimmy." +My uncle brought him from Florida. He is a gopher, and different from +the common kind of turtle. His back is yellow, with black ridges on it. +His feet are yellow and scaly. Gophers burrow in the ground; and, when +full grown, a man cannot pull one out of its burrow, and a child can +ride easily on its back. I feed mine on clover. He likes to bask in the +sun. My uncle named him "Gopher Jimmy." When full grown, they can move +with a weight of 200 pounds. Jimmy is a young one.--Your devoted reader, + + FRANCIS H. ALLEN. + + + Baltimore, Md + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Perhaps the other readers of your magazine have heard +of "Tyrian purple," a dye which once sold in the shops of ancient Rome +for its own weight in silver. Well, after a while, the way to make this +dye was forgotten,--probably because those who had the secret died +without telling it to others. And now I want to let you know what I have +learned lately, in reading, about how the secret was found again, after +hundreds of years. + +A French naturalist, named Lacazo Duthiers, was on board a ship, when, +one day, he saw a sailor marking his clothes and the sails of the ship +with a sharp-pointed stick, which, every now and then, he dipped into a +little shell held in his other hand. At first, the lines were only a +faint yellow in color; but, after being a few minutes in the sun, they +became greenish, then violet, and last of all, a bright, beautiful +purple, the exact shade called by the ancients "Tyrian purple"--a color +that never fades by washing, or exposure to heat or damp, but ever grows +brighter and clearer! The naturalist was rejoiced, and after trial found +that he really had discovered again the long-lost secret. He felt well +repaid for keeping his eyes open. The little shell was the "wide-mouthed +purpura," as some call it, some three inches long, found in the +Mediterranean Sea, and on the coasts of France, Ireland and Great +Britain. My book says that the difficulty of obtaining and preserving +these shells must always render "Tyrian purple" a rare and expensive +color. + +I remember, too, that the Babylonians thought "Tyrian purple" too sacred +for the use of mortals, so they used it only in the dress of their +idols. Romulus, king of Rome, adopted it as the regal color, and the +Roman emperors forbade any besides themselves to wear it, on penalty of +death.--Yours truly, F. R. F. + + +The boys and girls who solved the poetical charade printed on page 639 +of the July number, must have noticed that it is an unusually good one, +and we are sure that all our readers will admire the charade, after +comparing it with its solution, which we publish upon page 704 of this +number. + + + Alexandria, Ohio. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I should like to know who would succeed to the throne +in case of Queen Victoria's and her eldest son's deaths. My brother and +I sold hickory-nuts and onions to get the St. Nicholas last fall. We +have taken it ever since it was published. I am ten years old. + + WILLIE CASTLE. + + +Prince Albert Victor, the Prince of Wales's eldest son, if then alive, +would succeed to the English throne after Queen Victoria, in case of the +previous death of her eldest son,--the Prince of Wales. A general answer +to this question will be found in the "Letter-Box" for May, 1877 (Vol. +IV., page 509), in a reply to an inquiry from "Julia." + + + Brunswick, Maine. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: It has occurred to me that some of my St. Nicholas +friends may like to know what I have learned from ancient books about +the constellation Ursa Major, or the Dipper, which, in St. Nicholas for +January, 1877 (vol. iv., p. 168), Professor Proctor has likened to a +monkey climbing a pole. It is about the other title of this +constellation, "Great Bear." I need not describe the group itself, for +that has been done already by Professor Proctor in ST. NICHOLAS for +December, 1876. + +Sailors, in very ancient times, were without compasses and charts, and +when voyaging guided themselves by studying the situations and motions +of the heavenly bodies. They saw that most of the stars passed up from +the horizon and rose toward the zenith, the point right over head, and +then dropped westward to hide themselves beyond the earth. After a time +they noted some stars which never set, but every night, in fair weather, +were seen at that side where the sun never appears, or, in other words, +were seen at their left side, when their faces were toward the sunrise. +They did not long hesitate how to use these stars. And when, during foul +weather, the sailors were tossed to and fro, these same constant stars, +that again appeared after the storm, indicated to them their true +position, and, as it were, _spoke to them_. This caused them to give +more exact study to the constellations in that same part of the heavens. +None appeared more remarkable than that among which they reckoned seven +of the brightest stars, taking up a large space. Some who watched this +star-group, as it seemed to turn around in the sky, named it the +"Wheel," or "Chariot." The Phoenician pilots called it, sometimes, +"Parrosis," the Indicator, the Rule, or "Callisto," the Deliverance, the +Safety of Sailors. But it was more commonly named "Doube," signifying +the "speaking constellation," or the "constellation which gives advice." +Now, the word "Doube" signified also to the Phoenicians a "she-bear," +and the Greeks are supposed to have received and used the word in its +wrong sense, and to have passed it down to us without correction. This +explanation seems plausible to me; and now, whenever I see the +star-group we call the "Dipper," I think how gladly it was hailed by +poor storm-tossed sailors upon the narrow seas, in the early ages, +before the "lily of the needle pointed to the pole."--Yours truly, + + R. A. S. + + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: The flowers are all in bloom; it looks so pretty. +Here is a little piece of poetry: + + Lieutenant G---- + Was lost in the sea, + He was found in the foam, + But he was carried home + To his wife, + Who was the joy of his life, + His lovely brunette, + His idolized pet. + She went to a ball, + And this is all. + +I have a little sister named Henrietta, but we call her "Wackie," +because when she cries she goes "Wackie, wackie, wackie!" I remain, your +constant reader, + + ROWENA T. EWING. + + + Camp Grant, A. T. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am a little army boy. The other day my papa went +down to Mexico, and I went with him. The first day I rode fifty-seven +miles on a mule; the next day, thirty-five miles; and the third day, +forty miles. If you know any boy East, eleven years of age, who can do +that, tell me his name. Lots of Indians out here. + + PAUL COMPTON. + + +Here is an account of how four enterprising girls from an inland +district spent ten summer days by themselves at the sea-side. + + +FOUR "INLAND" GIRLS BY THE SEA. + +For boys there are all sorts of real camping-out, fishing and hunting +parties, and it's almost enough to set their sisters wild with envy. +Nevertheless, "we girls"--four of us--succeeded one year in having a +deal of holiday enjoyment all by ourselves out of the old sea. This is +how we did it, what sort of place it was, and how we lived: + +We engaged a room in a cottage close to the sea, not fifty miles from +Boston. We paid one dollar per day for a medium-sized chamber, with the +privilege of parlor, dining-room, kitchen, kitchen utensils, and china. +Our cottage had fine sea-views from three sides, and roomy balconies all +around, where the salt breezes came up fresh and strong. We had a large +closet for our one trunk, not a Saratoga and not full of finery, for we +had run away from work, company, fashion. We spent whole days in +Balmoral and calico redingotes. + +We took with us a few pounds of Graham flour, some fresh eggs, pickles, +tumbler of jelly, plenty of delicately corned beef,--boiled and +pressed,--salt and pepper and French mustard; some tea and coffee and +condensed milk. Fresh vegetables, milk and fruits, could be obtained +from neighbors; and fun it was to be one's own milkmaid and market +merchant; but still more fun to play gypsy and forage for light +driftwood for firing. Then, at a pinch, there were a baker and a +fish-man within easy reach. + +The place was quiet, and nobody disturbed us, by day or by night; and it +was delightful to go to sleep, lulled by the music of the waves and +pleasant breeze. + +We took turns presiding over the meals of the day, and none but the +day's caterer had any thought or care about that day's bill of fare. + +The oldest of our party was "Aunty True," one of the real folks, and a +confirmed Grahamite. The next in age was Helen Chapman, the head and +front of the quartette; a good botanist and geologist, and acquainted +with all manner of things that live in the sea, and from her we had +delightful object lessons fresh from Nature. Next came I, and then Jo, +the youngest of us, a girl of fifteen, ready to run wild on the least +excuse. She was fairly quelled and awe-struck, however, at her first +sight of the sea. "You'll never get me to go into that!" she exclaimed, +fairly shuddering. Yet that very day she was enjoying, bare-foot, the +cool, soft sand, and playing with the foamy wavelets as the tide came +in. But she screamed like an Indian if but invited to plunge beneath the +curling surf. There was every day fresh fun in the water,--we frolicked +like fishes in their own element. And what ludicrous sights we enjoyed +watching the bathers who came from the hotels and +boarding-houses,--whole family parties, big and little! + +Our party had fine weather, for in our ten days there was only a half +day of cloud and rain; but it would have been a fresh delight to see the +ocean in a storm. + +The last of our pleasures was watching the sun rise out of the sea, a +crimson streak, growing into the great red sun! + + C. N. EFF. + + + Charleston, S. C. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I would like to tell the boys and girls how to make a +pretty little ornament. You take a shell, and bore two holes in each +side, then run a piece of ribbon in each hole with a bow on the top, and +it has a very pretty effect. It can hold knickknacks, or a plant; but if +you want it for a plant, you must bore a hole in the bottom for +drainage.--Your friend, + + CARMEN BALAGUER. + + +E. M.--George Washington's wife was called "Lady" Washington out of +respect for her husband's high position as President, at a time when +titles of courtesy were sometimes given to people not of noble rank who +were in authority. The title has always clung to Martha Washington, +partly from custom, and partly also from the great reverence of all +Americans for General Washington and his wife. + +Florence Wilcox, M. B., Isabelle Roorbach, and Lillie M. Sutphen sent +answers to E. M.'s question. + + + Baltimore, Md. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I would like to tell you my experience with wild +mice. Some time ago I spent the summer in the Sierra Nevada range. Our +family had a little cabin right in the woods, built of single boards. +One day our servant went to her valise, which had been left slightly +open; to her surprise, she found, neatly packed away, in one corner, a +small quantity of bird-seed; she at once accused a young friend, who was +staying with us, of having put it there for fun; but the accused pleaded +"not guilty," and the matter began to look mysterious. One day my papa +took down a pair of heavy mining boots, which were hung from the +rafters; he went to put his foot in, and found he couldn't; then he +turned the boot upside down. A lot of bird-seed ran out! The mystery +thickened. Another time a little dish of uncooked rice was left in the +kitchen overnight. The next morning the rice had disappeared. Then we +began to suspect mice, and hunted for the rice. It was three or four +days before we found it, in a box containing sewing materials, on the +top shelf of a cupboard. Then we took the same rice and put it in with +some broken bits of cracker, and tied a string to one of the pieces. +Papa left all on the kitchen floor. It had disappeared the next day, +except the bit with the string; this the wise little mice had not +touched. That night we heard pattering all over the house. Next day we +began to hunt for the rice again; but it was only just before we left +the cabin that we found it. It was in the tray of a trunk; and the end +of the matter was, that the poor mice had all their trouble for nothing. + +I am a little girl just nine and a half, and have every number of ST. +NICHOLAS, and have them all bound, and love it dearly.--Yours truly, + + LIZETTE A. FISHER. + + +A correspondent sends us the following description of what she calls the +"Island of Juan Fernandez," near Paris. + + * * * * * + +One of the most attractive places for out-door amusement, just outside +of Paris, is a spot fitted out to be a counterpart of the Island of Juan +Fernandez, described by Daniel de Foe in his story of Robinson Crusoe. + +After leaving the railroad depot, you enter an omnibus on which are +painted the words "Robinson Crusoe." This leaves you at an arch-way +bearing the curious inscription: "A mimic island of Juan Fernandez, the +abode of Robinson Crusoe, dear to the heart of childhood, and a +reminder of our days of innocence." You pass under this with high hope, +and are not disappointed. + +Inside, you find a kind of gypsy camp. Groups of open "summer-houses," +built of bark, unhewn wood, and moss, are clustered here and there. Some +stand on the earth, others are in grottoes or by shady rocks, and some +are even among the branches of the great trees. All these houses are +meant for resting-places while you are being served with such delicacies +as pleasure-seekers from Paris are wont to require. In each of those +huts, which are in the trees, stands a waiter who draws up the luncheon, +the creams, or ices, in a kind of bucket, which has been filled by +another waiter below. All is done deftly and silently, and you are as +little disturbed as was Elijah by the ravens who waited on him. + +The trees in which these houses are built are large old forest-trees, +each strong enough in the fork to hold safely the foundation of a small +cottage; and the winding stairs by which you get up into the tree are +hidden by a leafy drapery of ivy, which covers the trunk also, and hangs +in fluttering festoons from limb to limb. + +From one of these comfortable perches you look down upon a lively scene +of foliage, flowers, greensward, gay costumes and frolicking children. +The view is wide, and has many features that would be strange to "dear +old Robinson Crusoe." His cabin is multiplied into a hamlet, and his +hermit life is gone. But you still recognize the place as a modernized +portrait of the island of De Foe's wonderful book. And, as if to furnish +you with a fresh piece of evidence, yonder appears Robinson Crusoe +himself, in his coat of skins, and bearing his musket and huge umbrella. + +Instead of Man Friday, Will Atkins, and the rest, you see donkeys +carrying laughing children and led by queer-looking old women. And you +heave a little sigh when you think: "How few of these French boys and +girls really know old Crusoe and his adventures! To them this charming +place has nothing whatever to do with running away to sea, shipwrecks, +cannibals, mutinies, and such things. It is nothing but a new kind of +pleasure-ground to them." + +However, everybody feels at home here, and so everybody is happy; for, +after all, looking for happiness is much like the old woman's search for +her spectacles, which all the time are just above her nose. + +O dear delightful island, how glad we were to chance upon you right here +in gay, care-free Paris! And what an enchanted day we spent amid your +thousand delights and thronging memories! + + C. V. N. C. U. + + +HERE are two welcome little letters received some time ago from a boy +and girl in Europe: + + Nice, France. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am in Europe now, in Nice. I have seen a great deal +already. Nice is a nice place. And it is the only city in the world that +one may call "Nice" always. I can talk French now a little, enough to be +understood. I go to the "Promenade des Anglais" by the sea every +morning, and I like it very much. Nice is situated in the south-eastern +part of France, very near Italy. It once did belong to Italy. It was +given to Napoleon III. as a reward for helping the late king of Italy, +Victor Emanuel II., to the throne of Sardinia. I get the ST. NICHOLAS +sent from home, and like the stories very much.--Your loving subscriber, + + CHARLES JASTRON. + (Age 12.) + + + Nice, France. + +DARLING ST. NICHOLAS: I am a little girl seven years old, and I live in +Nice. I enjoy myself very much here, and have a great deal of fun. I +have nothing to do. I like it here very much. There are a great many +mountains here, but now I do not know any more to write.--Your loving +reader, + + NELLIE JASTRON. + + + Pittsburgh, Penn. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have never written to you before, but I have +thought about it several times. I live in the east end of the city. I +like your magazine very much, and always read it through. I had a +dispute to-day with a boy friend of mine. It was about the gypsies, who +camp near our place every year. He said that not all people who lived +that way were gypsies; but that only those who were descended from the +Egyptians were so named. I did not agree with him, because, in the first +place, I do not think that they are descended from the Egyptians, and, +in the second place, I think that all people who live in that way are +called gypsies, no matter what country they come from. I must now +close.--Your constant reader, + + FRANK WARD. + + + New York, N. Y. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Did you know that we once had musical watchmen in +this country? Less than fifty years ago, it was quite usual in +Pennsylvania for the watchmen to sing the passing hours during the +night. I suppose the custom was brought over by the Germans, who settled +in the Keystone State. I fancy it must have been sleepy work for the +poor watchman, calling the quiet hours, and adding, as he always did, +his little weather report; at least, he invented a very drowsy, +sing-song sort of tune for it. + +In these days of telegraphing, and other scientific improvements, we +should think it a very uncertain, and rather stupid, way to judge of the +weather, to say it was "past ten o'clock on a starry evening," or "a +cloudy evening," or "a frosty morning." Now, we have only to pick up the +morning paper, and consult "Old Probabilities," who nearly always +forecasts truly. But in those times there were no telegraph wires +running the length and breadth of the land, and no Signal Service, +either, so that the regular cry of the watchman may have been held in +high esteem; and, perhaps, the sleepy folk would raise an ear from the +pillow to hear the "probabilities" for the coming day, and lie down +again to arrange business or pleasure accordingly. + +A hundred years ago the people of Philadelphia were startled by a +famous cry of a watchman at dead of night, making every one who heard it +wild with joy. It was just after the battle of Yorktown, the last of the +Revolution, when Lord Cornwallis and his army surrendered to Washington. +The bearer of the news of victory, entering Philadelphia, stopped an old +watchman to ask the way to the State House, where Congress was in +session, waiting for news from the army. As soon as the watchman heard +the glad tidings, he started off on his rounds, singing out to his +monotonous tune the remarkable words-- + + "Past four o'clock, Cornwallis is taken!" + +Up flew the windows on all sides, and every ear was strained to catch +the joyful sound. The old bell sent forth a glad peal, houses were +thrown open and illuminated, and the streets were filled with happy +people congratulating one another, paying visits, and drinking toasts; +so that, could but one thousand of the seven thousand British soldiers +captured that day by Washington have entered the city that night, they +might have taken it without a struggle.--Yours very truly, + + E. A. S. + + + St. James House, King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: A few days ago my brother and I had a little bazaar +which I should like to tell you about. We had been collecting and making +things for a good long time, so we had nearly forty, most of which we +made ourselves, but some were given to us by friends. I copied some of +the things out of "A Hundred Christmas Presents," in ST. NICHOLAS for +November, 1877. They were very pretty, especially the little +wheelbarrow. We had a little refreshment stall with sweets, +ginger-snaps, etc., and they sold more quickly than anything. We got L1, +1s., a guinea, which we sent to an orphan institution in London. + +I like your magazine very much, I do not know which part is the +best.--Yours truly, + + M. Y. GIBSON. + + + Bay Shore, Long Island. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I lived in Germany over four years, so I know +something about it. I should like to tell you about rafts on the Elbe. + +They are of several kinds. Some are of boards all ready to be sold, +others of round timber, just cut; another kind is of squared logs, and a +fourth of both logs and boards. As the Elbe is not a rapid river, the +unaided progress of a raft is very slow. So each man on it has a pole +with an iron point on one end, while the other end fits to the shoulder; +and the men pole along most of the time. To each end of the raft there +are fastened three or four oars about twenty feet long; and with these +they steer. The Elbe is so shallow that in the summer time boys walk +through it; but in the spring the snow melting in the mountains at the +river's source (Bohemia) makes freshets which carry off animals, boards, +planks and sometimes houses. Under the arch-ways of the bridge at +Dresden during these freshets, there are suspended large nets, two +corners of each of which are fastened to the railing of the bridge, the +lower side is heavily weighted and dropped, and so the net catches +anything which comes down the stream.--Yours respectfully, + + FRANK BERGH TAYLOR. + + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I wish that you would tell me how to make skeleton +leaves. I have seen some done just lovely, and so I think that I should +like to try--even if I don't succeed--to make some myself. I am going to +the country this summer to stay quite a long time, and so I shall have a +chance to get a great many different kinds of leaves.--Your constant +reader, + + IRENE C. W. + + Irene's question is answered in Volume III. of ST. NICHOLAS, pages + 115 and 116,--the number for December, 1875. + + +THE VOYAGES AND ADVENTURES OF VASCO DA GAMA. By George M. Towle. Eight +Full-page Illustrations. Published by Lee & Shepard, Boston. In 294 +pages of clear type this book gives a cleverly condensed account of the +most interesting events in the life of Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese +navigator who first found the way from Europe to India around the Cape +of Good Hope. His daring nobility of character and true and exciting +adventures are presented in such a way as to delight boys and girls, and +yet the romance that cannot be taken from the story is not allowed to +interfere with historical truth. As the first of a series entitled +"Heroes of History," this volume makes a good start in a pleasant and +fruitful field. + + + + +THE RIDDLE-BOX. + + +DOUBLE ACROSTIC. + +The initials and finals name a flower. 1. A fruit. 2. A Shakspearean +character. 3. A neck of land. 4. A spice. + + ISOLA. + + +NUMERICAL ENIGMA. + + It was 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 to the teacher's 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 me to go + home early, that I escaped the shower. + + C. D. + + +PICTORIAL TRANSPOSITION PUZZLES. + +Find for each picture a word, or words, that will correctly describe it, +and then transpose the letters of the descriptive word so as to form +another word, which will answer to the definition given below the +picture. + + B. + +[Illustration: 1. Aromatic kernels of a much used kind.] + +[Illustration: 2. Sovereigns.] + + +DIAMOND PUZZLE. + +1. In martin, not in curlew. 2. A rather showy bird. 3. A very showy +bird. 4. An Oriental animal. 5. In sparrow. + + C. O. + + +SQUARE-WORD. + +1. A wading-bird. 2. A talking-bird. 3. To turn aside. 4. Steadiness of +courage, or fortitude. 5. To go in. + + R. K. D. + + + + +SHAKSPEAREAN REBUS. + +[Illustration: A three-line quotation from one of Shakspeare's plays.] + + +GEOGRAPHICAL DOUBLE ACROSTIC. + +The initials name a large country of Asia, and the finals a country of +Europe renowned for its climate. + +1. A country of South America. 2. An ancient name for a narrow strait in +South-eastern Europe. 3. A British possession in Asia. 4. A kingdom of +Northern Hindostan. 5. A North American mountain system. + + SEDGWICK. + + +METAGRAM. + +I am a word, with meanings many; To plunge, is just as good as any. With +new head, I'm a piece of money; With other head, I'm "sweet as honey." +Another still, I'm a projection; One more, I sever all connection. +Another change, I'm the teeth to stick in; Another still, I plague your +chicken. One more new head, and I'm to taste; One more, and I discharge +with haste. + + I. W. H. + + +VERY EASY HIDDEN FURNITURE. + +(FOR LITTLE FOLKS.) + +1. May got a tablet for her Christmas. 2. My father walks so fast! 3. +Such air as we breathe in our school-room is hurtful. 4. My brother's +tools are always out of place. 5. What? not going to the party to-night? +6. Vic! Ribbons are out of place on school-girls. 7. _What_ spool-cotton +is the best to use? 8. Boys, stop that racket! 9. Lily made skips going +along to school every day. + + C. I. J. + + +DOUBLE CROSS-WORD ENIGMA. + + 1. In shelf, but not in seat; + 2. In food, but not in meat; + 3. In slow, but not in fast; + 4. In model, but not in cast; + 5. In hovel, but not in hut; + 6. In almonds, but not in nut. + + Read this aright, and you will find + Two Yankee poets will come to mind. + + I. E. + + +TRANSPOSITIONS. + +In each of the following sentences, fill the first blank, or set of +blanks, with an appropriate word, or set of words, the letters of which +may be transposed to fill the remaining blanks, as often as these blanks +occur. + +Thus, in No. 1, the first blank may be appropriately filled with the +word "warned." The letters of this word, when transposed once, give +"warden" for the second blank, and, transposed again, "wander" for the +third. + +1. Though ---- before setting forth, the church ---- lost his way and +continued to ---- helplessly for some time. + +2. If a ----, or even a ---- had ---- at will through that well-kept +----, the plants would have been in great ----. + +3. If ---- grow in the Levantine island of ----, at least ----and ---- +are to be found there. This was told me as a ---- fact. + +4. Neither a precious stone such as a ----, nor a ---- ---- of pealed +willow, nor even a ---- of the sweet-pea vine, is of much account to an +animal so savage as the ----. W. + + +PROVERB REBUS. + +[Illustration] + + +CHARADE. + + Within my first, by no breeze stirred, + My second, mirrored, saw my third, + And plucked it, juicy, ripe and red, + From a stray branch just overhead. + + A town in India, owned by France, + My whole, might well enrich romance. + + J. P. B. + + +HOUR-GLASS PUZZLE. + +Central, read downward, an implement formerly used in war and the chase. +Horizontals: 1. To sing in solemn measure. 2. Mineral produce. 3. In +administrator. 4. A part of a toothed wheel. 5. An arbor. + + C. H. S. + + +CONTRACTIONS. + +1. Curtail a color, and leave the forehead. 2. Curtail a joiner's tool, +and leave a plot or draught. 3. Curtail a machine tool, and leave an +article used in house-building. 4. Curtail a shrub, and leave warmth. 5. +Curtail another shrub, and leave fog. 6. Curtail an ornament, and leave +a fruit. 7. Curtail a badge of dignity or power, and leave a bird. 8. +Curtail a thrust, and leave an organ of the human body. 9. Curtail a +number, and leave a building for defense. + + I. A. + + +WORD-SYNCOPATIONS. + +In each of the following sentences, remove one of the defined words from +the other, and leave a complete word. + +1. Take always from a young hare, and leave to allow. 2. Take a tree +from random cutting, and leave to throw. 3. Take part of the eye from +cuttings, and leave what children often say the kettle does. 4. Take a +sty from a workman in wood, and leave a carrier. 5. Take a favorite from +floor-coverings, and leave vehicles. + + CYRIL DEANE. + + + + +ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN JULY NUMBER. + +DIAMOND REMAINDERS.--1. Dry. 2. Elope. 3. Drovers. 4. Spend. 5. Try. +Remaining diamond: 1. R. 2. Lop. 3. Rover. 4. Pen. 5. R. + +A CONCEALED BILL-OF-FARE.--1. Tea. 2. Beef. 3. Butter. 4. Ham. 5. Egg. +6. Meat. 7. Pie. 8. Fish. 9. Shad. 10. Salad. 11. Peas. 12. Hash. + +EASY "ANNIVERSARY" PUZZLES.--Three anniversaries: 1. Fourth of July; J +is a fourth part of the word "July." 2. First of May; M is the first +letter of the word "May." 3. Holidays; hollied A's. + +GEOGRAPHICAL SINGLE ACROSTIC.--Liverpool 1. Liffey. 2. Irrawaddy. 3. +Vienne. 4. Euphrates. 5. Rhone. 6. Po. 7. Oder. 8. Ohio. 9. Lena. + +EASY HIDDEN LATIN PROVERB.--Tempus fugit: (Time flies.) Totem pushed: +Orfugito. + +DROP-LETTER PUZZLE.--"Make hay while the sun shines." + +SQUARE-WORD.--1. Bread. 2. Rumor. 3. Emery. 4. Aorta. 5. Dryad. + +ANAGRAM DOUBLE-DIAMOND AND INCLOSED DOUBLE WORD-SQUARE.--Diamond, +across: 1, R; 2, hat; 3, mated; 4, pen; 5, S. Word-square, downward: 1, +Hap; 2, ate; 3, ten. + +EASY BEHEADINGS.--1. Y-awning. 2. G-ape. 3. W-ant. 4. C-rate. 5. +S-crape. 6. P-lace. 7. L-oaf. 8. S-hocks. 9. S-pin. 10. B-lot. 11. +B-ranch. 12. S-lack. + +SHAKSPEAREAN ENIGMA.--Rosalind. + +PICTORIAL PUZZLE.--Patience: Pan, pence, ape, can, cane, cent, ice, +pint, tin, ten, tie, net, pie, tea, cat, cape. + +NUMERICAL PUZZLE.--Belle's letters; _Belles-lettres._ + +CHARADE.--Harpsichord: Harp, sigh, chord. + +SYNCOPATIONS.--1. Pilaster, plaster, paster, pater. 2. Harem, harm, ham. +3. Clamp, clap, cap. + +ACROSTIC.--Mignonette. 1. MaN. 2. IcE. 3. GnaT. 4. NuT. 5. OdE. + +DOUBLE, REVERSED ACROSTIC.-- + + D--i--D + E--k--E + E--v--E + D--eifie--D + +ENIGMA.--Hans Christian Andersen. 1. Shasta. 2. Chin. 3. Reins. 4. Red. +5. Nan. + +EASY ENIGMA.--Tennis: Sin, net. + +BIOGRAPHICAL DOUBLE ACROSTIC.--Abraham Lincoln. 1. AdmiraL. 2. BandittI. +3. RobiN. 4. ArC. 5. HerO. 6. AnviL. 7. MarteN. + +HOUR-GLASS PUZZLE.--Chamois. 1. DisCern, 2. ScHah. 3. DAn. 4. M. 5. FOe. +6. PaIns. 7. VasSals. + +REVERSALS.--1. Flow, wolf. 2. Draw, ward. 3. Gulp, plug, 4. Laud, dual. +5. Leer, reel. + + +ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN THE JUNE NUMBER were received, before June 18, +from "Allie," Milly E. Adams, Maude Adams, George J. Fiske, Jeanie A. +Christie, "Fannie," Edward Vultee, "Aimee," Estella Lohmeyer, Bertha +Keferstein, Willie B. Deas, "Winnie," "Vulcan," "St. Nicholas Club," +Chas. Carhart, "Patrolman Gilhooley," Harry Price, Frankie Price, M. W. +C., "Prebo," "Cozy Club," E. S. G., M. H. G., "Lillian," Gertrude H., +Bessie G., Georgie B., Adele F. Freeman, Nessie E. Stevens, Minnie +Thiebaud, Eleanor P. Hughes, Ella Blanke, Kittie Blanke, "Bessie and her +Cousin," Alice Robinson, C. S. King, Wm. H. McGee, Adele G. D., E. F. +T., Nettie Kabrick, Debe D. Moore, Neils E. Hansen, Isabel Lauck, "O. +K.," Alfred Terry Barnes, Florence Wilcox, Francis H. Earp, Imogene M. +Wood, Horace F. W., Rowen S. McClure, Julia Crofton, "The P. L. C.," S. +Norris Knapp, "K. Y. Z.," "Nameless," W. C. Eichelberger, John Cress, +Daisy Briggs, Romeo Friganzi De Plonzies De Flon, G. P. Dravo, Marshall +B. Clarke, Mary L. Fenimore, Bessie H. Jones, Samuel Hoyt Brady, Edith +McKeever, R. Townsend McKeever, Annie L. Volkmar, E. Gilchrist, H. B. +Ayers, S. A. Gregory, Virgie Gregory, "Caprice," Lewis G. Davis, Charles +Fritts, Frances Hunter, Ray T. French, Nellie Zimmerman, Kittie Tuers, +Etta Taylor, Guardie Kimball, Lulu Loomis, W. A. Ricker, Florence R. +Swain, Nellie Baker, Gracie Van Wagenen, Rosie Van Wagenen, C. B. +Murray, Gertrude Cheever, Albert T. Emery, Florence Van Rensselaer, +"Hard and Tough," Nellie Emerson, Hans Oehme, Paul Oehme, C. N. +Cogswell, Louisa Blake, W. H. Patten, Clara F. Allen, Caroline Howard, +Helen Jackson, Ethel S. Mason, Helen S. Rodenstein, Harry Durand, +Charles H. Stout, Sarah Duffield, Constance Grand-Pierre, "Prince +Arthur," Madeleine Boniville, K. Beddle, Georgine C. Schnitzspahn, Mamie +Robbins, C. L. S. Tingley, A. M. Holz, "Black Prince," J. R. Garfield, +Anna E. Mathewson, "Adrienne," Grace A. Smith, M. H. Bradley, Gladys H. +Wilkinson, and "John Gilpin." + +THE LABYRINTH PUZZLE was solved by Esther L. Fiske, "Aimee," Estella +Lohmeyer, Bertha Keferstein, "Vulcan," "Patrolman Gilhooley," Chas. H. +Stout, M. W. C., "Cozy Club," R. M., Nessie E. Stevens, Minnie Thiebaud, +Eleanor P. Hughes, Ella Blanke, Kittie Blanke, "Bessie and her Cousin," +Adele G. D., Horace F. W., S. Norris Knapp, W. C. Eichelberger, John +Cress, Romeo Friganzi De Plonzies De Flon, Samuel Hoyt Brady, Eddie K. +Earle, R. Townsend McKeever, Nettie F. Mack, "Caprice," C. Maud Olney, +Frances Hunter, Charles Fritts, Harvey E. Mason, Lulu B. Monroe, Nellie +Baker, Nellie Emerson, Caroline Howard, "Diaconos," Sarah Duffield, +Constance Grand-Pierre, William T. Gray, K. Beddle, Georgine C. +Schnitzspahn, Gladys H. Wilkinson, and H. Martin Vail. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and +Girls, Vol. V, August, 1878, No 10., by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS MAGAZINE *** + +***** This file should be named 29983.txt or 29983.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/9/8/29983/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(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. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. 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