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diff --git a/36035.txt b/36035.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..867b3f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/36035.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6310 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas Vol. XIII, September, 1886, +No. 11, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: St. Nicholas Vol. XIII, September, 1886, No. 11 + An Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks + +Author: Various + +Editor: Mary Mapes Dodge + +Release Date: May 5, 2011 [EBook #36035] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS VOL. XIII *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Martin Mayer and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + +Transcribers notes: + + 1. Italics rendered with underline e.g. _italics_. + 2. Small Caps rendered with all caps e.g. SMALL CAPS. + 3. Ligatures rendered with [ ] e.g. [OE]dipus. + + + + +[Illustration: "THE CONNOISSEURS." + +ENGRAVED BY PERMISSION OF HENRY GRAVES & CO., LONDON. AFTER THE +PAINTING BY SIR EDWIN LANDSEER. (SEE PAGE 814.)] + + + + +ST. NICHOLAS. + + VOL. XIII. SEPTEMBER, 1886. NO. 11. + + [Copyright, 1886, by THE CENTURY CO.] + + + + +STORIES OF ART AND ARTISTS: ENGLISH PAINTERS. + +BY CLARA ERSKINE CLEMENT. + + +When Henry VIII. came to the throne of England, he was a magnificent +prince. He loved pleasure and pomp and invited many foreign artists to +his court. After a time, however, he became indifferent to art, and it +is difficult to say whether he lessened or added to the art-treasures of +England. + +The long reign of Queen Elizabeth--forty-seven years--afforded great +opportunity for the encouragement of art. But most of the painters whom +she employed were foreigners. + +King Charles I. was a true lover of art. Rubens and Vandyck were his +principal painters, and Inigo Jones his architect; the choice of such +artists proves the excellence of his artistic taste and judgment. He +employed many other foreign artists, of whom it need only be said that +the English artists profited much by their intercourse with them, as +well as by the study of foreign pictures which the King purchased. + +In fact, before the time of William Hogarth, portraits had been the only +pictures of any importance which were painted by English artists, and no +one painter had become very eminent. No native master had originated a +manner of painting which he could claim as his own. + +Hogarth was born near Ludgate Hill, London, in 1697. + +In 1734, he produced some works which immediately made him famous. He +had originated a manner of his own; he had neither attempted to +illustrate the stories of Greek Mythology, nor to invent allegories, as +so many painters had done before him; he simply gave form to the nature +that was all about him, and painted just what he could see in London +every day. His pictures of this sort came to be almost numberless, and +no rank in society, no phase of life, escaped the truthful +representation of his brush. + +He was a teacher as well as an artist, for his pictures dealt with +familiar scenes and subjects and presented the lessons of the follies of +his day with more effect upon the mass of the people than any writer +could produce with his pen, or any preacher by his sermons. + +Hogarth died at his house in Leicester Fields, on October 26, 1764. + +His success aroused a strong faith and a new interest in the native art +of England, which showed their results in the establishment of the Royal +Academy of Arts. A little more than four years after Hogarth's death, +this Academy was founded by King George III. The original members of the +Academy numbered thirty-four, and among them was + + +JOSHUA REYNOLDS, + +who afterward became its first president. + +His father, Samuel Reynolds, was the rector of a grammar school at +Plympton, in Devonshire, and in that little hamlet, on July 16, 1723, +was born Joshua, the seventh of eleven children. + +When Joshua was but a mere child, his father was displeased to find him +devoted to drawing; on a sketch which the boy had made, his father +wrote: "This is drawn by Joshua in school, out of pure idleness." The +child found the "Jesuit's Treatise on Perspective," and studied it with +such intelligence that before he was eight years old he made a sketch of +the school and its cloister which was so accurate that his astonished +father exclaimed, "Now this justifies the author of the 'Perspective' +when he says that, by observing the laws laid down in his book, a man +may do wonders; for this is wonderful!" + +When about twelve years old, Joshua, while in church, made a sketch upon +his thumb-nail of the Rev. Thomas Smart. From this sketch, he painted +his first picture in oils; his canvas was a piece of an old sail, his +colors were common ship-paint, and he did his work in a boathouse on +Cremyll Beach. + +In 1740, when Joshua was seventeen years old, his father tried to carry +out his plan to apprentice him to a druggist, but the boy was greatly +opposed to this. He said, "I would prefer to be an apothecary rather +than an _ordinary_ painter; but if I could be bound to an eminent +master, I should choose that." Fortunately Lord Edgecumbe and other +friends advised the boy's father in his favor, and so Joshua was finally +sent to London and bound to Thomas Hudson, then the best portrait +painter in England. After two years, Hudson suddenly dismissed the youth +from his studio, though his agreement was for four years; the master +said that Joshua neglected his orders, but others believed Hudson to be +jealous of his pupil's success. + +Joshua returned to Devonshire and settled at Plymouth, five miles from +his home. There he painted about thirty portraits of the principal +persons of the neighborhood, at the price of three guineas each. One of +these portraits, painted in 1746, was shown to him thirty years later, +when he lamented that his progress in all that time had been so little. + +At the home of his friend, Lord Edgecumbe, he had formed a friendship +with the young Commodore Keppel, who in 1749 was ordered to the +Mediterranean. He invited Reynolds to sail with him as his guest, and, +the invitation being accepted, the painter did not return to England +until the end of 1752. He visited Portugal, Spain, Algiers, Minorca, +Italy, and France. + +He kept diaries during this journey, which are very interesting and +valuable; they contain many sketches of scenes and pictures which he +admired, as well as his written opinions of all that he saw. Several of +these diaries are in the Lenox Library, in New York; others are in the +Soane Museum, London, and in the Museum of Berlin. + +Not long after his return to England, Reynolds settled himself in +London. He lived in handsome rooms in St. Martin's Lane, and his sister +Frances was his housekeeper. + +Very soon Reynolds's studio came to be the popular resort of artists, +and, through the influence of Lord Edgecumbe, many nobles became his +patrons. He painted a full-length portrait of Commodore Keppel, which at +once established his reputation. The Commodore was represented as +standing on a rocky shore with a stormy sea in the background. This +picture was received with enthusiasm, and in his second London year +Reynolds had one hundred and twenty sitters, among whom were many +notable people. The artist removed to Great Newport street, and charged +twelve guineas for a bust, twenty-four guineas for half-length and +double that sum for a full-length portrait. + +Dr. Johnson and Reynolds met for the first time in 1753, and from that +time they were faithful friends. Dr. Johnson delighted not only in +Reynolds's success as a painter, but, perceiving his other talents, he +insisted on his writing for _The Idler_, by which means the artist +published a series of brilliant articles and made himself a name in +literary circles. This kindness was more than repaid, for, after Dr. +Johnson became too poor to keep house for himself, he was always welcome +to the home and purse of Reynolds. + +In 1760, the master again raised his prices for his work, and at about +the same time established himself in the house in Leicester Square, in +which he passed the remainder of his life. This house was very fine, +and, though it exhausted all his savings to fit it up, he spent still +more in setting up a gorgeous carriage for his sister, and in other +expenses which served to advertise his success to all who observed them. + +Reynolds seemed to have reached the height of popularity, when, in 1768, +he was elected first President of the Royal Academy, and was knighted by +the King. He was of great advantage to the Academy, and heartily devoted +to its interests. He was active in establishing its schools and +equipping them with models, libraries, and conveniences for study; he +gave much attention to its exhibitions, and founded the famous Academy +dinners, at which men of rank and genius were brought together in such a +way as to render these occasions the most remarkable gatherings in the +United Kingdom. From time to time he also delivered his well-known +"Discourses on Art," which are notable alike for the good judgment in +the selection of the subjects treated, and for the literary skill with +which they are written. + +About 1770, Sir Joshua built a villa at Richmond Hill. In the same year, +he spent a month in Plympton, and at that time also, he brought to his +home his niece, Theophila Palmer, who remained with him until her +marriage, eleven years later. She was very beautiful, and is known to +all the world as the "Offy" of the famous "Strawberry Girl." Other +pictures of her which Sir Joshua painted also became famous. + +With the exception of the trip with Commodore Keppel Sir Joshua spent +little time out of England. In 1768 he visited Paris, and in 1780 he +passed two months in Holland and Germany. When absent from London, he +was usually at the house of some friend in the country, or at his old +home, of which he was always fond. + +[Illustration: COPY OF A PORTRAIT BY SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS.] + +Few men have been so much admired by such a diversity of people as was +Sir Joshua Reynolds. The testimony of his friends presents him to us as +a man of admirable character. Perhaps no one knew him more intimately +than James Northcote, who was received into his family as a poor +Devonshire lad; he remained with Sir Joshua five years, and left him a +prosperous painter. Northcote found him kindly, modest, and lovable in +every way. He thus describes him personally: "In his stature, Sir Joshua +Reynolds was rather under the middle size, of a florid complexion, +roundish, blunt features, and a lively aspect; not corpulent, though +somewhat inclined to it, but extremely active; with manners uncommonly +polished and agreeable. In conversation, his manner was perfectly +natural, simple, and unassuming. He most heartily enjoyed his +profession, in which he was both famous and illustrious; and I agree +with Mr. Malone, who says he appeared to him to be the happiest man he +had ever known." + +In 1789, Sir Joshua lost the sight of his left eye, and though this +changed his whole life, he retained his calm cheerfulness, and occupied +his mind with the exciting topics of the time; for it happened that the +storming of the Bastille occurred in the very week in which he gave up +his pencil. He still used his brush a very little to finish or retouch +works which were still on his hands, but he sadly said: "There is now an +end of pursuit; the race is over, whether it is lost or won." + +In 1790, troubles arose in the Academy, and Sir Joshua felt himself so +badly used that he resigned his presidency and his membership of the +institution. The King requested him to return, but he refused until the +Academy publicly apologized to him. He then resumed his office, and in +December delivered his final discourse. + +The remainder of his life was a gradual decline; his sight grew weaker, +and his strength less, until February 23, 1792, when he died easily, +never having suffered much pain. The King directed that his body should +lie in state in the Academy rooms in Somerset House. The funeral was +grand and solemn; the pall-bearers were dukes, marquises, earls, and +lords; ninety-one carriages followed the hearse, in which were the first +nobles, scholars, and prelates of the realm, with all the members and +students of the Academy. He was buried near Sir Christopher Wren, in St. +Paul's Cathedral, where Vandyck had already been laid, and where, in +later years, a goodly number of painters have been buried around him. In +1813, a statue, by Flaxman, was erected to his memory near the choir of +the cathedral, and a Latin inscription recounts the talents and virtues +of the great man whom it commemorates. + +[Illustration: THE LADIES WALDEGRAVE. (FROM A PAINTING BY SIR JOSHUA +REYNOLDS.)] + +Having thus traced the story of Sir Joshua's life, it now remains to +speak of him more especially as an artist. + +His highest fame is as a portrait painter, and as such he was a great +genius. He had the power to reproduce the personal peculiarities of his +subjects with great exactness; he was also able to perceive their +qualities of temper, mind, and character, and he made his portraits so +vivid with these attributes that they were likenesses of the minds as +well as of the persons of his subjects. In his portrait of Goldsmith, +self-esteem is as prominent as the nose; passion and energy are in every +line of Burke's face and figure; and whenever his subject possessed any +individual characteristics, they were plainly shown in Reynolds's +portraits. So many of these pictures are famous that we can not speak of +them in detail. Perhaps no one portrait is better known than that of +the famous actress, Mrs. Sarah Siddons, as the Tragic Muse. It is a +noble example of an idealized portrait, and it is said that the "Isaiah" +of Michael Angelo suggested the manner in which it is painted. Sir +Thomas Lawrence declared this to be the finest portrait of a women in +the world, and it is certain that this one picture would have made any +painter famous. Sir Joshua inscribed his name on the border of the robe, +and courteously explained to the lady, "I could not lose the honor this +opportunity afforded me of going down to posterity on the hem of your +garment." + +The original of this work is said to be that in the gallery of the Duke +of Westminster; a second is in the Dulwich Gallery. In speaking of Sir +Joshua as a portrait painter, Mr. Ruskin says: "Considered as a painter +of individuality in the human form and mind, I think him the prince of +portrait painters. Titian paints nobler pictures, and Vandyck had nobler +subjects, but neither of them entered so subtly as Sir Joshua did into +the minor varieties of heart and temper." + +His portraits of simply beautiful women can scarcely be equaled in the +world. He perfectly reproduced the delicate grace and beauty of some of +his sitters and the brilliant, dazzling charms of others. He loved to +paint richly hued velvets in contrast with rare laces, ermine, feathers, +and jewels. It is a regret that so many of his works are faded, but +after all we must agree with Sir George Beaumont, when he said: "Even a +faded picture from him will be the finest thing you can have." + +The most attractive of his works are his pictures of children. It is +true that they too are portraits, but they are often represented in some +fancy part, such as the "Strawberry Girl,"[1] a portrait of his niece +Offy; Muscipula, who holds a mouse-trap; the Little Marchioness; the +Girl with a Mob-cap, and many others. He loved to paint pictures of boys +in all sorts of characters, street-peddlers, gipsies, cherubs, and so +on. He often picked up boy models in the street and painted from them in +his spare hours, between his appointments with sitters. Sometimes he +scarcely hustled a beggar boy out of his chair in time for some grand +lady to seat herself in it. It is said that one day one of these +children fell asleep in so graceful an attitude that the master seized a +fresh canvas and made a sketch of it; this was scarcely done, when the +child threw himself into a different pose without awakening. Sir Joshua +added a second sketch to the first and from these made his beautiful +picture of "The Babes in the Wood." More than two hundred of his +pictures of children have been engraved, and these plates form one of +the loveliest collections that can be made from the works of any one +artist. + + [1] An engraving of this picture was given as the frontispiece of + ST. NICHOLAS for April, 1876; and our readers will remember + also the account of Sir Joshua Reynolds's portrait of "Little + Penelope Boothby" in ST. NICHOLAS for November, 1875, + illustrated with a full-page reproduction of the painting.--ED. + +When Sir Joshua was at the height of his power, he was accustomed to +receive six sitters a day, and he often completed a portrait in four +hours. + +Good prints from his works are now becoming rare and are valuable. + +As we close this account of Sir Joshua Reynolds, it is pleasant to +remember that so great a man was so good a man, and to believe that +Burke did not flatter him when, in his eulogy, he said: "In full +affluence of foreign and domestic fame, admired by the expert in art and +by the learned in science, courted by the great, caressed by sovereign +powers, and celebrated by distinguished poets, his native humility, +modesty, and candor never forsook him, even on surprise or provocation; +nor was the least degree of arrogance or assumption visible to the most +scrutinizing eye in any part of his conduct or discourse." + + +RICHARD WILSON + +was another original member of the Academy, and though not the first +English artist who had painted landscapes, he was the first whose +pictures merited the honorable recognition which they now have. Wilson's +story is a sad one; he was not appreciated while he lived, and his whole +life was saddened by seeing the works of foreign artists, which were +inferior to his own, sold for good prices, while he was forced to sell +his to pawnbrokers, who, it is said, could not dispose of them at any +price. + +Wilson was the son of a clergyman and was born at Pinegas, in +Montgomeryshire, in 1713. He first painted portraits and earned money +with which, in 1749, he went to Italy, where he remained six years. His +best works were Italian views, and he is now considered as the best +landscape painter of his day, with the one exception of Gainsborough. + +Wilson died in 1782, and it is pleasant to know that after more than +sixty years of poverty he received a legacy from a brother, and the last +two years of his life were years of peaceful comfort. + + +THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH, + +though a great artist, had an uneventful life. He was the son of a +clothier and was born in Sudbury, in Suffolk, in 1727. His boyish habit +of wandering about the woods and streams of Suffolk, making sketches, +and finding in this his greatest pleasure, induced his father to send +him to London to study art, when about fifteen years old. He studied +first under a French engraver, Gravelot, who was of much advantage to +him; next he was a pupil of Francis Hayman at the Academy, in St. +Martin's Lane, but Nature was his real teacher. + +After a time he settled in Hatton Square, and painted both portraits and +landscapes. But at the end of four years of patient work, his patrons +were so few that he left London and returned to Sudbury. + +It happened that once when he was sketching a wood-scene, Margaret Burr +had crossed his line of sight; he had added her figure to his picture, +and from this circumstance they had come to be friends. Soon after, +Gainsborough returned to his home, and Margaret became his wife. He was +careless and unthrifty, while she was quite the reverse. She was thus a +true helpmate to him, and to her carefulness we owe the preservation of +many of his pictures. + +After his marriage, Gainsborough settled in Ipswich; in 1760 he removed +to Bath, and here both in portraits and landscapes he made such a +reputation, that when, fourteen years later, he removed to London, he +was considered the rival of Reynolds in portraits and of Wilson as a +painter of scenery. Gainsborough was one of the original Academicians, +and on one occasion at a gathering of artists, Sir Joshua Reynolds +proposed the health of Gainsborough, and called him "the greatest +landscape painter of the day." Wilson, who was present, was piqued by +this, and exclaimed: + +"Yes, and the greatest portrait painter, too." + +Sir Joshua realized that he had been ungracious and apologized to +Wilson. + +Gainsborough exhibited many works in the gallery of the Academy, but in +1783 he was offended by the hanging of one of his portraits, and refused +to send his pictures there afterward. He was an impulsive, passionate +man, and he had several disputes with Sir Joshua, who always admired and +praised the work of his rival. But when about to die, Gainsborough sent +for Reynolds to visit him, and all their differences were healed. The +truth was that they had always respected and admired each other. The +last words of Gainsborough were: + +"We are all going to heaven, and Vandyck is of the company." + +He died August 2, 1788. + +The celebrated "Blue Boy," by Gainsborough, now in the Grosvenor +Gallery, is said to have been painted to spite Sir Joshua, who had said +that blue should not be used in masses. + +But there was a soft and lovable side to this wayward man. His love for +music was a passion, and he once gave a painting of his, "The Boy at the +Stile," to Colonel Hamilton as a reward for his playing the flute. + +His portraits may be thought to have too much of a bluish gray in the +flesh tints, but they are always graceful and pleasing. In 1876, his +famous painting "The Duchess of Devonshire" was sold for the +exceptionally high price of fifty thousand dollars. + + +GEORGE ROMNEY + +was born at Beckside, in Cumberland, in 1734. His life was very +discreditable. + +It is more pleasant to speak of his pictures, for his portraits were so +fine that he was a worthy rival to Sir Joshua Reynolds. His pictures are +mostly in private galleries, but that of the beautiful Lady Hamilton, in +the National Gallery, is a famous work. He was ambitious to paint +historical subjects, and some of his imaginary pictures are much +admired. He was fitful in his art, and he began so many works which he +left unfinished, that they were finally removed from his studio by +cart-loads. There was also an incompleteness in the pictures which he +called finished; in short, the want of steadfastness, which made him an +unfaithful husband and father, went far to lessen his artistic merit. At +the same time, it is true that he was a great artist and justly +celebrated in his best days; his works excel in vigorous drawing and +brilliant, transparent color. His pictures are rarely sold, and are as +valuable as those of his great contemporaries, Reynolds and +Gainsborough. + + +THOMAS LAWRENCE + +is the only other portrait painter of whom mention need be made here. He +was born at Bristol, in 1769, and much of his work belongs to our own +century. + +His father had been trained for the law, but had become an inn-keeper. +When a mere child, Thomas entertained his father's customers by his +recitations, and took their portraits with equal readiness. + +When he was ten years old, his family removed to Oxford, where he +rapidly improved in his drawing. When he first saw a picture by Rubens +he wept bitterly and sobbed out: + +"Oh, I shall never be able to paint like that!" + +In 1785, he received a silver palette from the Society of Arts as a +reward for a copy of Raphael's "Transfiguration," which he had made when +but thirteen years old. + +[Illustration: "THE BLUE BOY." (AFTER THE PAINTING BY THOMAS +GAINSBOROUGH. BY PERMISSION, FROM A FAC-SIMILE OF THE ETCHING +BY RAJON, PUBLISHED BY "L'ART.")] + +In 1787, the young painter entered the Royal Academy, London, and from +that time his course was one of repeated successes. Sir Joshua Reynolds +was his friend and adviser; he early attracted the attention of the King +and Queen, whose portraits he painted when but twenty-two years old. He +was elected to the Academy in 1794; after Sir Joshua's death he was +appointed painter to the King; he was knighted in 1815, and five years +later he was elected president of the Academy. He was also a member of +many foreign academies and a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. Rarely is +the path to honor and fame made so easy as it was to Sir Thomas +Lawrence. + +[Illustration: COPY OF A PORTRAIT BY GEORGE ROMNEY.] + +His London life was brilliant. His studio was crowded with sitters, and +money flowed into his purse in a generous stream,--for his prices were +larger than any other English painter had asked. But all this did him +little good, for somehow he was continually in debt and always poor. + +In 1814 he visited Paris, but he was recalled that he might paint the +portraits of the allied sovereigns, their statesmen, and generals. These +works were the first of the series of portraits of great men in the +Waterloo Chamber at Windsor Castle. In 1818 he attended the Congress at +Aix-la-Chapelle, for the purpose of adding portraits of notable people +to the gallery of the Prince-Regent. At length he was sent to Rome to +paint a likeness of the Pope and Cardinal Gonsalvi. He seems to have +been inspired with new strength by his nearness to the works of the +great masters in the Eternal City, for those two portraits are in merit +far beyond his previous work, and after his return to England from 1820 +to 1830, his pictures had a vigor and worth that was wanting at every +other period of his life. While in Rome, he also painted a portrait of +Canova which he presented to the Pope. + +When he reached London, he found himself to be the president-elect of +the Academy; it was a great honor, and Lawrence accepted it with +modesty. + +George IV., following the example of the graciousness of Charles I. +toward Vandyck, hung upon the painter's neck a gold chain bearing a +medal, on which the likeness of his majesty was engraved. In the +catalogue of the Academy, 1820, Lawrence is called "Principal Painter in +Ordinary to his Majesty, Member of the Roman Academy of St. Luke's, of +the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, and of the Fine Arts in New York." +To the last he had been elected in 1818, and had sent to the academy a +full-length portrait of Benjamin West. + +From that time on, there is little to relate of his life, except that he +was always busy and each year sent eight fine works to the Academy +Exhibition. His friends and patrons showed him much consideration, and +various honors were added to his list, already long. He was always +worried in regard to money matters, and he grieved much over the illness +of his favorite sister, but there was no striking event to change the +even current of his life. + +On January 7, 1830, he expired suddenly, exclaiming, "This is +dying,"--almost the same words used by George IV., a few months later. + +Sir Thomas Lawrence was a man of fine personal qualities; his generosity +may be called his greatest fault, for his impulses led him to give more +than he had--a quality which causes us to admire a man while at the same +moment it makes him guilty of grave faults. + +He was always generous to unfortunate artists and, in that way, he spent +large sums. He was also true to his ideas of right and wrong, even at +the expense of his own advantage. + +As an artist, Lawrence can not be given a very high rank, in spite of +the immense successes of his life. As in every case, there are opposite +opinions concerning him. He has hearty admirers, but he is also accused +of mannerisms and weakness. His early works are the most satisfactory, +because most natural; they are good in design, and rich in color. + + +JOSEPH MALLORD WILLIAM TURNER + +was an artist of great genius, and has exercised a powerful influence on +the art of the nineteenth century. He was the son of a barber, and was +born in Maiden Lane, London (a squalid alley in the parish of Covent +Garden), on April 23, 1775. When the boy was five years old, he was +taken by his father to the house of a customer of the barber's, and +while the shaving and combing went on, the child studied the figure of a +rampant lion engraved upon a piece of silver. After his return home, he +drew a copy of the lion so excellent that it decided his career, for +then and there the father determined that his son should be an artist. +As a child and youth, he was always sketching, and while he was fond of +nature in all her features, he yet had a preference for water views with +boats and cliffs and shining waves. + +In 1789, when fourteen years old, he entered the classes of the Royal +Academy, where he worked hard in drawing from Greek models. He had the +good fortune to be employed by Dr. Munro to do some copying and other +works, and by this stroke of luck he revelled in the fine pictures and +valuable drawings with which the house of his patron was filled. Toward +the end of Sir Joshua Reynolds's life, Turner was a frequent visitor at +his studio. + +In 1790, he sent his first contribution to the Academy Exhibition; it +was a view of Lambeth Palace, in water-colors. During the next ten +years, he exhibited more than sixty works, embracing a great variety of +subjects. The pictures included views from more than twenty-six counties +of England and Wales. + +In 1802, he was made a full member of the Academy and he also visited +the continent for the first time, traveling through France and +Switzerland only. He visited Italy in 1819, in 1829, and again in 1840. + +The pictures of Turner are often compared with those of Claude Lorraine, +and at times he painted in rivalry with Cuyp, Poussin, and Claude, +aiming to adopt the manner of these masters. + +In 1806, Turner followed the example of the great Lorraine in another +direction. Claude had made a _Liber Veritatis_, or "Book of Truth," +containing sketches of his finished pictures, in order that the works of +other painters could not be sold as his. Turner determined to make a +_Liber Studiorum_, or "Book of Studies." It was issued in a series of +twenty numbers, containing five plates each, and the subscription price +was L17.10_s._ There were endless troubles with the engravers and it was +not paying well, and was abandoned after seventy plates were issued. It +seemed to be so worthless that Charles Turner, one of the engravers, +used some of the proofs for kindling paper. After the artist became +famous, however, this _Liber Studiorum_ grew to be very valuable. Before +Turner died, a copy was worth thirty guineas, and more recently a single +copy has brought three thousand pounds, or nearly fifteen thousand +dollars. Colnaghi, the London print dealer, paid Charles Turner fifteen +hundred pounds for the proofs which he had not destroyed; and when the +old engraver remembered how he had lighted his fires, he exclaimed, "I +have been burning bank-notes all my life." + +[Illustration: COUNTESS GREY AND CHILDREN. (FROM A PORTRAIT BY SIR +THOMAS LAWRENCE.)] + +Turner grew very rich, but he lived in a mean, careless style. As long +as his father lived, he waited upon his great son as a servant might +have done; and after his death, an untidy, wizened old woman, Mrs. +Danby, was the only person to care for the house or the interests of the +painter. His dress was that of a very common person, and it is +impossible to understand how a man who so admired the beautiful in +nature could live in so miserly a manner as that of Turner. + +Some time before his death, Turner seemed to be hiding himself; his +friends could not discover his retreat, until, at last, his old +housekeeper traced him to a dingy Chelsea cottage. When his friends went +to him, he was dying, and the end soon came. His funeral, from Queen +Anne street, was an imposing one. The body was taken to St. Paul's +Cathedral, and there, surrounded by a large company of artists and +followed by the faithful old woman, it was laid to rest between the +tombs of Sir Joshua Reynolds and James Barry. His estate was valued at +about seven hundred thousand dollars and he desired that most of it +should be used to establish a home for poor artists, to be called +Turner's Gift. But the will was not clearly written--his relatives +contested it, and in the end, his pictures and drawings were given to +the National Academy; one thousand pounds was devoted to a monument to +his memory; twenty thousand pounds established the Turner Fund in the +Academy and yields annuities to six poor artists; and the remainder was +divided amongst his kinsfolk. + +Perhaps there never was a painter about whose works more extreme and +conflicting opinions have been advanced. Some of his admirers claim for +him the very highest place in art. His enemies can see nothing good in +his works and say that they may as well be hung one side up as another, +since they are only a mixture of splashes of color, and lights and +shades. Neither extreme is correct. In some respects, Turner is at the +head of English landscape painters, and no other artist has had the +power to paint so many different kinds of subjects or to employ such +variations of style in his work. His water-colors are worthy of the +highest praise; indeed, he created a school of water-color painting. At +the same time, it is proper to say that the works executed in his latest +period are not even commended by Ruskin,--his most enthusiastic +admirer,--and are not to be classed with those of his earlier days and +his best manner. + +This master was so fruitful, and he made so vast a number of pictures in +oil and water-colors, of drawings, and of splendid illustrations for +books, that we have no space in which to speak properly of the different +periods of his art. A large and fine collection of his paintings is in +the South Kensington Museum; "The Old Temeraire," the picture which he +would never sell, is there. "The Slave Ship," one of his finest +pictures, is owned in Boston, and other celebrated works of his are in +New York; but most of his pictures, outside the South Kensington Museum, +and the National Gallery, are in private collections, where no +catalogues have ever been made, so that no estimate of the whole number +can be given. + +I shall tell you of but one more English painter,--an artist whose life +and works are both very interesting, and of whom all young people must +be fond,-- + + +EDWIN LANDSEER. + +He was the youngest of the three sons of John Landseer, the eminent +engraver, and was born at No. 83 Queen Anne street, London, in March, +1802. The eldest son, Thomas, followed the profession of his father, and +in later years, by his faithful engraving after the works of Edwin, he +did much to confirm the great fame of his younger brother. Charles, the +second son of John Landseer, was a painter of historical subjects, and +held the office of Keeper of the Royal Academy during twenty years. + +Edwin Landseer had the good fortune to be aided and encouraged in his +artistic tastes and studies, even from his babyhood, for there are now +in the South Kensington Museum, sketches of animals made in his fifth +year, and good etchings which he did when eight years old. + +John Landseer taught his son to look to nature alone as his model. When +fourteen, he entered the Academy schools, and divided his time between +drawing in the classes and sketching from the wild beasts at Exeter +Change. He was a handsome, manly boy, and the keeper, Fuseli, was very +fond of him, calling him, as a mark of affection, "My little dog boy." + +He was very industrious and painted many pictures; the best of those +known as his early works is the "Cat's Paw." It represents a monkey +using the paw of a cat to push hot chestnuts from the top of a heated +stove; the struggles of the cat are useless and her kittens mew to no +purpose. This picture was once sold for one hundred pounds; it is now in +the collection of the Earl of Essex, at Cashiobury, and is worth more +than three thousand pounds. It was painted in 1822. + +Sir Walter Scott was in London when the "Cat's Paw" was exhibited, and +he was so pleased by the picture that he sought out the young painter +and invited him to go home with him. Sir Walter's well-known love of +dogs was a foundation for the intimate affection which grew up between +himself and Landseer. In 1824, the painter first saw Scotland, and +during fifty years he studied its people, its scenery, and its customs; +he loved them all and could ever draw new subjects and new enthusiasm +from the breezy north. Sir Walter wrote in his journal, "Landseer's dogs +are the most magnificent things I ever saw, leaping and bounding and +grinning all over the canvas." The friendship of Sir Walter had a great +effect upon the young painter; it developed the imagination and romance +in his nature and he was affected by the human life of Scotland so that +he painted the shepherd, the gillie, and the poacher, and made his +pictures speak the tenderness and truth as well as the fearlessness and +the hardihood of the Gaelic race. + +Landseer remained in the home of his father, until he was a person of +such importance that his friends felt that his dignity demanded a +separate establishment and urged this upon him. He could not lightly +sever his home ties, and it was after much hesitation that he removed to +No. 1 St. John's Wood Road, where he passed the remainder of his life. +He named his home "Maida Vale," in remembrance of the favorite dog of +Sir Walter Scott. It was a small house with a garden and a barn, which +he converted into a studio; from time to time he enlarged and improved +it, and it became the resort of a distinguished circle of people who +learned to love it for its generous hospitality and its atmosphere of +joyous content. + +The best period of Landseer's life was from 1824 to 1840. In the latter +year, he had the first attack of a disease from which he was never again +entirely free; he suffered from seasons of depression that shadowed all +his life with gloom, and at times almost threatened the loss of his +reason. + +It is said that Landseer was the first person who opened a communication +between Queen Victoria and the literary and artistic society of England. +Be that as it may, he was certainly the first artist to be received as a +friend by the Queen, who soon placed him on an unceremonious and easy +footing in her household. + +He was a frequent visitor at the royal palaces and received many rich +gifts from both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Between 1835 and 1866, +he painted a great many pictures of the Queen, of the various members of +her family and of the pets of the royal household. In 1850 he was +knighted and was at the very height of his popularity and success. + +With the single exception of Sir Joshua Reynolds, he visited and +received in his own house more distinguished persons than any other +British artist. He was the intimate friend of Dickens, Chantrey, Sidney +Smith, and other famous men. + +Landseer had an extreme fondness for studying and making pictures of +lions, and from the time when, as a boy, he dissected one, he tried to +obtain the body of every lion that died in London. Dickens was in the +habit of relating that on one occasion, when he and others were dining +with the artist, a servant entered and asked, "Did you order a lion, +sir?" as if it was the most natural thing in the world. The guests +feared that a living lion was about to enter, but it turned out to be +the body of the dead "Nero," of the Zooelogical Gardens, which had been +sent as a gift to Sir Edwin. + +His skill in drawing was marvelous, and was once shown in a rare way at +a large evening party. Facility in drawing had been the theme of +conversation, when a lady declared that no one had yet drawn two objects +at the same moment. Landseer would not allow that this could not be +done, and immediately took two pencils and drew a horse's head with one +hand and at the same time, a stag's head with the other hand. He painted +with great rapidity; he once sent to the exhibition a picture of rabbits +painted in three-quarters of an hour. Mr. Wells relates that at one time +when Landseer was visiting him, he left the house for church just as his +butler placed a fresh canvas on the easel before the painter; on his +return, three hours later, Landseer had completed a life-sized picture +of a fallow-deer, and so well was it done that neither he nor the artist +could see that it required retouching. + +Several portraits of Landseer exist and are well known, but that called +the "Connoisseurs," painted in 1865 for the Prince of Wales, is of great +interest. Here the artist has painted a half-length portrait of himself +engaged in drawing, while two dogs look over his shoulders with a +critical expression. + +In 1840, Landseer made a quite extended tour in Europe, and that was the +only time that he was long absent from Great Britain. In 1853, several +of his works were sent to the Exposition in Paris; he was the only +English artist who received the great gold medal. + +Sir Edwin Landseer was also a sculptor, and though he executed but few +works in this art, the colossal lions at the base of Nelson's Monument +in Trafalgar Square, London, are a triumph for him. He was chosen for +this work on account of his great knowledge of the "king of beasts." + +At his death he had modeled but one; the others were copied from it +under the care of the Baron Marochetti. + +Sir Edwin continued to work in spite of sadness, failing health and +sight, and in the last year of his life he executed four pictures, one +being an equestrian portrait of the Queen. + +He died October 1, 1873, and was buried with many honors in St. Paul's +Cathedral. He left a property of two hundred and fifty thousand pounds; +the pictures and drawings in his studio were sold for seventy thousand +pounds, and all this large sum, with the exception of a few small +bequests, was given to his brother Thomas and his three sisters, ten +thousand pounds being given to his brother Charles. + +I suppose that many of the pictures of Sir Edwin Landseer are well known +to the readers of ST. NICHOLAS. "High Life" and "Low Life," "A Highland +Breakfast," "Dignity and Impudence," the "Cat's Paw," "The Monarch of +the Glen," the "Piper and Nutcrackers," and others, are familiar in the +form of prints to many people in many lands, and they are pictures which +all must love. It is needless to add any long opinion of the artistic +qualities of this master; the critic Hamerton has happily summed up an +estimate of him in these words: "Everything that can be said about +Landseer's knowledge of animals, and especially of dogs, has already +been said. There was never very much to say, for there was no variety of +opinions, and nothing to discuss. Critics may write volumes of +controversy about Turner and Delacroix, but Landseer's merits are so +obvious to every one that he stood in no need of critical explanations. +The best commentators on Landseer, the best defenders of his genius, are +the dogs themselves; and so long as there exist terriers, deer-hounds, +and blood-hounds, his fame will need little assistance from writers upon +art." + +[Illustration: ONE OF THE LANDSEER LIONS AT THE BASE OF THE NELSON +MONUMENT, TRAFALGAR SQUARE, LONDON.] + + + + +UNDER THE SNOW. + +BY LILIAN DYNEVOR RICE. + + + All in the bleak December weather, + When north winds blow, + Five little clovers lay warm together + Under the snow. + "Wait," said they, "till the robins sing; + Wait, till the blossoms bud and spring; + Wait, till the rain and the sunbeams gay + Our winter blanket shall fold away-- + Then, we will try to grow." + + All in the fragrant May-time weather, + When south winds blow, + Five little clovers crept close together + Under the snow. + Poor, pink babies! They might have known + 'Twas only the pear-tree blossoms blown + By the frolic breeze; but they cried, "Oh, dear! + Surely the spring is late this year! + Still, we will try to grow." + + All in the sultry August weather, + When no winds blow, + Five little clovers were sad together + Under the snow. + 'Twas only the daisies waving white + Above their heads in the glowing light; + But they cried, "Will we never understand? + It always snows in this fairyland-- + Yet, we will try to grow." + + All in the bright September weather, + When west winds blow, + Five little clovers were glad together + Under the snow. + For now 'twas the muslin kerchief cool, + Of a dear little lass on her way to school. + "The sweetest snow-fall of all," said they; + "We knew our reward would come some day, + If only we'd try to grow!" + + + + +NAN'S REVOLT. + +BY ROSE LATTIMORE ALLING. + + +CHAPTER V. + +The Ferris tea-table was a very cheery board, where good spirits of a +most delightful and commendable kind flowed freely. The stiff and solemn +Wilders, who "partook of the joys of life furtively," were inclined to +be scandalized. Who cared? Not the Ferrises, and so, as has been said, +that happy family enjoyed life despite their critical neighbors, and as +they all gathered about the scarlet cloth that evening, they looked like +a band that ought never to be broken. + +Fun and laughter ran so high that the dear, tired father forgot his +legal cares and cracked his jokes. These were more or less bad,--but +what matter so long as the children thought him "just the darlingest, +funniest man in the world." No guest remained long in that genial +atmosphere without discovering the source of this sunny family-life, and +the true tendency of the current beneath all the froth and ripple of the +nonsense. + +From father and mother, down to little Claire, it was a family of +_friends_. That was the entire secret. There were no petty animosities, +no bickerings; everything was open and above-board. Sincere and loving +confidence bound them together. The girls were interested in all their +father's cases in court; while he, in turn, listened to all their +girlish performances with undivided attention. No new gown or hat was +completely satisfactory until he had passed a favorable judgment. Here +in his own small court he was "Judge Ferris," in that title's noblest +sense. And the mother? She was best sister of all among her +daughters,--"Mother and sister and queen,--all in one precious little +woman," as Nan said, lifting her off her feet with a vigorous embrace. + +But the toast was getting cold, and the festivity began as the plates +went 'round. The judicial wrinkles in Mr. Ferris's forehead were pulled +out by those radiating from the outer corners of his kind eyes; the +mother utterly lost her authority as the mirth rose to a gale; and +nobody paid the slightest attention to Lou's request for the honey. + +"Nan," said Mrs. Ferris, laughing, "you are the only one who isn't +behaving outrageously, so please attend to your sister's wants." But her +observant eye did not leave her daughter's thoughtful face, and she +asked, during a purely accidental lull in the chatter,--for she +sympathized even with moods in her children:--"What is it, dear; what +are you thinking about? You seem to be taking the butter-dish into your +confidence--we are jealous." + +Nan drew her eyes away, and, giving her mother a bright look, she +answered: "Why, I was thinking of the time, before we went to +boarding-school, when Papa called Evelyn and me to him and asked us +which we would rather have him do, scrimp us all our lives on advantages +and education, so that he could lay up something for our future, or, +instead of dowry or legacy, have our money as we went along, depending +upon our ability for the future." + +"And we voted as a single man, didn't we?" said Evelyn. + +"We did that same, Evelyn; we decided that we wanted but little here +below, but that we wanted that little right away!" + +"And I recall how magnanimously you promised to share my last crust with +me," said Mr. Ferris, hitching Nan's chair nearer to him. + +"Yes," continued she, "I'll never desert you. But I was going to say +that I don't think I have kept my part of the agreement. You have given +me advantages which even richer girls have not had, and I have not done +a thing with them yet. I have had a whole year of idleness, and I'm +tired of it, and want to go to work." + +The family had heard something of this independent mood before, but, as +nothing alarming came of it, they received this announcement without any +demonstration of surprise; indeed, Mr. Ferris attended to the +dissolution of the sugar in his second cup of tea before looking up, and +then he said, "Yes?" with a slowly rising inflection. + +"Yes!" came from Nan with a short downward one; "Yes, sir, and I have a +plan this time, and wish to consult my beloved family before doing +anything rash." + +"So that you can do it afterward with a clear conscience, I suppose?" +ventured her father, wickedly. + +"No, I shall do something a hundred times rasher if you oppose this +plan, for it is the least revolutionary thing I can think of." + +"Well?"--said her father, inquiringly. + +"You know how hard Aunt Hettie has tried to induce one of us to come +down to New York and spend the winter with her and Uncle Nat, and how +we have all begged off because they live so quietly and so far up town, +we thought we should simply stagnate? I should like to go there this +winter, not, I blush to say, for their sakes alone, but because I wish +to study." + +[Illustration: NAN FOUND CATHY FILLING A FIREPLACE WITH GOLDEN-ROD. +(SEE NEXT PAGE.)] + +"What! study more?" groaned Lou, who was only fourteen, and in the toils +of cube-root. + +"Yes, study more," asserted Nan. "I want to take a course of lessons in +a school of design, for I think I may do something in that line that may +pay, after a while. Now, observe the latent beauty of my scheme. By +spending the winter with them, I shan't need any new clothes--which +means that I intend to pay for my lessons out of my own allowance." + +"Oh, never mind that, dear child," Mr. Ferris said lovingly. + +"Yes, I _will_ mind! That is just what makes us girls so +good-for-nothing;--we don't 'mind' enough! I really think it would be +fun to actually _need_ a new dress and know I couldn't have it until I +_earned_ it--buttons, whale-bones, and braid. Anyhow, if it were not +fun, it would be good for my character. Now what do you all think?" and +Nan helped herself to cake, observing that the others had finished +theirs. + +Mr. Ferris, heaving an involuntary sigh, began: + +"Well, dear, as you know, your mother and I consider it our duty to +bring up our girls so that each can, if the necessity should come, earn +her own living; and perhaps the time is here for one to fly out of the +nest to try her wings,--ah, me!" + +"But that is just what I don't want to do; and one reason I hit upon +this plan is that it will take me away from home only one winter, +perhaps, and then not among strangers," said Nan. + +"But," objected Mr. Ferris, "do you know anything about this school?" + +"The Cooper Institute? I should think so. Why, it was reading about this +particular branch of decorative art in the newspaper, the other day, +that made me think of it." + +"Then, little girl," he said fondly, "I think I am pleased with your +plan." + +When they were all grouped before the fire, and Mr. Ferris had drawn Nan +close to him, as though somehow he were about to lose her, Evelyn took +her mother's hand in hers and began: + +"Papa, don't think I am going to do nothing; I am not like Nan, nor can +I do the things she can; but I try to believe each has a special talent, +and if I have a passion, it is for housekeeping; and Mother and I have a +lovely plan!" And those two exchanged a laughing glance of great +portent. + +Anything like secrecy immediately aroused in the Ferris family the most +vehement denunciation. + +"What _do_ you mean?" demanded the chorus. + +"Well, then, Mother hasn't the slightest idea what we are going to have +for breakfast to-morrow morning, because _I_ am the housekeeper of this +house, and I am going to buy everything and plan everything, and pay all +the bills,--with a little pecuniary aid from you, Papa,--and make a +study of beef and poultry, while Mother is going to do fancy-work and +read French novels. But I am only going to learn to do well what +ninety-nine girls out of every hundred have to do,--so there!" + +"Splendid! splendid!" shouted Mr. Ferris, going over to this oldest of +the flock and taking her face lovingly between his hands. "I declare, I +don't know of which to be proudest; you mutually surpass each other, my +children." + +"Wait until after to-morrow morning's breakfast, and I fear you will be +able to decide!" called the new housekeeper, as she disappeared to have +a consultation with the cook. + +All these revolutionary measures were not of the sudden growth that +their speedy results seem to indicate. Any girl who enjoys the luxury of +aimlessness during that long-desired period after she has "finished," +will, sooner or later, encounter that arch-fiend of happiness, +satiety,--the Apollyon of those who exist merely to have a "good time." +Nan had been reared amidst the most healthy influences, and her vigorous +young nature demanded more nourishing rations than those offered by the +life she had been leading. However, this longing had only come of late, +for she had been most devoted to the pomps and vanities, while her +parents had looked on with some anxiety, but held their peace, trusting +that she would "come out all right." + +Bert's surroundings were different, her home influences being wholly +worldly, her mother desiring nothing more of her daughter than that she +should move among the best circles, finally making a brilliant marriage. +Bert had not only dutifully but eagerly explored those aristocratic +precincts, and had enjoyed herself hugely, as she observed everything in +her own original and critical way, amusing herself with her own +conclusions. Her wit and breeziness made her always welcome, and she +could even enliven the clammy atmosphere of a young ladies' luncheon, as +there was always sure to be grateful laughter at her end of the table. +This success was exhilarating for a while, until she began to discover +that she got very little for her pains. She herself needed stimulating; +she demanded equal exertion from others; "why should she be interested +in uninteresting people?" she should like to know. She didn't find out. +She was already very privately admitting to herself that she "would like +to shake the best circles from center to circumference." But the poor +girl did not know what might be the social result, and to make a break +had never occurred to her as a possibility until Nan's audacity +suggested it. + +So, while Bert sat on the other side of her father's desk and signed +letters in her most elegant hand, "Mitchell & Co., per B.," wondering if +the junior members of the firms to which she had been writing would ever +guess who "B." was, or if they would conclude it stood for some stupid, +round-shouldered Brown or Bates or Baker,--Nan sped down to Cathy's to +be the first to announce Bert's business career, as Evelyn's new cares +detained her at home. + +[Illustration: THE "B." OF MITCHELL & CO.] + +Nan found Cathy filling a fireplace with a yellow glory of golden-rod. + +"That's lovely!" commented Nan. "But what if you want a fire some of +these cool evenings?" + +"Why, that's the beauty of my idea; the fire is all ready to light under +these, and when we want one all we have to do is to let the whole thing +burn up; the golden-rod will be dried by that time, and then I can get +more. See?" + +"Good; that's sensible; for if there is anything I hate, it is a grate +too fine to have a big, roaring fire in it. You always were an artist in +flowers. But that isn't what I came to remark. What do you suppose Bert +has done now?" + +Then followed a long talk, such as only girls are equal to, during which +Bert's clerkship and Evelyn's housekeeping venture were discussed, and +Nan's own plans divulged. + +"Oh, me!" Cathy sighed hopelessly. "This is all very soul-stirring; I +only am behind. I can't dash about and assert myself as you girls do, +and besides, I think it is my duty to stay at home with Mother." + +This duty Cathy had borne sweetly, for her mother was a doleful +companion, who was making the mistake of casting a shadow over this +daughter's life because her only other daughter had not been spared to +her. This grief and the loss of her husband many years before had not +taught her to make the lives of those still left to her as happy as +possible; yet Cathy cheerfully made "sunshine in a shady place," while +Fred manfully shouldered his father's business, which weighed heavily on +his young shoulders. + +"But I do want an object in life besides," continued Cathy, "for staying +where I am put is only half my duty. If I should relieve Mother of the +housekeeping I believe she would die, so I can't follow Evelyn's +example. What _can_ I do?" she asked mournfully. + +Nan was reflecting that there were three kinds of girls,--those who led, +like Bert; those who are led, like Evelyn; and those who must be pushed, +like Cathy. "And maybe it is my duty to push," she thought. + +"Well, Catherine," she began, settling herself in her chair, "would you +really like to earn your own living?" + +"Yes; I most certainly should like to do something toward it, for I have +often wondered if dear old Fred didn't forego part of his own profits +from the nursery for our sakes. Did you girls find out your vocations +all alone, without any help or suggestion from others?" she continued. + +"Bert did, of course," said Nan. "Who ever knew her to take advice from +anybody? But Evelyn and I talked all day and all night, and alternately +propped each other's falling spirits, and last night the jury of the +entire family sat upon us!" + +"Oh, yes----" and Cathy sighed again. "But you see I have nobody. Mother +wouldn't be interested, and Fred wouldn't hear of such a thing. He +thinks a girl should be very feminine, and let her brother support her +if she has no father. No, I must get on without sympathy." + +"But you shan't! _I'm_ here on purpose to help you as I have been +helped. I feel it my duty to pass on the impulse." + +"You are a dear, good girl, and I love you," Cathy said gratefully. +"I'll be your humble servant and do just what you tell me. I wish I +could go to New York with you and take lessons in flower-painting." + +"You'd never get rich selling a daisy and a lily and a little buttercup. +You would better go to raising golden-rod in your brother's nursery, and +then peddle it about the city, filling people's fireplaces at a dollar +apiece!" + +"I wish I could. Do you know, I should just love to raise flowers----" + +"_That's it!_" screamed Nan delightedly. "Just the thing! Have a +hot-house,--cut-flowers for the million,--beat Haas & Schaeffer out of +town! You could do it, Cathy; you have exquisite taste in flowers, and +everybody will be crazy to have a basket or bouquet from the high-art +green-house! We girls will always buy of you,--why, Haas sent me a lot +of carnations for the Atwood party without any _stems_ to them----" + +"And he never knows enough to have narcissus or daffodils, or any of +those stylish flowers!" excitedly broke in Cathy, with dilated eyes. + +"And don't you charge _quite_ five dollars apiece for rose-buds either!" + +"And I will cut _lots_ of leaves with them; and funeral people shall +_not_ have those hideous 'gates ajar' from my establishment!" + +But at this both girls burst into a merry laugh, and seriously set about +discussing the ways and means. + +Cathy decided to find out the cost of such an undertaking, and the +business outlook of the project before consulting Fred. + +Nan remembered that her father knew a man somehow connected with a +green-house in another city. + +Cathy mentioned a certain corner of their grounds where she could build +hers. + +Nan suggested that she go down to Johnson's and see what books there +were on the subject; and so on, until at last they parted with a happy +sense of lively stir and aim. + +But these four fortunes were not made in a day, and the time seemed long +before much but discouragement was achieved. Just here is where the +masculine pertinacity is valuable. Business results are slow, and the +feminine mind chafes at delay, and wants to see the net gain +immediately. + +Bert found stenography very tedious, if not quite a bore; and there came +many days when she would have been willing to slip back into social +inertness, and keep to her slippers and book rather than present herself +in the dingy office. Although, when once she had conquered, it wasn't so +bad, for there _was_ a bright rug on the floor, and a small +feather-duster, hung up by a scarlet ribbon, did effective service. Her +sense of the humorous also came to her aid, for the expression of +relieved suspense she caught on her father's face as she appeared +regularly morning after morning amused her, and the one of loving +friendliness that began to settle there more than repaid her. + +[Illustration: "I PLAY LOUD WALTZES ON THE PIANO, UNTIL THE SILENCE OF +THESE SEPULCHRAL ROOMS IS PUT TO FLIGHT." (SEE NEXT PAGE.)] + +On Saturday, at the end of her first week, she found a little pile of +silver by her plate. She regarded it curiously for a moment, then +inquired doubtfully: + +"Is this the exact sum you would have paid to a Mr. Snipkins, had such a +person been hired in my place, and done the work I have done?" + +"Exactly, Bertha; no more, no less," her father replied, smiling. + +"_Earned_," she murmured, slowly dropping the pieces one by one into her +purse. "What a queer feeling! Money for an equivalent given--I don't +believe I shall ever spend it!" + +Mr. Mitchell looked particularly pleased, as he said: "Ah, you begin to +appreciate what a dollar stands for." + +Evelyn's table blossomed out into all manner of pretty devices, each +studied from a newly purchased cook-book. The butter reposed in +beautifully shaped rolls on a feathery bed of parsley; even homely +roasted potatoes looked inviting as they lay in a nest made of the snowy +folds of a fringed napkin. Mr. Ferris declared he was twice fed by +Evelyn's banquets. So it was all very fine until the bills came in at +the end of the month; not that daintiness in serving cost anything, but +she had erred in other directions. Evelyn was in consternation, for she +had confidently supposed she could save a snug little bit from the sum +allotted for housekeeping expenses, and this amount she was at liberty +to spend as she chose, and she had already chosen to get a dozen tinted +finger-glasses, a Japanese bowl for broken ice, another for salad, and +so on, until, to her mind's eye, her table was a dream of color and +form; but when that eye opened on the grocery bill, and the butcher's +bill, and the milk bill, and then on minus six dollars and eighty-five +cents, it nearly dropped a tear of shame and disappointment. + +"No," she thought, after suppressing her first impulse to ask her mother +what to do, "no! If I have been extravagant, I must find out where, and +pay for it; and this deficit shall come out of my own allowance. Next +month I will do better." + +And she did. + +Nan wrote from New York, about the middle of November: + + "Thanksgiving is coming, but I'm not. As my highest earthly + desire is to earn twenty-five dollars, I'm not going to spend + that much, especially as I haven't got it, for just two days' + pleasure. I may mention, by way of a mere casual remark, that + at present there isn't the dimmest possibility of my earning a + punched coin this year, unless I happen to take a prize next + spring. In my own humble imagination I have already done this + and have, of course, chosen the things I shall buy with the + money! But I do wish there were no rudiments to learn. They + keep one back so! All this week I've devoted the forces of my + nature to drawing straight lines and angles, However, I have + long suspected that one of my faults was dislike of real hard + work, so I am going to 'peg right along,' and lay foundations. + + "There are several nice girls in the class, and Aunt Hettie + says that I may invite Ruth Manning, who has no home to go to, + here to Thanksgiving dinner. I am having a gay time shaking up + this quiet house. I play "loud waltzes on the piano," and sing + at the top of my voice, which you well know penetrates to the + gables of the garret, until the silence of these sepulchral + rooms is put to flight. I am also adding worldly touches to + these same tombs, and dear Aunty sees how much prettier they + look, and wonders she never thought of the little changes I've + made. And what do you think--I trimmed her up a bonnet; quite + different from her usual head-gear, I can tell you, with really + a furtive air of _style_ about it!--and I held her before the + glass until I _made_ her own that she liked it; and when I + marched her in to show it to Uncle Nat, and commanded him to + say it was becoming, he said it looked like one she wore when + he was courting her, whereat he kissed her, and she blushed + with pleasure. _She will wear that bonnet next Sunday_, + although I think she expects instant excommunication. + + "Tell Evelyn I long for the locusts and wild honey she seems to + be serving up so charmingly; also that we made a great hit when + we made over my brown suit, for it is quite 'the thing.' I + think it is splendid of Fred Drake to loan Cathy the money to + start her green things. + + "I'm going to paper my room with common manilla paper, when I + get home, and then put splashes of gilt on it, happy-go-lucky + style. I saw a room done so. + + "Hug yourselves all around, for + "Your loving + "NAN FERRIS." + +Yes, Cathy's brother behaved nobly when he once found she was +determined; and, when this hitherto gentle and submissive creature +announced to him that she could get her house built, heated, and stocked +for from six to eight hundred dollars, mentioning other items showing +careful study of the subject, and asked if she could not have that +amount out of her share of the property, he not only promised to "fix +it some way," and chucked her under the chin, as a special mark of +tenderness, but offered her the services of a young German boy who was +in his employ. + +So it was not long before the sound of the hammer was heard in the land, +and the first snowflakes of winter fell on countless panes of glass, +while her little forest of tender plants sprouted and climbed, and +blossomed in the humid air below. + +(_To be continued._) + + + + +LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY. + +BY FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT. + + +CHAPTER XII. + +A very few days after the dinner-party at the Castle, almost everybody +in England who read the newspapers at all knew the romantic story of +what had happened at Dorincourt. It made a very interesting story when +it was told with all the details. There was the little American boy who +had been brought to England to be Lord Fauntleroy, and who was said to +be so fine and handsome a little fellow, and to have already made people +fond of him; there was the old Earl, his grandfather, who was so proud +of his heir; there was the pretty young mother who had never been +forgiven for marrying Captain Errol; and there was the strange marriage +of Bevis, the dead Lord Fauntleroy, and the strange wife, of whom no one +knew anything, suddenly appearing with her son, and saying that he was +the real Lord Fauntleroy and must have his rights. All these things were +talked about and written about, and caused a tremendous sensation. And +then there came the rumor that the Earl of Dorincourt was not satisfied +with the turn affairs had taken, and would perhaps contest the claim by +law, and the matter might end with a wonderful trial. + +There never had been such excitement before in the county in which +Erleboro was situated. On market-days, people stood in groups and talked +and wondered what would be done; the farmers' wives invited one another +to tea that they might tell one another all they had heard and all they +thought and all they thought other people thought. They related +wonderful anecdotes about the Earl's rage and his determination not to +acknowledge the new Lord Fauntleroy, and his hatred of the woman who was +the claimant's mother. But, of course, it was Mrs. Dibble who could tell +the most, and who was more in demand than ever. + +"An' a bad lookout it is," she said. "An' if you were to ask me, ma'am, +I should say as it was a judgment on him for the way he's treated that +sweet young cre'tur' as he parted from her child,--for he's got that +fond of him an' that set on him an' that proud of him as he's a'most +drove mad by what's happened. An' what's more, this new one's no lady, +as his little lordship's ma is. She's a bold-faced, black-eyed thing, +as Mr. Thomas says no gentleman in livery 'u'd bemean hisself to be guv +orders by; an' let her come into the house, he says, an' he goes out of +it. An' the boy don't no more compare with the other one than nothin' +you could mention. An' mercy knows what's goin' to come of it all, an' +where it's to end, an' you might have knocked me down with a feather +when Jane brought the news." + +In fact there was excitement everywhere at the Castle; in the library, +where the Earl and Mr. Havisham sat and talked; in the servants' hall, +where Mr. Thomas and the butler and the other men and women servants +gossiped and exclaimed at all times of the day; and in the stables, +where Wilkins went about his work in a quite depressed state of mind, +and groomed the brown pony more beautifully than ever, and said +mournfully to the coachman that he "never taught a young gen'leman to +ride as took to it more nat'ral, or was a better-plucked one than he +was. He was a one as it were some pleasure to ride behind." + +But in the midst of all the disturbance there was one person who was +quite calm and untroubled. That person was the little Lord Fauntleroy +who was said not to be Lord Fauntleroy at all. When first the state of +affairs had been explained to him, he had felt some little anxiousness +and perplexity, it is true, but its foundation was not in baffled +ambition. + +While the Earl told him what had happened, he had sat on a stool holding +on to his knee, as he so often did when he was listening to anything +interesting; and by the time the story was finished he looked quite +sober. + +"It makes me feel very queer," he said; "it makes me feel--queer!" + +The Earl looked at the boy in silence. It made him feel queer, +too--queerer than he had ever felt in his whole life. And he felt more +queer still when he saw that there was a troubled expression on the +small face which was usually so happy. + +"Will they take Dearest's house away from her--and her carriage?" Cedric +asked in a rather unsteady, anxious little voice. + +"_No!_" said the Earl decidedly--in quite a loud voice in fact. "They +can take nothing from her." + +"Ah!" said Cedric, with evident relief. "Can't they?" + +Then he looked up at his grandfather, and there was a wistful shade in +his eyes, and they looked very big and soft. + +"That other boy," he said rather tremulously--"he will have to--to be +your boy now--as I was--wont he?" + +"_No!_" answered the Earl--and he said it so fiercely and loudly that +Cedric quite jumped. + +"No?" he exclaimed, in wonderment. "Wont he? I thought----" + +He stood up from his stool quite suddenly. + +"Shall I be your boy, even if I'm not going to be an earl?" he said. +"Shall I be your boy, just as I was before?" And his flushed little face +was all alight with eagerness. + +How the old Earl did look at him from head to foot, to be sure. How his +great shaggy brows did draw themselves together, and how queerly his +deep eyes shone under them--how very queerly! + +"My boy!" he said--and, if you'll believe it, his very voice was queer, +almost shaky and a little broken and hoarse, not at all what you would +expect an earl's voice to be, though he spoke more decidedly and +peremptorily even than before,--"Yes, you'll be my boy as long as I +live; and, by George, sometimes I feel as if you were the only boy I had +ever had." + +Cedric's face turned red to the roots of his hair; it turned red with +relief and pleasure. He put both his hands deep into his pockets and +looked squarely into his noble relative's eyes. + +"Do you?" he said. "Well, then, I don't care about the earl part at all. +I don't care whether I'm an earl or not. I thought--you see, I thought +the one that was going to be the Earl would have to be your boy, too, +and--and I couldn't be. That was what made me feel so queer." + +The Earl put his hand on his shoulder and drew him nearer. + +"They shall take nothing from you that I can hold for you," he said, +drawing his breath hard. "I wont believe yet that they can take anything +from you. You were made for the place, and--well, you may fill it still. +But whatever comes, you shall have all that I can give you--all!" + +It scarcely seemed as if he were speaking to a child, there was such +determination in his face and voice; it was more as if he were making a +promise to himself--and perhaps he was. + +He had never before known how deep a hold upon him his fondness for the +boy and his pride in him had taken. He had never seen his strength and +good qualities and beauty as he seemed to see them now. To his obstinate +nature it seemed impossible--more than impossible--to give up what he +had so set his heart upon. And he had determined that he would not give +it up without a fierce struggle. + +Within a few days after she had seen Mr. Havisham, the woman who claimed +to be Lady Fauntleroy presented herself at the Castle, and brought her +child with her. She was sent away. The Earl would not see her, she was +told by the footman at the door; his lawyer would attend to her case. It +was Thomas who gave the message, and who expressed his opinion of her +freely afterward, in the servants' hall. He "hoped," he said, "as he had +wore livery in 'igh famblies long enough to know a lady when he see one, +an' if that was a lady he was no judge o' females." + +"The one at the Lodge," added Thomas loftily, "'Merican or no 'Merican, +she's one o' the right sort, as any gentleman 'u'd reckinize with 'alf a +heye. I remarked it myself to Henery when fust we called there." + +[Illustration: "SHE WAS TOLD BY THE FOOTMAN AT THE DOOR THAT THE EARL +WOULD NOT SEE HER."] + +The woman drove away; the look on her handsome, common face half +frightened, half fierce. Mr. Havisham had noticed, during his interviews +with her, that though she had a passionate temper and a coarse, insolent +manner, she was neither so clever nor so bold as she meant to be; she +seemed sometimes to be almost overwhelmed by the position in which she +had placed herself. It was as if she had not expected to meet with such +opposition. + +"She is evidently," the lawyer said to Mrs. Errol, "a person from the +lower walks of life. She is uneducated and untrained in everything, and +quite unused to meeting people like ourselves on any terms of equality. +She does not know what to do. Her visit to the Castle quite cowed her. +She was infuriated, but she was cowed. The Earl would not receive her, +but I advised him to go with me to the Dorincourt Arms, where she is +staying. When she saw him enter the room, she turned white, though she +flew into a rage at once, and threatened and demanded in one breath." + +[Illustration: "'SHALL I BE YOUR BOY, EVEN IF I'M NOT GOING TO BE AN +EARL?' SAID CEDRIC."] + +The fact was that the Earl had stalked into the room and stood, looking +like a venerable aristocratic giant, staring at the woman from under his +beetling brows, and not condescending a word. He simply stared at her, +taking her in from head to foot as if she were some repulsive curiosity. +He let her talk and demand until she was tired, without himself uttering +a word, and then he said: + +"You say you are my eldest son's wife. If that is true, and if the proof +you offer is too much for us, the law is on your side. In that case, +your boy is Lord Fauntleroy. The matter will be sifted to the bottom, +you may rest assured. If your claims are proved, you will be provided +for. I want to see nothing either of you or the child so long as I live. +The place will unfortunately have enough of you after my death. You are +exactly the kind of person I should have expected my son Bevis to +choose." + +And then he turned his back upon her and stalked out of the room as he +had stalked into it. + +Not many days after that, a visitor was announced to Mrs. Errol, who was +writing in her little morning room. The maid, who brought the message, +looked rather excited; her eyes were quite round with amazement, in +fact, and being young and inexperienced, she regarded her mistress with +nervous sympathy. + +"It's the Earl hisself, ma'am!" she said in tremulous awe. + +When Mrs. Errol entered the drawing-room, a very tall, majestic-looking +old man was standing on the tiger-skin rug. He had a handsome, grim old +face, with an aquiline profile, a long white mustache, and an obstinate +look. + +"Mrs. Errol, I believe?" he said. + +"Mrs. Errol," she answered. + +"I am the Earl of Dorincourt," he said. + +He paused a moment, almost unconsciously, to look in to her uplifted +eyes. They were so like the big, affectionate, childish eyes he had seen +uplifted to his own so often every day during the last few months, that +they gave him a quite curious sensation. + +"The boy is very like you," he said abruptly. + +"It has been often said so, my lord," she replied, "but I have been glad +to think him like his father also." + +As Lady Lorridaile had told him, her voice was very sweet, and her +manner was very simple and dignified. She did not seem in the least +troubled by his sudden coming. + +"Yes," said the Earl, "he is like--my son--too." He put his hand up to +his big white mustache and pulled it fiercely. "Do you know," he said, +"why I have come here?" + +"I have seen Mr. Havisham," Mrs. Errol began, "and he has told me of the +claims which have been made----" + +"I have come to tell you," said the Earl, "that they will be +investigated and contested, if a contest can be made. I have come to +tell you that the boy shall be defended with all the power of the law. +His rights----" + +The soft voice interrupted him. + +"He must have nothing that is _not_ his by right, even if the law can +give it to him," she said. + +"Unfortunately the law can not," said the Earl. "If it could, it should. +This outrageous woman and her child----" + +"Perhaps she cares for him as much as I care for Cedric, my lord," said +little Mrs. Errol. "And if she was your eldest son's wife, her son is +Lord Fauntleroy, and mine is not." + +She was no more afraid of him than Cedric had been, and she looked at +him just as Cedric would have looked, and he, having been an old tyrant +all his life, was privately pleased by it. People so seldom dared to +differ from him that there was an entertaining novelty in it. + +"I suppose," he said, scowling slightly, "that you would much prefer +that he should not be the Earl of Dorincourt." + +Her fair young face flushed. + +"It is a very magnificent thing to be the Earl of Dorincourt, my lord," +she said. "I know that, but I care most that he should be what his +father was--brave and just and true always." + +"In striking contrast to what his grandfather was, eh?" said his +lordship sardonically. + +"I have not had the pleasure of knowing his grandfather," replied Mrs. +Errol, "but I know my little boy believes----" She stopped short a +moment, looking quietly into his face, and then she added, "I know that +Cedric loves you." + +"Would he have loved me," said the Earl dryly, "if you had told him why +I did not receive you at the Castle?" + +"No," answered Mrs. Errol; "I think not. That was why I did not wish him +to know." + +"Well," said my lord, brusquely, "there are few women who would not have +told him." + +He suddenly began to walk up and down the room, pulling his great +mustache more violently than ever. + +"Yes, he is fond of me," he said, "and I am fond of him. I can't say I +ever was fond of anything before. I am fond of him. He pleased me from +the first. I am an old man, and was tired of my life. He has given me +something to live for. I am proud of him. I was satisfied to think of +his taking his place some day as the head of the family." + +He came back and stood before Mrs. Errol. + +"I am miserable," he said. "Miserable!" + +He looked as if he was. Even his pride could not keep his voice steady +or his hands from shaking. For a moment it almost seemed as if his +deep, fierce eyes had tears in them. "Perhaps it is because I am +miserable that I have come to you," he said, quite glaring down at her. +"I used to hate you; I have been jealous of you. This wretched, +disgraceful business has changed that. After seeing that repulsive woman +who calls herself the wife of my son Bevis, I actually felt it would be +a relief to look at you. I have been an obstinate old fool, and I +suppose I have treated you badly. You are like the boy, and the boy is +the first object in my life. I am miserable, and I came to you merely +because you are like the boy, and he cares for you, and I care for him. +Treat me as well as you can, for the boy's sake." + +He said it all in his harsh voice, and almost roughly, but somehow he +seemed so broken down for the time that Mrs. Errol was touched to the +heart. She got up and moved an arm-chair a little forward. + +"I wish you would sit down," she said in a soft, pretty, sympathetic +way. "You have been so much troubled that you are very tired, and you +need all your strength." + +It was just as new to him to be spoken to and cared for in that gentle, +simple way as it was to be contradicted. He was reminded of "the boy" +again, and he actually did as she asked him. Perhaps his disappointment +and wretchedness were good discipline for him; if he had not been +wretched he might have continued to hate her, but just at present he +found her a little soothing. Almost anything would have seemed pleasant +by contrast with Lady Fauntleroy; and this one had so sweet a face and +voice, and a pretty dignity when she spoke or moved. Very soon, by the +quiet magic of these influences, he began to feel less gloomy, and then +he talked still more. + +"Whatever happens," he said, "the boy shall be provided for. He shall be +taken care of, now and in the future." + +Before he went away, he glanced around the room. + +"Do you like the house?" he demanded. + +"Very much," she answered. + +"This is a cheerful room," he said. "May I come here again and talk this +matter over?" + +"As often as you wish, my lord," she replied. + +And then he went out to his carriage and drove away, Thomas and Henry +almost stricken dumb upon the box at the turn affairs had taken. + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +Of course, as soon as the story of Lord Fauntleroy and the difficulties +of the Earl of Dorincourt were discussed in the English newspapers, they +were discussed in the American newspapers. The story was too +interesting to be passed over lightly, and it was talked of a great +deal. There were so many versions of it that it would have been an +edifying thing to buy all the papers and compare them. Mr. Hobbs read so +much about it that he became quite bewildered. One paper described his +young friend Cedric as an infant in arms,--another as a young man at +Oxford, winning all the honors, and distinguishing himself by writing +Greek poems; one said he was engaged to a young lady of great beauty, +who was the daughter of a duke; another said he had just been married; +the only thing, in fact, which was _not_ said was that he was a little +boy between seven and eight, with handsome legs and curly hair. One said +he was no relation to the Earl of Dorincourt at all, but was a small +impostor who had sold newspapers and slept in the streets of New York +before his mother imposed upon the family lawyer, who came to America to +look for the Earl's heir. Then came the descriptions of the new Lord +Fauntleroy and his mother. Sometimes she was a gypsy, sometimes an +actress, sometimes a beautiful Spaniard; but it was always agreed that +the Earl of Dorincourt was her deadly enemy, and would not acknowledge +her son as his heir if he could help it, and as there seemed to be some +slight flaw in the papers she had produced, it was expected that there +would be a long trial, which would be far more interesting than anything +ever carried into court before. Mr. Hobbs used to read the papers until +his head was in a whirl, and in the evening he and Dick would talk it +all over. They found out what an important personage an Earl of +Dorincourt was, and what a magnificent income he possessed, and how many +estates he owned, and how stately and beautiful was the Castle in which +he lived; and the more they learned, the more excited they became. + +"Seems like somethin' orter be done," said Mr. Hobbs. "Things like them +orter be held on to--earls or no earls." + +But there really was nothing they could do but each write a letter to +Cedric, containing assurances of their friendship and sympathy. They +wrote those letters as soon as they could after receiving the news; and +after having written them, they handed them over to each other to be +read. + +This is what Mr. Hobbs read in Dick's letter: + + "DERE FREND: i got ure letter an Mr. Hobbs got his an we are + sory u are down on ure luck an we say hold on as longs u kin an + dont let no one git ahed of u. There is a lot of ole theves wil + make al they kin of u ef u dont kepe ure i skined. But this is + mosly to say that ive not forgot wot u did fur me an if there + aint no better way cum over here an go in pardners with me. + Biznes is fine an ile see no harm cums to u Enny big feler that + trise to cum it over u wil hafter setle it fust with Perfessor + Dick Tipton. So no more at present + + "DICK." + +And this was what Dick read in Mr. Hobbs's letter: + + "DEAR SIR: Yrs received and wd say things looks bad. I believe + its a put up job and them thats done it ought to be looked + after sharp. And what I write to say is two things. Im going to + look this thing up Keep quiet and Ill see a lawyer and do all I + can And if the worst happens and them earls is too many for us + theres a partnership in the grocery business ready for you when + yure old enough and a home and a friend in + + "Yrs truly, SILAS HOBBS." + +"Well," said Mr. Hobbs, "he's pervided for between us, if he aint a +earl." + +"So he is," said Dick. "I'd ha' stood by him. Blest if I didn't like +that little feller fust-rate." + +The very next morning, one of Dick's customers was rather surprised. He +was a young lawyer just beginning practice. As poor as a very young +lawyer can possibly be, but a bright, energetic young fellow, with sharp +wit and a good temper. He had a shabby office near Dick's stand, and +every morning Dick blacked his boots for him, and quite often they were +not exactly water-tight, but he always had a friendly word or a joke for +Dick. + +That particular morning, when he put his foot on the rest, he had an +illustrated paper in his hand--an enterprising paper, with pictures in +it of conspicuous people and things. He had just finished looking it +over, and when the last boot was polished, he handed it over to the boy. + +"Here's a paper for you, Dick," he said; "you can look it over when you +drop in at Delmonico's for your breakfast. Picture of an English castle +in it, and an English earl's daughter-in-law. Fine young woman, +too--lots of hair--though she seems to be raising rather a row. You +ought to become familiar with the nobility and gentry, Dick. Begin on +the Right Honorable the Earl of Dorincourt and Lady Fauntleroy. Hello! I +say, what's the matter?" + +The pictures he spoke of were on the front page, and Dick was staring at +one of them with his eyes and mouth open, and his sharp face almost pale +with excitement. + +"What's to pay, Dick?" said the young man. "What has paralyzed you?" + +Dick really did look as if something tremendous had happened. He pointed +to the picture, under which was written: + +"Mother of Claimant (Lady Fauntleroy)." + +It was the picture of a handsome woman, with large eyes and heavy braids +of black hair wound around her head. + +"Her!" said Dick. "My, I know her better'n I know you!" + +The young man began to laugh. + +"Where did you meet her, Dick?" he said. "At Newport? Or when you ran +over to Paris the last time?" + +Dick actually forgot to grin. He began to gather his brushes and things +together, as if he had something to do which would put an end to his +business for the present. + +"Never mind," he said. "I know her! An I've struck work for this +mornin'." + +And in less than five minutes from that time he was tearing through the +streets on his way to Mr. Hobbs and the corner store. Mr. Hobbs could +scarcely believe the evidence of his senses when he looked across the +counter and saw Dick rush in with the paper in his hand. The boy was out +of breath with running; so much out of breath, in fact, that he could +scarcely speak as he threw the paper down on the counter. + +"Hello!" exclaimed Mr. Hobbs. "Hello! What you got there?" + +"Look at it!" panted Dick. "Look at that woman in the picture! That's +what you look at! _She_ aint no 'ristocrat, _she_ aint!" with withering +scorn. "She's no lord's wife. You may eat me, if it aint Minna--_Minna!_ +I'd know her anywheres, an' so'd Ben. Jest ax him." + +Mr. Hobbs dropped into his seat. + +"I knowed it was a put-up job," he said. "I knowed it; and they done it +on account o' him bein' a 'Merican!" + +"Done it!" cried Dick, with disgust. "_She_ done it, that's who done it. +She was allers up to her tricks; an' I'll tell yer wot come to me, the +minnit I saw her pictur. There was one o' them papers we saw had a +letter in it that said somethin' 'bout her boy, an' it said he had a +scar on his chin. Put them two together--her 'n' that there scar! Why, +that there boy o' hers aint no more a lord than I am! It's _Ben's_ +boy,--the little chap she hit when she let fly that plate at me." + +Professor Dick Tipton had always been a sharp boy, and earning his +living in the streets of a big city had made him still sharper. He had +learned to keep his eyes open and his wits about him, and it must be +confessed he enjoyed immensely the excitement and impatience of that +moment. If little Lord Fauntleroy could only have looked into the store +that morning, he would certainly have been interested, even if all the +discussion and plans had been intended to decide the fate of some other +boy than himself. + +Mr. Hobbs was almost overwhelmed by his sense of responsibility, and +Dick was all alive and full of energy. He began to write a letter to +Ben, and he cut out the picture and inclosed it to him, and Mr. Hobbs +wrote a letter to Cedric and one to the Earl. They were in the midst of +this letter-writing when a new idea came to Dick. + +"Say," he said, "the feller that give me the paper, he's a lawyer. Let's +ax him what we'd better do. Lawyers knows it all." Mr. Hobbs was +immensely impressed by this suggestion and Dick's business capacity. + +"That's so!" he replied. "This here calls for lawyers." + +And leaving the store in the care of a substitute, he struggled into his +coat and marched down-town with Dick, and the two presented themselves +with their romantic story in Mr. Harrison's office, much to that young +man's astonishment. + +If he had not been a very young lawyer, with a very enterprising mind +and a great deal of spare time on his hands, he might not have been so +readily interested in what they had to say, for it all certainly sounded +very wild and queer; but he chanced to want something to do very much, +and he chanced to know Dick, and Dick chanced to say his say in a very +sharp, telling sort of way. + +"And," said Mr. Hobbs, "say what your time's worth a' hour and look into +this thing thorough, and _I'll_ pay the damage,--Silas Hobbs, corner of +Blank street, Vegetables and Fancy Groceries." + +"Well," said Mr. Harrison, "it will be a big thing if it turns out all +right, and it will be almost as big a thing for me as for Lord +Fauntleroy; and at any rate, no harm can be done by investigating. It +appears there has been some dubiousness about the child. The woman +contradicted herself in some of her statements about his age, and +aroused suspicion. The first persons to be written to are Dick's brother +and the Earl of Dorincourt's family lawyer." + +And actually, before the sun went down, two letters had been written and +sent in two different directions--one speeding out of New York harbor on +a mail steamer on its way to England, and the other on a train carrying +letters and passengers bound for California. And the first was addressed +to T. Havisham, Esq., and the second to Benjamin Tipton. + +And after the store was closed that evening, Mr. Hobbs and Dick sat in +the back-room and talked together until midnight. + +(_To be concluded._) + + + + +[Illustration] + +INVERTED. + +BY JOHN B. TABB. + + + "Bicycles!--Bicycles!" + Nay; to shun laughter, + _Try_ cycles first, + And _buy_ cycles after; + For surely the buyer + Deserves but the worst, + Who would buy cycles, failing + To try cycles first! + + + + +A LAKE GEORGE CAPSIZE. + +BY EDWARD EGGLESTON. + +[Illustration: A QUIET ROW ON THE "BROAD LAKE."] + + +Lake George can be the calmest and loveliest sheet of water that ever +was shut in by mountain walls, but like all mountain lakes it is very +fickle. If you have never seen it "cut up its didos," you do not yet +really know our Lake. In the fall, when the tourists have gone and the +hotels and cottages are quiet, Lake George now and then gets into a +great rage and becomes quite sublime. + +One day in the latter part of October, there came into our bay a trim +little sloop-rigged sailboat, with three men aboard. They were after the +ducks that always make Dunham's Bay a resting-place on their long autumn +journey to the southward. This little yacht, if I may call it one, had +not been long in view when there broke upon the lake a fierce, cold, +north wind, driving the whitecaps up into the bay like a frightened +flock of sheep. + +The sailboat could now stand only the mainsail, and even with that it +reeled and tumbled about fearfully in the hands of its unskilled crew, +and two or three times it was nearly driven ashore, for the men seemed +quite unable to make it beat up into the wind. + +[Illustration: "CHARLIE BROUGHT THE BOW OF THE BOAT TO THE MAN IN THE +WATER AND TOOK HIM ABOARD." (SEE NEXT PAGE.)] + +While the gale was thus running into the bay, my young friend Charlie +Fraser, with a boy's love for excitement, came and asked permission to +go out in my rowboat, to see "what kind of a rough-water boat she might +be." Though I knew him to be both a good oarsman and a good swimmer, and +though the boat had always behaved admirably in a sea, I hesitated, +until he proposed not to venture beyond Joshua's Rock, which marks the +line between the bay and the "broad lake," as the people call it at this +point. After I had let him go, I reproached myself for trusting a boy of +sixteen in a gale that was momently increasing in violence. But Charlie +did not care to risk too near an approach to the broad lake; he soon saw +that there was danger of swamping even in the bay, and therefore he put +about for home. In passing the sailboat, which was laboring hard among +the rushing, roaring whitecaps, he had shouted to the young men to take +in a reef; but they kept the whole mainsail flying, though they had to +place all the ballast up to windward and then to sit in a row upon the +windward gunwale of the boat to keep it from upsetting. Finding that the +gale, which continued to rise, would certainly upset them in spite of +all their exertions, one of them eased off the sheet, while the man at +the tiller at the same moment brought the boat's head into the wind. +This left all the weight of the ballast and the men on one side, with no +balancing force of wind in the sail, and the light sloop tipped +completely over in the direction opposite to the one they had feared. +The sail lay flat upon the water, with one poor fellow under it, while +another, encumbered with a big overcoat, was floundering in the waves; +the third succeeded in climbing to the upper side of the capsized sloop +and sitting astride of it. The wild, frightened cries of the young men +rose above the hissing of wind and the roaring of waves, and Charlie +brought his boat around and rowed for them. The waves jerked one of his +oars from the rowlock, but he soon had it in its place, and was pulling +as a strong boy can pull when cries of drowning men are in his ears. + +"Help! quick! I'm going! Oh, help! help!" rang in his ears and spurred +him to do his utmost, as he headed straight for the sailboat, +disregarding the waves that broke now and then into his own boat. + +When Charlie got up to the wreck, he presented the bow of his boat first +to the man who had emerged from under the sail. This young man took +hold, then lost his grip and went down as the water tossed the boat; and +Charlie held on to the seat to keep from being pitched after him. Then +the man came up, gurgling, sputtering, and getting a new hold on the +boat succeeded in scrambling in. Holding the boat into the teeth of the +wind, Charlie then brought the bow to the other man in the water, and so +took him aboard. There were now three people and a great deal of water +in the boat; and Charlie concluded that it had all it would carry, and +that it would be necessary to land his two passengers before taking the +stout young man who maintained an uneasy perch on the capsized yacht. +Shouting some words of encouragement to him, Charlie started for the +shore; but the young man on the boat, benumbed by his ducking and the +icy wind, and perhaps discouraged at seeing the rowboat leave him, fell +off the capsized yacht into the water with a cry for help. Charlie put +back just in time to grab him as he again let go his hold, and began to +sink. But the rowboat had all it would bear in such a sea, and before +taking him aboard, it was necessary to make the others throw overboard +their wet coats and overcoats. Then the stout young man was pulled in +over the stern, and Charlie soon brought the rowboat, staggering under +its load of four persons and a great weight of water, safely to dock. A +little while after, the three dripping duck-hunters were drying by the +kitchen fire. + +"I was under the sail," said one of them to me, "and if the boat hadn't +come to our help just when it did, it would have been the end of me." + +A New York gentleman who heard of this affair wrote to the office of the +United States Life Saving Service, at Washington, asking for the silver +medal of the Government for Charlie Fraser. Of course there was a great +deal of formality to be gone through with; affidavits were made by +eye-witnesses, and filed away at Washington, and there the matter rested +for months. Meantime Charlie had no recognition of his act except a +letter from the mother of one of the young men, though he had, I +suppose, what was better--the consciousness of having done his duty +manfully in a pinch. One administration at Washington went out, and +another came in, and we concluded that the medal had been forgotten. But +one day there came to Charlie a very large official envelope, in the +corner of which there was boldly printed "Treasury Department." It was +also marked "Official Business," and was addressed in big letters and +looked very impressive. The inside of it seemed equally important, and +it read: + + "MR. CHARLES M. FRASER: + + "SIR: I have the pleasure to transmit herewith a silver + life-saving medal which has been awarded you under authority of + section 7 of the Act of June 20, 1874, section 12 of the Act of + June 18, 1878, and section 9 of the Act of May 4, 1882, in + recognition of your courage and humanity in saving three + persons from drowning October 25, 1884. + + "I have the honor to be, very respectfully, + + D. MANNING, + "_Secretary._" + +And the same day there reached him by express the silver medal in a neat +case. + +[Illustration: OBVERSE. REVERSE.] + + + + +A ROCKY MOUNTAIN HERMIT. + +(_Concluded._) + +BY ALFRED TERRY BACON. + + +One evening my quiet hermitage seemed more silent than ever before. That +small dog, Gip, slept soundly on the earthen floor, tired out with a +long day's run through the park. I had just chased away a friendly +striped snake that had squirmed in through a mouse-hole and settled +itself comfortably, wishing to make its home with me. The field-mice +trooped silently about the room in dozens, over the table and under the +chairs,--but there is no defense against them. The other night they had +the impudence to sit on my pillow and pull out my hair for their nests. +"Their tameness is shocking to me," as Alexander Selkirk, the original +Robinson Crusoe, complained of the beasts on his island. + +[Illustration: HEAD OF THE BISON, OR AMERICAN BUFFALO. [SEE NEXT PAGE.]] + +Plotting against the mice, without lighting a lamp I sat by the doorway +as the darkness deepened, for the night was too warm and too fine for +lamp-light. The long midsummer twilight faded to a narrow band of gray +just over the mountain-peak; and looking out, I could hear none of the +familiar sounds of the wilderness--even the murmuring pine-woods were +hushed in the perfectly calm night. But presently a soft splashing sound +came from the pool in the brook behind the house. It reminded me that +for nearly a year I had been living within fifty steps of a colony of +beavers, and had not yet seen a single one of them; for they are never +out by daylight and I am never out by night. + +The brook which runs through the park dwindles to a very small stream +after the summer heat has melted all the snow from the peak; and there +would be too little water for the beavers to swim in if they had not +built a number of solid dams across the stream, making as many pretty +ponds, where they and the muskrats and the wild ducks lead a jolly life +together. There is a chain of five of these beaver-ponds, which begins +quite near the house. Often in the early morning, we see places where +they have been at work all night, mending their dams, cutting down +willow bushes, and even felling trees of some size with a smooth cut +that a skillful woodman might be proud of; but all day long there is +never a sound of work in the silent village. So, hearing something +plunging into the pond in the late twilight, I stole to the bank and +looked through an opening in the willow thicket. There by the dim light +I saw their round, dark bodies swimming around and around and up and +down the pond as silently as fishes, with only a gentle splash now and +then as they dipped beneath the surface. It must have been a holiday +evening with them, for they were taking a rest from their hard work, and +it seemed in the darkness as if they were only playing together in the +water. + +But I had only a little time to watch them, for some slight noise or the +scent of the enemy soon spread an alarm, and in a moment every beaver +had disappeared from the pond. + +Some years ago, we used to read that all the beavers would soon be +killed; for beaver fur had long been fashionable, and the price of every +skin was very high. It is strange that the life and happiness of +millions of little animals in the backwoods of America and Siberia +should depend on the whims of the grand ladies of Paris and London; but +so it is. When the beaver fur went out of favor, and the slaughter of +the Alaska seals began, the beavers increased wonderfully in all the +Western creeks and rivers. But if the Princess of Wales should happen to +fancy a garment of beaver fur, woe to the unhappy little beavers of the +Rocky Mountains! Thousands of other grand ladies must follow the +fashion, and thousands of beavers must furnish the fur. + +In riding over the green turf of the open country, one sees everywhere +white objects which so reflect the strong sunshine that they almost +dazzle the eye. These are the bleaching skulls of the buffaloes that +used to roam in thousands through this region. Every one has read how, +only fifty years ago, millions of buffaloes wandered over nearly half of +the United States; now there are no great herds except in the Territory +of Montana, and from that territory more than a hundred thousand skins +have been sent to the East in a year. For nearly every skin that is sent +away, about half a ton of fine meat is left to decay on the prairie. It +is a reckless waste of animal life, and I am sorry to say that our +government does very little to stop it. Within ten years there will be +no more great herds of buffaloes in the United States. Small bands of +them will linger hidden away in valleys, but by the time some boys who +read this have lived to be old men, the American bison will probably be +seen only where it is kept as a curiosity; just as the one little band +of aurochs--the last descendants of the wild cattle which used to roam +over all Europe--is kept by the Emperor of Russia. Still, even now, at +times, single buffaloes or small bands of them will wander back here to +their old grazing-grounds. Last summer a party of hay-makers saw a band +of a dozen or more in a remote valley behind the peak. And a few days +later, one of our neighbors at the nearest ranch, beyond the mountains, +was sitting in the doorway of his snug home one morning, after an early +breakfast, when to his astonishment, a great buffalo bull came trotting +easily along within a hundred yards of the door. He would hardly have +been more surprised had an elephant or a rhinoceros happened in for a +morning call; for he had never seen a buffalo, nor had he ever expected +to see one at his own ranch. But his surprise left him breath enough to +shout, "A buffalo! a buffalo!" The house was full of men just in from +the work of gathering beef-cattle for shipment; and at the startling +word, every man seized the nearest rifle or pistol or shot-gun, and +dashed away to join the chase; only one or two stopping hastily to throw +a saddle on a horse. As soon as the chase began, the big beast ran +swiftly into the thicket along the creek, and was able to keep out of +sight for some time. The chase was long and exciting, but the buffalo's +pursuers were too many for him. Some followed up his trail, while others +watched the outskirts of the thicket; and at last one of the best +marksmen among them, catching sight of the big black body, took a quick +line aim and brought the buffalo down with a single bullet; so all the +inhabitants of the ranch were feasted with buffalo-meat as long as it +could be kept from spoiling. But where the great herds range, there is +no such excitement about killing them. + +One day a young fellow from the East was listening eagerly with me to +the yarns of an old buffalo-hunter, and as the hunter finished his +story, the young man said: + +"It must be tremendously exciting sport, John!" + +"Well, I'll tell you how it is," said John. "It's about as exciting as +if you were to go out into the corral and shoot a dozen of those old +dairy-cows with a pistol." + +With a swift horse, trained to the business, and a heavy revolver, a man +who can aim truly may often ride into a herd of buffaloes, overtaking +them one by one when they are running their hardest, and, riding close +beside them, can put his bullets into the hearts of dozens of them in a +single day's hunt. That is the reason why the bison is the first of all +the wild animals to disappear at the approach of civilized man--it can +not possibly escape from a swift horseman. + +[Illustration: "A COLONY OF BEAVERS."] + +The most abundant game animals among the mountains are the deer. The +white-tailed deer is small and much like the antelope in color, but has +a far more sleek and handsome coat. The black-tailed or mule deer is +twice as large as its white-tailed cousin, and wears a quaker-colored +coat, which in summer is tinged with brown. Sometimes, on horseback, I +have met the deer in the mountains without giving them any alarm, and we +have stood and gazed at one another at our leisure, just to satisfy +curiosity. But they know that a man on foot or carrying a rifle is a +dangerous creature, and they never stop long to look at him. Usually, +even before the hunter catches sight of them, they have seen him. They +do not bound away through the forest with a jump and a crash; but, even +if taken by surprise, they vanish away between the yellow trunks of the +pines as silently as the shadow of the low swooping vulture slides +across the grass. They dart so noiselessly through the dark woods that +in the distance they seem more like a troop of flying spirits than a +herd of animals. + +In those parts of the mountains which are so rocky and rough that few +animals can approach them, and on the high barrens where the snow lies +late in summer, the beautiful big-horn sheep live undisturbed. It is +only when they come down to the streams for water, that the hunter can +have a fair chance of shooting them. They are swift and handsome +animals. Their heads are crowned with ribbed and curving horns larger +than those the broad-horned Texas cattle carry. Their coats are not +woolly, but are covered with glossy brown hair, shading off in the lower +parts to a white as pure as the snow-drifts among which they live. There +are no animals, excepting the Swiss chamois and other wild goats, that +can run and jump among jagged rocks as they do; and it is useless for +any man or beast to try to chase them on the mountain-tops. But a few +weeks ago, before the boys went out to work with the cattle, two of them +were searching for horses in a canon opening westward from the valley, +and Gip was trotting along behind them, when a turn in the trail +suddenly showed them a flock of wild sheep climbing a steep path up the +rocky side of the canon. Both men took quick aim and fired, and the +flock went bounding on toward their home among the crags, with one fine +young buck lagging behind, his leg broken by a bullet. Yet no man may +hope to overtake a wild sheep among the rocks, even though the sheep has +but three legs to go on; so, after wounding their fine game, it seemed +as if they must lose him. But just as they were making up their minds to +the disappointment, Gip took in the trouble with one quick glance and +ran to their aid. He has never been taught to hunt, but he is a very +wise dog, and does very well without training. He went scrambling up +over the rocks ten times faster than a man could go, and soon headed off +the wounded sheep. Now Gip is small, and a wild sheep is very large, and +tall like a deer; and it seemed impossible that so little a dog could +stop it. But the sheep naturally lowered its head to bring its horns to +bear on the dog; and Gip, seeing its head within reach, gave a snap at +its nose and hung on for dear life, though he was almost lifted from the +ground. Even a mountain sheep can not be very nimble with a broken leg, +and a dog on the end of its nose; so the boys soon climbed up after him, +and when near enough not to endanger the plucky little dog, they ended +the sheep's life with another shot. And so, for many days, all the men +at the cabin lived on mutton finer even than the famous mutton that is +fattened on the English downs. + +Not long ago, old Frank, the man who lives alone at the ranch on the +western side of the mountains, had the good fortune to come upon two +little wild lambs in open ground, where he could easily overtake them; +for they were only a few days old. Being a lone man and fond of pets, he +carried them home in his arms and fed them every day with milk, until +they became as tame as kittens. When they grew to be large sheep, their +perfect tameness made them famous curiosities even in the Far West; but +they were much greater curiosities when their owner took them to the +Eastern States,--for I doubt if a tame big-horn sheep had ever before +been seen in an American city. The great price which the rare animals +brought well paid the man for all his trouble. + +[Illustration: HEAD OF A MULE DEER.] + +Any of the grazing and browsing animals which live in the Far West may +easily be tamed if they are caught young. The antelope and deer are not +uncommon pets at the frontier ranches; the mountain sheep and elk can be +tamed as readily, but it is more difficult to catch them. + +Nearly all the men on the ranches of Wyoming are engaged in the cattle +business; and they are so accustomed to throwing the lasso in catching +the free cattle and horses, that when they come on the young wild +animals, they have little trouble in roping them. The cow-boys, when +they are sociable about the roaring hearth-fires in winter, have many +curious stories to tell about capturing every kind of wild animal with +their ropes. Sometimes when a few of them are away together gathering +cattle, they will come on a bear, and, even if unarmed, it is easy for +the boys to throw one or two ropes around the bear and hold it until +some armed man comes to finish the work. The only trouble is in finding +a horse brave enough to run near a bear while his rider throws the rope. +One man, very skillful with the rope, has told me how he lassoed a +mountain lion. Those great cats are so greedy that when they find a +carcass, they will eat until they are stupid and slow in their +movements, like a boa constrictor when it is filled with food; so, when +this cow-boy found a large old lion just finishing its dinner, he had no +difficulty in throwing a noose over its head and dragging it after his +horse until another man came up to end its life. + +[Illustration: HEAD OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN WILD SHEEP.] + +Soon this queer, lonely way of living will come to an end for me. Often +every day shall I look down the valley, hoping to see the white canvas +top of the prairie-schooner heave in sight on the pass leading in from +the open country. When all the cow-boys have finished gathering cattle +and come home to the peak, the old cabin will be crowded and lively +enough. Then the rest of the summer will be filled with hard work in +getting together the fat beef-steers and driving them a long journey to +the Pacific Railroad, where they will be loaded on trains and carried +away to feed the beef-eaters of America and England. + +The curlew is still whistling under the plum-bushes not far away, so +that the dog sometimes starts up to see who calls him; but now all the +fragrant plum-blossoms have fallen away and the small green fruit hangs +in clusters. Midsummer has gone; with it came the scorching southeast +wind which turns the grass to hay and kills the flowers like a November +frost. And, since they are dead, the wilderness is too lonely. While +they lived, they were society enough for a hermit; they smiled a sweet +good-morning at every sunrise, and filled the evening twilight with +fragrance which carried my thoughts away to an old New England home and +to happy days spent long ago in gathering forest flowers on the +Connecticut hills. There has been enough of hermit life for one year. It +has been pleasant; but the end of it will be pleasant, too. + + + + +[Illustration] + +The Dangerous Dog + + + The dangerous dog in the drawing-room lay, + And snapped at the houseflies that came in his way. + "I'm a dangerous canine!" he said + "Beware how you trouble a creature of my--" + But his speech was cut short as he happened to spy + A bumble-bee close to his head! + + + + +GEORGE WASHINGTON. + +[_An Historical Biography._] + +BY HORACE E. SCUDDER. + +[Illustration: WASHINGTON'S SWORD,--NOW IN THE LIBRARY OF THE STATE +DEPARTMENT AT WASHINGTON.] + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +MR. WASHINGTON. + +It was hard for Washington at first to forget that he was no longer +Commander-in-Chief. He had so long been accustomed to wake early, and at +once begin to think of the cares of the day, that it was a novel +sensation to discover that he had no cares beyond looking after his +estate. It chanced that the winter of 1783-4 was a very severe one. The +roads were blocked with snow, the streams were frozen, and Washington +found himself almost a prisoner at Mount Vernon. He was not even able to +go to Fredericksburg to see his mother, until the middle of February. He +was not sorry for his enforced quiet. It left him leisure to look over +his papers and enjoy the company of his wife and his wife's +grandchildren, whom he had adopted as his own children. His public +papers had been put into the hands of Col. Richard Varick, in 1781, and +they were now returned to him, arranged and classified and copied into +volumes, in a manner to delight the methodical soul of their author. + +[Illustration: A LAMP THAT ONCE BELONGED TO WASHINGTON--NOW IN THE +NATIONAL MUSEUM.] + +As the spring came on, and the snow and ice melted, the roads were again +open, and Mount Vernon was soon busy with its old hospitality. +Washington foresaw that he would have plenty of visitors, but he did not +mean to let his life be at the mercy of everybody, and he meant to keep +up his regular habits and his plain living. "My manner of living is +plain," he wrote to a friend, "and I do not mean to be put out of it. A +glass of wine and a bit of mutton are always ready, and such as will be +content to partake of them are always welcome. Those who expect more +will be disappointed." + +[Illustration: WASHINGTON'S TREASURE CHEST.] + +The house at Mount Vernon before this time had been very much like that +in which Washington was born; now he found it necessary to enlarge it, +and accordingly added an extension at each end, making it substantially +as it now appears. He was his own architect, and he drew every plan and +specification for the workmen with his own hand. He amused himself also +with laying out the grounds about his house, and planting trees,--a +great pleasure to him. Every morning he arose early, and despatched his +correspondence before breakfast, which was at half-past seven. His horse +stood ready at the door, and as soon as breakfast was over, he was in +the saddle, visiting the various parts of his estate. Sometimes he went +hunting, for he never lost his fondness for the chase. He dined at +three o'clock, and usually spent the afternoon in the library, sometimes +working at his papers till nine o'clock; but when not pressed by +business, and when his house was full of guests, he spent the evening +with them. If he was alone with his family, he read aloud to them; and +very often on Sundays, when they could not go to church, he sat down and +read a sermon and prayers. + +[Illustration: WASHINGTON'S SECRETARY AND BOOK-CASE AT MOUNT VERNON.] + +Guests crowded upon him, and he was especially glad to see his old +comrades. A visit from Lafayette was the occasion of a very gay time, +when Mount Vernon was full of visitors, and the days were given to +sport. + +Washington had constant applications from persons who wished to write +his life or paint his portrait. There was a sculptor named Wright who +undertook to get a model of Washington's face. "Wright came to Mount +Vernon," so Washington tells the story, "with the singular request that +I should permit him to take a model of my face, in plaster of Paris, to +which I consented with some reluctance. He oiled my features, and +placing me flat upon my back, upon a cot, proceeded to daub my face with +the plaster. Whilst I was in this ludicrous attitude, Mrs. Washington +entered the room, and seeing my face thus overspread with the plaster, +involuntarily exclaimed. Her cry excited in me a disposition to smile, +which gave my mouth a slight twist, or compression of the lips, that is +now observable in the busts which Wright afterward made." A more +successful sculptor was Houdon, who was commissioned by Virginia to make +a statue of Washington. He also took a plaster model, and the fine +statue which he made stands in Richmond. A portrait painter, named Pine, +also paid a visit to Mount Vernon about this time with a letter from one +of Washington's friends to whom Washington wrote during Pine's visit: + + "'In for a penny, in for a pound,' is an old adage. I am so + hackneyed to the touches of the painter's pencil, that I am now + altogether at their beck, and sit, like 'patience on a + monument,' whilst they are delineating the lines of my face. It + is a proof among many others of what habit and custom can + effect. At first I was as impatient at the request, and as + restive under the operation as a colt is of the saddle. The + next time I submitted very reluctantly, but with less + flouncing. Now no dray moves more readily to the thill than I + do to the painter's chair. It may easily be conceived, + therefore, that I yielded a ready obedience to your request, + and to the views of Mr. Pine." + +Washington was a most considerate and courteous host. He was very fond +of young people, but his silent ways and the reputation which he enjoyed +as a great man made it difficult for the young always to be easy in his +presence. The story is told of his coming into a room once, when dancing +was going on, and the sport suddenly ceased. Washington begged the young +people to go on, but they refused until he left the room. Then, after +they felt free again to dance, he came back and peeped through the open +door. + +[Illustration: ONE OF A SET OF FIRE-BUCKETS AT MOUNT VERNON.] + +He was very apt to affect older people in the same way. He was a large +man, with large hands and feet, and eyes that looked steadily at one. +When not speaking, he was very apt to forget there were other people in +the room, and his lips would move as he talked to himself while thinking +hard upon some matter. But he did not neglect people. One of his +visitors tells this story: "The first evening I spent under the wing of +his hospitality, we sat a full hour at table, by ourselves, without the +least interruption, after the family had retired. I was extremely +oppressed with a severe cold and excessive coughing, contracted from the +exposure of a harsh winter journey. He pressed me to use some remedies, +but I declined doing so. As usual, after retiring, my coughing +increased. When some time had elapsed, the door of my room was gently +opened and, on drawing my bed-curtains, to my utter astonishment I +beheld Washington himself standing at my bed-side, with a bowl of hot +tea in his hand. I was mortified and distressed beyond expression." + +[Illustration: HOUDON'S STATUE OF WASHINGTON.] + +Although Washington had now retired to Mount Vernon, and seemed +perfectly willing to spend the rest of his days as a country gentleman, +it was impossible for him to do so. The leaders of the country needed +him, and he was himself too deeply interested in affairs to shut his +eyes and ears. He was especially interested in the Western country, +which then meant the Ohio Valley and the region bordered by the Great +Lakes. In the autumn of 1784, he made a tour beyond the Alleghanies, for +the purpose of looking after the lands which he owned there; but he +looked about him not only as a land-owner, but as a wise, far-seeing +statesman. + +It was a wild journey to take in those days. Washington traveled nearly +seven hundred miles on horseback, and had to carry camping conveniences +and many of his supplies on pack-horses. He had especially in mind to +see if there might be a way of connecting by a canal the water system of +Virginia with the Western rivers. After he came back, he wrote a long +letter to the Governor of Virginia, in which he gave the result of his +observation and reflection. He was not merely considering how a +profitable enterprise could be undertaken, but he was thinking how +necessary it was to bind the Western country to the Eastern in order to +strengthen the Union. Many people had crossed the mountains and were +scattered in the Mississippi Valley. They found the Mississippi River a +stream easy to sail down, but the Spaniards held the mouth of the river, +and if the latter chose to make friends with those Western settlers, +they might easily estrange them from the Eastern States. Besides this, +Great Britain was reaching down toward this last territory from Canada. +In every way, it seemed to him of importance that good roads and good +water communication should bind the East and the West together. He +thought Virginia was the State to do this. It extended then far to the +westward, and it had great rivers flowing to the sea. It was the most +important State in the country, and it was very natural that Washington +should look to it to carry out his grand ideas; for the separate States +had the power at that time--Congress was unable to do anything. It is +interesting to see how Washington, who thought he could go back to Mount +Vernon and be a planter, was unable to keep his mind from working upon a +great plan which intended the advantage of a vast number of people. He +was made to care for great things, and he cared for them naturally. + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +CALLED TO THE HELM. + +While Washington was busy planting trees at Mount Vernon and making +excursions to see his Western lands, the country was like a vessel which +had no captain or pilot, drifting into danger. During the War for +Independence, one of the greatest difficulties which Washington had to +overcome was the unwillingness of the several States to act together as +one nation. They called themselves the United States of America, but +they were very loosely united. Congress was the only body that held +them together, and Congress had no power to make the States do what they +did not care to do. So long as they all were fighting for independence, +they managed to hold together; but as soon as the war was over and the +States were recognized as independent, it was very hard to get them to +do anything as one nation. Every State was looking out for itself, and +afraid that the others might gain some advantage over it. + +This could not go on forever. They must be either wholly independent of +one another or more closely united. The difficulty was more apparent +where two States were neighbors. Virginia and Massachusetts might manage +to live apart, though in that case troubles would be sure to arise, but +how could Virginia and Maryland maintain their individual independence? +The Chesapeake and Potomac seemed to belong to one as much as to the +other; and when foreign vessels came up the stream, was each State to +have its own rules and regulations? No. They must treat strangers at any +rate in some way that would not make each the enemy of the other. + +These two States felt this so strongly that they appointed a commission +to consider what could be done. Washington was a member of the +commission, and asked all the gentlemen to his house. They not only +discussed the special subject committed to them, but they looked at the +whole matter of the regulation of commerce in a broad way, and agreed to +propose to the two States to appoint other commissioners, who should +advise with Congress and ask all the States of the Union to send +delegates to a meeting where they could arrange some system by which all +the States should act alike in their treatment of foreign nations and of +each other. + +That was exactly what Congress ought to have been able to do, but could +not, because nobody paid any attention to it. Nor did this meeting, +which was called at Annapolis in September, 1786, accomplish very much. +Only five States sent delegates, and these delegates were so carefully +instructed not to do much, that it was impossible for the convention to +settle affairs. Still, it was a step forward. It was very clear to the +delegates that a general convention of all the States was necessary, and +so they advised another meeting at which all the thirteen States should +be represented, and the whole subject of the better union of the States +should be considered. + +This meeting, which was the great Constitutional Convention of 1787, was +held in Philadelphia, and to it Virginia sent George Washington as one +of her delegates. He was heart and soul in favor of the movement. It was +what he had been urging on all his correspondents for a long time. He +was at first reluctant to go back into public life after having so +completely retired; but as soon as he saw that it was his duty to accept +the appointment, he set to work to qualify himself for taking part in +the deliberations of the convention. Probably no one in America +understood better than he the character of Americans and the special +dangers through which the country was passing; but several, no doubt, +were better informed about the practical working of government and about +the history of other confederations. He had never been very much of a +reader of books, but he had been a member for many years of the Virginia +House of Burgesses, and so knew how government was carried on on a small +scale, and now he began to read diligently and to compare accounts of +ancient and modern political unions. He made abstracts of them, and, in +fact, went to work as if he were at school, so in earnest was he to +learn this important lesson. + +On May 9, 1787, Washington set out from Mount Vernon in his carriage for +Philadelphia. He was a famous man and could not go to the convention +without attracting attention. So, when he reached Chester, in +Pennsylvania, he was met by General Mifflin, who was then Speaker of the +Assembly of Pennsylvania, and by various public men, who escorted him on +the way. At the ferry across the Schuylkill, where Gray's Ferry Bridge +now is, he was met by a company of light horse, and so entered the city. +One of his first errands was to call on Benjamin Franklin, who was +President of Pennsylvania, as the governor was then called. No doubt +they talked long and earnestly about the work before them, for they were +the two most eminent men in the convention. + +Washington was made the presiding officer of the convention. For four +months it met from day to day, engaged in the great work of forming the +Constitution under which we are now governed. There were many long and +earnest debates; and the members felt the importance of the work upon +which they were engaged. At last, the Constitution was formed. It was +not satisfactory to everybody, but the members all agreed to sign it and +recommend it to the country for adoption. George Washington, as +president of the convention, was the first to set his name down; and +there is a tradition that as he took the pen in his hand he arose from +his seat, considered a moment, and then said: + +"Should the States reject this excellent Constitution, the probability +is that an opportunity will never again be offered to cancel another in +peace; the next will be drawn in blood." + +Washington, as president of the convention, was directed to draw up a +letter, stating what the convention had done, and send it with the +Constitution to Congress. This he did. He was not entirely satisfied +with the Constitution, as he wrote to Patrick Henry: "I wish the +Constitution which is offered had been more perfect; but I sincerely +believe it is the best that could be obtained at this time. And, as a +constitutional door is opened for amendments hereafter, the adoption of +it, under the present circumstances of the Union, is, in my opinion, +desirable." + +[Illustration: CRAB-TREE STAFF PRESENTED BY BENJ. FRANKLIN TO GEN. +WASHINGTON; NOW IN THE STATE DEPARTMENT LIBRARY AT WASHINGTON.] + +He said at first that he should not say anything for or against the +Constitution. If it were good, it would work its way; if bad, it would +recoil on those who drew it up. Perhaps he thought it was not becoming +in those who discussed its parts and finally signed it, to do anything +more than send it out and leave the people to do what they would with +it. But he could not keep silent long. Everybody was debating it; the +principal members of the convention were defending it; there was danger +that it would not be adopted, and soon Washington, in his letters, was +using arguments in support of it. There is no doubt that his name at the +head of the paper did a great deal toward inducing people to accept it. +It was more than a year before enough States had adopted the +Constitution to make it the law of the land, but as time went on, and it +was more certain that the new government would go into operation, the +question arose as to who should be the first President of the United +States. It can hardly be called a question; at any rate, it was answered +at once by all. Every one named Washington, and his friends began to +write to him as if there could be no doubt on this point. The most +distinguished advocate of the new Constitution, Alexander Hamilton, who +had been one of Washington's aids in the war, wrote to him: + +"I take it for granted, sir, you have concluded to comply with what +will, no doubt, be the general call of your country in relation to the +new government. You will permit me to say that it is indispensable you +should lend yourself to its first operations. It is to little purpose to +have introduced a system, if the weightiest influence is not given to +its firm establishment in the outset." + +[Illustration: SUGAR-BOWL BELONGING TO A DINNER-SET PRESENTED TO MARTHA +WASHINGTON BY GENERAL LAFAYETTE.] + +Washington was by no means elated at the prospect. On the contrary, he +was extremely reluctant to be President. He was not old; he was +fifty-seven years of age when the election took place, but his hard life +as a soldier had broken his constitution, and the cares and anxieties he +had undergone had made him feel old. "At my time of life," he wrote to +Lafayette, "and under my circumstances, the increasing infirmities of +nature and the growing love of retirement do not permit me to entertain +a wish beyond that of living and dying an honest man on my own farm. Let +those follow the pursuits of ambition and fame who have a keener relish +for them, or who may have more years in store for the enjoyment." He was +perfectly sincere in saying this. He knew that some people would not +believe him, and would assert that he was only saying all this to get +the credit of humility; but his best friends believed him, and to one of +these he wrote: "If I should receive the appointment, and if I should be +prevailed upon to accept it, the acceptance would be attended with more +diffidence and reluctance than ever I experienced before in my life. It +would be, however, with a fixed and sole determination of lending +whatever assistance might be in my power to promote the public weal, in +hopes that, at a convenient and early period, my services might be +dispensed with, and that I might be permitted once more to retire, to +pass an unclouded evening, after the stormy day of life, in the bosom of +domestic tranquillity." + +There never was any doubt about the people's choice. Every vote was cast +for Washington. + +(_To be continued._) + + + + +[Illustration: BEARS EATING CORN: "THIS WAS REALLY THOUGHTFUL OF FARMER +JONES, EH?"] + + + + +[Illustration] + +TODDLEKINS AND TROT. + +BY ANNA M. PRATT. + + + "Dear Toddlekins," said little Trot, + "May I talk to you a while?" + "Why, yeth, of courthe," said Toddlekins, + With a bashful little smile. + + "Now, Toddlekins," said little Trot, + "If we should meet a bear"---- + "Good graciouth me!" said Toddlekins, + "You give me thuch a thcare!" + + "If we should meet a bear," said Trot, + "Would you let me save your life?" + "Oh merthy! Yeth!" said Toddlekins, + "But I will _not_ be your wife!" + + + + +[Illustration] + +OUR ADVENTURE AT THE FLUME. + +BY W. L. + + +A dark, solemn-looking place it was, and although Fred and I were as +dauntless explorers as Stanley or Greely, our courage began to ooze away +as we looked in at the gloomy flume from which issued the cold and +sluggish water. We had come upon the ruined archway of an old mill, +still standing with crumbling walls above the slow-moving waters of its +former busy tail-race. The low, dark archway was overhung with birch, +witch-hazel, and thimbleberry; and as we peered into its blackness, +suggestions of dragons and serpents, castle-dungeons and witches' +caverns and monsters' dens came into our minds already sufficiently full +of wild, boyish fancies and strange imaginings. + +Fred "double dared" me to go in, and I was foolish enough to think that +no boy of spirit could refuse a "double dare." So, cutting weapons from +the sapling birches, we stepped into the cold and repulsive-looking +water. B-r-r-r!--what a shiver it gave us! + +It was late in the afternoon. The shadows that lay in the deep ravines +along the mountain-side looked strange and weird; and as we stepped +within the gloom of the archway, a blue heron, gaunt and ungainly, with +its twisted neck and long, dangling legs, flew down the creek, uttering +its harsh and dismal cry. + +Neither Fred nor I was feeling remarkably lion-hearted; the call of the +heron had brought our hearts almost into our mouths; and just then, as +we stood hesitating and peering in, something moved in the darkness +beyond us, and a black object that seemed, as Fred said, "as big as an +eagle" flung itself out of the shadows full into our startled faces. + +[Illustration: THE ENTRANCE TO THE FLUME.] + +Panic-stricken, we turned to fly. The bottom of the pool was slippery, +the roof of the archway was low; Fred's feet flew up, my head received a +sudden bump, and both of us went down in six inches of water. + +With a shriek of terror from each valiant explorer thus stricken down by +the magic spells of the goblin of the den, we scrambled to our feet, +dripping and disheartened, and made for the light; and as we did so we +caught a glimpse of our assailant skimming away in the twilight--neither +goblin, witch, nor monster, but only a harmless and equally frightened +black bat. + + + + +[Illustration] + +THE CRAFTY CRAB + + + There once was a crafty young Crab + Who always went round in a cab + He wished no one to say + That he walked the wrong way + But his coachman the secret did blab + + + + +MORRA. + +BY SUSAN ANNA BROWN. + +[Illustration] + + +Among boys and girls there is a constant demand for new games, and many +are invented every year, which are in fashion for a few months and then +disappear altogether. + +But almost every successful game is an adaptation of some old amusement +that was enjoyed centuries ago. Tennis, base-ball, marbles, and many +other common sports have been played for ages, in one form or another, +while most games of cards can be traced back to the sixteenth century. + +Many games which seem very simple and hardly worthy of the name require, +in reality, considerable skill and dexterity. This is especially true of +the game of Morra, which is played enthusiastically in Italy by persons +of all ages. + +Almost any day, in walking along a Roman street, a little group may be +discovered gathered about a pair of Morra-players. From the noise and +excitement, a foreigner would conclude that a quarrel of some sort was +going on; but if he pause and join the company, he will see that the +chief actors are all interested in the progress of the game, and that +the loud screams which the players give at brief intervals are nothing +more dangerous than the simultaneous calling out of numbers. He will +also see that their eyes are fixed too earnestly on each other to notice +the increasing crowd of spectators, and that both have their left hands +constantly raised, and that at each shout the right hands are thrown +violently forward. This is the old, old game of Morra which is referred +to by Cicero, and other writers of his day. On many ancient monuments +are found carvings which represent Morra-players. It was played on the +banks of the Nile in the time of the Pharoahs; and in spite of its +simplicity it is still a standard amusement around the Levant. + +Perhaps some of the boys and girls on this side of the water would like +to try it; but I shall warn them that, although it seems easy enough, it +will require considerable practice to become at all proficient in it. + +The two players are placed opposite each other, and simultaneously each +throws out the right hand with some of the fingers extended, while the +rest are doubled over the palm, at the same instant shouting out the sum +of the fingers which he guesses are extended on his adversary's hand and +his own. Of course, knowing how many he has put up himself, the only +point is to guess the number of his adversary and instantly add it to +his own, a process which requires some practice and experience, as an +experiment will soon show, beginners often making amusing mistakes; as, +for instance, saying "ten!" when they themselves have only one or two +fingers up, or "four!" when the whole hand is extended. + +If both guess correctly, or incorrectly, neither makes anything, but if +one happens to hit the right number when his adversary misses, he scores +one, by extending one finger on the left hand, which is held up +constantly, that no unfair count may be recorded. The game is usually +five, but sometimes "double morra" is played, the score being ten. In +this case, at the end of the first five, the hands are brought together +with a slap, to indicate that the second half is begun. This slap is +also given at the completion of an ordinary game. + +The great point is to play as rapidly as possible and exactly in unison, +as otherwise an opportunity is given for unfair advantage. + +A very old Latin proverb describes an honest man as, "Trustworthy enough +to play Morra in the dark"; and it is a very good description, for one +who has no honor about trifles can never be trusted in graver matters. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE KELP-GATHERERS. + +[_A Story of the Maine Coast._] + +BY J. T. TROWBRIDGE. + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +ON THE OLD COW'S BACK. + +Once more in the boat's stern with his steering paddle, Perce Bucklin +gazed eagerly over the bobbing heads of the twins, who were rowing, and +reported his observations, as they approached the castaway on the back +of the "Old Cow." + +"It's nobody I can make out," he said, when near enough to recognize, as +he believed, any person he knew. "But that isn't a yachting-cap he has +on; it's a handkerchief tied around his head. The sun on the water +dazzles me or I ---- Boys," he suddenly exclaimed, "it isn't a man! +It's a boy!" + +And he shouted, "Hello, there!" + +The castaway returned the hail, and as the boat came nearer, cried out: + +"That you, Perce Bucklin?" + +Then Perce uttered an ejaculation of the greatest astonishment: + +"Boys, it's Olly Burdeen!" + +"No!" "Jingo!" "You don't say!" exclaimed the twins, who wouldn't +believe him until they turned their heads and saw for themselves. + +"Hullo, Olly!" called Moke. + +"How did you ever get there?" asked Poke. + +"Pull, boys!" said Perce impatiently, as they held their oars while +looking around. "He must have been aboard the yacht,"--for as yet Olly +made no answer. He was in fact too much agitated with joy and gratitude, +after his long hours of suffering in mind and body, to make any coherent +explanations. + +The dory came dancing over the waves. + +"Where's the yacht?" Perce demanded. + +"I don't know anything about any yacht," answered the miserable, happy +Olly, stepping down to the water's edge to meet his deliverers. + +"Hasn't the Susette been lost?" Perce inquired. + +As he was still some little distance away, and the waves were dashing on +the rocks, all Olly understood was something about the Susette being +lost. + +It gave him a shock, with which, however, came a gleam of consolation. +Mr. Hatville, then, had not returned home. + +I will do Olly the justice to say that he could not under any +circumstances have rejoiced at such a disaster as the wreck of the +yacht; yet it was some comfort to think that the loss of the watch had +not yet been discovered. + +"I haven't heard of it!" Olly said in a shaky voice. + +"Then how in the world did you get where you are?" inquired Perce, and +as Olly was too much overcome by his feelings to answer at once, he +continued: "We concluded you must have been aboard of the Susette. +Where's the best place to take you on?" + +"Right here," said Olly. "But I've a boat, too, around on the other +side. I'd like to save that." + +"A boat!" Moke exclaimed. "Then why in the name of common sense----" + +"Why didn't you go ashore?" cried Poke. + +"It leaks, and I haven't any oars nor anything to bail with. It was all +I could do to get over here in it, without sinking. I was on the +"Calf's" back till the waves began to break over it this morning." + +Here a sob caught poor Olly's voice, at the recollection of all he had +gone through. + +"On the 'Calf'!" said Perce. "How did it happen? But never mind about +that till we get you out of your scrape." + +The dory pulled around the "Old Cow," while Olly scrambled over the +back, picking up on his way the second thwart, which he had used to +paddle with, and afterward in making his signals of distress. + +On the seaward side was a cleft in the rock, into which he had propelled +his dory on the top of a wave, and where, leaping to the ledges, he had +held it by the painter while the wave went out. There it was still, +jammed high up in the chasm, where the buffets of the tide had left it. + +Olly alone could never have got it out without waiting for the next tide +to help him; it was all his companions could do to loosen and lift it +from those rocky jaws. This they did, after effecting a landing on the +little islet; while Olly, who acknowledged himself half starved, ate +some of the provisions they had brought, and between mouthfuls told his +surprising story. + +One very important particular, however, he took care not to mention, so +that no light was thrown upon the mystery of the watch which had found +its resting-place in Perce Bucklin's pocket. + +It would be hard to say whether this was a disappointment or a relief to +the finder. He had so fully persuaded himself that there was some +connection between the watch picked up on the beach and the human being +cast on the rock, that he could not easily give it up, even after +discovering who that human being was. + +True, Olly was not a very probable owner of such a timepiece. Yet that +was not an impossible thing; at any rate, he might know something about +it. Perce was anxious to solve the riddle, even if it should be at his +own cost; for he had no wish, as I have said before, to keep what +belonged to another. + +"I didn't know you in that suit of clothes, Olly," he said, as they were +getting the boat out of the crevice, "and with that handkerchief on your +head! I never saw such a change in anybody,--did you, boys?" + +"He looks as pinched as if the lobsters had been nipping him," said +Moke. + +"And as blue about the gills as a turkey-gobbler," said Poke. + +"I lost my hat overboard last night," said Olly, "I tied on my +handkerchief this morning after I got tired of waving it. I thought you +would be more apt to see the board. Wasn't I missed? Wasn't anybody +looking for me?" + +"No," Perce replied. "The young lady with the nose--the tall one--said +you went with the yachters." + +"She!" exclaimed Olly, who still had feelings left that could be hurt by +such evidence of Amy Canfield's utter indifference to him. "She knew +better than that." + +"Mrs. Murcher knew better," said Perce. "She thought you had gone home +to show your new suit to the folks. Did the boarder make you any other +present?" + +"Wasn't that enough?" returned Olly, munching a cold boiled egg. + +"It will do for a beginning," said Perce. "But with such a suit as that, +it seems as if you ought to have a handsome--watch-chain; needn't mind +about any watch," he added with a laugh, intending thus to make a jest +of his remark if Olly didn't take it in earnest. + +Poor Olly tried to smile with his pinched, empurpled face; at the same +time casting down his eyes in some alarm, to see what there was about +his dress to put such a notion into Perce's head. + +"Olly doesn't feel like joking," observed Moke. + +"Neither would you, I guess!" exclaimed Olly, glad to change the +subject. "All night on the rocks except when I was paddling or swimming +for my life. No fire, not a mouthful to eat, not a wink of sleep! I got +wet through a second time, getting over here from the 'Calf,' in a +sinking boat. I can't tell you how it made me feel, boys, to see your +fire on the beach last night, and again this morning! Why didn't you see +me? I tried the handkerchief, and then the board, but I thought you +never would look!" + +"We were too far off," said Poke. + +"We were too busy minding our own business," said Moke. + +"That reminds me, the seaweed is waiting for us," said Poke. "Hurry up, +boys!" + +Perce was the last to leave the island; and he himself got wet up to his +waist by a wave, in preventing the boat from being dashed upon the rocks +after the others were aboard. + +He did not care for a little salt water himself. But he thought of the +watch in the pocket of his trousers. That, however, would probably not +be much hurt by a few additional drops after what it had been through +already. As far as he was concerned, the mystery had not been cleared +up, at all, as he had expected it would be, by the rescue of the +castaway. + +If Olly had frankly told his entire story, how gladly would Perce have +taken the treasure-trove from his pocket and held it out to him, +exclaiming: "Here is your watch, boy!" gladdening his eyes with the +sight. But as it was, both were silent on the subject which now filled +both their minds. + +Olly had already learned from his companions that their only reasons for +thinking the yacht had been wrecked, was the fact of its not having +returned the night before, and the appearance, that morning, of a human +form on the outlying rock,--excepting always the very private reason in +Perce Bucklin's trousers-pocket. + +Mr. Hatville was then most likely still undrowned; and now that his own +life was saved, Olly began to study how he should shirk the +responsibility of his guilty borrowing,--in his troubled thoughts +looking every way except the right way, and inventing plausible +fictions, where nothing would avail like the simple truth. He sat in the +stern of his companions' dory, leading his own in tow by the painter; +dejected and silent, and more than once thinking he would watch for a +chance, when nobody was observing him, to drop overboard the watch-seal +and the fragment of chain which he still carried in his vest. + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +OLLY HAS A BAD DREAM. + +Long before the rescuers and the rescued reached the shore with their +leaky boat in tow, the excitement among Mrs. Murcher's boarders in +regard to the yacht had been allayed by a telegram. The adverse wind of +the evening before had caused the Susette to put into Portland; whence +some of the party were to return by rail that morning. + +[Illustration: "THE CASTAWAY RETURNED THE HAIL, AS THE BOAT CAME +NEARER."] + +So said the message; in consequence of which, interest in the unknown +individual on the back of the "Old Cow" languished somewhat, until the +arrival of the little party on the beach. Then it went up to the +bubbling point again; and there was the liveliest effervescence of +curiosity to know how Olly Burdeen, the faithful, unromantic chore and +errand boy, had met with so wonderful an adventure. + +Accompanied, or preceded, by those who had gone down to see him +disembark, he mounted with slow, miserable, anxious feet the piazza +steps. + +There all the other ladies came out eagerly to meet him, and pressed +around, marveling and questioning; and Mrs. Murcher, flushed from her +molding-board, held up both her doughy hands. + +"Why, Olly! where _have_ you been?" said one. + +"In his new suit of clothes!" said another. + +"The first time he ever wore them!" exclaimed a third. + +And one laughed; the one of all whom Olly most dreaded to have see him +in that plight. + +It was not an ill-natured laugh by any means; and she would have helped +it if she could. But Amy Canfield had a merry disposition. And Olly +after his night of terror and fatigue, still oppressed with a horrible +anxiety, humbled, drooping, rolling his distressed eyes in fear of +encountering Mr. Hatville's, with the handkerchief still on his head and +his new clothes torn at the knees,--it must be owned that Olly did look +ridiculous. + +"Why, Amy!" said Mrs. Merriman, "how _can_ you laugh?" + +"It's so funny!" replied the tall brunette; "and I'm so glad he is +rescued," she added, discreetly. "We all were so anxious, thinking the +Susette had gone on the rocks; and it was only our Olly after all." + +"What _has_ happened to you, Olly?" cried Mrs. Murcher, amazed to the +end of her doughy fingers. + +"I just went out to take a little row, last evening," murmured the +forlorn Olly. "I lost one oar; it got tangled in the kelp, and a wave +wrenched it out of my hand. Then I broke another, and the wind blew me +off shore." + +"And you've been all night on the 'Old Cow'?" said the good landlady. + +"Worse than that," said Olly. "I was on the 'Calf.' And a part of the +time in the water. I guess if anybody had been there on the 'Calf's' +back in my place--alone--such a night!--waiting for the tide to rise and +cover 'em--I guess they wouldn't have thought it much of a joke!" And +Olly's voice broke. + +"It must have been terrible, Olly! Do forgive my laughing!" said Amy, +relenting. "How did you get to the 'Old Cow'?" + +Olly faltered forth more of his wretched story, which was listened to +with many an expression of surprise and sympathy, for he was rather a +favorite with Mrs. Murcher and her lady boarders. + +He had wished to go directly home to Frog-End, and had tried to induce +the boys to carry him over in the ox-cart. But they were in haste to +resume their work, which had been too long interrupted already; and they +could not see why he should object to returning to the boarding-house. + +After all, he thought to himself, the dreaded inquiry regarding the +watch might as well be met first as last. + +The kindness he met with made him feel more miserably remorseful and +apprehensive than ever, for he knew that it was lavished upon him +because his friends were still ignorant of what might at any minute now +come to their knowledge. + +He was really worn out with the long, fearful strain on his mind and +strength, and he was quite willing to accept Mrs. Murcher's advice that +he should go at once to bed and "take something hot." + +The nucleus of the boarding-house was, as we have said, an old +farm-house, which accounted for its not very sightly situation, there in +a hollow of the hills. Besides the spacious addition, the original +building remained, and at the end of the upper corridor was the old +attic, with two or three steps descending to the door. + +Olly's room was there, and there he was soon in bed, with ample leisure +to think over the terrible part of his experience which was happily +past, and the part which was unhappily to come. + +He had not ventured to ask about the yachting party, lest something +concerning the watch should come out. But he had accidentally overheard +some one speak of the Susette having run into Portland. Everything else +was uncertain. But, thankful for a reprieve however brief from the +impending catastrophe, he ate the steaming gruel Mrs. Murcher brought +him, sank into a state of stupor, and was soon rehearsing in dreams his +dire adventures. + +He was having a distressing conversation with a dog-fish of enormous +size. The monster came up out of the sea, and resting its elbow on the +"Calf's" shoulder, and its face on its hand,--a face and attitude +grotesquely suggestive of Mr. Hatville,--accused Olly of having one of +that gentleman's eyes in his pocket, although there were two spectral +eyes as big as watches in the speaker's head, at the moment. The dispute +was growing frightfully loud, when Olly cut it short by kicking the +dog-fish, or Mr. Hatville, or whoever it was, back into the sea, and +immediately woke. + + +CHAPTER XV. + +IT WAS NOT A DOG-FISH. + +It is generally a very good way to get out of trouble, to wake, and find +it a dream. But that did not serve Olly's turn this time. The voice was +still heard, louder and louder, not in the sea, as he had fancied, but +behind the door which separated his garret from the corridor. + +"I paid two hundred and forty dollars for that watch, and fifteen +dollars for the chain, let alone the seal, and I want to know who has +them!" + +It was Mr. Hatville's voice pure and simple, without any fishy element +about it. At the same time a good pair of boots, such as no dog-fish +ever wore, were tramping excitedly across the floor. Poor Mrs. Murcher's +anxious, protesting voice was heard in reply, but not loud enough for +Olly to make out the words. + +"I hung it up when I was changing my clothes, and then went off and +forgot it!" burst forth the male voice again. "But I supposed it would +be safe here. I didn't know you had thieves in your house, Mrs. +Murcher!" + +"I haven't, sir! unless they are among your own friends," the landlady +answered, in a higher key than before. "I don't believe it is stolen. It +must be somewhere!" + +"Of course it's somewhere!" the boarder retorted--"somewhere in some +rogue's keeping. I'd like to see the fellow who dared to lay hands on +it--the best time-keeper I ever saw! Stem-winder; chronometer movement; +heavy, fine gold case! I had it regulated down to the finest point; it +was losing only about a second and a half a month." + +Other voices here joined in; the corridor appeared to be filling with +boarders, all excited by the news of Mr. Hatville's loss. + +"No," said that gentleman; "I wasn't at all anxious about it; only, when +I found we couldn't get back last night, I was vexed to think it would +run down. I wouldn't have had that happen for five dollars. Where's +Olly?" he demanded. "_He_ must know something about it." + +Olly trembled in his bed. He would have preferred just then to take his +chances with a whole school of dog-fishes, of the largest size, rather +than confront the wrathful owner of the watch. + +"I don't think he knows anything about it," said Mrs. Murcher, now +quite near Olly's door. "He has been away all night; he has had a +terrible time out at sea--in the sea--and on the rocks. Don't disturb +him! He's fast asleep." + +"If he hasn't slept for a week, and can't sleep again for a fortnight," +cried Hatville, "I'll have him up and see if he knows anything about +that watch." + +"Let me speak to him!" said Mrs. Murcher. "You've no idea how weak and +tired and worn out he is. I've got him into a perspiration, and now if +it is checked, I shall expect nothing in the world but that he will have +a fit of sickness, and may be never get over it." + +"It ought not to check an honest boy's perspiration, to tell what he +knows about my chronometer," Hatville muttered, while Mrs. Murcher, +stepping down the two or three stairs that led to the old attic, opened +Olly's door. + +"Sh!" she whispered gently, motioning Mr. Hatville back. "He's so sound +asleep! It's such a pity to wake him, poor boy! But I suppose I must." + +Oily lay with his back toward her, with his head and face covered by the +sheet. His perspiration hadn't ceased, by any means; he felt that he was +fast dissolving in a clammy feeling of abject fear. + +"He's in such a beautiful, dewy, childlike, innocent sleep" said the +motherly Mrs. Murcher, laying her hand softly on his brow. "Just the +thing he needs; better than all the medicine in the world!" She was +tempted to add, "or than all the watches!" + +Still Hatville did not relent. Without strongly suspecting Olly of +taking the watch, he was yet determined to pursue his investigations, +even if he broke the most beautiful, dewy, childlike, innocent slumber +on earth. + +"Shake him!" he said. + +So Mrs. Murcher shook, gently at first, then more and more vigorously, +saying, "Olly! Oliver! Olly Burdeen! Oliver Burdeen!" more and more +loudly in his ear, until he suddenly sprang up with a muttered cry. + +"Stop that boat! stop that----she's running on the 'Old Cow'! Oh, +boys!--where am I?" + +And, appearing to recognize Mrs. Murcher's presence for the first time, +he rolled up his eyes and sank back with a groan on the pillow. + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +A BAD AWAKING. + +"He's delirious!" whispered the landlady. + +"He's dreaming," replied the boarder. + +"Olly! Wake up a minute! What's become of my watch?" + +"Watch?" repeated Olly, still disguising his real fears in a +well-feigned fictitious terror. "What watch? I thought I was in the +water again!" + +His voice trembled, though not altogether from that more remote cause +which he desired to impress upon the minds of spectators. + +"My watch, which I left hanging in the case beside my bureau when I went +yachting yesterday," said Hatville, as much imposed upon as the +sympathizing Mrs. Murcher herself. "What has become of it?" + +"Your watch?" Olly repeated, with a bewildered air, as if beginning +dimly to comprehend the question. "How should I know? I've been away. +I've been wrecked. Haven't they told you?" + +"You haven't the watch, _have_ you?" exclaimed the landlady. + +"His watch? Mr. Hatville's? Of course I haven't! What should I have his +watch for?" + +The brunt of the inquiry thus met, Olly felt that he was acting his part +very well, and took courage. Then somebody in the corridor whispered to +Mr. Hatville, who immediately asked: + +"What boy was that who came here to the house for you last evening?" + +"Boy? I don't know of any boy!" said Olly. + +"You remember, Amy; you showed him upstairs," said Mrs. Merriman. + +"I know the one you mean; one of the Frog-End boys!" exclaimed Mrs. +Murcher. "He said he and some friends of Olly's were camping on the +beach, and they wanted him to join them. It can't be that _he_ took it!" + +"Who showed him upstairs? You, Amy?" cried Hatville. + +It was a moment of fearful suspense to Olly, who remembered what Perce +had said of coming to invite him to their picnic, and learning that he +had either sailed in the yacht or gone home to show his new clothes. He +stopped breathing to hear Amy's reply, in clear, silvery tones, from the +farther end of the corridor. + +"Yes; I showed him up, and pointed out Olly's room. Mrs. Murcher thought +Olly was there, trying on his new clothes." + +"But he wasn't," said Mrs. Murcher. "And the boy came downstairs again +in a very few minutes." + +"Where was he during those few minutes?" Mr. Hatville demanded. "Did you +watch him, Amy?" + +"I? No, indeed! Why should I take the trouble to watch him?" cried Miss +Canfield. + +"What was to prevent his going into my room," Hatville inquired, "and +taking the watch?" + +"Nothing that I know of." The silvery accents faltered. "I don't know +but I am to blame, Mr. Hatville!" + +"Oh, no! It wasn't your business to watch strangers who gain admission +to the house," said Hatville. + +"But I did something which I see now was very indiscreet," Amy +exclaimed. "It was growing quite dark in the passage, and I opened the +door of your room to let in more light. I knew you were not there, and I +had no idea your watch was. I am very sorry." + +[Illustration: "'SHAKE HIM,' SAID MR. HATVILLE."] + +"You are very frank," replied Hatville. "But don't blame yourself. Of +course, you had no idea of putting temptation in the way of a rogue." + +"No; and I can't believe he was a rogue--such a fine, honest-looking +face as he had!" Amy exclaimed. "But I had no business to open your +door." + +Olly overheard this conversation with strangely mingled feelings of envy +and remorse, of fear and guilt. How admirable was Amy's prompt +confession of her fault, and how readily it was forgiven! Why couldn't +he have had a little of her courage, owned his folly, and thrown himself +upon Mr. Hatville's mercy! His implied denial had now cut him off from +that only noble course; and he saw no way to disentangle the web in +which he had involved both himself and his friend. + +"Wasn't it the same boy who came here again this morning?" asked Mr. +Merriman. "He had discovered Olly on the 'Old Cow,'--though nobody knew +it was Olly; and he came to get oars and a spy-glass." + +"Yes," said one of the other ladies; "and he came upstairs to look from +the windows. He might have gone into your room then, Mr. Hatville." + +"But if he had stolen the watch the night before, would he have shown +his face here again this morning?" argued the landlady, who had been +too much bewildered by what had occurred in her house, to take much part +in the previous conversation. + +"He might have done just that thing," Hatville replied, "in order to +brazen it out, and make a show of innocence. But most likely he saw the +chronometer then, and, having had time to think about it, he watched for +a chance to take it this morning, when it was supposed I might have been +lost in the yacht." + +That seemed very probable; and Mrs. Murcher was obliged to admit that +there had been no other stranger about the place, to her knowledge, +except the messenger who brought Mr. Hatville's telegram. He, however, +had not got out of his buggy. + +"That same boy is on the beach now, gathering seaweed," said Mrs. +Merriman. "At least, he was there a short time ago." + +"That's good news!" cried Hatville, gayly. "Who'll go with me and point +him out? We'll interview this seaweed-gatherer, who does a little side +business in other people's watches!" + +And Olly could hear his boots departing in haste through the corridor +and descending the stairs. One or two ladies went with him to identify +the supposed culprit; while others remained to discuss this last +exciting revelation. + +"Such a bright, interesting boy!" said one; "I shouldn't have believed +it of him!" + +"I thought him a young hero!" cried another, "to leave his work and +start off to the rescue!" + +"Well!" said a third, "I thought so, too. He certainly organized the +whole thing; and it seems strange to me that he should have shown so +much zeal to save the life, perhaps, of the very person whose watch he +had just taken!" + +"You can't tell much from a boy's looks, or his actions either, as to +what he may do when exposed to temptation," was the rather severe +rejoinder of the first speaker. + +"Not unless you know him pretty well," added one of the others. + +"As we know Olly, for instance," observed some one else. "I actually +believe Mr. Hatville at first suspected he had taken it." + +"Absurd!" "Preposterous!" "Nonsense!" chorused all together. All which +Olly overheard with feelings which can hardly be imagined by anybody not +actually suffering what he suffered then. + +Had the lady boarders spoken harshly or suspiciously of him, he might +have hardened his heart. But their kind words made him bitterly regret +that he had not kept his good reputation by frankly owning the fault, +which, if discovered now, must convict him of dishonesty. + +And to a boy like him,--not a bad boy at heart, by any means, as I trust +you all understand,--it was a terrible thing to know that another was +accused of downright theft, in consequence of his own foolish and +cowardly conduct. And that one a friend,--a friend, too, who had just +rescued him from danger and distress! Poor Olly almost wished he had +been left to perish; that he had never reached the back of the "Old +Cow," or been seen or heard of again. + +All this he kept to himself, and lay with his face turned to the wall, +thinking of the probable result of the charge against Perce Bucklin, and +of retribution falling upon himself; when Mrs. Murcher came and pulled +the coverlet carefully over his shoulder, and shut the door again gently +as she went out, leaving him, as she supposed, to sleep. + +"Of course they can't prove anything against Perce," he tried to console +himself by thinking; for he was utterly ignorant of the astounding +evidence that was to free him from the last shadow of suspicion, and fix +the guilt on his friend. + +(_To be continued._) + + + + +THE AMBITIOUS KANGAROO. + + + They held a great meeting a king to select, + And the kangaroo rose in a dignified way, + And said, "I'm the one you should surely elect, + For I can out-leap every beast here to-day." + Said the eagle, "How high can you climb toward the sky?" + Said the nightingale, "Favor us, please, with a song!" + Said the hawk, "Let us measure our powers of eye!" + Said the lion, "Come wrestle, and prove you are strong!" + But the kangaroo said, "It would surely be best, + In our choice of a king, to make leaping the test!" + + + + +WONDERS OF THE ALPHABET. + +BY HENRY ECKFORD. + +SEVENTH PAPER. + + +Great was the surprise of scholars, both Hindoo and European, when +certain students of old languages claimed that the letters of the +Sanskrit, the classical language of India, were originally derived from +an alphabet, akin to the Ph[oe]nician, used by a great branch of the +great race of peoples who are called Shemites, or Semites, after one of +the sons of Noah. (The Jews, Arabs, Philistines, Hittites, +Ph[oe]nicians, and Aramaeans are Semites.) Those students believe that +the wonderful peninsula of India, which, as far back as traditions go, +has been crowded with men of various colors and different tongues, +received a Semitic alphabet under two forms by two different roads, and +perhaps at periods far apart. They believe that there was a land road +and a sea road. They trace one alphabet by land, through Bactria and +Cashmere, from one fierce and intelligent nation to another; and they +believe that they have traced a second alphabet from Arabia to India by +way of the Red Sea. The nation that carried the latter alphabet is +supposed to have been the Sabaeans, an ancient people of Arabia, who were +once as powerful in the Southern seas as the Ph[oe]nicians, their +kindred, were in the Mediterranean. + +Perhaps the word Sanskrit means nothing to you, but it is the name of an +important old Oriental language. Sanskrit stands in very much the same +relation to many Eastern languages as Latin does to the languages of +Italy, Spain, and France. In the last century, William Jones, a Welshman +of marked genius, went, like many young Britons, to India to advance his +fortunes under the British mercantile government of that land. It was he +who first called the attention of Europe to Sanskrit. Since his day much +of its poetry and legends has been read, many of its fables and dramatic +works have been translated. The word Sanskrit means polished and +perfected; and polished and perfected its alphabet certainly is. It is +the most complete and most carefully devised alphabet of all those that +we know. Sanskrit writing is very solid and handsome in appearance,--a +stately script worthy of holding the decrees which mighty monarchs +issued from courts magnificent with all the splendors of the Orient. +There are not twenty-two letters as in the Ph[oe]nician alphabet, nor +twenty-six as in ours--there are forty-seven! Instead of beginning with +A, the Sanskrit alphabet begins with K. Why? Because K is a letter +spoken from the throat. Indian grammarians carefully noted in what parts +of the throat and mouth the different sounds of their language were +made, and, for convenience, they systematized their ample alphabet on +this admirable plan. They put their fourteen vowels by themselves as +broad, open sounds which were shorter or longer; and, taking the +consonants, they placed first on the list those which are spoken from +the throat, then those spoken from the palate, then those spoken from +the roof of the mouth nearest the brain, then those spoken from the +teeth, and finally those spoken from the lips. The list of consonants +starts with those uttered low down in the throat and ends with those +uttered from the lips; added to these are the soft and flowing +consonants called semi-vowels--Y, R, L, and V; and after these come the +sibilants, or hissed letters, and the letter H,--forty-seven in all. + +The Indian grammarians who devised this complete and scientific system +must have had ears almost as sharp as those of the boy in the old story +who was said to be able to hear the grass growing. They distinguished +between a number of consonants containing a sound of N,--between +"twangs" very slightly differing in sound; and they placed them also in +the order of their utterance, beginning with an N uttered from the +throat and ending with one spoken with the tongue close to the lips. Our +language has two or three different N sounds, but our alphabet does not +distinguish them. The French language also has several N sounds not +indicated by the alphabet, so that one can not hope to speak French +intelligibly, still less accurately, without practice with teachers who +can render the different N sounds. The Spanish alphabet tries to +indicate a second N by putting a mark over the N--thus, N. Then, too, we +have three sounds for which our alphabet has but one letter, S; while +the Sanskrit alphabet has three letters, one for each sound of S. In the +alphabet, as in many other matters, the more enlightened nations of +India put to shame the most advanced nations of the Western World. + +Did you ever notice how, in our script, or written characters, for the +sake of clearness and to keep some letters distinct from others, we have +gradually come to write some of them with tall heads above the upper +line, or with long tails below the lower line? And still we are +constantly mistaking an l for a badly crossed t, and a g for a j or a y; +while some letters that do not go above or below the line, such as m, n, +i, w, u, and r, are constantly confounded in rapid writing. We are so +used to this confusion that we seldom think of it, and we fail to wonder +why some arrangement is not generally agreed to, which would do away +with it. By remembering this fact, you will avoid the mistake of +thinking because our alphabet, written or printed, is so good, that it +could not be better. There is great room for improvement in both +departments; in the printed form, the difference between n and u, for +instance, is none too great; while in writing hardly one person in ten +thousand distinguishes them from each other,--which letter is meant must +be guessed by the reader. But the men and women who set up type and +correct proofs are much bothered by these defects in our alphabet. + +The difficulty of having changes made in existing alphabets is very +great, yet this is not necessarily a disadvantage. Much insight into the +origin and gradual improvements of sets of letters has been gained by +studying the order in which the several letters stand. The order varies +greatly in different nations, and varies slightly at different epochs in +the same nation. In taking the Ph[oe]nician letters, the Greeks dropped +some, used others for slightly different sounds, and added a few to +express sounds that were important to them or that did not exist in the +Ph[oe]nician. But this was done very gradually. It never has been easy +to induce people to change and improve their alphabets. + +But there is another reason why men have refused to change the order of +letters by inserting a new and useful letter in the place where it +naturally belonged. The Greeks and many other peoples used the letters +of the alphabet for numerals. We use our own numbers without stopping to +think whence they came. The cumbersome system used by the Romans, and +called after them, consisted of strokes (I-II-III-IIII) to indicate the +four fingers, and two strokes joined (V) to represent the hand, or five +fingers. Ten was a picture of two hands, or two V's (X). Among the +Etruscans the half of one, or, as we put it, 1/2 was >, which we think +stood for a forefinger crooked in order to denote the half of one +finger. But when the Etruscans and Greeks worked at the higher +mathematics or attempted hard sums in arithmetic, they are much more +likely to have used letters, in order to avoid the clumsiness of these +numerals; in other words, they used what looked like a kind of algebra. +We know that they tried to simplify the Roman numerals at Rome by making +four and nine with three strokes instead of four, by placing an I +before the V and an I before the X (IV and IX). + +Our use of the numerals which we call "Arabic" is comparatively recent, +and it is believed that the Arabs got these numbers from India several +centuries after the Koran was written, or about eight hundred years +after Christ. But the fact that the Greeks and others used the letters +of their alphabets for numerals, caused the order in which they were +written to remain fixed. If _alpha_ stood for 1, _beta_ for 2, _gamma_ +for 3, _delta_ for 4, and so on up to ten, then a newly coined or newly +adopted letter could not be inserted without great confusion; it had to +be tacked on to the end of the alphabet. So, when scholars find in +inscriptions letters, adopted from another alphabet, which stand out of +their natural order, they can make a shrewd guess at the century in +which the inscription was made. Suppose an alphabet, which is also used +for numerals, loses a letter in the course of time, because there is +very little or no use for it; then that letter is still of service for a +numeral, and it can not be dropped as a number, though it drops out as a +letter. When it is found still employed as a numeral, it reveals some of +the history of the alphabet to which it once belonged. These are only a +few of many methods of determining the age of a given inscription. Old +coins are very useful in settling what the alphabets of various nations +were at different epochs. + +Our own numerals are extremely convenient for ordinary arithmetic. +Algebra, in which letters stand for numbers, is useful for abstract +reasoning in mathematics; it treats of the properties of numbers in +general. Whether the Indian numerals were originally part of some +ancient alphabet, or a series of shortened signs originally somewhat +like the Roman numerals that we still use, is not really decided. + +There was a curious fashion among certain grammarians and mathematicians +of Old India which may be mentioned here. They liked to increase their +own importance by making knowledge hard to attain; as it imposed on +their pupils, and even more on the outside world. They also wished to +exercise the memories of their pupils, and keep them mindful of certain +numbers and dates by means of memorizing words. In works on arithmetic +and prosody, they deliberately wrote out long words which meant nothing +if looked at as parts of a sentence, but stood for so many numbers if +the reader had the clew. If such a grammarian wished to write the number +twelve by this method, he would write down "moon, eyes"; because there +is one moon and two eyes. If he wished to signify the number 1486, he +would write "moon, seas, mountains, seasons"; because in India people +believed that in the world there were _one_ moon, _four_ seas, and +_eight_ mountain chains, and _six_ seasons during the year. So ingenious +were they in hiding plain things under an artificial system! The +priestly rulers of Egypt, also moved by pride and the desire to seem +learned, began at a remote period to make the hieroglyphics as hard as +possible to understand. For a given word they would always choose as +little known and seldom used a character as they could think of. And +doubtless this did render them objects of greater reverence in the eyes +of pupils and of common folk. + +But to return to the numbers that we call Arabic and the Arabs call +Indian. The numbers used by the peoples of India who wrote in Sanskrit +were very like the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0, that we use +to-day. Even closer resemblances will be found if one goes back to the +earliest forms of our numerals; for, during the last thousand years, our +numbers have undergone some slight changes. We took them, as you have +heard, from the Arabs, who did not employ them much before 800 A. D.; +and the use of them did not penetrate into Europe by way of Italy and +Spain until four centuries later. Together with these numerals, the +Arabs learned from India how to do sums by algebra. For algebra, though +an Arabic word, is a science of which the Arabs were ignorant before +they reached India. How long the Indians of Hindostan had used this +system of notation along with their alphabet, we can not yet determine; +but it is quite possible that the old grammarians who improved the +Sanskrit were enabled to fashion its alphabet into so scientific an +order of groups because this separate system of numerals existed at even +a more remote period, and had been found handier than the signs of the +alphabet. Not using their letters as numerals, they could marshal them +on the best system they were able to devise, as we, too, have been able +to do with our alphabet ever since we got the Indian numerals from the +Arabs. + +It may be said that the invention of these numerals and of algebra for +the higher mathematics stamps the old Hindoos as one of the most +wonderful races of the world. + +(_To be concluded._) + + + + +[Illustration: "THIS SEAT RESERVED."] + + + + +THE BROWNIES AT LAWN-TENNIS. + +BY PALMER COX. + + + One evening as the woods grew dark, + The Brownies wandered through a park, + And soon a building, quaint and small, + Appeared to draw the gaze of all. + Said one: "This place contains, no doubt, + The tools of workmen hereabout, + Who trim the vine, and shape the tree, + Or smooth the walks, as chance may be." + Another said: "You're quite astray, + The workmen's tools are miles away; + Within this building may be found + The fixtures for the tennis ground. + A meadow near, both long and wide, + For half the year is set aside, + And marked with many a square and court, + For those who love the royal sport. + On afternoons assembled there, + The active men and maidens fair + Keep up the game until the day + Has faded into evening gray. + And then the racket, net, and ball + Are stowed away for future call." + +[Illustration] + + "In other lands than those we tread, + I played the game," another said, + "And proved my skill and muscle stout, + As 'server' and as 'striker-out.' + And all the rules can quote as well + As those who print them out to sell; + The lock that hangs before us there + Bears witness to the keeper's care, + And tramps or burglars might go by, + If such a sign should meet the eye. + But we, who laugh at locks or law + Designed to keep mankind in awe, + May praise the keeper's cautious mind, + But all the same an entrance find, + And for the present evening claim + Whate'er is needed for the game." + + Ere long, the path that lay between + The building and the meadow green, + Was crowded with the bustling throng, + All bearing implements along; + Some lugging stakes or racket sets, + And others buried up in nets + Until their feet alone they showed + Beneath their loose and trailing load. + To set the posts and mark the ground + The proper size and shape around, + With service-line and line of base, + And courts, both left and right, in place, + Was work that caused but slight delay; + And soon the sport was under way. + And then a strange and stirring scene + Was pictured out upon the green. + +[Illustration] + + Some watched the game and noted well + Where this or that one would excel. + And shouts and calls that filled the air + Proved even-handed playing there. + With anxious looks some kept the score, + And shouted "'vantage!" "game all!" or + To some "love, forty!" "deuce!" to more; + But when "deuce set!" the scorer cried, + Applause would ring on every side. + + At times so hot the contest grew, + Established laws aside they threw, + And in the game where four should stand, + At least a dozen took a hand. + Some tangled in the netting lay + And some from base-lines strayed away. + Some hit the ball when out of place + Or scrambled through unlawful space. + But still no game was forced to halt + Because of this or greater fault. + And there they sported on the lawn + Until the ruddy streaks of dawn + Gave warning that the day was near, + And Brownies all must disappear. + +[Illustration] + + + + +A MATTER-OF-FACT CINDERELLA. + +BY MRS. ANNIE A. PRESTON. + + +"Oh! what a fine carriage, and what handsome horses! They are as gay as +the coach and horses of Cinderella!" and the bright-faced little girl, +with a glory of spring sunshine illuminating her glossy hair, clasped +her bare brown hands in delight. + +"It dashed by so quickly, I had not time to notice it," replied Grandma +Eaton, looking over her glasses down the turf-striped country road after +the rapidly departing carriage. "I wonder whose it can be? There! it has +stopped. What is that for, Ella, child?" + +"I don't know, Grandma, dear; but I think something about the harness +has given way. See! the horses are dancing and prancing. The gentleman +has jumped from the carriage. He has taken something from his pocket. It +looks like a knife. Oh, yes!" + +"I had good eyes once, but they have served their day," sighed Grandma +Eaton. + +"The horses are quiet, now," went on Ella, who had not once taken her +observant eyes from a spectacle so unusual for that quiet neighborhood. +"Now the strap is mended, I think, and everything is all right," added +the child with a little sigh of regret; and as the gentleman drove +swiftly on, she left the window and skipped out to the edge of the road, +to see the fine horses prance away. + +"I guessed rightly, Grandma, dear!" cried Ella as she came running back +from the scene of the accident. "It was a broken strap, for here is a +piece, almost torn in two, that was cut off. And here is a penny I found +right under it; a bright, new penny--as yellow as gold!" + +"This is no penny," said the woman, taking the shining coin in her own +hand and looking at it closely; "it is an eagle. I know an eagle when I +see one, although I have not had one of my own for many a day." + +"Ten mills make one cent, ten cents make one dime, ten dimes make one +dollar, ten dollars make one eagle! A golden eagle! Oh, how much good it +will do us!" exclaimed the little girl as she glanced at her +grandmother's thin shawl and at the scant belongings of their humble +home. + +"We are not to think of that," said Grandma Eaton, speaking so decidedly +that a flush overspread her thin, worn face. "The coin belongs to the +gentleman who just dropped it; and I do not doubt that a way will be +opened for it to be returned to its owner. Those who seek to do right +seldom lack opportunity. Cinderella's horses and carriage pass this way +too seldom to escape notice, and probably some of our neighbors will be +able to tell us to whom they belong." + +But all the men in the quiet, out-of-the-way neighborhood had been at +town-meeting that afternoon, and none of the women folk, excepting +Grandma Eaton and little Ella, had seen the fine sight. They would have +remembered it almost as the figment of a dream, had it not been for the +bright ten-dollar gold piece laid away in cotton in Grandma Eaton's best +china tea-pot, on the top shelf of the parlor cupboard. + +On the very next Monday morning after this episode, that same +glossy-haired, blue-eyed Ella, with grandma's thin shawl pinned about +her shoulders, made one of a bevy of girls who, with arms full of books, +slates, and lunch-baskets, were drawing near a plain little brown +school-house, standing in the shade of a tall, plumy pine-tree on a +sandy hillside that was supposed to be exactly in the center of the Pine +Meadow school-district. + +"Oh, there's a fire in the school-house!" cried Lizzie Barber; "and I'm +glad, for my fingers are cold. I was in such a hurry I forgot my +mittens." + +"We don't often find a fire made on the first day of school," said Abby +Wood, "because the committee-man has to go for the teacher." + +"He must have kindled it before he started away," said Ella, "because it +has been burning some time. I can tell by the thinness of the smoke." + +"That is just like you, Ella Eaton," put in Angelina Brown. "You're +always pretending to know things by what you see that no one else would +ever think about. Can't you be obliging enough to look through the walls +and tell us who is there? Perhaps school has begun." + +"I have no way of telling that," laughed Ella, good-naturedly; "but, no +doubt some of the boys are there to make first choice of the seats." + +"The boys must have climbed in at one of the windows," whispered Ella. +"Let us serenade them to let them know we are here." + +And she began one of their familiar school songs in a clear, ringing +voice, her companions at once joining in with the melody. + +By this time they had crossed the waste of sand, and were at the +school-house door; but, on trying to enter, they were surprised to find +the stout hasp and padlock as secure as it had been through all the long +vacation. + +Immediately heavy footsteps were heard hurriedly crossing the +school-room, one of the small windows was thrown up with a bang, and a +stout, rough-looking, tangled-haired, shabby fellow scrambled out in +great haste. He cast his eyes sharply about, made a rush at the group of +affrighted little girls huddled together upon the broad door-stone, +grabbed Ella's lunch-basket with one hand, and Angelina's dinner-pail +with the other, cleared the low rail fence near by at a running jump, +and was lost to sight in the woodland at the end of the field. + +As the ruffianly tramp ran in one direction, the little girls, dropping +all their wraps and traps, and seizing hold of hands, ran almost as fast +in the other. + +How far they might have gone, had they not been turned about by meeting +the committee-man and the pretty young lady teacher, it would be hard to +say. + +The girls were sure a grim, weather-beaten tramp would be found under +every desk, and two or three in the wood closet, and they could not be +persuaded to enter the school until a thorough search had been made. + +It was not so bad as that; but what they did find was a broken window, a +fragment of bread, the teacher's chair split into kindlings and nearly +burned, and a large bundle of expensive silks and laces. + +The intruder had apparently either fallen asleep by the fire and +overslept himself, or, not supposing that school was to begin so early +in the season, had intended to make the secluded building his +hiding-place for the day. + +"There was a burglary committed at Willinotic night before last," said +Mr. Stiles, the committee-man, "and I fancy these are a part of the +spoils. A large reward is offered for the detection and identification +of the robbers; so, girls, it will be to your advantage to remember how +that fellow looked." + +"I shall never forget him," said Lizzie; "he was the tallest man I ever +saw." + +Abby was sure he was short. Angelina fancied he was lame; and Ella +remembered he had a bent nose. They all agreed that he was fierce and +horrid, and were equally sure they should know him if they should ever +see him again. + +[Illustration: "THE GOLD PIECE WAS LAID AWAY IN GRANDMA EATON'S BEST +CHINA TEA-POT."] + +The affair made a great local excitement; and when the goods were +identified as belonging to the great Willinotic dry goods firm of Clark +& Rogers, the girls who had enjoyed such an experience with a real +burglar were the envy of all the boys in the community. + +But time sped on, the nine-days' excitement had become but a memory in +the dull routine of school duties, and June had arrived with its roses, +when one day word came from Clark & Rogers, asking Mr. Stiles, the +committee-man, to bring the little girls who had encountered the +burglar, to Willinotic, to see if they could pick him out of a number of +men who had been arrested while undermining a railway culvert some days +before: "There is a tall one, and a short one, a lame one, and one with +a bent nose," the letter said; "so it seems that there is a great deal +of material upon which the little women may exercise their memories." + +"I am so glad my mother sent to New York for my gypsy hat," said +Angelina. "My mother finished my blue dress last night," said Lizzie; +and while Abby was telling what she expected to wear, Ella ran on ahead, +fearing that she might be questioned upon the same subject, for she knew +very well that nothing new, pretty, or fresh would fall to her lot. A +thought of the gold eagle did cross her mind; but she bravely put it +away from her. + +And neither could the dear old grandmother help thinking of the gold +piece when she heard that Ella had been summoned to Willinotic; but she, +too, resolutely conquered the temptation, saying to herself: + +"My grandchild shows her good breeding in her gentle manners and speech, +and they are better than fine clothes." + +The day at Willinotic was a unique experience for the bevy of little +country girls. They enjoyed the hour's ride on the railway and the fine +sights in the handsome streets of the large town; but the grand, +white-marble court-house, where they were taken, filled most of them +with a vague alarm. The sultry summer air drew cool and fresh through +the long corridors, and they almost shivered as they were given seats in +a lofty room, from which the glaring sun was studiously excluded. +Through the half-open doorway they caught glimpses of the grave, +gold-spectacled judge at his high desk; the black-coated lawyers seated +at their long table in front; the witness-stand with its railing; and a +pale-faced prisoner sitting beside an officer. + +"There is going to be a thunder-shower," said Angelina, "and I know I +shall be frightened to death." + +"Let's all take hold of hands," said Abby Wood. "I never felt so +lonesome in all my life. I'm going back to the depot for fear we shall +be left." + +"I'll go with you," said Lizzie. "I don't remember anything about the +old tramp, only that he was short--and I wish I hadn't come." + +"Why, Lizzie Barber," cried Angelina, "you have always said he was the +tallest man you ever saw! How Mr. Stiles will laugh!" + +"Well, I shan't stay to be laughed at!" half sobbed Lizzie. "Come, +Ella." + +"We must not leave this room, where Mr. Stiles told us to stay until he +came for us," said Ella, so resolutely that her companions sat down +again, although Abby whispered to Angelina: + +"The idea of our minding a little girl like Ella, just as if she were +the school-teacher herself!" + +Happily, Mr. Stiles appeared in time to prevent another outbreak, +saying: + +"Come, Angelina. You may as well go in first." + +"Oh, dear!" sighed Angelina. "I wish Mother had come!" And she was led +away into the great court-room. + +One by one Mr. Stiles came for the girls, until Ella was left alone. She +curled herself up like a kitten in one of the large arm-chairs, and +silently took in her unaccustomed surroundings with keen enjoyment. + +"Come, Ella," said Mr. Stiles kindly. And she followed him slowly into +the court-room, hearing some one whisper lightly as she passed: + +"So there is another one. I wonder if her testimony will carry as much +weight as that of her mates. It was foolish to expect such children, and +girls too, to identify any one." + +As Ella cast a slow, thoughtful look about the room, her blue eyes +suddenly dilated, and, leaving Mr. Stiles's side, she walked straight up +to one of the lawyers, who regarded her curiously, when, dropping a +quaint little courtesy that her grandmother had taught her, she said +modestly: + +"Excuse me, sir,--perhaps I ought not to tell you here, but perhaps I +may not see you again,--and I found your gold eagle." + +"What did you say?" asked the gentleman kindly. "How do you happen to +know me, little girl? And what was that about a gold eagle?" + +"I do not know you, sir; but Grandma says one may speak to a stranger on +business. I saw you that day--Freeman's meeting-day, it was, you +know--when you drove through North Damesfield, and a strap in your +harness broke. When you took out your knife to mend it, you dropped a +gold eagle, and I picked it up. Grandma has it at home in her china +tea-pot, and will be ever so glad I saw you, for ten dollars is a great +deal of money to have in the house--when it is not your own." + +It was a funny little episode to happen in the crowded court-room, and +the lawyers all turned to listen; and the grave judge, from his high +seat, looked kindly down upon the little girl, while a smiled tugged at +the corners of his mouth and hinted of granddaughters at home. + +"How do you know it was I who lost the money?" asked Mr. Gorden, with +twinkling eyes. + +[Illustration] + +"Why, I saw you, sir, and I could not help knowing you again." + +"How was it, Mr. Gorden?" asked the judge, as if this diversion was not +altogether unwelcome; and the lawyer replied: + +"I did drive through North Damesfield, on Freeman's meeting-day, by the +old turnpike, to avoid the mud by the river road. The harness did break, +and I feared for a time that I might have trouble with my horses; I had +purchased them only two days before. I did make a new hole in the strap +with my pocket-knife, and I surely on that day lost a ten-dollar gold +piece. I thought, however, that it was stolen from me at the miserable +little tavern where I had spent the previous night. I am so glad to find +myself mistaken, that I gladly give the gold piece to my little friend +here, who, it seems to me, has a better claim to it than I have." + +"Oh, sir, I thank you, but, indeed, I do not think Grandma would let me +take it, because, really, it doesn't belong to me at all." + +"It does, if I choose to give it to you, my child," said the gentleman, +smoothing her glossy curls. "And now, do you think you will be so sure +of the fellow who gave you such a sorry fright, and stole your dinner, +as you were of me?" + +"Oh, yes, sir! If he is here, I shall know him. I saw him plainly." And, +turning about as she was told, she faced the half dozen prisoners, with +a little shiver. "That is the one," she said at once; "the one with his +hands in his pockets. His nose is bent just a little to one side, you +see. And, oh! sir! if you look at the thumb on his right hand you will +see that the end has been cut off; and that the nail grows sharp and +long, like a claw. I saw it when he snatched my lunch-basket, but I have +never thought of it since. I seemed to see it again when I saw his +face." + +"That is an interesting little point, showing the association of ideas," +said one of the lawyers in a low tone to another; and the prisoner whom +the little girl designated was ordered to take his hands from his +pockets. He refused doggedly at first; but, seeing that it was of no use +for him to resist, he withdrew them, and, holding up his peculiar thumb +in a defiant way, he muttered: + +"The girl saw my thumb when she came in, and spoke about it because she +wants to get the reward." + +"The prisoner kept his hands in his pockets ever since he entered the +court-room," said the sheriff. + +"Not continually, I think," said one of the lawyers; and Mr. Gorden +suggested: + +"It may be well to put this child's memory to another test." And, +turning to Ella, he asked kindly, "Are you often in Willinotic, little +girl?" + +"I was never here until to-day, sir," she answered. + +"Do you think you would know my horses if you saw them on the street?" +inquired Mr. Gorden. + +"Yes, sir," said Ella, "I am sure I should know them anywhere." + +"She will have her match this time, I fancy," said one of the lawyers to +another in a low voice; "of course she is not prepared for the variety +of teams to be seen on our main street." + +A great deal of curiosity was felt in regard to this third test of the +womanly little girl's memory, and the court took a recess, lawyers, +judge, Mr. Stiles, and all the school-girls going to the deep balcony +of the court-house. + +Ella seemed simply unconscious that the eyes of the whole party centered +upon her as she leaned against the railing, holding her hat in her hand, +while the wind lifted her curls and brought the color back to her pale +cheeks. + +There were, indeed, many fine carriages and horses. Ella was closely +observant, but not confused. She did not appear to notice one team more +than another until ten minutes had passed; then the color went out of +her cheeks again, her eyes opened wide, and she exclaimed: + +"There they come, sir! up the street--the gray with a sorrel mate. It is +a different carriage, but the very same lap robe. You had it spread over +a white fur one when I saw you." + +"Very true," said Mr. Gorden. "Your three tests of memory are +unimpeachable; and now, will you be so kind as to tell us how it happens +that your memory is so much more retentive than that of most children of +your age?" + +"I suppose, sir," said Ella, as the others gathered about to listen, "it +is because my father used to teach me that it was rude and useless to +stare long at any person or anything. He said I must train my eye to see +everything at a glance, and we used to amuse ourselves by looking at +pictures in that way. It is just like a game; and one can play at it all +alone, too. I have kept it up because I live alone with my grandma out +on the old turnpike, and I seldom have any one to play with. I only had +one good look at you, sir, but I saw your black eyes, your gray +mustache, and the look in your face that can be stern or can be very +kind." + +At this, Squire Gorden's brother lawyers all laughed in concert and the +grave judge smiled, for they all were familiar with the look which the +little girl had so artlessly described. + +The thief confessed his crime later. + +"I noticed how that blue-eyed girl looked at me that morning at the +school-house," he said, "and I felt, somehow, as though she would know +me if she ever saw me again." + +The burglar was sent to prison; and Ella not only was given the gold +eagle she had found, but she also received the reward for identifying +the thief. And she won so many warm and helpful friends that day at the +court-house that her grandmother used often to say: "That was really a +Cinderella coach and pair to you, dear. And you are a matter-of-fact +Cinderella yourself, though you have no fairy godmother, such as she +had." + +"But I have you, dear Grandma," said Ella, "and you're worth a dozen +fairy godmothers. So I'm luckier than the other Cinderella, after all!" + + + + +[Illustration] + +A T-party + + + She Twirled upon her Tip-Toes light, + Tossed back her Tangled Tresses bright, + And cried "I'm Truly Tired of play, + I'll have a Tea-party To-day!" + She set The Table 'neath a Tree, + With Tempting Tarts, + and Toast, + and Tea. + Ten Tiny cups upon The Tray, + Ten plates + and spoons in Trim array, + Ten Twinkling Tapers + Thin and Tall, + And Then The feast was ready all. + The Thrushes Trilled and Twittered sweet, + The Turf was Tender 'neath her feet. + Her Tidy cap with lace was rimmed + Her Tasteful gown was Tucked and Trimmed + "Now here am I and here's The Treat!" she cried "But who is There + To eat? + I'm very Thirsty for my Tea, I Think I'll be The company." + + And sipping now and Tasting Then + She ate and drank for all The Ten! + + + + +WORK AND PLAY FOR YOUNG FOLK.--XVI. + +VENETIAN MARQUETRY; OR, A PERFECT IMITATION OF INLAID WOOD-WORK. + +BY CHARLES G. LELAND. + + +There are few persons who have not admired marquetry, or the sort of +mosaic work made by sawing out pieces of wood of different colors and +fitting them into one another. This is effected in three ways. The first +is by simply sawing out squares, diamonds, crosses, or any pattern of +which all the pieces are alike and can be fitted together. The designing +of these is a very interesting exercise. I may briefly say that it can +be done by drawing cross lines at equal distances, like those of a +chess-board, and tracing similarly-sized pieces from them. The Arabs and +Moors excelled in such designing and work. + +[Illustration: DESIGN FOR A PATTERN IN ONE COLOR.] + +The second kind of marquetry is made with a fret, or "jig," or scroll +saw. One of these may be had for a few cents, but a good equipment for +the work costs from fifty cents up to any price, according to the scale +on which the pupil wishes to work. Any hardware dealer will procure a +complete outfit, and there are now so many books of instruction and of +patterns for the work, that it is hardly necessary for me to explain it +more in detail. In a few words, it consists in taking two pieces of very +thin board, of different colors, fastening the two together, drawing a +pattern on a piece of paper, gumming it on to one surface, and then +sawing the two out. Of course, if it be neatly done, one piece will fit +into the other. Thus, if one be black and the other white, the black +pattern will fit into the white ground, and the white pattern into the +black ground. + +The third kind of marquetry is made with veneers, which are sheets of +wood almost as thin as paper, and as the process of making it is rather +difficult for amateurs, I shall not describe it here. + +But there is a fourth, and far easier process, called Venetian +Marquetry, which has never, to my knowledge, been fully noticed in +print; though it is so obvious a method that I dare say many have used +it. Much of the old marquetry was made of white wood stained with dyes. +Venetian Marquetry is a very perfect imitation of this, not to be +distinguished from the sawed-out patterns. It is made as follows: + +Take a thin panel, or board, of holly or any other nice white or +light-yellow wood. Pine may be used when no other can be had, though it +is, from its softness, the worst for the purpose. Draw a pattern on it. +This may be done by tracing. Then with a knife-wheel, mark out in the +wood the entire outline of your pattern, cutting in to the depth of at +least one tenth of an inch. (A knife-wheel is like a pattern-wheel; that +is, it is a little disk, or flat wheel, not larger than a three-cent +piece, set in a handle; but the edge of a pattern-wheel is like the +rowel of a spur, in sharp points, while that of the knife-wheel, or +cutting-wheel, is thin and sharp. It must be very strongly made.) + +Use the utmost care in marking out your pattern with the wheel. If there +are corners too sharp to turn with the wheel, mark them with a thin +penknife. In fact, if you can not obtain a wheel, the whole may be done +with a penknife. The wheel simply makes a more even, continuous line, +and is more convenient to use. When the partial division of the pieces +is effected, paint the pattern with the dyes made for wood. Care should +be taken to apply these very thinly indeed, in small quantity, to let +them dry thoroughly, and then to renew them. + +[Illustration: AN EASY PATTERN.] + +Warping may be prevented by carefully dampening the back of the panel, +by screwing down the wood, or by keeping it pressed down by a weight +while drying. Perhaps the best way in most cases is to fasten strips +across the back. + +Great pains must be taken to prevent the dyes from spreading beyond the +outlines. The only difference between this Venetian work and sawed-out +inlaying lies in this, that the pieces of wood are not quite cut +through. That is all. If they were, it would be real inlaid marquetry. +As dyes were very extensively used to color much of the finest old work, +it will be admitted that the chief difference between this method and +that in which all the pieces are fret-sawn, is that this is by far the +easier. Fret-sawing of two or three veneers is, for a young amateur, +much more difficult than marking out and dyeing a pattern. And it is a +very important consideration that this beautiful art or method may be +employed where a variety of woods and tools are not available. There are +few places where two or three cheap dyes for wood, a piece of white +wood, and a thin penknife can not be obtained. Thus, even common ink +thinned with water will make a slate-colored dye, while several coats +will stain wood jet-black. (When the dyed surface is very dry, rub it +off carefully with soft paper, renew the ink, let it dry, rub off the +surface again, and then oil it.) Umber in coffee will make a brown dye. +But best of all are the dyes sold for the purpose. + +The channels, or fine lines cut by the knife, may be carefully closed +with any kind of filler. A good one may be made by very thoroughly +mixing fine varnish and flour, or by rubbing up size with umber or any +other coloring matter. + +A great defect in much of the old marquetry was the same fault that the +Englishman found in the autumnal landscape in America, when he said, "It +is very pretty, to be sure, but don't you think it's a trifle gaudy?" +The old artists in wood used as many colors as they could get together; +and amateurs and beginners greatly incline to this. But an artist in +decorative work can produce the best and most vigorous effects with few +colors and large easy patterns. + +[Illustration: AN EASY DESIGN FOR A BORDER.] + +Very good work may be made by cutting away the wood here and there, and +introducing substances which can not be imitated, such as ivory or +tortoise-shell, metal, jet, or mother-of-pearl. Simple round, diamond, +or square figures give to the whole an appearance of inlaying. + +Venetian, or solid, marquetry may be applied with the aid of stencils, +to large surfaces, such as the panels of doors, and dados. + +There are few arts, indeed, in which so good effects can be produced +with so little labor and at so little expense as this. Even those who +are unable to design or draw can, with a little thought, arrange simple +patterns in attractive groups. Leaves and fruit, even without shading, +are easily represented. + +[Illustration: DESIGN FOR A BOX-LID OR PANEL.] + +It is not difficult to learn to engrave, or run lines, on wood. Any one +can learn to do it after a few days' practice. It is done with a small +triangular-pointed tool, such as is used by wood-engravers. These +gravers, of the best quality, cost fifty cents each. The lines of +leaves and flowers, and a hundred other details, look best in marquetry +when they are executed in this manner. I have just been examining a +piece of marquetry two hundred and fifty years old. The inlaying is the +best of the work, and most of it is done in lines so as to give it the +appearance of a colored engraving. + +The work, when finished, may be rubbed down and oiled and polished. Or +it can be varnished. Mastic varnish is best for this purpose, but it is +the most difficult of all kinds to apply evenly. + +There is still another kind of inlaying which is not included in the +foregoing paper. To make it, take a board of hard, wood, well seasoned, +and lay on it a coat of thick varnish. Take the sawed-out pieces, which +should be of the thinnest tortoise-shell, ivory or wood, and dispose +them on the board. When the first varnish is dry, lay on, for a ground, +varnish very much thickened with flour or color. When this is dry, +repeat it; and so on, until the ground thus made is as high as the +pattern. + +When inlaying is done with pieces of stone, it is called mosaic. It will +be observed that in making solid marquetry, all the difficulty is +limited to marking out a pattern on a smooth piece of hard white wood, +and then tracing it carefully with the point of a penknife or with a +cutting-wheel. The whole work is not much harder than cutting out a +picture with the point of a penknife. The dye is more apt to spread +evenly if, in applying it, you first give the surface a thin wash of +water. + +It should be remembered that where two lines are run together in +parallels, as for instance, in long stems, the wood lying between is +very apt to break off. This can only be prevented by using the point of +a thin penknife-blade or a very small wheel, with very great care. For +some work a wheel the third of an inch diameter should be used. In cases +where the design is very delicate, the line need be merely scratched +into the wood. Any indenting which will restrain the flow of the dyes, +and indicate a distinct outline is sufficient. Great attention should be +paid to this. Do not expect to make a perfect piece of marquetry at a +first effort. + +[Illustration: A SUGGESTION FOR THE DECORATION OF A CHEST IN VENETIAN +MARQUETRY.] + +There is a piece of Venetian marquetry in the South Kensington Museum, +London, which was presented by the last Doge of Venice to Sir Richard +Worsely. It last came from Apeldoorcombe, in the Isle of Wight. It is at +present the property of Sir Thomas Winter. The _Court Journal_ said of +it, that even Her Majesty the Queen has not so fine a piece of furniture +in all Windsor Castle. Its date is 1602. My attention was directed to it +by a London merchant who deals solely in marquetry. And by this the +reader may learn that Venetian marquetry is really capable of producing +great artistic results. + +[Illustration: A BORDER OR PANEL.] + + + + +[Illustration] + + + Oh where are you going my dear little maid? + To the school o' fine arts--if you please, she said + To learn how to paint on china and glass + On velvet and satin, silk, linen and brass + On wood, tin and canvas, on matting and zinc + Slate, marble and tiles, and leather I think. + I have already painted a screen and three plaques + A whole set of dishes and two little racks + A stand for umbrellas-- + A lovely one too-- + With a ground of sienna-- + And bands of light blue. + And cat tails, a dozen, so straight and erect + Growing up all around with artistic effect + There are other things too-- + Which I can't stop to tell, + But I think for six lessons + I've done very well. + + + + +[Illustration: "MISS MAMIE SEZ DESE ARE 'HIGHLY CULLUD.'--I'D LIKE TO +KNOW EF DEY'RE ANY MO' HIGHLY CULLUD DAN I AM!"] + + + + +[Illustration] + +A Lesson in Geography + +By M. B. Jordan + + + "A Lesson in Geography, + With all the States to bound!" + My boys grew sober in a trice, + And shook their heads and frowned,-- + And this was in the nursery, + Where only smiles are found. + + Then suddenly up jumped Boy Blue,-- + Youngest of all is he,-- + And stood erect beside my chair. + "Mamma," he said, "bound me!" + And all the other lads looked up + With faces full of glee. + + I gravely touched his curly head; + "North, by a little pate + That's 'mixed' in 'mental 'rithmetic,' + And 'can't get fractions straight.' + That never knows what time it is, + Nor where are books or slate. + + "South, by two feet--two restless feet + That never tire of play, + But never fail to gladly run + (Even on a holiday) + On others' errands willingly, + In most obliging way. + + "East, by a pocket stuffed and crammed + With, oh so many things! + With tops and toys and bits of wood, + And pennies, knives, and strings, + And by a little fist that lacks + The glow that water brings. + + "West by the same; and well explored + The pocket by the fist. + The capital, two rosy lips + All ready to be kissed. + And,--darling, now I've bounded you; + The class may be dismissed." + + + + +HURLY-BURLY. + +(_A Nonsense Rhyme._) + +BY EMMA MORTIMER WHITE. + + + When the Mother Goose cow jumped over the moon, + And the little dog laughed to see, + The horse hurrahed and tossed up his hat, + And "whistled an air, did he." + The camel danced the Highland fling, + And the elephant put on skates, + While the cat went into the butcher trade + And charged the highest rates. + The mackerel rode a circus colt; + The whale leaped over the trees; + While the catfish rode on a bicycle, + That ran itself with ease. + The tiger went to bed in his boots; + The lion shot at a mark; + The eagle banged his hair in front, + And offered himself to a park. + The horned owl laughed till he almost cried, + Then cried till his eyes were dim; + But the wisest of all was a wise old hen + Who taught herself to swim. + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration] + +JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT. + + +Well, my hearers, how do I find you this time? Getting ready for school, +do you say? Ah, of course! Your Jack knows all about it. The season will +soon begin at the little red school-house, and it will be a joy to see +the bright procession that will go marching by my meadow every morning, +the girls chatting and humming in the cheeriest way, and the boys +all whistling gayly--whether just for the fun of it or to keep up +their courage, I'll not attempt to say. And the dear Little +School-ma'am--bless her!--she'll be in a perfect glow of delight! + +It seems to me that the very walls of the school-houses ought to throb +with pride over the wise young heads and the clear, happy voices that +will soon make them echo with sounds of busy work and play. And so +success to you all, my dears, throughout the whole term! + + +POOR LARK! + +It's no longer "Up with the Lark," I hear, for that oft-praised bird +gets up, it seems, altogether too late. An enthusiastic naturalist has +amused himself by investigating the question at what hour in summer the +commonest small birds wake up and sing. He says:--The greenfinch is the +earliest riser, as it pipes as early as half-past one in the morning. At +about half-past two the blackcap begins, and the quail apparently wakes +up half an hour later. It is nearly four o'clock, and the sun is well +above the horizon before the real songster appears in the person of the +blackbird. He is heard half an hour before the thrush, and the chirp of +the robin begins about the same length of time before that of the wren. +Finally the house sparrow and the tom-tit occupy the last place on the +list. This investigation has altogether ruined the lark's reputation for +early rising. That celebrated bird is quite a sluggard, as it does not +rise till long after chaffinches, linnets, and a number of hedgerow +birds have been up and about for some time. + +But hold! There's such a thing as overdoing a good habit. Some of these +birds seem to have lost their reckoning. There's the greenfinch, for +instance--the idea of getting up at the ridiculous hour of half-past one +in the morning! If he keeps on, he'll soon have to begin each day on the +day before! No, no! Such early risers as he are not to be imitated. So +we may have to go back to the lark after all. Or there's the tom-tit. +He's a contented, sensible little fellow, and gets up at just the right +time, I should say. Yes, let it be "Up with the tom-tit!" What say you, +my dears? + + +THOSE MOCKING-BIRDS AGAIN. + + TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS. + + DEAR JACK: I have been long acquainted with you and ST. + NICHOLAS. I live about two miles from Austin, the capital city + of Texas. Birds of all kinds found in Texas may be seen about + the place at proper seasons. Mocking-birds build their nests in + the trees within a few yards, or steps, of the house. Last + July, two young mocking-birds were taken from a nest of five. + The two young mocking-birds taken from the nest were placed + carefully in a large-sized cage, and the cage was suspended + from a hook at the side of the front hall-door. The young birds + were constantly and regularly fed for two weeks, night and + morning, by both parent-birds, who hovered about the young ones + during the day singing and frisking, and upon numerous + occasions fighting off objectionable intruders and making great + fluttering and noisy remonstrance when cats, dogs, or chickens + appeared beneath the cage. + + At the end of two weeks, the young mocking-birds then being + about able to fly, the cage was taken inside the hall-way, and + there hung, covered with a mosquito-bar, to protect the little + prisoners from stinging insects. + + In the hall-way, the old birds could not reach the young to + feed them, but they would fly in and through the house; this + they did for several days, and then, apparently, they abandoned + our locality and their young altogether. As we thought the old + birds would not return, we again placed the cage outside the + house, in its first position, but on one occasion we failed to + entirely cover the cage with the mosquito-bar; and that very + evening, at the usual feeding-time, about dusk, both old birds + were seen, for the first time since their departure. Each bird + had food or poison in its beak, and each was seen feeding it to + the young birds; and then they flew away and did not return. + Not suspecting any danger to the young birds, we allowed the + cage to remain in the same place all night. + + Next morning early, we found one young bird dead in the cage, + and the other barely alive, reeling and dazed as if under the + influence of a poisonous weed or narcotic. Within a few hours, + it too was dead. I am sorry that I lost two very beautiful + birds; and I think the parent-birds poisoned the young + captives, as the old birds were not seen by us again. Shall not + the verdict be "guilty" instead of "not guilty"? Decide the + question, Dear Jack. + + Yours truly, LOUISE A-----. + +No, thank you! You can't persuade me to be the judge in _such_ a case. +For if I should undertake to decide the question of guilt, I'd be sure +to point out the fact that in every instance the poisoned birds were in +cages, not in nests. And then you wise human folk would be sure to +say that that wasn't a fair way of stating the case, or that I was +prejudiced. And perhaps I am. I'm neither a bird nor a human being, you +see; I'm only Jack-in-the-Pulpit. So settle this matter for yourselves. + + +A LIVING ISLAND. + + DEAR JACK: The alligator is not in any way an attractive + animal. On the contrary, it is about as repellant in looks and + disposition as any living creature very well can be. And yet in + one respect, at least, it is to be envied: It can go through + life without ever needing a dentist, unless it be to eat him; + for it never keeps its teeth long enough to give them any + chance to decay or ache or get out of order in any way. When an + alligator's tooth is worn out or broken or in need of any kind + of repair, it drops out, and, behold! a new one is ready to + take its place. But I hardly need say that the alligator's + teeth are a joy only to itself. + + Another peculiarity of the alligator is its ability to sleep. + Like other reptiles, it is so cold-blooded that it likes warmth + and hates cold. It needs water, too, and as the dry season and + the cool season come on together in Florida, there is a double + reason why the Florida alligator should go into winter + quarters. It buries itself in the mud after the manner of its + kind and settles down for a long nap. + + Sometimes it happens that grass and quick-growing shrubs spring + up on the back of this torpid animal. As a rule these are all + shaken or washed off when, with the first warm rains, the + alligator rouses itself and makes for the water; but + occasionally, for some reason, the mud clings and with it the + plant growth, so that when the half-awakened creature slides + into the water and floats stupidly off, it looks like a + floating island. + + In one such instance, a plover was so deceived as to build its + nest in the plant-growth on the alligator's back. The living + island so freighted floated slowly down the stream until it was + noticed by a party of boys who were out fishing. They saw the + plover rise from the little island, and suspecting a nest to be + there, they gave up their fishing and rowed out to it. + + They never suspected the nature of the island until they had + bumped their boat rather rudely into it once or twice, and so + vexed the alligator that it opened its huge mouth with a + startling suddenness that brought a chorus of yells from the + nest-robbers, and sent them off in a fit mood to sympathize + with the plover, which was fluttering about and crying + piteously at the raid upon its nest. + + The poor bird was doomed to lose its nest, however, for the + alligator, having at last been thoroughly roused, discovered + how hungry it was, and dived down in search of food, thus + washing off island, nest and all. + + Yours very truly, JOHN R. CORYELL. + +[Illustration: A LIVING ISLAND.] + + +WRONG NAMES FOR THINGS. + +Dear, dear! Here's a startling list of accusations! If any of you young +wise-acres have made up your minds to write a dictionary when you grow +up, here's a warning for you! Is it possible that there are so many +things in the world that have been wrongly named? Just listen to this +letter from my friend, M. E. L. + + DEAR JACK: It is odd how names mislead. The calla lily is a calla, + not a lily. The tuberose is not a rose at all. The strawberry and + the blackberry are not berries. German silver came not from Germany, + any more than did the Turkish bath from Turkey. French calf and + Russian leather are both American. There is no wax in sealing-wax, + and not a bit of bone in all the whalebone in the world. China-ware + is made in our own country. Pinks are not all pink. Not every one + called Black is a colored person; and how very many are called Wise + who are not! + + Yours truly, M. E. L. + + +WHO CAN ANSWER THIS? + +DEAR JACK: Like the Little School-ma'am's friend, Dorothy +G----, I have been reading the "Life of Longfellow," and I +found in it the following extract from his diary, which has +puzzled me: + + "R. at tea. He gave us the following verse for finding on what + day of the week the first of any month falls: + + 'At Dover dwells George Brown, Esquire, + Good Christopher Finch and Daniel Frier.'" + +Now, can you, Dear Jack, or can some of your wise friends tell me how to +discover on what day of the week the first of any month falls, by the +aid of this couplet? + + Yours truly, M. W----. + + + + +[Illustration] + +THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION + +SIXTY-FIFTH REPORT. + + +AGASSIZ AND AUDUBON. + +In many respects the characters of these two great naturalists were +alike,--and especially in their affectionate gentleness and mercy. +Although, in the interests of science, both were led to destroy the +lives of many animals, no men were more careful to avoid needless +slaughter and unnecessary pain. It was Audubon who said, "_The moment a +bird was dead, however beautiful it had been when in life, the pleasure +arising from the possession of it became blunted._" This saying has +become the motto of a large and rapidly growing society, organized in +1886, and known as the AUDUBON SOCIETY, for the protection of birds. +This society, recognizing the increasing influence of the AGASSIZ +ASSOCIATION, has sent to us a special invitation to co-operate in its +work. The circular of the AUDUBON SOCIETY shows, first, the alarming +rate at which our birds are being exterminated. It gives a series of +startling facts; for example, "One New York firm had on hand, February +1, 1886, 200,000 skins," and it closes this paragraph as follows: "These +figures tell their own story; but it is a story which might be known +even without them; we may read it plainly enough in the silent hedges, +once vocal with the morning songs of birds, and in the deserted fields, +where once bright plumage flashed in the sunlight." + +The purpose of the Society is to prevent, as far as possible, + +1. The killing of any wild bird not used for food. + +2. The taking or destroying of the eggs or nests of any wild birds. + +3. The wearing of the feathers of wild birds. + +THE plan of work is very simple. + +There are no expenses of any sort whatever. There are no conditions of +age. No formal organization is required. Each one can join by agreeing +to any one of the three following pledges: + +PLEDGE NO. 1.--I pledge myself not to kill, wound, nor capture any wild +bird not used for food so long as I remain a member of the Audubon +Society; and I promise to discourage and prevent, so far as I can, the +killing, wounding or capture of birds by others. + +PLEDGE NO. 2.--I pledge myself not to rob, destroy nor in any way +disturb or injure the nest or eggs of any wild bird so long as I remain +a member of the Audubon Society; and I promise to discourage and +prevent, so far as I can, such injury by others. + +PLEDGE NO. 3.--I pledge myself not to make use of the feathers of any +wild bird as ornaments of dress or household furniture, and by every +means in my power to discourage the use of feathers for decorative +purposes. + +These pledges are not to be understood as hindering the signer from +taking such birds, eggs or nests as he may require for _scientific +purposes_, but refer only to wanton or mercenary destruction and +robbery. Therefore no member of the AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION can feel any +hesitation about allying himself also with the AUDUBON SOCIETY. Boys and +girls can often do more than others to protect nesting birds. + + +FROM MEXICO. + +We are in the State Michoacan, the Garden State of the Republic, with +thirty or forty thousand inhabitants. It is a pleasant place to live in; +seven thousand feet above the sea; fine air, good water, and very +healthy. The corridors of the house are inhabited by a colony of birds. +The female looks like the female English sparrow. The male has a scarlet +breast and cap. The egg is robin-blue, with a ring of black spots around +the larger end. It is called the _Gorriones_. The buzzard is very common +here. On a trip we took, we saw the fine Mocha coffee growing, and some +of the cities could not be seen on account of the banana plants which +shade the coffee. Here we have all the familiar wild flowers, and many +strange ones. I belong to an Ohio Chapter of the A. A.--G. A. Harriman. + + +ASSEMBLY REPORT. + +We hope to receive regular annual reports from all assemblies of the A. +A., as well as from the individual Chapters, and have the pleasure this +month, of giving the following from the Assembly of Essex County, N. J. +"The first call for an Assembly meeting was sent out by East Orange, B. +Four Chapters only responded. We decided to have five delegates from +each Chapter. We have meetings on the last Saturday evening of every +other month, from September to June; five meetings for the year. We have +reports of progress from the associate Chapters, papers by members, +discussions of methods of work, and occasional addresses. We have had +many difficulties to contend with, but feel that our meetings have been +pleasant and helpful, and should say from our experience thus far, by +all means encourage the formation of Assemblies. + + Very sincerely yours, N. M. DORR. + + +BOSTON ASSEMBLY. + +Chapters 112, 729, 760, and 820 of Boston, Mass., have united for the +purpose of forming a Boston Assembly. + +All Chapters, in or near Boston, that would like to join, are invited to +address + + MR. THOMAS H. FAY, Sec. of Committee, + 8 N. Grove street, Boston, Mass. + + +DELAYED REPORTS. + +551, _Clinton, Iowa_. We have over three hundred specimens, and a small +library. We have been studying turtles, and have noticed that the eye of +a turtle shuts from the bottom. We now intend to take up fishes, and as +the Mississippi river is within one block of our rooms, we shall not +lack specimens. We have held thirty-eight meetings, and cases of absence +are rare.--Henry Towle, Sec. + +567, _Fort Meade, Florida_.--Our Chapter of five, all of our own family, +left Iowa, September 25, 1884. We came down the Skunk river to the +Mississippi, thence to New Orleans, thence to Tampa, and are now living +nine miles southeast from Fort Meade. We left Sigourney, Iowa, in the +Ena, a Racine boat, eighteen feet long, forty-two inches beam, with +water-tight compartments. We had tent and camping outfit which we +carried in another boat. Our party consisted of the five members of the +Chapter, and a baby, one year old. We reached New Orleans Thursday, +December 4, just ten weeks from our time of starting. This includes +stops at all the principal towns. Our actual running time was 397 hours. +Distance, 1812 miles; average, 4.53 miles per hour; least daily +distance, five miles; greatest, sixty-five. The first cotton was seen at +New Madrid, Mo.; the first cane, below Grady's Landing; first Spanish +moss, just below Greenville, Miss. + +After being here a year, three of our number made another long +excursion. Tuesday, December 1, 1885, we put our boat into Peace creek, +thence to Charlotte Harbor, up the Caloosahatchie, through lakes Fliet +and Hicapochee, into lake Okeechobee; across the northern end of the +lake, into the Kissimee river, up to Kissimee lake, then up Tiger creek +into Tiger lake, whence we walked thirty-five miles home, making in the +round, 700 miles, in six weeks. Once we were over seven days without +seeing a soul outside our own party. One of our lady members claims the +honor of being the first white woman that ever crossed Okeechobee in a +small boat. In all these travels, we have never been disturbed by man or +beast, and have always been treated kindly. The Okeechobee trip was made +at an expense of twelve dollars for three of us. The trip down the +Mississippi cost about one dollar per day for the six. This, of course, +does not include cost of boats, tents, and equipage. We found it a +pleasant method of travel, and many of the A. A. might enjoy something +similar. My wife and two daughters made the trip, so it is within the +range of young lady members, if they have a taste for such +travels.--Irving Keck, Sec. "567." + +568, _Meadville, Pa._ We number now only four, the others having left +college; but what we lack in number is made up in zeal. We study nature +with a great deal more care than when we first formed a Chapter, and +have spent some of our most enjoyable hours in rambling though the +woods. + +We send greeting to the Chapters, and say, "Long live the A. A., as one +of the best schools in which any one can learn."--F. L. Armstrong, Sec. + +574, _Indianapolis, Ind._ The future looks bright. We are all +interested, and, although very lately reorganized, we hope to grow +rapidly.--Tom Moore, Sec. + + +CONCERNING "PUFF-BALLS." + + All our botanical friends will be interested in the following paper + on the curious fungi commonly called "puff-balls"; but I must + emphasize the words of caution given by Professor Trelease and warn + you not to eat any puff-balls whatever, until you have been taught + to distinguish the good from the poisonous, by a competent botanist, + with the actual specimens in his hand. So long as you have the + slightest doubt, remember the old test--"Eat one,--then if you live, + it was an edible mushroom; if you die, it was a poisonous fungus!" + Here is what Professor Trelease says: + +I have been asked several times by the boys of the Agassiz Association +to go with them on little collecting excursions, and I have always found +them much interested in toadstools, and other fungi. From what I have +seen on these and similar excursions, I have been led to think that if +given a little idea about some of these plants a good many people would +be glad to observe them more closely. + +One group of fungi in particular--the puff-balls--has a great deal of +interest for me. It is a very difficult group to study, and if the +sharp-eyed boys of the Agassiz Chapters all over the country will be on +the lookout for puff-balls this summer and fall, they can be of +assistance in some work that there is much need of doing with these +plants. + +Every boy who lives in the country must have seen the giant puff-ball +(_Lycoperdon bovista_) that grows in pastures, looking like a great +white egg, sometimes nearly two feet high, set up on its small end. It +is not easy to see where these curious growths come from, for they +sometimes appear as large as one's fist, or larger, in the morning, in +places where there was nothing of the sort the night before. Then they +often grow for several days, and finally turn brown and break up into a +dusty mass that at last blows away like smoke, leaving nothing but a +dried, torn remnant behind. + +When one of these large puff-balls is seen, scrape the dirt away +carefully about it, and the secret of its appearance will be discovered; +for a mass of fine white threads spread away from it in every direction. +This spawn takes the place of the roots of a tree, absorbing food from +the decaying leaf mold, or whatever there may be of the same nature in +the ground. All of its food is obtained in this way; so that the +delicate spawn-threads may spend a long time in feeding and storing up +food before they give any evidence of their existence. But at last a +puff-ball begins to grow; at first, very small, then larger, but never +very large, until a rain may give it the opportunity to break through +the sod, and then, swelling up rather than growing, it suddenly makes +its appearance. + +While they are young, firm, and pure white, when cut open, these large +puff-balls are very good eating, sliced, seasoned well, and fried in +butter, and especially if dipped in egg and cracker crumbs. But I must +caution my readers to leave other fungi alone, even if they think the +specimens they find are mushrooms, _for some of the fungi that look a +good deal like mushrooms are extremely poisonous_. Even a puff-ball soon +loses its value for food, and should never be eaten after it becomes the +least discolored, or offensive in smell. When this change occurs, it +seems as if the plant was rapidly going to decay; but this is not the +case,--it is simply ripening. For a puff-ball is nothing more nor less +than the fruit of the underground mycelium, or spawn; and the dusty mass +that it dries into is composed of myriads of spores, which take the +place of the seeds of flowering plants. How many puff-balls there would +be if every one of these microscopic spores developed! In a puff-ball +sixteen inches in diameter, if they occupy only one-third of the space, +there are no less than 300,000,000,000,000,000 spores,--an inconceivable +number. I do not know why it is, but these spores do not germinate +readily, and very few of them produce other plants. Perhaps it is quite +as well, as, if they all grew, there would be room for no other kind of +vegetation. + +Another very good edible puff-ball is the little lead-colored species +(_Bovista plumbea_), about as large as a marble, that is very common in +hilly pastures. When it is young and white, it is even more delicious +than the large species. With these I think I should let my bill-of-fare +rest. + +A few other common puff-balls are the exquisite earth-stars (_Geaster_), +that are commonest in sandy places and under evergreens; the studded +puff-ball (_Lycoperdon gemmatum_), very abundant on the ground in woods; +the fleecy white puff-ball (_L. Wrightii_) that grows along paths in +meadows; and the pear-shaped puff-ball (_L. pyriforme_), found +everywhere on old logs, in tufts that are united by firm white cords. + +These plants will make an interesting addition to the cabinet of a +Chapter that will take the trouble to look for them and preserve them +properly. They ought to be gathered in two states,--just before they +open to discharge their spores, and when perfectly ripe. They must not +be handled so as to rub off the mealy or warty covering that some have, +and should be carefully taken home in a basket and laid in a good warm +place to dry. Some of the larger species soften and become so offensive +when first beginning to ripen that they may appear to be spoiled; but if +put in an out-of-the-way place, where they will annoy nobody, they +usually come out all right. When fully dry they should be laid in +pasteboard trays or boxes, properly labeled, and put into the cabinet. + +I shall be very glad to name puff-balls for members of the Agassiz +Association as far as I can. Specimens sent for identification must be +dried, carefully wrapped in tissue-paper, and packed with cotton or soft +paper in a tin or wooden box, addressed to me as below. Each specimen +sent should be marked with a number corresponding to that of the +duplicate kept for the Chapter cabinet, so that my names may be given +with reference to the numbers. If any specimens are to be returned, this +should be indicated in the letter accompanying them, and the proper +amount of return postage included. + + WILLIAM TRELEASE, + Shaw School of Botany, St. Louis, Mo. + +[Illustration: 1. FLEECY WHITE PUFF-BALL. 2. BEECH EARTH STAR. 3. +LEAD-COLORED PUFF-BALL. 4. STUDDED PUFF-BALL. 5. PEAR-SHAPED PUFF-BALL.] + + +NOTES. + +_Frogs' Eggs._ I think I can tell Mrs. N. B. Jones (see April number) +what her "jelly-like mass" was. Last spring our boys brought home +similar masses, some globular, some in strings. We put them in water in +a sunny place. In less than a week we had tiny tadpoles swimming about. +Unfortunately the curiosity concerning them was so great that they were +continually lifted from the water, and after a few weeks all died. We +thought the eggs must have been frogs' eggs, but we had two or three +varieties. I hope to repeat the experiment, and continue it long enough +to see exactly what animal will develop.--Mrs. J. C. Kinear, Sec. Ch. +598. + +_Mocking-bird._ One or two subscribers have stated through +"Jack-in-the-Pulpit," that the mocking-bird, (_mimus polyglottus_) is +not guilty of poisoning its young; but I have positively seen it done. +The birds will feed their young for a while and when they find that it +is impossible to get at them through the wires of the cage, they bring a +poisonous red berry, which the young eat. I can furnish the signatures +of six or eight persons who have seen this with their own eyes.--P. L. +Benedict, Sec. 331. + + [_This establishes the fact that mocking-birds have brought + berries believed to be poisonous, to their young. But it is + unsafe, as I have before shown, to infer the bird's motives + from its acts. We can not know that the bird changed the diet + of its young "because it could not get at them," nor do we know + that it knew the deadly nature of the berries. A jury could not + convict of murder._] + +_Devil-fish._--_And Ostriches._ Last summer we saw a devil-fish of the +ray family, genus _Cephaloptera_. It had something like great wings on +its sides. These were called pectorals. From tip to tip across these it +was sixteen feet, four inches, and from head to junction of tail, eight +feet six inches. Its tail was about two feet long, and not more than an +inch in thickness. A flour-barrel was put in its mouth. + +We had also, fortunately, an opportunity of seeing thirty-six live +ostriches. They belonged to Dr. Sketcherly, who bought them in Port +Natal, and was taking them to his ostrich farm in Los Angeles, +California. We noticed that the males were all black, with white tail +and wing-feathers, and pink bills; while the females were gray, with +white tail and wings like the males, and black bills, which were +triangular, with one end rounded off, and not duck-bill shaped, as I +have read. Their legs resemble those of a horse, only they have two +toes. Their eyes were large, dark, and mild. Two males were said to be +very dangerous. A whole turnip was picked up and swallowed by one of +them, and it was quite surprising to see it gradually turning from the +front of his neck around to the back portion of it, and finally +disappear suddenly into his back between the wings, where the craw was +said to be situated. Five natives were in attendance. Their features +were regular, and their complexion dark brown; they had straight, black +hair. One of them spoke English.--Mrs. E. E. Walden, Galveston, Texas. + +_Buttercups._ I have noticed that buttercups often make a mistake and +grow six petals, instead of five.--C. + + [_Such variations are common. I have seen trilliums with four + parts throughout; Houstonias, with five and six divisions; and + Hepaticas completely double, like tiny roses._] + +_Bees._ A simple remedy for honey thieves. A gentleman who owns a bee +farm discovered a large swarm of bees stealing honey from one of his +smallest hives. The latter, because of their inferior numbers, were +unable to protect their stores, and he tried various methods to aid +them. + +One day, at the suggestion of a friend, he laid a branch of asparagus +before the entrance, completely concealing it from the eyes of the +marauding bees, which flew wildly around, searching in vain for the +opening, while the occupants of the hive, having made their exit through +the asparagus, knew what lay behind it, and afterward stored their honey +unmolested.--Agnes Lydon, Sec. Milwaukee Chapter E. + + +MINUTES OF A GOOD MEETING. + +"Meeting called to order at 1.10 P. M. For the benefit of new members, +an explanation of the organization of the Chapter (No. 331) was given, +also of the origin of the A. A. The hand-book of the A.A. was then +reviewed, each topic taken up and explained, portions of the +constitution, by-laws, etc., being read. Next came the report of the +secretary. Next, that of the treasurer. The question, 'Ought the English +sparrow in this country to be considered an American bird?' was decided +in the affirmative. Then came the election of new members. Three were +elected. The revised copy of by-laws was then signed by all present. +Secretary then read extracts from the A. A. columns of ST. NICHOLAS, and +explained about 'centuries.' He also read from the reports of other +Chapters. A motion was then made that some one member bring in at each +meeting an essay. Secretary then read annual report to be sent to Lenox. +Approved. The next step was the paying of initiation fees by the new +members. The treasurer was authorized to send to Lenox for a 'charter.' +The questions in ornithology in December ST. NICHOLAS, and the answers +to same in March number, by Percy L. Benedict, Sec. 331, were read by +the Vice-President. Next came a chemical experiment on the nature of +flame,--the three cones, luminous, semi-luminous, non-luminous. A bent +glass tube was thrust into the non-luminous cone and lighted at the +other end,--a proof that the gas around the wick was not ignited." + +Question for next meeting, "Which is the most useful animal?" Meeting +adjourned at 2.50 P. M.--Percy L. Benedict, Secretary. + + + KIOTO, JAPAN. + +I was unfortunate enough, last March, to have all my letters, +letter-book, hand-books, and other matter relating to the A. A. as +secretary of Chapter 789, burn, together with everything else in my +house, and the house itself. I have thus lost the addresses of some +persons who had written to this Chapter. I mention this only to explain +to those who might otherwise have occasion to think this Chapter +negligent, the reason we can not answer them, unless they will have +the kindness to write again.--C. M. Cady. + + _Every member of the A. A. will regret to hear of the misfortune + that befell Mr. Cady in the burning of his house. Doubtless those + members who had written to the Japan Chapter will now write again._ + + +EXCHANGES. + +Every collector is invited to send for my exchange list.--S. O. Pindar, +Hickman, Ky. + +I wish to correspond with all Chapters intending to raise silk-worms +next year.--Chas. A. Jenkins, Sec. Ch. 447, Chittenango, N. Y. + +Mr. L. L. Goodwin, Daisy, Tenn., will exchange fragments of ancient +pottery, arrow-heads, stone axes, and tomahawks--genuine and scarce; +write first. I specially desire a large star-fish, entire jaws of a +shark, a large lobster, and jaws and teeth of sea-fishes. + + +CHAPTERS, NEW AND REORGANIZED. + + _No._ _Name._ _No. of_ _Address._ + _Members._ + 972 Anadarko, Ind. Ter. (A) -- Charley A. Reynolds. + 234 New York, N. Y. (G) 4 Miss Isabella Roelker, 237 W. + 51st Street. + 63 East Dennis, Mass. (A) 20 Harry E. Scars. + 535 Hallowell, Maine (A) 4 Miss M. Lillian Hopkins. + 40 Sauquoit, N. Y. (A) 12 Miss H. Josephine Campbell. + 156 Peoria, Ill. (A) 5 W. T. Van Buskirk, 111 Penn. + Ave. + 973 Ludington, Mich. (B) 13 Miss Emma Gaudette. + 592 New York, N. Y. (P) 4 Miss Cecilia A. Francis, 54 W. + 58th Street. + 974 Richmond, Va. (C) 4 Miss Rebekah N. Woodbridge, 8 E. + Franklin St. + 193 Providence, R. I. (A) 5 Harry I. Griffin, 110 Carpenter + Street. + 250 Houghton, Mich. (A) 36 Morton C. Getchell. + 16 Kerr City, Florida (A) 6 Miss Emma Hammond. + 165 Norwalk, Ct. (A) 6 Mr. A. Quintard. + 705 Philadelphia, Pa. (Y) -- Miss Edith Earpe, 641 N. 43d + Street. + 723 Hopkinton, Mass. (A) 5 Geo. W. Chandler. + 841 Montclair, N. J. (B) 4 Mr. Wm. Hollins, Box 277. + +DISSOLVED. + + 458 Haverhill, Mass. F. H. Chase. + 620 Manlius, N. Y. Geo. C. Beebe. + 900 San Francisco, Cal. H. H. Loy. + + +NOTICE. + +Secretaries of Chapters 701-800 are requested to send in their reports +as near _Sept. 20_ as possible. + +All are invited to join the Association. + + Address all communications for this Department to + MR. HARLAN H. BALLARD, Lenox, Mass. + + + + +THE LETTER-BOX. + + Contributors are respectfully informed that, between the 1st of + June and the 15th of September, manuscripts can not conveniently + be examined at the office of ST. NICHOLAS. Consequently, those + who desire to favor the magazine with contributions will please + postpone sending their MSS. until after the last-named date. + + * * * * * + + WASHINGTON, D. C. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: This is the first letter I have ever written you. +I like your stories very much; the best one of this year, I think, +is "Little Lord Fauntleroy." Only I did not like to have the new Lord +Fauntleroy coming in to take his place. I hope Mrs. Burnett will have +the Earl buy the new Lord Fauntleroy out. + + Your interested reader, MARY G-- + + * * * * * + + + CLIFTON, NEAR BRISTOL, ENGLAND. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: We are an English family with big and little members +in it. Whenever ST. NICHOLAS comes there is a great rush for it. We +think it much better than any of our English magazines. We live near the +Suspension Bridge, which is 254 feet above the river. Our horses eat +sugar, apples, and salt out of our hands. One is called Howard, the +other, Chester. We hardly ever get any ice here, and very little snow. +We think that "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is a real good story; it is very +like English life. We enjoy the letters from the little American boys +and girls very much. Please print this letter, as it comes a long +way--from England. I am a big member writing for the rest of our family. + + Always your faithful readers, THE SPARKE FAMILY. + + * * * * * + + + B: The story you name is founded on an actual tricycle journey by a + group of friends. + + * * * * * + + + "CORTLANDT," OMAHA. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have never seen any letters from Omaha, in your +delightful pages, so I think I must write, and hope you will print this +letter. My mother and I think that "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is the most +beautiful story we have ever read, and we have persuaded my father to +read it, and he enjoyed it as much as we. My mother thinks Cedric will +die before the end, but I hope not. I do not go to school, but I take +French lessons of such a jolly little American "Mademoiselle!" Would it +not be fun for a certain number of boy and girl readers of ST. NICHOLAS +to send a list of five or ten of their favorite books and the authors' +names to you, and be printed! I hope this letter is not too long to +print. + + Your loving friend, MENIE C. W-- + + * * * * * + + + CHRIST-CHURCH, NEW ZEALAND. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I thought you would like to get a letter from New +Zealand, as I don't think you have had one from such a long way. We have +had your magazine for two years, and we all like you very much and look +forward to getting you from the booksellers every month; and I am afraid +we sometimes squabble over it, as we are three children and we all want +it at once. Margaret, my eldest sister, generally gets it first because +she can cut it best. We have a nice pony, and we call him Joe, or +Joseph, because he is a piebald and has a coat of many colors. The +rabbits are so bad in New Zealand that we have to keep ferrets to kill +them. Father has a station, or sheep-run, with 28,000 sheep, and we are +afraid of the rabbits overrunning it and eating up the grass, so father +says I must bring up all my young kittens to be turned out on the run +to kill the rabbits. We went to England when I was four, and I liked it +very much, and was so pleased to see Granny and the aunties; but, oh, +dear, the voyage made me so sick! Now, dear ST. NICHOLAS, I hope you +will find room to put this in your magazine some day. Good-bye. + + Your devoted reader, ADINE ACTON A-- + + * * * * * + + + PARIS. + +MY DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am a little American girl, but I am in Europe +now, with my mother. We were in London the other day, and I went to +Madame Tussaud's wax-works. The figures are, perhaps, better than those +of the "Eden Musee," but the likenesses are simply miserable, especially +Washington's, which resembles "Bunthorne," in "Patience"; and Lincoln, +who was a much taller man than the late General Grant, was represented +as a much smaller one. + + Your very loving PAQUERELLE. + + * * * * * + + + NEW YORK. + +DEAR OLD ST. NICHOLAS: This is the first time I have ever written to +you, although I have taken you for thirteen years,--ever since you were +published,--and have quite often thought of doing it. I am only a New +York girl, and can not write you about lovely scenery and stirring +events like the girls and boys who live at a distance, but can only say +again and again how dearly I love you, and how eagerly I look for you +every month. + +I have enjoyed the series "From Bach to Wagner" _so_ much, as I am very +fond of music and take violin lessons. I like "Little Lord Fauntleroy" +better than any story you have had in a long time,--but Mrs. Burnett is +always delightful,--and it makes it so nice to have it illustrated by +Mr. Birch, whose drawings I admire greatly. I hope you will not find +this letter too long to print or consider me too old to be one of your +admirers, as I am not yet seventeen. I do not belong to the A. A., much +to my regret. I used to be a member of the "Town and Country Club," but +had to give it up for want of time. Good-bye, dear ST. NICK, and believe +me, + + Affectionately yours, AMETHYST. + + * * * * * + + + PORTLAND, OR. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have been taking you for nearly three years, and +think you are very nice. I think "Little Lord Fauntleroy" and the +"Brownies" are splendid. I like to read the Letter-Box. I am eight years +old and have lived in Portland nearly five years; and I go to see my +grandpa in the East sometimes. I have crossed the continent five times, +and, my Mamma says, have spent about five weeks of my life in a +sleeping-car. + + Yours truly, LOUISE K. S. + + * * * * * + + + 16 CARLTON ROAD, FITZHUGH, SOUTHAMPTON. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: We are very fond of you; we jump for joy when you +come each month. We have taken you for two years in Buenos Ayres; now we +are living in England, but in a little while we are going to Geneva; but +wherever we are, we hope to see you. Our favorite stories are: "His One +Fault," "Oh, Dear," "The Brownies," "Little Lord Fauntleroy." Mother +likes "Personally Conducted." This is the first letter we have written; +we should like to see it printed. + + Your little friends, BELLA, WILLIE, AND MIDGE. + + * * * * * + + + LIVERPOOL, N. Y. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am a little girl nine years old. I have a little +sister and a baby brother. My little sister Enid thinks the "Brownies" +going to the "surtus" is the best. I think "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is +very nice. We have a big mastiff dog named Zippo. He weighs one hundred +and forty pounds. He came from England when he was eighteen months old. +He was raised by an earl. Perhaps it was Little Lord Fauntleroy's +grandfather. I hope you will print this in your Letter-Box. + + Your Constant Reader, BESSIE C. + + * * * * * + + + WASHINGTON, D. C. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: We have neither of us ever written to you before, but +now we want to tell you something. We were seated at our desks in +school, when the door opened and the principal entered, followed by four +great Indians. None but the interpreter could speak English. They were +dressed in citizens' clothes, so were not so interesting as they might +have been. The next day several of us sent our albums to them, and the +interpreter wrote the names of each, and then he whose name was signed, +made his own cross underneath. Three of their names are: + + "Young Prophet." + "Stiff Wing." + "Young Bear." + + Your devoted readers, ED. AND KITTIE. + + * * * * * + + + PHILADELPHIA. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: My age is twelve years, and I am so fond of my +mother; so I must tell you how much we are all pleased with "Little Lord +Fauntleroy" and his "Dearest" mother. + +My father is an Englishman, but we live in this country; we all love the +Queen, and we have a very high regard for the President and this +Government. + +My father has been a great fisherman, and has fished in many waters in +this country; one time he caught a large pickerel, and the boy that was +rowing the boat had no shoes on, so when the large fish was drawn in the +boat it had its mouth wide open, and it slid to the boy's foot and came +near decapitating his big toe. Another time he hooked a large rock fish, +and it pulled him in the river, out of the boat, and he came near +drowning. + +We all love the ST. NICHOLAS, for the many, many pretty stories you give +us. Now, "Dearest" No. 2, I will say good-bye. + + JAMES LARDNER H. + + * * * * * + + + BANGOR, ME. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am reading the story of "Little Lord Fauntleroy," +and I like it very much. I do not like the grandpa very much; yet I +think when the grandpa sees Lord Fauntleroy's mother, he will like her, +and have her come up and live with them. From your friend, + + L. C. B. + + * * * * * + + + LOUISVILLE, KY. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I often thought I would like to send you some of my +poetry, and will inclose a piece that I composed last September, while +sailing my boat at Barnegat. I am eleven years old, and have been +writing poetry and stories for several years. I would be so much pleased +to see this letter and poem printed in ST. NICHOLAS, and if you do not +like this poetry I could send you other pieces called "The Frisky Calf," +"Blacksmith's Song," "Rivuletta," etc. Good-bye, dear ST. NICHOLAS. + + Yours truly, ELLEN N. L. + + THE FATHOMLESS DEEP. + + Ships have gone down, and bags of gold, + And copper and silver and riches untold + Lie on the bottom of the fathomless deep, + Where so many souls have gone to sleep. + + Ships have gone down with lively crews, + And there is no one to tell the sad news + About how many souls unwillingly sleep + On the bottom of the fathomless deep. + + Lobsters and crabs and fishes all, + From the big whale down to the minnow small, + And porpoises frolic and jump and leap + In the waters of the fathomless deep. + + The waves break with a rush and roar + Upon the sands, as they did of yore; + And often and often people weep + For the souls that have died in the fathomless deep. + + Sailors sail on the ocean green, + And will continue to do so, I ween; + For they wont take warning from the souls that sleep + On the bottom of the fathomless deep. + + BARNEGAT CITY, N. J., Sept. 11, 1885. + + * * * * * + + + "A JEWEL":--Your little story is very clever, as the work of a girl + of your age, and we should gladly print it in the Letter-Box if + there were space for it. But we are sorry to say that we can not + possibly make room for the story in our already over-crowded + columns. + + * * * * * + + + PARIS, FRANCE. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am an American boy, living in Paris; I do not like +it much here. I have been to the Louvre several times since I have been +here, and the delightful "Stories of Art and Artists" have a double +interest, for when I go to the Louvre I can look for the works of +artists mentioned in those stories. I have seen the picture of Mme. le +Brun and her daughter there, and it is beautiful. I have seen also a +good many of David's. I am eleven years old, and have two sisters and +one brother, all younger than myself, and we all wait for you with +impatience. I have taken you now for three years, and to part with you +would be like parting with an old friend. + +"Little Lord Fauntleroy" is the nicest next to "Art and Artists," I +think. I go to a school with over eleven hundred boys. I leave the house +at ten minutes of eight, in the morning, and I do not get home until six +at night. + +I hope you will print this, as it is my first letter. Now, with much +love to you and the Little School-ma'am, I remain, + + Your constant reader, J. H. T. + + * * * * * + + + In the article in our last number, entitled "A Royal Fish," the + author stated that in this country a salmon weighing fifty pounds + was considered a very large one. But a correspondent now sends us + the following item describing a salmon which weighed seventy-two + pounds. No salmon of this weight, however, has ever been caught + _with a rod_ on the American side of the ocean. Here is the item: + +"Crowds of well-dressed people, men and women, went to Fulton Market +yesterday and looked at an enormous salmon which was on exhibition. Mr. +Blackford, to whom it belonged, had put a row of big strawberries along +its back and stuffed green moss into its capacious mouth. The fish came +from the Dalles, a noted fishing place on the Columbia River, Oregon. It +measured fifty-two inches from its nose to the tip of its tail, was +twelve inches broad, and weighed seventy-two pounds. It was caught in a +net." + + * * * * * + + + BALATON FURED. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I like you very much and most of all Sophie Swett +and Frank Stockton and Miss Alcott and Mary Mapes Dodge. I am a little +English girl, and I live in Hungary. We are going away in the spring, +and father has gone already. + + Your loving reader, KATHLEEN YOUNG. + + * * * * * + + + BALATON FURED, HUNGARY. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I feel I must add a few lines to my little daughter's +note, to tell you that, as she is suffering from spinal complaint, she +is obliged always to lie on her back; so to her--cut off from so many of +the pleasures of stronger children--you are doubly welcome. Indeed, we +all are very partial to you; your magazine has the distinction of being +the most shabby book on our book-shelves. In our home, as no doubt in +hundreds of others, you are a household word. Kathleen begs you, if you +have room, to print her letter. With every good wish, very truly yours, + + MARIA YOUNG. + + * * * * * + + + WASHINGTON, D. C. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am eleven years old, and have been taking you for +several years. I like you better than any other magazine. I have a +brother twenty-one months younger than I am, and we look very much +alike, and wear the same kind of clothes. He said he had a dream the +other night, which he thought was very funny. He dreamed we were playing +near the State Department, and a man told him not to get on the grass or +he would whip him. After a while he dreamed that I came along and got on +the grass, when the man caught me and whipped me by mistake, thinking I +was my brother. + +He thought the dream was very funny, but I did not see the fun in it. + + Yours affectionately, CHARLES C. + + * * * * * + + + WASIOJA, MINN. + +DEAR OLD SAINT: Although my brothers and I have taken you for nearly ten +years, this is the first letter I have written you. + +I want to thank you for Mr. Stockton's valuable "Personally Conducted" +series, and also for Mr. Scudder's "George Washington." Mr. Stockton's +"Personally Conducted" makes me feel as if I had visited the places he +describes. + +I am, and always shall be, an interested reader. + + FRED. J. S. + + * * * * * + + + GARDINER, MAINE. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have been your constant reader since I was a very +little girl, and you are still my favorite magazine, although I read +many others. Last summer I tried a string house, but not as you +described, for it is impossible to make morning-glories grow under a +tree, as they need a great deal of sun. My house was shaped like a tent, +with sloping sides, and outside of the morning-glories I planted a +border of nasturtiums, but although I began it early, planted the seeds +very thick, and took the greatest pains with it, it did not succeed, and +I don't think I shall try it again, as the season here is probably too +short. But I should advise any one who intends making a string house not +to make it under a tree, but on a frame in the open ground. I think it +is a great pity you don't come more than once a month (and I am sure all +the rest of your readers will agree with me), I am so much interested in +Mrs. Burnett's "Little Lord Fauntleroy." I hope you will have another +paper on "Historic Girls" soon. I have no pets, as a great many of your +readers seem to have, except a very small aquarium, but have in place of +them three collections, which I have collected almost entirely myself, +and am much interested in. The first, and most interesting to me, is one +of birds' eggs, the second, moths, insects, and butterflies, and, last +but not least, a small collection of minerals. I hope you will find room +to print this, but I suppose it is hard to choose among all the letters +that must be sent to you. + + Your constant reader, AMY R. + + * * * * * + + + HONOLULU, SANDWICH ISLANDS. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have never written you a letter before, but when I +was looking over the letters in the ST. NICHOLAS (for which I have +lately become a subscriber) I didn't see any letter from Honolulu, so I +thought I would write you one about the volcano in Hawaii, which you +know is one of the Hawaiian Islands. Well, about three weeks ago we +heard that the bottom of the volcano had fallen in. We were afraid that +we would have some severe earthquakes or, perhaps, a tidal wave; some +thought the Islands might all sink, but nothing of the kind has +occurred. Mr. S----, a photographer, was the first to see it; he had +been let down by ropes, and was standing on a ledge taking photographs +of the crater. The volcano was unusually active. He took the +photographs, and just as he was taking one he saw the whole thing caving +in. First the bottom fell out and then the sides fell in, and down it +all went, leaving nothing but a bottomless hole. No sooner was he hauled +up than the ledge on which he had been standing fell in. + + Yours truly, HENRY W. + + * * * * * + + + NEW GLASGOW, N. S. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have taken you for ten years. We stopped for one +year, and we could not do without you, so we have commenced again. I +think "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is a beautiful story. I have never seen +a letter from this province before. I hope to see my letter in print. +Your constant reader, + + BESSIE G. T. + + * * * * * + + + ATLANTA, GA. + +DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am a little boy from the South, and have only gone +to school a few months; but as my mamma says I must some day be a +Governor, and my grandma expects me to be a President, I will commence +with ST. NICHOLAS. I will be satisfied if I am ever as wise and good as +was Mr. Paul Hayne, our poet, who died last summer. + +He had a splendid horse named Dick. Often, when he would ride out in the +woods to compose a poem, he would take me with him if I would promise +not to speak a word, and I know it was harder for me not to speak than +for him to write the poem. + + ALBERT A. + + * * * * * + + + We acknowledge with many thanks the receipt of pleasant letters from + the young friends whose names here follow: Raynor Brothers, Eva + Campbell, Emma C. Tate, Cara Sanford, Bessie Bradenbaugh, L. C., + May, "Harry's Mother," Bessie L. Lake, Ernst C. Bernbaum, Mary P. + F., John Kelso, Annie Howard, Fawn Evans, Willie C. Hardy, Millicent + R., Alice D. Leigh, George B. Stratton, Frank M. Crispin, Alfred B. + Cushing, Flossie, Emily Innes, Reno Blackstone, Mollie Orr, Lottie + E. W., Violet A., Maudie Brown, Florence H., Kitty Russell, M. S. + R., Emma T., Eloise L. Derby, A. J. S., Grace F. Schoff, Maude + Jackson, Fanny H. Murdock, Rosa R. A. & Rudie E. B., Genevieve D., + Ettie Coombs, Roy Strong, Bertha Parsons, Maud T., Olive S. Stewart, + Pansy O'Donnell, "Katisha," Cora Hoyt, Elizabeth K. Stewart, First + Ward School, Charlotte Dennison, Dollie M. Brooks, Bessie Roberts, + Anna D. W., Charles P. Clark, M. E. R., Matty J., Florence A., + Florence V. Thorpe, Roland Wilber, Gertie Doud, Nellie & Ninita, + Josie M. Merghau, A. B. Baylis, Jr., Audley & Ronald, Ella H. W., W. + le bas T., Emma Willcutt, Dot, Evan, & Brooks, S., Lucy Hathaway, + Lucy P. K., Kathleen, T. C., Constant Reader, Geraldine, Maud Elaine + Caldwell, E. Parks, Amy H. Silvester, Winnie Galloway, Henry J. + Parsons, Tryphosa, Theodosia, Tryphena Van----, E. C. N., Harry + Armstrong, Charlie P. G., Beth M., Walter Bassett, W. L. Briscoe, + Constance R., Nellie B. R., Emilie K., Wennie B. Dorrance, O. W. G., + Dodey Smart, Mary & May, Duncan Kilborn, Annie Russell Anthony, and + Minnie R. + + + + +THE RIDDLE-BOX. + + +ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN THE AUGUST NUMBER. + +CHARADE. Keepsake. + +OCTAGON. 1. Dab. 2. Cecil. 3. Decolor. 4. Aconite. 5. Bilious. 6. Lotus. +7. Res. + +GREEK CROSS. I. 1. Rate. 2. Aver. 3. Teas. 4. Erst. II. 1. Tore. 2. +Omer. 3. Reps. 4. Erst. III. 1. Erst. 2. Rhea. 3. Seas. 4. Task. IV. 1. +Task. 2. Area. 3. Seat. 4. Kate. V. 1. Task. 2. Anne. 3. Snap. 4. Kept. + +INVERTED PYRAMIDS. I. Across: 1. Oratory. 2. Erode. 3. Toe. 4. L. II. +Across: 1. Masonic. 2. Sabot. 3. Mow. 4. E. + +ILLUSTRATED CENTRAL ACROSTICS. Centrals, Socrates. Cross-words: 1. +snowShoes. 2. dragOn-fly. 3. chiCken. 4. baRns. 5. bAt. 6. aTe. 7. +reEls. 8. opoSsum. + +EGYPTIAN PUZZLE. Centrals, Memnon. Cross-words: 1. M. 2. gEm. 3. caMel. +4. oraNges. 5. crocOdile. 6. AlexaNdrian. + +CUBE. From 1 to 2, imperial; 2 to 4, lanneret; 3 to 4, lapidist; 1 to 3, +immortal; 5 to 6, schooner; 6 to 8, rounding; 7 to 8, hoveling; 5 to 7, +Shadrach; 1 to 5, Iris; 2 to 6, leer; 4 to 8, tang; 3 to 7, lash. + +RIMLESS WHEELS. I. Andersen. From 1 to 9, Anne; 2 to 9, Nile; 3 to 9, +dome; 4 to 9, Erie; 5 to 9, rise; 6 to 9, size; 7 to 9, edge; 8 to 9, +nine. II. Farragut. From 1 to 9, face; 2 to 9, able; 3 to 9, ripe; 4 to +9, rare; 5 to 9, acre; 6 to 9, gape; 7 to 9, urge; 8 to 9, type. + +DIAMOND. 1. H. 2. Jib. 3. Judea. 4. Hidalgo. 5. Belle. 6. Age. 7. O + +DOUBLE ACROSTIC. Primals, Herrick; finals, Shelley. Cross-words: 1. +HardinesS. 2. EmbellisH. 3. RationalE. 4. RehearsaL. 5. IdenticaL. 6. +CarmelitE. 7. KnowinglY. + +BEHEADINGS. Salmagundi. 1. S-ear. 2. A-rid. 3. L-imp. 4. M-ope. 5. +A-mid. 6. G-lad. 7. U-rim. 8. N-ail. 9. D-ram. 10. I-ago. + +ZIGZAG. The Atlantic Cable Landed. Cross-words: 1. True. 2. sHow. 3. +glEe. 4. galA. 5. saTe. 6. sLap. 7. Atom. 8. oNce. 9. laTe. 10. semI. +11. raCe. 12. aChe. 13. Arid. 14. aBle. 15. hiLl. 16. hirE. 17. haLe. +18. hAil. 19. Need. 20. iDea. 21. stEw. 22. benD. + + * * * * * + +TO OUR PUZZLERS: In sending answers to puzzles, sign only your initials +or use a short assumed name; but if you send a complete list of answers +you may sign your full name. Answers should be addressed to ST. NICHOLAS +"Riddle-box," care of THE CENTURY CO., 33 East Seventeenth street, New +York City. + +ANSWERS TO ALL THE PUZZLES IN THE JUNE NUMBER were received, before June +20, from Maud E. Palmer--Jo and I--Maggie T. Turrill--"B. L. Z. Bub, +No. 1"--Mamma and Fanny--"B. L. Z. Bub, No. 2"--Hazel--"San Anselmo +Valley"--"Shumway Hen and Chickens"--D. B. Shumway--M. Margaret and +E. Muriel Grundy--Carrie Seaver and Alice M. Young--F. W. Islip. + +ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN THE JUNE NUMBER were received, before June 20, +from M. L. Bosher, 1--Marion Strong, 1--Grace A. Zublin, 2--E. V. +Sudell, 2--Prince and Prancer, 1--Paul Reese, 13--R. E. B., 1--Jas. A. +Bond, 2--Nellie L. Howes, 6--T and Coffee, 1--Nanon and Ninon, 4--H. R. +H., 1--Robert Nead, 3--R. Earle Olwine, 1--Helen W. Gardner, 1--"Jack +and Jill," 5--Effie K. Talboys, 7--M. Clare H. Guion, 4--Karl E. Sommer, +3--"Silver-tongue," 1--Alice Blackinton, 1--C. F. Bishop, 3--"Squid," +5--"Dad," 1--"The Reads," 3--Florence Althaus, 8--No name, Cleveland, +1--No name, Oakdale, 12--"May and 79," 7--"Young Man," 6--"Tiger," +2--Laura and Irene, 7--E. M. B. and A. G. B., 2--Mamie R., 13--Lucia C. +Bradley, 11--Nellie and Reggie, 11--H. Lovejoy, 9--"Jack Sprat," +5--Kittie, Chessie, Avis, and Grace, 7--Gen. T. Hughes, 2--Smed, +12--Helen Burnham, 2--Patience, 3--Arthur and Bertie Knox, 8--We, Us, & +Co., 4--"Mohawk Valley," 10--Pearl Colby and Nell Bates, 10--Louise +Joynes, 3--Daisy Van Ingen, 1--Elise Ripley, Ripley, 7--Lucy M. Bradley, +11--Fred T. Pierce, 4--Sadie and Bessie Rhodes and "De Grassy," +10--"Original Puzzle Club," 12--Hattie Weil, 2--Eleanor Peart, 4--Ida +and Edith M. Swamwick, 7--"Two Cousins," 13--Lewis Kilborn, 2--Langham, +2--Dash, 12--Eugene Kell and Mamma, 1. + + +CONNECTED PYRAMIDS. + + * + + . * . + + . . * . . + + . . . * . . . + + * + + . * . + + . . * . . + + . . . * . . . + +UPPER PYRAMID. Across: 1. In moping. 2. The cry of an animal. 3. Relish. +4. A horseman's cap. Downward: 1. In moping. 2. To depart. 3. A small +sweet-cake. 4. Elapsed. 5. Preyed upon. 6. A conjunction. 7. In moping. + +LOWER PYRAMID. Across: 1. In moping. 2. A period. 3. To pass through by +filtering. 4. An old-fashioned Spanish ship. Downward: 1. In moping. 2. +A musical syllable. 3. A kind of fish. 4. Spoken. 5. A unit. 6. A call +to excite attention. 7. In moping. + +Centrals, reading downward (eight letters), a bucolic. + + "MYRTLE GREEN." + + +CROSS-WORD ENIGMA. + + My first is in rise, but not in fall; + My second in entry, but not in hall; + My third is in give, but not in take; + My fourth is in pie, but not in cake; + My fifth is in gun, but not in toy; + My sixth is modest, but not in coy; + My whole is easily found, no doubt,-- + 'Tis a thing the world would scarce "run" without. + + LELAND STANFORD B. + + +BURIED QUADRUPEDS. + +1. If you will give me the broken seal, Pa can replace it, I am sure. 2. +It would certainly be a very good idea to do so, Ethel. 3. The little +black cub is only waiting for a chance to bite you. 4. I will not give +her mine. 5. He gave them each a moist piece of preserved ginger. 6. She +did not encourage Nettie to pursue her musical studies. 7. The parlor is +already dusted, and ready for our visitors. 8. How will a man, in his +position, ever retrieve himself? 9. I was there when Lem urged his claim +so persistently. 10. Did you ask if Pa could stop at the big grocery. +11. Pa can stop, I am sure. 12. I set out this shallow pan daily, for +the birds. 13. At the sound of the familiar tap I ran to the window. 14. +Did you call Jack a lazy lad? + + PAUL R. PIERCE. + + +DIAMOND. + +1. In alpaca. 2. Chance. 3. Pleasantry. 4. A thin fabric. 5. Studied +with an abstracted gaze. 6. To clear. 7. In alpaca. + + "[OE]DIPUS." + + +CONNECTED SQUARES. + + . . . * . . . + + . . . * . . . + + . . . * . . . + + * * * * * * * + + . . . * . . . + + . . . * . . . + + . . . * . . . + +I. Upper Left-hand Square: 1. A spring. 2. A nobleman. 3. Surface. 4. To +contrive. + +II. Upper Right-hand Square: 1. A scheme. 2. A slender cord. 3. Small +insects. 4. A snug abode. + +III. Lower Left-hand Square: 1. To devise. 2. Erudition. 3. Artifices. +4. A snug place. + +IV. Lower Right-hand Square: 1. A collection of boxes. 2. A +reverberation. 3. A pretense. 4. A small city. + + "SAM WELLER." + + +DOUBLE ACROSTIC. + +My primals spell what every one is wishing for, and my finals spell +where it may come from. + +CROSS-WORDS (of equal length): 1. A bivalve shell-fish. 2. A Russian +feminine name. 3. To lend. 4. A prefix signifying half. 5. Destitution. +6. A part sung by a female voice. 7. A part of speech. 8. A girl's name. + + "[OE]DIPUS." + + +[Illustration] + +NUMERICAL ENIGMA + +I am composed of one hundred and twenty-one letters, and form a +four-line stanza by Celia Thaxter. + +My 30-87-70-58 is joyous. My 45-20-75-17-98-34 is a color. My +64-5-89-54 is part of a bottle. My 67-49-82-11-9 is an apparition. +My 102-25-77-118-107 is a poor cottage. My 53-113-83-94-38 is +an apartment in a ship. My 85-27-42-33-121-73 is to deter. My +60-114-80-16-97-21-56-31-115-55 is the science of Egyptian antiquities. +My 110-13-92 is part of a fish. My 40-91-120-103-99 is airy. My +62-1-51-69-29-103-86-7-12 is extraordinary. My 23-32-57-3-47 is to +gather. My 79-65-14-96-43-2 is to loiter. My 116-36-108-66-4-78 is to +manifest. My 6-61-52-104 is to lash. My 74-101-59-112-72-119-50-88 +is abased. My 26-76-24-109 is a fierce animal. My 68-81-63-28-117 +is to halt. My 48-41-18-39-100 is strong. My 93-44-10-71 is to be +incandescent. My 90-37-19-95 is to draw or paint. My 111-35-22-84 +is secure. My 106-8-46-15 is to impede. + + "CORNELIA BLIMBER." + + +DOUBLE ZIGZAG. + + 1 * * * 11 * * * + * 2 * * * 12 * * + * * 3 * * * 13 * + * * * 4 * * * 14 + * * 5 * * * 15 * + * 6 * * * 16 * * + 7 * * * 17 * * * + * 8 * * * 18 * * + * * 9 * * * 19 * + * * * 10 * * * 20 + +CROSS-WORDS: 1. A very small cake. 2. Having the quality of imbibing. +3. Singular. 4. Those who have charge of money. 5. A free gift. +6. Cleanses. 7. Personal satires. 8. Destitute of pores. 9. To punish. +10. Primitive. + +The zigzag from 1 to 10 spells the name given to a certain day in +September; from 11 to 20, the name of a dish eaten in England on that +day. + + FRANK SNELLING. + + +RHYMED WORD-SQUARE. + + (1.) A kind of meat. + (2.) An odor sweet. + (3.) Struggled, strived, contended. + (4.) Last, but not least. + (5.) A Persian priest. + And now my rhyme is ended. + + "KATASHAW." + + +OCTAGON. + +1. A jump. 2. Pertaining to the pope. 3. A lip having a fissure like +that of a hare. 4. To act. 5. Flattery. 6. A measure. 7. By means of. + + "ROYAL TARR." + + +BEHEADINGS. + +1. Behead to acknowledge with gratitude, and leave a bunch of yarn. 2. +Behead to frequent, and leave a relative. 3. Behead discloses, and leave +enclosures. 4. Behead a fine rain, and leave land surrounded by water. +5. Behead askant, and leave oblique. 6. Behead a large wave or billow, +and leave to incite. 7. Behead very dark, and leave attenuated. 8. +Behead to imbibe, and leave a place of amusement. 9. Behead fanciful, +and leave to distribute. 10. Behead a subterraneous canal, and leave a +pitcher. 11. Behead a mountain nymph, and leave to peruse. 12. Behead +the present occasion, and leave formerly. + +The beheaded letters will spell the name of an inventor. + + WILLIE AND CORT. + + +CROSS-WORD ENIGMA. + + You will find me in the _orchard_, where the pears and apples grow; + I'm discovered in the _clauses_ that the lawyers so well know; + I am found in every _present_ that our loving friends bestow; + I am bound up in the _caskets_ that will splendid jewels show; + I am seen within the _patient_ who is sick of drugs and pills; + The _planter_ carries me with him while riding o'er his hills; + 'Mongst the letters of the _ledgers_ I feel perfectly at home; + And from the _muffins_, sweet and fresh, I never wish to roam; + The _fairies_ hold me in their arms as through the air they fly; + And every _scholar_ claimeth me as he at work will ply; + I take part in all the _ballads_ that are sung by young and old; + I am portion of the _denizen_ who roams the forests bold; + In _thickets_ I'm not absent, as you all must plainly see; + And my whole comes in September, filling farmers full of glee. + + C. D. + + +TRIANGULAR PRISM. + + 1 + . . . + . . . + 2 . 3 + . . . + . . . + . . . + . . . + . 4 . + . . . . + . . . . + 5 . . . . . 6 + +From 1 to 2, one of an ancient race of people; from 1 to 3, a fragment; +from 2 to 5, a small bird of the titmouse family; from 1 to 4, a form of +instruction by means of questions and answers; from 3 to 6, a snout or +trunk; from 4 to 5, to coin; from 4 to 6, a collective body; from 5 to +6, a structure of cross-barred work. + + "ROSE MADDER." + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas Vol. XIII, September, +1886, No. 11, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS VOL. XIII *** + +***** This file should be named 36035.txt or 36035.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/6/0/3/36035/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Martin Mayer 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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