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diff --git a/old/52849-8.txt b/old/52849-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6da961e..0000000 --- a/old/52849-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3733 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Harper's Round Table, February 4, 1896, by Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Harper's Round Table, February 4, 1896 - -Author: Various - -Release Date: August 19, 2016 [EBook #52849] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HARPER'S ROUND TABLE, FEB 4, 1896 *** - - - - -Produced by Annie R. McGuire - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: HARPER'S ROUND TABLE] - -Copyright, 1896, by HARPER & BROTHERS. All Rights Reserved. - - * * * * * - -PUBLISHED WEEKLY. NEW YORK, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1896. FIVE CENTS A -COPY. - -VOL. XVII.--NO. 849. TWO DOLLARS A YEAR. - - * * * * * - -[Illustration] - -JONATHAN'S ESCAPE. - -BY ROBERT H. FULLER. - - -Though the Indians of New England were for many years vastly superior in -numbers to the white men, they were never wholly united, and their -cowardice and lack of discipline were weaknesses for which their -treachery and deceit could not compensate. The long conflict between the -races culminated in 1675 in King Philip's war, when the wily Wampanoag -sachem succeeded in forming a confederation, embracing nearly all the -New England tribes, for a final desperate struggle. - -It seemed for a time as though the combination might succeed. At the end -of the summer the scattered settlements, and especially those along the -Connecticut River, which formed the outposts of the colonies, were -panic-stricken. Everywhere the savage allies had been victorious. A -dozen towns had been attacked and burned, bands of soldiers had been cut -off, and isolated murders without number had been committed. Prowling -bands of Indians lurked about the stockaded towns, driving off cattle -and rendering impossible the cultivation of the fields, so that the -settlers were called upon to face starvation as well as the -scalping-knife and tomahawk. - -There was no meeting the Indians face to face, except by surprise. They -fought from ambush, or by sudden assault on unprotected points, and -would be gone before troops could be brought to the scene. The white men -were unable to follow them without Indian allies, and they were slow to -adapt themselves to the Indian mode of fighting. Flushed by their -success, the confederates became overconfident, and grew to despise -their clumsy opponents. In the spring of 1676 more than five thousand of -them were encamped on the Connecticut River, twenty miles north of -Hadley. Here they planted their corn and squashes, and amused themselves -with councils, ceremonies, and feasts, boasting of what they had done -and what they would do. They judged the white men by themselves, and did -not suspect the iron courage and stubborn determination that were urging -the people in the towns below them "to be out against the enemy." On -the night of May 18th they indulged in a great feast, and after it was -over, slept soundly in their bark lodges, all but the wary Philip, who, -scenting danger, had withdrawn across the river. - -On that same evening about two hundred and fifty men and boys gathered -in Hadley street. Of this number fifty-six were soldiers from the -garrisons of Hadley, Northampton, Springfield, Hatfield, and Westfield. -The rest were volunteers, among whom was Jonathan Wells, of Hadley, -sixteen years old, whose adventures and miraculous escape have been -preserved. - -The party was under the command of Captain William Turner, and the -expedition which it was about to undertake was inspired by a daring -amounting to rashness. The plan was to attack the Indian camp, which -contained four times their number of well-armed braves. Defeat meant -death, or captivity and torture worse than death. The march began after -nightfall, so as not to attract the attention of the Indian scouts, and -the little band made its way safely through swamps and forests, past the -Indian outpost, and at daybreak arrived in the neighborhood of the camp. -Here the horses were left under a small guard among the trees, while the -men crept forward to the lodges of the enemy. - -The surprise was complete. The panic-stricken savages, crying that the -dreaded Mohawks were upon them, were shot down by scores, or, plunging -into the river, were swept over the falls which now bear Captain -Turner's name. The backbone of Philip's conspiracy was broken, and he -himself was driven to begin soon afterward the hunted wanderings which -were to end in the fatal morass. - -But the attacking party, though victorious, was not yet out of danger. -It was still heavily outnumbered by the surviving Indians. While the -soldiers were destroying arms, ammunition, and food, or scattered in -pursuit of the fleeing enemy, the warriors rallied, and opened fire upon -them from under cover of the trees. Captain Turner became alarmed and -ordered a retreat. The main body hastily mounted and plunged into the -forest, seeking to shake off the cloud of savages who hung upon their -flanks like a swarm of angry bees. - -Young Jonathan was with a detachment of about twenty who were some -distance up the river when the retreat began. They ran back to the -horses and found their comrades gone. The Indians pressed upon them in -numbers they could not hope to withstand. It was every man for himself. -In the confusion the boy kept his wits about him, and managed to find -his horse. As he plunged forward under the branches three Indians -levelled their pieces and fired. One shot passed through his hair, -another struck his horse, and the third entered his thigh, splintering -the bone where it had been broken by a cart-wheel and never properly -healed. He reeled, and would have fallen had he not clutched the mane of -his horse. The Indians, seeing that he was wounded, pursued him; but he -pointed his gun at them, and held them at bay until he was out of their -reach. As he galloped on he heard a cry for help, and reining in his -horse, regardless of the danger which encompassed him, found Stephen -Belding, a boy of his own age, lying sorely wounded on the ground. He -managed to pull him up behind, and they rode double until they overtook -the party in advance. This brave act saved Belding's life. - -The retreat had become a rout. All was panic and dismay. But Jonathan -was unwilling to desert the comrades left behind. He sought out Captain -Turner, and begged him to halt and turn back to their relief. "It is -better to save some than to lose all," was the Captain's answer. The -confusion increased, and to add to it the guides became bewildered and -lost their way. "If you love your lives, follow me," cried one. "If you -would see your homes again, follow me," shouted another, and the party -was soon split up into small bands. The one with which Jonathan found -himself became entangled in a swamp, where it was once more attacked by -the Indians. He escaped again, with ten others, who, finding that his -horse was going lame from his wound, and that he himself was weak from -loss of blood, left him with another wounded man, and rode away. His -companion, thinking the boy's hurt worse than his own, concluded that he -would stand a better chance of getting clear alone, and riding off on -pretense of seeking the path, failed to return. Jonathan was now wholly -deserted. Wounded, ignorant even of the direction of his home, -surrounded by bloodthirsty Indians, and weak with hunger, he pushed -desperately on. He was near fainting once, when he heard some Indians -running about and whooping near by; but they did not discover him, and a -nutmeg which he had in his pocket revived him for a time. - -After straying some distance further he swooned in good earnest, and -fell from his horse. When he came to he found that he had retained his -hold on the reins, and that the animal stood quietly beside him. He tied -him to a tree, and lay down again; but he soon grew so weak that he -abandoned all hope of escape, and out of pity loosed the horse and let -him go. He succeeded in kindling a fire by flashing powder in the pan of -his gun. It spread in the dry leaves and burned his hands and face -severely. Feeling sure that the Indians would be attracted by the smoke -and come and kill him, he threw away his powder-horn and bullets, -keeping only ammunition for a single last shot. Then he stopped his -wound with tow, bound it up with his neckcloth, and went to sleep. - -In the morning he found that the bleeding had stopped, and that he was -much stronger. He managed to find a path which led him to a river which -he remembered to have crossed on the way to the camp. With great pain, -and difficulty, leaning on his gun, the lock of which he was careful to -keep dry, he waded through it, and fell exhausted on the further bank. -While he lay there an Indian in a canoe appeared, and the boy, who could -neither fight nor run, gave himself up for lost. But he remembered the -three Indians in the woods, and putting a bold face on the matter, aimed -his gun, though its barrel was choked with sand. The savage, thinking he -was about to shoot, leaped overboard, leaving his own gun in the canoe, -and ran to tell his friends that the white men were coming again. - -Jonathan knew that pursuit was certain, and as it was broad daylight, -and he could only hobble at best, he assured himself that there was no -hope for him. Nevertheless he looked about for a hiding-place, and -presently, a little distance away, noticed two trees which, undermined -by the current, had fallen forward into the stream close together. A -mass of driftwood had lodged on their trunks. Jonathan got back into the -water so as to leave no tracks, and creeping between the trunks under -the driftwood, found a space large enough to permit him to breathe. In a -few minutes the Indians arrived in search of him, as he had expected. -They ransacked the whole neighborhood, even running out upon the mat of -driftwood over his head, and causing the trees to sink with their weight -so as to thrust his head under water; but they could find no trace of -him, and at last retired, completely outwitted. - -The boy limped on, tortured by hunger and thirst, and so giddy with -weakness that he could proceed but a short distance without stopping to -rest. Happily he saw no more of the Indians, and at last, on the third -day of his painful journey, he arrived at Hadley, where he was welcomed -as one risen from the dead. - -The story of his escape was told for years after around the wide -fireplaces throughout the country-side, and was thought so remarkable -that one who heard it, unwilling that the record of so much coolness and -courage should be lost, wrote it down for future generations of boys to -read. - - - - -SOME LITTLE REPUBLICS. - - -Some years ago an ambitious but poorly equipped applicant for the -position of teacher in one of the vacant schools in Lehigh County, -Pennsylvania, was asked to prepare a composition on the subject of -"History." This was the result of his labor: - -"History is an useful study. The world was created in sex days. Adam & -Eve was the first mans by the creation. An single republick is better as -towsand kingsdoms." - -When I hear of the birth of a new republic in the family of nations, -memory is certain to recall the Pennsylvania school-teacher's -composition. There is no doubt, I say to myself, that the secret -underlying the formation of so many little representative governments is -to be found in the closing sentence, at once so eloquent and so -musical--"An single republick is better as towsand kingsdoms." There are -many republics that are not mentioned in the school-books, and in this -article I have brought together some of the queerest facts concerning -only a few of them. - -About fifteen miles northeast of Sardinia is the smallest of the little -republics--that is, the smallest in point of population. Tavolara is an -island five miles long and about half a mile wide. It contains a -population of 55 men, women, and children; and every six years the grown -people of the republic, men and women together, go to the polls and -elect a President and a Congress of six members. The island of Tavolara -was a part of the kingdom of Sardinia until 1836, when the King -presented it to the Bartoleoni family. From 1836 to 1882 the little -monarchy was governed by King Paul I., but in the latter year he died, -and in 1886 it became a republic. Its independence was recognized by -Italy in 1887, and no doubt other great countries would have paid it a -similar honor had they known of its existence. It is a very modest -little republic, without army or navy, and its inhabitants, instead of -troubling their neighbors, live the quiet lives of fishermen. - -The republic smallest in area is Goust, which is less than one-third the -size of Tavolara, although it has a population of 130 souls. It has been -a republic since 1648, and enjoys the distinction of being recognized by -France and Spain. Goust, with its territory of a mile in extent, covers -the flat top of a mountain in the lower Pyrenees, and is governed by a -President, who is elected every five years. He is also judge, -tax-collector, and assessor. Goust has no church or clergyman, but -worships in another country more than a mile away. All baptisms and -marriages are performed there too, and all citizens of Goust who die are -slid down to the cemetery in the Oasau valley and buried there. - -East of Australia and north of New Caledonia is the republic of -Franceville, an island with an area of about eighty-five miles. Its -inhabitants number 550, of whom 40 are whites and 510 natives. It was -once a colony of France, but in 1879 it was declared independent, and -its people at once adopted a republican constitution. It is governed by -a President and a council of eight elected by the people--black and -white, men and women. Only white males hold office. The President -elected recently is R. D. Polk, a native of Tennessee, and a relative of -James K. Polk, one of the Presidents of our own republic. - -In the western part of North Carolina is a perfectly organized republic -independent of both State and national governments. It is known as the -Qualla Reserve, and is the home of about 1000 of the Cherokee Indians -belonging to the Eastern branch. The Reserve has an area of 50,000 -acres, or 82 square miles, of the richest valley land of the State, -lying along the Ocona, Lufta, and Soco creeks. The President of the -little republic is elected every four years. He receives a salary of -$500 a year, but when at Washington on business for the republic he gets -$4 a day extra. He is called Chief, and none but a Cherokee of more than -thirty-five years is eligible to the chieftainship. When he is absent -his duties are performed by an Assistant Chief, whose salary is $250 a -year. The Chief has a cabinet of three secretaries, and the Congress -comprises two delegates from every 100 members of the tribe. All -Cherokee males of sixteen and all white men who have Indian wives have -the right to vote. The constitution provides for the maintenance of a -public school, in which both English and Cherokee are taught. The -inhabitants of the Reserve are intelligent, fairly well educated, -law-abiding, and industrious. - -The queer little Italian republic of San Marino, with its 33 square -miles of territory and its population of 6000, lies up in the eastern -spurs of the Apennine Mountains. It is governed by a Grand Council of -60, who are elected for life, and two Presidents, one of whom is -appointed by the Council, the other elected by the people. The little -republic has an army of 950 men, who are employed only as policemen. San -Marino is the only country in the world that prohibits the introduction -of the printing-press. The city of San Marino, with a population of -1700, is one of the queerest old towns in the world. It has undergone no -change in 500 years. The republic of San Marino began in 1631. - -A little bit larger than San Marino in population, but six times as -large in area, is the republic of Andorra. It lies in a valley of the -eastern Pyrenees between France and Spain. It became a free state in -819. It is governed by a Sovereign Council of 24 members, elected by the -people, and a Syndic, or president, chosen for life by the Council. It -has an army of 1100 men, and one big gun planted in the centre of the -republic. This gun carries a ball twenty miles, and Europe trembles at -the thought of its being fired. In Andorra, the capital, is the -palace--a stone building several hundred years old. Here the Councilmen -meet. The ground-door is the stable where their horses are kept and fed -by their masters themselves. The floor above contains the dining-room, -the Senate-chamber and the public school, and the dormitory is on the -third floor. Here are kept the archives of the republic, which no one -but a native can read. They are kept in a vault to which there are seven -great keys, which are held by seven deputies. The schoolmaster of -Andorra is the barber, and also the secretary of the Senate; the Mayor -is a farmer; the barber shaves customers only on Sunday; and every -citizen is a soldier of the republic at his own expense. - -Another little republic, of which little can be said because so little -is known of it, is Mansuet. It covers four square miles, and is tucked -away between Aix-la-Chapelle and Vermus. There are 3000 people in -Mansuet, but they are proud; they inhabit a lovely country, and they -have enjoyed the rights of republican citizens since the year 1688. -Mansuet is free and independent under the protection of Germany, and has -an army of three soldiers. A President and a Council of five govern it. - -The latest addition to the galaxy of little republics is Hawaii. It is -very young yet, as it was born on our birthday--the Fourth of July. -We'll hear more about it later on. - - - - -NURSERY BALLADS. - -A BALLAD OF THE ARK. - - - The elephant is painted blue, the lambs are painted red, - The zebra has rich carmine stripes upon his back and head. - The rooster's larger than the cow, the pigs are works of art, - And as for goats and lions, why, you can't tell them apart. - - Shem, Ham, and Japhet look just like a row of wooden pegs, - With great long ulsters hanging down to cover up their legs. - In which they all resemble both their father and his wife, - And which is which I couldn't say--no, not to save my life. - - The horses are both green and brown, and made, 'tis really true, - From just the same queer pattern as the bear and kangaroo; - And every dove and stork and chick in that strange wooden ark - Is modelled like the ostrich that they've got in Central Park. - - And if you broke the horns and legs from off the yellow moose - You'd take him for a baby seal, or possibly a goose; - But spite of all I love that ark as well as any toy - That ever brought a bit of fun to any girl or boy. - - But one queer thing that puzzles me, the ark, built for a boat, - When deluged in the bath-tub can't be got to stay afloat; - While all the beasts 'twas built to save instead of getting drowned, - Go floating gayly just as safe as when they're on the ground. - - CARLYLE SMITH. - - - - -AMERICAN-NIGHTS' ENTERTAINMENTS. - -MARTHA WASHINGTON'S VALENTINE. - -BY EMMA J. GRAY. - - -A group of merry girls and boys were talking with Mrs. General -Washington one February evening, when one of the number suddenly -inquired: "Did you ever get a valentine from the President?" - -To which came the ready reply, "Of course I did!" as a conscious smile -rippled over the still beautiful though now elderly face. - -"And did you ever go to a valentine party when you were a girl?" - -"Why, of course I did," and Mrs. Washington straightened herself more -particularly in her high-back chair. - -"Oh, do tell us all about it!" - -And as she responded with a most indulgent smile, they gathered close to -hear. - - * * * * * - -It was night in old Virginia when, for the entertainment of our visiting -friends, grandmother laid aside her knitting, and glided slowly, -stately, gracefully around the room. She was dancing the minuet. - -Unexpectedly my maid entered, bearing a tray on which was a white -envelope sealed with rose-colored wax imprinted with a laughing cupid. I -was much embarrassed at receiving this before so many curious eyes, and -warningly looked at the girl, but it was too late; indeed, her ready -words made me only the more conspicuous. - -"I 'member to watch, kase uver sence dey here"--with a nod of her head -in the visitors' direction--"young misses mons'us quiet!" - -Fearing she might become yet more garrulous, I hurriedly asked, "Nancy, -did the carriage return from the King's Mill Plantation?" and the girl -left the room to inquire. - -It was St. Valentine's eve. And who had sent this beautiful -valentine--for beautiful I knew it was--notwithstanding that as yet the -seal remained unfastened! Would I open it before all these guests, or -would I make excuse and go in hiding? - -Grandmother settled the question by inquiring, "Valentine, dearie? -Many's the one I got when I was a girl." - -"I suppose you did, grandma, for you've told me you were much like your -old friend Madam Ball--and she was a great belle;" and then continuing, -foolish child that I was, with a quick rush of the red blood all over my -face, even to the roots of my hair, "I've heard, too, that her daughter, -when at my age, was just the comeliest maiden possible--so modest, so -sensible and loving, with hair resembling flax, and cheeks like -May-blossoms." - -These words caused grandmother to come closer, and, scrutinizing my -face, she asked, "Why, what's put Mary Ball into your head, child?" and, -not waiting for reply, added, "You cannot deceive your old grandmother; -you might as well give up now as at any other time;" and pointing to the -still unopened valentine, while looking at the group of visitors, she -tantalizingly said, "Open it, dearie, and see what George has sent you." - -This was too much, and I fled from the room. - -Grandmother was right, and I knew it, for I was learning to know George -Washington's handwriting, and I was already planning how I would tease -him when we met at the party to be given the following evening at the -Oaklands, to which home we were both invited. - -There had lately been a wedding at our house; a cousin of my mother's -was the bride, and such a gay time as this excitement had brought! -George Washington was among the guests, and I was much pleased because -he danced with me several times. - -Referring to an old Virginia wedding, there is nothing comparable to it, -as the preparations go regularly on for successive nights and days--such -preparations as ruffle-crimping, jelly-straining, cocoanut-grating, -egg-frothing, silver-cleaning, to be ready for guests who arrive a few -days before, and, as in our case, remain for a week or more afterwards. -Nor do the guests arrive alone; they come in their private carriages, -with horses and an army of negro servants to be entertained. Just think -of the numberless rice-waffles, beat-biscuit, light bread, muffins, and -laplands to be brought hot on the breakfast table! and the ham, dried -venison, turkey, fried chicken, cinnamon cakes, quince marmalade on the -tea table! Oh, a wedding meant an out-and-out stir in those days! But -our house was a large old place in the midst of scenery both lovely and -picturesque, and we owned many negroes, who had been taught all sorts of -work, and therefore it was easy for us to prepare. Indeed, our head -cook, Aunt Tamer, was a character, black and portly, but cleanly -turbaned and white-aproned. I seem to hear her now praising her own -concoctions, and she was especially proud of "bakin' de bes' -beat-biscuit an' loaf bread." - -But I was talking about my valentine and the party. Probably because the -_fête_ of St. Valentine belongs to nearly every country, and since the -fifteenth century it was exceedingly popular in England and France, the -girls were asked to wear fifteenth-century costume; my dress was of the -finest white mull, as fine as a spider's web, and embroidered with -lilies-of-the-valley. The boys' clothes were in exact copy of old -English gentlemen, and they wore long queues tied with black ribbons, -wide ruffled shirt fronts, short breeches, and knee-buckles. The -decorations were elaborate--pink roses and rosebuds in solid banks of -lavishness. Indeed, the large square rooms seemed transformed into -flower-gardens. One exquisite effect was produced with magnolia leaves -and wax candles. These leaves formed a cornice to the drawing-room -ceiling, and the candles were so deftly placed that only the lighted -tapers were seen. They shone like stars on a summer's night, for the -dark green gloss on the large leaves acted as reflectors, while -suspended from the ceiling's centre were several rows of pink satin sash -ribbon, each piece hanging so gracefully that when the ends were -fastened, about four feet below the cornice, the ceiling was as -effective and beautiful as the most critical fresco-painter could -desire. Where each end was fastened there was a large bunch of magnolia -leaves and candles assimilating a side-chandelier, and in the centre of -the ceiling there were magnolia leaves in profusion. - -No sooner was I in the drawing-room, than my friend George Washington -gallantly advanced, and begged me to do him the honor of being his -partner in the cotillion. After that there followed many other dances, -all of which he would ask me to dance; but I did not forget he had sent -me a valentine the night before, and therefore I decided to tease him by -dancing with some of the other boys, especially with my particularly -kind friend, young Custis. - -[Illustration: OUR HOSTESS APPEARED AS THE GODDESS OF LOVE.] - -We had reels, cotillions, and schottisches almost without number; but -the dance just before supper was arranged for the occasion, and called -St. Valentine. Our hostess suddenly appeared in soft fleecy white stuff, -with spangled wings, as Venus, the goddess of love, her mother -explained. First dancing one of the plantation dances that her old mammy -had taught her, she sang a song about valentines; then taking a gilded -basket, and coquetting through the drawing-room in the most graceful of -reel steps, she gave a valentine to each guest. Then again dancing -another of the plantation dances, she as gracefully withdrew. - -A few moments later a musician's voice called, "Choose your partners by -matching valentines"; and thus again George Washington advanced, and -finding that his valentine really was the exact counterpart of mine, we -walked to our places in the now rapidly forming minuet, and afterwards -we marched together up and down the rooms and through the wide halls to -supper. - -After supper we played several games, one of which represented prominent -characters, and some not so prominent--for example, making believe we -were our own mothers or fathers. In this way, Colonel Ball of Lancaster, -who was George Washington's grandfather, was taken, and Augustine -Washington, his father. George Washington himself took the character of -George III., while I took the character of Betty Washington, his sister. -But some of the other boys and girls preferred representing Sir Walter -Raleigh, Lord Fairfax, Governor Dimwiddie, Miss Burney, Hannah Ball, who -married Raleigh Travers, of the same blood as Sir Walter Raleigh, and -other titled gentlemen and women. Those who were to be guessed decided -for themselves who they would be. Then all the guests asked questions, -to which correct answer was given. If the name was not guessed within -five minutes, it had to be told, for longer than five minutes made the -game too tedious. - -[Illustration: GOSSIP.] - -This game was followed by two of the girls taking seats in the middle of -the room. They had previously withdrawn and put over their pretty -dresses queer-looking old shawls, and covered their chestnut-brown curls -with odd-looking bonnets tied under the chin. Then a cup of tea was -given to each, and looking intently at one another, slowly stirring -their tea meantime, one exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. "You don't -say so!" whereupon our hostess inquired, "Who can tell what these girls -represent?" and a number of voices replied, "Gossip." At this answer the -girls rose, and laughingly threw aside their shawls and hats. - -Then the youngest boy took one of the chairs made vacant by the girls. -After seating himself, it was noticed that he put a big coat over his -lap, and making a great show of threading his needle, he diligently -sewed on a button. And the hostess asked, "What does Charley represent?" -The children could hardly reply for laughing, for the boy looked so -demure and industrious; but after a moment's hesitation there came the -vigorous answer, "A bachelor." - -Then Aunt Charlotte, an old negro woman, entered; she pretended to be a -fortune-teller. And I afterwards learned her coming had been all -arranged by the hostess, to whom I had been foolish enough to tell of -the advent of my valentine. - -She approached me first, and prostrated herself, face downwards, on the -floor. "Why, Aunt Charlotte!" I exclaimed, "do get up." - -"Lor', honey, I never specs to see de greates' ladie in de lan'." - -"Well, stand up," was my agitated reply, "and explain what you mean." - -"Bless de chile! I love to think I'm some 'count." - -"Hurry!" was my impatient exclamation, "I can't wait." And all my young -friends were grouped close around, zealously listening for what the old -creature was about to say. - -"I mean you'll make de grandes' marriage 'bout here." - -"Whom will I marry?" were my now eager though venturesome words. - -"Why, de young mars' who sent you de valentine." - -I was so provoked with myself that I could have bitten my tongue off, -though, after all, it was a most natural answer to give on St. -Valentine's night; and thus having decided my future, Aunt Charlotte -hurriedly turned to another, and yet another, as both girls and boys -pressed forward for their turn. When she reached George Washington I -listened closely. She told him he would ride in a coach and six, and -that "we've nuver seen sich wondrous time as 'Mars George'll hav'." - -When the fortune-telling was concluded, I learned that it was already -considerably beyond the time to start home, and therefore speedily made -my adieux; a few moments later found me in our high-stepped carriage -rapidly rolling out of the Oakland grounds. - -"And thus ended the episode which I promised to tell you," said Martha -Washington, the wife of the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental army -and President of the United States, to the French officer De Grasse at -the Peace Ball given in Fredericksburg. - -"Pardon, madame; not ended, but rather begun," was the courtly response. - - * * * * * - -"Oh, what a lovely party!" was the exclamation from many of the -attentive listeners. "And why couldn't we repeat it now?" was the -immediate question. - -"Indeed I shall," said one of the girls, with a decided shake of her -long curls. "My very next party will be an old Virginia -evening--dresses, dances, games, and all." - - - - -JOHNNY'S ICE-BOAT. - - -When Johnny was quite tired of making himself big pigs out of snowballs, -and hammock-chairs for drawing the girls over the snow out of crotched -sticks and old shawls, and Scandinavian skates out of barrel staves, he -decided he would make an ice-boat, and all the more firmly because the -whole family, except his pretty aunt Mamy, told him it was nonsense, and -he never could, and an ice-boat was a dangerous thing if he could, and -it was of no use anyway. - -There were a lot of old skates in the garret, some big nails and some -pieces of wood in the shed; his aunt Mamy could help him rig some sort -of a sail. It was a pity if he couldn't make an ice-boat, and the river -stretching away a glare of ice for twenty miles and more. - -He ran down to the shed and chose for himself a board some five feet -long, and a cross-board that he nailed on it a foot from the end. About -a foot from the other end of the first board he nailed a bit of wood for -a seat, the sides of it slanting out so that it was a little wider -before than behind. That done, he nailed a couple of braces, slanting -from just behind the seat nearly out to the ends of the cross-piece, and -from the latter places two others, shorter ones, meeting on the extreme -end of the long first board, beyond the cross-piece, so that the whole -looked like the frame of a huge kite. He could have done without the -braces, which were only stout three-inch-square sticks, but it seemed a -little stronger and safer to have them, he said. - -It seemed as if every one in the house had an errand for him to do that -afternoon, and he almost gave up the idea of finishing his ice-boat at -all. "When a fellow has such a piece of work as this in hand people -might let him alone," he grumbled. And I don't know how he would have -come out if he hadn't divined that his aunt Mamy was making mince -patties for some use connected with himself. - -But Johnny was up before the sun the next morning, and where the -cross-piece of his frame rested on the longer board, in the very centre, -he bored a hole for his mast--bored a lot of little holes close -together, and worked them out with his jack-knife till he had one big -hole. On either side of that he nailed a small block, and on the top of -those he nailed a bit of board that just fitted the space, and then in -the middle of that bit of board he made another hole just over the hole -already bored, and there was a step for his mast, and his mast itself -was ready in the shape of a good stout bean-pole that he had. - -Very well pleased with himself so far, Mr. Johnny hurried through -breakfast, and got out of the way before his grandmother could ask him -to find her glasses, or his mother could suggest a few pages of history. -His conscience was not easy, but then he would look for the glasses all -a fore-noon another day, and learn a great many pages of history in the -afternoon; and they really should consider, he thought, that one learns -something in building an ice-boat; and if his heart smote him about the -dear baby who cried for Johnny to play with him, the baby would cry at -the other side of his mouth when he made a voyage in Johnny's ice-boat. -So he took two of the old skates now, screwed the heel-screw of each -into a bit of wood a foot long and three inches wide, and, working holes -for the leathers, strapped the skates firmly, each to its own piece of -wood, and then nailed the pieces securely under each end of the -cross-piece, the skates there pointing forwards. - -For the rudder then he took the third skate, screwed and strapped to a -bit of wood as before, and nailed and screwed that bit of wood to the -club end of a long round stick which he brought up through a hole -already bored in the stern end of the main beam, or first long board; -and he fitted this round stick to a handle by running it through a hole -in something he had whittled out like the clothes-paddle or boiler-stick -of washing-day. - -"I've done well by the day, and the day's done well by me," said Johnny. -"But now come needle and thread. I don't believe," said he, "that Aunt -Mame is as hard-hearted as the rest." And by dint of hanging over the -back of her chair with a good many judicious hugs and kisses--the little -rogue really loved his aunt Mamy when there was nothing to gain by -it--he induced her to coax a coarse and stout kitchen-table cloth from -his mother's linen stores, to bind it with some strong tape, and then to -cross the tape from corner to corner in order to strengthen it still -more. When he had lashed his sail to his bean-pole with a stout twine, -and made a gasket to hold his gaff, which was part of his bamboo -fishing-rod, Johnny stopped to execute a brief war-dance, to hug his -aunt again, to put on his reefer, and to stow away some mince patties. -Then, securing the rope at the other corner of his sail, he dragged his -tiny ice-boat free of the big blocks of ice along the shore, established -himself upon the seat with his heels against the cross-piece, and waited -for the wind. - -It came along, with a little dust of snow upon its wings. It took -Johnny's sail as if it were a puff of thistle-down; the rope slipped out -through Johnny's fingers quick enough to burn them. His heart gave a -great plunge, but he held fast, and the next moment a creak, a twist, a -hiss, and he was moving. Moving? No--flying! Flying through the air even -while he knew he was cutting with a sharp hiss into the ice--the -razor-edge of the wind cutting with a sharp hiss, too, upon his cheek, -and taking his breath away at first. And there he was speeding up the -river so fast that his mother screamed and ran into the house, and his -grandmother, looking from the window, began to blame every one else for -letting him start out on such a hair-breadth undertaking, and his aunt -Mamy declared it was like a great white bubble blowing up the sky, a -great white spirit flashing up the river, and if he never came back she -was glad to see the last of him that way--but he would be back all -right. And so he was. - -They said that little ice-boat went at the rate of forty miles an hour. -Johnny always insists that it is eighty. But all I know about it is that -the March maple-camp was twenty miles up river, and Johnny brought home -a great parcel of the sweetest and richest morsels that the sunshine -ever coaxed out of the earth through a maple-stem, that very sunset as -he ran his ice-boat, "The Scarer," up the shore, and promised his mother -he would never go half as fast as he could go in her, unless he had a -mask to save his face from blistering, and his father was aboard. - - - - -THE MIDDLE DAUGHTER.[1] - -[1] Begun in HARPER'S ROUND TABLE No. 845. - -BY MARGARET E. SANGSTER. - -CHAPTER V. - -CEMENTS AND RIVETS. - - -"How did we ever consent to let our middle daughter stay away all these -years, mother?" said Dr. Wainwright, addressing his wife. - -"I cannot tell how it happened, father," she said, musingly. "I think we -drifted into the arrangement, and you know each year brother was -expected to bring her back Harriet would plan a jaunt or a journey -which kept her away, and then, Jack, we've generally been rather out at -the elbows, and I have been so helpless, that, with our large family, it -was for Grace's good to let her remain where she was so well provided -for." - -"She's clear grit, isn't she?" said the doctor, admiringly, stalking to -and fro in his wife's chamber. "I didn't half like the notion of her -giving readings; but Charley Raeburn says the world moves and we must -move with it, and now that her object is not purely a selfish one, I -withdraw my opposition. I confess, though, darling, I don't enjoy the -thought that my girls must earn money. I feel differently about the -boys." - -"Jack dear," said his wife, tenderly, always careful not to wound the -feelings of this unsuccessful man who was still so loving and so full of -chivalry, "you needn't mind that in the very least. The girl who doesn't -want to earn money for herself in these days is in the minority. Girls -feel it in the air. They all fret and worry, or most of them do, until -they are allowed to measure their strength and test the commercial worth -of what they have acquired. You are a dear old fossil, Jack. Just look -at it in this way: Suppose Mrs. Vanderhoven, brought up in the purple, -taught to play a little, to embroider a little, to speak a little -French--to do a little of many things and nothing well--had been given -the sort of education that in her day was the right of every gentleman's -son, though denied the gentleman's daughter, would her life be so hard -and narrow and distressful now? Would she be reduced to taking in fine -washing and hemstitching and canning fruit?" - -"Canning fruit, mother dear," said Miriam, who had just come in to -procure fresh towels for the bedrooms, "is a fine occupation. Several -women in the United States are making their fortunes at that. Eva and I, -who haven't Grace's talents, are thinking of taking it up in earnest. I -can make preserves, I rejoice to say." - -"When you are ready to begin, you shall have my blessing," said her -father. "I yield to the new order of things." Then as the pretty elder -daughter disappeared, a sheaf of white lavender-perfumed towels over her -arm, he said: "Now, dear, I perceive your point. Archie Vanderhoven's -accident has, however, occurred in the very best possible time for -Grace. The King's Daughters--you know what a breezy Ten they are, with -our Eva and the Raeburns' Amy among them--are going to give a lift to -Archie, not to his mother, who might take offence. All the local talent -of our young people is already enlisted. Our big dining-room is to be -the hall of ceremonies, and I believe they are to have tableaux, music, -readings, and refreshments. This will come off on the first moonlight -night, and the proceeds will all go to Archie, to be kept, probably, as -a nest-egg for his college expenses. That mother of his means him to go -through college, you know, if she has to pay the fees by hard work, -washing, ironing, scrubbing, what not." - -"I hope the boy's worth it," said Mrs. Wainwright, doubtfully. "Few boys -are." - -"The right boy is," said the doctor, firmly. "In our medical association -there's one fellow who is on the way to be a famous surgeon. He's fine, -Jane, the most plucky, persistent man, with the eye, and the nerve, and -the hand, and the delicacy and steadiness of the surgeon born in him, -and confirmed by training. Some of his operations are perfectly -beautiful, beautiful! He'll be famous over the whole world yet. His -mother was an Irish charwoman, and she and he had a terrible tug to -carry him through his studies." - -"Is he good to her? Is he grateful?" asked Mrs. Wainwright, much -impressed. - -"Good! grateful! I should say so," said the doctor. "She lives like -Queen Victoria, rides in her carriage, dresses in black silk, has four -maids to wait on her. She lives like the first lady in the land, in her -son's house, and he treats her like a lover. He's a man. He was worth -all she did. They say," added the doctor, presently, "that sometimes the -old lady tires of her splendor, sends the maids away to visit their -cousins, and turns in and works for a day or two like all possessed. -She's been seen hanging out blankets on a windy day in the back yard, -with a face as happy as that of a child playing truant." - -"Poor dear old thing!" said Mrs. Wainwright. "Well, to go back to our -girlie, she's to be allowed to take her own way, isn't she, and to be as -energetic and work as steadily as she likes?" - -"Yes, dearest, she shall, for all I'll do or say to the contrary. And -when my ship comes in I'll pay her back with interest for the loans -she's made me lately." - -The doctor went off to visit his patients. His step had grown light, his -face had lost its look of alert yet furtive dread. He looked twenty -years younger. And no wonder. He no longer had to dodge Potter at every -turn, and a big package of receipted bills, endorsed and dated, lay -snugly in his desk, the fear of duns exorcised thereby. A man whose path -has been impeded by the thick underbrush of debts he cannot settle, and -who finds his obligations cancelled, may well walk gayly along the -cleared and brightened roadway, hearing birds sing and seeing blue sky -beaming above his head. - -The Ten took hold of the first reading with enthusiasm. Flags were -borrowed, and blazing boughs of maple and oak, with festoons of crimson -blackberry vine and armfuls of golden-rod transformed the long room into -a bower. Seats were begged and borrowed, and all the cooks in town made -cake with fury and pride for the great affair. The tickets were sold -without much trouble, and the girls had no end of fun in rehearsing the -tableaux which were decided on as preferable in an entertainment given -by the King's Daughters, because in tableaux everybody has something to -do. Grace was to read from _Young Lucretia_ and a poem by Hetta Lord -Hayes Ward, a lovely poem about a certain St. Bridget who trudges up to -heaven's gate after her toiling years, and finds St. Peter waiting to -set it wide open. The poor modest thing was an example of Keble's lovely -stanza: - - "Meek souls there are who little dream - Their daily life an angel's theme, - Nor that the rod they bear so calm - In heaven may prove a martyr's palm." - -Very much astonished at her reception, she is escorted up to the serene -heights by tall seraphs, who treat her with the greatest reverence. -By-and-by along comes a grand lady, one of Bridget's former employers. -She just squeezes through the gate, and then, - - "Down heaven's hill a radiant saint - Comes flying with a palm, - 'Are you here, Bridget O'Flaherty?' - St. Bridget cries, 'Yes, ma'am.' - - "'Oh, teach me Bridget, the manners, please, - Of the royal court above,' - 'Sure, honey dear, you'll aisy learn - Humility and love.'" - -I haven't time to tell you all about the entertainment, and there is no -need. You, of course, belong to Tens or to needlework guilds or to -orders of some kind, and if you are a member of the Order of the ROUND -TABLE, why of course you are doing good in some way or other, and good -which enables one to combine social enjoyment and a grand frolic; and -the making of a purseful of gold and silver for a crippled boy, or an -aged widow, or a Sunday-school in Dakota, or a Good-will Farm in Maine, -is a splendid kind of good. - -This chapter is about cements and rivets. It is also about the two -little schoolmarms. - -"Let us take Mrs. Vanderhoven's pitcher to town when we go to call on -the judge with father," said Amy. "Perhaps it can be mended." - -"It may be mended, but I do not think it will hold water again." - -"There is a place," said Amy, "where a patient old German man, with the -tiniest little bits of rivets that you can hardly see, and the stickiest -cement you ever did see, repairs broken china. Archie was going to sell -the pitcher. His mother had said he might. A lady at the hotel had -promised him five dollars for it as a specimen of some old pottery or -other. Then he leaped that hedge, caught his foot, fell, and that was -the end of that five dollars, which was to have gone for a new lexicon -and I don't know what else." - -"It was a fortunate break for Archie. His leg will be as strong as ever, -and we'll make fifty dollars by our show. I call such a disaster an -angel in disguise." - -"Mrs. Vanderhoven cried over the pitcher, though. She said it had almost -broken her heart to let Archie take it out of the house, and she felt it -was a judgment on her for being willing to part with it." - -"Every one has some superstition, I think," said Amy. - -[Illustration: NEW PUPILS AND NEW TEACHERS.] - -Judge Hastings, a tall, soldierly gentleman with the bearing of a -courtier, was delighted with the girls, and brought his three little -women in their black frocks to see their new teachers. - -"I warn you, young ladies," he said, "these are spoiled babies. But they -will do anything for those they love, and they will surely love you. I -want them thoroughly taught, especially music and dancing. Can you teach -them to dance?" - -He fixed his keen blue eyes on Grace, who colored under the glance, but -answered bravely, - -"Yes, Judge, I can teach them to dance and to play, not to count or to -spell." - -"I'll take charge of that part," said Amy, fearlessly. - -Grace's salary was fixed at one thousand dollars, Amy's at four hundred, -a year, and Grace was to come to her pupils three hours a day for five -days every week, Amy one hour a day for five days. - -"We'll travel together," said Amy, "for I'll be at the League while you -are pegging away at the teaching of these tots after my hour is over." - -If any girl fancies that Grace and Amy had made an easy bargain, I -recommend her to try the same tasks day in and day out for the weeks of -a winter. She will discover that she had earned her salary. Lucy, Helen, -and Madge taxed their young teachers' utmost powers, but they did them -credit, and each month, as Grace was able to add comforts to her home, -to lighten her father's burdens, to remove anxiety from her mother, she -felt that she would willingly have worked harder. - -The little pitcher was repaired so that you never would have known it -had been broken. Mrs. Vanderhoven set it in the place of honor on top of -her mantel shelf, and Archie, now able to hobble about, declared that he -would treasure it for his children's children. - -One morning a letter came for Grace. It was from the principal of a -girls' school in a lovely village up the Hudson, a school attended by -the daughters of statesmen and millionaires, but one, too, which had -scholarships for bright girls who desired culture, but whose parents had -but very little money. To attend Miss L----'s school some girls would -have given more than they could put into words; it was a certificate of -good standing in society to have been graduated there, while mothers -prized and girls envied those who could go there, for the splendid times -they were sure to have. - -"Your dear mother," Miss L---- wrote, "will easily recall her old -schoolmate and friend. I have heard of you, Grace, through my friend, -Madame Necker, who was your instructress in Paris, and I have two -objects in writing. One is to secure you as a teacher in reading for an -advanced class of mine. The class would meet but once a week; your -office would be to read to them, interpreting the best authors, and to -influence them in the choice of books adapted for young girls." - -Grace held her breath. "Mother!" she exclaimed, "is Miss L---- in her -right mind?" - -"A very level-headed person, Grace, Read on." - -"I have also a vacant scholarship, and I will let you name a friend of -yours to fill it. I would like a minister's daughter. Is there any dear -little twelve-year-old girl who would like to come to my school, and -whose parents would like to send her but cannot afford so much expense? -Because, if there is such a child among your friends, I will give her a -warm welcome. Jane Wainwright, your honored mother, knows that I will be -too happy thus to add a happiness to her lot in life." - -Mother and daughter looked into each other's eyes. One thought was in -both. - -"Laura Raeburn," they exclaimed together. - -Laura Raeburn it was who entered Miss L----'s, her heart overflowing -with satisfaction, and so the never-shaken friendship between -Wishing-Brae and the Manse was made stronger still, as by cements and -rivets. - -[TO BE CONTINUED.] - - - - -FOR KING OR COUNTRY. - -A Story of the Revolution. - -BY JAMES BARNES. - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE MYSTERIOUS PRISONER. - - -This short notice and warning was meant in the kindliest way. George -knew that well, and read between the lines. But it was plain to see that -the plot was frustrated by the force of circumstance. He pushed the -missive into the glowing coals of the fire; it blazed up merrily, and -disappeared into gray ashes. - -Now for flight. It would certainly do him no good to stay longer within -the camp of the enemy. He knew no method of communication with the -outside, and it would be impossible for him to meet with the others who -were supposed to be his fellow-conspirators. Although the furlough he -had been granted had been for a month, he was all zeal to return and -join his command, but determined not to do so empty-handed. If he could -only find out the destination of the large army that was ready to be -embarked at a word's notice, a great deal would be accomplished. Was it -Albany, Boston, or Philadelphia that was Lord Howe's objective point? If -he could overhear the conversation at the meeting that he knew must now -be going on at Fraunce's, he would have something that would make his -trip far from worthless. - -When doubting, use caution, may be a good motto, but under some -circumstances boldness will answer quite as well. In fact, it is often -the only thing that will carry affairs to successful issues. - -George determined to hear the result of that meeting if possible, and -then put as many miles of land and water between himself and New York as -he could accomplish with the remaining hours of darkness. It would be -hard to get across the river, but he doubted not being able to find a -skiff or a boat along the wharves. - -Back in the town once more, he approached Fraunce's Tavern by a -circuitous way, and at last reached the stable, the shed of which was -closely under the windows of the private dining-rooms where many a gay -party had been given, and where years and years ago the old Dutch -Mynheers had met and toasted their one-legged Governor in fragrant -schnapps. - -It had been better for George if he had started at once for the red soil -of his native State. The tribulations which Mrs. Bonsall had predicted -were about to cloud his horizon. - -Tall as he was, he was not able to look in at the window. He could hear -the murmur and flutter of conversation coming from within the brightly -lighted room. Placing his hands on the sill, and using all the strength -of his muscular young arms, he managed to draw himself up until his head -was level with the panes. It was a fine sight to behold. This was not a -council of war, nor even a secret meeting. It was merely a gathering of -officers to talk the situation over informally. - -General Howe did not believe in hurrying. But often ideas and plans -develop at meetings such as this that bear important results. The talk -was so general that George could not at first make out a single -connected sentence, and his arms were tired with holding himself in the -constrained position; besides, his face was forced so closely to the -window that it seemed certain that some one would see him from the -inside of the room. He lowered himself to the ground, and searching the -yard, found a tall barrel. Rolling it cautiously to the side of the -house, he stepped upon it. - -It was now plain sailing--at least, it seemed to be. - -Through the window-blind, which, was partly closed, he could look -without being seen. The window was lowered a little at the top to admit -the air. - -"Tis the strangest thing in the world," said the voice of a speaker, -whom George could not see, as he was behind the angle of the wall. "He -was a clever lad, well knit and straight; they say the heir to a vast -property up the great river. Search high or low, no trace can be found -of him. 'Tis known that he went to his room at the City Arms, and that -was the last seen of him." - -"So Rivington was telling me," spoke up a man facing the window. "And I -saw him when he called on General Howe. Those despatches were of great -importance. But it's the General's intention to leave Burgoyne to fight -it out alone on the Hudson. Philadelphia must be taken; I am sure that -is the plan." - -George's nerves tingled. Here was something of importance to relate. - -A red-faced officer arose. "Here comes the punch, gentlemen," he said. -"And I propose as our first toast confusion to Mr. Washington, and may -Satan fly away with him." - -"On to Philadelphia!" George heard some one cry. - -"Yes, and rout out their ratty Congress," said another. - -Suddenly it seemed to George as if the earth's surface had opened to -receive him, and that he dropped from untold heights. The fact was that -the head of the barrel had given in, and he was thrown backwards onto -the hard ground. He came down with a clatter. A side entrance to the -tavern ran close to where he had been standing. In fact, he had been -exposed to the view of any one who came up the walk. Just as he had -fallen a party of five or six entered the yard from the outside, coming -up the road by the stables. - -"Hello! What's that out there?" said a voice. The window of the -dining-room was thrown up and a white-wigged head thrust out. "I say, -who's there?" was again repeated. - -George arose to his feet. One of the party coming toward him stepped -forward. "What is the matter here?" he said. - -Now if he was called to explain his presence it might lead to his -detection, and with a sense of horror George saw that one of the party -was the heavy man who had been in his room at the City Arms--the uncle -of Richard Blount, of Albany, whose _bona fide_ nephew was in -confinement in New Jersey. - -He jumped to his feet and made a leap for the wall, to get over before -the others could reach the gate. - -"Stop him there!" said the voice from the window. "See who it is! Stop -him!" - -As he reached the top, and was about to throw himself on the other side, -there were a flash and a report, and a strange pain ran through George's -left arm. He lost his balance and fell. - -When he came to, for he had been stunned a trifle by the second fall, he -saw that quite a crowd was gathered over him. - -"Does anybody know him?" some one asked. - -"Yes, I do," was the answer. "It is the young man who tried to steal my -time-piece the other day." The voice was Abel Norton's. - -"Ay, and he took mine too, if it is the same," put in another. The last -speaker was Schoolmaster Anderson. - -"Turn him over to the watch," said an officer. "We cannot afford to have -suspicious characters about. Ah, here he comes, for once in the right -place." - -"What means this disturbance, good people? Oh, is any one badly hurt?" -As these words were spoken a caped figure with a lantern hurried up. He -had a long pike in his hand, and a huge rattle hung by a leather thong -about his neck. - -Two or three bystanders helped raise the young man to his feet. - -"He is wounded," said some one, noticing the useless left arm, which was -numbed with pain, and which was bleeding. - -"The prison surgeon is good enough for the likes of him," said another. - -"Come with me, young man," said the watchman, putting his hand on -George's shoulder. "You had better have that arm attended to. Oh! he's -charged with crime, eh? That's very different." - -Followed by Abel Norton, Schoolmaster Anderson, and a few idlers, the -party moved down the street. - -The "jig" was up now with a vengeance. - -[Illustration: "COURAGE," SAID A LOW VOICE AT GEORGE'S ELBOW.] - -"Courage," said a low voice at George's elbow. "Act well your part." It -was like Schoolmaster Anderson to quote even under these circumstances. -"Do not fear coming to trial. They are too busy to think of little -things like this. We will take care of you as well as we can. Know no -one," he whispered. - -The party had turned into Vine Street, and were heading for the old -sugar-house on the corner, which, like many other gloomy buildings of -that kind, had been turned for the nonce into a prison. - -While Schoolmaster Anderson had been talking he had shaken his fist -threateningly under our hero's nose, and had interlarded his talk with -some epithets such as: "You young villain. Steal a watch, will you? -Rascal!" and the like. - -As they entered the narrow doorway of the sugar-house a portly man met -them. He carried a large bunch of keys on a huge ring. Roughly he pushed -back the crowd of curiosity seekers, and admitted only the watchman, -Abel Norton, Mr. Anderson, and the prisoner into the court-yard. A smoky -lamp flared from a bracket in the wall. - -"What have you here?" he asked. - -"Some one we wish you to look out for especially well and carefully," -said Mr. Anderson. He took a bit of paper from his pocket; on it was -scribbled "Secretary to the Governor." For some time, however, the -schoolmaster had not held that important position. But this the jailer -did not know. The watchman, who was a stupid fellow, here spoke up. - -"'Tis naught but a thief, I take it," he growled. - -"Say nothing. How do you know?" said Abel Norton, in a whisper. The -heavy face above the cloak took on a wondrous-wise expression. - -George had winced, but as he did so felt a reassuring pull at the back -of his coat. - -"He's wounded," said the jailer, noticing that the lad was supporting -one arm with the other. - -"We'll send a surgeon to him," said Abel Norton. "I may be a -soft-hearted fellow; but I hate to see any one suffer." - -"There's an empty cell on the second floor," put in the jailer. "I -suppose you don't wish him to be placed in the main gallery with the -others." - -Mr. Anderson managed to whisper, as George was led away: "Courage. Two -of your friends are with you. We are Numbers Two and Three." - -Since his arrest the prisoner had not spoken a word. He did not know how -badly he was hurt, and had not recovered entirely from the shock of the -fall. The pistol-ball had entered his arm below the elbow. As he weakly -followed the jailer up the stairway he passed a sentry, and, looking -through an iron-barred door, caught a glimpse of a long room filled with -a crowd of hungry-looking, half-clothed wretches. They were political -prisoners mostly, but many of them had been soldiers who had so bravely -defended Fort Washington a few months before. - -"Prepare to receive another guest," said a voice from within the reeking -room. "Fresh herring here! All ye salt mackerel!" - -Several figures got up from the floor, but the party passed down the -corridor and halted before a little cell scarcely six feet square. In -one corner were a pile of straw and an old worn blanket. - -Faint from the loss of blood, George was only too glad to sink down with -his back against the wall. So this was what it had come to, the -expedition which had apparently promised so well. What would good Mrs. -Mack think of her boarder's sudden disappearance? There was one -comforting thought, however. He had friends who were placing themselves -in a position of danger in order to assist him. He would rather die than -betray them. But how odd: Anderson and Norton--men who were known as -Tories. That they also possessed considerable influence was soon to be -proved, for in the course of an hour a surgeon appeared and carefully -dressed the wounded forearm. - -"It's not serious," he said. "I will be in to see you again." - -One of the safest places to hide in is a prison, and probably the -knowledge of this fact influenced the actions of his supposed accusers, -and in such a disturbed condition were the courts of the city that many -prisoners arrested on suspicion were held for years without ever coming -to trial, in fact, without any indictment being found against them, even -the crime for which they had been committed having been forgotten. - -As George tossed about uneasily that night in the straw, he now and then -dreamed fitfully that he was back once more in camp drilling his -company, and again that he was at Stanham Mills, setting traps with his -brother along the banks of the roaring brook. Suddenly he felt something -hard beneath him. It was the bag of gold! Prisoners who could pay lived -in quite a different fashion from the impoverished wretches who were -compelled to take what was given them. - -He could not imagine why they had not searched his pockets, but the -ceremony had been omitted. Running his hand beneath the straw, he found -that one of the boards of the floor was loose, leaving a crack that ran -almost the entire length of the wall. He took the guineas from the pouch -one by one, and placed them in the crack. - -When the under-jailer came to the iron grating of his cell the next -morning with a stone jug of water in one hand and a loaf of mouldy bread -in the other, George extended one of the gold pieces. - -"Take this, my man," he said. "You can have more chance to use it than I -just now." The man grasped it in his dirty hand, and transferred it -quickly to his pocket. At the same time he glanced over his shoulder at -the red-coated sentry on the stairway. - -"Well, Mr. High and Mighty," he said, drawing back the loaf, "if this -bread is not good enough for you, you can go hungry then." He turned as -if to walk away, then, walking back, he thrust it through the bars. - -"Let me hear no complaints," he went on in a loud tone of voice. "It is -good enough fare for such as you." - -George could scarcely swallow the rough food. But what was his surprise, -in the course of an hour or two, to see the beetle-browed jailer once -more before his cell. - -"Ho, ho!" he said. "So you have come to your senses. Hand me that stone -jug and hold your jaw." As the man extended his hand, George saw that he -held a large piece of cold meat and a soft warm biscuit. He took it, and -with a parting growl the jailer shuffled away with the empty pitcher. - -It seemed to George that the day would never pass. Strange sounds echoed -through the building--curses and ribald songs, and now and then the -clanking of heavy iron-latched doors. He heard at times the voices of -the guards as they exchanged their posts. The only light that entered -his little cell came through the window, in the corridor. There was no -outlook, and his wounded arm throbbed with pain. Late in the evening the -surgeon came again, and the head jailer accompanied him, carrying in his -hand a tin lantern. The dim light from the perforations danced in a -hundred little spots along the gloomy walls. - -After the surgeon had dressed the wound, which he did in silence, and -the door had clanged again behind him, George heard him speak to the -jailer further down the corridor. - -"Take care of that young man," he said. "He is a prisoner of great -importance. Answer no questions concerning him, but treat him well. It -is necessary that his health should be preserved." - -"I suspected quite as much," replied the head jailer. "I have brains. He -is no common thief. They wish him for something else, hey?" - -"Ay," said the doctor, "that is it. You will find it out in good time, -but now I see that you are in the secret keep it close." - -To his surprise, shortly after dark our prisoner heard a shuffling at -the door of the cell. He had been shivering in the straw in a thin worn -blanket. - -"Who's there?" he said, his teeth rattling, and his eyes straining to -catch a glimpse of what was going on. There was no answer, but as he put -out his hand he touched a bundle. He drew it toward him. It was a heavy -patch-work quilt. He drew it around him, grateful for the warmth, and -thankful in his heart to his unknown benefactor. Immediately he fell -asleep as softly as a child might in its cradle. - -The days passed quickly. At first it seemed as if George would go wild -for the lack of some one to talk to. If it were not for the voices that -he could hear at times, and for a few rays of sunlight that shot down -the corridor, he would have gone mad. But the jailers treated him -kindly; his food was plain, and it was evident that extra attention was -being paid to him. - -When the man who had first taken the gold piece appeared at the end of -the first week, George held another toward him. - -"Get me a book, something to read, for pity's sake," he said. - -The man had taken the gold piece. "Ay, growl," he said. "'Twill do you -lots of good. Where do you suspect you are--at an inn, my friend?" - -He had returned, however, later in the day, and thrust a volume quickly -through the bars. - -Latin and the classics had always appealed strongly to George -Frothingham. In the short term at Mr. Anderson's he had made most -wonderful progress. What, then, was his delight to see that the -well-thumbed, dogeared book was a Virgil! Now how he treasured those few -hours of daylight when he could read! - -But imagine his astonishment when he found thrust well forward through -the iron bars one morning a heavy King James Bible. As he opened it his -fingers came across something hard in the back of the binding. He pulled -it out--two thin files wrapped about with a bit of paper! On the latter -were the familiar characters of the cipher. He had scarcely made this -discovery when down the corridor he heard approaching many steps. He -thrust the good book and its contents underneath the straw, and looking -up, his heart almost failed him, for he caught a glimpse of red coats -and gold lace. - -"Who is this distinguished personage?" said a strange voice, ironically. -It was one of the officers speaking. - -"An important prisoner," returned the jailer. - -George could see that the whole group had paused before the door. To his -astonishment, he saw among them the face of Schoolmaster Anderson. He -noticed that the latter plucked the jailer by the sleeve. - -"He is here for some good cause. I know not what," the latter continued, -hurriedly. "'Twill be divulged later, I suppose." - -Two or three of the officers had glanced searchingly into the little -den. One noticed the Virgil on the floor. - -"Ah, he has some learning, I perceive," said one. - -When they had gone, to his chagrin our hero found that the light was too -dim to read the cipher message. He must wait until noon of the next day, -when the sun would beat through the window around the corner of his -cell. - - * * * * * - -On the day this visit of inspection had been made to the sugar-house -prison his Majesty's frigate _Minerva_ was bowling along merrily off the -southern shore of Long Island. Again a group of officers were on her -quarter-deck. A short man in a cocked hat swept the horizon to the -northward with his glass. - -"Ah, there it lies!" he said--"there's the new country which, we hope, -will soon be flying our flag throughout its length and breadth." - -It was a brilliant cloudless morning. Some near-shore gulls hovered -overhead or dashed down in the frigate's wake. - -Lieutenant William Frothingham felt the invigorating land breeze on his -cheeks. He could make out now with the naked eye the low-lying hills. -Home again. It was his country and the King's that lay off there, and -somewhere, his brother, whom he loved more than any one else on earth, -was wearing the uniform of the forces that he soon would be opposed to, -maybe in battle. Little did he know that George's horizon was confined -by four black walls. - -The _Minerva_, with a bone in her teeth and the wind just right to bring -her in, swept past Sandy Hook at last, and blossoming out into some of -her lighter canvas, she reached the quieter waters of the bay. Soon were -brought to view the forests of masts and the great dark hulls of the -fleet that had preceded her. Signals sprang out, and the flags rattled -stiffly in the wind. As she passed the _Roebuck_ a sheet of flame and -white smoke burst from her side, and every frigate followed suit and -welcomed her with a roaring salvo. She swept up the river, the bulwarks -lined with the curious faces of the soldiery gazing at the crowded -wharfs. At last anchor was dropped in the currents of the broad North -River. - -Early the next morning boats were manned, and the troops were -disembarked. A huge band was there to meet them, and the new arrivals -swept into Broadway between the lines of cheering soldiers and citizens. -If disloyalty to the King was here it did not show. - -The blood surged through William's veins as he walked at the head of his -stalwart company and acknowledged the salute of a group of officers -standing at the street corner. To his wonder as he went by a row of low -brick houses he heard a voice call his name: "Mr. Frothingham! Is it -you? Is it you? Is that the uniform?" he heard distinctly. He turned, -but could see no one whom he recognized; it had seemed to him that it -was a woman's voice, however. There was an odd figure standing there, a -washer-woman, evidently; she had dropped a basket which she had been -holding, and the ground at her feet was covered with frilled shirts. The -crowd about her laughed. Her lips were moving, but the cheer that broke -out drowned what she was saying. As the company halted, a figure came -out into the street. - -"Ah, Lieutenant Frothingham!" said a voice that made William start. "We -have you here in the King's livery, I see." - -William turned. It was a small man, very gorgeous in a red waistcoat and -a heavy fur-lined coat. - -"Pardon me for introducing myself. Your brother George was a pupil of -mine. I knew who you were at a glance," he added. "You are alike as two -pinfish." - -"Have you seen aught of my brother?" was William's first exclamation. - -"I think I have heard a rumor somewhere," replied the schoolmaster, with -a frown, though his eyes twinkled in contradiction. "He was with -Washington at Trenton and Princeton. My name is Anderson." - -Of course the news of these two affairs had greeted the _Minerva_ when -she first arrived in port. It had caused a thrill of astonishment. - -"What did I tell you?" had remarked Colonel Forsythe, upon this -occasion. "The only people that can beat Englishmen are Englishmen -themselves--and what else are these Yankees?" - -The regiment took up the march, and William, heading his company, once -more turned into a side street, at the end of which were the new -quarters. The town swarmed with the red-coated soldiery. - -As they had gone down the street, they had passed beneath the shadow of -the sugar-house prison. George, from within, heard the loud rolling of -the royal drums, and raised himself on his elbow to listen. - -[TO BE CONTINUED.] - - - - -KIZNER'S PET SHEEP. - -BY LEWIS B. MILLER. - - -The wagon was about to start, and Mrs. Adams leaned out to say: "Now, -Billy, stay close around here to-day, you and Dick, and take care of -things, and don't let anybody get into the house. Water the hogs about -twelve." - -"And you'd better cut an armful of corn-tops and give the calves, too," -added Billy's father. - -"Yes, sir, I will," answered Billy, dutifully. - -"Dick, I want you to be a good boy to-day, and not get into any trouble, -whatever you do," cautioned Mrs. Dunlap, Dick's mother. She knew his -proneness to mischief and accidents, and thinking it might be well to -hold out some extra inducements, added, "If you behave yourself right -nicely, maybe I'll buy you something the next time I go to town." - -"Yes'm," was Dick's non-committal response. He had heard that promise a -great many times before. - -The wagon started. Mr. Adams and Mr. Dunlap occupied the spring seat in -front, while their wives sat just behind them in straight-backed chairs. -In the rear end five or six small children were sitting on straw on the -bottom of the wagon-bed. - -"Billy," called back Mrs. Adams, "you'll find some fried chicken for -your dinner in the stove oven, and a pie in the safe, and some--" The -rest was lost in the jolting of the wagon. That was of little -consequence, however, for the two boys had no fears of not being able to -find everything there was on the place to eat when the time came. - -It was a morning in August. The people in the wagon had started to a -camp-meeting a few miles away, and did not expect to return till late at -night. Twelve-year-old Billy had been left at home to look after things, -and Dick had insisted upon staying to keep him company. The two were of -the same age, but Billy was considerably the larger. Billy had on his -every-day clothes, and was bare-footed, while Dick looked rather -uncomfortable in his Sunday suit and shoes and stockings. - -"Guess I'll take these off," he said, seating himself on the doorstep -and beginning to untie his shoes. "There, that feels better," he added, -as he put the superfluous articles in at the door and looked down at his -bare feet. "What are we going to do?" - -"I don't care. Anything you say." - -"Then let's go swimming," suggested Dick. "Too hot to do anything else." - -"Ma told me to stay pretty close about home. Somebody went into Mr. -Lawson's house last week, when there wasn't anybody there, and took a -whole lot of things. Guess she's afraid the same fellow will get into -ours, whoever it was." - -"Can't you lock the house?" - -"Not from the outside. The front door will fasten on the inside, and so -will the windows. But the kitchen door won't fasten at all. The lock is -off." - -After going through the house to see what could be done, Billy said: -"I'll tell you what we'll do. We'll fasten everything but the kitchen -door, and then bring old Ring down and tie him close to that. He won't -let anybody get in." - -Dick endorsed this plan, and they proceeded to carry it out. A stake was -driven into the ground, and the dog's chain was fastened to it. Ring was -part bull-dog, and rather too fond of using his teeth on strangers to be -permitted to run at large. - -"You'll keep 'em away, won't you, Ring?" said Billy, patting the dog's -head. Then he brought a pan of water and placed it in Ring's reach, and -they were ready to start. - -Passing out through the gate, which they closed, but carelessly -neglected to fasten, they crossed the prairie ridge that lay north of -the house, and walked on slowly toward the swimming-place. The creek was -more than a mile away. After reaching it, they amused themselves for an -hour or two, then put on their clothes and started back. - -Before coming in sight of the house they heard Ring barking furiously. -Both started on a run to see what was the matter. - -As soon as they came to where they could look over the ridge, Billy -burst out laughing. - -"It's Kizner's pet sheep. He's got into the yard, and Ring's barking at -'im. Just watch the old ram, will you, making out like he's going to -butt Ring! He knows Ring's tied or he wouldn't be so bold. Just see Ring -rear and charge! Wouldn't he like to get to 'im once?" - -"Is it old Aleck?" asked Dick. "If it is, he's not afraid of any dog. -Tommy Hendricks says he gets after their dog sometimes, and runs 'im -back into the yard. He butts like everything, that old sheep does. -Tommy's half scared to death of 'im." - -"Huh!" exclaimed Billy, contemptuously. "Tommy may be, but I'm not. If -he fools with me I'll give 'im rocks, and turn old Ring loose on 'im to -boot. I'd just like to see 'im run _him_!" - -"Better go slow," cautioned Dick. "You don't know that old ram. The -Kizner boys taught 'im to butt when he was a little bit of a thing, and -he's been getting worse and worse ever since. Why, my pa was going along -over on the branch last spring, and found Aleck sticking in a mud-hole. -So he up and helped 'im out, and was going ahead, when, zip! something -took 'im behind. It was Aleck butting 'im. That's the kind of a sheep -old Aleck is. And the old fellow was so poor then he could hardly walk. -He's big and fat now, I guess." - -Billy laughed heartily. "What did your pa do?" he asked. - -"Why, he caught 'im and pitched 'im back into the mud-hole; but I guess -he got out somehow." - -"Well, I'm not afraid of 'im," declared Billy, and he began to fill his -pockets with stones of a size suitable for throwing. - -Taking courage from Billy, Dick did the same. Then they hurried in at -the gate, and ran round to the back of the house, where the sheep and -the dog were tantalizing each other. - -Aleck was a vicious-looking old ram, large and strong, with curled -horns, and a head made on purpose for butting. Perhaps he had received -his name because of his fighting powers. At any rate, it suited him very -well. - -Both Ring and the sheep were out of temper. Ring was growling and -barking and tugging at his chain, doing his best to get loose. Aleck -charged toward him occasionally, and did not seem to be in the least -afraid. - -"Get out of here!" shouted Billy, as he rushed round the house and threw -a stone at the ram, missing him. - -Dick threw one also, with better aim, for it struck the ram on the side. -Aleck promptly turned his attention to the new-comers. He was in just -the right mood to deal with them. - -What took place during the next few minutes the two boys had only a -confused recollection of afterwards. Each was conscious of being knocked -sprawling, and of trying to rise, and being knocked down again. Every -time one of them started to get on his feet he was sent rolling over the -hard ground. How the ram managed to move fast enough to keep both of -them down they were too much excited to observe; but he did it easily, -and would probably have kept a third boy down at the same time if there -had been three. - -At last, after being knocked and rolled some distance, they were near -the stake-and-ridered fence which enclosed the large yard. Dick made a -rush on his hands and knees, and succeeded in climbing the fence far -enough to tumble through between the fence and the rider. Once on the -other side, he was safe enough. - -Billy was not so fortunate. He saw a large opening between the rails -near the ground, and tried to crawl through it, but it proved to be too -small for a boy of his size, and he stuck fast. He called loudly for -help, and Dick promptly seized him by the arm and tried to pull him out -of the crack. - -[Illustration: BILLY COMES THROUGH THE FENCE, ASSISTED BY DICK AND THE -RAM.] - -Whether their efforts alone would have been successful is uncertain; but -the sheep was rendering material assistance on the other side. By the -united effect of Dick's pulling and Aleck's vigorous pushes, Billy was -at last rescued from his exciting position. - -With the exception of a few bruises, neither of the boys was hurt, but -the appearance of both indicated the rough treatment they had received. -Dick's Sunday clothes looked even worse than Billy's every-day ones. -Their hats had been left on the other side of the fence. - -They looked at each other ruefully for a few moments; then both began to -laugh. - -"My! didn't he knock us while he was about it?" said Billy. "It just -made my head swim, the way he kept us tumbling and rolling." - -"Mine too. And he did it so quick. He didn't give a fellow time to say -scat before he was right on 'im." - -The boys walked round the yard fence, throwing stones at the ram and -trying to drive him out. Aleck, however, showed no inclination to go. He -stalked back and forth across the yard, perhaps longing for more boys to -conquer. But the two who had just escaped him had no intention of -getting in his reach again. - -What to do they did not know. The sheep was between them and the only -unlocked entrance to the house. - -"If old Ring was just loose once, he'd soon fix 'im," declared Billy, -who believed that Ring could whip anything but an elephant. - -"Couldn't you slip around the house and get to Ring before Aleck saw -you?" - -"Don't believe I want to try it," answered Billy, as he rubbed one -bruised knee. He had a great deal of respect for Aleck by this time. -"You can if you want to." - -Dick didn't want to. "Well, what _are_ we going to do?" he asked, -feeling that Billy, being at home, should find some way out of the -difficulty. - -"I don't know," replied Billy, scratching his head, "unless we just sit -down and wait till the old sheep gets ready to leave." - -Dick's face fell. He was thinking of the pie and fried chicken which -Billy's mother had spoken of as the wagon drove off. "Must be nearly two -o'clock," he remarked, glancing up at the sun. - -"Yes, I guess it is. I'm feeling mighty hungry. How are you?" - -"I'm half starved," answered Dick, emphatically, very glad of an -opportunity to mention the matter, which, being company, he had not felt -at liberty to speak of before. "I do wish we could get in somehow or -other. If we only just hadn't left the gate open!" - -They walked round to get in the shade of the smoke-house, for the sun -shone hot on their bare heads. Aleck kept watching them, as if he -expected they would come into the yard again. - -For an hour or more they stood by the smoke-house, discussing various -plans of getting the dog loose. All their hopes centred in Ring. It was -easy to suggest ways of reaching him, but they all required -courage--more courage than either of the boys possessed so soon after -their disastrous encounter with Aleck. - -Finally Billy suggested a plan that was wholly original. The -smoke-house, which was of logs, stood at the back end of the yard, the -rear of it forming a part of the yard fence. The ground sloped -considerably from the smoke-house to the kitchen door. - -"We can climb in at the gable end of the smoke-house," Billy explained, -"and take one of the empty barrels there and put it out at the door; and -one of us can get in it and roll right down to the kitchen. Then there -won't be anything to do but just turn Ring loose and watch the wool -fly." - -Dick was enthusiastic over this plan as soon as he heard it. He was sure -that it would succeed. - -Climbing through an opening in the gable, they were soon in the -smoke-house. There were three or four empty flour-barrels against the -wall, each having an end out. One of these they moved to the door, and -were on the point of opening the door to put it outside. - -"How are you going to get in, Billy--head first or feet first?" - -"I expect, maybe, you'd better roll, Dick. You're smaller than I am, and -you can get in the barrel further." - -Dick's enthusiasm died out very suddenly at this suggestion, and he -looked discouraged. He had taken it for granted that Billy would be the -one to get into the barrel. - -"Oh, you can crawl in easy, Billy! There's just lots of room in there -for you." - -"But I can start the barrel to rolling better than you can," insisted -Billy. - -Perhaps Dick would have consented to go, but just then the sheep, -hearing voices in the smoke-house, came nearer to investigate, and -Dick's courage failed. - -There was another long discussion between the two boys, each urging the -other to get into the barrel. Finally Billy took out his "Barlow" -pocket-knife. It had but one blade, and had cost ten cents. - -"I'll give you that if you'll roll," he proposed. - -Dick had no knife, and looked longingly at the offered reward. Then he -looked out through a crack at Aleck, and shook his head. - -Billy put his hand in his other pocket and took out some marbles. "Then -I'll give you them," he said, spreading them out temptingly on his hand. - -"Will you give me them and the knife too?" - -"Not much, I won't," Billy answered, emphatically. "I wouldn't give you -both if you rolled all the way to Granbury." Granbury was the nearest -town. - -Again they discussed the matter for several minutes. Aleck was nibbling -at some tufts of grass. The boys were growing hungrier, and now and then -glanced up longingly at some middlings of bacon hanging over their -heads. - -"I don't care," said Billy at length, being rendered desperate by -hunger. "You can have the marbles and knife too. Let's open the door -enough to put the barrel out." - -Dick did not seem to be at all elated over having his offer accepted. "I -don't know about it," he said, hesitatingly. "Don't believe I want to." - -"But you said you would," urged Billy. "If you don't, that'll be backing -out." - -"Aleck might butt the barrel with me in it," objected Dick. - -"Who ever heard of a sheep butting a barrel? And what if he does? He -can't hurt you and you inside of it." - -"I'll tell you what I'll do. If you'll give me the knife and marbles, -and that long lead-pencil of yours to boot, then I'll get in the barrel -and roll." - -"No, sirree!" declared Billy, indignant at Dick's cupidity. "You don't -get any lead-pencil from me. I'll stay here a year first. Why, I -wouldn't give you that pencil and all the other things besides if you -rolled all the way to Missouri." Billy's parents had removed from -Missouri to Texas when he was small, and Missouri was farther than any -other place he knew of. - -They remained silent a short while, hunger all the time gnawing at their -vitals. It seemed several days since they had eaten anything. At last -Billy could stand it no longer. "I don't care. Go ahead, and I'll throw -the pencil in. Now don't back out this time, or I won't have anything to -do with you any more." - -Dick was so pressed by hunger that he had been on the point of accepting -the knife and marbles, so he was glad to take advantage of the more -liberal offer. - -The door of the smoke-house was opened cautiously and the barrel put -out, the open end near the door. Then Dick hastily crawled into it, head -first. Billy leaned out of the door and turned the barrel so that it -would roll toward Ring. Aleck had learned that something was going on, -and was coming to find out if he could take any part in it. - -"Here you go!" shouted Billy, giving the barrel a vigorous push, and -then shutting the door to keep Aleck out. - -[Illustration: DICK'S TRAVELS ASSISTED BY ALECK.] - -The sheep, however, was giving his attention to the barrel. He evidently -suspected a trick, and he also saw Dick's feet, which persisted in -sticking out at the open end, for the barrel was a small one. He rushed -toward it, striking it with his head so as to cause it to move faster, -but in a different direction. When at last it came to a standstill, it -was against the fence at one side of the yard, at about the point where -the boys had escaped from the sheep. - -Dick was pretty badly scared, knowing that something had happened. But -when he felt the barrel stop, he started to crawl out backward. - -"Stay in! stay in!" shouted Billy, frantically. "Aleck's right there! -You're not close to Ring at all!" - -"Get 'im away, Billy!" entreated Dick, from the depths of the barrel. -"Get him away somehow!" - -"I can't!" answered Billy, helplessly. - -"Get out and let him run after you!" - -Billy opened the smoke-house door and ventured a few feet from it. Aleck -did not see him, and he advanced a few feet farther. Then an idea -occurred to him, and he did what he might have done sooner if he had not -been afraid--made a dash toward Ring. The dog's collar was quickly -unbuckled. - -"Sick 'im, Ring!" shouted Billy; but Ring needed no encouragement. His -only wish for the last two or three hours had been to get to the sheep. - -A few moments later, Aleck, after a fierce but brief struggle, was lying -on the ground bleating for mercy, while the dog held him by the throat. -But for the boys, Ring would soon have finished him. They forced the dog -to release his hold, not because they felt any kindness for Aleck, but -because they were afraid their fathers would have to pay for him if he -should be killed. As soon as the ram was released he sprang up, rushed -round the house, out at the gate, and down the road as fast as his legs -could carry him, and was never seen there again. - -"Don't you think you ought to give back the knife and marbles and -pencil?" asked Billy, after they had watched Aleck till he disappeared, -"You didn't turn Ring loose like you were to." - -"No, I won't," declared Dick. "I did my part. I rolled. I couldn't help -where the barrel went to." - -"Oh, all right," said Billy, in indifferent tones; but he looked -disappointed. - -"I'll tell you what I'll do, Billy," said Dick, relenting a little as he -followed Billy into the kitchen. "I'll keep the knife, and give you back -the marbles and pencil. Isn't that fair!" - -"Why, yes, that's fair enough, Dick," answered Billy, looking pleased. -"And let's give Ring some fried chicken and a little piece of pie for -his dinner. He helped us. If it hadn't been for him, no telling how long -that old sheep would have kept us out." - -"All right!" was the enthusiastic response; and they began to make hasty -preparations for the long-delayed meal. - - - - -"STRAW-FIDDLERS." - - -On a certain cold morning in the October of 1824 a young man, scarcely -eighteen years old, but with a thin face full of premature intelligence -and a poetic sort of beauty, was hurrying through the street of Sklow, -in Poland, his cloak wrapped closely about his slender figure, his head -thrown back, the felt hat not concealing his eager anxious dark eyes, -which, roving here and there, were in reality absent in their expression -as young Gusikow reflected on a verdict just passed on him by a -prominent physician. - -For some weeks he had been suffering from pains in his chest, increased -whenever he played his beloved flute, and that day J----, the doctor, -had declared that the musician must at once give up his work. - -Gusikow, boy that he was, had a young wife awaiting his return in a -little house, which he entered with a sad enough expression, for what -would they have to depend upon if he was forced to abandon his -performances in the theatre, his lessons, his concert tours? - -I fancy Michael and Marie Gusikow, poor children, were miserable enough -that morning. But genius, especially when it is musical, will not be -subdued, and in his wretchedness the lad searched the garret for an old -"strohfiedel" he had cast aside long ago as an instrument too -insignificant to be of any value. I cannot tell you precisely the origin -of the strohfiedel, which was made of strips of fir on a straw -frame-work, but it belongs to a most interesting "family" of -instruments, the present generation being the wooden and glass -xylophones, which we hear nowadays in every orchestra, while one of its -prominent traditions is the unexpected producing of musical sounds on -glasses partially filled with water, and which has suggested to -innumerable boys and girls, I am sure, experiments, from the trial on a -finger-bowl to a whole row of glasses on a smooth piece of board. In the -quaint old town of Nuremberg some instruments are preserved, known now -as harmonicas, which were played with the moistened finger; but I think -the instrument best known is that which the composer Gluck is said to -have invented, and which, by the name of the "musical glasses," was all -the rage in England in 1746. Gluck arranged twenty-six glasses -irregularly filled with clear spring water, and upon these he played a -variety of music with his fingers slightly moistened. In the _Vicar of -Wakefield_ the fashionable London ladies are described as able to "talk -of nothing but high life ... pictures, taste, Shakespeare, and the -_musical glasses_," while Horace Walpole, writing the same year, 1746, -to his friend Mann, refers to Gluck's performance, but says he thinks he -has heard of something of the same kind before. But it was to our own -Benjamin Franklin that the improved or perfected harmonica is due. He -was in London eleven years after Gluck's visit, and found a Mr. -Puckeridge performing on these musical glasses, very well, it is true, -but Franklin at once said that something better could be done. - -Accordingly he put his scientific wits to work, and the result was an -instrument he called the armonica, to which an "h" was added, as being -more appropriate, and on this many celebrated musicians performed. It -consisted of basins of glass strung on an iron spindle, the lower edge -dipped into a trough of water. As an improvement on Gluck's method, -Franklin regulated the pitch of the tone by the size of the glasses, not -the amount of water in or under them. Mozart and many other well-known -composers did not disdain to write for the harmonica, and in 1788 a -"Method" for students was compiled. The very simplicity, however, of the -instrument made it easy of imitation and improvement. Wood and glass -with straw were combined under various names. In the beginning of this -century Ernst Chladni, who is called the father of modern acoustics, -devised an instrument of glass cylinders, wood, etc., which he called -the euphon, from which he evolved another, remarkable chiefly for its -power of increased and diminished sound, which he named a -clavi-cylinder. Dr. Chladni travelled about Europe with this instrument, -giving lectures on acoustics, which started much of the research we -benefit by to-day; but unfortunately for certain important work he had -on hand, Dr. Chladni died suddenly in 1827. - -To return to Gusikow and his little wife, we can fancy the young people -on that chill October day accepting the dismal fact that the young -artist must lay aside his flute, yet realizing that only by means of -music could he earn a living. He took the strohfiedel to pieces, worked -over it, practised on it, and at last devised certain valuable -improvements; indeed, so far expanding and increasing its power and -musical importance that he was talked of by some almost as though he had -invented it, and presently he was known as a straw-fiddler of wonderful -ability, while his playing revived interest in all the old dulcimers and -psalteries, which the straw-fiddle closely resembles. - -Gusikow continued to work over his strohfiedel, to improve it, and from -his suggestions we have a variety of the wooden, glass, and straw -instruments heard on all sides to-day. To what perfection he might have -brought his crude materials I can scarcely say, for he was busy with new -designs when, in 1837, he fell ill with his old foe, pulmonary trouble, -and died at Aix-la-Chapelle, in October of that year, in the -thirty-first year of his age. - -If boys--and I know more than one of them--have contrived to make a -violin out of an old cigar-box and some rough materials, surely they -might do something with the ideas suggested by strohfiedels, and their -family connections in wood, glass, and chamois-leather hammers. - - - - -[Illustration: From Chum to Chum.] - -BY GASTON V. DRAKE. - -I. - -FROM BOB TO JACK. - - - NEW YORK, _June_ 4, 1895. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -DEAR JACK,--I don't think they's going to be much chance for us to see -each other this summer, for where do you suppose we're going to go to? -You'd never guess. _Hoboken_! It's a queer place for a summer resort, -and Pop says there ain't much to do there, only, he says, getting -there's going to be fun. He says about the only thing people do in -Hoboken is to leave it in the morning and go back to it that night, -which I can't say strikes me as quite so much fun as being off there in -the White Mountains, with you getting scared at 'maginary bears, playing -wild Indian, fishing, rowing, playing tricks on bell-boys, and all that. -It may be just as Pop says, that living in Hoboken and going to business -in New York is a great thing for a man, because it makes going to -business a pleasure, but for a boy I don't see what good it is. Even if -it's true that Hoboken people don't need yachts, because they've always -got the ferry-boats handy for sailing, I can't get excited over the idea -of going there. There ain't any fishing, and as for hunting, Pop says -there's nothing wild there except Trolly Cars, and I never could see -what fun there was in hunting trolly cars. They arrest you for even -throwing stones at 'em in Brooklyn--I know that because I read it in a -newspaper. There was a boy who lived in a crowded part of Brooklyn where -there never was any birds and precious few dogs, and as he was the kind -of boy that had to throw stones at something, he flung a few at the -trolly cars, and a policeman caught him and took him to court, and the -judge made his father pay ten dollars to get him set free again, and, of -course, when he got him free again and took him home, you and I know -what the boy got, which I don't think isn't fun. I haven't got any use -for throwing stones at birds or dogs or trolly cars, but, as far as I -can find out, Hoboken's very much like Brooklyn in not having anything -else to hunt, even in fun. It hasn't got any woods for Indians to hide -in, and not a cave anywhere around. - -[Illustration] - -You can't go off and have a real picnic anywhere. Pop says there 'ain't -ever been more'n eight blades of grass in the whole place, and five of -those was ate up six years ago by a donkey that was so hungry he didn't -know any better, and he isn't sure but what one of the other three was -killed by the intense cold of last winter. That, of course, spoils all -chances for picnics. Even if all the grass was left, you couldn't have -much of a picnic on eight blades, anyhow, and besides, they didn't all -grow in the same place. It must be a queer old spot, that Hoboken, and I -can't say I see how Pop ever made up his mind to go there. He says he -can't help going there, but seems to me that must be a mistake, because -a man as old as he is can generally manage to do about what he pleases. - -If it wasn't that we were going the long way, I kind of think I'd ask -Pop to leave me home, and ask your Pop if he wouldn't take care of me -this summer. You know what I mean about the long way, I suppose? You -Boston boys generally do know all about everything; but in case you -don't, I'll tell you that there's two ways of getting there. One way -takes about ten minutes, and the other way takes three months. We're -going the three-months way. You get on a ferry-boat to go the short way, -but it takes an ocean steamer about two blocks long and a fog-horn on it -to take you the long way. We're to get aboard of the steamer _New York_, -go across to a place called Southhampton, where we take the cars for -London. You've heard about London, I guess. Pop says it's the Boston of -Europe, and the people there speak the same language; and I guess he is -right, because he knows a man that's been there, and saw the Queen. -After that we're going over to Paris, where Napolean Bonaparte lived, -and Pop says he'll show me lots of fine things there, and maybe, if he's -got time, will teach me how to speak French; and when I come back I'll -teach you how to speak it; and then if we ever have any secrets, we can -talk 'em right out loud before the girls, and they'll never know what -we're talking about. - -[Illustration] - -The next station we stop at will be Geneva. That's in Switzerland, and -it's where they make watches. And while we're in Switzerland Pop's going -to show me every Alp he can find, and he says if I behave myself he'll -get me some snow and let me make a snowball in midsummer. Just think of -that! Snowballs in winter is fun, but in July! My! Eh? I'm going to try -to get him to let me have a sled, and go coasting down one of the -glaziers, and if he does I'll tell you all about it; and maybe we'll get -some skates and skate up Mount Blank on 'em. Talk about your views! -Mount Blank is more'n twice as high as Mount Washington, and snow and -ice most all the way. Just think of the bully slide it'll be coming -down! - -[Illustration] - -Then we're going to go over the Alps in a train that runs through -tunnels that jirates like a corkscrew. You go in at the foot of the -hill, and sort of meander around inside the mountain until you come out -on top, and when you get over finally you're in Italy. There we're going -over a few lakes and end up at Milan, after which we're going to Venice. -That'll be fine. Venice is built right out in the ocean, and if you're -in a hurry to get across the street you've got to row over or swim. My -bathing-suit'll come in handy there. - -After Venice we're going to Genoa, where Christopher Columbus was born, -and from there we go by another steamer through the Mediterranean sea, -which Uncle Joe says is made of blewing, to Gibraltar; on from there to -those Azores Islands, where the stamps you swapped for my paper pencil -came from, and that's the last stop till we get to Hoboken. - -I thought I'd write and let you know about this so you'd know why I -didn't turn up at the White Mountains. I'll miss you like everything, -but I'll miss you less if you'll write to me once a week and tell me all -that's going on. I'll write to you, and maybe, after all, we'll get some -fun out of it. If Sandboys is at the hotel this summer with any of his -stories about bears and things, please let me know all he tells you, and -whenever I see anything exciting I'll tell you. - -Good-by for the present. - - Affectionately yours, BOB. - - - - -[Illustration: INTERSCHOLASTIC SPORTS] - - -To become a successful broad-jumper the athlete must, to a certain -extent, combine the skill of the sprinter, the high-jumper, and the -hurdler, for the event now under discussion is a sort of combination of -the other three. Like every other athletic feat, this one requires -systematic work both of the body and the head, and persistent, -continuous effort before any kind of form can be developed. - -THE RUNNING BROAD JUMP. - -From instantaneous photographs taken of Robert F. Lyons. - -[Illustration: 1.] - -[Illustration: 2.] - -[Illustration: 3.] - -[Illustration: 4.] - -[Illustration: 5.] - -[Illustration: 6.] - -The first difficulty for the novice to overcome is the laying out of his -run and the arrangement of his take-off. These details are both of the -highest importance, for although he may be a good sprinter and a good -jumper, these two qualities are nullified if the take-off is uncertain. -The run differs with almost every individual, each athlete must -determine this for himself by experiment. It is necessary to lay out two -marks on the cinder track; the first one must be a given number of -strides this side of the take-off, and the second at a distance further -back, to suit the taste of the jumper. Bloss, for instance, counts back -nine strides from the take-off to his first mark, and then goes back a -dozen strides further. Lyons, whose jump is illustrated by the pictures -above, goes back only eight strides from the take-off for his first -mark, and about a hundred and five feet to the start of his run. Let us -call, for convenience, the mark nearest the take-off the first mark, and -the other the second mark. These have been laid out so that the jumper -may feel certain that if his jumping foot, whether it be the right or -the left, strikes fairly upon the first it will also come squarely upon -the take-off, and the jump will be a good one. - -It sometimes happens in contests that the conditions of the wind or of -the track will be such that these marks will have to be slightly -altered; and every athlete should be careful to examine the runway -before his event is called, so as to be able to fix the points that he -must depend upon for his success. - -The position for the start of the broad jump is the same as that which -used to be taken by sprinters a few years ago, before the present -leaning-over method was adopted, and is illustrated by the first -picture. The jumping foot, in this case the right foot, is on the -starting mark, with the other slightly in advance. The sprinter starts -down the track, measuring his strides carefully so as to come properly -upon the first mark, and then he sprints at his greatest speed down the -track to the take-off. If he has measured his distances correctly, he -will land, as is shown in No. 3, with his jumping foot squarely upon the -take-off. If he feels that he has gotten out of his stride, it is better -not to make the jump at all, but to stop, for over-stepping the mark by -a few inches will ruin the jump, and under-reaching the mark will -detract just that much from the measure of his effort. - -The act of the jump itself is where the greatest effort of muscle and -nerve is required. Just before coming to the take-off, say at the last -step, the athlete should gather himself together and crouch as low as -his great speed will permit, and bring his jumping foot down as hard as -possible upon the take-off, at the same time throwing his hands forward -and upward. Bringing down the foot with such power serves to throw the -body into the air, and this movement is aided by the lifting of the -arms. The hardest strain comes on the back muscles, just as in -high-jumping. The eyes should be fixed on some distant high point rather -than on the ground where the jump will probably end. This seems to give -a better "aim," and in many cases adds an inch or so to the distance. -The fourth picture shows the jumper just after he has left the take-off. -The next sees him well on his way, with his legs curled up close under -the chin, and his arms reaching out far forward, so as to throw the -balance as much as possible in that direction. - -As he comes down the jumper should hold his feet as far forward as he -can, in order to gain every inch that is to be had, and he should also -keep his head and arms forward, so as not to lose his equilibrium and -fall backward, thus making his jump void. The last picture shows the -correct attitude for the end of the flight through the air, the feet -being well ahead of the trunk, but the arms and the head held so far -forward that they will bring the body along, too, as soon as the feet -dig into the soft earth below. The feet should be kept well together on -landing in the jumping-box, and a good broad-jumper will never allow -himself to fall forward on his hands, but will always resume his erect -position, and walk out of the soft earth, instead of rolling out. - -Training for broad-jumping consists mostly of hard practice in sprinting -short distances--say, from seventy-five to a hundred yards. This is to -acquire the highest speed for the runway. High-jumping should also be -practised, but the athlete should not attempt to become proficient in -the number of inches he can clear, but rather in the form with which he -covers a reasonable height. A spin now and then over the hurdles will -also do a great deal toward improving a broad-jumper's form. After the -athlete has become more or less a master of his event, he will find that -half a dozen jumps, two or three times a week, will be enough to keep -him in practice, and I should advise him by all means to rest for three -or four days before going into a contest. When the time for jumping at a -field-meeting arrives, never try to do the best work on the first jump. -Be satisfied to make your marks well and to catch the take-off squarely. -Do your very best on the second jump. Before making the first try, -however, take a spin around the track, and make one or two small short -jumps on the grass, so as to be thoroughly limbered up; otherwise, if -you have not softened your muscles, you might injure yourself on your -first attempt, and be laid up, as a result, for weeks. - -The scheme for holding a large in-door interscholastic track-athletic -meeting, which has been under discussion for some weeks past by the -directors of the New Manhattan Athletic Club, has finally taken definite -shape, and the games are to be given in the Madison Square Garden on the -evening of March 28th. The New Manhattan Athletic Club, as is well -known, has recently come under a new management, and I have been led to -believe that, in the future, the much-tarnished cherry diamond will be -polished up and made to stand for purity in amateur sport, as -prominently as it was once degraded into representing exactly the other -extreme. There is every reason to believe that such will be the case, if -we may judge by the characters of the men at present in control. - -These moving spirits have very wisely decided that the best way to -achieve prominence in the field of amateur sport is not to gather in the -reigning lights of the present, but to educate and bring forward their -own men. It may take a number of years to do this, but once it is -accomplished success will have been worthy of the effort. The plan is to -recruit membership from the young athletes of to-day, who are to become -the ruling athletes of the future. With this object in view the new club -will take the greatest interest in all school sports, and will strive to -assist school athletes in every possible way. The first step will be -this large in-door meeting, open to all the schools of the country. - -The meeting will be held for the benefit of the schools, not for the -glorification of the club, and although the latter is to take entire -charge of the business end of the enterprise, the schools are to control -the rest. The plans, as yet, are not wholly completed, but doubtless -they will be in a few days. - -What is determined thus far, however, is that the meeting will be held -at the Madison Square Garden on March 28th, beginning at eight o'clock -in the evening. The events will be 75-yard dash, 220-yard dash, 440-yard -run, 880-yard run, 1-mile run, 1-mile walk, 75 yards over the low -hurdles, running high jump, putting the 12-pound shot, pole vault, and a -relay race. There will probably also be a relay race for college teams. - -The entrance fee for each event will be fifty cents, and the entries -will close on March 21st. The events will be open to the school-boy -athletes of the United States, the eligibility of contestants to be -governed by the rules of the N.Y.I.S.A.A. (Here is the first occasion -where the importance of a National Association is made evident. If the -constitution of the N.I.S.A.A.A. were only completed now so as to cover -in-door as well as out-door contests, the rules of the general body -would have been adopted for the N.M.A.C. games!) The New York -association has been amending its laws within the past few weeks, and it -is too late at the present writing for me to make sure that the -eligibility rules have not been changed with the others. For the -benefit, however, of members of other associations who will enter these -games in March, this Department will publish next week the regulations -that are to govern the entries. - -It is the plan at present to invite teams and individuals from every -school near enough to this city to send delegates. It is expected that -the Boston and Philadelphia schools will send large delegations, for -this is practically the first in-door meeting, open to all schools, that -has ever been held on such a scale. The relay races will no doubt prove -exciting, and it will be interesting to compare the work done by the -school and college teams. - -The feature of this scheme which should particularly appeal to those of -us who are clamoring for a diminution of the evils of athletics is that -the entire business management of the affair is taken completely out of -the hands of the students. If this might only always be so! - -Of minor in-door games there will be plenty in the next six weeks. The -Barnard games are to be held next Saturday, the 8th, in the Eighth -Regiment Armory, and promise to be well attended. Moore and Washburn -ought to be heard from in the runs, and the latter has also been doing -some good work over the hurdles. Wilson, who surprised the know-alls in -the junior events last spring, is another Barnard man that will be well -up in the front, although Leech of Cutler's will make him do his best. -Freshman relay teams have been invited to compete from the neighboring -colleges, and a number of acceptances have already been received. - -Relay races are about the most interesting contests to put on an in-door -programme, and I am glad to see that the event is coming into such wide -popularity. There is a greater element of interest in such a race -because it involves team-work, and team-work is always more attractive -than individual work. And then again, where a solid body of supporters -are encouraging one team, while similar crowds are urging on another, -the enthusiasm and rivalry reach a far more inspiriting level than in -any other case. - -These races also afford an opportunity for smaller schools, that have -not any particularly able athletes, to send representatives in the form -of a relay team, and such a team from a small school, if well trained, -stands as good a chance of success as the runners from any larger -institution, because success depends upon team-work. If relay races -become fixed events on the in-door card, it is probable that the country -schools--such as Lawrenceville, the Hill, and others--will eventually -regularly enter a team at one or more of the winter meetings here. I -think it very probable, from information already at hand, they will send -teams to the new Manhattan Athletic Club meeting in March. - -A number of school papers, in referring editorially to the National -Interscholastic A. A. A., speak of it as the "International" -Association. Now there is nothing international about the new -organization, and many persons are liable to be led into a misconception -of the Association's objects if this term is continually mis-applied to -it. The N. I. S. A. A. A. is a purely American affair, and has been -organized for the purpose of encouraging and promoting amateur sport in -the schools of this country alone. That, as we all know, is a big enough -undertaking in itself. The other nations will have to take care of -themselves! - -That the National Association is to be a power for good, there can be -little doubt. Its rules will be of the most stringent kind, and the fact -that the majority of interscholastic leagues now in existence are -hastening to join the larger body shows pretty conclusively that they -appreciate the value of a strong governing head. Another result of the -new venture is the organization of additional school leagues. I spoke -last week of the coalition newly made by Lawrenceville, the Hill School, -and Hotchkiss Academy. A call has now been issued for a convention of -the New Jersey schools, for the purpose of forming an association in -that section. The convention is to be held at the High-School, West -Fifth Street, Plainfield, New Jersey, February 8th, at 10 o'clock in the -morning. - - THE GRADUATE. - - - - -[Illustration: STAMPS] - - This Department is conducted in the interest of stamp and coin - collectors, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question - on these subjects so far as possible. Correspondents should address - Editor Stamp Department. - - -An accumulation of answers to correspondents makes it impossible to -illustrate the remainder of the rare Confederate Locals in this issue. I -shall try to finish the list next week. Meanwhile, I advise all readers -of the ROUND TABLE in the Southern States to look over any -correspondence of the year 1861. - -A correspondent sent me some Cape of Good Hope stamps to pass on, all of -which proved to be counterfeits. By mistake these stamps were returned -to another correspondent. Will the receiver kindly return the stamps to -the Editor of this Department, in care of Harper & Brothers? - - H. S. RIEDERER.--All coins made in Philadelphia are without any - special mint mark. Of the other mints the marks on coins are as - follows: O. for New Orleans; D. for Dahlonega; C. for Carolina; - C.C. for Carson City; S. for San Francisco. - - R. W. L.--Dealers ask from $27 to $30 for a complete set of - Columbian stamps unused, and pay from $23 to $26 for the same, if - in good condition, well centred, original gum, etc. - - M. F. EASTON.--The green Centennial envelope is sold for 25c. - - C. R. BRAGDAN.--Many firms in England have all their stamps - perforated with their initials to prevent theft. This perforation - destroys the value of the stamp, whether used or unused, except for - postal service, and identifies the owner of the stamps. Russian - coins are not collected in this country. - - A. CARRIER.--A Columbian dollar stamp with holes punched in the - same has little value. Collectors want whole stamps or none. - - W. P.--The $5 gold coin is a common date. It is worth face only. - - G. M. KELLEY.--See ROUND TABLE of December 17, 1895, for the value - of U.S. cents. - - R. BENNETT.--"The Union" is a token, not a coin. It has no value. - The 3c. U. S. purple stamp, used, is worth 1c. - - H. M. BALDWIN.--U.S. coins so badly worn that the date can not be - read have no premium. - - S. J. DAYTON.--If the 3c. coin is in "mint" condition--that is, - practically just as it came from the mint, not in the least worn, - dealers in coins may pay half the catalogue value. It is not rare - in ordinary good condition. - - H. W. TICKNOR.--See answers to S. J. Dayton and H. S. Riederer. - - E. C. WOOD.--I do not recognize any variety from your description. - Probably you mean the 1890 and 1894 U.S. stamps. The last named are - printed from the 1890 plates, with the addition of a triangle on - the upper left and upper right corners. - - PHILATUS. - - - - -ADVERTISEMENTS. - - - - -[Illustration: Royal Baking Powder] - - - - -Arnold - -Constable & Co - - * * * * * - -Capes, - -Jackets, - -Wraps, - -Costumes. - -_The balance of our Winter Stock at large reduction from original cost. -This is a good opportunity to purchase seasonable and useful garments -for very little money._ - - * * * * * - -Broadway & 19th st. - -NEW YORK. - - - - -_After the beady, sparkling draughty,--who wants the dregs?--The DE LONG -Patent Hook and Eye is the original._ - -_See that_ - -_hump?_ - -[Illustration] - -_Richardson_ - -_& De Long Bros.,_ - -_Philadelphia._ - - - - -CARDS - -FOR 1896. 50 Sample Styles AND LIST OF 400 PREMIUM ARTICLES FREE. -HAVERFIELD PUB. CO., Cadiz, Ohio. - - - - -[Illustration: Thompson's Eye Water] - - - - -[Illustration: BICYCLING] - - This Department is conducted in the interest of Bicyclers, and the - Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the subject. Our - maps and tours contain much valuable data kindly supplied from the - official maps and road-books of the League of American Wheelmen. - Recognizing the value of the work being done by the L. A. W., the - Editor will be pleased to furnish subscribers with membership - blanks and information so far as possible. - - -[Illustration: Copyright, 1895, by Harper & Brothers.] - -This week we give the last stage of the journey from Philadelphia or New -York to Washington. Taking up the route from Cooksville, the run into -Washington to the Capitol is between thirty-two and thirty-three miles. -On leaving the cross-roads in the centre of the town, run south to -Glenwood, thence direct to Roxbury Mills, straight on through the -village to Unity, keeping always on the main road to Brookville. The -distance is about ten miles over a road that is not of the best, and has -some pretty bad places. It is, in the main, sandy loam, and the rider -should keep in mind that he is to avoid coasting down most of the hills, -and, in fact, will do well to only ride down the hills where he can see -the bottom, as there are one or two which it would be as well to avoid, -in view of the sharp turns and disagreeable lay of the land at the -bottom. From Brookville to Olney, and then on to Norbeck, is a clear -road and in much better condition, being a regular turnpike -thoroughfare. It is difficult to miss the way, in spite of one or two -forks between Olney and Norbeck. The road is in much better condition, -and improves between Wheaton and Sligo, which is just on the Maryland -side of the line between Maryland and the District of Columbia. About -half a mile out of Sligo take the right fork and cross the railroad, -which at this point runs along the Maryland line. Immediately upon -crossing you are in the District of Columbia, and from here into -Washington the road is in admirable condition. It is about five miles -from Wheaton to the District of Columbia line, and a good five miles -further into the city of Washington. The route lies through Brightwood -on by a straight pike road through Pleasant Plains into the city, where -the Arlington is perhaps the best hotel for a cyclist's purpose. - -It should be noted that all the rides in the vicinity of Washington, -especially on the Virginia side, but to a certain extent on the north as -well as the south, are apt to be very bad during wet weather. The clay -formation of the ground forms a soft mud during a rainy period, which, -if it does not make bicycling impossible, makes it most disagreeable and -unsatisfactory in every way. This is especially true if you take the run -from Washington to Mount Vernon, the best route for which being on the -Virginia side. Here it is almost impossible to get along after much -rain. This route, however, should be taken, as Mount Vernon, being one -of the important places in the vicinity of Washington, should -unquestionably be visited. To take this route, cross the river by the -bridge to Jackson City, and from this point it is easy to find the road, -which is fourteen miles down the river on the Virginia side. - -This completes the continuous journey from Philadelphia to Washington, -and the reader of this Department can easily fill out the entire journey -from New York to Washington by looking up the maps already published in -the ROUND TABLE. By taking these and studying them out carefully, it -will be seen that the journey can be laid out in stages of whatever -length is most suitable for the particular rider who is considering -them. As we have published them, they are in short stages of between -thirty and forty miles, and ordinarily good riding. He could take two of -these stages a day, which would divide the journey from New York into -half, and at a pinch he could make the run from New York to Philadelphia -in one day, though that is a rather long ride for even the best; but by -taking two days to reach Philadelphia, and four, or even three, to make -the run from Philadelphia to Washington, not much time is taken, -although the route from Philadelphia to Washington which we have given -will require more than that amount. - - - - -[Illustration: THE CAMERA CLUB] - - Any questions in regard to photograph matters will be willingly - answered by the Editor of this column, and we should be glad to - hear from any of our club who can make helpful suggestions. - -PLATINOTYPE PAPER. - - -The platinotype process was discovered a long time ago by Sir John -Herschel, but it is not till within a few years that it has come into -general use for photographic prints. The paper has been brought to such -perfection, and the working made so simple, that the young amateur will -find no trouble in using it when he wishes to make specially fine -prints. - -While one may sensitize the paper, it is better to buy the ready -prepared, and as it is packed in tin tubes, the joint being made as near -air-tight as possible, it will keep for a long time, especially in a dry -climate. - -The paper is of a lemon-yellow color, and it prints about three times -quicker than albumen paper. Gas-light or a weak white light will not -affect the paper, and it may be adjusted in the printing-frames in an -ordinary lighted room away from the windows. - -To print, place the negative and paper in the printing-frame in the -usual manner, and expose to diffused daylight--that is, in the shadow of -a building or at a window, but not in sunlight. The image is faintly -printed, and then developed. After two or three minutes examine the -print, and if the image is well defined, with detail showing in the -middle tones, the picture is printed enough. The color of the printed -image will be of a grayish-orange tint, and will not appear as distinct -as on aristo or albumen, which are printing-out papers. - -The developer for platinum prints comes in bulk, with directions for -preparing, and better results are obtained by using the prepared -developer, especially for the first few times of making platinotypes. - -Dissolve the contents of the box of developer according to directions, -and place in a tightly stoppered bottle. This is the stock solution. -Make a clearing bath of 60 oz. of water and 1 oz. of muriatic acid -(chemically pure). - -The prints may be either developed by floating them in the developing -solution, or the prints may be laid on a sheet of glass and developed by -the "brush" process. The latter is better for small prints. - -To develop by floating the print, place the print, exposed side down, in -the developer by letting it slip evenly and quickly into the solution. -Lift and see if any air-bubbles have formed on the surface of the print. -If there are any, touch them with the tip of the finger or the corner of -a card, and return the picture at once to the developer. The picture -will develop quite fast, but it can be stopped at once by transferring -the print to the acid bath. - -The developer must be used in a porcelain or agate tray, and another -tray--a glass tray such as is used for hypo will do--must be filled with -the acid clearing bath so that the print may at once be placed in it as -soon as it has been developed enough. - -As soon as the print has developed enough remove at once, before -washing, to the acid clearing bath. The prints must have three changes -of the acid bath, leaving them in ten minutes each, and afterward wash -them in three or four changes of water, lasting about half an hour -altogether. Pin up to dry, blotting off the superfluous moisture with -clean blotting-paper. - -Developing with a brush is sometimes to be preferred to floating. Take a -wide flat camel's-hair brush, turn some of the developer in a shallow -dish, lay the print on a sheet of glass, face up, dip the brush in the -developer, and beginning at the top of the print, brush it across from -one side to the other, and then lengthwise of the print, using light -even strokes. The picture will not be so evenly developed as by -floating, but this unevenness may be remedied by floating the print for -half a minute in the developer and then transferring quickly to the acid -bath. - -Stop the development as soon as the right depth has been brought out, -and while the detail is perfect. If a print is developed too long the -print will appear flat, as in the case of a negative when overdeveloped. - -As platinum prints are more quickly made than aristo or albumen, this -paper is very desirable for winter photographic printing. - -The mounts for platinum prints have a plate sunk centre covered with -India paper, and are usually of a soft gray color for the margin. The -prints may be mounted on plain cards, but are much more effective if -mounted on the cards prepared expressly for platinotypes. - -The paper costs 50 cents per dozen for 4x5, 80 cents for 5x7. The paper -can be bought in any size desired. The developing solution or salts cost -35 cents for a package containing enough to make 50 oz. of developer. - - * * * * * - -LAUGHING BABIES - -are loved by everybody. Those raised on the Gail Borden Eagle Brand -Condensed Milk are comparatively free from sickness. _Infant Health_ is -a valuable pamphlet for mothers. Send your address for a copy to New -York Condensed Milk Co., N. Y.--[_Adv._] - - - - -ADVERTISEMENTS. - - - - - _On Bosworth Field_ - _King Richard cried:_ - _"My kingdom for a horse!"_ - _But times have changed--_ - _To-day he'd want_ - _A Monarch wheel, of course._ - -MONARCH. - -KING OF BICYCLES - -and a wheel fit for a king. Made in 4 models. $80 and $100. For children -and adults who want a lower price wheel the _Defiance_ is made in 8 -models, $40 to $75. Send for Monarch book. - -[Illustration] - -MONARCH CYCLE - -MFG. CO., - -Lake, Halsted and Fulton Sts., CHICAGO - -83 Reade Street, New York. - - - - -[Illustration: Thompson's Eye Water] - - - - -WALTER BAKER & CO., LIMITED. - -Established Dorchester, Mass., 1780. - -Breakfast Cocoa - -[Illustration] - -Always ask for Walter Baker & Co.'s - -Breakfast Cocoa - -Made at - -DORCHESTER, MASS. - -It bears their Trade Mark - -"La Belle Chocolatiere" on every can. - -Beware of Imitations. - - - - -Postage Stamps, &c. - - - - -JAPANESE POSTAGE STAMPS. - -Every one who sends me 100 good stamps of his land will receive 100 -stamps, in 20 varieties, from Japan. - -K. TODA, - -BINGO MITSUNOSHO -- JAPAN. - - - - -FREE! - -Send 10c. to pay the postage, and I will send you a 225-page catalogue -with illustrations of every stamp FREE. 100 varieties foreign stamps, -5c.; 200 varieties foreign stamps, 25c.; 12 varieties Japan, Spain, and -Portugal, 2c.; 400 varieties foreign stamps, $1.25; 500 varieties, -$1.75; 750 varieties, $4.50; 1000 varieties, $6.50. Approval sheets for -good references. - -RICHARD R. BROWN -- KEYPORT, N. J. - - - - -[Illustration] - -STAMPS! - -=800= fine mixed Victoria, Cape of G. H., India, Japan, etc., with fine -Stamp Album, only =10c.= New 80-p. Price-list =free=. _Agents wanted_ -at =50%= commission. STANDARD STAMP CO., 4 Nicholson Place, St. Louis, -Mo. Old U. S. and Confederate Stamps bought. - - - - -STAMP COLLECTORS! - -12 South America, 9c.; 15 Mexico and Central America, 10c.; 18 West -Indian, 10c.; 15 Australia, 11c.; 16 Asia, 10c. Large monthly price-list -free. Approval Sheet agents wanted; 50% com. and prizes given. C. W. -GREVNING, Morristown, N.J. - - - - -[Illustration] - -100 all dif. Venezuela, Bolivia, etc., only 10c.; 200 all dif. Hayti, -Hawaii, etc., only 50c. Ag'ts w't'd at 50% com. List FREE! =C. A. -Stegmann=, 5941 Cote Brilliante Ave., St. Louis, Mo - - - - -1000 VARIETIES. - -Any boy or girl may secure this fine collection of stamps by a little -work. Send 6c. for =100 Var.= and outfit to - -E. M. MANSUR, Box 2, Floral Park, N. Y. - - - - -FOREIGN STAMPS ON APPROVAL. - -Agents wanted At 50% com. Lists free. - -CHAS. B. RAUB, New London, Conn. - - - - -500 - -Mixed Australian, etc., 10c.; =105 varieties=, and nice album, 10c.; 15 -unused, 10c.; 10 Africa, 10c.; 15 Asia, 10c. F. P. Vincent, Chatham, -N.Y. - - - - -125 - -dif. Gold Coast, Costa Rica, etc., 25c.; 40 U. S., 25c. Liberal com. to -agents. Large bargain list free. F. W. MILLER, 904 Olive St., St. Louis, -Mo. - - - - -10 Stamps - -free to every applicant for our app'l sheets at 50% disct. Franklin -Stamp Co., 74 Fayette St., Allegheny, Pa. - - - - -=FINE APPROVAL SHEETS.= Agents wanted at 50% com. P. S. Chapman, Box 151, -Bridgeport, Ct. - - - - -FINE PACKETS in large variety. Stamps at 50% com. Col's bought. -Northwestern Stamp Co., Freeport, Ill. - - - - -STAMPS! 100 all dif. Barbados, etc. Only 10c. Ag'ts w't'd at 50% com. -List free. L. DOVER & CO., 1469 Hodiamont, St. Louis, Mo. - - * * * * * - -Amateur Press News. - -[Illustration: EDWARD HERING, - -President of Pacific Amateur Press Association.] - -At present there are four amateur press clubs on the Pacific coast--one -sectional and three local. The Pacific Amateur Press Association is -composed of amateurs residing in the States of California, Oregon, and -Washington. It meets annually in different cities on the coast. The next -convention will be held in San Francisco next July. At conventions we -have an exciting time at banquets, political fights, etc. Mr. Edward A. -Hering, of Seattle, Wash., is President. The dues are fifty cents per -year, no initiation fee being charged. - -The Golden State is the largest local association in amateurdom. It -meets semi-monthly. The initiation fee is fifty cents, and the dues -thirty-five cents per month. The officers are: D. J. McCarthy, -President; L. M. Voorsanger, Vice-President; Samuel T. Bush, Recording -Secretary; Ethel Neal, Corresponding Secretary; P. C. Mortimer, -Treasurer; and William A. Day, Official Editor. - -The Seattle Amateur Press Club is composed of amateurs residing in -Seattle. The Portland Club is composed of amateurs residing in the city -of Portland. The latter has just been organized, and is in a flourishing -condition. W. L. MacMullin is President. For amateur papers, -applications, or any information apply to Herbert Hauser, 1423A Bush -Street, San Francisco, Cal. Of course you are welcome to the ranks of -these amateurs if you live on the Pacific coast and contribute to or -publish an amateur paper. - -Neat and bright amateur papers to reach the Table are: the _Defender_, -Grove City, Minn.; the _Newsboy_, 1609-1/2 Baker Street, San Francisco, -Cal.; the _Boys' Club Magazine_, the Press Club, 740 Bryant Street, San -Francisco, Cal.; the _Gleaner_, Walter A. Dyer, 274 Worthington Street, -Springfield, Mass.; the _Monthly News_, Paul Foster Case, Fairport, -N. Y.; the _Recorder_, 579 American Avenue, Milwaukee, Wis.; the -_Recruit_, 1104 East Fifteenth Street, East Oakland, Cal.; the -_Talisman_, 100 East Twelfth Street, Portland, Oregon; the _Monthly -Visitor_, Haverhill, Mass.; and the _Albemarle_, Eau Claire, Wis. - -Publishers of all the papers will be glad to hear from members of the -Order. All, or nearly all, send sample copies free upon request, and all -welcome bright contributions. They are creditable to their editors and -publishers as well as contributors. Some time since we remarked that few -amateur papers could be made to pay expenses. Several publishers write -to say that they make both ends meet, and even realize a profit. But the -greatest benefit is not a financial one, but the experience gained. - -The following members are interested, and want sample copies: A. C. -Bell, Garfield and Central avenues, Medford, Mass.; Philip A. Barry, 22 -Clifton Place, Boston, Mass., who wants members for the "Round Table" -Amateur Press Association; R. M. Shumway, Batavia, Ill.; Sigurd Rhode, -1202 West Michigan Street, Duluth, Minn.; and James F. Bowen, 36 St. -James Avenue, Boston, Mass. - - * * * * * - -Biscayne Bay and Its Marvels. - - Biscayne Bay is situated far down the east coast of Florida, a - little below the settlements of Miami and Cocoanut. It is a - magnificent sheet of water, the largest in Florida. If you enter - the bay in a boat, you will first notice the crossing of a bar. - Then you will naturally look across for the other shore and see - groups of white houses seemingly far apart. And then you will look - into the water below you and see, far down, "submarine gardens of - purple, yellow, and red weeds, bright green moss, and multicolored - shells of various shapes and sizes." The water is of the clearness - of amber, for it is seldom roughened by storms. - - How to reach Biscayne by land. The journey to the bay by stage - requires two days, with a stop at Camp Stranahan, on New River. You - will obtain more fun, though, if you take the schooner at Lake - Worth and sail down the Atlantic, a distance of eighty miles. Going - south the boat hugs the shore to avoid the northward flow of the - Gulf Stream. During the autumn the band at the Royal Poinciana - Hotel, at Palm Beach, can be plainly heard. The freight and - passenger boats that run between the lake and the bay generally use - Bear Cut entrance to the bay. - - The fish found in the bay are remarkable for their great variety. - There are the tarpon, the silver king, and the kingfish, all of - which afford great sport. They are from twelve to fifteen feet - long, and weigh from seventy-five to two hundred pounds. Then there - are the bream, Jack, mullet, trout, and salt-water shad, the angel - and hogfish, the baracouta, and the Spanish mackerel. There is also - a fish which goes under several names. Some call it the cavalier, - the negroes, "car-walley," and Dr. Henshall, in his _Camping and - Cruising in Florida_, calls it the crevalle. I forgot to mention - that pompano, sheepshead, runners, and mud-fish are also found - plentifully. But these are not the only species of fish found. - There are the shark, jew-fish, ray, and porpoise, and in the small - creeks abound alligators and crocodiles. The manatee, or sea-cow, - has just lately found its way here. It came originally from the St. - Lucie River. Huge pachyderms are found whose flesh resembles that - of bear steak. Of shell-fish you will find clams, oysters, crabs, - shrimp, conchs, and the logger-head, hawksbill, and green turtle, - and plenty of terrapin. Is not this sufficient to show you what a - fine fishing-place Biscayne Bay is? - - The population about Biscayne Bay is cosmopolitan, possessing, on - one hand, a well-known author, and on the other a pure-blood - Indian, called Tiger Tom, or Old Tiger. Kirk Munroe and Old Tiger - are good friends. The original inhabitants of this region were - English and Bohemian settlers. The Everglades lies to the west of - the bay about six or seven miles. A recent poetic writer said of - them: "A huge lake, miles upon miles in extent, of cold, clear, - pure water, black as night, studded with innumerable small islands - thickly grown with moss-draped cypress-trees, nesting and breeding - places for millions of birds, hiding-places for deer, bear, - panther, alligators, and wild-cats, and the larger ones affording - camp, farms, and villages for the Indians. The scenery is beautiful - and weird beyond description; the silence is an anodyne that lulls - the senses to sleep as irresistibly as the croon of the mother - soothes her child. - - "The sough of the cypress in the passing breeze, the rocking of the - canoe on the all but motionless water, the call of a bird, the dip - of a distant Indian paddle, the crack of a rifle, the bellow of a - 'gator--these are only occasional sounds. It is a wilderness of - silence, beautiful and restful, if just a little aweful sometimes, - far away from the world, unmolested nine months of the year, - healthful and pure, because natural." A glowing description, is it - not? - - The islands are fertile, and the Indians make them very productive, - raising corn, pumpkins, pease, and melons. - - HARRY R. WHITCOMB. - UMATILLA, FLA. - - * * * * * - -How Granite is Sawed. - - Not long ago I went to a granite-works. The first place was a - shedlike building where they were chiselling the granite. The next - was where they sawed the stone. The saws are straight, and are made - of steel. They have no teeth on them, but instead they let sand and - water in under them. The saws draw the sand back and forth over the - granite. The sand acts as teeth to the saws. It takes an hour to - saw an inch. - - The next place is where they polish the stone. At first ground iron - is used; afterwards emery. The polisher is a flat iron disk, which - turns round and round over the surface. A man stands by to guide - it. - - CLAUDE KENDALL, R.T.K. - NORFOLK, CONN. - - * * * * * - -A Bit about Autumn Birds. - - Heretofore I have only occasionally seen a ruby-throated - humming-bird around my home. This fall they are very common. The - gentleman who lives next door is a florist, and this year planted a - long row of different varieties of nasturtiums. In September, when - school began, I spent my afternoons studying in the hammock. At - first I noticed only a few birds, but as the month wore on they - became more numerous. About the middle of the month I could always - see several of them poised in the air before the blossoms, their - throats gleaming with metallic lustre. - - There was a small pear-tree with scanty foliage near the flowers. - Many a time I have seen the birds light on some slender dead twig - and daintily arrange their plumage with their bills, then shoot off - like a flash to gather some more nectar or to indulge in a turn at - watching their little ones. The flowers climbed the fence and came - over into our yard before the month was over, and then I could - watch them from my hammock without sitting up. Several times I have - approached the fence as noiselessly as I could and looked over to - find myself within a few feet of a ruby-throat. - - I have witnessed several severe battles between the males. They - would fly this way and that, shoot upwards and then downwards, - sometimes uttering a not unmusical squeak. Before September was - over my feathered jewels were gone. My neighbor florist also - planted some sunflowers near the fence. They grew to be about six - feet high. As he did not pick the blossoms they went to seed, and - during the latter part of September and the first part of October - the vicinity of the plants has been the battle-ground of the - English sparrows--a regular "Delmonico's" for thistle-birds. - - While the seeds lasted there was always a flock of birds around - clinging to the swaying stalks or picking the seeds up off the - ground. The English sparrows are the same that they were in the - spring, but the thistle-bird is quite different. That little ball - of feathers had given up his gaudy yellow colors and black cap and - wing coverts, for a general color of dark olive with the - above-mentioned black parts of a dirty blackish-brown. The American - goldfinch or thistle-bird or wild canary or yellow-bird is about - four and a half inches long, and in the spring has a general color - of yellow with a black topknot, wings, and tail. - - ALBERT W. ATWATER, R.T.K. - SPRINGFIELD, MASS. - - * * * * * - -A Florida Prairie. - - How different is one of our prairies from those out West! Ours are - low, flat, clay ground sometimes hundreds of acres in extent. Not - very large, you say. These prairies are interspersed with large - groups of shrubbery and palmetto, which stand alone on this wide - expanse of marshy land. In the rainy season these prairies are - covered from six inches to a foot deep in the water. Sportsmen in - water-proof boots used to tramp through the water, and many a - wild-duck did they bring down. Ducks are scarce now. But if the - ducks are gone, the prairie abounds in game in spring-time and - autumn. Then the sportsman is in his element--rabbits and quail - galore. At night the boys blow up their dogs and go 'coon and - 'possum hunting, which sport is one of the most exhilarating and - fun-producing I know of. - - HARRY R. WHITCOMB. - UMATILLA, FLA. - - - - -THE PUDDING STICK. - - -If you wish to entertain a number of young people on your birthday, -Susie, why not have a spelling-match? This rather old-fashioned -amusement combines pleasure and profit, and it has been a favorite -diversion in drawing-rooms lately. Of course every person who possesses -the slightest desire to be well educated will learn how to spell -correctly, and an ill-spelled letter or note would, I hope, be an -impossibility for any of my readers; and yet when good spellers are -called upon in public they sometimes become confused and make droll -mistakes. You may try this at the breakfast table to-morrow if you -choose. Ask brother Tom suddenly to spell "polypetalous," or -"madrepore," or "exfoliate," or "healds," or "septuagenarian," or -"separate," or any other word you like, and unless he is a marvellously -cool young gentleman, and as well a phenomenally clever speller, he will -get a little mixed up over his vowels and consonants. At the breakfast -table you will find that papa, and mamma, and the girl from Boston who -is visiting your sister Ethel, and the neighbor who has just stopped in -to tell how the invalid in the next house but two has passed the night -will each and all be drawn into the game, and you will have a home -spelling-bee soon started. - -For a social spelling-match send out your invitations some days in -advance. Ask an equal number of boys and girls, and make some -preparations before the evening arrives. Your mother or sisters will -help you in selecting a list of words from the dictionary, which should -all be words in common use, not obsolete or specially technical words. -Do not have proper names in the list. Do not avoid easy words. I have -seen people stumble over "receive," and over "friends," and over -"scissors," and "measles." - -When the evening and the guests are together present, arrange the seats -in two rows, lengthwise in the room, after the manner of the old -district school. Let the referee sit at a small table at the top of the -room between the heads of the lines. At the other end place the person -who gives out the words. When any one misses a word he or she must -change places with the successful one who spells it correctly. Those who -miss three words must drop out, and words must be given opposing sides -alternately. - -Prizes must be given to the best and the worst in the class. Two of each -if you like, or, if you prefer, only one of each. Light refreshments -will be in order when the "bee" is over. About the prizes: do not make -them expensive. Any small book, a cup and saucer, a photograph, a little -picture frame, a silver book-marker, or a pound of candy will answer the -purpose very well. - -Another agreeable diversion for an evening is to select ten initial -letters, first having given everybody a pad and a pencil. Any ten -letters will do, as c, b, f, l, m, n, d, r, t, x, or any others you -like. Five minutes are allowed, in which the party engage in writing -telegrams, each successive word of which must begin in the alphabetical -order of the letters given out. The reading of these telegrams is often -very funny, and evokes shouts of laughter at the queer combination -produced. - - M. E. SANGSTER. - - - - -[Illustration] - - A baby's bath should be replete, - With all thats spotless, clean and sweet; - So every careful nurse will choose - The very purest soap to use. - -Copyright, 1896, by The Procter & Gamble Co., Cin'ti. - - - - -BREAKFAST--SUPPER. - -EPPS'S - -GRATEFUL--COMFORTING. - -COCOA - -BOILING WATER OR MILK. - - - - -[Illustration] - -PRINTING OUTFIT 10c. - -Sets any name in one minute; prints 500 cards an hour. YOU can make -money with it. A font of pretty type, also Indelible Ink, Type, Holder, -Pads and Tweezers. Best Linen Marker, worth $1.00. Sample mailed FREE -for 10c. stamps for postage on outfit and large catalogue of 1000 -Bargains. Same outfit with figures 15c. Larger outfit for printing two -lines 25c., post-paid, Ingersoll & Bro., 65 Cortlandt St., N. Y. City - - - - -PLAYS - -Dialogues, Speakers, for School, Club and Parlor. Catalogue free. - -T. S. Denison, Publisher, Chicago Ill. - - - - -HOOPING - -COUGH - -CROUP - -_Can be cured_ - -by using - -ROCHE'S HERBAL - -EMBROCATION - -The celebrated and effectual English cure, without internal medicine. W. -EDWARD & SON, Props., London, Eng. Wholesale, E. FOUGERA & CO., New York - - - - -HOW TO BUILD YACHTS AND BOATS. - -Send 20 Cents, - -=The Rudder=, 155 Broadway, N. Y. - - - - -CARDS - -The FINEST SAMPLE BOOK of Gold Beveled Edge, Hidden Name, Silk Fringe, -Envelope and Calling Cards ever offered for a 2 cent stamp. These are -GENUINE CARDS, NOT TRASH. UNION CARD CO., COLUMBUS, OHIO. - - - - -[Illustration: Thompson's Eye Water] - - - - -Popular Books for Boys - -BY THOMAS W. KNOX - - * * * * * - -THE "BOY TRAVELLERS" SERIES - -Copiously Illustrated. Square 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $3.00 per volume. - -ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS-- - - IN THE LEVANT. - IN SOUTHERN EUROPE. - IN CENTRAL EUROPE. - IN NORTHERN EUROPE. - IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. - IN MEXICO. - IN AUSTRALASIA. - ON THE CONGO. - IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. - IN SOUTH AMERICA. - IN CENTRAL AFRICA. - IN EGYPT AND PALESTINE. - IN CEYLON AND INDIA. - IN SIAM AND JAVA. - IN JAPAN AND CHINA. - -_OTHER BOOKS BY COLONEL KNOX:_ - -Hunting Adventures on Land and Sea. - -2 vols. Copiously Illustrated. Square 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $2.50 -each. - - THE YOUNG NIMRODS IN NORTH AMERICA. - THE YOUNG NIMRODS AROUND THE WORLD. - - * * * * * - -Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York - - - - -[Illustration: POLO ON SKATES, AND HOW THE GAME ENDED.] - - * * * * * - -A JOLLY OLD TAR. - -A London newspaper tells an amusing sea tale which concerns the recent -experience of the Captain of a certain large sailing-vessel, who is -probably the most polite officer in the whole mercantile service. He -has, however, a great idea of his own importance, and loses no -opportunity of impressing this upon his crew, who, while good tars and -generally far from mutinous, do not always relish the Captain's airs, as -they call them. - -In particular, for instance, he insists upon being addressed as "Sir" by -every one on board. One day a new hand joined the ship, and a short time -after leaving harbor, being a well-seasoned old salt, he was intrusted -with the wheel. The Captain came up and put the usual question, "How's -her head?" - -"Nor'-by-east," answered the old tar, very gruffly, taking the customary -hitch in his trousers. - -"My man," suavely answered the Captain, "on this craft, when one of the -crew speaks to me, he gives me a title of respect. Don't you think you -might do so, too? Now how's her head?" - -"Nor'-by-east, I tell yer," shouted the tar, displaying not a little -irritation. - -"I'm afraid you don't quite understand me," responded the Captain, -good-humoredly. "Let me relieve you at the wheel, and then do you take -my place and ask me the question. I will then show you how it should be -answered." - -They accordingly changed places. - -"'Ow's her 'ead?" roared the tar. - -"Nor'-by-east, sir," replied the Captain, with gentle emphasis on the -"sir." - -"Then keep her so, my man, whilst I goes forrard and has a smoke," was -the startling rejoinder from the old reprobate, who calmly commenced to -suit the action to the word, and disappeared up by the forecastle, -lighting a match as he went. - - * * * * * - -PAT'S RETORT. - -Pat has turned up again in a collection of anecdotes. Here is a specimen -of his wit lately come to hand: - -A one-legged Yankee orator, who had been very successfully chaffing an -Irishman, was finally asked, - -"Oi say, soor, how did yez lose your leg?" - -"Well," replied the Yankee, "I found, when I came to look up my -ancestry, that I had a little Irish blood in my veins, and becoming -convinced that it had all settled in my left leg, I had it cut off at -once." - -"Bejabers!" cried Pat. "Phot a pity it hodn't shettled in your head!" - - * * * * * - -BOBBIE'S PLAN. - - Whene'er at night I'd know the time - And cannot see the clocks, - I feel about beneath my crib - For those upon my socks. - - * * * * * - -"It is very naughty of you, Wilbur, to answer back to mamma in this way. -Where did you ever learn to do that?" - -"Watchin' papa, I des, mamma," said Wilbur, "He most generally answers -back." - - * * * * * - -SINGULAR CLOCKS. - -In an answer to a correspondent who asks, "What is the most curious -material out of which a time-piece has been made," a London journal -prints the following rather interesting item: - -Bread, we think, is the most curious material out of which a clock has -ever been constructed. There was, and may still be, in Milan a clock -made of bread. The maker was a native of Milan, who devoted three years -of his time to the task. He was very poor, and being without means to -purchase the necessary metal for the making of a clock, he sat apart -regularly a portion of his bread each day, eating the crust and saving -the soft part. To solidify this he made use of a certain salt, and when -the various pieces were dry they became perfectly hard and insoluble in -water. The clock was of good size, and kept fair time. - -Another strange clock was exhibited some years ago in Liverpool. It was -constructed of pins, buttons, and all sorts of odds and ends by a pauper -named Mercer. The maker of this extraordinary time-piece thus describes -it himself: The back and the front of the clock were made from iron -bed-laths, while the barrel was part of a large brass ferule, the ends -being brass buttons hammered out. The barrel arbor had originally been -the blade of a shoe-maker's awl; the main and several other wheels were -nothing more nor less than suspender buttons from the maker's own -trousers, while the cog teeth were portions of bygone knitting-needles. -The teeth of the centre wheels had been boot-rivets. In the dial there -were one hundred separate pieces. - - * * * * * - -A NONSENSE RHYME. - - Oh, wouldn't it be splendid, - Oh, wouldn't it be grand, - If I could play the ear-drum - In an elastic band! - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Round Table, February 4, 1896, by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HARPER'S ROUND TABLE, FEB 4, 1896 *** - -***** This file should be named 52849-8.txt or 52849-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/8/4/52849/ - -Produced by Annie R. 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