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diff --git a/58457-0.txt b/58457-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b928fa6 --- /dev/null +++ b/58457-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2152 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 58457 *** + + + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE] + + * * * * * + +VOL. III.--NO. 141. PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK. PRICE FOUR +CENTS. + +Tuesday, July 11, 1882. Copyright, 1882, by HARPER & BROTHERS. $1.50 per +Year, in Advance. + + * * * * * + + + + +[Illustration: SEARCHING FOR THE BURGLAR.] + +MR. STUBBS'S BROTHER.[1] + +[1] Begun in No. 127, HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE. + +BY JAMES OTIS. + +CHAPTER XV. + +STEALING DUCKS. + + +Toby coaxed and scolded, and scolded and coaxed, but all to no purpose. +The monkey would clamber down over the end of the tent as if he were +about to allow himself to be made a prisoner, and then, just as Toby +would make ready to catch the rope, he would spring upon the ridge-pole +again, chattering with joy at the disappointment he had caused. + +The visitors fairly roared with delight, and even the proprietors, whose +borrowed property was being destroyed, could not help laughing at times, +although there was not one of them who would not have enjoyed punishing +Mr. Stubbs's brother very severely. + +"He'll break the whole show up if we don't get him off," said Bob, as +the monkey tore a larger hole than he had yet made, and the crowd +encouraged him in his mischievous work by their wild cheers. + +"I know it; but how can we get him down?" asked Toby, in perplexity, +knowing that it would not be safe for any one of them to climb upon the +decayed canvas, even if there were a chance that the monkey would allow +himself to be caught after his pursuer got there. + +"Get a long pole, an' scrape him off," suggested Joe; but Toby shook his +head, for he knew that to "scrape" a monkey from such a place would be +an impossibility. + +Bob had an idea that if he had a rope long enough to make a lasso, he +could get it around the animal's neck and pull him down; but just as he +set out to find the rope, Mr. Stubbs's brother settled the matter +himself. + +He had torn one hole fully five inches long, and commenced on another a +short distance from the first, when the thin fabric gave way, the two +rents were made one, and down came Mr. Monkey, only saved from falling +to the ground by his chin catching on the edges of the cloth. + +There he hung, his little round head just showing above the canvas, with +a bewildered and at the same time discouraged look on his face. + +Toby knew that it would be but a moment before the monkey would get his +paws out from under the canvas, and thus extricate himself from his +uncomfortable position. Running quickly inside the tent, he seized Mr. +Stubbs's brother by his long tail, pulling him completely through, and +the mischievous pet was again a prisoner. + +It was a great disappointment to the boys on the outside when this +portion of the circus was hidden from view; but it was equally as great +a relief to the partners that the destruction of their tent was at last +averted. + +After the excitement had nearly subsided, and Toby was reading his pet a +lesson on the sin of destructiveness, Reddy arrived with the materials +for making his circus poster--a sheet of brown paper, a bottle of ink, +and a brush made by chewing the end of a pine stick. + +He began his work at once. It was a long task, but was at last +accomplished, and when the partners went to their respective homes that +night, the following placard adorned one side of the tent: + +[Illustration] + +On arriving at the house, Toby secured Mr. Stubbs's brother so that he +could not liberate himself, after which he ran into the house to inquire +for Abner. + +The news this time was more encouraging, for the sick boy had awakened +thoroughly refreshed after his long sleep, and had asked how the work on +the tent was getting on. Aunt Olive thought Toby could see him, and +after promising that he would not remain very long, or allow Abner to +talk much, he went upstairs. + +The crippled boy was lying in the bed bolstered up with pillows, looking +out of the window that commanded a view of the tent, and evidently +puzzled to know whether the large sheet of brown paper which he saw on +one side was there as an ornament, or to serve some useful purpose. + +Toby explained to him that it was the poster Reddy had made, and then +told him all that had been done that day toward getting ready for the +great exhibition which was to dazzle the good people of Guilford, as +well as to bring in a rich reward, in the way of money, to the managers. + +Abner was so interested in the matter, and seemed so bright and cheerful +when he was talking about it, that Toby's fears regarding his illness +were entirely dispelled. He came to the conclusion that Abner had simply +been tired, as Aunt Olive had said, and that he would be better than +ever by morning. + +This belief was strengthened by the doctor, who came while Toby was +still with his friend, and who, in answer to a question, said, cheerily: + +"Of course he'll be all right; he may not be quite smart enough to go +out to-morrow, but before the week is ended I'll guarantee that you'll +have hard work to keep him in the house." + +Toby's heart was light again as he attended to his evening's work; and +when he met Joe, on his way to the pasture, he laid plans for the coming +exhibition with a greater zest than he had displayed since the matter +was first spoken of. + +Now that the tent was up, and Abner on the sure and rapid road to +recovery, Toby thought it quite time that Mr. Stubbs's brother should be +taught to take some part in the performance. Joe was of the same +opinion, and they decided to commence the education of the monkey that +very night, giving him two or three lessons each day until he should be +thoroughly trained. + +The cows were not exactly hurried on the way home that night; but they +were not allowed to loiter by the road-side when they saw particularly +tempting tufts of grass, and as soon as they were in the barn Mr. +Stubbs's brother was taken to the tent. + +He was in anything rather than a good condition for training, for he +evidently remembered his frolic of the afternoon, and was anxious to +repeat it. Toby thought he could be made to leap through hoops as a +beginning of his circus education, and all the energies of the boys were +bent to the accomplishment of this. + +But the monkey was either remarkably stupid or just then determined to +take no part in the show, for although Joe held the hoops until his arms +ached, and Toby coaxed and scolded until he was hoarse, Mr. Stubbs's +brother could not be persuaded even to attempt a leap. + +"It's no use to try any more to-night," said Toby, impatiently, when it +was nearly dark inside the tent, and his pet was showing signs of anger. +"We'll commence the first thing in the mornin', an' I guess he'll do +it." + +"I'd whip him if I was you," said Joe, who was thoroughly tired, and +angry at the monkey's obstinacy. "If you would give him a good +switchin', he'd know he'd got to do it." + +"I wouldn't whip him if he never did anything," said Toby, as he hugged +his pet tightly, almost as if he feared Joe might attempt, as one of the +partners in the enterprise, to whip the unwilling performer. + +"'Tain't my monkey, so I ain't got nothin' to say about it," and Joe was +impatient now; "but if he was mine, I'll bet he'd do what I told him +to." + +It seemed almost as if Mr. Stubbs's brother knew what had been said +about him, for he nestled close to Toby, hiding his face on the boy's +neck in a way that would have prevented his master from whipping him +even if he had been disposed so to do. + +"We'll put him in the shed, and I guess he'll be good enough +to-morrow," said Toby, cheerfully; and then, after fastening the flag in +the front of the tent in such a way that the wind would be kept out, if +nothing more, he and Joe walked toward the house, discussing the +question of the kind of tickets they should use at the show. + +While they were yet some distance from the wood-shed in which Mr. +Stubbs's brother was lodged, Aunt Olive called Toby to come quickly to +the house. + +"You put him in the wood-shed, an' fasten him in snug," said Toby, as he +handed the monkey to Joe, and started for the house at full speed. + +Now Joe knew perfectly well where Mr. Stubbs's brother was kept; but as +he had never seen him put away for the night, he was uncertain whether +he should be tied there, or simply shut in. It hardly seemed to him that +Toby would leave the monkey tied up by the neck all night, so he set him +comfortably on a bench, and carefully shut the door. + +Toby had been called to go to the druggist's for some medicine, and he +came out of the house in such haste, calling to Joe to follow him, that +nothing more was thought of the insecurely prisoned monkey. + +When Toby returned it was so late that Uncle Daniel advised him to go to +bed if he had any desire to be "healthy, wealthy, and wise," and he +obeyed at once. + +Positive that Abner was on the road to recovery, sure that all his work +had been done, and with nothing to trouble him, it was not very long +that Toby lay awake after he was once in bed. + +It seemed to him that he had been sleeping a long while, when he was +awakened by the sound as of some one hunting around in his room; and +before he had time to call out, the candle was lighted, showing that the +intruder was Uncle Daniel, only partially dressed, and in a high state +of excitement. + +"What is it? What's the matter?" asked Toby, in alarm, thinking at once +of Abner, and fearing that something had happened to him. + +"Hush!" said Uncle Daniel, warningly; "don't make a noise, for some one +is trying to get into the hen-house, an' I am going to make an example +of him. I suppose it's one of the tramps who went by here to-day, an' I +want to find that gun I saw in here yesterday." + +There was such a weapon in Toby's room, or at least what had once been a +gun was there, for a hired man whom Uncle Daniel had employed left it +there. It had been an army musket, and appeared to have been used as a +collection of materials to repair other guns with, for the entire lock, +ramrod, and at least four inches of the stock had been taken away, +leaving it a mere wreck of a gun. + +"It's up there in the corner behind the wash-stand," said Toby, coming +out of the bed as quickly as if he had tumbled out, and alarmed at the +thought of burglars. "It ain't no good, Uncle Dan'l, for there's only a +little of it left." + +"It will do as well for me as a better one," said Uncle Daniel, grimly. +"I don't want to shoot anybody, only to give them a severe fright, and +perhaps capture them." + +"Then what'll you do with 'em?" asked Toby in a whisper, almost as much +alarmed by Uncle Daniel's savage way of speaking as by the thought of +the burglars. + +"I don't know, Toby boy--I don't know. The tramps do trouble me greatly, +an' I'd like to make an example of these; but I suppose they must be +hungry, or else they wouldn't try to get into the hen-house. I guess if +we catch one we'll give him a good breakfast, and try to persuade him to +go to work like an honest man." + +Uncle Daniel's anger usually had some such peaceful ending, as Toby +knew; but he did look blood-thirsty as he stood there in his shirt +sleeves, with one stocking on, and his night-cap covering one ear and +but a small portion of his head, while he handled the invalid gun +recklessly. + +By the time he was ready to go in search of the supposed chicken thief, +Aunt Olive, looking thoroughly frightened, came into the room with his +other stocking and his boots in her hand, insisting that he should put +them on before he ventured out. + +It must have been a very tame burglar who would have continued at his +work after the lights had warned him that the inmates of the house were +aroused; but Toby did not think of that. He saw that Aunt Olive had +armed herself with the fire-shovel, that Uncle Daniel kept a firm hold +of the gun even while he was trying to put his boots on, and he was +frightened by the warlike preparations. + +Toby put on his trousers and shoes as quickly as possible, and when +Uncle Daniel was ready to start, he stationed himself directly behind +Aunt Olive--a position which he thought would afford him a fair view of +what was going on, and at the same time be safe. + +"Now be careful of that gun, Dan'l, an' don't go so far that they can +hurt you, for there's no telling what they will do if they find out you +mean to catch them;" and Aunt Olive looked quite as badly frightened as +did Toby. + +"There, there, Olive, don't be alarmed," said Uncle Daniel, soothingly. +"They will probably run as soon as they see the gun, and that will end +it. I only hope that I can catch one," and Uncle Daniel went down the +stairs as determined and savage-looking a man as ever started in search +of a supposed chicken thief. + +Aunt Olive insisted on carrying the candle, though Uncle Daniel urged +that it would not be possible for him to surprise the burglars if she +held this light as a warning; but she had no idea of allowing him to go +out where there was every probability that he would be in danger, unless +she could see what was going on. + +[TO BE CONTINUED.] + + + + +WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART. + +BY MRS. JOHN LILLIE. + + +In the month of May, 1765, an advertisement appeared in London +announcing that a concert would be given at Hickford's Rooms, Brewer +Street, Golden Square, "for the benefit of Miss Mozart, aged thirteen, +and Master Mozart, of eight years of age, prodigies of nature, a concert +of music, with all the overtures[2] of this little boy's own +composition." + +[2] Overture, strictly speaking, means a prelude to some longer work, +but the term has also come to be applied to pieces of concert music +which illustrate some special idea. + +Suppose one had been able to go to that concert in May, 1765. It would +have been a charming sight. I am sure there was a great deal of jostling +about of Sedan-chairs and footmen; and in the spring twilight--they gave +concerts earlier then than now--the gorgeously dressed ladies and +gentlemen must have looked very much like a picture. Let us follow them +into the "rooms." + +We find ourselves in a large well-lighted hall, with chairs and benches, +and a big platform containing some instruments and a good harpsichord. +Then out comes old Papa Mozart, a dignified gentleman from Salzburg, +leading a child by each hand, one a charmingly pretty little girl in the +quaint dress we are reviving to-day; the other, a boy of eight, of the +most striking grace and beauty, and dressed like a little court +gentleman, that is, with knee-breeches, silken hose, shoe-buckles, a +little satin coat with lace ruffles, and a little sword at his side. + +The little boy makes his bow to the enthusiastic audience; he sits down +to the piano, and forthwith begins one of his own sweet, child-like, yet +harmonious compositions. Then Nannerl plays. Presently the two young +prodigies vanish, the fine audience move away, the lights are out, and +the boy's London fame has begun. As we go through dingy Golden Square +to-day, a hundred and fifteen years later, we think of all the music he +left for us to hear and feel and play between that night when he played +"his own little compositions," and the day of his early death, in 1791, +at the age of thirty-five years. + +[Illustration: WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART.] + +Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born at Salzburg in 1756. His father had +possessed musical talent, but in him it was genius. At three years of +age he learned to play; before he was five he had composed a great many +little melodies, which his father wrote down for him. I remember seeing +in the studio of an English artist in London,[3] himself the son of a +great musician, a picture representing the baby Mozart, a charming +little figure, leading a visionary choir of angels. It seemed to me the +very embodiment of what Mozart must have been as a child--beautiful, +fascinating, angelic, and a musician to his very soul. + +[3] Felix Moscheles. + +His sister Anna, or "Nannerl," as she was called, also played +marvellously, and when the children were very young their father started +with them on a concert tour, during which they played in London. +Everywhere they went they were fêted and caressed in a way which would +have spoiled even Mozart's sweet, sunny nature, but for his father's +watchful care. + +Innumerable presents were made them, some of rich jewelry. This their +father insisted upon keeping in a box, only allowing them to take it out +on rare occasions and enjoy looking at it for a little while. + +It was during that London visit that the father fell ill. They were in +lodgings in Chelsea, which was then an open country with blooming +gardens and green lanes. The little Mozarts had to keep very quiet +during this illness of their father's. The harpsichord was closed, and +the children took to running about the pretty suburban place, no doubt +enjoying the rest from practicing. But it was during this enforced +idleness that Mozart composed his first symphony (Opus 15). He was then +in his tenth year. Think of the amount of scientific knowledge as well +as the genius the boy must have possessed! Soon after, they gave more +concerts, playing among other things duets for four hands on the +harpsichord, which was then (in 1765) a great novelty. + +During the latter part of the London visit a series of entertainments +were given at home, where for two shillings and sixpence people could +come and "test the youthful prodigies at the harpsichord." They were +lodging in a quaint old inn down in the part of London known as +Cornhill, and there they delighted hundreds of admiring and curious +visitors. + +Passing from this time of sunny though precocious childhood to a boyhood +in which he worked indefatigably, we find Mozart in Italy, studying, +composing, performing, and writing the most delightful letters home, +chiefly to his dear Nannerl, who was by this time more devoted to +domestic duties than music. + +One of the most interesting experiences of the Mozarts took place in +1775. The Elector of Bavaria had invited Mozart to write an opera for +the Carnival, and so when the work was completed--_La Tinta +Giardiniera_--the father and son, with pretty Nannerl, set off for +Munich, where court life was then very gay. + +In the old market-place of Munich lived a very respectable widow, and +Nannerl was lodged there, the father and son having to go nearer to the +court. It must have been a delightful visit. Nannerl was all excitement +about the opera, and her brother darted in and out half a dozen times a +day to report progress. Finally the grand night came. The opera-house +was crowded to excess; the court was there in full splendor, and Mozart, +the youthful maestro, fine, in a new suit of lace and satin, sat by his +father's side, with Nannerl, waiting not a little timidly, no doubt, for +the performance to begin. The success was tremendous. The boy--for he +was scarcely more in years--became the object of the wildest enthusiasm, +and from that hour his musical fame was established. + +But we must not feel that all Mozart's days were so cloudless and so +joyful. Times of anxiety and heart-sickness were not wanting in his +short and busy life. The little family circle was so centred in Mozart +that when he started out on a second tour, and the father could not +accompany him, the mother left her household duties to Nannerl and set +forth with her son. An adoring fondness for his parents was one of the +most lovely traits in Mozart's beautiful nature. On this trip he wrote +home with pride how careful he was of his mother, and she, good woman, +watched him tenderly, giving up everything to his pleasure and profit. + +He spent the winter in Mannheim, where his letters show how very busily +he was employed. He writes that he rose early, "dressed quickly," and +after breakfast composed until twelve; then wrote until half past one, +when he dined. At three he began to give lessons, which continued until +supper-time; after which he read, unless he was among his friends. Of +course he had a large circle wherever he was, but in Mannheim during +this winter he formed friendships which shadowed all his life. + +The Weber family were there--brilliant musicians, agreeable, and witty. +There were five daughters, and Mozart straightway fell in love with the +eldest, Aloysia--a beautiful girl, who was studying for the stage. She +was well pleased with the young composer's attentions, and he went to +Paris half, or, as he considered it, wholly engaged. That was a sad +visit to Paris. His mother, wishing to economize for her son's sake, +took rooms in a cold, poor quarter of the town, and there fell ill with +a fatal disorder. Poor Mozart wrote home the most pathetic letters. We +can fancy how he tried to save her, but it was in vain. The careful, +tender, self-sacrificing mother faded from his life, her last thoughts +being to commend this beloved son to God's keeping. + +Full of sadness, the poor young fellow hastened to Mannheim, where he +hoped Aloysia Weber would console him. She had gone to Munich, and +thither he followed her. There the true selfishness of the Weber family +was shown to him. They had become prosperous, and Mozart, although +famous, was far from being rich, so that the family of his betrothed +received him coldly. Aloysia herself scarcely listened to the first +words he said. He had entered the Weber parlor full of hope and anxiety +to see his future wife and tell her the story of his sorrow. He must +have looked noble and manly, with the tenderness of his grief in his +handsome face, but Aloysia turned aside coldly--there were others there, +to whom she talked. Mozart hesitated a moment, and then seating himself +at the piano, sang in his rich clear voice: "Ich lasse das Mädchen das +nicht will" (I leave the maiden who leaves me). And before the evening +was over, the engagement was at an end. + +We could wish that his intimacy with the Webers had also ended, but +later he renewed acquaintance with them, and in spite of much opposition +from his anxious father and Nannerl, he married Constanza, Aloysia's +younger sister. With her he tried to be happy, but even in his tenderest +letters we see that she was ill-tempered, cold, and selfish. But +Mozart's nature was so uniformly sweet that it took a great deal to make +him positively wretched, and unkind he could not be. + +When he was in the midst of many worries, one summer, he used to ride +out every morning for exercise, and leaving his wife sleeping, he never +failed to pin a little note to her pillow, that she might find it on +awaking. It was always a sweet word of love and care for her, and it is +hard to think Constanza was not worthy of it. + +There is so much to tell of Mozart, I wish that we might linger an hour +more over his sweet story. His successes were so many that it is hard to +think of him as so often in trouble about money. + +In 1791 his beautiful opera of _The Magic Flute_ was produced with +tremendous success at Vienna. Constanza came on to hear it, and was +thoroughly frightened by Mozart's altered looks. He was ashy pale, worn, +and thin. She seems to have been full of a really tender feeling for him +then. He was writing his famous mass, the "Requiem," and continued it +even after he took to his bed, and while Constanza sat beside him +watching with tears the feeble hand at work, he told her that his heart +and soul were full of thoughts of the dear Lord who had died for him. + +_The Magic Flute_ was drawing crowded houses, while Mozart lay dying not +far off. In the evenings he would time the performance, saying to +Constanza and her sister Sophie, and some musical friends always with +him, "Now they are singing this or that part." + +The day before his death he read over the score of the Requiem, and +asked the friends near him to try and sing it with him. They did so, +Mozart coming in with his part in a sweet faint voice. Suddenly, at the +Lacrimosa, he burst into tears, and laid down the score for the last +time. That evening he murmured to Constanza, "Oh, that I could once more +hear my _Magic Flute_!" + +Constanza glanced at Roser, a musician who was with them, and, blinded +by his tears, Roser sat down to the piano, and sang one of Mozart's +favorite airs. It was almost the last sound his closing ears received. +The next morning, Sunday, December 5, 1791, at the age of thirty-five, +Mozart died.[4] + +[4] Nannerl survived her brother many years. Constanza Mozart died in +this century, having in 1809 married a second time. + +He left behind him so many works that I hardly know which to speak of +first. His operas, _Don Giovanni_, _Figaro_, and _The Magic Flute_ are +known and prized all the world over; but besides there are the masses, +the sonatas, the symphonies, and the quartettes. In the sonatas +especially the young pianist may find the greatest advantage. As +_reading_ they are admirable, and for practice with four hands I know of +nothing better, unless it be some of Haydn's quartettes. + + + + +[Illustration: STRATEGY.] + + + + +HAVING FUN WITH A WOODCHUCK. + +BY ALLAN FORMAN. + + +Jack and I made up our minds to catch a woodchuck. We were spending the +summer down on the east end of Long Island, and judging from the number +of cauliflowers eaten by them, the woodchucks were abundant; so we +determined to catch one. + +Farmer Brown, to whom we applied for advice, told us to "grab him by the +tail as he went into his hole." This sounded so easy that we decided to +try it at once. We found, however, after two or three days of patient +waiting, that the woodchuck absolutely refused to go into his hole while +we were within grabbing distance. + +We then set steel-traps in the burrows, but with no effect. We wandered +around the fields armed with an old musket, and succeeded only in +wasting a large quantity of powder and lead. We tried to drown one out, +and after blistering our hands by carrying pails of water, were told +that "a woodchuck hasn't lived in that burrer for two years." We were +disappointed, but not discouraged. + +"Let's set the rabbit trap," said Jack one morning as we were planning +for the day's campaign. + +So we carried the rabbit trap, which was a great box with a swinging +door, up to the hedge back of the barn, and set it. Farmer Brown laughed +at us, and said, + +"Ef you see a 'chuck, put for the nearest hole; ef you git thar before +him you can stop him from goin' in." + +This plan seemed so much more exciting than any other, that we spent +that afternoon and the next day looking for a stray woodchuck. Toward +evening our patience was rewarded by the sight of a woodchuck in the +middle of a field. Jack and I had by that time learned the location of +the holes as well as the owners themselves, and we both started for a +burrow in the hedge. + +The woodchuck saw us, and made for the same burrow. He hadn't so far to +go, and was evidently in a great hurry. Jack managed to arrive just in +time to throw his hat in the mouth of the hole, thinking to bar the +progress of the woodchuck. Vain hope! On came the woodchuck, and dived +into the burrow, carrying Jack's hat with him. I just reached the spot +in time to see the brown stump of a tail vanish, and hear Jack exclaim, + +"I wonder what he is going to do with my hat?" + +The loss of Jack's hat cast a damper upon our hunting for the afternoon, +and it was not until after supper that we thought of the rabbit trap. +When we reached it, it was sprung, and there was a sound of scratching +inside that showed plainly something was trying to escape. We carried +the trap carefully down to the barn, and opened it, so as to let our +prize into a large barrel. + +Our happiness was complete: it was a large woodchuck. What had tempted +him to go into the trap I am sure I can't tell. Probably he was a victim +of his own curiosity. At any rate, we had him safe and sound in the +barrel, and after we had covered it with a board we went to our beds +very much elated over our success. + +The next morning we rose early, and went to the barn to see our prize. +There he was in the barrel, his little eyes gleaming with rage, and +signifying his disapproval of our proceedings by a series of short, +sharp barks. Suddenly a brilliant idea struck me. + +"Let's shut the doors; then let him out on the floor, and have some fun +with him," I said. + +Jack agreed, and we soon had every door and window but one securely +fastened. This window was, fortunately for me, overlooked in our haste +to have our fun. + +We turned the barrel over, and out sprang a very angry woodchuck. He +started directly for Jack, and that youth, with an agility which I had +never given him credit for, scrambled into the oats bin. The animal then +turned his undivided attention to me, and I dashed around the barn, the +woodchuck in pursuit. + +Every nail in the barn seemed to stand out and take a hold upon some +portion of my clothing, and it was rapidly being reduced to fragments. +Jack jumped out of the bin to assist me, but only succeeded in making +the confusion worse. With a jump, the woodchuck fastened his teeth on +Jack's arm. Luckily he only bit through the sleeve of his loose blue +flannel shirt. Thoroughly frightened, Jack grasped a rope which hung +from one of the rafters, and swung himself out of reach. + +At that moment I spied the open window, and in a second more I was out. +Jack was hanging on the rope with a tenacious grip, and the woodchuck +was trotting around trying to find an avenue of escape. I ran to the +door and threw it open. A dark form whizzed past me, and Jack dropped +from the rope. We had had enough woodchuck for one summer. + +"What on airth hev you boys been a-doin'?" inquired Farmer Brown as we +entered the house. + +"Been having some fun with a woodchuck," replied Jack, a little +sheepishly. + +Farmer Brown laughed, and remarked, as he took a second look at our torn +clothes and flushed faces, + +"Wa'al, I don' know, but it kinder looks as ef the woodchuck had been +a-hevin' fun with you." + +And when I think the matter over, I am rather inclined to be of the same +opinion. + + + + +THE WANDERING SUNBEAM. + +BY E. M. TRAQUAIR. + + + A little wandering sunbeam + Came sliding down the sky; + To seek another home below, + It left its home on high. + + On baby Mary's head it lit-- + Our gentle little one; + Her eyes grew blue as heaven's hue, + Her ringlets like the sun. + + Its home it made with her; and since, + Though quiet as a mouse, + Her smile is like the day: she is + Our sunbeam in the house. + + + + +FOURTH OF JULY AT BEAVER BROOK. + +BY ADA CARLETON STODDARD. + + +"Not a fire-cracker," Mr. Marden had said, looking around on his +half-dozen boys--"not a single fire-cracker, nor pin-wheel, nor rocket +this year, boys. You come pritty nigh burnin' up the hull town last +Fourth, an' I don't want to run no more sech risks. Enj'y yourselves as +well's you can other ways 'n that. Now mind!" + +That was how and why--because of this interdiction of everything that +goes to make a Fourth of July different from a fourth of August or any +other day--the boys happened to think of going up the river fishing. + +They were down on the river-bank, lying at full length on the green +grass, when Jed Harden said, meditatively, tossing a pebble into the +water, "There'll be no fun staying here, boys, 'thout we can fire off +things." + +Bud Rose laughed. He could never be serious. "It's because we fired off +Jennings's barn last Fourth that everybody's so down on our celebrating +this year," said he. "I wonder how the old thing got afire, anyhow?" + +"Easy enough," rejoined Jed; "there was a heap of straw all round it, +and I don't s'pose we were over 'n' above careful. The old shanty wasn't +worth ten cents, but it came near burning up everybody else's +buildings." + +"So it did. After all, I don't blame folks much. There ain't such a +sight of fun in snapping crackers, anyhow." + +"But what shall we do?" + +Charley Stevens looked up then. All this time he had not spoken, but lay +gazing out on the river. "I move we go fishing up on Beaver Brook," +said he. "Start before daylight, and stay till after dark." + +"Second the motion. Hooray!" + +All was animation now. The boys sat bolt-upright. Charley laughed. +"Moved and seconded that we, the stirring youth of Brayton, celebrate +to-morrow by going fishing. All who favor this will please say--" + +"Ay!" + +"The motion is unanimously carried," said Charley, shaking back his +hair. + +I think it was myself. So would you if you could have heard that roaring +assent. There was no half-way work with the Brayton boys. They were all +on hand the next morning, with their lunch baskets, not exactly before +daylight, but sufficiently early; and they could not resist the +temptation to give several prolonged whoops as they shoved the old scow +out from shore. + +"That'll let 'em know we're 'round," laughed Charley Stevens. "There, +boys, back up. I've left my pails." + +"What pails?" + +"Why," said Charley, "I promised to save some of the smallest fish, if +they weren't hooked too much, for Laurie's aquarium, and I brought along +a couple of pails to keep 'em alive in. There they are on the bank. +Backwater." + +"Nonsense!" + +But Charley was firm; and Jed and Bud and Vet, who were taking the first +turn at the paddles, pulled a rod or two back to the shore, not without +a little grumbling, and brought away the pails. Afterward they all had +very good reason to remember and be thankful for this. Then they pulled +steadily away up the river, through the light fog which the rays of the +morning sun had not yet scattered, trolling their lines, and catching a +few fish by the way. + +"I would have brought a frying-pan," said Dean Marden, pulling in a +speckled trout, "but father said 'twouldn't do to make a fire this +weather. Everything's dry as tinder." + +"And Beaver Brook isn't more'n two miles from the village, through the +woods," said Charley, meditatively. "Wind blows right that way, too." + +"It's four miles by the river, if it's an inch," said Vet Adams; for the +river certainly made a wide detour. + +"It's crooked as a ram's horn," declared Jeff Gammon, wiping the +perspiration from his face. "A fellow has to pull all the way round +Robin Hood's barn to get anywhere." + +Charley laughed. "We're almost to the mouth of the brook now," said he. +"There's the old pine." + +And in a few minutes the scow, propelled by three pairs of stout arms, +swept grandly around the point of land and into Beaver Brook, on one +side, just as a light birch-bark canoe, holding two men, shot out on the +other side. + +"Indians!" exclaimed Charley, in a tone of great disgust. "There's a +camp of 'em down the river somewhere. We won't get any fish here, boys." + +Charley was right. They fished for half an hour, waiting patiently for a +nibble, which they did not get. + +"We'll have to go further up the brook," said Charley; and accordingly +the old scow was once more set in motion. + +How pleasant it was! They ran along in the shade of the willows that +skirted the brook, their paddles dipping lazily, and their fishing-lines +trailing in the deep still water. It was very warm in the sun, but there +was a smart breeze blowing, and a prospect of showers later on. + +Suddenly Charley felt a jerk on his line that, taking him unawares, +nearly pulled him off his seat. + +"Gracious! boys, hold on," he said, in an excited whisper. "I've got a +ten-pounder." + +It was not half of that, nor had Charley got his fish; but the paddles +were quickly and quietly shipped. Charley pulled in a nice trout, and +Bud Rose another. + +"Ain't they beauties!" + +"We're right in a school of 'em," said Bud, rebaiting his hook. "I say, +fellows, ain't this a long chalk better'n fire-works?" + +For no matter how many times a country boy may have been a-fishing, nor +how many fish he may have caught, the sport must always be exciting. + +An exclamation of alarm from one of their number, as Bud finished +speaking, startled the boys; and they were a good deal more startled, +and not a little provoked, to see Charley catch up one of the heavy +paddles and plunge it into the water with a long sweeping stroke, the +impetus of which sent the scow forward a dozen feet. + +"Now look here!" + +"Boys," cried Charley, flushed and anxious in a minute, "we may have the +fire-works yet. See there!" + +Around a bend in the stream a thin blue line of smoke was seen curling +up through the trees, and even as the boys gazed, it appeared to +increase in volume and density. + +"The Indians must have left it!" exclaimed Charley, hurriedly. "Boys--" + +There was no need nor time for words. Instantly the two remaining +paddles were seized, and the scow was headed up and around the bend. It +came to them all in a flash how strong the wind was blowing from the +west; that the woods of Dunn Township, altogether proprietors' land, +adjoined Brayton, extending to the top of the hill that overlooked the +village; and each boy's heart turned pale at the prospect. + +"It's all black growth, too," groaned Charley, "and full of old dry +tops, where they've been lumbering year after year--just a regular +tinder-box. This wind'll carry fire from it a mile anyway. Pull, boys, +pull!" + +And they pulled. But the fire was getting under good headway when they +reached the spot. The smoke was rolling up blacker and thicker, and +through it the boys could see the red flickering tongues of flame. + +"Take the pails--your hats--anything that'll hold water," cried Charley, +"and wet your jackets--wet yourselves all over." + +[Illustration: "PAILFUL AFTER PAILFUL OF WATER WAS DASHED UPON THE +FIRE."] + +He was obeyed. Pailful after pailful of water was dashed upon the fire, +which had been built beside an old dry pine stub; and they were really +subduing it, when a sudden tempestuous flurry of wind scattered the +burning embers in all directions; and presently, before the boys were +able fairly to realize that the mischief had been done, a dozen tiny +puffs of smoke started up around. In reality everything was dry as +tinder. + +"We've got to fight it--fight it hard, boys," said Charley, between his +gritted teeth. "I'd like to wring the necks of those Indians." + +Well, and how they battled the fire that scorching July day! They +stamped it out; they smothered it with earth; they dashed water over it; +they stifled it with their wet jackets, blistering faces, hands, and +feet without for a moment minding the pain. More than once they were +sure they had conquered, and made the woods ring with a shout of +triumph, only to see, almost before the echoes died away, another puff +of smoke starting up, and another. Their throats were parched, and +rattled when they tried to speak, and their eyes were smarting and +inflamed with the smoke. + +"It's no use, boys; we _can't_ do it," one or another would say; and +then they would fall to work with greater vigor than before, if that +were possible. + +It was no boys' play, I can tell you. For two long hours they fought the +flames, with blistering hands and faces begrimed with smoke and cinders. +And when they saw the fire was gaining inch by inch, they worked still. + +"We'll do all we can," panted Charley. "Oh, boys, why _won't_ it rain! +The thunder-clouds all go round. Oh, boys!" + +As he spoke, a long fiery tongue lapped at the foot of a dry tree, and +the flames went up, up, to the top, with a hissing, rushing roar which +turned the boys' hearts sick with dread. + +"It's gone," said Charley. "We can't do any more." + +But at the same moment came a growl of distant thunder. A dense, black +cloud was growing in the west. Through it there darted a vivid gleam of +light. + +"Thunder and lightning!" yelled Bud. "Up, boys, and at it again! We'll +have plenty of help before long." + +So it proved. The cloud swept over the sky with surprising rapidity, and +in a very short time the rain fell in sheets. And out in the storm, the +thunder crashing, and the lightning playing about them, stood ten +smoke-blackened, drenched boys, with little rivers of rain wearing +channels down their sooty faces, hurrahing with might and main. If a few +tears of thankfulness and relief mingled with the rivers of rain, I do +not think any boy need have been at all ashamed of them. + +"Well," said Charley, "we've had our Fourth-of-July fire-works with a +vengeance." This was when the rain had nearly ceased falling, and the +boys had embarked for home. + +"We've had the fire anyhow," laughed Bud, plying his paddle leisurely. + +"And I'm sure we've had the work." + +"You don't suppose 'twill start up again?", asked Jed Marden, looking +behind a little anxiously, as the old scow moved slowly down the stream. + +"No," answered Charley, and he drew a deep breath of relief; "it can't +after such a soaking. But 'twas a close shave, I tell you, boys." + +So the towns-people thought when they heard the story. + +"'Twas a fust-rate day's work for us," said Mr. Marden at the corner +grocery next morning. "Nothin' on earth would ha' saved the place ef the +fire'd come through there. It's somethin' to brag about. I'm proud o' +the boys--I am so." + +"They've paid up for burning Jennings's old barn," said Mr. Stevens, +carefully weighing out four ounces of tea. + +"So they hev," assented Mr. Marden. + +And so the good folks of Brayton have each and every one of them +resolved that next year the boys shall have such a Fourth-of-July +celebration as Brayton has never yet seen. + + + + +THE BABIES' PROCESSION. + +BY W. A. ROGERS. + + +The gay parade of little folk shown in our picture takes place every +Fourth of July at Dayton, Ohio--a pretty town on the banks of the Miami +River. + +It originated, we believe, in the brain of a patriotic little +nurse-maid, who, with two or three companions; on a Fourth of July some +years ago, trimmed their carriages with flags and streamers, and gayly +tripped around the block in Indian file. The babies were delighted, and +the nurse-maids flattered at the attention they received on every hand, +and not one little boy on the entire route so far forgot himself as to +fire a cracker under the babies' carriages or throw a torpedo at their +protectors. + +Every year, with one exception, the little procession has wended its way +along the sidewalk, with constantly increasing numbers, the pioneer +babies taking the lead. + +But on a hot summer day one year, when the little carriages were almost +ready, and busy hands were putting on their holiday attire, one of the +three children fell ill and passed away. Its empty carriage told so +mournful a story that the other nurses sadly put by the flags and +trimmings, and the flowers and wreaths drooped and withered. + +The next year, when the flowers were blooming over the silent little +pioneer, all the baby carriages in town were put in commission at least +a week before the Fourth. Every scrap of nickel plate was burnished to +the highest degree of polish, and lingering roses on the later bushes +were carefully guarded to preserve them to grace the occasion. + +In the cool of the evening, when the small boys were about tired of +exploding mines, disfiguring their faces, and making that awful din +incident to the day, and were beginning to count up their sky-rockets, +pin-wheels, and red lights, the gay procession moved down the broad +flagged walk. + +At the head was the pretty nurse who had originated the affair, pushing +before her a wicker carriage trimmed with roses, and gay with flags and +emblems and gilded stars, from the wheels to the lace-trimmed canopy. +Nestling in its gorgeous carriage was a somewhat bewildered but very +happy baby. A tiny boy, as guard of honor, accompanied each little +carriage, carrying in his hand a wand to charm away stray fire-crackers +from their path. + +Porticoes and balconies were crowded with the babies' friends as the +procession passed by and faded into a pretty recollection of silvery +laughter, waving flags, crowing babies, and happy nurse-maids and +children. + +[Illustration: THE BABIES' FOURTH-OF-JULY PROCESSION.] + + + + +HOW JOHNNIE WENT TO SCHOOL. + +BY MARY A. PORTERFIELD. + + +Little John worked in a barrel factory in the thriving town of E----, in +Pennsylvania. + +Piling staves or rolling barrels all day long is not very enjoyable +work, but Johnnie did not grumble: no, indeed, he was too happy to get +even the hardest and dullest work to do. He wanted to go to school, and +his aunt had said if he could save money enough to buy books and +clothes, he might go. He was delighted with this permission, and +clattered down-stairs, three steps at a time, to hunt up Pat, his friend +and confidant, who would double his happiness by sharing it. + +Pat was a newsboy on the railroad, a cheery, good-natured Irish lad, +whose mother had died years ago, when he was but a blue-eyed baby. The +new mother that came into the little whitewashed cabin by the railroad +was too busy with her pigs, her garden, and her own little ones to pay +much attention to Pat at first; though by-and-by she thought there was +no room for him in the little home. Poor Pat! he had a hard time finding +any place where there was room for him. At last Johnnie persuaded his +aunt to let the forsaken Irish boy share his bed. They had been firm +friends, sharing their boyish griefs and joys with the complete sympathy +of childhood; they were brothers in heart, if not in name. + +Johnnie and Pat were industrious, contented, and happy. During the day +they worked on the cars and in the factory, but in the evening the kind +aunt taught them the common-school studies. Both boys eagerly longed for +the time when they could enjoy fuller advantages for education. + +Pat saw his way but dimly, but Johnnie's happiness seemed near at hand. +It was a touching sight to see the two boys once or twice a week bring +out their store of savings. No miser ever thrilled at the sight and +touch of heaps of gold as those two boys at their paltry handful of +silver and copper. + +It was about a month before school began, and yet Johnnie had not saved +quite the desired amount. + +One evening he came rushing home waving his hat and dinner pail to his +aunt, who stood in the doorway. + +"Oh, auntie, I have enough now," he shouted joyfully. + +Her motion for silence and the look on her face lowered his glad voice. + +"What is the matter? Are you ill? Has anything happened to Pat?" he +hurriedly asked. + +"Come in and sit down, and I will tell you," she replied. + +A strange sickening odor of some drug filled the house; there was an +unusual stir in the front room. Johnnie's heart sank within him. He +listened with terror-stricken face to the terrible news. An accident on +the road; Pat was hurt; they were amputating his arm; they feared he +would die. + +His face grew whiter and whiter as each detail of the horror grew upon +his mind. He buried his face in his hands, and sat motionless a long, +long time. + +After a time he went softly into the house, into the room where Pat lay +still unconscious. + +"Pat, dear Pat," he sobbed, laying his wet face against the one +colorless hand. + +Here he remained until he heard the doctor's step in the hall, when he +withdrew to the shadow of the curtain, dreading yet longing to hear his +words. How his heart leaped with joy to know that Pat might live, though +a cripple. His dear, dashing, frolicksome Pat a cripple! + +All night long Johnnie sat with his eyes on the pallid young face. He +was trying to think out some plan for helping him. A firm, happy look +dawned on his grave, thoughtful face. He seemed to have solved a part of +his hard problem. + +Toward morning Pat opened his eyes and looked around in a dazed sort of +way. He tried to rise, but was too weak. Slowly he recalled the +accident, the pain, and the darkness. What came then? Looking around in +a helpless, wistful manner, he saw Johnnie's big eyes shining on him +through falling tears. He moved his left hand around to find the right +one. Alas! it was gone. Turning his face to the wall, the hot tears +slipped quickly down from his closed eyes. + +It was a long day for the boys, Johnnie at his toilsome labor in the +factory, and Pat at home thinking, thinking, thinking, trying to find +some gleam of brightness, some way of self-help in the future. + +Going home that night Johnnie bought an orange and a picture for his +friend. He endeavored to be more than usually cheerful in his manner +that evening. Pat was trying too, but it was such a faint smile that he +gave that Johnnie had hard work to keep back the tears. + +"But I did," he triumphantly said to his aunt. "I never mean to make Pat +feel badly any more if I can help it. Oh, auntie"--this very +eagerly--"may I let Pat take my money and go to school? I can wait a +little longer, and Pat will help me in the evenings." + +His aunt touched his sunshiny head tenderly. "You know best, my dear +boy. It is your money. Use it to satisfy your own heart." + +It was some time before Pat was well again, but after the first few +days' struggle he never murmured. He seemed to accept and make the best +of his circumstances. Every evening Johnnie remembered to bring him some +token of his love--a banana, a paper, a bunch of gay flowers, or a box +of bonbons; for his money was now all for Pat--his dear helpless Pat. + +At last the eventful day arrived when Pat was to be up and dressed. +Johnnie started home with more than usual speed, eager to see and +congratulate him. + +He had frequently noticed boys playing near and on a small tank used for +mixing paint. They used to stir this, and inhale the fumes, which gave +them a kind of half-dizzy but pleasant kind of feeling. It was rather a +dangerous play, and Johnnie usually coaxed the boys away, and endeavored +to persuade them not to return. As he was passing the tank this evening +he saw two little boys leaning over it, and just at that moment one of +them fell face downward into the tank; the other little boy sank down +upon the steps, too much stupefied to render any assistance. Dropping +his pail, Johnnie sprang up the steps, and into the tank. There was only +a small quantity of liquid in it, but quite enough to cover the +unconscious boy. Johnnie lifted him up, and called loudly for help. It +soon came, for there were others who had seen the boy fall, though too +far away to render the assistance that Johnnie did. For some time it was +feared that the little victim would not revive. + +After a while, however, they had the satisfaction of seeing him open his +eyes. Johnnie wanted to go home now; he knew that his aunt and Pat were +anxiously awaiting him. He was deliberating what to do, when a carriage +drove up, and a lady and gentleman hurriedly alighting, came up to the +still half-unconscious child. Johnnie heard one child cry, "Mamma!" and +saw the look of glad recognition light up the face of the other, and +then he was off with all speed for home. As he approached the house he +saw his aunt, and--yes, it was, it was--Pat standing in the doorway, +looking anxiously toward the factory. He waved his hat, and hastened +forward yet faster, stopping at the gate quite out of breath from +excitement, but looking so happy and smiling that their fears were +calmed at once. + +"Oh, I am so glad to see you, Pat! Don't touch me, auntie dear; I am all +over paint and benzine. Just wait until I change my clothes and I will +tell you all about it," he said, as he disappeared upstairs. + +But the great surprise and pleasure came the next day. Johnnie had gone +to work as usual, and was not expected home until evening. About noon, +however, he entered the kitchen where his aunt was working. + +"Come, aunt, into the room where Pat is. I have something nice to tell +you." + +But when there he could say nothing. He just put in her hand a crisp +check for two hundred dollars. + +"Oh. Johnnie! now you can go to school too," shouted the delighted Pat. + +"What does it mean, dear?" asked his aunt, gazing in wonder at the +check, at Johnnie, and then at the check again. + +"The manager gave it to me this morning. It was his little boy who fell +into the tank yesterday. He had heard about my wanting to go to school, +and about Pat, so he gave me this. Oh, dear auntie! do you suppose +anybody was ever so happy as I am? Here is the manager's carriage too. I +am to have a half-holiday, and take you both out riding. Come, we will +have some dinner, and then go down the deep hollow road." + + + + +HOW TO LAY OUT LAWN TENNIS COURTS. + +BY SHERWOOD RYSE. + + +In an article on lawn tennis published in YOUNG PEOPLE last summer we +pointed out how the game might be indulged in with a very small outlay +of money--how some of the implements, indeed, might be of home +manufacture and yet be serviceable. Accordingly we were obliged to limit +the court to a size which the net supplied with cheap tennis sets would +admit. As the game has now become so popular that it is likely to be, if +it is not already, the game of games, we will take our readers a little +further, and show them how to lay out a full-sized court both for single +and double games. + +As the double court measures 78 feet by 36, the lawn should be not less +than 100 feet by 50, and the court should be laid out as in the +accompanying diagram. + +[Illustration] + +First, stake out the base line, E to F, 36 feet, with your string. Then +carry it along the line F to D, 78 feet, and in the same manner make the +line E to C, 78 feet. Then connect C, D, and if your figure is a +parallelogram, this last line should be the same length as E to F, +namely, 36 feet. + +The whole area of the two courts is now marked out. Next for the +divisions. + +The single courts are of the same length as the double, but only 27 feet +wide, that is 9 feet less than the double. Mark out, therefore, the +positions of G and H, which will be 4-1/2 feet from E and F +respectively; and in the same manner, and at the same distances from the +side lines, mark the positions of J and K. Then extend your string from +G to J, and from H to K. + +Now for the net, which is shown by the broad line A to B, extended three +feet on each side of the boundary of the court. From the net line +measure 21 feet to N, O, P, Q respectively, and join N and O, P and Q. +These last lines are 27 feet long: divide them in half, so that the +distance from N to L, for instance, is 13-1/2 feet, and mark the line L +to M. + +You will think, and rightly, that if you are to stake all these lines at +the same time with string, you will require several hundred feet of +string; but this is not necessary. Cut sixteen stakes about six inches +long, sharpened at one end and broad at the other, so that they can be +easily driven into the ground and yet not easily be trodden out of +sight. As you measure off each point you will drive a stake to mark it; +thus you will need as many stakes as there are letters in the diagram. + +As the court on the one side of the net is exactly similar to that on +the other, if you grow tired of measuring and driving stakes, you may +mark the lines of the one court before completing the laying out of the +other. This you must do with "whitening" and a brush not less than two +inches wide. Each line that is to be marked must be shown by a string +stretched over it as a guide: otherwise the lines will be far from +straight. As each line is finished, the string is taken up and used to +guide the marking of the next line. Care should be taken to mark all the +lines equally distinct, and to renew them as they get worn out. + +Here is a handy table of distances from point to point in the diagram. + + Double court { Base line E to F = 36 feet. + { Side line F to D = 78 feet. + { Side line E to C = 78 feet. + { Base line C to D = 36 feet. + + Single court { Base line G to H = 27 feet. + { Base line J to K = 27 feet. + { Side line G to J = 78 feet. + { Side line H to K = 78 feet. + + Service court { Net to service lines = 21 feet. + { Central line, L to M = 42 feet. + + Between net posts A to B = 42 feet. + + + + +PARSEE MERCHANTS OF BOMBAY. + +BY THOMAS W. KNOX. + + +Among all the races and religions of India there are none more curious +than the Parsees. They are sometimes called Fire-Worshippers, on account +of their reverence for the sun, and consequently of the fire that comes +from it. The founder of their religion was Zoroaster, who was supposed +to have brought fire from heaven, and placed it on their altars, and to +this day it is kept burning in their temples. + +The Parsees belonged originally in Persia, and were persecuted by the +Saracens more than a thousand years ago, so that many of them embraced +the Mohammedan religion. The few that clung to the worship of the sun +were driven into the most barren parts of the country, or compelled to +leave it altogether. Many settled in the province of Guzerat in +Hindostan, bringing the sacred fire with them. They were again +persecuted by the Mohammedans, but for the last two hundred years have +enjoyed religious freedom. + +It is thought that there are about two hundred thousand of them now in +India. In Bombay alone there are seventy thousand Parsees, and the rest +are principally in Guzerat and along the western coast. They are +intelligent and enterprising, pay great attention to the education of +their children, give liberally to all public charities, and their +merchants are considered the shrewdest business men in the world. More +than three-fourths of the business of Bombay is in their control, and +for this reason the place is often called "the City of the Parsees." + +[Illustration: PARSEE MERCHANTS BARGAINING FOR COTTON.] + +The cotton market of Bombay is an excellent place in which to study +these strange people, and in the height of the season it is often +crowded with them. They go among the bales and bags of cotton examining +the fibre, and talking busily with each other in their efforts to buy or +sell. When making a bargain they are rarely in a hurry, and it is not an +unusual sight to see a couple of them seated on a bale of cotton, each +with a sample in his hands, arguing with great earnestness over a +difference of a few cents on a transaction amounting to thousands of +dollars. From the closeness of their bargains they are sometimes called +"the Jews of the East." It has been said that the Israelites of Europe +can not compete successfully with the Parsees in matters of trade. + +These people adhere to the dress of their ancestors. Their ordinary +costume consists of a white frock falling below the knee, over trousers +of the same material, and for head-coverings they wear a curiously +shaped hat of spotted muslin, without a brim. Their priests wear a hat +of the same shape, but of pure white, the rest of their dress being +similar to that of the ordinary Parsee. They take care of their poor so +thoroughly that a Parsee beggar is never seen. The men rarely accompany +their wives in public, and very few Europeans have ever seen the inside +of a Parsee house, so as to learn the domestic life of the family. +Parsee boys and girls are frequently very handsome, but their beauty +fades while they are yet young. Their parents are very fond of them, and +a father will often deny himself many things in order to spend freely on +the education or amusement of his children. + +Notwithstanding their habit of driving close bargains, the Parsee +merchants have a high reputation for honesty. They may be a long time +closing a transaction, but when the word has been given, they adhere +closely to their agreements. The wealthiest men of Bombay are among the +Parsees, and they are as noted for their charities as for their great +fortunes. One of these merchants, who had gained an enormous fortune in +trade with China, devoted the closing years of his life to works of +charity. He connected the island of Bombay with the mainland by a +causeway at his own expense, he built and endowed two hospitals, and he +gave a large amount of money for the relief of British soldiers during +the Crimean war. The Queen conferred on him the honor of knighthood, and +afterward made him a baronet. Since his death his son has inherited not +only the title but the charities of his father. + +The Parsees do not bury or burn their dead like the Hindoos and +Mohammedans around them, but expose the bodies to be eaten by birds. One +of their most prominent merchants explained this custom as follows: + +"We consider fire sacred, and would not use it for burning the dead, as +the Hindoos do, or for any other ignoble office. The earth is the mother +of mankind, and the producer of the fruits and other things on which we +live, and the burial of the dead would be a defilement and an injury. +Cemeteries are everywhere considered unhealthy, and our mode of +sepulture is open to none of the objections that are made to cremation +or burial." + +The Parsees are not by any means confined to Bombay and its vicinity; +there are several Parsee houses in Calcutta, Madras, and other cities of +India, and they can also be found in Hong-Kong, Shanghai, Yokohama, and +other cities of Asia. Some of the Bombay houses have branches in London, +and a few in New York and San Francisco, and year by year their business +is spreading throughout the world. Twelve hundred years ago they +numbered but a few thousand refugees; now they have become an +influential people, respecting the religions of others, but clinging +tenaciously to their own. The sacred fire burns in their temples, as it +has burned for centuries, and from present indications it will continue +to glow for many centuries to come. + + + + +[Illustration] + +A CHERRY-TREE LESSON. + +BY S. S. CONANT. + + + A naughty little city boy was taken to a farm, + To spend the summer holidays, away from heat and harm; + Where he could roll upon the grass, or chase the little chicks, + Or tease the piggies in the pen by poking them with sticks. + + To pull the peacock's feathers out to him was lots of fun; + The geese stretched out their necks and hissed, and made him turn and + run; + He didn't dare to plague the dog, for fear that he would bite; + But he was in all sorts of scrapes from morning until night. + + One day he climbed a cherry-tree that in the garden grew, + Because it was the very thing he'd been told not to do; + The cherries they were red and ripe, and tasted very sweet-- + That naughty boy he swallowed them as fast as he could eat. + + But when he'd eaten all he could, and scrambled down again, + He sat upon the ground, and soon began to scream with pain; + And when at last the doctor came he very grimly said, + "Give him a dose of castor-oil, and put him right to bed." + + "It isn't nice," said his mamma, "to lie in bed all day; + I hope 'twill be a lesson, Tom, and teach you to obey." + Tom promised solemnly no more that cherry-tree to climb; + And his mamma was very sure he meant it--at the time. + + + + +[Illustration: OUR POST-OFFICE BOX.] + + +A CHEAP CANOE. + +So many lads have written to Our Post-office Box asking for advice and +information as to how to build a cheap canoe, that Messrs. Harper & +Brothers have just reprinted in a circular the article on this subject +which appeared in HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE April 27, 1880. Messrs. Harper & +Brothers will mail the circular and working plans to any address on +receipt of a three-cent postage stamp. + + * * * * * + +WARM WEATHER.--Why, of course, dears. But we need the sunshine to ripen +the corn, and make the apples round and red, and paint the yellow pears, +and kiss the green grapes until they grow large and purple. Let me tell +you a secret. It isn't worth while to fan, and fan, and keep saying "Oh, +dear! I wish a breeze would come! When will this heat be over?" Neither +is it a good plan to drink a great deal of ice-water. The more you +drink, the more you will want. Try to forget the heat, and get some +pleasant thing to do, sitting in the coolest place you can find. Paint a +picture, draw some Wiggles, make a puzzle for HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE, or +write a letter to Our Post-office Box; help auntie dust the parlor, +gather flowers to fill the vases, read an interesting book, arrange your +specimens or stamps, or tell a story to please your little sister. If +you do something that you like to do, or that will make others happy, +the warm day will be gone before you know it. + + * * * * * + + FORT BAYARD, NEW MEXICO. + + I am a little boy eight years old. I have taken YOUNG PEOPLE for + over a year. I like New Mexico very much. I have a little burro + (that is Mexican for donkey) that I ride or drive. My father has + three deer-hounds and one stag-hound. One of the deer-hounds is + mine; I call him Thor. The names of the rest of the hounds are + Hilda, Maida, and Jarl; Jarl is the stag-hound. Day before + yesterday Hilda was hooked by a cow, Thor had a cut in his foot, + and Jarl had a sliver in his leg two inches long. When Jarl was a + puppy, he had a bad fall from a railroad trestle. Papa was going to + shoot him, but one of the soldiers said, "Don't shoot, sir; he is + all right." We have a pointer called Roy. I have been to the Santa + Rita copper mines, and have seen the stamps that they crush the ore + with. I take German lessons from the librarian of the Twenty-third + Infantry. My mother has twelve hens--two sitting, and two with + little chickens. I have nothing more to tell about now, but I will + write again. I liked "Toby Tyler" and "Tim and Tip," and I like + "Mr. Stubbs's Brother" very much; and oh, I liked "Scrap" so much! + and "The Boys' Tea Party" was splendid. I would like to send my + love to the Postmistress. + + W. SWIFT M. + +The Postmistress sends you hers in return. + + * * * * * + + GLASSBOROUGH. + + I have begun to make a collection of curiosities, and have three + butterflies, one moth, a hornets' nest, and two birds' nests; in + them are three eggs. My only pet is a kitten named Bunthorne, but I + am lamenting the loss of a horned toad from Mexico. It refused to + eat, and after three months of captivity it quietly died. They are + called by the Mexicans _el taurusita del Vergita_, meaning the + little bull of the little Virgin. + + P.S.--Will you tell me the difference between a maiden and a + spinster? + + H. S. W. + +What a pity about the poor toad! Perhaps he pined for home. + +Any unmarried woman is a maiden. A spinster is a person who spins. In +olden times the young ladies of the family used to spin and weave the +household linen, and so they were called spinsters. Really a maiden and +a spinster are the same. + + * * * * * + + GALLIPOLIS, OHIO. + + I am a little girl twelve years old. I have been taking HARPER'S + YOUNG PEOPLE two years, and like it very much. I have been + afflicted for years, and have to walk on crutches. I have two + sisters, who are away at school; a week more and they will be at + home, and I will be happy. I have a canary-bird; his name is Pedro. + The bottom of his cage dropped out, and he flew away, and was gone + a day and night; a boy caught him, and brought him back to me. I + have a tortoise-shell cat and kitten. The old cat is named Spot, + and the kitten Hot. I will exchange twelve foreign and United + States stamps for the same number of gilt cards or glass buttons. I + have a button string of over a thousand glass buttons; I have also + six hundred cards. + + MARY V. COX. + +Although you have to walk on crutches, you have happy times, I am sure, +for a contented heart triumphs over all difficulties. + + * * * * * + + SHERBURNE FOUR CORNERS, NEW YORK. + + I am a girl twelve years old, and am not very large for my age. I + have five sisters and one brother. Two of my sisters are married, + and each has a little boy. The oldest boy is four years old, and + the youngest is not two weeks old yet. My birthday was last May, on + Decoration-day. I am collecting cards, and now have 370. We have + four horses and two colts; and I have a very nice cat. + + FANNIE A. H. + + * * * * * + + A very little girl with a very big hat, + And a dear little boy with a pail, + They were going to the beach to play in the sand, + And then off with papa for a sail. + + * * * * * + +LITTLE CONFECTIONERS.--Several little girls have asked me to give them +some receipts for making chocolate caramels and other candies. I hope +they will remember that in candy-making, as in other cooking, it is +necessary to be very exact in measuring the different ingredients; +neither sugar nor flavoring can be left to chance. And the little cook +must keep a sharp eye on her fire, and watch her pan and its contents, +so as to remove them at just the right moment. Sugar must be made into a +syrup by adding water to it, and boiling it until it is smooth and +thick. It is then called clarified sugar. + + _Chocolate Caramels_.--Dissolve four ounces of chocolate in as + little water as possible, and add it to one pound of clarified + sugar, stirring it for a few minutes before taking it off. If you + wish a richer caramel mixture, then take half a pound of chocolate, + two cups of sugar, half a cup of milk, and a small lump of butter. + Scrape the chocolate in the milk, add it to the boiled sugar, and + stir in the butter. When your caramels are done pour them into a + flat pan or a sheet of tin which you have oiled or buttered, so + that they will not stick fast to it. When cool enough to be dented + with the finger, cut the caramels into the shape you desire with a + knife. If you do not eat your caramels on the day they are made, + keep them in a tightly closed jar. + +Everton taffy is a favorite with children. It is made in this way: + + _Everton Taffy_.--Melt three ounces of butter in a brass skillet, + and add one pound of brown sugar; boil the mixture over a clear + fire until the syrup, when dropped into cold water, breaks between + the teeth without sticking to them. Pour it into pans which have + been rubbed with buttered paper, and set it away to cool. If you + wish, you may add the grated rind of a lemon when the sugar is half + done. + + _Plain Taffy_.--Boil a quart of molasses slowly for half an hour + over not too fierce a fire, stirring it constantly. Add to it half + a tea-spoonful of bicarbonate of soda (baking-soda). Try the candy + by dropping a spoonful in cold water. If brittle, it is done. + +You may, if you wish, make molasses candy very white by pulling it in +your hands, first flouring them or buttering them, so that the candy +will not stick fast to your fingers. + +Now, dear little housekeepers, although I have given you these receipts, +I do not advise you to spend a great deal of time in candy-making in +midsummer. I would rather hear that you had been riding on the hay, or +gathering apples, fishing with your brothers, or going over the hills +for blackberries. But if you do make candy, be sure to write me word +whether or not it turns out finely and tastes good. + + * * * * * + + WEATHERFORD, TEXAS. + + I am a little boy seven years old. I have never been to school yet, + but I learn at home. I like my books very much. I had several nice + books given to me, and I have read them all but one. I have just + had a nice trip with my papa, going on the Texas and Pacific + Railroad to Colorado City. It is in Western Texas, on the Colorado + River. The river was very high, and I saw some horses swim across + it. I saw a great many prairie-dogs. They burrow in the ground, and + have a rattle-snake, an owl, and a rabbit with them. I also saw a + panther. I wanted a prairie-dog for a pet, and a gentleman promised + to send me one. I see where little Susie has told you about her + pet, a horned toad. There are a great many of them here. They do + not hop like a toad, but run almost as fast as a lizard. I catch + them, and put them in the garden to destroy the bugs. My pet is a + little rat terrier named Snip. I saw a little printing-office at + Colorado City, where a paper called the _Nut-Shell_ is printed. It + is about as large as a big sheet of writing-paper. Its editor is + Johnny Tolar, a boy about fifteen years old. I take it and HARPER'S + YOUNG PEOPLE. I wrote this letter by myself, and then got mamma to + show me the mistakes. + + HOWARD L. + + * * * * * + +A VISIT TO FORT PICKENS. + + I will first tell where Fort Pickens is. It is on Santa Rosa + Island. The island is surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico and + Pensacola Bay, and is a large uninhabited island. On the 25th of + May the Presbyterian Sabbath-school from Pensacola gave a picnic. + We left the wharf for Fort Pickens about half past nine. We had a + very nice time going over; we played games and talked all the way + over. We arrived at the Fort at about ten or half past ten o'clock. + As soon as we had landed, we went right to the Fort, where we staid + for about half an hour resting, after which we walked through the + Fort. We then went back to where our parasols and baskets were. We + got our parasols, and started with a few other girls and boys to + walk round the parapets of the forts. A few boys and girls went + over to the Gulf to gather shells, but it was so warm that I + thought it best to wait until afternoon before I went over to the + Gulf. About twelve o'clock we went into one of the large, cool + case-mates and danced and decorated our hats with ferns and wild + flowers gathered inside the Fort. At one o'clock we had dinner, + which we enjoyed very much. We had everything necessary to eat at a + picnic. After dinner we spent the time until half past two much the + same as in the morning. At half past two a crowd of ladies, + gentlemen, and children went over in a sail-boat to Barrancas to + visit the light-house. I did not go over with them for fear of + getting seasick. After I had seen the boat leave the wharf I went + back to the Fort, where I met several girls who were going over to + the Gulf. I went with them. When we got over to the Gulf we pulled + off our shoes and stockings and went in wading. When tired of that + we walked up the beach gathering shells, until we thought it time + to go back to the Fort. After a sail on the Gulf we returned to + Pensacola, and arrived there about half past six. We were very + tired. + + NANNIE L. W. + + * * * * * + + WASHINGTON, D.C. + + I am a little girl six years old. I have no brother nor sister, but + have as many as six dolls. Fanny is nearly as old as I am. Her nose + is almost flat. I keep Etta dressed all up pretty. Santa Claus has + had two big books made with my HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE. I hope he + won't forget to call for them again this year. I have taken them + every one. I have a blackboard; I print, and can add and take away. + I am in the Second-Reader. Mamma and I are going to Maine next + month to stay till it is real cool here. There we go out fishing. + We pick blueberries, blackberries, and cranberries. I have four + little cousins who go from here. We all have the same grandpa and + grandma. We ride on the hay, and dig clams. Papa will go down to + bring us home. Every Tuesday night he reads me the stories from + HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE. I like the letters very much, and everything + in them. When papa sees a letter from his little girl, he will open + his eyes. I have never been to school. I think Toby Tyler is just + as nice as any other of my friends. I am wondering if you will have + room for this in my HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE; it is a very long + letter. + + One of your little girls, OLIVE E. B. + +Thank you, dear, for printing your letter so beautifully. + + * * * * * + + HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT. + + An amusing game which I have seen played is the following: Take + four handkerchiefs and tie them like dolls, to represent four + persons; then tie a thread to each, and put them (the threads) over + the chandelier, and give each thread to a person, who must try to + conceal himself behind a door or something else; and then, while + some one plays on the piano, those who have the threads keep them + jerking, letting the dolls hang so that they come down to the + floor. If well done, it is quite a good representation of dancing. + + S. + + * * * * * + + LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY. + + As I have not seen a letter from Lexington, I thought I would write + one. I have two little puppies; one is named Sport, and the other + Preston. I have a hen, and she lays eggs. I have a little brother, + and he is named Hugh. He has two kittens; one is a Maltese, and one + a common cat. I can ride a bicycle, and last year I took the + certificate at the fair for good riding. + + E. SAYRE C. + + * * * * * + + WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN. + + I am twelve years old, and have taken the YOUNG PEOPLE from the + beginning. I like it very much; I can hardly wait a week for it to + come, because the continued stories all leave off in such + interesting places. + + I haven't any pets to tell you about, for they all died. I had five + cats, a mother and four little ones, and some one killed the + mother, and two little dwarfs, as I called them, had to be + drowned, because they could not live without her; then one of the + remaining two fell into the well and drowned itself, and the horse + stepped on the other one; so that is the fate of my five cats. + + My mamma, papa, and little brother have all been to California, and + left me here with some friends; they were gone nearly a year, and + sometimes I felt very lonesome. My brother is ten years old, and we + have a nice big yard to play in. My brother's name is Earle, and we + both like "Mr. Stubbs's Brother" very much. + + WINNIE W. + + * * * * * + +ADMIRER.--Newfoundland is pronounced with the accent on the first +syllable. I do not know who wrote the exercise in alliteration which you +mention. It is clever, but you could no doubt compose an equally +excellent one yourself. Whether to use plain or ornamental note-paper is +a matter to be decided by your own taste. The exquisite little butterfly +painted by yourself in the corner of your sheet is a decided addition to +the beauty of your letter. I would not waste such decorations on an +envelope, however, as that has to pass through many hands, and is less +private than the inclosure. + + * * * * * + +VIOLET S.--Your teacher has discovered a very pleasant way of teaching +her pupils how to write compositions. Although most schools are now +taking their summer recess, I will state her method. She takes ten words +from a lesson which the girls have recently studied, and writes them on +the blackboard, after which she gives them fifteen minutes with their +slates and pencils. At the end of fifteen minutes each is asked for her +composition. + + * * * * * + +The smallest black-and-tan terrier in the world is supposed to belong to +a lady in Chicago. It weighs from a pound to a pound and a half. Its +skin is like the finest silk, its eyes project like marbles, its legs +resemble lead-pencils, and its feet are the most perfect and curious +things alive. It reposes in a basket lined with gold and cardinal satin, +wears a collar studded with diamonds and emeralds, with "Baby Mine," its +pet name, on a gold plate tipped with a gold bell, and is fed from a +saucer of Dresden china. + + * * * * * + +BETTIE.--Keep powdered borax on your wash-stand, and use it when washing +your hands; it will make them soft and white. Lemon juice is also good +to whiten the hands. But the Postmistress does not object to a healthy +brown color in summer either on hands or face. + + * * * * * + +C. Y. P. R. U. + +This article on the making of anagrams, which we ask you to read +carefully, was prepared by a gentleman who has had a great deal of +experience with puzzles and puzzlers. Perhaps you will try your own +skill in transposing sentences after this ingenious fashion: + +MODERN ANAGRAMS. + +BY KOE. + +In a former issue of YOUNG PEOPLE a writer told the younger readers of +the old-fashioned amusement of making anagrams on the names of +acquaintances and public characters. The author gave several +illustrations of famous anagrams made many years ago; but there have +been some truly wonderful anagrams published in this country during the +last four or five years, and I shall endeavor to give you a few of the +most interesting ones. + +There is a certain understanding among contributors to puzzle columns +that an anagram is a word, name, place, or event so transposed that it +will relate in some way to the original subject; while if merely so +transposed that it will produce other words not relative to the +original, it is called a transposition; but transpositions are usually +made of a single word, as, for instance, the following by a lady of +Toledo, Ohio, who signs herself "Mazie Lane": + + "Transpose a musical anthem grand, + And find a picture by a red man's hand." + +The answer is Motet--Totem. + +Here is one by a young man of Boston, who signs himself "Sphinx": + + "Gay, pretty flowers of the spring, + Transposed will stipulators bring." + +Answer: Primroses--Promisers. + +These are good examples of transpositions, as they are called, while the +word Astronomers, which is turned into moon-starers, is an excellent +example of word-anagram. One of the best, and probably only word in the +English language of which so perfect an anagram can be made, is a word I +discovered in my dictionary not long since. It is the word _stum_, and +turned into the anagram of _must_. The definition of each word is the +same--"unfermented grape juice or wine." + +As the following anagrams were when published signed by their authors +with a _nom de plume_, or assumed name, I will give due credit by giving +the name of each. + +A contributor who signed himself "Wilkins Micawber" sent me the +following in 1879: + + "We all can say, and speak the truth, + How well we knew her in our youth." + _The door ring tided ill._ + +Surely every one of my readers has heard or read of this little girl +who, while on her way to her grandmother's house, met the fierce wolf in +the woods. The words in italics represent the anagram, and I am +confident some of the bright little readers would soon discover in the +above line their well-known friend Little Red Riding-hood. Is not this +an excellent anagram? + +A gentleman of New Haven, Connecticut, who uses the _nom de plume_ of +"O. Possum," is the author of the following--and I fancy some of the +older members of the family would have to assist to solve it, being an +anagram of a well-known book that few of the little folks read: + + _Past homes of Italy pied._ + "Of days gone by, a story written + By Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton." + +The answer is _The Last Days of Pompeii_. + +From the landing of the Pilgrims down to the present day the history of +our country is full of grand events that afford most excellent subjects +for anagrams, and many of my friends have utilized some of them. I could +fill several pages with the anagrams I have collected, but lack of space +compels me to give only a few of the best. + +A contributor who uses the _nom de plume_ of "Jim Jam" was the first to +use the event of Washington crossing the Delaware for an anagram, with +the following result: + + _A hard, howling, tossing water scene._ + +Soon after receiving this a friend, now dead, sent me the following on +the same subject. His _nom de plume_ was "Graham": + + _Lo! see rash acting with dangers won._ + +One "Percy Vere" also used this subject, with this result: + + "Read this event on history's page-- + _The cold waters swashing on in rage._" + +While "Edwin Drood's" attempt resulted as follows: + + _Watch a soldier hang on, steering s.w._ + +This was sent to me more as a joke, and the answer given as "Crossington +washing the Delaware," but both answers can be found. I will here say +that a true and perfect anagram should not contain a single letter to +represent words, as in the one given above; nor should any but proper +abbreviations be used, and these as rarely as possible. + +The two following were composed by "Traddles," who, by-the-way, is +looked upon as quite an expert in this amusement: + + _Horror flee! Rude war's better ended._ + +"The surrender of Robert Edward Lee," which also ended the war of the +rebellion. + + _A French site. 'Tis blotted out, eh?_ + +"The destruction of the Bastile," a terrible state-prison, which was +destroyed by the people of Paris on the 15th of July, 1789. + + _O! glad boy finds rich metal in clay of shoal river._ + +This, by "Percy Vere," is considered one of the best and most correct of +anagrams. The answer is, "The discovery of gold in California by +Marshall." This author is also the writer of the following: + + _O! all in ban. March!_ + +Answer: Abraham Lincoln. + + _Sirs, 'tis alone._ + +Answer: Solitariness. + +The following two are so good that I am sure my readers will excuse me +for the additional time I take from their play to present them. They are +both by the same author, a gentleman of Ohio: + + _Often noisy I when I enable aching wives to hem._ + +Answer: Invention of the sewing-machine by Elias Howe. + + _Pooh! we can find ten errors; they never hit._ + +Answer: The weather predictions of Henry Vennor. + +The above will give you all an idea of how an anagram should be made. +All are excellent specimens of American work--in fact, I am certain no +better were ever composed. The puzzle column in this paper, I am sure, +would publish some anagrams if my young readers will take the trouble to +try and make them. Let us see who will have the first one published. + +Before closing I wish to give you a treat, illustrating how a word can +be twisted and twirled. It is from Maitland: + +"'How much there is in a word--_monastery_,' says I. 'Why, that makes +_nasty Rome_;' and when I looked at it again, it was _more nasty_--a +very vile place, or _mean sty_. + +"'_Ay, monster_,' says I, 'you are found out.' + +"'What monster?' said the Pope. + +"'What monster?' said I. 'Why, your own image there--_stone Mary_.' + +"'That,' he replied, 'is _my one star_, my Stella Maria, my treasure, my +guide.' + +"'No,' said I, 'you should say _my treason_." + +"'_Yet no arms_,' said he. + +"'No,' quoth I; 'quiet may suit best, as long as you have _no +mastery_--I mean _money arts_.' + +"'No,' said he again, 'those are _Tory means_, and Dan, _my senator_, +will baffle them.' + +"'I don't know that,' said I; 'but I think one might make _no mean +story_ out of this one word monastery.'" + + * * * * * + +We would call the attention of the C. Y. P. R. U. this week to Mrs. +Lillie's article "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart," and to "Parsee Merchants of +Bombay," by Colonel Thomas W. Knox. In "How to Lay out Lawn Tennis +Courts" Sherwood Ryse offers some hints that young tennis-players will +find very useful. + + * * * * * + +PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS. + +No. 1. + +DOUBLE ACROSTIC. + +1. A pronoun. 2. A tree. 3. Another pronoun. 4. A kind of fuel. 5. A +boy's name. 6. A preposition. 7. A verb. 8. A smaller portion. Primals +and finals compose the name of a book by Louisa M. Alcott. + + DOXY. + + * * * * * + +No. 2. + +NUMERICAL ENIGMA. + + I am composed of 19 letters, and am a famous navigator. + My 1, 4, 11, 12, 15, 19 is a show. + My 2, 7, 10 is an agricultural tool. + My 3, 13, 17 is to steal. + My 5, 18, 17, 16, 4, 6 is to yield. + My 8, 9, 4, 14 is a boy's nickname. + My whole is the name of a famous navigator. + + R. B. B. + + * * * * * + +No. 3. + +TWO WORD SQUARES. + +1.--1. A jeweller's measure. 2. Nimble. 3. A fire-arm. 4. To grant. 5. +Prongs. + +2.--1. A tree. 2. A weapon. 3. To verify. 4. A friend. 5. Pitchers. + + EMPIRE CITY. + + * * * * * + +No. 4. + +AN EASY ENIGMA. + + In cat, not in dog. + In stick, not in log. + In find, not in lose. + In eats, not in chews. + My whole is a country over the sea. + Pray what is my name--can you tell me? + + JOCO. + + * * * * * + +No. 5. + +A SMALL SQUARE. + +1. A domestic animal. 2. A number. 3. A swelling. + + ALFRED W. + + * * * * * + +No. 6. + +TWO CHARADES. + +1.--My first is fragrant, my second is a name, and my whole is a +beautiful flower. + +2.--My first is an animal, my second is part of an animal, and my whole +is a flower. + + EMPIRE CITY. + + * * * * * + +No. 7. + +WHO AM I? + + I went to the Crimea; + I stopped there; + I didn't go there; + I was sent home because + I didn't go there. + + * * * * * + +ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN No. 138. + +No. 1. + +Nelson, Sydney, Montpelier, Lena, Hobart, Mattery, Cashmere, Brussels, +Morocco, Orange, Worms, Fear, Cologne, Sandwich Islands, Orange County, +Farewell. + +No. 2. + +Bennington. Hop-Scotch. + +No. 3. + + P + R B A T + D A Y B A L E S + R A V E N P A L F R E Y + Y E A T E R R A + N S E A + Y + +No. 4. + + P A N I C + A T O N E + N O V E L + I N E R T + C E L T S + + * * * * * + +Correct answers to puzzles have been received from Fannie T. Metzgar, +Julia Jackson, Eddie Flack, Mary Rice, May Fanning, "I. Scycle," Russel +B. Beals, Henry Aron, Eva Stevenson, Rose M. Benedict, "Sister Grace," +"Prickly-Pear," Mary B. Lavely, Hugh Leslie, Arthur Aird, Jack Trumbull, +E. L. Jones, "Lady Clare," "Cricket," Samuel Price, Fred White, A. H. +Brown, Edgar Seeman, Richard Venino, "Neptune," Maude Motley, Eddie S. +Hequembourg, Cornelia Gateson, Charlie O. Rose, Willie Black, Griffith +Williams, Harry, Tom, and Pussy, "Eureka," Maud H. H., Willie and Emily, +Alice and Amelia, Roger Franklin, King Albert. + + * * * * * + +[_For Exchanges, see 2d and 3d pages of cover._] + + + + +[Illustration: "They come, the merry summer months of beauty, song, and +flowers."--WILLIAM MOTHERWELL.] + + + + +A LITTLE SCAMP. + +BY JOSEPHINE POLLARD. + + + He's off on a tramp, + Like the little scamp + That he is, for we did not bind him; + And with hurrying feet + Up and down the street + We've followed, but can not find him. + + There are gypsies about, + Who will steal him, no doubt, + And keep him in horrible places; + And changing his name, + Our darling will claim, + Who misses our fond embraces. + + The dear little scamp, + What made him decamp + In this way, without any warning? + He can not speak plain, + And we've sought him in vain, + Why, ever since yesterday morning. + + He was saucy and pert, + And will surely get hurt + In some of his comical capers; + And hoping to get + Our runaway pet, + We've advertised him in the papers. + + We've mentioned his size, + The color of his eyes, + And his hair--'twas a beautiful yellow; + And offered reward, + All we could afford, + To whoever restores the dear fellow. + + His meals he will take + Very nicely, and cake + He is almost as fond of as candy. + If he crosses your track, + Won't you please bring him back? + He's a dog, and he answers to--Dandie. + + * * * * * + +BARBERS' POLES. + +In the records of the English Parliament for the last century we read +that Lord Thurlow, when he opposed the Surgeons' Incorporation Bill in +the House of Peers, on the 17th July, 1797, stated that by a statute +still in force, the barbers and surgeons were each to use a pole. The +barbers were to have theirs blue and white striped, with no other +appendage; but the surgeons', which were the same in other respects, +were likewise to have a gallipot and a red rag to denote the particular +nature of their vocation. + +The origin of the barbers' pole is to be traced to the period when the +barbers were also surgeons, and practiced bleeding. To assist this +operation, it being necessary for the patient to grasp a staff, a stick +or a pole was always kept by the barber-surgeon, together with the +fillet or bandage he used for tying the patient's arm. When the pole was +not in use, the tape was tied to it, that they might be both together +when wanted. + +On a person coming in to be bled, the tape was disengaged from the pole +and bound round the arm, and the pole was put into the person's hand. +After the operation was concluded, the tape was again tied on the pole, +and pole and tape were often hung at the door for a sign or notice to +passers-by that they might there be bled. Doubtless the competition for +custom was great, for our ancestors believed thoroughly in bleeding, and +they demanded the operation frequently. At length, instead of hanging +out the identical pole used in the operation, a pole was painted with +stripes round it, in imitation of the real pole and bandage, and thus +came the sign. + +That the use of the pole in bleeding was very ancient appears from an +illumination in a missal of the time of Edward I. In other ancient +volumes there are engravings of the like practice. "Such a staff," says +Brand, who mentions these graphic illustrations, "is to this very day +put into the hand of patients undergoing phlebotomy by every village +practitioner." + + + + +[Illustration: THE CHAIRMAN. "We are here, gentlemen, to start a Crusade +against Dog-catchers, and we wish every Dog's help, both small and +great."] + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Young People, July 11, 1882, by Various + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 58457 *** |