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diff --git a/59128-0.txt b/59128-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..de635f2 --- /dev/null +++ b/59128-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3273 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59128 *** + + + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: HARPER'S ROUND TABLE] + +Copyright, 1896, by HARPER & BROTHERS. All Rights Reserved. + + * * * * * + +PUBLISHED WEEKLY. NEW YORK, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1896. FIVE CENTS A +COPY. + +VOL. XVII.--NO. 879. TWO DOLLARS A YEAR. + + * * * * * + + + + +[Illustration] + +IN THE OLD HERRICK HOUSE. + +BY ELLEN DOUGLAS DELAND. + +CHAPTER I. + + +There are but few dwelling-houses left which are occupied as such in that +part of Philadelphia which was once so fashionable, the neighborhood of +Independence Square. The rooms within the stately old mansions are now +used by lawyers and other professional men for their offices, and +business signs adorn the brick fronts without. There are one or two +exceptions to this rule, however, and there was one house where the +descendants of a long line of ancestors still lived in the home of their +fathers. + +The two Misses Herrick prided themselves upon having been born and +brought up in the old house in Fourth Street, the same house in which +General Washington had so often supped with their great-grandfather, +when the table was adorned with the blue India oyster-dish and the +egg-shell teacups, which were now kept behind the locked glass doors of +the corner cabinet in the dining-room. + +In one of the windows of this old house, in a room which fronted on the +street, sat Elizabeth, looking out on the autumn rain, which dripped +dismally through the leafless trees and flooded the brick pavement. +Elizabeth was a niece of the Misses Herrick, and she had lived with them +all her life. + +It seemed a very long time, as she looked back upon it, although it was +really only eleven years; but that is a great space of time when one is +waiting; and Elizabeth had been waiting, ever since she had been old +enough to know that she had a father, for his return. + +He went away from America, she had been told, when her mother died, and +that was when Elizabeth was a baby. Valentine, her brother, was almost +three years older, and he had been sent to their mother's family in +Virginia. The brother and sister had met but once or twice; for the +aunts in Fourth Street did not like boys, and therefore did not +encourage his coming there, and as Elizabeth had never been allowed to +visit her Southern relatives, they were practically strangers to one +another. + +The Misses Herrick always spoke of the children's father as "poor +Edward" when they mentioned him at all. This was when an infrequent +letter arrived bearing a foreign post-mark. Elizabeth did not know why +he should be poor, for his sisters were certainly very wealthy, and she +had an indistinct idea, suggested to her by her old nurse, who was now +dead, that some day she herself would have a great deal of money. + +But that made no particular impression on her mind beyond the fact that +if she did own money, she would like to give it all to her father if he +were poor. Perhaps that was the reason he did not come home, because he +could not pay for his passage. + +Elizabeth thought it all out as she sat at the window this rainy +afternoon, and she determined to question her aunts on the subject at +the earliest opportunity. Julius Cæsar sat opposite to her, also looking +at the rain. When a gust of wind rattled the window and swirled the dead +leaves on the pavement he gazed out more intently still; for although he +was no longer young, and was extremely dignified, he was not above +playing occasionally with anything so fascinating as a moving leaf. + +The little girl would have led a lonely existence had it not been for +Julius Cæsar, the cat. + +The trouble was that Aunt Caroline was so occupied with her social +duties, and Aunt Rebecca with the many lectures, concerts, and German or +French classes which she attended, that there was little chance to speak +with them. + +Elizabeth did not see them very often, either--only at luncheon, or when +she went out with Miss Herrick to be fitted for her fall or spring +outfit, or after an altercation with Miss Rice, the governess. + +On these latter occasions, which, it must be confessed, were very +frequent, Miss Herrick was called in to act as mediator or judge, and +Elizabeth found that she invariably took the part of Miss Rice in the +discussion. + +It was while she was thinking thus that her aunt Rebecca entered the +room. Miss Rebecca Herrick was still a young-looking woman, tall and +slender, and always beautifully dressed, and she was rarely seen without +a book of some sort, for her tastes were distinctly literary. + +When she came into the room this afternoon her face wore a preoccupied +expression, and she was in evident haste. She did not see her niece +sitting in the deep recess formed by the heavy curtain at the window +until Elizabeth spoke, + +"Aunt Rebecca, is it true that my father is poor?" + +"Mercy, child, I did not see you there! How you startled me. What did +you say?" + +"Is my father a poor man?" + +"Elizabeth, how absurd! Poor? Why should he be?" + +"Because Aunt Caroline always says, when a letter comes from him, 'Here +is a letter from poor Edward.'" + +"Nonsense, Elizabeth! What ridiculous fancies you have! But don't stop +me now with your questions. I am looking for the French book I am +reading with Madame La Pierre. Have you seen it?" + +"No," replied Elizabeth, not offering to look for it. "I am going to +write to my father, Aunt Rebecca." + +But her aunt, having found the book, had left the room. + +"I am going to write to him, Julius," she repeated, stroking the cat's +glistening white breast. "I do wish you were a fairy cat and could +speak. It would be so nice to have some one to talk things over with. +Never mind. When my father comes home, as he surely will when he gets my +letter, I can talk everything over with him. Won't it be lovely, +Julius?" + +Then she left the window where she had been sitting so long and went to +the writing-desk--her aunt Caroline's desk, so carefully arranged, with +its silver implements and monogrammed paper. She would write to her +father, as she had said, though she did not know how to address it. But +fortunately her father's last letter, which had come that very morning, +was lying open on the desk, with the date and the name of the place at +which he was stopping written across the top. + +She took an envelope and carefully copied the name, addressing it to Mr. +Edward Herrick, and then she wrote the following letter--wrote it +hastily, and without stopping to think what she should say: + + "MY DEAR FATHER,--I hope you are well, and that you are coming home + soon. I do not know why you stay away from us so long, unless it is + because you have not enough money to come home with. Aunt Caroline + always calls you poor Edward, so I think that must be the reason. I + want to tell you that we are not poor here at all. Aunt Caroline + and Aunt Rebecca both have lots and lots of money, and I have an + allowance of seventy-five cents a week to spend as I like, only I + have to buy my hair-ribbons out of it, because Aunt Caroline thinks + I lose so many, and it is going to make me take better care of them + if I have to pay for them myself; but it does not make a bit of + difference, for they will get lost. + + "I do not suppose that seventy-five cents a week will help you much + to get home, but I am going to tell you something else. My old + nurse Mary Ann, that died, told me once that when I was grown up I + would have lots of money; she said I was an airess. I do not think + that is the way to spell that word, but I will look it out in the + dickshunary before I send the letter. I do not want you to think + that I do not know how to spell, father dear. I read a book about + an airess the other day, and it said she had a great deal of money, + but she could not use it until she was very, very old--twenty-one, + I think. + + "Now, father dear, I have a sujjestshun to make. Could not you + borrow some money of somebody to come home with, and tell them you + will pay it back in ten years? I have counted it up, and it will be + ten years before I am twenty-one. It is a very long time, I know, + but perhaps there is somebody who knows you well and will trust + you. You can tell them that you _know_ your daughter will pay it + back. + + "It seems strange that my aunts do not give it to you, for they + have a great deal, I think; but I do not like to ask them to. They + are very queer sometimes, father dear, though I do not like to say + anything against your sisters. But won't you come home to me soon? + I want you _so_ much. We could live together, and my brother + Valentine could come home too, and we should be so happy. I have + thought it over ever so many times, and I think it would be too + perfect. I really need you, father, and I will try to be just as + much like my mother as I can possibly be. They say I look like her, + for I have dark eyes and light hair; but I am not pretty, and she + was. Aunt Caroline says I have an unfortunate temper. The words pop + right out so fast when I get mad that I can't stop them, and so + many things make me mad. + + "But do come home, father dear. I need you so much; and please do + as I say about the money. Come soon to your very loving and lonely + little daughter, + + "ELIZABETH HERRICK. + + "P.S.--The nicest thing in this house is Julius Cæsar. He is a cat, + very large and black, with a white breast, four white paws, and one + white spot in the middle of his back. + + "E. H." + +This was a very long letter, and the unformed childish hand in which it +was written covered several sheets of Miss Herrick's best note-paper. +When it was finished Elizabeth folded it and placed it in the +envelope, forgetting to correct the misspelled words. She found a +five-cent stamp in her aunt's well-filled box--she had seen Miss Herrick +put that kind of a stamp on her letters to "poor Edward"--and then going +into the hall, she took an umbrella from the rack and sallied forth into +the rain to mail the precious missive. + +Elizabeth was mistaken when she told her father that she was not pretty. +Her large dark eyes and the hair which hung over her shoulders like a +mass of spun gold formed a striking contrast, but her cheeks were thin +and somewhat pale, and her expression was too old for that of a child of +twelve. Her lonely life was reflected in her face. + +Her aunts did not intend to neglect her, but they were busy women whose +own special interests came first in importance, and they did not +understand the child. They thought that to feed and clothe her and to +give her a beautiful home to live in was all that was necessary, in +addition to the education, of which Miss Rice had charge. + +They wearied of Elizabeth's questions, the result of long trains of +thought carried on by the alert inquiring mind, and either refused to +answer them or referred her to Miss Rice. The governess was one who +considered it more important to know exactly how far it was in miles +from the meridian of Greenwich to that of Washington, and what was the +date of the eleventh battle of the Thirty Years' War, than to plunge +into the subjects which interested Elizabeth. + +Soon after the little girl's return from her expedition to the lamp-post +Miss Herrick came in. She was in out-door dress, and she carried a +card-case in her hand. Although she was rather below medium height, Miss +Herrick's manner of holding her well-shaped head was so stately that she +gave one the impression of being taller. Her features were regular, and +there was not a trace of silver in the smooth dark hair which was never +out of place. The Herricks were all noted for their beauty, and although +Miss Caroline was well over fifty, was still a handsome woman. + +"Are you there, Elizabeth?" she asked, in her evenly modulated voice; +"it is a frightful day to go out, but I promised faithfully to go to +Mrs. Ford's tea. Tell me when the carriage comes to the door. My +umbrella seems to be wet. It is very strange. And who has been at my +desk? The pen is still filled with ink, and carelessly flung down on the +clean fresh blotter! Do you know anything about it, Elizabeth?" + +"Yes, Aunt Caroline. I have been writing a letter there," said a small +but courageous voice from the window-seat. + +"Writing a letter at my desk? May I ask why and to whom? Does not the +desk in your room afford opportunities for your correspondence?" + +"It was easier to write it here. My room is so far off, and I wanted to +get it done quickly." + +"What nonsense! And to whom did you write?" + +"My father." + +"Your father! Elizabeth, how dared you, without my permission? Poor +Edward! What will he say?" + +"There you go again, Aunt Caroline," said Elizabeth, coming down the +long room and standing at her aunt's side. "Won't you please tell me why +you always call my father poor? Is he really and truly poor? Hasn't he +any money? Do you suppose he is ever--really--hungry, like the Brady +family in the back street?" + +She asked these questions slowly and fearfully, and a solemn look came +into the large brown eyes fixed so intently on her aunt's face. + +"What nonsense you talk, Elizabeth! Tell me at once what you wrote to +him about." + +"Not unless you tell me why you call him poor," returned the little +girl, firmly. "I ought to know something about my own father, I think, +and you ought to tell me." + +"You are extremely disrespectful. Leave the room at once." + +"Very well; I will, Aunt Caroline. Only I think you might tell me, and I +mean to find out somehow about my father. And I was the one who used +your umbrella. I went out to mail my letter. And I used your stamp, +which I will pay you back. And I got my feet soaking wet, and I don't +mean to change my shoes. So there!" + +"What a child she is!" thought Miss Herrick, as her niece disappeared +behind the portière. "I wonder what she has written to poor Edward? What +will he say? I trust he may never receive it. And she said her feet were +wet. That will not do, for she will surely have a sore throat." And she +touched the bell. + +"James," she said to the man who appeared, "tell Marie to find Miss +Elizabeth and change her shoes. Her feet are wet." + +But it was some time before James told Marie, and still longer before +Marie went in search of Elizabeth, and when she did the child was not to +be found. + +The house in Fourth Street was very large, with huge rooms and lofty +ceilings, for it had been built in the generous fashion dear to our +grandfathers. The drawing-rooms occupied the first floor, the +sleeping-rooms of the two Misses Herrick the second, while Elizabeth had +for her own one in the third story. + +Then there were the "back buildings," on the first floor of which were +the kitchens, above these the dining-room and library, and still farther +above a number of rooms which were used for various purposes, such as +the storing of furniture, camphor-chests, and the like. + +There was one room in this part of the house which, to Elizabeth's +knowledge, had never been opened, and, strange to say, it was fastened +by a padlock. Elizabeth often wandered over the house when she had +nothing else that was particularly interesting to do, and this padlocked +door always possessed a strong fascination for her. + +Why was it locked at all, and why was there a padlock on it? Was not an +ordinary lock enough? There must be something very precious in there. +What _could_ it be? The mystery piqued Elizabeth's curiosity immensely. +If she could only see behind that closed door! + +On this rainy afternoon when she had been dismissed so summarily from +the drawing-room she mounted the long double flight of stairs toward her +own room. When she reached the third-story landing, however, her glance +fell upon the locked door, which directly faced her. + +"What is in that room?" she said to herself. "I must find out. Aunt +Caroline won't tell me about my father, so I am going to discover things +for myself. There is the front door shutting, so she is off, and Aunt +Rebecca is taking her French lesson in the library. No one will hear +me." + +She turned and hurried down the thickly carpeted stairs, her flying feet +making not a sound, and ran along the hall to her aunt Caroline's room. +The lofty four-post bedstead, which had been made especially large for +great-grandfather Herrick's famous height, seemed but of ordinary size +in the great chamber, and the massive wardrobe and old-fashioned chests +of drawers consumed but little of the space. + +Elizabeth paused in the middle of the room and looked about her. If she +could only see the key-bag which she knew Miss Herrick kept in her room. +She would not like to open any drawers to find it. It did not seem quite +the right thing to go to people's bureau drawers. Fortunately it was not +necessary. The key-bag hung on a rack near the dressing-table. + +Elizabeth took it carefully down and ran up stairs again. Slowly and +laboriously she tried each key to the little padlock. Not one of them +would fit. There were thirty keys at least, and yet not one would open +the door. What should she do? Disappointment only made her more anxious +than ever to succeed. + +Very dejectedly she returned to Miss Herrick's room and hung the bag +where she had found it. She was turning away when she chanced to see a +small Chinese cabinet of drawers on the dressing-table. It was curiously +inlaid, and the corners were bound with silver, and it consisted of but +two little drawers, the whole standing not more than four inches high. +Elizabeth had noticed it before on the table when she had been in her +aunt's room, and she had always admired it. + +She took it up and looked at it. One of the little drawers slipped out +as she held it, and within lay two keys, one large and the other small, +and they were tied together with a ribbon. With a half-suppressed "Oh!" +of delight she seized them and ran up stairs. + +One key fitted the lock of the door, the other the padlock. With perfect +ease she turned them and entered the room. + +[TO BE CONTINUED.] + + + + +THE SAILING AND RACING OF THE SMALL BOAT. + +BY DUDLEY D. F. PARKER. + + +A great deal of real solid pleasure may be had from the handling and +racing of the smaller classes of sailing-craft. + +[Illustration: THE "TUCK-UP."] + +The boat possessing all the peculiarities of the small boat to the +greatest extent is the "tuck-up," a type seemingly a cross between the +ordinary cat and a "Whitehall" row-boat, and having an extremely easy +under-water body. These little boats range from sixteen to nineteen +feet, and have a very moderate beam as compared to the cat-boat, and are +rather deeper. The entrance is sharp, and the stern lines are much cut +away, making a hull that can be driven through the water at a high +speed, though lacking in stability. It is frequently the case that the +spars and sails of these boats are so large that they are top-heavy from +this alone, and often the boat has to be run alongside a dock and a man +hold it right side up whilst the crew clamber aboard. Ropes are +frequently fastened at intervals to the centreboard trunk to assist the +men in hanging on when the boat is away over. In the sketch the crew is +represented as laying flat on the deck for windward work. + +They are essentially a "racing-machine," their speed being developed by +a large sail, big centreboard, and all the men and bags available to +keep the whole right side up. The rig is the regular cat, and everything +is very strong. On account of the small displacement of hull and the +large sail and ballast, the motions of the boat are much intensified. A +squall striking the large sail area will throw her down in an instant, +and as soon as it is over she rights as quickly. It will be readily seen +from the foregoing that the crew should watch the boat intently, and be +prepared to hang out over the side or scramble inboard, as the occasion +may require. The problems presented for racing these boats are about the +same as those of the cat-boat (see article in HARPER'S ROUND TABLE No. +827), but there are several things that should always be kept in mind. +These boats are quick in stays, obedient to the helm, and change course +rapidly when gybed. On account of comparative lack of beam, the deck at +the sides is narrow and the coaming is low, so as to permit the men to +lay over the side, and in consequence the danger of taking water aboard +is greatly increased. In fact, it is a frequent sight in a race to see a +man busily engaged in bailing out the water that has dashed in over the +bow or come in over the lee gunwale. The quick manner of heeling of +these boats greatly increases the chances of getting the sail in the +water, and you should keep a sharp lookout for this, as it is liable to +result in an upset. At the same time you do not want to let the wind out +of the sail, or the weight of the men on the upper side will dump the +boat to windward. The principal duty of the crew will be to act as +shifting ballast, and the greater the rapidity with which the motions of +this important duty are performed, the more the boat's speed will be +helped. When the boat starts to heel, it should be met quickly, so as to +prevent her getting away over and wallowing through the seas, the men +lying out or sliding in quickly, as the wind's force varies. The duties +for each man are about the same as in the cat-boat, having a man at the +tiller (captain), sheet-tender, centreboard and halyard man, and if the +day is at all windy a light man had better be assigned to bail the boat +when necessary. + +[Illustration: THE ST. LAWRENCE BOAT.] + +St. Lawrence skiff-racing is not general, though in some parts of the +country it is indulged in. It will be sufficient, perhaps, to pass over +it with a few words. The boat is in many respects a large canoe, and +hence depends entirely on the crew to hold it up. The rigs employed are +enlarged canoe rigs, _i.e._, two fore-and-aft sails of some +character--"bats' wings," "Mohicans," etc., etc. + +The sternmost sail, or "jigger" (sometimes called "dandy"), has a +tendency to throw the boat's head up into the wind, and as there is no +counteracting influence of a jib, these rigs sail very close to the +wind. + +In going about, the jigger is a great aid, and should be hauled in flat +when rounding up, and trimmed properly again when on the other tack. In +gybing, the jigger is more of a hinderance than an aid, as in making a +gybe it is necessary for the boat's head to fall off the wind. To make a +neat job, the wind pressure in the jigger should be reduced as much as +possible as the mainsail is coming inboard. In running before the wind +the sails should be placed "wing-an'-wing," that is, on opposite sides +of the boat, so as to get full benefit of the wind and ease the +steering. When running this way you should watch the boat carefully, +lest some small change in wind or course would cause one of the sails to +gybe over. + +[Illustration: RACING BATEAU.] + +The racing small boat pre-eminent of this section of the coast is the +"bateau"--a half-round-bottom type possessing some of the qualities of +the flat-bottomed row-boat and the sea-skiff. They are usually in the +neighborhood of eighteen feet, and rather narrow, with a sharp bow and +long tapering stern-lines. The bottom board, or "keel," is about +eighteen inches wide in the centre, tapering to a point at each end. +From it the sides are built up out of two or three wide planks riveted +together. The stern is really an overhang, but has a skag built on +underneath, and terminates in a perpendicular stern-board. The rig +generally employed on these boats is the "skiff rig," though +occasionally the mainsail with gaff and halyards is used. The use of a +jib presents many new problems in sailing, and will necessitate some +thought and study on the part of a boy whose experience has been +confined to the handling of a cat-boat. In the jib-and-mainsail rig +there are two opposite forces at work. The mainsail, as in the cat-boat, +throws the boat's head in the wind, only this is more pronounced, as the +mast is stepped further aft. This can readily be seen. + +Let us suppose our boat to be a lever pivoted on a fixed point, and free +to swing on this point. The point in the boat that takes the place of +the pivot of the lever is the centre of lateral resistance (resistance +to sliding sideways). This centre will be somewhere amidships, and it is +clear that whichever side of it the greatest wind pressure is exerted on +the sails, that part of the boat will have a tendency to drift with the +wind, so swinging the other end around. In the mainsail the greatest +power is aft of this centre, hence the stern falls off and the bow goes +up into the wind. In the jib the reverse is true. The power here is +applied forward of the centre, and hence the bow falls off. These two +neutralizing forces should be borne in mind when handling a jib and +mainsail, and made judicious use of. + +[Illustration: SEA-SKIFF.] + +Moderate observation and some thought of this principle will enable a +boy to analyze the behavior of his boat, and to trim his sails so as to +correct errors and get their full benefit. The jib may be trimmed so +that the boat will almost steer itself, though the sail should not be in +so flat that the mainsail cannot cause the boat to luff up when you let +go the tiller. When beating to windward or close-hauled the pressure on +the head-sail must be lessened, and so the jib should be given +considerably more sheet than the mainsail. When you wish to go about, +the rudder and mainsail are handled in the same manner as in a cat-boat. +(See HARPER'S ROUND TABLE No. 827.) After letting go of the tiller and +starting to haul in the main-sheet, and when you notice the boat is +rounding up, let slack the jib-sheets, and when the boat is on the other +tack, trim it in tightly, so as to carry the boat's head over quickly, +and then trim properly after the mainsail fills. In gybing the jib is of +much assistance. The main-sheet and tiller are handled about the same +manner as in the cat, but perhaps another caution should be given about +not forgetting to haul the centreboard up. Never fail to see that the +board is up before throwing the boat off with the rudder. When about to +put the rudder over, after pulling the board up, trim the jib in flat, +and it will aid greatly in swinging the bow off; at the same time, if +kept trimmed in until the boat's course is settled, will check to a +great extent the tendency of the boat to run up into the wind after the +sail goes over. When running off the wind the jib should be in nearly as +flat as the mainsail, but you should always remember not to have the jib +in so tightly as to destroy the luffing power of the boat. If a sudden +squall strikes the boat, let go the jib-sheet, and it will luff up +quickly. When running before the wind the jib may be used as a spinnaker +(see sketch of skiff) by placing the sails "wing-an'-wing," and if there +is not enough wind to hold the jib out, a light pole or an oar may be +used for that purpose. If the racing rules permit, a pole may be set +over the side abreast of the mast, and the jib rigged as a regular +spinnaker. + +The crew should be disposed, when possible, so that the boat will set +deeper in the stern than in the bow; that is, the bottom board at the +bow should be about two or three inches under water, so that the +cut-water will part the waves. If the bow is lifted out so as to bring +the flat bottom board in contact with the waves the boat will "smash" +its way through, and each wave will stop the headway. If the bow is too +deeply in, a larger sea than usual is liable to come aboard, and in +addition the rudder will be lifted out to a certain extent, and the boat +will steer badly, on account of lack of rudder area and the increased +lateral resistance of the bow. + +[Illustration: RACING SNEAK-BOAT.] + +Sneak-boat racing is also popular in some sections. The sneak-boat is +very much like the cat-boat, and is about as uncapsizable as a boat can +be. Its lines are all full, mostly arcs of circles, the sides being +"flaring." The long spoon-shaped bow and broad full stern overhang give +great stability and displacement when heeled over. A fore-and-aft sail +of some character is used, and the boats are handled much like a +cat-boat. Under favorable conditions they develop good speed. They are +unsurpassed as a boat for the beginner in sailing or racing. + +Sea-skiff racing is indulged in by the fishermen, and these speedy boats +afford some good sport. + +But to leave these special types, and coming to small-boat racing in +general: What qualities are essential to the successful racing skipper? +I should link two together as outweighing all others--good judgment and +spirit. They seem to stand together; one without the other is liable to +lead to unsuccess. Judgment without the spirit to make best use of it +will lead to over-caution. Spirit without judgment verges on rashness, +and cannot but lead to disaster. + +The racing-man must think quickly, and act immediately and decisively. +He must train himself to take in situations at a glance and determine +the policy he will pursue immediately. + +The boat should be sailed with dash. Your main idea should be to get +speed, and everything else should be subordinated. Injury to boat should +not be considered, unless it is liable to cripple her permanently, and +this risk is very often pardonable. No thought should be given to the +crew's comfort; they should be regarded as machines, for the time being. + +In short, the tuck-up, skiff, bateau, or small boat of any character +should be sailed like a large toy boat. If a gust throws her down, get +the crew out over the side if necessary, so that there is only enough +inboard to keep them from falling off. Don't be afraid of taking water +aboard; when there is enough in to be troublesome, bail it out. + +A racing-man must be observant. He should notice where the tides are the +strongest, and also which way the flow is at the time of the race. If +possible, he should make himself familiar with all this before the race, +and it should have some effect on the course of his boat. For instance, +suppose one of the legs of the course takes you up a channel, as the +outlet of a river or bay. If the tide is against you, you should hug the +shore and avoid the deep water, as the tide always runs strongest in the +centre. Now suppose you have rounded the mark, then the tide is in your +favor, and it is clearly to your interest to get in the middle of the +channel, so as to have its full benefit. It will easily be seen what +might be lost by a skipper not knowing or observing which way the tide +was flowing. I witnessed a very good example of this last year, in the +Labor Day Races, in the Horseshoe, Lower Bay. The course was a thrash to +windward out to the Sou'-west Spit and return, from a starting-line near +the mouth of the Navesink River. There was a strong flood-tide and a +light wind, causing the fleet to split into two sections, one tacking in +under the Hook, and the other taking the straighter course for the mark. +The latter got the full handicap of the incoming tide, and was left far +behind the boats which had gone inshore to escape it. + +At all times you must be on the lookout to take any little advantage an +opportunity offers, and to interfere with an opponent's wind. If +possible, when passing a boat, always go to windward, but do not enter +into one of those senseless luffing matches, which will practically take +the two boats engaged out of the race. + +The price of success in racing is vigilance, observation, decision, and +no set rule can be laid down for the racing captain. A great deal will +depend on opportunities and the manner he makes use of them. There is +some luck in boat-racing, but much that is ascribed to luck is due to +the forethought of the captain. Very often you hear that such and such a +boat, with her usual good luck, received the first advantage of the +changing breeze. How is it that in these cases it is usually the same +boat; can we entirely and justly ascribe it to luck? + + + + +OLD HAMMER-THE-ROCKS. + +BY WILLIAM DRYSDALE. + + +Down in Brooks County, in southern Georgia, people are still laughing +over the great joke on Dick Weston. Dick is rather a favorite, too, +though he is a Northerner; but people always laugh at a fellow who tries +to play a sharp game and is tripped up. + +"Now don't you be like Dick Weston," they tell their boys, "and waste +your time waiting for dead-men's shoes. I want to see you like his +cousin Larry--able to show that you amount to something." + +There would not have been any joke on Dick Weston, and perhaps Larry +Weston would not have made his great strike, if it had not been for the +civil war. Major Weston, of Massachusetts, went down to Georgia in the +Union army, and after the war he bought a big plantation in Brooks +County, and made a heap of money. Then years afterward his brother +Henry, a merchant in Boston, went down and bought half the plantation; +and there the two lived, and still live, with every comfort in the +world, except the comfort of good wives; for they are both old +bachelors. + +Of course it was common talk in Dick's family, and in Larry's family, +too, that the two bachelor uncles were very rich, and that the two +nephews would most likely be their heirs. Larry never paid any attention +to this talk, for his head was full of other things. But it was very +different with Dick. + +"Your nose is out of joint, young man," Larry's father said one day, +giving him a poke in the ribs; "I have a letter from your uncle George, +and he says Dick is going to make his home with them." + +"Why shouldn't he, if they want him?" Larry answered. "I'm sure I don't +envy him. For my part, I'd rather make my own way than depend upon +somebody else." + +That was two years before Larry's visit to Georgia, and Dick put in two +years of faithful work trying to make himself agreeable to his rich +uncles. Ho was so sweet around the house that his old school-mates would +hardly have known him. His uncles' slippers were always warmed before +the fire on cold mornings; and whatever they liked, Dick liked. If they +had said that cotton grew on chestnut-trees, Dick would have said so +too. + +Uncle George and Uncle Henry laughed in their sleeves at Dick's +wonderful affection, for they had been in the world a good while and +knew a thing or two. But they liked him, nevertheless, for he had +pleasant ways and was a handsome fellow; and the neighbors liked him, +though they said, "he's playing for big stakes, and he'll likely win." + +All this time Larry was attending strictly to his own business, and +learning a heap about the rocks that lie in the ground. That was his +hobby. Other things he learned because he knew they were necessary; but +mineralogy he studied because he loved it. His ambition was to go out +into the Southwest when he was old enough, and find gold or silver or +some other valuable stuff where nobody suspected its existence. His room +was full of cases of broken rock, and he rarely went out without his +little hammer. It was a standing joke in the house that the police were +looking for him for breaking corners off the curb-stones. + +The two uncles evidently kept an eye upon Larry, for as soon as he was +done with school they invited him to spend a month on the plantation. +That was when he was just past eighteen. + +"No, _sir_!" he said to his father. "I wouldn't go for a farm. There's +no meaner business in the world than trying to curry favor with rich +relations." + +"But think what a chance you'd have to geologize, or metallurgize, or +whatever you call it!" his father suggested. "There must be rocks in +that country, and you could break them by the ton." + +That put a new face on the matter. Larry had nicked specimens from the +rocks of Harlem and Manhattanville and the Palisades, but the Georgia +rocks would give him a new field; and for strictly professional reasons +he decided to go. + +As Larry had never seen a plantation before, he found everything very +different, of course, from what he expected. It was much larger, to +begin with--more than 4000 acres--and he could roam about all day +without going off his uncles' land. One big cotton-field contained more +than 2000 acres, and one morning he counted eighty-five men, women, and +children at work on it hoeing cotton. At the same time twenty men, with +mules, were cultivating corn on the other side of the place; and the +rows of cabins for the workmen looked like a village. Still he was +rather disappointed. He expected to see beautiful green lawns shaded by +fine old oaks, and beds of brilliant flowers, and everything as smooth +and clean as a rich man's place in the North. There were plenty of oaks +and flowers, to be sure, but there was no skilful gardener to keep them +trimmed smooth. The house was old, and as there was no mistress, the +negro women had their own way, and everything was in disorder. + +But the plantation was no more of a disappointment to Larry than Larry +was to the plantation--at first. He was so quiet and thoughtful, not at +all such a "hail-fellow-well-met" with everybody as Cousin Dick. There +were horses to ride and birds to shoot and fish to catch, but he took +no interest in such things. When he could have a bit of rare rock to +examine, and some acids to test it with, he liked that better than the +plantation sports. + +"Come, Larry," Uncle Henry said one morning, "and take a gallop with us. +We are just half-way between Quitman and Thomasville here, and we'll go +whichever way you like." + +"I don't know much about horses, Uncle Henry," Larry answered, "and +don't want to break my neck. Besides, I have some queer specimens here +that I want to test; so I guess I'll keep house while the rest of you +go." + +Dick was suspicious of his cousin, and always ready to make him the butt +of his jokes. Before Larry had been on the plantation a week he had +nicknamed him Post-Pliocene, Alluvium, Kill-Sport, and a dozen other +things; but Old Hammer-the-Rocks was the favorite title, and it was so +appropriate that it always made Larry smile. And Dick's love for his +cousin did not increase at all when he found, after a few days, that the +uncles had discovered that Larry was full of information about many +things, and liked to talk with him on subjects that Dick knew nothing +whatever about. + +On the morning of the day when Dick unwittingly played the great joke on +himself, Larry was sitting in the library just after breakfast, looking +over the State Geologist's Report. Dick soon joined him, and burst out +with: + +"Come on, Old Hammer-the-Rocks! We're going after birds. Shake yourself +up once and come along." + +"I never killed a bird in my life, Dick," Larry answered, "and I'm not +going to begin to-day." + +"Ah, indeed!" Dick sneered. "Don't approve of such sport, I suppose." + +"No, I can't say that I do," Larry replied, very good-naturedly. "It may +be sport for you, but what must the birds think about it?" + +Uncle George, the Major, bustled into the library after his +cartridge-belt just in time to hear this conversation. + +"Who's that don't approve of killing birds?" he asked, pretending to be +very angry. + +"I don't, Uncle George," Larry replied, "It's a heap more pleasure to +hear them sing in the trees than it can be to kill and eat them." + +As he spoke he could hardly keep from laughing outright at the +expression on Dick's face. Dick seemed perfectly horror-stricken to hear +one of his rich uncles reproved in such a fashion. + +"Well, there _are_ more important things in the world, that's a fact," +the Major laughed. "You go ahead with your uncle Henry, Dick, and I'll +join you later. I want to have a little talk with Larry." + +"This is a nice state of affairs!" Dick said to himself, as he went out. +"I never contradicted Uncle George in my life, but he never keeps _me_ +in the library for a private talk!" and he began to wonder whether a +little independence, after all, could be better than his own way. + +"You mustn't let us bore you with our country sports, Larry," the Major +said, when they were alone. "We have nothing else to amuse ourselves +with, but you have. I am glad to see you so much interested in geology +and mineralogy; the knowledge may be useful to you some day. That is all +I wanted to say; I want you to enjoy yourself while you are here, and +enjoy yourself in your own way, whether it's shooting birds or hammering +rocks. Now I'll go and murder a few birds, as I know nothing about rocks +myself." + +Left to himself for the whole morning, Larry determined to follow the +little creek that ran southward, and see what its banks had to offer. +Besides, he knew that by following it for three or four miles he would +come to the Florida line, and he wanted to be able to say that he had +been in Florida. So, with his hammer and his little black bag, he set +out. + +The Weston place, like most of the big plantations, has its own +gin-house, where the cotton is passed through a machine that separates +the fibre from the seed; and the gin-house is always built over a +running stream, so that the water will turn the big wheel. + +He did not imagine, as he followed the gin-house stream, how fate was +arranging everything for him that morning. He had not gone a mile before +the sky began to grow black. + +"No matter," he said to himself; "if it should rain hard, there is the +gin-house a mile further on. I can find shelter there." + +The rain came in due course, a real Southern downpour, and he hurried +along to the gin-house and went in. + +It is a ghostly old place, that Weston gin-house, built of solid timbers +many years ago. The floor is on a level with the ground, and a big +double door lets in light for the machine. But beneath the floor is a +deep gully washed out by the stream, dark and damp. From a trap in the +floor, steps lead down into that black hole, where the big wheel turns, +and a maze of great timbers support the wheel and the building. + +Just as Larry stepped into the gin-house and closed the door, Dick +emerged from the woods beyond, hurrying home out of the rain. + +"There's Old Hammer-the-Rocks gone into the gin-house," he said to +himself, "and I believe I'll get a little wetter for the sake of giving +him a scare. Instead of going in myself, I'll put the prop against the +door and fasten him in." + +The rain made so much noise that there was little danger of his being +heard, and he went boldly up and fastened the doors. + +"Now he'll have a time of it," Dick said to himself. "The only way he +can get out is to go down past the wheel, then climb down the timbers to +the bank of the stream, and crawl under the siding and climb up the +rocks. Those timbers are slippery, too; but if he breaks his neck that's +his lookout, not mine." + +Up to a certain point everything worked precisely as Dick had foreseen; +but who in the world could have imagined what was to happen afterward? + +When the rain let up a little Larry tried to open the doors, but they +would not open. He pushed and pulled, but the heavy doors would not +budge. Then he began to investigate. It was very dark inside, but +through the trap he saw that down below the wheel there was more light. +Though the house was weather-boarded all the way down, there was an open +space at the bottom for the water to run through. That was the only way +to get out. + +He felt his way cautiously down the dark stairs to the platform by the +wheel, expecting every minute to put his hand on a lizard or a centipede +or some other unpleasant creature. The wilderness of thick timbers down +there reminded him of some church belfries he had been in, but the +belfry timbers were not so soft and slimy to the touch. From the side of +the wheel he started to walk across a short timber to the wall, so that +he could climb down to the bottom of the gully. But the timber was worse +than he thought--half rotten, slippery with moss and slime. His foot +slipped, and he fell, not into the shallow water, but upon the rocks by +the side of the little stream. + +That was just as Dick had more than half wished. Larry lay stunned upon +the rocks beneath the old gin-house. + +But then the great joke on Dick Weston that all of Brooks County is +still laughing about began to develop. + +[Illustration: LARRY'S DISCOVERY UNDER THE MILL.] + +Instead of lying there mangled and bleeding, Larry got up and found that +he had no hurts beyond a few bruises. He was in a spooky place, but he +forgot all about the fall and the mystery of the closed door when he saw +that there were more rocks all around him than he had found before on +the whole plantation. The stream had cut its way between walls of rock, +and the ledge was littered with loose bowlders, large and small. + +He picked up some small specimens to put into his black bag, and +something in the feel of them startled him. It was a curious combination +of roughness and smoothness that his fingers touched. He knew he had +felt that species of rock before, but where? Certainly not often. It +must be something uncommon. He picked up as many specimens as the little +satchel would hold, and crawled out into the daylight. + +He was twenty feet below the surface, between two walls of rock that +extended as far up the gully as he could see. He touched one of the +rocky walls, and felt again that curious sensation of roughness and +smoothness. + +He chipped off a small piece with his hammer, and sat down on a big +bowlder to examine it. + +"Now I have it!" he exclaimed. "It was in the Museum of Natural History +that I saw and felt this stuff. But it can't be that this is a great +deposit of--" + +He was almost afraid to speak the word, for perhaps he was mistaken, +after all. He took the hammer again and pounded part of his specimen +into powder, felt it, studied of it, and tasted it with his tongue. + +Ten minutes later he was hurrying across the wet fields towards the +house, his pockets bulging with specimens broken from a dozen different +places. When he reached home he went straight to his room, and soon +filled the air with the unpleasant odor of acids poured upon pounded +rock. + +The Major and Uncle Henry and Dick were in the library when he went down +stairs, talking over their morning's sport. + +"Oh, you missed it, Hammer-the-Rocks!" Dick exclaimed. "We had a royal +time." + +"I had a pretty good time too," Larry answered. "I explored the cellar +of the old gin-house, and found some very interesting specimens." And he +unloaded his pockets and the satchel upon the library table. + +"Specimens!" the Major exclaimed, picking up one of the pieces. "Why, +this is just our common rock. I'm afraid you have fooled yourself this +time, Larry. The whole place is underlaid with this stuff--more's the +pity!" + +"Is it?" Larry asked, very coolly; "that's good. What name do you give +it?" + +"Oh, we don't give it any particular name," the Major replied, tossing +the specimen back to the table; "just ordinary rock." + +"Then you won't mind my giving it a name, Uncle George," Larry went on. +"I call it wavellite; it is worth about eight dollars a ton, just as it +lies." + +"What?" both the uncles exclaimed together, springing to their feet. +"Eight dollars a ton!" And Cousin Dick began to look uncomfortable. + +"Fully that; perhaps more," Larry continued. "I consider it a better +find than a vein of gold, for it is safer. It is the most valuable +phosphoric rock known to commerce, and has never been found anywhere but +on one little island in the West Indies. Wavellite, or Redondo mineral, +is the commercial name of it. But you must not depend solely on my +opinion. Have the specimens examined by an expert." + +The bird pie received little attention that day. Uncle Henry took an +afternoon train to Savannah with half a pack of specimens, and returned +two days later with the expert's verdict: "Wavellite beyond doubt." Soon +acres of growing cotton were turned into big holes in the ground where +the mining was done. The beauty of the plantation was spoiled by the +heaps of rock thrown up, but its value was increased many times over. + +It was only last week that the Major wrote to Larry's father: + +"Of course you will not think of calling Larry home. He has charge of +all our mining operations, with a ten-per-cent. interest in the output +that will make him a rich man in two or three years. Dick, I am glad to +say, is making himself useful too; he is Larry's clerk. I suppose we +should never have known of the wealth under our feet if it had not been +for Larry." + +It was Dick's own fault that the story of the gin-house leaked out. He +told one of his intimate friends about his "bad luck," and it was soon +all over Brooks County. As the planters ride past and see him keeping +tally in his little book, they often call to him: + +"Hello, Dick! What will you take to fasten somebody in _my_ gin-house?" + + + + +A VIRGINIA CAVALIER. + +BY MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL. + +CHAPTER XII. + + +As soon as George had spoken he disengaged himself gently from his +mother's arms. She was still weeping, but blessing him. + +"God will reward you, my son, for this yielding to your mother!" she +cried. + +"I don't know, mother, whether I deserve a reward, or not," he answered, +in the same strange voice in which he had first spoken. "I am not sure +whether I am doing right or not, but I know I could not do otherwise. I +did not yield to your command, but to your entreaty. But let me go, +mother." And before she could stop him he was out of the room, and she +heard his quick step up the stairs and his door locked after him. + +He tore off his uniform as if every shred of it burned him, put on his +ordinary clothes, and then sitting down on the bed, gazed blankly before +him. + +And blank looked the life before him. He had suffered himself to dwell +upon the thought of a naval or military career until it had become a +part of his life. He foresaw that the same strange weakness on his +mother's part which kept him from joining the navy might keep him out of +the army. True, if there should be war between the French and English in +the Northwest it would be his duty to defend his country, and no +pleadings could keep him back then; but that was only a contingency. +And, in any event, he could not again ask the help, in getting a +commission, of the only persons who could serve him--his brother +Laurence, and Lord Fairfax--after this unfortunate ending of his first +attempt. And, worst of all, he was not sure that he was right, and he +was very sure his mother was wrong. That of itself was a staggering +blow. He had always fancied his mother perfect, and her weakness, her +blind partiality for him over the rest of her children, at once +shattered his ideal. She was a true and devoted mother, but in a great +emergency she showed a tender unwisdom that seemed foreign to her +character. George did not love her any the less for this, but he +realized that after this he must think and act for himself. She had not +thought of how far he was committed in the matter, or that his brother +Laurence might be justly offended at his course--she only thought of the +anguish of giving him up. It was all hard and inscrutable to the boy, +sitting with rigid face and dry eyes, gazing before him and seeing +nothing. He did not know how long he sat there. He heard Betty's light +step, and lighter tap upon the door, and she called him softly through +the key-hole. + +"Go away, dear Betty," answered George; "I can't see anybody just now." + +It seemed to him days, not hours, before he heard the bell for dinner. +He gathered himself together and went down stairs. Betty almost cried +out when she saw him, he was so haggard. His mother saw it too, and it +made her heart ache; but in her heart she felt that it was better to +have him as he was than to say good-by to him forever, which she was +firmly persuaded would be the case had he gone in the navy. Madam +Washington, being naturally a woman of great integrity, was not at ease +in her mind. She had not forgotten the light in which she would appear +before Laurence Washington and Lord Fairfax. She read again and again +that letter from Joseph Ball, which George had appalled her by calling +both ignorant and foolish. She had been taught to think brother Joseph a +monument of wisdom, but she was not so sure of it after having acted on +his advice in this great event. + +At dinner both George and his mother were perfectly composed and +polite. Neither the children nor the servants knew that anything was the +matter, until Betty betrayed it. But little Betty's heart was so full +for George's disappointment that she could not eat her dinner, and tears +dropped upon her plate. Towards the last of the dinner one of the little +boys suddenly exclaimed, + +"Brother, I saw you in your uniform this morning; are you going to wear +it every day?" + +At this Betty burst into a loud sob, and getting up from the table, +rushed to George and threw her arms about him. George rose and led the +weeping girl out of the room. Usually such an infraction of discipline +and table manners as George and Betty leaving the table without +permission would have been strictly prohibited. But their mother saw +that these two young souls were wrought up to the keenest distress, and +as she had gained her victory she could afford to be magnanimous. + +"Betty," said George, hurriedly, when they got out of the room, "put on +your hood, and let us go into the woods. It makes one feel better, when +one is sad, to go into the woods." + +The day was dull and overcast as the boy and girl, hand in hand, tramped +across the fields to where the fringe of cedars formed the advance-guard +of the woodlands. George held Betty's hand very tightly in his. _She_ +understood him, at least. + +They said but little until they were well in the heart of the woods, and +had sat down upon a fallen tree. Then George, laying his head on Betty's +shoulder, burst into tears, and cried as if his heart would break. + +No creature was ever better formed to feel for others than sweet little +Betty. She had never seen George weep like that; but she was not +frightened or disconcerted. She only laid her wet cheek against +George's, and sighed so deeply that he knew that his burden lay as heavy +on her heart as on his. Presently, when he had become more composed, +Betty spoke: + +"Brother, hard as it is, I am glad of one thing--nobody can say anything +to you about it, after you have said that you gave way to our mother, +for no boy, or man either, can let anybody in the world find fault with +his mother." + +"Yes, Betty," answered George, sadly. "I will not be such a poltroon as +to let any one say my mother has not acted right." + +[Illustration: "SHE MEANT TO ACT RIGHT," SAID BETTY.] + +"She meant to act right," said Betty; "but--" Betty paused, and the +brother and sister looked into each other's eyes and said no more, but +each understood the other. + +"Of course," sighed Betty, "it would have been the hardest thing in the +world to have you go away; but if you wanted to go, dear George, and it +was best for you, _I_ would have given you up; and I would have tried +not to cry when you went away, and I would have thought of you every +single day while you were away, and if you had not come home for ten +years or twenty years, I would have loved you just as much as ever." + +George had always loved Betty dearly, but he felt now, at the hour of +his cruelest disappointment, what it was to have that tender sister, to +whom he could reveal his whole heart. Much as he loved his brother +Laurence, deeply as he revered Lord Fairfax, and with all his love and +reverence for his mother, he felt obliged to keep up before them a manly +fortitude; but Betty was young and inexperienced, like himself, and, +because of that, in some ways she was nearer to him than anybody else. + +The two sat there until late in the afternoon, and so quiet were they +that a squirrel came boldly out of his hole and hopped past them, and a +robin, with a weak little pretence of a song, in spite of the wintry +weather, swung within reach of them. It was nearly sunset before they +took their way homeward. George, like all boys, was not glib of tongue +in expressing his emotions; but when they got to the edge of the woods +he kissed her, and said: + +"Betty, I don't know what I would have done if it hadn't been for you +this miserable day." + +The little sister's loyal heart grew almost happy at this. + +A hard task remained for George. He had to write to his brother Laurence +and to Lord Fairfax, announcing what he had done. They were not easy +letters to write, but he carefully refrained from any hint of blame upon +his mother. + +Madam Washington, having gained her heart's desire, could not now do too +much for George. He was already far advanced beyond Mr. Hobby's school, +and his mother determined to have a tutor for him. Nothing was too good +for him now; his tutor must be a university man, with every +qualification in family and manners as well as learning. But there was +no such person within reach, and communication in those days being slow +and uncertain, there seemed no immediate chance of finding one. George +went his way calmly, but with his disappointment eating into his heart. +He studied surveying, in which he was already proficient, with Mr. +Hobby, but he did nothing else. Even his beloved hunting and shooting +palled upon him. He would spend the day at work, having Mr. Hobby's help +in the afternoon, and at night he would work out at home what he had +done during the day. Mother and son never failed in courtesy and even +affection for each other; indeed, Madam Washington lavished affection +upon him in a manner hitherto unknown to him; but there was a little +shadow between them. + +Heretofore George had not escaped being lectured for his youthful +shortcomings, but no fault was ever found with him now. Even Billy's +laziness was excused, and he might be as idle as he pleased; like his +young master, he enjoyed a complete immunity from fault-finding. This +was not a natural or a healthy way for the mother and son to live; and +one day, when George walked in and laid a letter from Lord Fairfax in +his mother's hand, saying, simply, "I think I should like that, mother," +Madam Washington, with one sharp pang, felt that they must part--at +least for a while. + +The letter was brief, and had no mention of the warrant in the navy, by +which George subtly understood that Lord Fairfax knew it was a delicate +subject, and would say nothing about it. The Earl wrote, however, that +he had determined to have his lands across the mountains surveyed during +the coming summer, and offered George for it a sum of money so large +that to the boy's unsophisticated mind it seemed a fortune. But Lord +Fairfax stipulated that George should have a license from the State of +Virginia, as his surveys would no doubt often be called in question, and +there must be a recorded proof of his efficiency. + +Madam Washington sighed deeply, yet there was no doubt that he must go. +He would be sixteen within a few days, and he was already as developed +in mind and body as a young man of nineteen. Her plans for his further +education seemed impossible to realize, and it was plain there was but +one thing to do--to let him go. She told him so that night, and the +first gleam of sunshine came into his face that she had seen since the +day after his return home. Betty's comment was like her. + +"If you want to go, George, I want you to go; but it will be doleful at +Ferry Farm without you." + +George immediately made preparations for his examination in surveying, +and having passed it successfully and got his certificate, he was ready +to start on his journey as soon as the spring should open. He wrote to +his brother Laurence, stating his plan, and saying he would spend a +night at Mount Vernon on his way. Laurence had shown the same +consideration for George's feelings that Lord Fairfax had, and, in reply +to the letter returning the midshipman's warrant, had merely said that +he regretted he had not known of Madam Washington's determination +sooner. One sentence at the end touched George: "Your little niece is +well, but she is but a frail child, and I have a presentiment that Mount +Vernon will never come to any child of mine. For that reason, as you +will some day be master of this place, I would like to have you here as +often and as long as your mother can spare you. My own constitution is +delicate, and nothing is more probable than that you will have Mount +Vernon for your own before you are of age." + +Madam Washington made the preparations for George's departure with a +steady cheerfulness that belied her sad heart. She herself proposed that +he should take Billy along. She offered him such a considerable sum of +money that George knew she must be depriving herself of many things, +and refused to take it all. In every way there was a strong though +silent purpose to make up to him for her one moment of weakness. George +felt this, and when, on the morning of his departure, his mother bade +him good-by, with a smile on her pale lips, he felt a softening of the +heart towards her that lasted not only during this separation, but +through all the coming years, with their tremendous events. + +Little Betty wept torrents of tears, protesting all the time. "Dear +George, I am glad for you to go--I don't want you to stay--I can't help +crying a little, though." + +George held her in his arms with a full heart, and wished that he had +words to tell her how much she was to him; but Betty understood well +enough. When the last farewells were said, and George was out of sight +of his mother's brave smile and Betty's tears, a sudden revulsion of +feeling came to him, as it does to all healthy young natures. He had got +to the very extremity of his despair, and there was a strong reaction. +He was essentially a boy of action, and action was now before him. +Indeed, he was no longer a boy, but a man, with responsibilities upon +him that seldom fall to young people of his years. He had his surveyor's +license in his pocket, and upon the use he made of it might depend not +only issues of property, but of peace and war; because he knew that the +unsettled state of the frontier was the real reason why Lord Fairfax +meant to have the wild lands in his grant surveyed. The day was bright, +it was in the spring-time, and he was well mounted on a good horse. +Billy, riding a stout cart-horse and carrying the saddle-bags, was +behind him, and Rattler was trotting by his side. Things might be worse, +thought George, as he struck into a canter, and wondered that his heart +was so blithe. He would see his brother and sister that night, and +little Mildred, and in a few days more he would be again at Greenway +with the Earl and Lance; and he would have all the books he wanted to +read, and fencing whenever he liked. He wondered how much he had +forgotten of it; he had not fenced since leaving Mount Vernon at +Christmas. But neither had he read or done anything else, it seemed to +George, so blank was the time from the day he came home until then. +Billy hankered after the flesh-pots of Mount Vernon, where things were +conducted on a much grander scale than at the simple Ferry Farm +homestead. George heard him chuckling to himself, and turning in the +saddle, asked, + +"What pleases you so, Billy?" + +"Tuckey, suh," answered Billy, promptly, "wid sassages roun' dee +necks--an' oshters an' sp'yar-ribs an' chines an' goose, an' all dem +t'ings dee black folks gits in de kitchen at Mount Vernon." + +It was a good forty-five miles to Mount Vernon, but George made it by +eight o'clock that night. + +His brother and sister were delighted to see him, and little Mildred had +not forgotten him. After a traveller's supper, George told them all his +plans. He passed quickly over the giving up of his midshipman's warrant, +merely saying, "My mother begged me not to leave her for the sea, and I +consented. But," he added, after a pause, "it nearly broke my heart." + +He was distressed to see his brother looking so pale and thin, and still +more so at the despondent tone Laurence took about himself. He would +have had George go into the study, and there with him discuss the +present state of the place and its future management, as if he were +certain that one day it would be George's; but this the boy refused. + +"No, brother," he said, "I can only inherit Mount Vernon through +misfortune to you and yours; and do you suppose I like to think about +that? Indeed I do not; and I neither think nor care about what you do on +the place, except that it shall be for your own satisfaction." + +The next morning George was off, much to the regret of his brother and +sister, and also of Billy, who had promised himself a regular carnival +in the Mount Vernon kitchen. + +The road was the same that George had taken nearly five months before, +on his first expedition to Greenway Court. Then it had been at the fall +of the leaf, and now it was at the bursting of the spring. Already the +live-oaks and poplars were showing a faint and silvery green, and in +sheltered sunny spots grass was sprouting. The water-courses were high +from the melting of the snow, and fording them was not always without +difficulty, or even danger. At every mile that George travelled his mind +and heart gained a better balance by quick degrees. He was sorry to be +parted from his mother and Betty, but he was at a time of life when he +must try his own strength, and he was the better for it. He stopped at +the same taverns that he had halted at when with Lord Fairfax. Billy +proved himself to be an excellent hostler as well as valet, and George +did not mean to forget mentioning to his mother, when he should have an +opportunity of sending a letter, how extremely useful Billy was. On the +fourth day, being well up in the mountains, they came to Lord Fairfax's +coach-house, as it was called; but instead of stopping, George pushed on +to Greenway Court, much to Billy's disgust, who had no taste for long +journeys on traveller's fare. On a March night, that, although cool, had +a touch of spring in the air, and under a glorious moon, George rode up +to the door at Greenway Court, and joyfully dismounted. Lord Fairfax did +not know the exact day to expect him, but knew he would arrive about +that time. When George's loud rat-tat resounded upon the great oak +doors, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to have them opened +by old Lance, who said, as if he had seen George half an hour before: + +"Good-evening, Mr. Washington; my lord is expecting you. Billy, take the +horses around to the stable." + +George walked in, and almost ran into the Earl's arms. Lord Fairfax was +overjoyed to see him, and although he did not say much, his pleasure +shone in his eyes. George's room was ready for him; there was a fine +young half-thoroughbred in the stables that was waiting for George's +saddle and bridle to be put on him; Lance had some bears' paws for his +supper whenever he should arrive; there were some books on surveying +imported from England for him. Had he been Lord Fairfax's son and heir +he could not have been received with greater consideration. The Earl +could not do enough for him. It was: + +"Lance, is Mr. Washington's room prepared for him?" + +"Yes, sir. It has been ready for a week." + +"And, Lance, Mr. Washington will probably want you in the morning in the +armory." + +As soon as supper was over, George displayed proudly his license as +surveyor, and would have plunged into the affair of the surveys at once, +but Lord Fairfax gave the first intimation then that he did not consider +George a full-fledged man. + +"Never mind for to-night, George. Very young gentlemen like you are apt +to go at things like a hunter at a five-barred gate, but you can wait +awhile. Besides, you must go to bed early after your journey, so as to +get sleep--a thing that growing boys cannot do without." + +George felt several years younger at this speech, and blushed a little +for his mannish airs, but the Earl's advice about going to bed was +sound, and in five minutes after finding himself in the great high-post +bed he was sleeping the sleep of healthy and active boyhood. + +[TO BE CONTINUED.] + + + + +THE JUJUBE MAN. + +BY ALBERT LEE. + + + At the foot of Spice Lane, in Carameltown, + Lives a funny little jujube fellow; + His body is red and his legs are brown, + And his hands and his feet are yellow. + + This jujube man has a nice little farm, + With a rooster, a hen, and a hog, + All well watched over and kept from harm + By a little red jujube dog. + + But the jujube man does not like the heat, + For it almost makes him melt,-- + And his head bends over 'most down to his feet, + And his toes bend up to his belt. + + + + +[Illustration: Map] + +THE VOYAGE OF THE "RATTLETRAP." + +BY HAYDEN CARRUTH. + +IV. + + +We were a good deal disappointed in not getting over into Nebraska, +because we had seen enough of Dakota, but there was no help for it. A +log had got caught in the paddle-wheel of the ferry-boat and wrecked it, +and there was no other way of crossing. + +"Old Blacky could swim across," said Jack, "but Browny would go to sleep +and drown." + +[Illustration: TOP HEAVY WITH HATS.] + +It is rather doubtful, however, about even Blacky's ability to have swum +the river, since it was a half-mile wide, and with a rather swift +current. In the afternoon we walked back to Yankton and bought the +biggest felt hats we could find, with wide and heavy leather bands. We +knew that we would now soon be out in the stock-growing country, and +that, as Jack said, "the cowboys wouldn't have any respect for us unless +we were top heavy with hat." + +We were camped on the high bank of the river, opposite a farm-house. It +was getting dusk when we got back to the wagon, with our heads aching +from our new hats, which seemed to weigh several pounds apiece. Jack, as +cook, announced that there was no milk on hand, and sent Ollie over to +the neighboring house to see if he could get some. Ollie returned, and +reported that the man was away from home, but that the woman said we +could have some if we were willing to go out to the barn-yard and milk +one of the cows. The others decided that it was my duty to milk, but I +asked so many foolish questions about the operation, that Jack became +convinced that I didn't know how, and said he would do it himself. We +all went over to the house, borrowed a tin pail from the woman, and went +out to the yard. + +We found about a dozen cows inside, of various sizes, but all +long-legged and long-horned. + +"Must be this man belongs to the National Trotting-Cow Association," +said Jack, as he crawled under the barbed-wire fence into the yard. +"That red beast over there in the corner ought to be able to trot a mile +in less than three minutes." + +He cautiously went up to a spotted cow which seemed to be rather tamer +than the rest, holding out one hand, and saying, "So, bossy," in oily +tones, as if he thought she was the finest cow he had ever seen. When he +was almost to her she looked at him quickly, kicked her nearest hind +foot at him savagely, and walked off, switching her tail, and shaking +her head so that Ollie was afraid it would come off and be lost. + +"Can't fool _that_ cow, can I?" said Jack, as he turned to another. But +he had no better luck this time, and after trying three or four more he +paused and said: + +"These must be the same kind of cows Horace Greeley found down in Texas +before the war. When he came back he said the way they milked down there +was to throw a cow on her back, have a nigger hold each leg, and extract +the milk with a clothes-pin." + +But at last he found a brindled animal in the corner which allowed him +to sit down and begin. He was getting on well when, without the least +warning, the cow kicked, and sent the pail spinning across the yard, +while Jack went over backwards, and his new hat fell off. There was one +calf in the yard which had been complaining ever since we came, because +it had not yet had its supper. The pail stopped rolling right side up, +and this calf ran over and put his head in it, thinking that his food +had come at last. Jack picked himself up and ran to rescue the pail. The +calf raised his head suddenly, the pail caught on one of his little +horns, and he started off around the yard, unable to see, and jumping +wildly over imaginary objects. Jack followed. A cow, which was perhaps +the mother of the calf, started after Jack. The family dog, hearing the +commotion, came running down from the house and began to pursue the cow. +This wild procession went around the yard several times, till at last +the pail came off the calf's head, and Jack secured it. Then he picked +up his hat, the brim of which another calf had been chewing, rinsed out +the pail at the pump, and tried another cow. + +This time he selected the worst-looking one of the lot, but to the +surprise of all of us she stood perfectly still, only switching him a +few times with her tall. As soon as he got a couple of quarts of milk he +stopped and came out of the yard. Ollie and I had, of course, been +laughing at him a good deal, but Jack paid no attention to it. As we +walked toward the house he said: + +"Well, there's one consolation; after all of that work and trouble the +woman can't put on the face to charge us for the milk." A moment later +he said to her, "I've got about two quarts; how much is it?" + +"Ten cents," answered the woman. "Didn't them cows seem to take kindly +to you?" + +"Well, they didn't exactly crowd around me and moo with delight," +replied Jack, as he handed over a dime with rather bad grace. + +That evening a neighbor called on us as we sat about our camp fire, and +we told him the experience with the cows. + +[Illustration: THE COW THAT WORE A SLEIGH-ROBE, AND KICKED WITH ALL FOUR +FEET.] + +"Puts me in mind of the time a fellow had over at the Santee Agency a +year or so ago," said our visitor. "There's a man there named Hawkins +that's got a tame buffalo cow. Of course you might as well try to milk +an earthquake as a buffalo. Well, one day a man came along looking for +work, and Hawkins hired him. Milking-time came, and Hawkins sent the man +out to milk, but forgot to tell him about the buffalo. The man was a +little green, and it was sort of dark in the barn, and the first thing +he tried to milk was the buffalo cow. She kicked the pail through the +window, smashed the stall, and half broke the man's leg the first three +kicks. He hobbled to the house, and says to Hawkins, 'Old man, that +there high-shouldered heifer of yourn out there has busted the barn and +half killed me, and I reckon I'll quit and go back East, where the cows +don't wear sleigh-robes and kick with four feet at once.'" + +Bright and early the next morning we got off again. Nothing of +importance happened that day. We were travelling through a comparatively +old-settled part of the country, and the houses were numerous. A young +Indian rode with us a few miles, but he was a very civilized sort of red +man. He had been at work on a farm down near Yankton, and was on his way +to the Ponca Reservation to visit his mother. As an Indian he rather +disgusted Ollie. + +"If I was a big six-foot Indian," he said, after our passenger had gone, +"I think I'd carry a tomahawk, and wear a feather or two at least. I +don't see what's the advantage of being an Indian if you're going to act +just like a white man." + +We camped that night in a beautiful nook in a bluff near a little +stream. The next day we reached Running Water. The ferry-boat was a +little thing, with a small paddle-wheel on each side operated by two +horses on tread-mills. A man stood at the stern with a long oar to steer +it. The river was not so wide here as at Yankton, but the current was +swifter, which no doubt gave the place its name. It looked very doubtful +if we would ever get across in the queer craft, but after a long time we +succeeded in doing so. It gave us a good opportunity to study the water +of the river, which looked more like milk than water, owing to the fine +clay dissolved in it. The ferryman thought very highly of the water, and +told us proudly that a glass of it would never settle and become clear. + +"It's the finest drinking-water in the world," he said. "I never drink +anything else. Take a bucket of it up home every evening to drink +overnight. You don't get any of this clear well-water down me." + +We tasted of it, but couldn't see that it was much different from other +water. + +"Boil it down a little, and give it a lower crust, and I should think it +would make a very good custard pie," said Jack. + +We found Niobrara to be a little place of a few hundred houses. We went +into camp on the edge of the town, where we staid the next day, as it +was Sunday. Early Monday morning we were out on the road which led along +the banks of the Niobrara River. We were somewhat surprised at the +smallness of this stream. It was of considerable width but very shallow, +and in many places bubbled along over the rocks like a wide brook. We +spoke of its size to a man whom we met. Said he: + +"Yes, it ain't no great shakes down here around its mouth, but you just +wait till you get up in the neighborhood of its head-waters. It's a +right smart bit of a river up there." + +"But I thought a river was usually bigger at its mouth than at its +source," I said. + +"Depends on the country it runs through," answered the man. "Some rivers +in these parts peter out entirely, and don't have no mouth a' tall--just +go into the ground and leave a wet spot. This here Niobrara comes +through a dry country, and what the sun don't dry up and the wind blow +away the sand swallers mostly, though some water does sneak through, +after all; and in the spring it's about ten times as big as it is now. +The Niobrara goes through the sand hills. Anything that goes through +the sand hills comes out small. You fellers are going through the sand +hills--you'll come out smaller than you be now." + +This was the first time we had heard of the sand hills, but after this +everybody was talking about them and warning us against them. + +"Why," said one man, "you know that there Sarah Desert over in Africa +somewhere? Well, sir, that there Sarah is a reg'lar flower-garden, with +fountains a-squirting and the band playing 'Hail Columbia,' 'longside o' +the Newbraska sand hills. You'll go through 'em for a hundred miles, and +you'll wish you'd never been born!" + +This was not encouraging, but as they were still several days' travel +ahead, we resolved not to worry about them. + +About the middle of the afternoon we came upon a great level prairie +stretching away to the west as far as we could see. There seemed to be +but few houses, and the scattering fields of corn were stunted and dried +up. It had apparently been an extremely dry season, though the prospects +for rain that night were good, and grew better. It was hot, and a strong +south wind was blowing. Night soon began to come on, but we could find +no good camping-place. We had not passed a house for four or five miles, +nor a place where we could get water for the horses. As it grew dark, +however, it began to rain. It kept up, and increased to such an extent +that in half an hour there were pools of water standing along the road +in many places, and we decided to stop. It was wet work taking care of +the horses, but the most discouraging thing was the report from the cook +that there was no milk with which to make griddle-cakes for supper, and +as he did not know how to make anything else, the prospect was rather +gloomy. But through the rain we finally discovered a light a quarter of +a mile away, and Ollie and I started out to find it. Jack refused to go, +on the plea that he was still lame from his Yankton trip after milk. + +We blundered away through the rain and darkness, and after stumbling in +a dozen holes, running into a fence, and getting tangled up in an +abandoned picket-rope, at last came up to the house. It was a little +one-room board house such as the settlers call a "shack." The door was +open, and inside we could see a man and woman and half a dozen children +and a full dozen dogs. We walked up, and when the man saw us he called +"Come in!" tossed two children on the bed in the corner, picked up their +chairs, which were home-made, and brought them to us. + +[Illustration: "WET, AIN'T IT?"] + +"Wet, ain't it?" he exclaimed. "Rainy as the day Noah yanked the +gang-plank into the Ark. I was a-telling Martha there was a right smart +chance of a shower this afternoon. What might you-uns' names be, and +where might you be from, and where might you be going?" + +We told him all about ourselves, and he went on: + +"Rainy night. Too late to help the co'n, though. Co'n's poor this year; +reckon we'll have to live on taters and hope. Tater crop ain't no great +shakes, though. Nothing much left but hope, and dry for that. Reckon +I'll go back to old Missouri in the spring, and work in a saw-mill. No +saw-mills here,'cause there ain't nothing to saw. Hay don't need sawing. +Martha," he added, turning to his wife, "was it you said our roof didn't +need mending?" + +"I said it did need it a powerful sight," answered the woman, as she put +another stick of hay in the stove, and a stream of rain-water sputtered +in the fire. + +"Mebby you're right," said the man. "There's enough dry spots for the +dogs and children, but when we have vis'tors somebody has got to get +wet. Reckon I oughter put on two shingles for vis'tors to set under. You +fellers will stay to supper, of course. We 'ain't got much but bacon and +taters, but you're powerful welcome." + +"No," I said, "we really mustn't stop. What we wanted was to see if we +couldn't get a little milk from you." + +"Well, I'll be snaked!" exclaimed the man. "That makes me think I 'ain't +milked the old cow yet." + +"I milked her more'n two hours ago, while you was cleaning your rifle," +said his wife. + +"That so?" replied the man. "Where's the milk?" + +The woman looked around a little. "Reckon the dogs or the young 'uns +must 'a' swallered it. 'Tain't in sight, nohow." + +"Oh, we can milk 'er again," exclaimed the man. "Old Spot sometimes +comes down heavier on the second or third milking than she does on the +first." + +He took a gourd from a shelf, and told us to "come on," and started out. +He wore a big felt hat, but no coat, and he was barefooted. Just outside +the door stood a bedstead and two or three chairs. "We move 'em out in +the day-time to make more room," explained the man. The rain was still +pouring down. The man took our lantern and began looking for the cow. He +soon found her, and while I held the lantern, and Ollie our jug, he went +down on his knees beside the cow and began to milk with one hand, +holding the gourd in the other. The cow stood perfectly still, as if it +was no new thing to be milked the second time. We had on rubber coats, +but the man was without protection, and as he sat very near the cow a +considerable stream ran off of her hip bone and down the back of his +neck. When the gourd was full he poured it in our jug, and at my +offering to pay for it he was almost insulted. "Not a cent, not a cent," +he exclaimed. "Al'ays glad to 'commodate a neighbor. Good-night; coming +down in the morning to swap hosses with you." + +He went back to the house, and we started for the wagon. + +"He wouldn't have got quite so wet if he hadn't kept so close to the +cow," said Ollie, as we walked along. + +"What he needs," said I, "are eave-troughs on his cow." + +[TO BE CONTINUED.] + + + + +HOW CAPTAIN JACK GOT HIS TITLE. + + +"Captain Jack," said Tommie, as he and Bobbie drew near to the Old +Sailor at the sea-shore, shortly after their arrival, "you've told us a +great many stories, but you never told us how you came to be a Captain. +Was it for bravery in battle?"' + +"No, my lad," replied the old Captain. "I've been brave enough in battle +to be an Admiral, but I never got no promotion for it. It was indoorance +won my title for me." + +"Endurance?" said Bobbie. "That's as good as bravery, isn't it?" + +"Better," said Captain Jack. "A great deal better. A great many brave +people give out when they oughtn't to, but indoorin' people never gives +out." + +"Nor in, neither," said Tommie, "I guess." + +"I guess likewise," said Captain Jack. "It wuz this way: In eighteen +seventy-one--no, I guess it was eighteen seventy-three--no--waal I +never--when was it?" + +"Make it 1874," said Bobbie. "Three and one make four." + +"That's when it was," said Captain Jack. "In eighteen seventy-four I +shipped as a able-bodied seaman before the mast with Captain William +Bilkes, of East Gloucester, Massachusetts, of the brig _Peter J._, of +Nantucket. The _Peter J._ was a pretty good boat. They called her a +brig, but she wasn't nothin' in particular, as far as I could see. She +was a composite boat--like them fortygrafts. The owners of her bought +her stern in New York, an' fastened it onto the bow of a wrack they'd +purchased in a junk-shop at Plymouth. The rudder wuz a relict of a +defunct Spanish man-o'-war, an' the masts wuz bought at a bargain sale +o' ship stuffs at Phillydelphy. Whar the cabin come from I dun'no', but +it was amatoor from way back. + +"When I fust seed the ship I says, No, I don't want none o' her in mine. +I'm fond o' swimmin', but I wants it as a diwersion an' not fer bizness. +But Cap'n Bilkes he says to me, says he: 'Jack you're the best sailor +afloat, an' I needs yer. Come with me, an' I'll give yer two thousand +dollars a month!' + +"'Cap'n,' says I, 'that ain't what I gen'rally gets, but to oblige ye +I'll come at them figgers;' an' I went, not askin' at all where we was +a-goin' to go to. + +"Waal, we sets out, me before the mast with the others, an' the Cap'n +an' two mates, four midshipmen, three soupycargoes, an' others behind +the mast. + +"First day out, down comes the Cap'n with the mumps. Dies. Chucked +overboard. + +"Second day out, down comes the two mates with measles. Dies. Buried at +sea. + +"Third day out, down comes the soupycargoes with whoopin'-cough. Dies. +All's over. + +"Fourth day out, down comes the hull crew, except me, with shycumotis, +due to havin' eat too much tomatoes. Dies. Nothin' left aboard but me +with the _Mary Jones_--" + +"_Peter J._," said Bobbie. + +"The _Peter J._," observed Captain Jack. "Git 'em mixed sometimes; +they's so many boats, I 'ain't more trouble to-- There was me all alone +by myself aboard the _Henry Q._ to bring her into port, loaded as she +was with olives an' fried potaters. + +"It was a tarrable responsibility, but I took it on. So, my boys, there +bein' no soupycargoes, nor no mates, nor no cap'ns, nor no nothin' save +me an' the decks onto the ship, I 'p'inted myself commander-in-chief, +an' thar ye be." + +"It's very interesting," said Tommie. + +"You bet it is!" said Captain Jack; "but it ain't half so interesting to +me as a box o' imported cigars would be." + +And the boys walked off, and later on Captain Jack received a box of +imported cigars--"just," as Tommie said, "to interest him." + + + + +A SMALL ELECTRIC-LIGHT OUTFIT. + +HOW TO MAKE THE BATTERY AND HOW TO SET IT UP. + +BY THOMAS R. TALTAVALL. + + +All young readers of HARPER'S ROUND TABLE are probably familiar with the +appearance of the electric light--that wonderful little glass bulb that +we see in stores, hotels, theatres, etc.--and no doubt many have +wondered what causes the hairlike loop inside the bulb to become so +brilliantly luminous. Electricity does it; but no one knows what +electricity is, not even the most advanced scientific thinker of the +day. We know how to produce it and how to handle it, but further than +that we are still in ignorance. + +The electricity necessary to light an incandescent lamp, such as we see +in stores, etc., is generated in a machine called a _dynamo_. The dynamo +is driven by a steam-engine, and produces electric current in large +quantities for electric-lighting on a large scale. Electricity can also +be produced by a battery, but in very small quantity as compared with +that produced by a dynamo; and in order to light a house by electricity +from a battery, so many cells would be required that it would be +decidedly inconvenient and troublesome to keep them in order. + +It may interest the boys among the readers of HARPER'S ROUND TABLE to +know that with a little ingenuity a battery can be constructed by +themselves which will give sufficient current to light a small electric +lamp. Such an outfit is full of interest and instructive to young +people, and its use creates a desire for a wider knowledge of this most +fascinating subject. + +Electric lamps are made of all sizes, from the size of a pea to that of +the lamp we see every day and are most familiar with, and they are used +for a great variety of purposes. The lamps referred to here are those +having a pear-shaped glass bulb, and which are known as incandescent +lamps. The kind we see in the streets, giving a very powerful light, are +called arc-lights. With this class of lights, however, we will have +nothing to do here. The object of this article is to give plain +directions for the construction of a battery to light a small electric +lamp. Some boys may think that because electricity is something +mysterious it must be very difficult to produce; but that is not the +case. A battery is easily made, and by following the directions here +given we can produce just the same kind of light we see in stores and +other public places, only on a smaller scale. + +We must provide three things, namely, the battery, the lamp, and the +wire to conduct the current from the battery to the lamp. + +First, the battery. A cell of battery, such as we shall need, is made up +of four constituent parts--the glass jar, a rod of zinc, a couple of +carbon rods, and the solution in which the carbons and zincs are to be +immersed. Two such cells will be needed to give a brilliant light. + +For our purpose ordinary glass tumblers will answer very well for the +jars. Tumblers are suggested, because almost every boy can obtain his +mother's consent to use a couple for this purpose. + +The next things to provide are the zincs and carbons. The zinc may be of +any shape, flat, square, or round, but we have selected the round form +for our battery because it is easily obtained, and more easily handled +and prepared by the amateur for an experimental battery. All +electrical-supply houses keep Leclanche zincs, which are rods of that +metal about 3/8 of an inch in diameter and 9 inches long. One such zinc +cut in two will give us two pieces each 4-1/2 inches long, which will be +ample for our battery. + +Carbons, like zincs, are made in many forms, but for our purpose we have +also selected the round shape because they are likewise more easily +obtained. Such carbons as are used in electric-arc street lights will +answer very well indeed. These carbons are usually plated with a thin +coating of copper, which must be removed before we can use them for our +battery. This can often be done by scraping the copper off. Should that +fail to completely remove it, nitric acid will; but I would not advise +using acid if the copper can be removed the other way. Nitric acid is +dangerous stuff to have around on account of the fumes it gives off, and +its corrosive propensities when it comes in contact with fabrics and +almost every other substance. + +Having procured your carbons, cut them off the same length as the zincs, +which can be easily done with a scroll or any other small saw. Be +careful, though, because carbon is rather brittle, and will break rather +than bend. The zincs and carbons should be of the same length, and +should be at least an inch higher than the top of the tumbler. Two +carbons and one zinc will be required for each cell. + +The next step in our work is to provide means for suspending the zincs +and carbons in the tumblers. This will require a little carpenter-work. +Get two pieces of well-seasoned and very dry wood (any kind will do), +each about 1-1/2 inches wide, 4 inches long, and 3/8 or 1/2 an inch +thick, and bore three holes in each in the manner shown in Fig. 3. The +holes should be, as nearly as possible, of the same diameter as the +zincs and carbons, and the middle one should be midway between the ends +of the wooden "hanger." The zincs and carbons are to be placed in these +holes, and suspended in the tumblers as shown in Fig. 4, the zinc rod +being placed in the centre, with one carbon rod on each side. + +We are now ready to attach the wires to the zincs and carbons for the +purpose of conveying the current from the battery to the lamp. Use No. +18 braided wire, which can be obtained of any dealer in electrical +supplies. Any one caring to go to the extra expense, however, can get a +silk-covered cord which is very neat and convenient, because two wires +are twisted together, forming one cord. Each conductor of this cord is +made up of several fine copper wires, instead of one solid wire, which +makes it very flexible. But whether the cord or separate single wires +are used, the connections with the zincs and carbons are the same. It is +understood, of course, that it is necessary to have two wires to connect +the battery and lamp. One end of each of the wires is connected with the +lamp, and the other ends with the battery--one with the zincs and the +other with the carbons. + +[Illustration: FIG. 1.] + +Fig. 1 shows how these battery connections must be made. One of the lamp +wires is connected with the two carbons of cell No. 1 and the zinc of +cell No. 2, and the other wire is connected with the zinc of cell No. 1 +and the two carbons of cell No. 2. + +To make these connections, have a sufficient length at one end of each +of the wires to wrap four or five times around the carbons and zinc, +allowing a little slack between them. Wrap as firmly as possible so as +to insure a tight joint, as nothing is more wasteful of current than a +loose connection. We need all the current for our lamp. Before wrapping +the wire it should be well scraped and cleaned, in order to secure a +good connection with the zinc and carbons. A dirty connection is as bad +as a loose one. + +Having connected the two wires with the carbons and zincs in the manner +shown, in Fig. 1, we are now ready to connect the lamp. Remove the +braid, or covering, of the free ends of the two wires for about two or +three inches, and after scraping and cleaning the ends of the wire, +twist them tightly with the two wires projecting from the lamp; then all +the connections are made. If you now place the zincs and carbons in the +solution (which I will presently refer to more particularly), your +battery will produce a current which will make the little lamp give a +light as sparkling as a diamond. The lamp is the most important part of +the outfit, and cannot be made by amateurs. It must be bought of a +dealer. + +[Illustration: FIG. 2.] + +Fig. 2 is an illustration of a lamp that will give a light of 1/2 +candle-power or more with the battery described above. This illustration +is the actual size of a 1/2 candle-power lamp. The lamp is a small glass +bulb, inside of which is a short length of carbon in the shape of a +small arch. This carbon is connected with the wires running through and +outside of the glass bulb, and when the current flows through the wires +the carbon becomes "incandescent"--that is, white-hot. This carbon is in +a vacuum, the air having been exhausted from the bulb in the process of +manufacture. The vacuum is essential. Should there be none, and the +space be filled with air, the carbon would be destroyed by the oxygen in +the air the moment the current rendered it incandescent. + +In handling the lamp while making connections with the battery wires, +care must be taken that the lamp wires are not broken off close to the +glass by too much twisting. Should this happen, the lamp would be +rendered useless, because then we could not get a connection with the +carbon filament. + +All the connections having been made, everything is ready to charge the +battery. Charging means to fill the cells with the proper chemical +solutions which, in their action upon the zinc and carbons, produce the +electric current. The chemicals necessary to make the solution for the +battery can be bought at any drug-store, but those of our young friends +who live in cities can buy the battery fluid all ready prepared at any +electrical-supply house, if they do not care to bother with making it +themselves. I would advise making it fresh, however, because it gives +young experimenters some experience and something to think about. The +fluid is called in the trade "electropoin fluid," and is sold by the +pint, quart, gallon, or any other quantity, by the regular dealers. All +batteries using this fluid are generally called "Electropoin" batteries. + +To make this fluid the following ingredients are necessary: bichromate +of potash, sulphuric acid, and water. Bichromate of potash comes in +lumps, and is of a dark red or wine color; it can be bought at any +drug-store. Sulphuric acid can also be bought at any drug-store; it must +be handled very carefully, as it has a disagreeable habit of burning, +and otherwise destroying almost everything it comes in contact with. +Glass is one of the few substances it does not attack, therefore it is +safe in a glass bottle. + +[Illustration: FIG. 3.] + +The following is a receipt for preparing electropoin fluid: take 1-1/2 +lbs. of bichromate of potash, and after crushing the lumps as fine as +possible, dissolve it in 2 quarts of boiling water. After this solution +has become cold, add to it a solution composed of 1 quart of sulphuric +acid and 3 quarts of water, and thoroughly mix the two. After the +mixture is cool it is ready for use. This will be enough for several +charges of the battery. A smaller quantity may be made by proportionate +reduction in quantity of the several ingredients. + +It is a very strange fact that pouring sulphuric acid into water +produces no different effect than if the acid were so much water, but if +the water is poured upon the acid a greatly different effect takes +place. Heat is very rapidly developed, causing the liquids to boil +violently, and sputtering and scattering in every direction. Care must +be taken, therefore, to _pour the acid into the water_. + +[Illustration: FIG. 4.] + +When the electropoin fluid is cool we can go ahead and set up our +battery. Place the zincs and carbons in position in their wooden +supports, Fig. 3, and suspend them in the tumblers, as shown in Fig. 4; +pour the bichromate solution into the tumblers until it reaches within +3/4 inch or 1 inch of the top. The wire connections should be made with +the zinc and carbons before the battery is set up, because to attempt to +make them after the solution is in the tumblers you cannot help spilling +the fluid. And I might caution my young friends right here to be careful +not to spill any of the solution on their clothes or on the carpet, as +it eats holes in fabrics. + +Now for the final touches. If we now connect the lamp to the battery +wires it will give a brilliant light the moment we make the last +connection, and continue to burn until the current is broken, which may +be done by lifting the elements (as the zincs and carbons are called) +out of the fluid. After a while, if the current is kept on for some +time, the light will begin to diminish in brilliancy. This is due to +exhaustion of the liquid in the tumblers, and when the light gets dim +the solution should be renewed. + +In connecting your lamp with the battery wires simply twist the lamp and +battery wires together firmly but gently. All of the connections are +shown very clearly in Fig. 2. + +When the light is not desired it is best to remove the elements from the +tumblers, so as to save the zinc. The acid in the solution dissolves the +zinc. + +An outfit of this sort costs about as follows: one Leclanche zinc (sawed +in two), 8 cents; two plain electric-light carbons, 20 cents; one pound +sulphuric acid (about one-half pint), 15 cents; one pound bichromate +potash, 25 cents; twenty-five feet No. 18 wire, 15 cents; one-half +candle-power lamp, $1; total cost, $1.83. + +I have not included in this estimate the cost of the two tumblers or the +wooden holders, because tumblers can always be had around the house, and +no boy needs to be told where he can find wood. But to be on the safe +side we will assume that tumblers and all have to be bought; then $2 +will cover the cost easily. + +Such an outfit as this is very interesting and instructive to every +boy--and girl, too, for that matter--and what can be more fascinating +than to be able to produce a beautiful electric light so easily? + + + + +[Illustration: INTERSCHOLASTIC SPORT] + + +[Illustration: REGINALD FINCKE. + +Interscholastic Tennis champion 1896.] + +The sixth National Interscholastic Tennis Tournament was played last +week at Newport, and resulted in a victory for Reginald Fincke, of the +Hotchkiss School, winner of the Yale Interscholastic Tournament. His +victory was more or less of a foregone conclusion on the form he had +displayed in his early spring work; and the opponents he had to meet +were none of them very formidable, the strongest, Beggs of +Lawrenceville, not being present. This gave Walton of Colombia, the +weakest man of the lot, a chance to get into the semi-finals, where he +succumbed to the Harvard interscholastic representative in three +straight and uninteresting sets. + +INTERSCHOLASTIC TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES. + + Year. Played at. Winner. School. + 1891. Cambridge. R. D. Wrenn. Cambridge Latin. + 1892. Cambridge. M. G. Chace. Univ. Grammar, Prov. + 1893. Newport. C. R. Budlong. High, Providence. + 1894. Newport. W. G. Parker. Tutor, New York, + 1895. Newport. L. E. Ware. Roxbury Latin. + 1896. Newport. R. Fincke. Hotchkiss. + +Fincke drew Turner of Chicago in the preliminaries, and defeated him, +6-4, 6-2, 6-8, 6-3. He then defeated Willing, the U. of P. +interscholastic champion, 6-2, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4. His hardest match was with +Edwards of English High-School. Edwards made a good brace in the third +set, taking it 6-2, but he was unable to maintain this form, and +although he did good work in the last set, he was unable to end better +than 4-6. This gave the championship for 1896 to Fincke, 6-2, 6-4, 2-6, +6-4. A full summary of the play will be found on the next page; and the +championship list now stands as shown in the table given above. + +SIXTH ANNUAL NATIONAL INTERSCHOLASTIC TENNIS TOURNAMENT, NEWPORT, AUGUST +20, 21, 22, 1896. + + Preliminary Round. Semi-Final Round. + + J. K. Willing (U. of Pa.), + R. Fincke (Yale), } Fincke, 6-4, 6-2, 6-8, 6-3. + L. H. Turner (Univ. of Chicago). } + C. W. Beggs (Princeton), } + J. McL. Walton (Columbia). } Walton, by default. + Y. M. Edwards (Harvard). + +Final Round. Interscholastic Champion. + +Fincke, 6-2, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4. } Fincke, 6-2, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. +Edwards, 6-1, 6-0, 6-3. } + +It is sincerely to be hoped that the unfortunate differences between +those stanch old rivals and worthy opponents, Exeter and Andover, will +be brought to a friendly close this year. Since 1893 these two schools, +who used to meet annually in football, baseball, and tennis, have not +had any athletic intercourse whatever with one another, and all because, +in their great rivalry and desire to beat one another, one of them +certainly (and possibly both) overstepped the bounds of athletic ethics, +and was guilty of practices which, by a little consideration and +forethought, might have been avoided. + +It is improbable that any good can be accomplished by going over the +causes which brought about this rupture between the two schools, for +stirring up mud and opening old wounds are of small benefit. Those who +know what the causes were can do nothing better than to forget, and +those who do not know what the trouble was will certainly find that here +is a case where ignorance is bliss. + +For the past year or more I have been in correspondence more or less +actively with Exeter and Andover men, graduates and students and members +of the two Faculties, and the general opinion among all seems to be that +it would be a good thing to have the games renewed; and while both sides +seem willing to meet again, neither side seems anxious to make the first +advances. Both schools have, or think they have, grievances; and each +thinks the other should lay aside its pride or stubbornness and make the +friendly advances. + +This situation might remain for an indefinite period if some +strong-minded individual or individuals did not step in and say, "Let +bygones be bygones, and let us start in on a new basis, wiping out all +old scores, and henceforth sticking to the true spirit of amateur +sport!" The difficult problem is to find the individual or individuals +who may have enough influence in both camps to bring about this greatly +to be desired termination. This might possibly be accomplished through +the alumni associations of the two schools at Harvard and at Yale. + +Andover and Exeter men, after they get to college, usually become great +friends, because they feel, as graduates of these large schools, a sort +of superiority over their less-fortunate classmates who did not get +their schooling in such great and well-known institutions. This gives +them a common ground to meet upon, and they soon forget the petty +differences they may have had before they became college-men, and their +reminiscences become bonds of friendship rather than sources of +disturbance. But if the alumni in the colleges are to do anything, they +must first find out definitely from the men in the two schools that the +body scholastic is willing to wipe away old scores and go into a new era +of interscholastic contest, otherwise the same unfortunate comedy will +be played that was enacted a year or so ago, when some graduates +arranged for a reunion of athletic interests. + +These arrangements could not have been very well laid out, for, at the +school meetings held the same hour, the same day, at Exeter and Andover, +different votes were reached. One school voted to resume friendly +relations, and the other school, unfortunately, voted to maintain the +same attitude that had caused the unpleasantness for the past two or +three years. The school that held out the hand of friendship naturally +felt hurt at this, and also naturally vowed that it would never take any +steps toward making up again. But that time has passed, and let us hope +those who were at the meeting have forgotten how they felt, and let us +also hope that the other school has seen by this time that it is not +well to refuse to shake the hand that is held out in good-fellowship. + +So much is to be gained by both Exeter and Andover from the contests as +they used to be ten or fifteen years ago that it would seem that both +schools must yearn for the old order of things. Andover now seeks +Lawrenceville as its rival, and although Lawrenceville is decidedly a +strong opponent, and Andover-Lawrenceville games should never be +discontinued, yet Lawrenceville is not Andover's natural rival. Exeter +has sought Worcester Academy, and tries to make itself believe that it +holds a great interest in the Exeter-Worcester games; but there is no +doubt that there is not half the enthusiasm in the school over a +Worcester victory as there used to be, and would be now, over an Andover +victory. The same might justly be said concerning Andover and +Lawrenceville. + +It is for this reason that I so sincerely hope that the graduates will +take some steps this fall, and open the new era of friendship with a +football game. Let each school be willing to make concessions, and in +the end they will find that they have gained tenfold in self-respect and +self-satisfaction for each concession they made. + +The seniors at these schools, and the men who graduated from them last +year and are now entering Freshman year at college, can combine in this +movement, and I feel sure that if they are careful and thoughtful in +their methods, they can heal this breach which has been a painful one +for every Exeter and Andover graduate, and an unexplainable one for +outsiders who have looked upon these two schools as strong exponents of +the healthy spirit of scholastic sport in America. + +[Illustration: Beers. O'Rourke. Moore. Washburne. Hipple. + +Bedford. + +THE N.Y.I.S.A.A. TEAM AT THE NATIONAL GAMES.] + +The new football rules for 1896 have at last appeared in book form. It +is pleasant to know that they are a great improvement on anything of the +kind we have ever had before in America. The thanks of all sportsmen are +due to the University Athletic Club's committee for the work they have +performed, and, as the season grows older, every football-player will +realize more and more how much the reform of the code was needed. + +There probably never was a more critical period in the history of +football than last year, when there were three sets of rules, and when a +certain number of colleges were playing under one set, an equally large +number were playing under another set, and perhaps a larger number still +were using the rules of the year before or a compromise between the +factional codes. + +The principal changes to be observed in the 1896 code are in the rules +governing the fair catch and the scrimmage. The committee have thought +it wise to bring back the fair catch to the old ruling, which requires +that a mark be made with the heel; the old penalty of fifteen yards for +holding has been retained. There were those in the committee on revision +who thought that there should be a penalty of twenty-five yards for +holding a man who had made a fair catch, but the general opinion seemed +to be that few umpires would have the courage to enforce this rule, and +a compromise on fifteen yards was consequently adopted. Therefore, in so +far as the fair catch is concerned, the situation is about the same as +it was three years ago, except that the player making the catch is well +protected by the severe penalty against interference or being thrown. + +As to the scrimmage, the committee felt that there had been too great +concentration of men in recent years, and they have attempted to hold in +check the momentum plays. They have ruled that no player may take more +than a single step before the ball is put in play--except one man, who +may be in motion toward his own goal; this will bar out all forms of +momentum play, and is a step in the right direction. + +There is also a rule forbidding five men to bunch inside of tackles; +this will serve to hold back mass plays, although, doubtless, the +inventive minds of college football-players will be able to make up +plays that can evade the spirit of this law. But the makers of the rules +have hoped that the good judgment of captains and coaches may be relied +upon to see that there is fully as much to be gained in open play as in +the recently developed concentrated push work. + +Among the minor changes to be noticed, in a cursory glance through the +rules, is that on a fair catch the opponents must retire ten yards from +the mark made by the catcher; this is a good ruling, for it places some +value upon a fair catch. It is pleasant to note that the rule concerning +interference with the centre rushers' snapping back of the ball has been +made more stringent, and the officials must see that the ball is fairly +put in play, and they must, according to the rule, insist that the +opposing team do not interfere either with the ball or the man. + +A number of years ago it used to be a favorite trick of the opposing +centre to do all he could, by kicking or toeing or fingering the ball, +to annoy the man who was snapping back. This was then put a stop to, and +the opposing centres and guards began to shove and jostle their +opponents, much to the delay of the game. These new rules concerning +interference with centre play will prevent all of this nonsense, and +will tend toward making scrimmage play more rapid and snappy. + +On account of the development of quarter-back kicking, it has been found +necessary to establish some rule that would make clear what kind of a +kick must be made to give the opponents a fair chance at the ball. The +rule has it that the ball when kicked by the quarter-back must pass +beyond the line of the scrimmage. + +One of the most complete and noticeable changes in the rules, however, +although it is one that does not affect the game itself, is the +common-sense arrangement of the paragraphs. The code begins by stating +that "the game shall be played upon a rectangular field," etc. The old +rules began with the statement that "a drop kick is made by letting the +ball fall from the hands, and kicking it at the very instant it rises +from the ground." + +There is nothing in the old rules to show on what kind of a field the +game should be played, or what the game was, or what kind of a ball it +should be played with. There was nothing in the old rules forbidding a +man to play the game with a cocked hat or a rubber boot if he chose; and +if a team had come on a field with a baseball, and had insisted on +running with that, there was absolutely no provision in the old rules by +which the referee could forbid the playing of the game with a baseball. + +Now, however, this absurd defect has been entirely done away with, and +the new regulations, after describing the field and the teams, state +that "the football used shall be of heavy leather, enclosing an inflated +rubber bladder, and the ball shall have the shape of a prolate +spheroid." Furthermore, no term is used in the new rules which has not +first been fully defined. The first part of the code, therefore, is made +up largely of definitions, and this is of great assistance, for it will +prevent many a discussion and dispute on the field. + +A few more remarks in conclusion of what was said in the Department last +week concerning preliminary football work: Remember that by practice +alone can a team perfect itself; and consequently every manager should +try to arrange as many practice games as possible for the eleven under +his care. After the school season has fairly begun, and the neighboring +schools have their elevens somewhat organized, it is always possible to +arrange games with outsiders. Thus when the championship contests come +along the players will be accustomed to games with strangers. Too much +practice with a scrub team breeds slack play and indifference. If it is +possible to schedule practice games with other schools for Wednesdays +and Saturdays--playing some teams two or three times, perhaps, in one +season--the manager should make such arrangements. In or near large +cities this is almost always possible, and perhaps that is why the +football elevens of New York and Boston are usually so well trained and +developed. + +The reason is very clear. When you play a team from a distance, you are +bound to learn something of that team's methods, and it usually has some +points which had not yet occurred to you. If you play that same team +again two or three weeks later, it has learned from others, and puts its +newly acquired knowledge in practice against you, and you again have the +advantage of the other fellows' work. Of course your opponents are +benefited in the same way through playing with you; but that is only +right, and is much to be desired. + +If it is possible for a school team to have the services of a +coach--some graduate or some ex-football-player living in the +neighborhood--it should avail itself greedily of the privilege, for it +is too much to expect a young captain to handle his men well and do all +the coaching besides. And when an older player has been invited to +coach, his commands should be obeyed to the letter; for if the players +had enough confidence in him in the beginning to desire or accept his +services, they can do no less than carry out his instructions if he +gives up his time to coach them in their sport. + +Furthermore, it should be remembered that the coach has had greater +experience than any of the players, and he can also--as an +outsider--tell much better what the proper course of action for a team +is than any member of that team, who may be influenced by a great many +conditions that do not affect the coach, and so do not weaken his +judgment. + +"TRACK ATHLETICS IN DETAIL."--ILLUSTRATED.--8VO, CLOTH, ORNAMENTAL, +$1.25. + + THE GRADUATE. + + + + +[Illustration: STAMPS] + + This Department is conducted in the interest of stamp and coin + collectors, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question + on these subjects so far as possible. Correspondents should address + Editor Stamp Department. + + +I was misled by the telegraphic report of the A.P.A. convention. The +annual dues are $1.80, not $1.08, as mentioned in last week's paper. + +One of the weaknesses of human nature is a desire to get something for +nothing. Many stamp-collectors are constantly on the lookout for a "big +bargain" in rare stamps. Now bargains of this kind are never offered by +first-class dealers, as they know the real value of their wares, but +unprincipled persons take advantage of this weakness of humanity, and +many a new collector finds reason to repent of having bought such +"bargains." + +A French journal, _Le Collectionneur des Timbres-Poste_, in a late +number gives an amusing instance. Baron de M---- purchased a collection +of rare stamps for 25,000 francs, which would have been a big bargain if +appearances had not been deceitful. With the assistance of a well-known +collector, the Baron discovered his stamps to be a marvellous collection +of counterfeit, fake, and patched-up stamps. + +The following are some of the varieties of tricks practised by +unscrupulous persons: + +1. Ordinary perforated stamps with exceptionally wide margins have their +perforations trimmed off, and such stamps are offered as rare +unperforated stamps. + +2. Ordinary perforated stamps with wide margins are re-perforated with +the rare perforations. This is frequently done by means of an ordinary +hand punch. + +3. Where stamps are printed in the same color with slight changes in +lettering, the rare varieties are made by piecing. For instance, the +one-franc French Empire is made by taking the 80 centimes, dark carmine, +with the bottom label from the one franc of the Republic. + +4. Bicolored stamps with the centre reversed, which are extremely rare, +are made by cutting out the centre and reversing it on another copy of +the same stamp. For instance, the 1869 U.S. 15c., 24c., and 90c. have +been made by this process. + +5. By chemical means the color is changed. For instance, the 10r. blue +of Brazil is changed into the 10r. black. + +6. Stamps which have been cancelled by pen and ink have their +cancellation marks removed by chemical means, and these stamps are then +sold as unused. + +7. Counterfeit cancellations are frequently made on genuine stamps which +have been surcharged "reprint" or "specimen." + +8. Counterfeit surcharges are extremely common. They can be made on an +ordinary printing press. + +9. False water-marks are sometimes made by printing the stamps with +wood-cuts, using a certain kind of oil, or they are made by pressing the +design of the water-mark on the stamp, and then removing a portion of +the paper by rubbing with pumice stone. + +10. Very rare stamps of which a portion has disappeared have had these +portions added. + +11. Are the ordinary counterfeits. Sometimes these counterfeits are of a +higher order of work than the originals. One of the great European +houses made fac-simile copies of all the U.S. periodical stamps, and +advertised the same as fac-similes. Each stamp bore the word +"fac-simile" or "falsch." These copies have frequently had a heavy +cancellation applied to them immediately over the word "fac-simile" or +"falsch." These stamps were then sold as genuine cancelled stamps. + +The moral is a very simple one. Rare stamps should be bought from +responsible dealers or responsible persons only. + + MISS CECILE G. ROGERS, 118 B Bluff, Yokohama, Japan, wishes to + exchange Japanese stamps for those of other countries. + + H. W. K.--No special value. + + PHILATUS. + + + + +ADVERTISEMENTS. + + + + +[Illustration: ROYAL BAKING POWDER] + +A cream-of-tartar baking powder. Highest of all in leavening +strength.--_Latest United States Government Food Report._ + +ROYAL BAKING POWDER CO., NEW YORK. + + + + +[Illustration: THOMPSON'S EYE WATER] + + + + +[Illustration: BICYCLING] + + This Department is conducted in the interest of Bicyclers, and the + Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the subject. Our + maps and tours contain many valuable data kindly supplied from the + official maps and road-books of the League of American Wheelmen. + Recognizing the value of the work being done by the L.A.W., the + Editor will be pleased to furnish subscribers with membership + blanks and information so far as possible. + + +[Illustration: Copyright, 1896, by Harper & Brothers.] + +Several weeks ago we mentioned in this column another way of getting +from Chicago to Waukesha. This was by taking steamer from Chicago to +Milwaukee, and riding thence to Waukesha. The sail is a beautiful one, +and makes one of the most interesting and varied pleasure trips near +Chicago. On arrival in Milwaukee you will find yourself near the +C. and N. W. Railroad depot, and the start awheel should be made from +this point. Ride out Grand Avenue direct, crossing the river. This is a +run of two and three-quarter miles, and when you are within about half a +mile of the toll-house at the end of Grand Avenue, turn to the right and +run up to it, keeping to the left on reaching it, and running thence out +over the Watertown Plank-road. It is two and a half miles to Wauwatosa, +and on entering the centre of the town turn left and cross the track. +Thence run out up a steep hill, leaving Homewood on the south, and +running into Elm Grove. On crossing the two tracks at Elm Grove, the +road is clear to Brookfield, four and three-quarter miles away, and in +good condition, except just as you leave Elm Grove, where there is a bit +of hilly country. At Brookfield take the left hand of the three roads, +and run thence direct to Waukesha. This three miles or more of road is +in parts hilly, though at no point in the whole run is there any very +bad hilly road. The road-bed itself is in very good condition for the +whole sixteen or seventeen miles. + +We have now covered this particular vicinity of Illinois pretty +thoroughly. It is by far the best for bicycling on account not only of +the good roads, but of the variety of scenery that presents itself to +the wheelman. He can either ride by train from Chicago to Waukesha, or +by boat and wheel, or by wheel. A very good week's trip would be to make +the two days' bicycle trip from Chicago to Waukesha, as already +described, stopping the night at Lippencott's. On the third day, or +after a day's rest, to make the run to Oconomowoc and return to +Waukesha, and then, with another day in the vicinity, to finally ride by +wheel to Milwaukee over the road described this week, and return to +Chicago from the latter place by boat. Or the trip could be reversed, +and begun with the sail to Milwaukee, thence proceeding to Waukesha, and +returning by the two days' trip to Chicago. + + NOTE.--Map of New York city asphalted streets in No. 809. Map of + route from New York to Tarrytown in No. 810. New York to Stamford, + Connecticut, in No. 811. New York to Staten Island in No. 812. New + Jersey from Hoboken to Pine Brook in No. 813. Brooklyn in No. 814. + Brooklyn to Babylon in No. 815. Brooklyn to Northport in No. 816. + Tarrytown to Poughkeepsie in No. 817. Poughkeepsie to Hudson in No. + 818. Hudson to Albany in No. 819. Tottenville to Trenton in No. + 820. Trenton to Philadelphia in No. 821. Philadelphia in No. 822. + Philadelphia-Wissahickon Route in No. 823. Philadelphia to West + Chester in No. 824. Philadelphia to Atlantic City--First Stage in + No. 825; Second Stage in No. 826. Philadelphia to Vineland--First + Stage in No. 827; Second Stage in No. 828. New York to + Boston--Second Stage in No. 829; Third Stage in No. 830; Fourth + Stage in No. 831; Fifth Stage in No. 832; Sixth Stage in No. 833. + Boston to Concord in No. 834. Boston in No. 835. Boston to + Gloucester in No. 836. Boston to Newburyport in No. 837. Boston to + New Bedford in No. 838. Boston to South Framingham in No. 839. + Boston to Nahant in No. 840. Boston to Lowell in No. 841. Boston to + Nantasket Beach in No. 842. Boston Circuit Ride in No. 843. + Philadelphia to Washington--First Stage in No. 844; Second Stage in + No. 845; Third Stage in No. 846; Fourth Stage in No. 847; Fifth + Stage in No. 848. City of Washington in No. 849. City of Albany in + No. 854; Albany to Fonda in No 855; Fonda to Utica in No. 856; + Utica to Syracuse in No. 857; Syracuse to Lyons in No. 858; Lyons + to Rochester in No. 859; Rochester to Batavia in No. 860; Batavia + to Buffalo in No. 861; Poughkeepsie to Newtown in No. 864; Newtown + to Hartford in No. 865; New Haven to Hartford in No, 866; Hartford + to Springfield in No. 867; Hartford to Canaan in No. 868; Canaan to + Pittsfield in No. 869; Hudson to Pittsfield in No. 870. City of + Chicago in No. 874. Waukesha to Oconomowoc in No. 875; Chicago to + Wheeling in No. 876; Wheeling to Lippencott's in No. 877; + Lippencott's to Waukeska in No. 878. + + * * * * * + +The sheriff of the village had been annoyed with complaints from the +farmers about the loss of their chickens. He suspected a couple of +colored gentlemen, and catching sight of them among the usual +congregation at the village store one afternoon, he strolled in. + +"Well, boys," he said, "there's a powerful rain-storm brewing in the +west. I tell you that when that rain comes it will bring things above +ground mighty lively." + +In a short time the two colored men left the store. The sheriff chuckled +to himself, and going after them, found them both busily burying chicken +bones deeper in the earth. + + + + +[Illustration: THE CAMERA CLUB] + + Any questions in regard to photograph matters will be willingly + answered by the Editor of this column, and we should be glad to + hear from any of our club who can make helpful suggestions. + + +PRINTING ON COTTON, SILK, OR LINEN. + +Photographic printing may be done on almost any textile fabric if it is +properly sized and sensitized. Linen and silk may be obtained already +sensitized, but it may be prepared very easily by the skilful amateur. + +To size the fabric make a solution of + + Boiling water 8 oz. + Chloride of ammonium 10 grs. + Iceland moss 6 grs. + +When nearly cold filter through two thicknesses of blotting-paper, and +soak the fabric in it for a quarter of an hour. Tack it at the corners +to a smooth board so as to stretch out the wrinkles, and dry in a place +free from dust. + +Another sizing solution is made as follows: + + Ammonium chloride 1 part + Water 125 parts + White of one egg. + +After the fabric has been sized and dried it may be sensitized in any +good sensitizing silver bath. A bath which is always reliable is made +from + + Nitrate of silver 60 grs. + Water 1 oz. + +Dissolve the silver in the water, and add strong ammonia water drop by +drop. A brownish precipitate will be formed, but keep on adding the +ammonia till the liquid clears again. The mixture should be stirred all +the while during the process, using a glass rod for the purpose. If the +solution does not clear after the addition of twenty-five drops of +ammonia, clear by filtering. + +The fabric may be either immersed in this solution, or it may be +stretched on a flat smooth board or sheet of glass, and the solution +applied with a brush. The fabric should be stretched while drying, and +if one uses the small-sized artist's thumb-tacks, there will be no +danger of holes remaining in the fabric after it is taken from the +board. It is almost needless to say that the sensitizing must be done in +a room lighted by gas or lamp, and the fabric dried in the dark. + +For printing one must make a special back for the printing-frame. For +this take wood the same thickness of the back, and instead of making the +two pieces which are hinged together of the same size, make one of them +two inches, and the other six inches across--if the frame is a 5 by 8 +printing-frame. A 5 by 8 printing-frame is a good size to use; the 4 by +5 is too small. + +In the larger half of the printing-frame cut a round hole of two or +three inches in diameter, and fit it with a smooth tapering cork. This +cork should be of fine grain, and made to fit snugly into the hole. + +To print, draw the fabric over the cork and push it up through the hole +in the printing-frame far enough to come in close contact with the +negative without pressing too hard against it. Fasten the springs and +print as if on sensitive paper. Any boy or girl who is handy with tools +can make one of these backs for a printing-frame. + +One can make prints on the corners of silk handkerchiefs, on silks for +cushion covers, on linen for doilies, or on linen for photograph-frames. +The process is simple and inexpensive. + + SIR KNIGHT RALPH B. ROOD, Cleveland, Ohio, asks if the radial + energy of light is greater when the snow is on the ground than on + clear days in summer; how dust can be kept from collecting on films + during the drying; what makes the corners of a negative come out in + some pictures with no detail, making heavy shadows when primed. The + light is much stronger in the winter when the sun is shining on the + snow than it is in a clear day in summer, owing to the intense + white glare reflected from the snow. A shorter exposure should be + made for snow pictures, and a small diaphragm used. To keep dust + from films when drying, pin the films by the corners to a flat + board--the editor uses grape-basket covers for this purpose--and + set the board in a slanting position against the wall, with films + on the under side. The reason of the defective corners in the + negative may be either from the film not being evenly coated, or + from a shadow falling across the lens during the exposure. Sir + Ralph has a No. 1 Kodak for sale, which is in good repair, and has + a leather carrying-case. Sir Ralph's address is No. 23 Dunham + Place, Cleveland, Ohio. Any member of the club wishing a Kodak + cheap is requested to correspond with Sir Ralph. + + SIR KNIGHT HUGO KRETSCHMAR, N. Y., asks if chloride of ammonia is + the same as sal-ammoniac; if red prussiate of potash can be made of + yellow prussiate potash; and if artists' gold-leaf could be used to + make chloride of gold; and if an amateur could make nitrate of + silver. Sal-ammoniac and chloride of ammonia are the same. Red + prussiate of potash cannot be made from yellow prussiate of potash. + If blue-print paper is made of yellow prussiate of potash + (potassium _ferrocyanide_) instead of red prussiate of potash + (potassium _ferricyanide_), the result will be a negative print, + instead of a positive. The gold used by china-painters may be used + for chloride of gold. Do not put the gold into _muriatic_ acid, but + into _nitro_-muriatic acid, made by mixing one part nitric and two + parts muriatic acid, diluting with an equal quantity of water. This + liquid is known as "aqua-regia." An amateur could make nitrate of + silver, but it would not pay for the trouble, nitrate of silver + being very cheap. + + * * * * * + +FEED THEM PROPERLY + +and carefully; reduce the painfully large percentage of infant +mortality. Take no chances and make no experiments in this very +important matter. The Gail Borden Eagle Brand Condensed Milk has saved +thousands of little lives.--[_Adv._] + + + + +ADVERTISEMENTS. + + + + +[Illustration: COLUMBIA BICYCLES] + + + + +WALTER BAKER & CO., LIMITED. + +Established Dorchester, Mass., 1780. + +Breakfast Cocoa + +[Illustration] + +Always ask for Walter Baker & Co.'s + +Breakfast Cocoa + +Made at + +DORCHESTER, MASS. + +It bears their Trade Mark + +"La Belle Chocolatiere" on every can. + +Beware of Imitations. + + + + +[Illustration: HARTFORD SINGLE-TUBE TIRES] + +The Standard Single-Tube + +Hartford Single-Tube Tires are the Standard tires. They have many +imitators, but the Hartford Rubber Works Company has been making +Single-tube tires for six years, and experience has taught them how to +make the right kind of single-tube tire. + +IF IT'S A HARTFORD TIRE + +IT'S RIGHT. + +THE HARTFORD RUBBER WORKS CO. + +HARTFORD, CONN. + +New York. Philadelphia. Chicago. + + + + +HARPER'S NEW CATALOGUE, + +Thoroughly revised, classified, and indexed, will be sent by mail to any +address on receipt of ten cents. + + + + +[Illustration: THOMPSON'S EYE WATER] + + * * * * * + +About Order Chapters. + +Here are two letters about Chapters: + + I have read of many flourishing Chapters, and often wished I knew + what was done to keep up the interest of the meetings. The Good + Times Chapter, of Bridgeport, Conn., of which I was president, + disbanded from lack of interest. We tried sewing while one read, + entertainments by each member in turn, and a Chapter paper; but we + tired of the first, gave up the second from lack of new ideas, and + the third for the same reason and because the members did not wish + to write for it. There is now some talk of reorganizing the + Chapter, but unless something new is undertaken it will be useless. + If members of Chapters, particularly those like ours, consisting of + about half a dozen girls, would send some hints, I should be much + obliged to them. + + JOSEPHINE BELDING. + 12 WILLIAM STREET, BRIDGEPORT, CONN. + + The Columbian Chapter is in trouble. For many months it had largely + attended meetings and jolly times. Then three members seemed bent + on making trouble. We thought to disband and reorganize without + them, but could not do so very well, because two of those proposed + to be left out were our officers. There are six or seven new + members to come in. What shall we do? + + HOMER C. BRIGHT. + 314 WEST FOURTH AVENUE, DENVER, COL. + +It is to be remembered that societies are aimed to effect improvement in +their times, and to afford members a good time. Do not undertake to +start a club and then find something to interest it to keep it in +existence. Reverse the order. Find something to do, and then organize +for the specific purpose of doing it. Pledge each member to a certain +task. If there is lack of interest or apparent discussion, disband. When +the foregoing conditions can be complied with, reorganize--but not until +they can. As for suggestions for tasks, will some who have had success +with various lines of work write to these inquirers? Order Chapters have +been the sources of much profitable recreation, but always in cases +where they set out to do certain things, and stopped when those things +were accomplished or when interest flagged. An invaluable adjunct to a +Chapter is an intelligent middle-aged lady who can and will make +suggestions, settle disputes, etc. Those Chapters have been most +successful that have had such help. + + * * * * * + +Kinks. + +No. 28.--A MUSICAL MELANGE. + + One starlit night in the month of roses I attended what was set + forth on my invitation card of bay leaf to be a "Musical Melange." + Though due at the Mountebank Club at nine, I was loath to miss this + assuredly delightful midnight entertainment. A Brownie troop + mounted on dormice hurried me out of the great bustling city to a + grove of lindens and larches. In a cleared space in the centre I + was within an hour introduced to my favorite musical geniuses, whom + I little supposed would ever again appear upon this terrestrial + sphere. As I look back upon the event, I can still see the + glittering eyes of the goblins and ghouls who covered the branches + of the near-by trees, and hear the whir and buzz of myriad crickets + and katydids sweetly blended with the strains of a hundred musical + instruments. Among those seated around a log glowing with fox-fire + were these well-known musicians: + + A vegetable, threw, and a consonant^1; to hew, and a preposition^2; + a part of the body, and a French article reversed^3; the English + equivalent of a sign of the Zodiac^4; the outer bark of trees, a + preposition, and a personal pronoun^5; a masculine name meaning "a + twin"^6: a part of a priest's robe, a preposition, and a vowel^7; a + hook^8; a rope for capturing cattle^9; a member of a secret + society^{10}; to trifle^{11}; a murmuring noise, and a small + room.^{12} + + These spectral celebrities were each playing some instrument of + soft and mellow tone. I noted with wonder that many of the + instruments were bestudded with flashing stones. Among the + instruments were: + + To trifle^{13}; a small wood^{14}; to channel^{15}; a shining bead + of black glass^{16}; to proclaim^{17}; a sack, and large + casks^{18}; an iron pot, and part of the ear^{19}; a city of + Scotland^{20}; a famous cape^{21}; a bird of New Zealand^{22}; + dwells upon, a vowel, and harmony^{23}. + + CLEMENT RONALDSON. + + * * * * * + +No. 29.--A DUODENARY. + +In each of the sentences is concealed the name of a celebrated poet. + +1. The scarab urns of the Egyptians are at least bizarre. + +2. As we gazed, horror-struck, Maguire's cot tottered, then fell. + +3. "What a dasher, Bert! Throw the thing away." + +4. A strong will is both fortunate and unfortunate. + +5. Said the Ash, "The Aspens erred; the Abele was moaning." + +6. "Too-whit!" exclaimed the owlets. + +7. On the stand were scattered sundry dental appliances. + +8. "It will be hard to reach 'em," snarled the guide. + +9. While they were fumbling their creeses the trap opened. + +10. The snug old smithy stood near the mill-stream. + +11. Gleason's unruly red cow perambulated around the dairy. + +12. The bearded stranger from the South eyed Charcourt suspiciously. + + ZOE D. ACKE. + + * * * * * + +Answers to Kinks. + +No. 23. + +Third column, _Isaac Newton_. 1. Cringe. 2. Tassel. 3. Prance, 4. +Stamen. 5. Tocsin. 6. Ponder. 7. Clench. 8. Powwow. 9. Totter. 10. +Crower. 11. Tinsel. + + * * * * * + +No. 24.--1. Genet. 2. Edile. 3. Nidor. 4. Eloin. 5. Terns. + + * * * * * + +No. 25.--Blunderbuss. + + * * * * * + +No. 26. Piano-forte. + + * * * * * + +No. 27. + +A Gay Young Scot set out one day for a Hunt. He was thoughtful enough, +Prior to starting, to Stow(e) away a lunch of Lamb and Bacon, and some +Porter bought from a Brewer. Being a Lover of fishing, he carried also a +Steel(e) Hook tied to a Reed. He wore a Brown Spencer and a Gray Hood. + +As he was a Longfellow, he made Swift progress, till he stumbled over +some Shell(e)y Knolls, and so got an aching side (Akenside). "How it +(Howitt) Burns!" he exclaimed in a Stern, Savage voice. "It is enough to +anger a Pope or a Bishop. But what are Wordsworth in curing a Pain?" he +asked, with a Grim(m) smile. + +He made a fire to Cook his fish, and while they were Browning he went to +a coal-ridge (Coleridge) to dig for ore, with the intention of showing +it to a Goldsmith to see if Sterling coin (Coyne) could be made of it. +He dug until the sound of a Horn and a Campbell recalled him home. + + * * * * * + +Questions and Answers. + +Charles Wood writes: "Will you kindly let me know what steps to take to +become a cabin-boy on one of the ocean steamships? Also please tell me +what is the pay of a cabin-boy, and whether there is a chance of +advancement." Apply to the agents of the line; also to pursers of ships +in port. Such positions are sometimes found on steamers plying to South +American ports. A young man went recently on a steamship bound for San +Francisco, _viá_ Cape Horn, expecting to be about a year. He was +required to furnish his own outfit of mattress, sheets, etc, sea chest, +and heavy clothing. His pay was to be $8 a month, and he was promised +instruction in the rudiments of seamanship. There are apprentices in the +engineer's as well as the sailing-officer's branch of the service, and +advancement is promised in both. The work is very difficult, and the +places are not easy to secure. + +A. D. T. asks the meaning of the astronomical symbols which adorn the +numerous calendars about Christmas-time. Each dot and quirk represents +some emblem. + +[Illustration] + +the Sun, is a bossed circular shield; + +[Illustration] + +Mercury, represents the winged god's serpentlike _caduceus_, or wand; + +[Illustration] + +aptly imitates the looking-glass of Venus, while Mars's symbol, + +[Illustration] + +brings to mind the war god's helmet and plume; + +[Illustration] + +Jupiter's sign, is an eagle, while + +[Illustration] + +that of Saturn, forms a scythe; + +[Illustration] + +is at once seen to be Neptune's trident. The signs of the ascending and +descending nodes, + +[Illustration] + +and + +[Illustration] + +immediately suggest a croquet arch, or an eye of the hook-and-eye +combination, but are, in point of fact, the head and tail of a dragon. + +"Can you give me any information regarding the 'Daughters of the +Revolution?' I would like to know who the founder is, where the +headquarters are, and what the requirements are. Is there a society of +this character that a child may join?--Eleanor C. Gardner." There are +two adult societies of almost identical names. One is "Daughters of +American Revolution," and the other, "Daughters of the Revolution." The +first-named was organized in Washington in October, 1890. It aims to +perpetuate the memory and the spirit of all who helped to achieve +American independence, to acquire and protect historical sites, to +erect, where possible, monuments thereon, and to preserve records, +relics, and the like of early patriots and their acts. The conditions of +membership are very liberal, being simply proof of descent from an +ancestor (male) who fought loyally for independence. The age requirement +is eighteen years. The president of the organization is Mrs. Adlai E. +Stevenson, and the secretary Mrs. Donald McLean, 180 Lenox Avenue, New +York city. + +The other society is an offshoot of the former, organized in 1893, and +membership in it is much more restricted. The president is Mrs. Edward +P. Steers, 2076 Fifth Avenue, New York. The society for children is "The +Society of Children of the American Revolution." This has its +headquarters in Boston, but there are State organizations. The local +societies are called chapters, and the chapter in New York city has +about one hundred members. One of its objects is to form libraries, +prominence being given to books on national subjects. Professor John +Fiske has prepared a list of books for young students of American +history. Applicants for membership must, as in the adult societies, +prove their descent from active participators in the war for +independence. The president is Mrs. Margaret Lothrop, Concord, Mass., +who will, without doubt, have further information mailed if applied to. + +Leo Rehbinder writes to say that he enjoyed reading about West Point and +Annapolis, and adds: "I do not think they would suit me. Can you name +some universities or colleges for a poor boy, the cost, and chances in +life after graduating?" All universities and colleges are for poor boys, +in the sense that all lend every aid they can to brains and ambition +that chance to belong to those in limited financial circumstances. +Tuition is $40 to $150, with an average of $75, but in every college +there are free scholarships. Apply to the dean for conditions governing +them. In not a few colleges there is no tuition at all, as in Michigan +and most State universities, to pupils whose parents are citizens of the +State. At Lehigh, located at South Bethlehem, Pa., there is no tuition +charged any one. Board is $5 per week, but there are students who live +on less. In many colleges tutoring is to be had--sometimes enough to pay +one's entire college expenses. As for "chances in life after +graduating," no special answer can be given to that question. A general +answer is that others succeed, and what others do you can try to do. + + * * * * * + +One Great Man's Method. + +It is interesting to get a peep at the source of power, whether that +source be an electric motor, a steam-engine, or a man while gathering +material for great popular addresses. Mr. Francis Wayland Glen, who +years ago was a partner in a nursery establishment in Rochester, New +York, tells of a visit made by Henry Ward Beecher to his nurseries in +that city. Having been shown everything, Mr. Glen asked if the great +preacher cared to meet an educated Scotch gardener who had had thirty +years' experience in the care of greenhouses. Mr. Beecher replied that +he did. + +Mr. Craig, the Scotchman referred to, was in the potting-house engaged +in mixing potting-earth. He was a most retiring man, and as the party +came upon him he was much confused at the announcement of the name of +the renowned preacher. The latter stepped forward and grasped the +gardener's hand, disregarding the fact that it was covered with +potting-earth, and shook it so warmly and so unconventionally that Mr. +Craig was at his ease in a moment. Then began a remarkable series of +questions. Mr. Beecher asking them, and for fully an hour, the Scotchman +answering them with the confidence of an expert. Mr. Glen continues: + +"I stood by and watched the operation with wonder and admiration. Mr. +Beecher was gathering food and storing it away to digest and assimilate +and give out to his parishioners. He was so cordial with Mr. Craig that +he relieved him from all embarrassment, and he gave forth his answers +with freedom and pleasure and great clearness. Plant after plant was +taken up in the greenhouses, and its habits discussed, as well as those +of the fruits in pots in the orchard-house. The parting was as cordial +as the reception, or more so. Mr. Craig realized that he was appreciated +by the great preacher, and Mr. Beecher recognized the fact that he had +been receiving knowledge from a well-trained horticulturist and florist. +It was a lesson to me, then a young man, having just passed my majority, +that I have never forgotten, and the picture of one of the greatest +teachers of men sitting at the feet of a plain, unpretending, unassuming +gardener as a pupil is one I shall never forget." + + * * * * * + +Autography. + +The omnipresent autograph-hunter has passed through many fortunate and +unfortunate experiences. His hobby is somewhat of a lottery, bringing +him a cold rebuff, or mayhap a prompt enclosure of the coveted +autograph. An English nobleman once requested Talleyrand's autograph. +The author promised to send one in a few days, and, true to his word, +this note arrived: + + "DEAR SIR,--Will you oblige me with your company to dinner on + Wednesday next, at eight o'clock? I have invited a number of + exceedingly clever persons, and do not like to be the only fool + among them." + +Daniel O'Connell, on being urged to pen an autograph, sent the following +message to the stranger: + + "SIR,--Yours requesting my autograph is received. I have been so + bothered with similar impertinences that I'll be blest if I send + it. + + "Your ob'd't servant, + "DANIEL O'CONNELL." + +The Rev. Dr. Sprague, of Albany, a Presbyterian pastor, was the +possessor of a superb collection of autographs. He once requested the +autograph of Benjamin Franklin from an eminent professor. "Oh, you have +one already," said the professor. "No matter," replied Dr. Sprague, "I +want it for exchange. One Benny Franklin in Europe is _worth two +kings_!" Miss Alcott was always most patient with the ardent collector. +She was once visited by a large club of young men, each one of whom +wanted her autograph, and she did not refuse. Longfellow always kept a +packet of autographs in his pocket, in case of need. And what malevolent +person announced that a certain celebrity kept a rubber stamp of his +_fac-simile_ handwriting in his writing desk? + + LIONEL R. LANDON. + MONTANA. + + + + +[Illustration: IVORY SOAP] + +"Health is the vital principle of bliss, and exercise, of health." + + No health--there is no hope of bliss, + No exercise--and health soon flies, + No bath with Ivory Soap--you miss + The best results of exercise. + +Copyright, 1896, by The Procter & Gamble Co., Cin'ti. + + + + +Postage Stamps, &c. + + + + +[Illustration: STAMPS] + +100 all dif. Venezuela, Bolivia, etc., only 10c., 200 all dif. Hayti, +Hawaii, etc., only 50c. Ag'ts w't'd at 50% com. List FREE! =C. A. +Stegmann=, 5941 Cote Brilliante Ave., St. Louis, Mo + + + + +STAMPS + +=10= stamps and large list =FREE!= + +L. DOVER & CO., 1469 Hodiamont, St. Louis, Mo. + + + + +STAMPS on Approval! 50% disct. _List free._ + +W. C. Shields, 80 Sorauren Ave., Toronto, Canada. + + + + +EARN A BICYCLE! + +[Illustration] + +We wish to introduce our Teas, Spices, and Baking Powder. Sell 75 lbs. +to earn a BICYCLE; 50 lbs. for a WALTHAM GOLD WATCH AND CHAIN; 25 lbs. +for a SOLID SILVER WATCH AND CHAIN; 10 lbs. for a beautiful GOLD RING; +50 lbs. for a DECORATED DINNER SET. Express prepaid if cash is sent with +order. Send your full address on postal for Catalogue and Order Blank to +Dept. I + +W. G. BAKER, Springfield, Mass. + + + + +[Illustration: THOMPSON'S EYE WATER] + + + + +A NEW BOOK + +By MRS. SANGSTER + +=WITH MY NEIGHBORS.= 16mo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25. (Ready Sept. 4.) + +Under the title "With My Neighbors" Mrs. Sangster has gathered a number +of plain talks to plain people on familiar and homely subjects. Making +no attempt at literary excellence, these chapters are simply intimate +and confidential colloquies with women, younger and older, their aim +being to uplift and encourage the weary, comfort the sorrowful, and give +an impulse towards the better life. + +_BY THE SAME AUTHOR:_ + +_On the Road Home._ Poems. Illustrated. 16mo, Cloth, $1.25. + +_Little Knights and Ladies._ Poems. Illustrated. 16mo, Cloth, $1.25. + +_Home Fairies and Heart Flowers._ Verses by Mrs. SANGSTER, Engravings by +FRANK FRENCH. Illustrated. 4to, Cloth, $6.00. + + * * * * * + +OTHER RECENT BOOKS + +=FOR KING OR COUNTRY.= A Story of the American Revolution. By JAMES +BARNES. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.50. + +=OAKLEIGH.= By ELLEN DOUGLAS DELAND. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, +Ornamental, $1.25. + +=AFLOAT WITH THE FLAG.= By W. J. HENDERSON, Author of "Sea Yarns for +Boys," etc. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25. + +=TOMMY TODDLES.= By ALBERT LEE. Illustrated by PETER S. NEWELL. Square +16mo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25. + +=A LIFE OF CHRIST FOR YOUNG PEOPLE,= In Questions and Answers. By MARY +HASTINGS FOOTE. With Map. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25. + +=THE STORY OF BABETTE,= A Little Creole Girl. By RUTH MCENERY STUART. +Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.50. + + * * * * * + +HARPER & BROTHERS, Publishers, New York. + + * * * * * + +[Illustration: HE STIRRED THINGS UP.] + + * * * * * + +A MATTER OF STORIES. + +"My uncle Jim," said Hal, "is building a house six stories high." + +"That's nothin'," said Frankie. "My uncle George is writing a book ten +stories long." + + * * * * * + +THE FIRST STEP. + +"I suppose, Jacky," said the visitor to the little four-year-old, "that +you will be going into business soon?" + +"I'm going into pants first," said Jacky. + + * * * * * + +On one of the tram-cars that climb the hills in the streets of the +little mountain town of D----, the driver is a quaint old man full of +interesting and humorous characteristics. In the course of conversation +with a passenger the other day he remarked that he and his mule had been +working steadily for the company for ten years, and that's a long time. + +"Yes, it is," replied the passenger; "and surely the company must think +a good deal of you both to keep you so long." + +"Well, I've done honest work, and they know that, but I'm doubtful about +how much they think of us. It was only the other day that the mule took +sick, and the company got a doctor for the mule, and docked me for the +time I lost. I dun'no', though; guess it was all right. Getting off +here? Well, good-day, sir." + + * * * * * + +George Washington Jones, a colored gentleman, was sad, very sad. He was +a kalsominer when he had work to do, but, as he expresses it, + +"Dem dere white trash hab gone into de trade, an' now Ise got no work to +do." But this was not what made him sad. "Dis yere life," he said, "am +not wuth livin'." + +"What's the matter, George," inquired his friend. + +"Why, Ise got a little money on dat last job, an' Ise went round to +settle de bills Ise owed." + +"Didn't you attend to it all right?" + +"Dat's de strange part of it. De butcher he wuz out, an' de grocer he +wuz out, an' every one Ise wanted ter pay wuz out, an' den what'd I do +but lose dat money." + +"Well, that was unlucky, and no mistake; but still you showed your good +intentions, and no doubt they won't press their claims." + +"Press dere claims! Yah, dat's de trouble. When Ise got 'ome Ise found +ebery one of dem waitin' to press dere claims, an' as Ise couldn't fix +dem, dey done an' fixed me." + + * * * * * + +A STRIKING LIKENESS. + +Miss Susan is an exceedingly refined young lady who has seen some five +summers. She is full of airs and of graces, reserved, self-contained, +and decidedly uppish. She cut her uncle dead in the street one day, and +when he reproached her for her extreme hauteur, she said, with her most +pronounced society manner, + +"Oh, I saw you, uncle, but I thought it was auntie!" + + * * * * * + +There is an Irish porter employed in a large commission house in New +York, one of the kind that will make a witty reply to any sort of +question. He is very fond of expressing his views in general, and has +great admiration of his arguments. If he fails to get a listener he will +talk to himself in lieu of something better. A member of the firm being +annoyed one day at his constant muttering, which he was unfortunate +enough to hear, sent for him. + +"See here, John, did it ever occur to you that your constant talk and +muttering is a great annoyance to people that happen to be around? Why +on earth do you chatter away to yourself, anyhow?" + +"Shure I have two reasons fer doin' that." + +"Two reasons! Well, what are they?" + +"One of them is that I loike ter talk to a sinsible man, and the other +is that I loike ter hear a sinsible man talk." + + * * * * * + +A RULE THAT DIDN'T WORK BOTH WAYS. + +"What's your name?" said the new school-teacher, addressing the first +boy on the bench. + +"Jule Simpson," replied the lad. + +"Not Jule--Julius," said the teacher. And addressing the next one, "What +is your name?" + +"Billious Simpson, I guess." + +And the new teacher had to rap for order. + + * * * * * + +Teddy brought a green caterpillar in from the garden the other day, and +showing it to his mother, he exclaimed, "I've got a big worm, mamma, but +he ain't ripe yet!" + + * * * * * + +ALFRED'S DISCOVERY. + +ALFRED. "This is a funny sort of an ice-cream-freezer, mamma." + +MAMMA. "Why so, Alfred?" + +ALFRED. "Because it freezes the ice-cream, and then goes and lets it +melt." + + * * * * * + +BOBBY (_pointing to a fish jumping out of the water_). "Mamma, see that +fish playing leap-frog!" + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Round Table, September 1, 1896, by Various + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59128 *** |