St. Nicholas, vol. 6, no. 7

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THE MAY KING.

ST. NICHOLAS.

VOL. VI. MAY, 1879. No. 7.

[Copyright, X879, by Scribner & Co.]

THE KING OF MAY.

By M. M. D.

HE was n't very pretty,
He was n't very wise,
And he stood, when asked a question,
In paralyzed surprise.
A freckled lad, a speckled lad
Who would turn in his toes,
And-though not absolutely bad-
Had such a funny nose!
He had n't any manners,
He did n't know his books,
And I must own, his principles
Did not belie his looks.
He was clumsy at work, and awkward at play;
And every hair grew a different way,-
Then why did they make him King of the May?

Yes blithely, in a circle,
They whirled around their king;
And there he stood, half crying
Half pleased to hear them sing,
Till in his heart, a mighty part
Was given him to do;
Emotion thrilled his little breast
And gave him fervor new:
"I 'lI-do it! that I will.!"lie thought.
S... It :isn't much. I know I ought!-- "
"'-Oh do !. Oh do Oh' do'!" 'sang they,
"And we will crown you King of May!"

"I'll do it! Yes, I'll do it!"
His heart sang back, again,
Until a ray of loveliness
Came to his face so plain.
His eyelids quivered; he almost shivered;
His young form stood erect,-
VOL. VI--3o.

[MAY,

434

SR-U-D-I-M-E-N-T-S, rudiments," spelled
Katy. B'lieve I '11 find out what that means this
very minute; it's better 'n these horrid fractions,"
and she started to look for the word in the worn
old Webster's Unabridged" that papa had ban-
ished from his handsome shelves to the children's
room upstairs.
Poor Katy !-she had been droning wearily
through the rules for multiplication and division of
fractions all the long afternoon study-hour. It was
just the dreariest part of the whole book. Case
First,-To multiply a fraction by a whole number.
Case Second,-To multiply a whole number by a
fraction." These were the very worst, scarcely
exceeded by the corresponding rules for division,
and Katy had just about worn out her brown eyes
crying over the cases in which you multiplied by
the numerator and divided by the denominator, or

multiplied by the denominator and divided by the
numerator.
It is just the hatefulest old study in school,
mamma," said Katy to her mother, who passed
through the room and looked askance at Katy's
red eyes,-" the very hardest one to see any use in.
I don't suppose I'll ever in all my life have to mul-
tiply or divide a whole number by a fraction; hope
not, any way. I despise halves and quarters of
things so awfully."
Mamma did n't reply, but wearily threw herself
down on the little bed that was kept in the nur-
sery, with very dark circles about her eyes, and a
pale, tired face.
Do you believe, Katy, you could go down and
stir up some ginger-cakes for tea? Christine is
hurrying with her ironing, and Mary must take
baby while I go and sleep off, if possible, this

THE ARITHMETIC OF GINGERBREAD.

When manly thoughts stir boyish souls
What else can you expect?-
And still they sang their roundelay,
The circling girls so sweet and gay,
About their king, their King of May !

Hark! The king is speaking:
The eager girls press near.
He says aloud: I '11 do it!"
In ringing voice, and clear.
And from his pocket, as from a socket,
Slowly he drew it forth,-
He looked to East, he looked to West,
He looked to South and North,-
The skies their blest assurance gave,
'T was noble to be kind and brave.
He drew it forth; he gave it over,
As though he were each maiden's lover,
As though it were his life.
The thing they 'd begged for hours and hours
To cut the May-pole vines and flowers,-
That little rascal's knife !

Ah, see them see them well-a-day!
How gleefully they skip away,
Leaving alone their King of May,
His brief reign ended. Well-a-day !

THE ARITHMETIC OF GINGERBREAD.

BY MARY B. WILLARD.

TIE ARITHMETIC

miserable headache," said Mrs. Richards, only half
opening her weary eyelids.
0 yes, mamma, anything is better than these
hateful rudiments. I looked that up just now in
Webster. First beginnings,' it says; only I think
it's hard enough to be the last endings; but see-
ing no brightening in her mother's eye, she hastened
to help her down into her own room. Then with
gentle hand she settled the pillows comfortably,
saturated a handkerchief with camphor, closed the
shutters, and ran softly down still another flight of
steps into the basement kitchen.
Christine, I'm to make ginger-cakes for tea,
all my own self. Mamma said so, and she 's gone
to lie down and sleep off her headache, and must n't
be disturbed," said Katy, half afraid that Christine
might hunt up confirmation of the gingerbread
business. It was something new, certainly, to turn
this harum-scarum little creature loose in the pan-
try to rummage the spice-boxes, and break up the
cream in the cellar in her search for sour milk.
But, with large families, there are times when the
work crowds fearfully, and the only way is to press
more hands into the service, not minding always if
they are unskilled ones.
Veil, Mees Katy, please keep te muss ober dare
in te sink so mooch as you can," said Christine,
evidently not jubilant at the prospect of cleaning
up after a little girl's baking ; an' don't leaf te
wet spoon in te soda, nor drip te sour milk roun' te
clean cellar. It 's dare in te big jar hunter te vin-
dow."
Katy got down the gem-irons for the first thing,
greased them with Mary's patent griddle-greaser (a
pine stick plentifully supplied with cotton rags at
one end); then climbed up to the shelf where the
book of recipes was kept.
'Meeses Vite's soft ginger-cake' is vat you
wants, Mees Katy, an' we takes 'double of the
receipt,' said Christine, quoting an expression
familiar to Yankee cooks.
That 's just two of everything. I knorz," and
Katy tossed her curls with an air of conscious
greatness.
"Two times one cup of molasses,-here goes
that. Two times two spoonfuls of soda,-that 's
four spoons. My i but does n't it foam up beauti-
fully Two spoons ginger in two-thirds of a cup
of hot water-no-oh, dear! It is the soda that
ought to go in the hot water, and-oh, horrors!
it's two times two-thirds of a cup of hot water.
Well, now If those hateful fractions are n't right
here in this gingerbread Christine, 0 Chris-
tine !" cried Katy in despair. Come and tell me
how much is two times two-thirds of a cup But

OF GINGERBREAD. 435

Christine, alas had already gone upstairs, with
her basket of white, freshly ironed clothes poised
on her head.
Two times two-thirds of a cup. Why, it must
be more 'n one cup, and yet it says 'of a cup.'
If 't was n't for that, I 'd go and get two cups and
fill them each two-thirds full; but it can't be only
two times two-thirds of a cup-that 's one cup."
And the poor little girl found herself in worse
" deeps," even, than ever she had fathomed in the
"'Rudiments."
Ned came into the kitchen at that moment,
his books flung over his shoulder, and Katy's face
lighted up. She could appeal to him. But when
she asked him how much two times two-thirds of a
cup could be, Ned, with all a boy's wisdom, gave
answer like this:
Two times two-thirds? Case of multiplying a
fraction by whole number. Rule: Multiply the
numerator of the fraction by the whole number and
place the result over the denominator.'
Two times two-thirds are four-thirds. Im-
proper fraction. Reduce to a whole or mixed
number. Rule: 'Divide the numerator by the
denominator.' Three is in four once and one-third
over. One cup and one-third of a cup."
"But it says 'of a cup,' Ned. Who 'd ever
think that 'of a cup' meant part of two cups? "
argued Katy, in a despairing tone.
Well, I did n't write the receipt-book, Kit, and
besides, that's grammar, notarithmetic, and I'm not
up in grammar." And Ned, wisely refraining from
venturing beyond his attainments, went upstairs to
put away his books.
"Who'd ever 'a' thought of such a thing," whis-
pered Katy to herself, "that Rudiments would
come handy in making ginger-cakes? "
The family ate them hot for supper that night,
despite Doctor Dio Lewis and all the laws of health,
and pronounced them very fine cakes indeed.
What they lacked in ginger (you see Katy, in her
perplexity over the hot water, forgot to double the
ginger) papa made up in praise, and, as mamma's
headache was gone, they all were happy.
Katy was early at school the next morning, and,
shying up to the teacher's desk, she said:
Miss Johnson, you looked as if you thought I
was either crazy or stupid the other day, when I
said I did n't believe Rudiments were 'in any-
thing in the world.' You see, I meant 'in' any-
thing we do or make. But I 've come to tell
you that I 've changed my mind. Last night I had
to make gingerbread for tea, and the first thing
I knew, I got right into fractions-two-thirds of
things-and all the rules."

THE LAND OF THE POWDER-PLAYERS.

THE LAND OF THE POWDER-PLAYERS.

BY ERNEST INGERSOLL.

BETWEEN the great desert of Sahara and the
southern shore of the Mediterranean Sea lies a strip
of very fertile country which has been inhabited as
a favorite part of the globe ever since history
remembers, and no doubt for thousands of years
before. It was there that Carthage was founded,
and it was for conquering this fine region that the
noble Roman general, Scipio was given extraor-
dinary honors.
The countries occupying the western part of this
northern edge of Africa are known as the Barbary
States, and the westernmost of them is Morocco.
It was out at sea, beyond Morocco, that the fabled
isle of Atlantis lay. This island (whence is derived
the name of the "Atlantic" Ocean which washes
these shores) was itself named after a mountain
called Atlas, which was called so because it was
very high, and reminded every one-of Atlas, the old
hero of the myth. It seemed to uphold the sky
on its shoulders, as he sustained the world. The

ancient word is still heard applied, however, to the
whole range which separates the fertile coast-region
from the arid interior; but the Roman name of
the country, Mlauritania, has been changed to
Morocco, from Arabic words meaning "the ex-
treme west."
Two distinct classes f., people form the bulk of
the population in Morocco-Berbers and Moors.
The Berbers are the descendants of the aborigines,
the ancient first inhabitants of the land. The
Moors are the descendants of their Arab con-
querors. Following closely upon the decline and
extinction of Rome as the great ruling power of the
world, Arabia came to the front, and her armies
penetrated westward into the valley of the Nile,
conquered all the desert worth taking, crossed the
dry, hot plains of Tripoli, and overran north-
western Africa, the home of the Berbers, to the
very coast of the Atlantic. Then they crossed to
Spain, and established that bright civilization which

436

[MAY,

THE LAND OF THE POWDER-PLAYERS.

was the only shining spot in Europe during the
Dark Ages, and to which we all of us owe a very
large part of the present advancement of the world
in learning.
But about five hundred years ago the power of
the Arabs or Moors, as they were called in Spain,
began to decline, and not long after all were driven
back to Africa before the Spanish armies. It was
their desire for revenge, perhaps, and their endless
hatred to everything not Arabian, rather than mere
desire for booty, which caused them at this time to
equip so many vessels with the best and bravest of
their seamen, and send them out as pirates to cruise
throughout the Mediterranean not only, but far out
into the Atlantic. Those were the years when
Spain was in her glory, and her fleets loaded with
the gold and silver and precious stones of her West
Indian colonies and her other American conquests,
were sailing homeward to enrich the estates and
contribute to the luxury of the proud old Castilians.
But such voyages grew doubly dangerous; for, if
the Spanish galleons escaped the blood-thirsty
buccaneers of Hayti and the Windward Islands,
they still had to run the gauntlet of the dreaded
corsair, whose keen-eyed lookouts espied them as
they approached the Canaries, or sailed swiftly
down upon them when the lofty summits of Gibral-
tar or the Portuguese shore were almost in sight.
The corsairs grew wealthy and bold. They took
possession of the towns along the coast of Morocco
and Algiers, fortified them, and defied all interfer-
ence. They seized vessels i: IJI', j ,, A.. every flag,
murdered their crews or sold them into slavery to
the wandering tribes of the interior, and ruled
the high seas until Chris-
tian nations could stand
it no longer, and Eng-
land sent her ships of -
war to destroy their forts -
by cannon, and burn ...'
their vessels with bomb- .'
shells and Greek-fire. ..- i
Now as one crosses in
the steamer from Mar- -
seilles, or sails along the
picturesque coast some -
sunny day, no traces of -
those fierce old times of -
the Barbary pirates re- -
main. The strongholds
of the exterminated Cor-
sairs have been disman-
tled for many a year, and- peace and business
activity reside in this old resort of lawlessness
and vice.
Tangier is the port where the French steamers
land,-or rather where they anchor; for the town

has no such great wharves and warehouses as have
New York and Liverpool. The moment the
steamer comes to a stop she is surrounded by hosts
of small boats who carry passengers and luggage
to shore; yet even they cannot quite make a land-
ing, but stop outside of the surf on the shelving
beach, where stout porters take us and our trunks
on their shoulders and carry us through the breakers
to the dry land. It is as primitive and savage a
way of entering a country as if we were the first
persons that ever set foot there. Were it an Amer-
ican or English port there would be an iron and
stone pier built at once far out to deep water; but
the one thing which, to a European, seems the
strongest characteristic of the people in Morocco is
their laziness. It is quite useless to try to hurry
anybody. If you attempt it, they look at you in
surprise, utterly unable to comprehend why you
should be anxious about haste.-" Life is long,"
they say. They never stand, if they can help it, and
when they rest do not sit on a chair, as we do,
ready to rise quickly, but lounge upon divans or
squat cross-legged on rugs on the floor. Even their
meals are all taken in this awkward fashion, the
tea-pot, cups and saucers and various other dishes,
being placed upon fantastic little tables only a few
inches high, which would serve admirably for an
American girl's play-house. The poorer classes,
however, dispense with even these formalities, and
take their dinners by means of their fingers out of
a big central dish of rice, or mutton-broth and some
broken loaves of coarse bread, everybody lounging
round on the ground, and scrambling as best he
can to get his share before the platterful is ex-

---------
"- s
----~--~ ;~-~
---
---'
L.4NDING AT T~NGIER.

hausted. This, as may be supposed, is not at all a
pleasant way of boarding. If you are not fully
acquainted with the customs of this strange land,"
said a recent traveler, "you may be astonished
at having your entertainer's fingers thrust into

_.__

THE LAND OF THE POWDER-PLAYERS.

your mouth with a tasty morsel, but this is a good
sign. You are sure of his favor if he does so !"
The principal sea-port of Morocco is Tangier, a

AT THE TEA-TABLE.
heaped-up little town, nearly opposite Gibraltar.
Its streets are narrow and irregular, and here
you may see Oriental life in great and picturesque
variety. No two people you meet in the street are
dressed the same way,-at least, no two men, for
all the Moorish women are mere bags of white
bathing towels, and as like as peas in a pod.
Fancy young ladies in the United States compelled
all through their lives to stick to one color and style
of attire But if there is a sameness about the
ladies, quite different is it with their lords and mas-
ters; the gorgeous silken costumes of the Jews

is green, his left yellow, his waistcoat bright
scarlet, with gilt buttons; his waist is girt with
a blue sash, below which are white trousers as far
as the knee, no stockings, and yellow
slippers. All this, surmounted by
a gorgeous turban, gives the wearer
S,'.1 the appearance of just starting for a
i;I'',, masquerade ball, instead of quietly
S pursuing his everyday avocations, as
S he really is doing.
If you mean to travel to Fez, the
large town where the Sultan of Mo-
S, rocco lives, or to some of the semi-
I'l civilized villages of the interior, you
must join a caravan. There are no
S railroads in Morocco; it will be a long
time, I fear, before there are any.
It is doubtful if there is a single line
of regular postal stages, and when
the merchants from the large towns
._-. desire to go back into the country to
sell their goods, or to collect the fruit
and crops of the farmers for sale at the
sea-coast, a large number of them combine, often
secure an escort of soldiers to prevent their being
attacked and robbed by wandering marauders, and
make extensive trips. However it may be for a
native, it is utterly unsafe for a white man to travel
through the country, except under the protection
of one of these caravans, for the Moors deem it
their duty to kill "dogs of Christians" whenever
they have a good opportunity.
These caravans sometimes contain thousands of
animals,-horses for the merchants and soldiers,
mules for those of the servants who do not go on foot,

-- --.. ': -- ------"

THE CARAVAN.-GETTING READY FOR AN EARLY START.
and Moors, and the rags and filth of the lower donkeys, camels, and oxen to carry the burdens or
caste blacks, filling the eye as quickly as the draw the rude, heavy carts. The camping-place of
changes in a kaleidoscope. Here comes a par- such a caravanis an extremely interesting spectacle,
ticularly resplendent merchant; his right sleeve and if ever the leisurely Arabs do bestir themselves, it

438

THE LAND OF THE POWDER-PLAYERS.

is in making a start, just as the morning sun gets a
level look at them over the fringe of palm-trees
along the horizon. The camping-place is usually
chosen near some village. If the inhabitants are
Arabs, they will show great hospitality, hasten-
ing to offer help and food until the caravan is sup-
plied, and a great chattering of tongues goes on as
the news of the day is exchanged; but at the Berber
villages the travelers must look out for themselves,
and get their supper-fires going as best they can.
The Berbers have not outgrown their ancient
enmity.
On every side, as you travel through the country,
you cannot help noticing the fertility of the land.
Delicious fruits grow almost wild in great abun-
dance,-oranges, pomegranates, apricots, peaches,
quinces, almonds, vines and fig-trees. Wide fields
of grain wave before your eyes, as surely they would
not were it not that the soil barely needs to be
turned over; for, through all the centuries since
this coast was first cultivated, not one particle of
improvement do the indolent people seem to have
made in their clumsy methods. When a native
farmer finds he can no longer sit in the sun and
postpone his plowing, if he is to have any crop at
all, he catches a donkey and a goat, or a cow and

a plow has been used for three hundred years, and
may perhaps be used for three hundred more.
When the caravan reaches a town of considerable

-
'i .I -
/;-:.; "j *;
.^ i^ ^ -.

THE SNAKE-CHARMERS.
size, a stop is likely to be made for some days, in
order to allow trading to be carried on. But busi-
ness is not permitted to worry the traders much, and
between the entertainments of the village people
and the recreations at the camp, the stranger will
not lack for amusement. It is to this race, it is
always to be remembered, that we owe the Arabian
Nights'tales. Of these stories our translations con-

-.---~ --.- -
PLOWING IN MOROCCO.

a mule, or any other creatures (including his wife)
that will pull, and harnesses them to a plow which
would be a fine curiosity for one of our agricultural
fairs, since it is simply some sticks of wood bound
together so that the sharply pointed end of the
main or handle piece, is dragged along a little
under the sod. Yet we must not forget that much
nearer home a like lack of progress is seen; for in
parts of Mexico an almost exactly similar excuse for

tain only a selection, and as you sit and sip your
coffee, tea, or lemonade in some little caf6 of
whitewashed stone, you hear the old plots and
the familiar names, and many new romances of
the same kind, told by men who do nothing else.
These tales form the treasure of a very numerous
class of men and women throughout the East, who
find a livelihood in reciting them to crowds never
tired of listening. The public squares of all the

439

02~

~`9~C~.

v
---

THE LAND OF THE POWDER-PLAYERS.

towns abound with such men, whose recitations,
full of gestures and suggestive looks, hold a circle
of silent listeners spell-bound with the pleasing
pictures their imaginations conjure. It is said that
the physicians frequently recommend the story-
tellers to their patients in order to soothe pain, to
calm agitation, or to produce sleep; and, accus-
tomed to talk to sick folk, they modulate their
voices, soften their tones, and gently cease as sleep
steals over the sufferer.
Quite the opposite of this quiet and dreamy
amusement, which takes the place of our theaters,
are the shows of the snake-charmers, who every-
where collect pennies from admiring groups. They
sit on the ground and handle the serpents in every
way, allowing them to coil about their arms, necks
and body, and dart long, forked tongues almost
into their faces, while one of the group hammers

ants of a town hold certain half-religious festivals
called the Feasts of the Aissouia, which, in many
ways, are as revolting as the orgies of the lowest
savages.
Though the Arabs are shy of foreign eyes at
their rites, the tourist may get an invitation to
these performances, if he happens to have a friend
among the natives. -.:.il. ,-_ his guide through
a maze of tortuous streets, and up a great many
flights of stone steps, he will finally be con-
ducted to a small hall of Moorish architecture, with
the characteristic horse-shoe arches supported upon
marble pillars, and no roof except, perhaps, a frag-
ment of striped awning. Around the inside runs
a gallery occupied by veiled Moorish ladies, and
ornamented with a few flags, which alone relieve
the glare of whitewash on all sides of this queer
building. The floor is laid with octagonal tiles of

THE POWDER-PLAY ON HORSEBACK.

a tambourine as though his life depended on it.
I cannot conceive how this so-called music has any-
thing to do with the wonderful control exercised
over the snakes by the juggler; I should think they
would grow cross, rather than be "charmed," by
its incessant discords.
But even this fondling of reptiles is not the most
hateful of the sights which are to be seen in
the Moorish towns under the name of entertain-
ment.
Several times during the year the Arab inhabit-

red and white, and upon red mats, around a small
"altar" in the center, sit the musicians and per-
formers, while the spectators find places behind.
The chosen performers will dance barefooted
upon red-hot plates of iron and on beds of living
coals; will lick rods of red-hot iron; will take
burning torches between their teeth, and hold flam-
ing oil-wicks until the blaze has burned straight into
the palms of their hands; will swallow nails and
stones; will even snatch up a living scorpion and
crunch it between the teeth, with as keen relish as

440

[MAY,

THE BOY ASTRONOMER AT THE OBSERVATORY.

that with which a newsboy eats a shrimp. All this
is gone through with (for money) to the harsh tumult
of half a dozen rude drums and horns, which make
a fit accompaniment to these
horrid remnants of pagari
fire-worship. What can be
expected of a people whose
delight is in witnessing such
sickening exhibitions ?
A much more interesting,
though no less noisy, recrea-
tion, is the powder-play, a
game that may take place on y
foot or on horseback, for these
Moors, as everybody knows, '
are nearly as much at home
in the saddle as afoot. The .,
horsemen engaged in the ,
game ride at an exceedingly
rapid pace, carrying loaded
guns which they discharge as
they dash about in all kinds --
of positions,- above, below,
on either side, and straight forward. The noble
horses seem to enter into the wild rush and noise
of the fun as much as their masters, and the celer-
ity with which the various movements are executed
is wonderful. Not ohly do the younger men take
part in the sport, but old, gray-headed men enjoy it

with keen interest and equal spirit. Another kind
of powder-play is performed on foot. The band
strikes up a fearful din under the name of music,

-' -'- -
N-'
-+---

THE POWDER-PLAY ON FOOT.
and in the midst of the distracting medley two
lines of men, that have formed opposite one an-
other, rush together, and, throwing their bodies
into wonderful attitudes, fire their guns, and shout
and yell as though in actual battle. The Arabs
call this powder-play Lab-el-barode.

THE BOY ASTRONOMER AT THE OBSERVATORY.

BY HARRIET PRESCOTT SPOFFORD.

PART II.
IT was a day of days for Johnny Parsons when
the letter came from the school-master, saying he
had reached the city, with his wife, on the way
home from Niagara, and would be at the station on
Wednesday to meet Johnny, who was to be sent up
as luggage and charged to the express-man, and go
out to the observatory that night to be given the
freedom of the big telescope and the stars.
Nobody ever trod in boots with more importance
than he did when the stage stopped at the gate.
It was not every one that could have the privilege
of visiting the observatory and using the big tele-
scope there,-Johnny felt as if astronomers made
the world, and he was an astronomer. He scorned
to sit inside the coach, and he would not be swung
up to the driver's side by the strong arms extended;
he climbed up by himself, and his father followed,
and the whip cracked and they were off. He turned

and waved his hat at his mother and the girls, and
then gave his undivided attention to the off-wheeler,
who felt his oats, the driver said. It seemed to
Johnny that the coach went a snail's pace; he was
sure he could get more speed out of that team;
once or twice he offered to take the reins and give
the driver a rest; but the driver laughed, and
chucked him under the chin with his thumb, and
said he would as soon let Bildad the Shuhite have
them. This contemptuous remark cut Johnny to
the heart, and for the rest of the ride he wore the
lookof a scornful martyr. However, he presently-
although, to be sure, temporarily-forgot the insult
on being put on board the train. He expressed, of
course, his intention of riding on the engine, but it
being indispensable that he should be clean upon
arrival, that was forbidden; and he was told to keep
as quiet as be could, and do what the expressman
said, and not to lose his money or his pocket-hand-

[MAY,

TIE BOY ASTRONOMER AT THE OBSERVATORY.

kerchief,-at both of which articles he looked so
often, to make sure, that he was kindly relieved
of them, by some obliging but unknown person,
before the journey's end. When at last the train
rolled slowly into the station, there stood the school-
master to receive him.
"You're my brother now," said Johnny. "Then
I need n't call you Mister any more, need I?"
The school-master laughed, and took him along

in the water, and the great city with all its twink-
ling lights ceased to gleam behind them.
Leaving the cars, they walked slowly up a hill-
side, through an avenue of firs, that quieted
Johnny's excitement a'little, and seemed indeed so
home-like that when at length they reached a
simple-looking dwelling-house, Johnny began to
think one telescope was, after all, pretty much like
another, and to plume himself and to look a little

HE TURNED AND

to his sister, who kissed him till Johnny opened his
eyes, wondering why she had never found out his
excellences and kissed him so before ; and then she
gave him a good dinner and put him away to sleep
for a couple of hours, that he might be all fresh for
his night-ride among the stars.
It was a charming night, dark and clear and cold;
the green and red lights of the street-cars, moving
along in this direction and in that, seemed like a
dream of stars to begin with; not the pure and dis-
tant white light of stars, however, but somewhat
as those might be if polluted by the life of cities,
Johnny thought, losing his conceit of himself in the
fancies that the scene called forth, as they crossed
the long bridge with its chain of lamps repeated

WAVED HIS HAT."

for others to plume him; and then he saw some-
thing looming darkly behind the house as if even
this simple-looking -1 ..liI had weird surround-
ings, and his imagination got the better of him and
made him cling to the school-master's hand. They
went round the corner of the house, and saw what
the dark object was,-a huge stone tower; and they
pushed open an iron door, that clanged with a hol-
low echo through the hollow tower, and went in.
It was a place of immense masonry, block upon
block; and whatever was the height to which it
rose in the air, it had been sunk in the ground till
a foundation of solid stone, fifty feet below the sur-
face of the sod from which they had just stepped,
upheld this reader of the riddle of the stars, this

442

THE BOY ASTRONOMER

great refracting telescope. The school-master still
kept Johnny's hand, and they went up a winding
iron stair-way and came into the upper room of the
place with its rounded walls and the mimic heaven
of its dim dome.
One telescope much like another, Johnny? Your
little plaything, that you had so laboriously whittled
out, like this mighty engine at whose glance the
stars drew near and delivered up their secrets ?
There is no humility like that into which one falls
from the heights of conceit. Johnny felt like a
criminal, in the first moment that he stood there,
and would have longed to beg somebody to forgive
him, if presently amazement had not swallowed all
other emotions. What a monster it was! The
locomotive that brought him up to town, mighty as
that was, was a mere bauble beside it.
The school-master led him round, directly, and
introduced him to some gentlemen. It did not
occur to Johnny to think any more of what the gen-
tlemen would think of him; he felt that he and
they were alike the merest small atoms before this
tremendous thing,-it was long afterward when a
thrill of pride, strong as his recent humility, coursed
through him, that he remembered that this tre-
mendous thing was the creation and the mere
servant of these atoms. He was taken up some
steps and placed on a curious little seat that pres-
ently somebody began to screw up,-he was already
so screwed up" himself that he forgot to be afraid ;
and meanwhile the school-master was talking with
him and bidding him observe how perfectly the
great instrument was poised upon its shaft of stone
and brass, so that, immense as it was, it could be
moved, by touching one of the slender brass rods
tipped with a ball no bigger than a potato.
All of a sudden, there came a report and roar like
a crackling explosion of all things; and it seemed
to Johnny that there were thunderings and voices
and lightning and a great earthquake," as he had
read in Revelation. For a moment he hid his eyes;
but then he remembered that he was there to see,
and so he looked, and saw that they were only roll-
ing round the circular iron roof on iron cannon-
balls in iron grooves, so as to bring a loop-hole in
the right direction to point the telescope out. In
another moment he was looking through the eye-
piece, just in time to see a great swift object, a
white magnificence of mist and splendor, like a
veiled bride with wings, slide down the field of view
and be gone.
Oh! oh! cried Johnny. How fast a comet
flies !"
We can fly as fast as she can," said one of the
gentlemen. Put in the clock-work, if you
please."
And then there was a clicking and ticking, and a

AT THE OBSERVATORY. 443

wonderful little complexity of brass wheels and rods
and delicate machinery was at work, and.the tele-
scope was moving with the stars so steadily and
perfectly that, swift as the comet flew, the great
object-glass kept her in its field, and Johnny, sit-
ting there in his seat, looked with an eye that
seemed to fly as fast as she did.
I don't wonder," he cried, that the people in
old times were so scared of her, and thought she
brought plagues and famines. She looks just like
a great angel of destruction !"
And, in his ecstasy, Johnny sprang to his feet,
and the comet, with the face of its fearful splendor
blazing out of the vapor of the long streaming veils;
was gone, and he was staring at the roof.
The gentleman beside him smiled at Johnny a
little, and told him, after the school-master had
seen the comet, that they would show him some-
thing not so fearful now. So he sat down, and the
roof was shifted, and his chair was wheeled a little,
and when he put his eye at the glass again, there
hung the crescent of a silver new moon !
"Why !" cried Johnny. "The moon has n't
risen yet,-and she 's after the full, any way,-and
here she is new Oh, I see,-why, it 's Venus!
By George !" he added, in a long breath of delight.
" Nobody 'd think, to see that round point of light
in the sky, that it is a crescent like a moon "
Venus, you know, has her phases, sometimes
gibbous, sometimes waning," began one of the
gentlemen, kindly.
Oh, I know all about Venus," said Johnny.
Do you ? That is more than we do."
I-I did n't mean that," cried Johnny, covered
with shame and contrition. "I meant I knew a
little."
"That is all we know," said the gentleman.
Well, we must make haste now," he added, "for
the moon's light is coming up, and we shall hardly
see the half that we have mapped out. What
should you like next?"
"'I should have liked to see Saturn," said
Johnny; but I suppose it's no use now he's
taken off his jewelry."
But he 's a pretty sight even without his
rings," said the gentleman. "And you can see
him as nobody has, till now, since you were born."
And, presently, Johnny was looking at a great
golden sphere swimming in the depths, while round
it on a slender thread of light the moons were
strung like tiny golden balls upon a silver wire.
Saturn is quite as beautiful in this form as when
he shows all the glory of his rings; and he is
more interesting to astronomers, for it is now that
we are able to take the measurements which assure
us of his stability. Now you would like to see
some double stars, I suppose?"

THE BOY ASTRONOMER AT THE OBSERVATORY.

Double stars then Johnny saw, rolling round
each other with their varying and splendid colors,
an emerald and a ruby, a sapphire and a topaz.
Oh, what a world to live in, with two suns in
the sky!" exclaimed Johnny. "Now it's green-
light time, and now it 's blue. They can't have
any white light. Our sun 's a topaz, is n't he?"
In those worlds they must have colors that we
don't dream of," said the school-master.
And different eyes from ours with which to see
them," said the gentleman beside Johnny. Now
we will have a nebula."
And in a few moments Johnny saw what he had
many a time seen in the sky like a faintly shining
cloud, a broad, thin sheet of shining vapor, millions
and millions of miles away, open before the tele-
scope into a sea of stars breaking into a foam of
star-dust. It capped the climax. Johnny had not
another word to say. It seemed to him that he
stood in the very presence of the Creator. A
mighty voice appeared to be ringing in his ears,
"Johnny Parsons, how can you break the laws
while these great stars obey them "
He had been going to ask to look at Alcyone,
the bright star in the Pleiades, not expecting to see
anything remarkable, but, for instance, just as one
likes to see how a great man looks; because it
was, as he phrased it, our sun's sun"; but he felt
as if he had already seen too much, more than he
could comprehend, as if it would be quite impos-
sible to look at anything further,- the star
which was mighty enough to draw round and round
itself, not only our sun and its planets, but all the
other stars with which the heavens are sown,
was too mighty for his mood of mind just now.
Perhaps the astronomer understood him. At
any rate, he let him alone for a while, and kept up
a lively discussion with the school-master concern-
ing the merits of reflecting and refracting glasses;
and then he asked Johnny to describe the telescope
he had once made himself. And by that time the
moon was well up in the heavens, cloudless and
clear and inviting travelers, and Johnny was ready
for more amazement.
That the round, smooth, shining globe, rolling
over a velvety surface of sky, as he had been
used to see it, could be this seamed and scarred
and furrowed place of horror, like a wilderness
of burned-out volcanoes, all black and bristling
here, and ghastly and white there, was something
not easy to believe.
Is it really the moon?" he whispered.
Really the moon," said the gentleman. And
then he proceeded to point out the various spots by
name, the horrid hills, the never-lighted valleys,
the vast, bare, dead craters. And it is possible

that there are places of greater desolation yet, for
there is one side of the moon that we never see,-it
is always hidden from us," said he; and Johnny
shivered as if it had been a place of skulls.
"Did you ever see the sun rise?" asked the
gentleman, presently.
Did I ? said Johnny, scornfully, in reply.
Well, that was on earth. Now, you know, we
are travelers journeying over the moon. Look
closely here. You see that line of light advancing
in the field? That is the sun's light Fil i on the
moon. Now follow it."
And Johnny saw the line of light slowly stealing
on and up to the base of the great range of black
and jagged mountains; on and up, over great gaps
of shadow, out of which countless lesser peaks,
unseen before, sprang up in the light, peopling the
desert place with stony giants ; over black chasms
that remained black chasms still; up and up, shin-
ing on the face of huge, dark precipices; up and
up, catching the edge of sudden ledges; up, till the
very topmost crag blazed out. Then over the
brink, gently over and across and down, going
down into the black valleys beyond, to flood them
with the light, and rise higher yet on the great
crags behind. And Johnny had seen the sunrise
on the Mountains of the Moon !
"I can't bear anything else," said Johnny. Not
now, that is. I think I must go home. I-I feel
as if somebody had stepped on me."
"That will soon pass," said the gentleman,
smilingly, helping him down. "I know what it is.
These things make us feel as insignificant as they
are mighty; but by and by we remember in whose
image we are made. Well, my little man, I expect
one day to have you with us here, calculating the
elements of the unknown."
I am going to be an astronomer, when I grow
up!" said Johnny, with decision. "But it takes
such a long time to be a man!"
"Not any longer than you will need for all
the study and patience it takes to be an astron-
omer," was the answer. Little play, hard work,
tireless attention, unceasing effort,-you see it
takes a great deal more than time. Sic itur ad
astra." And then the gentleman bade them good-
night.
' That is the way to the stars,'" said the school-
master, translating the Latin, as they stood at last
in the open night. And to everything else that
is good for anything. And this is the way to go
home,-Sally will be glad to see us,-I suspect
she's sitting up for us still."
Do you remember," asked Johnny, "the story
when Saul went to see the witch of Endor? It
seems as if we had been there, too !"

444

[MAY,

EYEBRIGHT.

.~- ~SING-SONG.

BY MARY N. PRESCOTT.

SING a song of snow-flakes,
Icicles and frost;
Four and twenty snow-birds
In the woods were lost.
When the storm was ended,
Happy birds were they,
By some crumbs befriended,
They lived to fly away!

Sing a song of rain-drops,
Clouds, and April weather;
Four and twenty red-breasts
Caught out together.
When the shower was ended,.
What a song was heard
About the rainbow splendid,
From each dripping bird!

Sing a song of sunshine,
Bees a-humming praises
Four and twenty hours
Lost among the daisies.
Hunt the wide world over,
From sea to continent,
You never will discover
..... W- Where the hours went!

EYEBRIGHT.

BY SUSAN COOLIDGE.

CHAPTER V.
CHANGES.
IT happens now and then in life that small cir-
cumstances link themselves on to great ones, and
in this way become important, when otherwise
they might pass out of mind and be forgotten.
Such was the case with that day's naughtiness.
Eyebright remembered it always, and never with-
out a sharp prick of pain, because of certain things
that followed soon afterward, and of which I must
tell you in this chapter.
Miss Fitch's winter term opened on the 15th of
September. The boys and girls were not sorry to
begin school, I think. They had "played them-

selves out" during the long. vacation, and it was
rather a pleasant change now to return to lessons
and regular hours. Everything seemed new and
interesting after three months' absence, the school-
house, the Green, all the cubby-holes and hiding-
places, just as shabby playthings laid aside for a
while come out looking quite fresh, and do not seem
like old ones at all. There was the beautiful autumn
weather beside, making each moment of liberty
doubly delightful. Day after day, week after week,
this perfect weather lasted, till it seemed as though
the skies had forgotten the trick of raining, or how
to be of any color except clear, dazzling blue. The
wind blew softly and made lovely little noises in the
boughs, but there was a cool edge to its softness

445

EYEBRIGHT.

now which added to the satisfaction of breathing it.
The garden beds were gay as ever, but trees began
to show tips of crimson and orange, and now and
then a brown leaf floated gently down, as though to
hint that summer was over and the autumn really
begun. Small drifts of these brown leaves formed
in the hollows of the road and about fence corners.
The boys and girls kicked them aside to get at the
chestnut burs which had fallen and mixed with
them,-spiky burs, half open and showing the
glossy-brown nut within. It was a great apple-
year, too, and the orchards were laden with ripe
fruit. Nearly all the Saturday afternoons were
spent by the children in apple-gathering or in
nutting, and autumn seemed to them as summer
had seemed before autumn, spring before sum-
mer, and winter, in its turn, before spring,-the
very pleasantest of the four pleasant seasons of
the year.
With so many things to do, and such a stock of
health and spirits to make doing delightful, it
is not strange that for a long time Eyebright
remained unconscious of certain changes which
were taking place at home, and which older people
saw plainly. It did cross her mind once or twice
that her mother seemed feebler than usual, and
Wealthy and papa worried and anxious, but the
thought did not stay, being crowded out by
thoughts of a more agreeable kind. She had never
in her life been brought very close to anyreal trouble.
Wealthy had spoken before her of Mrs. So-and-so
as being "in affliction," and she had seen people
looking sad and wearing black clothes, but it was
like something in a book to her,-a story she only
half comprehended; though she vaguely shrank
from it, and did not wish to read further. With
all her quick imagination, she was not in the least
morbid. Sorrow must come to her, she would
never take a step to meet it. So she went on,
busy, healthy, happy, full of bright plans and
fun and merriment, till suddenly one day sorrow
came. For, running in from school, she found
Wealthy crying in the kitchen, and was told that
her mother was worse,-much worse,-and the
doctor thought she could only live a day or two
longer.
Oh no, no, Wealthy," was all she could say at
first. Then, "Why does n't Dr. Pillsbury give
mamma something?" she demanded, for Eyebright
had learned to feel a great respect for medicine, and
to believe that it must be able to cure everybody.
Wealthy shook her head.
It aint no use specylating about more medi-
cines," she said, "your ma 's taken ship-loads of
'em, and they aint never done her any good that I
can see. No, Eyebright, dear; it 's got to come,
and we must just make the best of it. It's God's

will, I s'pose, and there aint nothing to be said
when that's the case."
Oh, dear! how can God will anything so dread-
ful?" sobbed Eyebright, feeling as if she were
brought face to face with a great puzzle. Wealthy
could not answer. It was a puzzle to her, too. But
she took Eyebright into her lap, held her close,
and stroked her hair gently; and that helped, as
love and tenderness always do.
Some very sad days followed. The doctor came
and went. There was a hush over the house. It
seemed wrong to speak aloud even, and Eyebright
found herself moving on tip-toe, and shutting the
doors with anxious care; yet no one had said, "Do
not make a noise." Everybody seemed to be
waiting for something, but nobody liked to think
what that something might be. Eyebright did
not think, but she felt miserable. A great cloud
seemed to hang over all her bright little world, so
happy till then. She moped about, with no heart
to do anything, or she sat in the hall outside her
mother's door, listening for sounds. Now and
then they let her creep in for a minute to look at
mamma, who lay motionless as if asleep, but Eye-
bright could not keep from crying, and after a
little while, papa would sign to her to go, and she
would creep out again, hushing her sobs till she
was safely down-stairs with the door shut. It was
such a melancholy time that I do not see how she
could have got through with it, had it not been for
Genevieve, who, dumb as she was, proved best
comforter of all. With her face buried in the lap
of Genevieve's best frock, Eyebright might shed as
many tears as she liked, whispering in the waxen
ear how much she wished that mamma could get
well, how good, how very good she always meant
to be if she did, and how sorry she was that
ever she had been naughty or cross to her;
especially on that day, that dreadful day when she
ran off into the woods, the recollection of which
rankled in her conscience like a thorn. Genevieve
listened sympathizingly, but not even her affection
could pull out the thorn, or make its prick any
easier to bear.
I do not like to tell about sad things half so
well as about happy ones, so we will hurry over
this part of the story. Mrs. Bright lived only a
week after that evening when Eyebright first
realized that she was so much worse. She waked
up before she died, kissed Eyebright- for good-bye,
and said, "My helpful little comfort." These
sweet words were the one thing which made it
seem possible to live just then. All her life long
they came back to Eyebright like the sound of
music, and when the thought of her childish faults
gave her pain, these words, which carried full for-
giveness of the faults, soothed and consoled her.

EYEBRIGHT.

After a while, as she grew older, she learned to
feel that mamma in Heaven knew much better
than mamma on earth could how much her
little daughter really had loved her, and how
grieved the loving girl was to have been impatient
or unkind.
But this was not for a long time afterward, and
meanwhile her chief pleasure was in remembering,
that, for all her naughtiness, mamma had kissed
her and called her "a comfort," before she died,

447

of the waist and torn a hole in the sleeve, which
was pretty soon, the alpaca lost its awfulness in
their eyes, and had become as any common dress.
In the course of a week or two, Eyebright found
herself studying, playing, and walking at recess
with Bessie, quite in the old way. But all the
while she was conscious of a change, and a feeling
which she fought with, but could not get rid of,
that things were not, nor ever could be, as they
had been before this interruption came.

TALKING OVER HOME TROUBLES.
'CAL ING OX F HOM\E TROUBLES.

After the funeral, Wealthy opened the blinds
which had been kept tight shut till then, and life
returned to its usual course. Breakfast, dinner,
and supper appeared regularly on the table, papa
went again to the mill, and Eyebright to school.
She felt shy and strange at first, and the children
were shy of her, because of her black alpaca frock,
which impressed their imaginations a good deal.
This wore off as the frock wore out, and by the
time that Eyebright had ripped out half the gathers

Home was changed and her father was changed.
Eyebright was no longer careless or unobservant,
as before her mother's death, and she noticed how
fast papa's hair was turning gray, and how deep
and careworn the lines about his mouth and eyes
had become. He did not seem to gain in cheer-
fulness as time went on, but, if anything, to look
more sad and troubled; and he spent much of his
time at the cherry-wood desk, calculating and doing
sums and poring over account books. Eyebright

1879.1

EYEBRIGHT.

noticed all these little things, she had learned to
use her eyes now, and though nobody said any-
thing about it, she felt sure that papa was worried
about something, and in need of comfort.
She used to come early from play, and peep into
the sitting-room to see what he was doing. If he
seemed busy, she did not interrupt him, but drew
her low chair to his side and sat there quietly, with
Genevieve in her lap, and perhaps a book, not
speaking, but now and then stroking his knee or
laying her cheek gently against it. All the time
she felt so sorry that she could not help papa.
But I think she did help, for papa liked to have
her there, and the presence of a love which asks
no questions and is content with loving, is most
soothing of all, sometimes, to people who are in
perplexity and trying to see their way out.
But none of Eyebright's strokes or pats or fond
little ways could drive the care away from her
father's brow. His trouble was too heavy for
that. It was a kind of trouble which he could not
very well explain to a child; trouble about business
and money,-things which little people do not
understand; and matters were getting worse instead
of better. He was like a man in a thorny wood
who cannot see his way out, and his mind was more
confused and anxious than any one except himself
could comprehend.
At last things came to such a pass that there
was no choice left, and he was forced to explain to
Eyebright. It was April by that time. He was at
his desk as usual, and Eyebright, sitting near, had
Genevieve cuddled in her lap, and the Swiss
Family Robinson" open before her.
"Now you're done, are n't you, papa!" she
cried, as he laid down his pen. You wont write
any more to-night, will you, but sit in the rocking-
chair and rest." She was jumping up to get the
chair when he stopped her.
I'm not through yet, my dear. But I want to
talk with you for a little while."
0 papa, how nice! May I sit on your knee
while you talk?"
Papa said yes, and she seated herself. He put
his arm round her, and for a while stroked her hair
in silence. Eyebright looked up, wonderingly.
Yes, dear, I'll tell you presently. I'm trying
to think how to begin. It 's something disagree-
able, Eyebright,-something which will make you
feel very bad, I'm afraid."
Oh dear! what is it?" cried Eyebright, fear-
fully. Do tell me, papa."
What should you say if I told you that we can't
live here any longer, but must go away ?"
Away from this house do you mean, papa ?"
"Yes, away from this house, and away from
Tunxet, too."

"Not away for always?" said Eyebright, in an
awe-struck tone. "You don't mean that, papa,
do you? We could n't live anywhere else for
always !" giving a little gasp at the very idea.
I 'm afraid that's what it's coming to," said Mr.
Bright, sadly. "I don't see any other way to fix
it. I've lost all my money, Eyebright. It is no
use trying to explain it to a child like you, but that
is the case. All I had is gone, nearly. There 's
scarcely anything left,-not enough to live on here,
even if I owned this house, which I don't."
Not own their own house! This was incom-
prehensible. What could papa mean?
"But, Papa, it 's our house!" she ventured,
timidly.
Papa made no answer, only stroked her hair
again, softly.
And the mill ? Is n't the mill yours, papa?"
she went on.
No, dear, I never did own the mill. You were
too little to understand about the matter when I
took up the business. It belongs to a company;
do you know what a 'company' means ?-and the
company has failed, so that the mill is theirs no
longer. It's going to be sold at auction soon. I
was only a manager, and of course I lose my place.
But that is n't so much matter. The real trouble
is that I 've lost my own property, too. We 're
poor people now, Eyebright. I 've been calcu-
lating, and I think by selling off everything here,
I can just clear myself and come out honest; but
that's all. There '11 be almost nothing left."
"Couldn't you get another mill to manage?"
asked Eyebright, in a bewildered way.
"No, there is no other mill; and if there was,
I should n't want to take it. I 'm too old to begin
life over again in the place where I started when I
was a boy to work my way up. I have worked,
too,-worked hard,-and now I come out in the
end not worth a cent. No, Eyebright, I could n't
do it!"
He set her down as he spoke, and began to walk
the room with heavy, unequal steps. The old
floor creaked under his tread. There was some-
thing very sad in the sound.
A child feels powerless in the presence of sud-
den misfortune. Eyebright sat as if stunned, while
her father walked to and fro. Genevieve slipped
from her lap and fell with a bump on the carpet,
but she paid no attention. Genevieve was n't real
to her just then; only a doll. It was no matter
whether she bumped her head or not.
Mr. Bright came back to his chair again.
I 'l1 tell you what I've been thinking of," he
said. ': I own a little farm up in Maine. It's about
the only thing I do own which has n't got a mort-
gage on it, or does n't belong to some one else in

448

[MAY,

1879.] EYEBRIGHT.

449

one way or another. It's a very small farm, but
there 's a house on it,-some kind of a house,-and
I think of moving up there to live. I don't know
much about the place, and I don't like the plan.
It'll be lonely for you, for the farm is on an island,
it seems, and there's no one else living there, no
children for you to play with, and no school. These
are disadvantages; but, on the other hand, the cli-
mate is said to be good, and I suppose I can raise
enough up there for our living, and not run into

What is the island in, papa ? A lake ?"
No, not a lake. It's in the sea, but very near
the coast. I think there 's some way of walking
across at low tide, but I 'm not sure."
I think-I 'm rather glad," said Eyebright
slowly. I always did want to live on an island.
And I never saw the sea. Don't feel badly, papa.
I guess we shall like it."
Mr. Bright was relieved; but he could n't help
shake his head a little, nevertheless.

EYEBRIGHT AND GENEVIEVE.

debt, which is the thing I care most for just now.
So I 've about decided to try it. I'm sorry to break
up your schooling,tand to take you away from here,
where you like it so much; but it seems the only
way open. And if you could go cheerfully, my
dear, and make the best of things, it would be a
great comfort to me. That's all I 've got to say."
Eyebright's mind had been at work through this
long sentence. Her reply astonished her father
not a little, it was so bright and eager.
VOL. VI.-3r.

"You must make up your mind to find it
pretty lonesome," he said compassionately.
"The Swiss Family Robinson did n't," replied
Eyebright. "But then," she added, "there were
six of them. And there '11 only be four of us-
counting Genevieve."
If Eyebright had taken the news too calmly,
Wealthy made up for it by her wild and incredulous
wrath when in turn it was broken to her.
"Pity's sakes she cried. "Whatever is the

--

Y

[MAY.

450 EVEBRIGHT.

man a-thinking about? Carry you off to Maine,
indeed, away from folks and church and everything
civilized He 's crazy,-that 's what he is,-as
crazy as a loon "
Papa 's not crazy. You must n't say such
things, Wealthy," replied Eyebright indignantly.
" He feels real badly about going. But we've got
to go. We 've lost all our money, and we can't
stay here."
"A desert island, too! went on Wealthy, pur-
suing her own train of reflection. "Crocodiles
and cannibals, I suppose I've heard what a God-
forsaken place it isup there. Who's going to look
after you, I 'd like to know?-you, who never in your
life remembered your rubber shoes when it rained,
or knew winter flannels from summer ones, or best
frocks from common?" Words failed her.
"WWhy, Wealthy, sha' n't you come with us?"
cried Eyebright, in a startled tone.
I ? No, indeed, and I sha' n't then! returned
Wealthy. I 'm not such a fool as all that.
Maine, indeed Then, her heart melting at the
distress in Eyebright's face, she swooped upon her,
squeezed her hard, and said: "What a cross-
grained piece I be! Yes, Eyebright dear, I '11 go
along. I'11 go, no matter where it is. You sha' n't
be trusted to that Pa of yours if I can help it; and
that's my last word in the matter."
Eyebright flew to papa with the joyful news that
Wealthy was willing to go with them. Mr. Bright
looked dismayed.
It's out of the question," he replied. I can't
afford it, for one thing. The journey costs a good
deal, and when she got there, Wealthy would prob-
ably not like it, and would want to come back
again, which would be money thrown away. Be-
side, it's doubtful if we shall be able to keep any
regular help. No, Eyebright; we 'd better not
think of it, even. You and I will start alone, and
we'll get some woman there to come and work
when it's necessary. That'll be as much as I can
manage."
Of course, when Wealthy found that there were
objections, her wish to go increased tenfold. She
begged, and Eyebright pleaded, but papa held to
his decision. There was no helping it, but this
difference in opinion made the household very un-
comfortable for a while. Wealthy felt injured, and
went about her work grimly, sighing conspicuously
now and then, or making dashes at Eyebright, kiss-
ing her furiously, shedding a few tears, and then
beginning work again, all in stony silence. Papa
shut himself up more closely than ever with his

account-books and looked sadder every day; and
Eyebright, though she strove to act as peace-maker
and keep a cheerful face, felt her heart heavy
enough at times, when she thought of what was
at hand.
They were to start early in May, and she left
school at once; for there was much to be done in
which she could help Wealthy, and the time was
but short for the doing of it all. The girls were
sorry when they heard that Eyebright was going
away to live in Maine, and Bessie cried one whole
recess, and said she never expected to be happy
again. Still the news did not make quite as much
sensation as Eyebright had expected, and she had a
little sore feeling at her heart, as if the others cared
less about losing her than she should have cared
had she been in their place. This idea cost her
some private tears; she comforted herself by a
poem which she called "Fickleness," and which
began:
It is wicked to be fickle,
And very, very unkind,
And I 'd be ashamed-"

but no rhyme to fickle could she find except
"pickle," and it was so hard to work that in, that
she gave up writing the verses, and only kept away
from the girls for a few days. But, for all Eye-
bright's doubts, the girls did care, only Examina-
tion was coming on, and they were too busy in
learning the pieces they were to speak, and prac-
ticing for a writing prize which Miss Fitch had
promised them, to realize just then how sorry they
were. It came afterward when the Examination was
over, and Eyebright really gone; and it was a long
time-a year or two at least-before any sort of
festival or picnic could take place in Tunxet with-
out some child's saying, wistfully: "I wish Eye-
bright was here to go; don't you?" Could Eye-
bright have known this, it would have comforted
her very much during those last weeks; but the
pity is, we can't know things beforehand in this
world.
So, after all, her chief consolation was Genevieve,
to whom she could tell anything without fear of
making mischief or being contradicted.
There 's just one thing I 'm glad about," she
said to this chosen confidante, and that is that
it's an island. I never saw any islands, neither did
you, Genevieve; but I know they must be lovely.
And I'm glad it 's in the sea, too. But, oh dear,
my poor child, how will you get along without any
other dolls to play with? You 'll be very lonely,
sometimes-very lonely, indeed-I 'm afraid."

(To be continued.)

450

EYEBRIGHT.

THE MAY-FLOWERS.

THE MAY-FLOWERS.

n BY ANNIE MOORE.

/. .-.-

S I,,. tuiLL- enterr tucked up, snug
..d warm, in their covering of
S now; and now the bright sun
.:.o Iked down on them, and the
S' ind stirred them, and the birds
lled to them, and they raised
'. .r -eheir strong, hardy leaves, and
l'red up their stems of small buds,
..,, .'5 rloa,: rejoiced that spring was near.
A little girl came out among
S ,' Ltlem. She said to herself: "I am
"A going away to-morrow. I can't
,stay to see the dear May-flowers
' pen, so I will take some of them
v ith me, and keep them in water,
mnd they will remind me of this
: I beautifull place, and perhaps they
-^' a. ill blossom."
i ." Oh," said the May-flowers,
P lease don't take us !"
SBut the wind blew so that Mary,
-- the little girl, did not hear them, and
''she pulled stem after stem, till she
had as many as she could hold in her
small hands. Then she looked around
'her at the blue sky, and the branches of
the trees against it, and the soft, dead leaves flying
in the wind, and the patches of white snow in the
hollows; and away in the distance the light-house
and the blue water.
She said good-bye to it all, for she was afraid
she might not see it again soon; and the little May-
flowers said good-bye to it, too.
The next day Mary tied the May-flowers together,
and wound a piece of wet paper around their stems,
and they started on their journey.
The cars were crowded and hot, and Mary held
the flowers very tight for fear of losing them, and
the tall people rested their elbows on them, and the
stout ones pushed against them, and they thought
they would die.
But soon the paper was taken off, and the string
was untied, and they were put into a vase of water.
The little May-flowers drooped for a time, and
could not hold up their heads.

Mary set them in the open window, and a gay
bird in a cage sang to them; but they mourned
for their pleasant home, and they did not like to
stand with their feet in water, and they said:
Let us give up in despair."
Then the bird sang, "Cheer up! cheer up
chirrup i chirrup !"
They did not listen to him at first, but by and by
they said to him:
Why do you say that to us? Do you know
that we have been taken from our home and our
friends on the hill-side, where the sun shone, and
the birds sang all around us? How can we live and
be happy here, and with our feet in the water,
too ?"
But the bird said: "Cheer up!' The sun is
shining on you, and I am singing to you as well as
I can, and how much better it will be for you to
blossom and be beautiful, and make some one
happy, than to do nothing but wither and be thrown
away. Do you think I like to be here, shut up in
this cage, when I have wings to fly? No! If this
cage-door should be left open, you would see me
fly up to that chimney in a second."
Could you ?" said the little flowers.
Yes, indeed," said the bird.
Would you?" said the flowers.
Yes," said the bird, and then into that tree,
and then away to the woods somewhere. But while
I am here, I think I may as well sing and be gay."
Perhaps he is right," thought the flowers; so
they lifted their heads and looked up.
Mary gave them fresh water every day, and loved
them dearly, and talked to them of the beautiful
hill-side; and the cheerful bird sang to them, and
at last the little buds began to grow and make the
best of it.
One bright morning, just two weeks after they
were gathered, the largest bud opened its petals,
and blossomed into a full-grown May-flower !
It was white, with a lovely tinge of pink, and oh,
so fragrant! Mary almost cried with delight, and
she kissed the dear flower, and carried it to every
one in the house to be admired. The bird stood
on tip-toe on his highest perch and flapped his
wings, and sang his best song.
"Was I right?" said he. "Did I give you
good advice?"
Yes," said the flowers, you were right. To
blossom and be beautiful, and make some one
happy, is better than to give up in despair and do
nothing."

-1879.]

JERRY'S BABY ELEPHANT.

JERRY'S BABY ELEPHANT.

BY MARY HANDERSON.

JERRY lived with his grandmother in a little
cottage two or three miles from the nearest town,
and when it was announced, one day, that a
menagerie soon would visit the town, Jerry's
grandmother gave him leave to go and see the
show.
Immediately after breakfast on the great day,
Jerry kissed his grandmother, put on his best cap,
and started for the town, with some gingerbread
in his pocket for his dinner, and twenty-five cents
for his ticket. It was still very early when he
reached town; but there were plenty of little boys
in the streets, grouped together talking about the
animals, and what would be the best place to see
them. Jerry joined a loud-talking, eager little
party, who were running to a piazza over the gro-
cer's store, where they could see far down the main
street, by which the menagerie was expected to
enter the village. They had a long, long time to
wait; the sun grew very hot, and the little boys
grew very restless and impatient; a dozen times
some one had exclaimed, "There it comes and
there had been a sudden rush to the front of
the piazza, and a shout of pleasure, which was
changed to one of disgust, as a drove of cattle or a
load of hay emerged from the deceptive cloud of
dust.
But at last the caravan came, and their expecta-
tions were more than realized; for two mammoth
elephants drew the gorgeous red and yellow car in
which the twelve musicians sat, and the long train
of closed wagons that followed made Jerry clap his
hands and jump with delight, for surely inside them
there must be bears, tigers, leopards, camels,
giraffes, and all the other animals he ever heard of.
Jerry and his friends were soon scampering
through the dust beside the wagons, and presently,
at the end of the long street, the whole cavalcade
turned into a broad, grassy meadow and stood still.
The drivers drew their wagons up side by side, and
dismounted; the baggage-wagons were all driven
forward, and the men proceeded to take from them
great bundles of dirty-looking cloth, coils of rope,
long poles, piles of boards, and many boxes, at the
contents of which Jerry could only guess.
Coarse, sleepy-looking men they were, who went
to work as if they saw no fun in an occupation
which seemed to the boys so delightful. They
spoke rudely to the crowd of eager lads and would
not allow them to approach too near. But finally,
one man called out :

Here, youngsters, two of you may come here
and earn your quarters by watching the cages while
we work."
Jerry and another little fellow, named Charley
Newton, were the two who first sprang forward
to offer their services, in answer to this offer.
You '11 do," said the man, as he saw their bright
faces; "the animals are mostly quiet; but you
will have to look sharp, and if any of the beasts
take to jumping, or cutting up any sort of shines,
just raise your pipes to the tune of Murder !' as
loud as you can."
The boys then followed the man to the cages.
They had all been drawn up in two sections of a
large circle, facing each other, with long spaces
between the two lines, so that the boys seemed very
far apart when they took up their separate watches
where the man had stationed them. Look
sharp said he to each, and if ye hear a row in
any of the cages alongside, be mighty quick and
loud with your yells." And then he left them.
"I wish you would come over and see these
frisky monkeys," called out Charley pretty soon.
"I can see 'em through the lower edge of the
cage. They're awfully funny."
Jerry was a little tempted; but he said:
No, Charley; if we're to be paid for our work,
we must do just what we promised to, and not go
away till the man gives us leave. May be he'll
let us change sides by and by. I guess there's a
hyena in the next cage here; something makes a
horrid noise."
Perhaps it's an alligator," replied Charley, whose
knowledge of Natural History was very small. Jerry
laughed well at this, and was beginning to explain
to Charley that alligators were found in the water
in hot countries, and were long, flat things, some-
thing like lizards, only as big as cod-fish, when
Charley called to him to look and see what the
men were doing now; and behold! they were
coming toward them with the canvas and the poles
and the ropes. The boys watched with eager
interest, and saw them measuring the ground and
marking out a great circle which was to inclose the
cages; and then, almost before they could tell how
it was done, so accustomed were the men to the
work, the boys stood within a large tent, and
felt as if the wonderful exhibition had already
begun.
"Now, youngsters, our work is done; but I
advise you to stay inside the tent till the show

452

JERRY'S BABY ELEPHANT.

begins, to make sure of your pay, for the door-
keeper may not know you."
This remark was addressed to the boys by the
man who had appointed them to their task. Jerry's
sense of justice was aroused by it, and he answered
in a tone of indignation:
If your work is done, ours is done, too, for that
was the bargain; and you were to pay us each a
quarter for it. I think you ought to give it to us,
and let us go where we please till the show begins."
Well, well! I guess you 're right," said the

~Ii

4;L

j t

JERRY AND HIS ELEPHANT.

man, and yonder's the ticket-seller. I '11 fix it."
And stepping up to another man who stood near,
he soon returned and handed the boys two tickets
for the afternoon performance. "Now, clear
out," added he; "the cages wont be opened for
an hour yet, and you 'll do no more good here."
The boys thanked him for the tickets, despite
this rude speech, and slowly left the tent. Let's
take a good rest there under that tree till people
begin to come," said Charley. I have got some
luncheon in my pocket, and I '11 give you half."
Well, then," replied Jerry, "I'll give you half
of mine; for it's nothing like so good fun to eat
what you brought yourself, is it?"

453

So they laughed, and talked, and ate, for a half-
hour, until a tall boy came with a large basket,
and a camp-stool, and ordered them off the shady
spot, because he wanted to sit there and sell his
candy and corn-balls.
By this time a "crowd had collected around the
door of the tent waiting to gain admission. Our
little friends joined it and were among the first
who gave their tickets to the door-keeper, and
entered the inclosure. The cages were all open
now, and several showmen were standing by them
ready to tell the people the history
of the various animals. Jerry
moved about from cage to cage
listening eagerly; but what in-
terested him more than anything
Else was the description of the
great elephant from Ceylon.
The elephant," said the keep-
er, "is the largest and strongest
S. of all land animals; very sensible
,..- and obedient to man; he is suscep-
tible of gratitude, and capable of
'"" strong attachment to the man to
S whom he submits, serving him
-_- with intelligence and fidelity. His
- tusks are his defense; with them
S he can pierce and conquer the lion,
S and uproot the largest trees; they
- are made of the valuable substance
called ivory, and sometimes weigh
--- 150 pounds. The elephant's trunk
is almost as useful as the human
arm; when he wants to drink,
he fills it with water, which he
S then pours into his mouth. In
-ia wild state the elephant is social;
-- he seldom wanders alone; the
eldest leads the herd; the next in
age drives them, and forms the
rear; the young and the weak are
in the middle. Notwithstanding
the weight of his body, he walks so
fast that he can easily overtake a man who is run-
ning." Jerry might have read all this in Natural
History books, but he never had read it. The
motion of the animal is easy," said the voluble
showman, in conclusion, "and if there are any
little boys and girls here who would like to try it,
the Sultan will now be happy to give them a seat
upon his back."
At this invitation, Jerry was the first to rush
forward, and, at a signal from his keeper, the ele-
phant knelt down, and Jerry and three other little
boys mounted the gorgeous throne which he wore
upon his back, the clumsy gait of the animal giving
them an easy and delightful rocking motion.

- -w

454 JERRY'S BABY ELEPHANT. [MAY,

"'Oh," he thought, "if I could only have an
elephant of my bwn, I should be the happiest boy
in the world !" But the short ride was soon over,
and Jerry descended to give some other eager little
boy his place.
When all the animals had been exhibited, and
people began to leave the tent, Jerry, whose eyes
had never wandered long from the elephant, fol-
lowed close,behind him, watching the ponderous
legs on which the gray skin wrinkled so curiously,
as- he was led by his keeper into another tent,
where food and a little liberty were given to a few
of the animals, during the two hours intervening
between this and the evening exhibition. Some
packing-boxes and a pile of coarse woolen blankets
at one side of the tent caught Jerry's eye, and he
seated himself upon them, thinking that he could
then watch this wonderful elephant without being
in anybody's way. Jerry was very tired, and the
small eyes of the big elephant winked so drowsily
beneath the monstrous flapping ears, that, while he
watched him, he, too, began to doze; and then it
was that he saw a little baby elephant, which he had
not noticed before, standing near him, and again he
thought, Oh i what a happy boy I should be if I
could have an elephant of my own! If now the
keeper would give me this little elephant!"
Why, surely, could it be true? there came the
keeper, leading up to him this beautiful baby ele-
phant; and as he looked, he saw a card around its
neck, like one his teacher had lately given him at
school, and these words stood out in black letters,
"Jerry Jarvis's elephant."
Jerry had never felt so happy in his life; he took
the little creature by the ear, and led it out of the
tent to the high-road. At first he had thought the
baby elephant no greater than a Newfoundland dog;
but now it seemed as large as an ox. He hurried
homeward as fast as he could make the little creat-
ure go, and soon reached the cottage. He threw
open the door, and showed the elephant into the
kitchen, exclaiming with eagerness, "Oh, grand-
ma see see I have had such a present "
Goodness gracious!" exclaimed the astonished
grandmother. "A present, indeed-! What is the
creature? Why did you bring it into the house ?"
Oh, dear grandma! please don't scold! It's a
baby elephant, and I could not leave it out-doors
to-night, for it might take cold; please let it stay
in the kitchen this one night, and to-morrow I will
get some boards and a carpenter, and build a shed
for it behind the house."
"Well, if this is a young one, what will it come
to in a few months more?" said the old lady, shak-
ing her head in sad perplexity. "See! the tusks
do not show yet, and I have read that they begin
to grow when an elephant is six months old."

It will make our fortune by and by," said Jerry,
in a deprecating tone. I shall make it very fond
of me and teach it tricks, and go round the country
exhibiting it."
Grandmother was not as much pleased at this
prospect as Jerry was, but said, good-humoredly:
Well, well, the 'little creature' may sleep here
to-night if the four walls of the kitchen are large
enough to hold him; but supper is waiting."
Jerry's sleep that night must have been as long
as Rip Van Winkle's, or else there was never an
elephant like this in the world before For as soon
as he awoke, he dressed himself hastily and ran
to the kitchen to see if his pet were still there safe
and well; he threw open the door, but stopped
upon the threshold in amazement; at the same
instant his grandmother opened the door from her
little bedroom, and then she started back, and for a
minute the two stood staring at each other, and at
the monstrous creature in the kitchen. It was
indeed wonderful that the baby elephant could have
grown so much in one night! it quite filled up the
whole of the little kitchen; it would not have beeh
possible for it to turn round its tusks were half a
yard long, and the great head with the enor-
mous flapping ears was right in front of the bedroom
door, confronting the poor frightened woman who
stood there in dismay.
"This is a pretty state of things," she said at
last, partly closing her door, and peeping out at
Jerry. "What in the world are we to do ? I cannot
leave my room, and we shall have no breakfast;
and the creature has kept me awake the whole
night long, knocking about here I expected every
moment he would knock my door down, or get into
the cupboard and smash all the dishes."
Poor Jerry! The elephant was so enormous
now, that he really felt afraid to go near it; but he
would not let his grandmother see this, so he
said, bravely: I am very sorry, dear grandma,
but don't be frightened. There 's a piece of bed-
cord in the attic, and I '11 run and bring it and tie
it round his neck, and then I '11 lead him right
into the woods and fasten him to a tree."
Jerry found the cord, and c. !,- In,, in between
the animal's legs (for the door-way was quite blocked
up) he approached its head. But, alas! he could
not reach the huge neck; then he tried to wind the
cord round the trunk, but the elephant wound its
trunk around him instead, lifted him up and
bumped him against the ceiling until the boy cried
out with pain, and his grandmother was frantic
with terror and anxiety. But the elephant seemed
to be only amusing himself, and soon laid Jerry
quietly down in the corner of the room.
"This will never do," gasped Jerry, as soon as
he could speak. I can't put the rope on, and he

JERRY'S BABY ELEPHANT.

-he-looks as if he were waiting to toss me up
again if I moved at all! Jerry was trembling all
over now, and his teeth chattered.
Grandmother," he said, "don't you think if
you were to throw me a doughnut and I could give
it to him, it might make him like me? They
never do eat up boys, do they?"
"Oh, I don't know, I'm sure!" cried the old
lady, piteously. '"Only look! The creature is
much too large to go through the door now, and
I shall starve to death here, for I can't get out!"
Jerry had crawled into the pantry, and before
eating anything himself, he cut a slice of bread and
got some doughnuts, which he stuck upon a fork
one at a time; then, by standing on a chair and
holding the fork in the tongs, which chanced to be
within his reach, he managed to pass them to his
grandmother over the head of the elephant.
"I think," said she, "you'd better bring all
the things from the pantry into my room, and we 'll
just stay there until to-morrow morning !"
This Jerry did, darting past the elephant when-
ever its attention seemed fixed on something else.
Then when these necessary arrangements were all
made, the grandmother took her knitting work,
and Jerry jumped in and out of her bedroom win-
dow, but he returned every little while to watch
the wonderful growth of his elephant.
Late in the afternoon, when, for the fiftieth time,
the boy opened the bedroom door to take a peep
at him, he found himself unable to shut it, for Mr.
Elephant boldly stuck his head into the room,
moving it up and down and from side to side in a
way that was frightful to see. The door would not
admit the shoulders of the animal; but though
Jerry and his grandmother retreated to the bed in
the farther corner of the room, he could almost
reach them with his long trunk, which he lashed
about furiously. And oh what tusks the creat-
ure had Those Jerry had seen on the mam-
moth Sultan at the menagerie the day before
were small compared to these, and they were
growing larger every hour. The position of the
elephant brought its head just in front of the
chimney in the little bedroom; and in his uneasy
movements, he at last thrust these formidable tusks
through the open fire-place and up the chimney.
This done, he seemed unable to withdraw them,
although he made vigorous efforts for a few min-
utes, shaking the little house until it seemed as if it
would tumble down ; but at last, tired of such exer-
cise, he stood quite still; and the poor frightened
folk who were watching him breathed freely again.
"That is a most fortunate thing," said the old
lady, in great glee. "He is fastened securely
now, and we can have a good night's sleep."

455

And she really laughed to think the clever ele-
phant should so have outwitted himself.
But, dear me! to sleep was impossible Finding
that he could not move his head, the elephant grew
very angry, and began dancing about on his great
feet, pressing with his ponderous weight against
the thin partition until it gave way, and he
advanced into the bedroom as far as its small size
would allow him, overturning the bedstead, and
tumbling Jerry and his grandmother upon the
floor behind it, where, keeping it as a sort of barri-
cade between them, they knelt in darkness, won-
dering what would come next.
At last, just as day was breaking, making the
little room light enough for them to see the outline
of the great dusky figure, the elephant made one
more desperate effort to free his head from the
chimney, hurling his whole weight against the
outer wall of the house, when, dreadful to relate!
the little dwelling, whose strength had been so
severely tried, went to pieces in a- minute! and
Jerry and his grandmother rolled out upon the
grass. They were too much accustomed to won-
derful things to be much frightened, and picked
themselves up just in season to see a monstrous
figure, black and frightful in the dim light, running
off into the woods, waving the chimney high in the
air, and knocking it against the tree-tops. Jerry
laughed at the droll sight, and was saying some-
thing about an elephant with a brick, when he
turned and saw his grandmother sitting on the
ground in her ruffled cap and short gown, crying
mournfully, as she looked upon the ruins of their
pretty house. Then he felt that they were home-
less now, and began to sob and cry also.
"Why, Jerry !" said a cheery voice; don't
cry! I saw you roll off the box, but I did not
think it had hurt you. Did you strike on your head?"
"Why, Charley Newton, is that you? Where
am I?" said Jerry, springing up and looking about.
There he was in the tent still. He could hardly
believe it All the men and animals had left it;
"for," said Charley, "it is almost time for the
evening show, and I have hunted everywhere for
you! What have you been doing?"
Charley," said Jerry in reply, "did you ever
see an elephant with a brick head ? "
"No," said Charley, laughing; "but I have
seen one made all of wood in Noah's Ark."
"But mine was alive," said Jerry; "it was as
big as this whole tent, and such a time as grand-
mother and I had with it! I shall never wish
again that I could have an elephant of my own, I
can tell you! We must hurry home now, for
grandmother will be frightened about me. Come
quick! and I'11 tell you all about it on the way."

[MAY,

456 TERRIBLE ADVENTURES OF

TERRIBLE ADVENTURES OF OURSELVES
AND THE MARSHAL.

BY SHERWOOD BONNER.

F- P d

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and Bazaleel, and Rumticlje,
Ramtickle, and little Rumdum-
burrow, who was a trial to us all,
his temper having -been soured
early in life by getting a leg pulled
off in a crack in the floor; and there were a great
many more of these little spiders, fifty or sixty
of them, in fact. Bright-Eyes was the beauty

j6

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sweetly on his violin. At either time I lied to b
near him. As he read, I would rest on his shoul-
der and read with him, with all my sixty eyes. In
this way I grew familiar with books, and gained-
if I may say so-a flowing command of language.
Many a night have I kept Arachne and the children
awake, telling over the adventures of Alice in-
Underland was it? and another queer jolly story

OURSELVES AND THE MARSHAL.

about a far-off country where, in winter, the water
was as hard and smooth as glass, and people slipped
over it with the speed of flying winds,-a fairy
story, of course.
Sometimes I would get so interested in my read-
ing as to become quite giddy,-it happened more
than once when I was trying to keep up with that
scatter-bug Peterkin family,-and would drop from
Lee's shoulder on the open page of his book. But
he would never so much as even brush me away,
and I would scramble back to my place for a fresh
start.
When he played on the violin I could not stay so
near him. Our race are very sensitive to music,
and sometimes the sweet sounds would pierce
through me so sharply that I would run away, fear-
ing to die from too much joy.
And now for the Marshal We called him the
Marshal, because it was a good strong name with a
flourish to it, and seemed to suit him. He was a
common friend of our family and the Strong-Webs,
though there was nothing common about him, I
can tell you that! He was not of our species.
We were plain, black spiders, but the Marshal was
big and beautiful and brilliant as a butterfly's wing
or a bright snake's back; he was barred with crim-
son and yellow and black, soft as velvet to the
touch; his legs were long and strong; his eyes
fierce as live coals; his movements quick and head-
long. He had no family, but lived in and out with
ourselves and the Strong-Webs. He would not
waste his strength in web-spinning, as he wanted to
be always in good fighting order. Fear! Why,
an army of centipedes would n't have made him

457

lady of the house, who, catching a glimpse of one
of his legs behind the mantel-piece, struck at him
wildly with the poker, and, when he escaped her,
stuck paper in every crack by which he could get
out. Any ordinary spider would have given up in
despair, but the Marshal ran around until he found
a secret passage in the chimney, through which he
plunged boldly, reaching home after fearful perils
from wandering rats.
The only trial I had ever known was to put up
with Mrs. Strong-Web's gibes at literature. These
were very offensive to me, and gave rise to some
disputes between Arachne and herself. She went
so far as to say that she knew more about books
than I did, and would try to correct me when I was
entertaining the company with what I had read.
And when I quoted poetry,-even if Lucy Larkins
herself wrote it,-she had a way of drawing her
legs up and making a little round ball of herself,
as if she wanted to get away from the sound.
Still, she was n't a bad creature in the main, and
we all got on well together, until the night when
our terrible adventures began.
We were roused about midnight by a great noise
in the streets; people shouting, things on wheels
clattering, boys yelling. It was no use trying to
see anything out of our tiny-paned windows that
were never cleaned; so, bidding our families stay
quietly at home, Strong-Web and I, with the Mar-
shal, dashed down, to see what was the matter.
Mrs. Meriwether and the children were in the front
drawing-room at the windows. I ran to my place
on Lee's shoulder; Stron g-Web ran up on the win-
dow-ledge; the Marshal, too brilliant to risk being

THE MARSHAL.
shake. He seemed born to have things happen seen, hid himself behind a flower-pot. Then we
to him. He had had a leg-to-leg fight with a cock- looked out, and down at the end of the street we
roach and had come off victor. He had been walled saw a house on fire. What a horrid sight it was!
up alive by Miss Nanny Meriwether, the young The flames roaring like the sea, leaping through

1879.]

458 TE

RRIBLE ADVENTURES OF

the house, already devoured to the mere skeleton
of a home, tottering and ready to fall.
Suddenly there came a scream from the back of
our own house, where the cook slept. Every one
started and ran that way, ourselves and the Mar-
shal among the rest. The halls were dark, with as
many twists and turns as there are in a water-melon-
vine; our heads were confused; almost before we
knew it, we found ourselves in the street. Fright-
ened half to death, we ran furiously, not noticing
the way we took, only intent on keeping from under
the feet of the hurrying crowd, and getting away
from the roar and glare and smoke of the fire.
When at last we came to our senses, we were far
away from home, in a vast sand-waste overgrown
with yellow, ill-smelling flowers. Poor unfortunate
ones! Where was our home? Towhat place had
we come?
We are lost! cried I, in tones of anguish.
"I fear we are," said Strong-Web, with much
more cheerfulness than one would have looked for.
That is n't the worst of it," said the Marshal;
a storm is coming up."
He spoke truly; already the sky was black with
clouds, and soon the lightning began its awful
silent play, and the thunder its crashing sound.
We knew what storms were; safe in our dear, lost
attic we had seen the great sheets of water pouring
down, and the little chickens and goslings borne
off their legs and drowned in the flood. No hope
for us, if we had to stand this rain unsheltered.
We ran in all directions, like distracted creatures,
until the Marshal's voice called, Here, this way !"
A flash of lightning followed his words, and we saw
that he had found shelter under a little heap of oys-
ter-shells, where in five seconds we were beside him.
The rain fell in torrents, but we could laugh at it
now. We even managed to sleep, feeling the need
of rest after the violent events of the night.
When we awoke, the sound of the falling rain
had ceased, but all was dark.
"It is stifling here," said Strong-Web, "let's
get out."
We hurried to the outlet; but what was our hor-
ror to find it closed The rain had beaten the oys-
ter-shells down into the earth, and we were buried
alive! We dashed ourselves against the smooth
sides; we raved; we wrung our legs; but to what
avail ?
After the first few moments of despair had spent
themselves, I said:
At least, the sad comfort is ours of dying to-
gether. We have been friends in life; let us com-
fort each other in these last moments."
The Marshal snarled. There 's no other word
for it.
Die together, shall we ? he said. I '11 tell

you one thing, old Wind-bag-I '11 be the last one
to die !"
Old wind-bag !" But I did n't mind that, for
something in the Marshal's hollow tone struck a
new terror to my heart. In an instant it flashed
over me. The Marshal meant to hold on to life as
long as he could. The Marshal meat to eat us !
I said nothing. I drew my legs up, and crept as
far as I could into the corner, so that he might get
Strong-Web first. My brain reeled with thought.
Would he spring upon Strong-Web without warn-
ing? Would he offer me any of him? Should I
show fight when my turn came ? Would it be pos-
sible that I-should eat the Marshal?
While we crouched there in the darkness, we
heard boyish voices above us. Then there was a
kick against the heap of oyster-shells,-as boys will
kick,-and we were free. The storm was over; the
sun was shining; but, dazed and curiously shamed,
we crept out upon the fresh, wet grass, and dared
not look each other in the face.
We wandered all day, looking vainly for our
home, stopping, when night fell, in a large public
garden, which even to our sad eyes appeared a lovely
place. Swinging lamps hung from the cedar and
oleander trees, that grew everywhere in beautiful
profusion; pink and white oleander blooms per-
fumed the air; a band of musicians played joyous
tunes; crowds of people were coming and going,
and children ran about merrily.
People were strolling around, as I have said,
and, all at once, a young lady sat down on a bench
near us. I was the first to notice her. "Look!
look!" cried I, "it is Miss Nanny Meriwether!
We are saved! For in the very instant of seeing
her, a plan had flashed into my mind,-simple,
like all plans of the truly great. It was to conceal
ourselves in the folds of Miss Nanny's dress, and,
as it were, make a vehicle of her to take us home.
My comrades agreed that it was a wonderful oppor-
tunity, and we lost no time in hiding ourselves
under the plaiting of Miss Nanny's flounce. And
now it was that the Marshal's fierce spirit got us
into new trouble. He had no love for Miss Nanny,
as you may know, since she had walled him up.
"I would like her to see that I am still alive," he
began.
We remonstrated with him for this rash wish, but
unfortunately Miss Nanny put out her foot from
under the edge of her dress. She had on a slipper
and an open-worked stocking.
Let me get at that foot!" cried the Marshal,
his eyes beginning to shine with fury.
In vain were our frantic entreaties; he dashed
out from our hiding-place, and ran up the
side of her slipper. But,' alas! she happened to
look down, and the Marshal's fatal beauty betrayed

OURSELVES AND THE MARSHAL.

him. She gave such a scream that the people
around us came running to see what was the matter.
"A spider! a spider!" she cried, stamping her
foot and shaking her dress so violently that we
dropped off. It was a miracle that we escaped with
our lives; and when at last we were safe, instead of
a humble apology to us for his cruel rashness, what
did the Marshal do but say he would willingly have
never seen home again if he could have given her
foot a good bite.
After this painful experience we wandered about
for another twenty-four hours, and the next evening
we found ourselves tired and worn-out on the beach
near the city. The moon rose gently over the sea;
the beach stretched away like an unrolled strip of
yellow silk, and bathers frolicked in the water.
We rested our fevered legs on the cool back of a
jelly-fish, and told our story to a friendly sand-crab
who was running about as only the happy can run.
"Brace up, brace up," said he, cheerfully; "I
think your troubles are about ended. I do believe
Lee Meriwether is on the beach now,-over there
on that log. I heard the lady call him Lee."
He started off in his ridiculous sidelong way, we
following as fast as we could travel, until we came
to the little boy and the lady. They were Lee and
his mother! Now indeed we were saved. First
exacting a solemn promise from the Marshal to
restrain himself, we ran into Lee's hat that was
lying on the ground. The silk lining was partly
torn out, and we got between the lining and the
crown. All happened as we had expected. Lee
took us safely home, Strong-Web and I holding
the Marshal firmly all the way, for fear his spirit
would lead him to bite Lee's head.
And now came our last and most dreadful trial.
Miss Nanny was sewing by the table, and as Lee
threw down his hat, she picked it up before we had
time to get out.
How your hat is torn, Lee she said. "Let
me mend it while I am thinking of it," and she
drew her work-basket to her and began to sew.

459

Oh, horror! was this to be our doom after all
we had gone through? We looked at the Mar-
shal.
One stroke for liberty !" he cried, in hoarse but
warlike tones. "Dash!"
And at the word of command out we dashed;
through Miss Nanny's fingers, over her hands and
dress to the floor. How she screamed 1 The scene
in the public garden was nothing to it.
"Am I to be tormented out of my life with
spiders !" she cried. Kill them kill them !"
She pursued us with flashing eyes and upraised
foot, but we got through the door, and up the old
stair,-running wildly into the garret room,-
and at last were safe in our own homes with our
rejoicing wives.
We told our story, and our wives, too, had their
story of suffering to tell.
We have had a hard time," whispered Arachne,
"though Fly-catcher has worn himself to a shadow
taking care of us. Mrs. Strong-Web has eaten
several of her children, and I had grown so thin
that I really think I must have eaten poor little
Rumdumburrow, in self-preservation, if you had
not come to-night."
Never shall you do that, my Arachne !" I cried,
" while I live to provide for you."

So here we all live now, more happily than ever.
Mrs. Strong-Web has improved in her manners,
and Strong-Web has forgotten that he ever quar-
reled with her. The Marshal is fiercer than ever,
and his vanity grows on him a little. There is a
broken looking-glass on a table in the room, and I
have caught him more than once standing on one
leg before it, admiring his brilliant image.
As for myself, now that they are over, I do not
regret our terrible experiences. It is pleasant to
see the world; pleasanter still to have adventures;
but pleasantest of all to get home safe again, and
spin yarns or webs, as the case may be, from the
place where they are stored away.

1879.]

46o

11V

THREE wise old couples were they, were they,
Who went to keep house together one day.
Upstairs and down-stairs one couple ran,
He with his ulster, she with her fan.
"Fresh air !" cried the wife, is the thing for me."
" Shut the windows,-I 'm freezing!" said he.

The second couple, with basket and gun,
= Went hunting for spiders, one by one.
Into the corners they poked and pried:
"There 's one! I'll shoot him !" the husband cried.
While his wife exclaimed: When the basket's full,
I can sell the spiders' webs for wool."

.r ,,,,

4 / /1

/ ____________________-

THE THREE WISE COUPLES.

THE THREE WISE COUPLES.

BY MRS. E. T. CORBETT.

[MAY,

---`
`---

THE THREE WISE COUPLES.

But the wisest couple of all the three
Said: "We will a traveling circus be!"
" You," cried the wife, the bear must play,
Up on the ladder you ought to stay,
And I '11 carry the club, because, you know,
I '11 have'to beat you, your tricks to show."

So the man in the ulster was frozen stiff,
While his wife did nothing but fan and sniff.
The hunter was stung by cross old spider,
As he very imprudently sat down beside her,
And his wife, who was gathering webs for wool,
Used him to make up a basket full.
k l I.I ,,; . H.... l l, l, :l l

But the man who learned the bear it. p'.,
Lived on the ladder for many a dal,.
He stole the club and he would n't c.'!,. .-1.. ni.
So his poor wife carried him through rh. ,-.. w.
And all the people said: "Let's g.
To see the bear and the circus-sho-. !'

SHE COULD N'T. [MAY,

THE GOURD AND THE OAK.

BY HOWARD PYLE.

A GOURD-VINE once, filled with all the pride of
rapid growth, glanced at a delicate acorn-shoot
that stood at some distance, looking so fragile that
it seemed as though a breath would destroy it.
Poor wretch !" said the Gourd; how can you
bear to show your puny form so close to my own
sturdy growth? Hide your head, you poor con-
ceited weakling!"
The Oak-shoot answered not, but submitted in
silence to the insulting pity of the great Gourd.
The autumn passed and winter came, and at the
first frost the gourd died, and became shriveled into
dead and withered stems. As for the oak, it grew
with ever-increasing strength, year after year, until

at length, its branches spread far and wide, and it
towered high among the trees. Many plants hid
from the fervent rays of the sun beneath its cool,
moist shade, and many weary travelers rested be-
neath its spreading branches.
Birds came year after year, rearing their young,
and finding shelter under its protecting foliage
from the inclemencies of the weather.
Ah !" said the aged Oak one day, looking down
upon a bare spot where, many years before,, the
rapidly growing Gourd had ridiculed it, I now
perceive that it is only by slow growth that the
strength and stability, which will remain through
the changes of centuries, are produced."

SHE COULD N'T.
(A Story for Big Girls.)

By KATE GANNETT WELLS.

CHAPTER I.
DORA was reading in her own private room at
her own private desk. The carpet directly under-
neath the desk was strewn with quill clippings which,
together with the confusion of books, maps and
papers, gave, as Dora fancied, a literary aspect to
the room.
She had taken from her desk a big blank-book,
and was turning over its leaves with a half amused,
half mournful look;, for it was her journal. Was it

possible, she thought, that she could have made
such sad entries ? Yet she remembered some of her
sorrowful feelings. Her smile grew plainer as she
came to this record: "In spiie of my family I will
no longer be a clipt en." On January 4th, 186-,
she had declared herself "unhappy." January 6th,
"two unhappy days." January 9th, too wretched
to write even here." Then came an outburst of
disappointed feeling and strong conscientiousness,
in which she had described herself as afraid that

SHE COULD N'T.

such thoughts did her no good, and therefore she
had written that she had decided to change her
journal into a novel and make herself its heroine.
So she had pictured herself as Queen Victoria,
traveling about in disguise to discover the best
methods of obtaining the freedom and elevation of
girls, and of educating them at the same school
with boys.
In this story she had settled questions of social
reform in a surprisingly rapid manner, and had
made political economy depend on Christian teach-
ing. Theories which she had endeavored to impress
on the home circle were demonstrated in the full
beauty of their practice. Remarks on self-govern-
ment and wise charity, which had been called forth
by the exhibition of certain boyish freaks, were
embodied in its legislative code. As she read, she
remembered a peculiar, lofty, thoughtful manner
that she used to assume at this period, when re-
quested to mend a hole or help in the manufacture
of kite-bobs, as an indication of the absorption of
her mind in lofty thoughts, from which a summons
to trifling duties was painful.
She recalled also her retreats to the attic and her
solitary rehearsals of imaginary scenes, and the
hours in which she and her chosen, intimate friend,
Annie, had assumed given characters, and had
occupied all their walks and visits together in the
development of distinguished imaginary person-
ages; by taking strange attitudes on stone seats on
the Common, hiding awkward movements of their
arms under their shawls, pacing up and down with
increasing dignity, then bending graciously forward
and making rapid gestures and addressing an
imaginary audience. Dora consoled herself now
by the thought, that if it had not been for these
strictly private theatricals she could not have
enacted the queen or the injured woman in the
plays of the school recess, and that her carriage
had really improved thereby,-a very important
thing in a young girl's life.
Dora was what other girls call a "funny girl" or
a "queer girl." No one could have enumerated
all her secret vanities, one of the choicest being the
possession of a bold, free handwriting, indicative
of character and wasteful of paper. Her journal
had been and still was her greatest comfort. She
could endure advice, if she could afterward
describe, in underscored words, how much she had
been misunderstood. Yet she was full of quick
sympathies and longed to be loved, whilst her
energy and high spirits, her readiness for fun and
exercise made her an acknowledged leader at
school and in all frolics.
She thought it a fine thing to have secrets all to
herself, and had made up her mind that when
fifteen years old she would be famous. She had

decided that her mother was "too domestic" to
care for her kind of troubles, and her brothers
were-boys. So she wrote in her journal and
made up stories. But, at last, fourteen years old,
she sent her first story to a magazine. If the
editor had been a girl he would have answered
at once. But weeks had gone by and she had
received no reply. How many weeks she could
not tell, and therefore she had opened her journal
to find the eventful date, but feeling melancholy
had given herself up to the luxury of glancing over
her past experiences.
Just then came a tremendous knock upon the
door which set it flying open, admitting her brother
Ned, who handed her a long package with such a
mocking bow, that she had to put on all her dig-
nity to endure it in silence, especially as he added:
Uncle Sam will get pretty rich with such a lot
of stamps going back and forth; and then quickly
departed out of the way of vengeance. Dora's
heart sank. If her story had not been returned
the envelope could not have exhibited such a long
line of postage. It was her beloved story,-the
story that was to have made her famous,-accom-
panied by a very kind, but, as she thought, patron-
izing, letter from the editor.
Years after she thanked him; but now, as the
combined advice, reproof and ridicule met her eye,
she threw herself on the bed in a paroxysm of grief,
until, exhausted with sobbing, she fell asleep. Her
mother, soon afterward finding her there, longed to
waken and comfort her, but Dora had never
volunteered any special confidence, and this was
not the time to sue for it. She softly closed
the door again, saving Dora the pain she
would have felt at the discovery of her fancied
secret. The next morning no allusion was made
to her absence from supper, nor to the last even-
ing's mail. Dora, however, had risen early, gath-
ered all her papers, embalmed them in rose-leaves,
bound them with black ribbon, sealed them with
black wax, writing on the outer wrapper, which was
moistened with great, honest tears, mortuus est,
and had put them in the farthest corner of the
topmost shelf of her closet. She was stunned by
the unexpectedness of the blow.

CHAPTER II.
AFTER a few weeks, the unspent energies that
Dora's school did not consume needed vent. She
determined henceforth to shine as a philanthropist,
for which duty she considered herself trained
through her unpublished efforts. Her first en-
deavor was the organization of a sewing-circle.
Scorning elderly assistance, and believing that a
school education necessarily fitted one for the prac-
tical duties of life, Dora and her girl associates cut

SHE COULD N'T.

and made the garments. When finished, the arti-
cles were so badly put together that they were
ashamed to send them to any Home"; yet some
method of disposal must be devised. Dora sug-
gested that the chief fault with all missionary labor
was ignorance of the nature of those helped; that
tests of character were far more important than
short stitches or a well-fitting dress; that the proper
recipients for their bounty could be discovered by a
careful study of the expression of the face. There-
fore, a select committee, who had studied a little
physiognomy, proceeded into the streets lately

D T G

nISTRIBUTINO 'raE OAaMENTS.

devastated by fire, or where buildings were being
erected, and, measuring by their eye the arch of the
eyebrows or curvature of the mouth, approached
the little gatherers of shavings and wood, who hap-
pened to possess the needed requirements, and
benevolently invited them to follow their footsteps.
Curiosity soon collected a crowd, which was care-
fully winnowed by this process of selection, incom-
prehensible to those whom it concerned.
Meanwhile, Dora and some of the other girls had
been busy in arranging silver spoons and money in
visible hiding-places, that these children might
prove themselves capable of withstanding tempta-
tion, before they received the immediate reward of
clothing. As the committee and their followers
arrived, the baskets of cold food and chips were

deposited in the entry, and the little bare feet
rubbed vigorously on the bristling mat before they
trod the parlor carpet. Poor Dora was in moment-
ary fear of her brothers' entrance, or that her
mother's housewifely eye would detect traces of
mud. The children gazed at the wonders of the
room and the curious juxtaposition of silver and
underclothing. They lifted the spoons deftly, but
replaced them more quickly, as they felt the glances
of their patronesses. When this trial of their vir-
tue had lasted some fifteen minutes, and they had
answered various questions addressed them, con-

cerning their residences and families, Dora mounted
an ottoman and began:
Children, like Oliver Twist, you have wanted
more before you had any; like the renowned Spar-
tans, you have been stoical in the presence of
riches; like- "
A long, low whistle warned Dora to bid her
friends dispose of their gifts in a hurried manner.
Short aprons were given to tall maidens, and very
much gored skirts to those who had extensive
waists. The children took all in a thankless, stolid
manner, as if mismating were an every-day affair,
shouldered their baskets, and disappeared round
the corner of the house.
Poor Dora! She was greatly disappointed.
She had thought that belonging to a sewing-circle

[MAY,

SHE COU

was respectable and elderly, and that barefooted,
pretty little girls always said "Thank you." In-
stead of establishing a union that would last till all
its members were grandmothers, she had wasted
her cloth by cutting it badly, and her stitches had
been long and crooked. She had had a good
time, that was one comfort; but still, she was
nearly fifteen, and had not yet found the path to
distinction. She must instantly undertake some-
thing else, that would be strikingly brilliant and not
require much effort. Fortunately for her present
undertaking, her mother had never allowed her to
pursue many studies at once, and thus, thanks to
this restriction and to her good natural powers, she
had had time for thorough study and for recreation.
In composition, however, it had always been impos-
sible to check the fertility of her invention or chas-
ten her style, when given a subject that was not an
abstract of some previous study. If required to
write an analysis of an author, she would bring to-
gether the impressions she had received from her
friends and the encyclopedias concerning such a
writer, and, without reading through any one play
or poem, intertwine these disjointed criticisms into
quite a pretty mosaic, alike presumptuous and
superficial. To study and to read, with her, in-
volved two distinct mental states: one a pains-
taking frame of mind, the other a careless, self-
indulgent, and enjoyable mood.
In one of her.compositions on the best method
of aiding the poor, she had described the self-sac-
rifice of a young girl of wealth and beauty, who
gave up her home and went and lived in an alley,
to become more like a sister to shop-girls and beg-
gars. Her heroine finally changed the alley into a
wide street and the tenements into marble fronts,
with tenants having apple-sauce and goose every
day for dinner.
Now," reasoned Dora, I can't do just as she
did; but there 's a little nest of houses near my
old nurse's, only half an hour's ride out of town in
the horse-cars. I could go out there twice a week,
and bring the children together under the trees, as
it is such warm weather, and read to them and teach
them fancy-work. Then, when the little girls are
as old as I am, they can support themselves by em-
broidery, which always pays better than plain
sewing."
So the next week, provided with canvas and
worsted, Dora started forth on her new mission,
having previously induced her old nurse to collect,
either by bribery or threats, eight curious, fright-
ened little maidens, not extremely needy. She
shook hands with them all round, making them
still more frightened. Then she curled her feet
under her and sat down on the grass, telling them
to do the same, and began a story, to make them
VOL. VI.-32.

LD N'T. 465

feel at home. It was a capital story, and capitally
told. The children drew nearer and nearer, and
begged for another when it was ended.
"No," said Dora sternly, and drew out her
brightest worsted and cut her canvas into eight
squares. Luckily, they could all thread a needle
and put it into the right hole ; but none could draw
the worsted evenly, and the canvas would pucker.
Still, as every girl knows, worsted-work is easier
than hemming; so at the end of an hour they had
made two or three lines of good cross-stitch, and
Dora was wild with delight. "This is because I
love them," she thought; "I shall write a story
about 'Love, the Teacher,' and it will be quite
original." Poor Dora!
All went smoothly for three or four weeks. The
eight pin-cushions grew as Dora's pocket-money
lessened, for she had been obliged to keep some of
the girls quiet by promises of two or three cents,
if they would behave themselves. She did not like
that part of her work, as she had only a small
allowance of her own, and she had supposed they
would love her at once; but they did n't, and they
must be taught, even if it did cost. Then they
began to sew carelessly. Dora scolded; then they
became disobedient, and Dora threatened to come
but once a week. Two or three kept on steadily,
and if she had been more patient she would have
got along much better. It became less exciting
to go out of town for a class that grew smaller each
week; besides, she now thought it too expensive;
the worsted was wasted, and many needles were
broken. The original design for pin-cushions grew
narrower; the girls learned little of embroidery,
and Dora now fancied she was not fitted for a sew-
ing teacher, but, as usual, consoled herself by
thinking that she could relate her trials in a story,
and by and by she did. School examination was
approaching, and, somehow or other, she ceased
to go to her embroidery class. But she wrote in
her journal: Did not go out to those un-
grateful little girls to-day, and sha' n't go any
more. It serves them right. They may keep all
the worsted; it cost me lots. Guess I was n't very
patient; can't help it, though. Suppose I could,
too; oh, dear She was not yet distinguished.

CHAPTER III.
THERE was one more idea in her little head. It
had been there for a long time,-ever since she had
kept her place throughout the year at the head of
the English Literature class,-and that was, to
teach pretty young shop-girls what she knew about
English authors, for it would be useful to them, and
make them feel brighter when they were tired with
standing all day.
After her last enterprise, her mother had insisted

SHE COULD N'T.

upon being wholly informed about any new scheme
before it was begun. Dora was very fond of her
mother, after all. She always seemed to know all
Dora did without being told of it, and yet she
would never allow the girl to do a really mean or
wrong thing; but she did allow her to get into
scrapes, just like that of the sewing-circle, and to
get herself out of them as best she could. Dora
always forgot her mother's offers of assistance, and
thought her own way the best, until she found by
experience that it was a mistaken way.
"Mother wont exactly laugh at me," thought she,
"but she will 'twinkle,' when I tell her my new
idea. I suppose I must tell her the whole,-that,
after all the talks I have heard about shop-girls, I
want to persuade the store-keepers to let them have
seats, when they are not waiting on customers.
Then I should be a real benefactress, and in that
way I could find some girls for my English Liter-
ature class. I wish she would ask me what I am
thinking about; but that isn't her way. Of course,
she has guessed it already."
That evening, when Dora and her mother were
alone, the former began to fidget about her chair
and twirl her locket, till that proceeding gave her
courage to say:
"Mother."
"Well ?" replied her parent.
"Mother," answered the daughter,-" mother,
-well, you know I am at the head of the English
Literature class, don't you ? I know a good deal
about it, and I have plenty of time to teach others;
so- "
Yes, dear," said her mother quietly.
"Well, I was: !;,i1 ;,.. continued Dora, "'that
it would be a good plan,"-and she came to a full
stop.
Her mother waited some seconds and then asked
what would be a good plan.
You know all about it," burst out Dora in in
indignant voice, and you don't help me at all."
"You mean, dear," said the mother, "that it
would be a good plan to induce a few very young
girls who tend store all day, to come here in the
evening and listen to you."
Now, how did you know ?" exclaimed Dora.
"Oh, you talked in your dreams last night,"
was the reply.
Yes, but did I dream aloud the other part?"
asked the child eagerly; did I say that I was going
to beg the store-keepers not to keep their sales-
girls standing all day?"
"Why, my dear daughter, you are only four-
teen, and don't know what you are talking about."
That's just the reason I must," said Dora;
"because I am young they will believe in me, and
if I succeed I shall be remembered as a benefactor.

I have it all planned out what to say and every-
thing. Do please let me; do, do !"
After much talking and thinking, the mother
finally consented, on the condition that Dora
should visit but four stores, and those, ones that she
named.
The next day, therefore, on her way home from
school, Dora entered the large dry-goods establish-
ment of Dunmore & Clapp and walked straight up
to one of the partners, whom she knew by sight.
"Please, sir," she began, "you will excuse my
calling, but I did not know whether you knew how
bad it is for girls to stand up all day long ? "
The gentleman thus addressed put his hands in
his pockets and seated himself or fell into a seat
directly before Dora, looking at her in utter amaze-
ment.
Did you understand me, sir ?" she asked pres-
ently, and coloring very much.
I think I did, miss," was the reply. Who
are you ?"
"Oh, I am no one, but I do want to do some good;
it must be so awful tiresome to stand all day and
wait on people. Please do let them sit down. They
will be ever so much stronger and happier for it,
and then besides, they would be pleasanter to cus-
tomers if they were not so tired."
"Who told you to come here?" asked Mr.
Dunmore.
No one, sir," was the answer. It is all my
own idea; please do, sir, it would be such a pleas-
ant thing, and then all the other stores would do
the same and all the girls could grow strong."
She looked at him so earnestly with her heart.
felt wish in her face, that the man's own counte-
nance changed from an expression of wonder to one
of purpose, and he laid his hand lightly on her
shoulder, rose and said, gravely:
"My little maid, you have done what no one
else ever did. My girls here shall have seats."
"Thank you, thank you," broke from Dora's
delighted voice and eyes, as she seized hold of his
hands and shook them again and again and bade
him her happiest good-morning.
She briskly entered another store and began in
somewhat the same way, but was told that she'd
do well to look at home, and see that her mother
did not overwork her servants, for girls that lived
out had an awful time nowadays and were mighty
thankful to get into shops, standing or not
standing.
Enraged by this treatment, she entered a third
shop with the intention of addressing herself first
to the girls ; but being met by a polite official, she
detailed her purpose in such a ferocious manner,
that he crossly informed her she could send as
many arm-chairs as she chose, but that not a girl

466

SHE COULD N T.

would use them, for they preferred standing to
jumping up and down all the time. Dora became
terribly dejected; improvement of others was so

"WE CAN'T COMPLAIN."

difficult and her eagerness to aid so earnest. It
suddenly occurred to her, that if she should inquire
first the price of some article, a paper of pins, for
instance, it might give her a chance for conver-
sation with one of the girls. So, leaning over the
counter in the fourth store, she began by asking the
difference in price between American and English
pins, and while examining them, said sympathiz-
ingly, that it must be hard to stand all day long,
or be dismissed if once caught sitting down.
It is," was the frank answer; in some places,
they don't like to have the girls pull out the
drawers behind the counters and sit on them, but
here we can, and we can't complain, though it is
like sitting on the edge of a knife."
Can't you do anything about it; can't I?"
Oh, it is not so very hard after all, when you
have got to earn your living, any way," was the
answer.
I must see about it," said Dora energetically.
" I shall come in again and speak to the head man;
not to-day, because he has seen me talking with you,
perhaps. But,'until I can get it fixed all right, don't
you want to come to my house and let me read to
you some English literature; have a course with
some other girls; I don't want old women to come,
but young, pretty girls like you, and never mind if
you don't think I am old enough. I have been to
school and you have n't, and that makes a differ-
ence, but we can have a good time, all the same.

The girl looked puzzled and amused. Why,"
said she hesitatingly, we have all been to school,
only we don't go now, and you do; that's the
difference. I used to study English 'something'; I
don't remember what they called it."
Here she went away to attend to a customer, and
Dora waited patiently, until in the intervals of buy-
ing and selling she had persuaded her to come, and
bring two or three others, whom her new friend
thought she could find, because it was such a new
idea and Dora seemed so much in earnest. Then
the little shop-girl returned to her work without
interruption and Dora to her home, and reported
progress to her mother.

CONCLUSION.

AT the stated time, the three damsels rang the
bell, and were ushered into the dining-room. Dora
was seated at the table, fortified with books, paper,
and pencil. After the usual welcomings and chit-
chat, which the girls enjoyed, she ventured to re-
mind them of their purpose in coming, asking them
if they had heard of the Canterbury Tales."
As their ready knowledge, however, was confined
to Shakspeare, Byron, and Longfellow, who wrote
" quite nice," Dora-began methodically at the com-
mencement of Chaucer's life, by stating that, after
all, the date was not fixed,-somewhere about 1328,
-and that what he wrote would be called Old Eng-
lish, and that most people did not think it very
important to read him; but, as they wanted to
have a connected idea of the general progress of
literature, they might as well remember that the
" Canterbury Tales" is a collection of stories which
some travelers told to each other at an inn where
they were stopping. Then she read, for nearly
one half hour, extracts from the various stories, in-
terspersing them with a sketch of two or three of
the plots, and watching her victims out of the cor-
ner of her left eye.
Much must be accomplished in a certain time;
so next she took up Spenser, that then the girls
might compare the two authors. The few data
necessary for a comprehension of the poet were
quickly given, followed by a vigorous reading from
the Faerie Queene," till the nine o'clock bell and
the sleepy faces of her scholars warned her to stop,
and entreat them to tell her about it next Thurs-
day. At this mention of a return of the hour, the
girls nudged one another.
S'pose I might speak for all of us," whispered
one. The nudging gave emphatic assent, and she
explained, in a confused tone, which grew louder
and faster, that they had so many other things to
do that, on the whole, they guessed they 'd better
say, they should n't come again, as, if they did n't

467

SHE COULD N'T

say so now, the young lady might be expecting
them; but hoped she'd take no offense.
It is real kind in you," added another, only
'taint the kind of fun we 'd expected; but we are
lots obliged, just the same."
Only we are too old for this kind of work; but
it is just right for school-girls like you, Miss, and
you were real good," chimed in the other two dam-
sels, and they all three sidled toward the door, in
confusion and awkwardness.
Good-bye," said they all, half sorrowfully.
Dora stood aghast, without speaking. She
thought she had done capitally, had lost no time in
the arrangement of her subjects, and had carried
her pupils through a good deal of the course at
once. It was like the way she learned at school.
At any rate, it was not her fault, she argued; but
it was always her misfortune to get hold of the
wrong people, and things would n't fit together.
To be sure, it was just as her mother had said. She
wanted her to wait; but that had not suited
Dora, who had thus tried another experiment and
failed.
This was the last, forever, of Dora's efforts for dis-
tinction, or of any special new plan for doing good,
for the next three years. She was almost fifteen,
and neither as writer, philanthropist, nor teacher had
she succeeded. She determined to give up all idea
of doing anything except school work and being
good. After all, she was only a fair, average girl,
and there was no use in thinking she could ever be
anything else. But first she would have a kind of
funeral over herself.
The next Saturday was a holiday. She begged

her mother to say she was engaged, if any one
should call, and not to summon her to luncheon.
Her mother took the pathetic little face in both her
hands, and kissed it fondly.
Dora, darling," said she, "when you are twenty
years old, you will be one of the happiest of women,
I know. Meanwhile, be patient with yourself; it
will all come out gloriously."
After that kiss, Dora's funeral did not seem so
gloomy. She locked her room door, took her jour-
nal and wrote out her last failure. Then she di-
vided one of the pages lengthwise, heading one
column with the word "Wants," the other with
" Oughts." Under the first she wrote: Want I, to
be real good; 2, to write splendid novels; 3, to be
beautiful and great. Under the "oughts" she
wrote: i, to love stupid people; 2, to make every-
body happy when I can; 3, not to think about my-
self, but just keep going on; 4, to talk all the time
to mother; 5, never to write another word in this
journal. Then she ended it with a great blot,
made on purpose, tied up her book with black rib-
bon, as she had done with her story the previous
year, and laid it on the same shelf where that was
laid. Next, she had a good cry, ate some candy,
felt better, went downstairs and knelt by her moth-
er's side, whispering:
Mamma, I have given up all trying after what
I can't be. I am just going to love you all at home
with all my heart, and then you '11 love me; and I
wont feel badly because I can't write books or
help in big ways. And if I try to make you all
real happy in little bits of ways, I guess it will
' come out gloriously,' just as you said."

SHE ENDED IT WITH A GREAT BLOT.

468

[MAY,

i~~

469

THE APPLES OF IDUNA.

THE APPLES OF IDUNA.

BY HELEN E. SMITH.

FAR away to the north, in the Atlantic Ocean,
lies a large island so bleak and cold that it has ever
preserved the name of Iceland, given by its Nor-
wegian discoverers in the year 860.
On this island, in the year II50, lived Olaf, a
wealthy Icelander, with his wife Steinvora, and
their children, Thorold and Thurida.
During the summer, and, in fact, until the
weather had become very cold, Olaf and Steinvora,
with their servants, had been more than busy in
gathering the stores of dried fish and Iceland moss
for food; of peat, drift-wood and fish-bones for
fuel; and of hay for the cows. The little boy and
girl had done their share of this labor; in the sum-
mer going off with the maidens to the great plains
to collect the nourishing moss, and in the autumn
gathering moss of a different kind for repairing
their house.
At length, the long nights of the long Icelandic
winter had come. Olaf was happy to think how
well he had provided for his family and his cattle.
Steinvora was troubled when she thought of all the
yarn that must be spun, of the cloth that must be
woven, and of the garments that must be made.
Thorold and Thurida were delighted when they
thought of the snow-sleds and the ice-sliding; but
not quite so happy when they thought of the long
snow-storms that for days and sometimes weeks
together would keep them prisoners in the house.
Olaf's house, like all others in Iceland of that day,
was only one story in height, and was built for
strength and warmth, more than for beauty or
cheerfulness. Its walls, made of huge blocks of
lava plastered together with clay and moss, were
four feet thick. The steep-pitched roof, made of
stout beams, covered with boughs of the scrubby
oaks,-which then grew plentifully on the island,-
was overlaid with a thick covering of turf. In the
center was one large room with a hole in the mid-
dle of the roof-peak, toserve instead of a chimney.
On one side of this room was the store-room for
dried fish; on the opposite side, that for the nutri-
tious moss, which was used in place of bread, for
no grain was then raised in Iceland. On the third
side was a fuel-room, and on the fourth side a cow
and sheep shed, and a long low hall leading to the
open air. Thus it will be seen that there was no
space for windows on the sides of the family room.
Its only daylight or fresh air came through the
chimney-hole. There were, it is true, some small
windows made in the sides of the steep roof, but

these were only for summer use, being covered,
when winter came, by half-transparent fish entrails,
scraped and dried and stretched on frames. These
not being strong enough to support a weight of
snow, were protected by boughs which, like the
rest of the roof, were covered with turf. So you
see that the little Thorold and his sister could not
amuse themselves by standing at the windows and
looking out at the swift-falling snow; or watching
the blinking of the stars; or seeing the shimmer
of the moonbeams on the glittering ice. Neither
were there any story-books to read, for very few
were the books to be found in all Iceland then; and
had Olaf possessed ever so many, no one in his
family could have read them.
Dreary enough must have been the long nights
(some of them twenty hours long) were it not for
story-telling. The old Icelanders were noted tellers
of stories, and children were just as fond then, as
now, of hearing them. The father of a family
would tell them over and over to his children, until
they knew them by heart. And thus the tales
were preserved almost as long and well as if they
had been written.
One day in February, when the length of the day
had grown from four hours to six, and the fishing
season had commenced, Olaf called to Thorold
and Thurida to come to the door and look at the
setting sun throwing his last rays upon the side of
the high peak of the Oerdfa J8kul.
"There!" said he; "do you see? Loki is
bringing Iduna back with her apples, and the
wicked Thjassi will soon lose his eagle wings."
Thorold, who had often heard the story of
Iduna, clapped his hands and laughed till he
seemed to become too big for his long-skirted blue
flannel jacket. But Thurida, who was younger
and had not heard the story, only turned her blue
eyes up beseechingly from under her funny blue
flannel cap, saying:
My father, who was Iduna, and what are
apples?"
Ugh The blast is cold, and Iduna is not
yet come," said Olaf; so we will go in and sit by
the fire while I tell thee the story."
The large room did not look so gloomy as usual
on this night, for the atmosphere was clear, and
the smoke from the large wood-and-fish-bone
fire passed off freely through the hole in the roof,
while the fire-beams danced merrily over the spin-
ning-wheels and loom on one side of the room; over

THE APPLES OF IDUNA.

the fishing-tackle and bows and spears on another
side; over the narrow boxes filled with sea-weed,
which served as bedsteads for the family, servants
and all, ranged against the wall behind the fire;
upon the group of men dressing the fish they had
that day speared through the ice; and upon Stein-
vora and her maidens preparing for supper the big
kettle of moss-porridge, to-night, by way of a treat,
flavored with dried juniper berries.
It was not until after the supper that Olaf took
off his blue flannel cap-shaped like a small three-
cornered bag, with a yarn tassel fastened to the
point-to let the fire dry his long yellow hair, and,
taking the children, one on each knee, told the
story of Iduna.
Once," said he, "a long time ago, before the
Christians came to Iceland, the god Odin, with
Haenir and the wicked Loki, went on a journey.
The ancient gods surely differed little from mortals,
for, like us, they often were hungry and thirsty and
tired. When these three had traveled far, they
came to a beautiful valley where a herd of oxen
were grazing. Being very hungry, these gods-
not even the best of whom was really good-did
not scruple to steal and kill one of the oxen for
their supper. They cut the ox into quarters, which
they put into their big kettle to boil. But boil the
beef would not. In vain the three travelers piled
on the fuel; in vain the water in the kettle bubbled
and boiled. Every time that the lid of the kettle
was removed the meat was found to be as raw
as at first. While wondering what the reason
for this could be, the perplexed travelers, hearing
a voice, looked up, and beheld an enormous eagle,
perched on the stoutest branch of a very large
oak-tree.
If ye are willing,' said the voice, to let me
have my share of the flesh, it shall soon be boiled.'
Of course the hungry gods said 'Yes,' when
instantly down flew the loud-flapping eagle, and
with his great beak snatched up three quarters of
the beef!
Stop stop !' exclaimed Loki, 'one quarter
only is thy share,' aid with that he struck a fierce
blow with his traveling staff upon the eagle's back.
So much the worse was this for Loki, for while one
end of the unlucky staff stuck fast to the back of
the eagle, Loki found himself unable to loose his
hold from the other end, which he the more desired
to do because he now found, to his dismay, that the
supposed eagle was no other than the renowned
Frost-Giant Thjassi, who, with his great eagle wings,
went flying over rocks and forest tops, dragging
after him the unhappy Loki till he was torn almost
in pieces.
For a long time the giant took no notice of
Loki's piteous entreaties, but, at last, Thjassi

deigned to tell him that he should be released when
he had bound himself by a solemn oath to bring
Iduna and her apples out from her safe retreat
behind the bright walls of Asgard, the city of the
gods.
Loki, who was selfish enough to do anything,
willingly took the oath, and, all tatters and wounds
as he was, soon rejoined his companions. But he
told them nothing of his oath."
"My father," interrupted Thurida, "what are
apples?"
They are round things that grow on trees, as
I've been told," said Olaf, "but I never saw any.
Now, these apples of Iduna were very different
from all other fruits, for it was by eating them that
the gods kept themselves always young and hand-
some and strong. So Loki did not dare to tell of
the oath he had taken.
On the return of the three travelers to bright
Asgard, the crafty and cruel Loki told the beautiful
and kind Iduna that in a forest a short distance
off he had found apples which he thought were of a
much better quality than her own, and that at all
events it was worth while to make a comparison
between them.
Iduna, deceived by his words, took her apples
and went with him into the forest; but no sooner
had they entered it than Thjassi, clad in his eagle
plumage, flew rapidly toward them, and catching
up Iduna, regardless of her tears, carried her and
her treasures with him to gloomy Jotunheim, the
dreary city of the Frost-Giants.
Now the gods, left in lofty Asgard without the
society of the beautiful Iduna, and without any of
her youth-giving apples to eat, soon became wrink-
led and bent and gray. Old age was creeping fast
upon them, and their mourning for Iduna was loud
and sincere. It was long before they discovered
that Loki was the author of the mischief. When
they did so, he could only save himself from their
wrath by promising to bring safely back the beloved
Iduna and her youth-giving apples.
"To do this, Loki borrowed from the goddess,
Frigga, the falcon plumage which she sometimes
wore, and disguised in it, flew to J6tunheim.
In spite of his disguise, it was not without fear
that Loki approached the grim and terrible walls of
the city of the Frost-Giants. Cautiously and silently
he flew about it until he discovered that Thjassi was.
on an ice-floe, far out at sea, spearing fish for his
dinner. Then, with a joyful cry, Loki flew into the
city and lost no time in changing Iduna into a
sparrow, and flying off with her safely clasped in
his talons.
But, before they were far on their way, the Frost-
Giant returned to his gloomy city, there to learn
of the escape of Iduna. Into his eagle plumage

470

THE BIG BEAR OF WANNETOLA.

hustled Thjassi, and, screaming with rage, flew in
pursuit of the trembling sparrow and swiftly fly-
ing falcon.
Upon the bright walls of Asgard, eagerly
watching the uncertain race, stood the impatient
gods. Rapidly approached the pursued, but close
behind them followed the terrible pursuer. The
gods trembled with terror lest Iduna should again
fall into his cruel hands, and, as fast as their now
aged limbs would let them, they began to gather
upon the walls bundles of dry chips, while the good
Baldur waited with a fire-brand in his hand.
Over the bright walls flew Loki and Iduna.
Close after them came the loud-flapping Thjassi;
but Baldur had been too quick for him, and had
already set fire to the ready chips. The rapid
flame caught the borrowed plumage of Thjassi, and
he thus fell into the power of the gods, who slew
him within the walls of the sacred city. Then great
and loud was the rejoicing, while the gods hastened
to make themselves young and handsome and
strong again, by eating freely of the apples of
Iduna."
My father," said Thorold, "the good priest
tells us that all those ancient fables about the
gods have a meaning that is not a fable. Canst

thou not tell me and Thurida what this one
means? "
I do not know how it is of myself," said Olaf,
"but I have heard the good priest say that Iduna
means the beautiful spring, while Thjassi means
the desolating winter. Hence, when the short days
and long nights begin to come, we say that Thjassi
is carrying off Iduna. And, when the days grow
longer and the nights shorter, we say that Iduna
with her apples, is returning to us. The fire kin-
dled by the gods upon the walls of bright Asgard
is the sun, before whose heat winter dissolves;
while all Nature, partaking of the fruits of spring,
grows young again."
"My father," murmured sleepy little Thurida,
I will wake up to eat some of the apples."
Olaf laughed, and, kissing his little daughter,
laid her tenderly in one of the bed-boxes filled with
elastic sea-weed, and spread over her a sack of sea-
fowl feathers, saying: ,
It is not for many a long and bitter night yet,
my Thurida, that the beautiful Iduna shall reach
our cold land.
"Yet," he continued, patting Thorold on the
head, "when Iduna is with us, 'Iceland's the
best land the sun shines on! "

THE BIG BEAR OF WANNETOLA.
(A True Story.J

BY DR. I. E. NAGLE.

ONE beautiful evening in the latter part of No-
vember, I86o, I rode to my nearest neighbor's
cabin to spend the night with him, for we had
planned to start early next morning on a hunt for
a big bear, that had been seen often in the vicinity,
and had become the principal topic of the settlers
for several months. The country was sparsely set-
tled, and every exciting incident that occurred was
largely magnified by those who lived in that isolated
portion of the frontier. So the depredations of
this big bear during that autumn had soon made
him very notable, and excited the desire of hunters
to secure his skin.
The neighbor I have mentioned was Harvey
Richardson, one of the most successful hunters
and famous woodmen in Arkansas. He had spent
many years in the forest, and was noted for his des-
perate adventures with varmints of every kind.
He met me at the gap in his fence, and welcomed
me with the usual hospitable greetings, which make

the cabins in the wild western forests free to all
who visit them.
Before retiring, we viewed the sky very carefully,
and found the outlook gave good promise of a
splendid morning for our hunting expedition. A
gray mist was in the air, slightly veiling the moon
and sky, though not sufficiently thick to hide the
stars from view. This softened haze indicated two
favorable prospects for hunting. It assured us that
the bear would forage during the night, and also
that the ground would hold scent, and give the
dogs a fine chance for running the game. So,well
pleased with the weather, we slept soundly.
An hour before day broke, the door creaked on
its wooden hinges, and Harvey took a good look
out. The stars were shining brightly, and the keen,
sharp morning air was laden with the fresh scent
of wood and frosted vegetation. Far off in the
forest we heard the half-suppressed howl of a wolf,
perhaps speeding on the track of a hapless deer.

[MAY,

THE BIG BEAR OF WANNETOLA.

My warm nest was very comfortable, and so I mur-
mured a little sigh of regret, and yawned as Harvey
shook me out of bed. He was very much elated
because the morning was so perfectly fitted for our
expedition, and we quickly prepared for the advent-
ures of the day.
As there are some very important matters con-
nected with the preparations for a dangerous hunt,
and not only success in killing game, but often
a hunter's safety, depends on his precautions,
I will tell you what we did. Harvey wiped his
rifle clean with a woolen washer; then he held it
to the fire and dried the nipple without heating the
stock and breech. He then put in the powder
from his boar-tusk charger, and placed a patch-
covered half-ounce bullet on the powder, press-
ing it firmly down home with the ramrod. He did
not hammer the ball, but left it snugly laid on the
charge. When he examined the nipple of the
tube, there was powder at the crown, and then he
carefully fitted a cap on it, so that it would not
come off under ordinary circumstances. He then
strapped on his pouch, pistol and large butcher-
knife, and was ready for service.
I warmed my English double-barreled gun, and
proceeded to load with three drams of powder,
on which were placed felt wads. I did not ram the
charges, but on each of them I placed three buck-
shot, and on these was laid an ounce ball. Each
charge was then covered with felt wads, which were
pushed home closely without ramming. Thus my
loads were lodged very tightly in the barrels, and
after capping on powder that lightly filled the
tubes, I, too, was ready for the expedition.
We hurried into the air and loosed the five dogs
that were to accompany us. The other eighteen
of the pack had been corraled in a high pen during
the night, and so they roared and yelped and would
not be quieted. But we glided into the forest, and
soon '1,.; barking was heard only as a dreamy
tone in the far distance.
The dogs thai accompanied us were noted hunters,
and really deserve a passing description. Old Lap-
stone was a gaunt, one-eyed, huge yellow dog,
with a very mean and ugly countenance. His name
was given him from his close resemblance to a
surly old cobbler who roamed about the neighbor-
hood. The old dog's voice was horribly bass, but
he had good grit, was a savage fighter of bears,
and always led the pack.
A beautiful dog, named Bullet, half hound and
half bull-dog, was always second. He had the
pluck of a game chicken, the endurance of a tiger,
and the speed of a deer. We depended on him
for sleuth and sagacity, and were never disap-
pointed in our confidence.
The third was a large brindle dog. He had

a long face, thick nose, long lips, frightful teeth,
and around his neck a white ring, which resem-
bled a clergyman's choker; and from this pecul-
iarity he was named Parson. He had great perti-
nacity and endurance and was a good dog, though
he became too much excited at the tooting of a
horn, or when he heard the scraping of a fiddle.
Old Pickles was the next, and he never did any
good, unless he was in the fourth place, even when
running with other packs. He was a bull-dog, with
a massive head and neck, was always in at the
death, and his delight was to hang on to a bear to
the very last. He was a very sour-looking ani-
mal, and never made friends with any one. Big
Jack was always the tail of the pack. He was a
half blood-hound and half Scotch sleuth-hound,
evidences of which savage mixture he exhibited in
many instances besides bear-hunting. He was a
treacherous brute, and would pull down a man
with as little hesitation as he would attack a bear.
The unpleasant creature was a present to Harvey
from an Englishman, who had seen a great deal of
backwoods' life and hunting adventures with my
friend in the preceding year.
As we approached the banks of the Wannetola,
the thickets became more dense and difficult to
penetrate. At last we arrived at the crossing of a
deep slough or bayou, where we expected to find
"sign of the b'ar," as Harvey said, eagerly. To
our delight we found the trail we so earnestly
sought, and without delay located ourselves for
sharp work. The morning twilight was just turn-
ing into rosy day, as we adjusted ourselves in
" stands," as hunters term the places where they
await the approach of game. In standing for deer,
the hunter places himself in front of a tree and in
full view of the animal, which does not see him,
because of the dark background. For other game
the hunter hides himself completely from view,
choosing his position so as to escape the animal's
keen powers of scent.
What Harvey meant by his "sign of the b'ar"
was this: The crossing was the only low place and
inclined bank of the bayou within a distance of two
miles. Bear, deer, and other "varmints," as wild an-
imals are promiscuously termed by frontier people,
always crossed at this point, whither they came from
every quarter. We found the foot-marks very large,
and closely resembling the impressions made by a
huge negro's foot. We found, too, that the toes
pointed toward the plantations, and there were no
points to indicate that he had returned. The
smooth side, where Bruin had slipped as he came
up the bank, also gave an impressive idea of the
creature's great weight and size. He had evidently
gone on a foraging excursion to a corn-field or
hog-range near by, and after getting his store of

THE BIG BEAR C

provender, would doubtless return at an early
moment to his den in the far recesses of the swamp.
The morning air was cold and frosty enough to
make my nose and fingers tingle with a sense of
pain, but the prospect of excitement and combat
of a dangerous kind warmed away other thoughts.
As daylight came, our senses were aroused to catch
every sound indicative of our approaching game.

)F WANNETOLA. 473

An old hunter sits immovable, and has ears but
for one sound, that is, the crunching tread of the
bear. He never pays attention to what occurs in
the trees, knowing that bears who live in swamp
countries never go up into the branches to look
into the impenetrable jungles beneath. It is only
in mountainous regions that Bruin sagaciously
reconnoiters the surroundings from lofty lookouts

A CLOSE STRUGGLE.

The cold air caused the branches to snap, but these
sounds did not alarm us old woodmen. Young
huntsmen, at such moments, are very excitable,
and get what veterans term the "buck fever."
They shake at every sound, and look eagerly and
anxiously to discover the source of the slightest
noises. A falling twig causes them to make nerv-
ous movements ; they clutch their guns, and hold
their breath to listen, while their hearts beat rapid-
ly, thumping and jumping, and a choking sensa-
tion comes into the throat. The astonished novice
finds, after the game has fled and escaped, that he
failed to shoot and so lost his day's sport.

Hence we looked to the swamp and awaited the
walk of the animal.
The sun came up and warmed my back, and my
position became very irksome, because it was un-
advisable to move for fear of giving alarm to the
bear, if he was moving in my direction. I noticed,
too, that Big Jack and Bullet had taken posi-
tions close by me. The proximity of the former
was hardly less uncomfortable than that of a savage
panther would have been. We were located about
ten feet from the hither side of the crossing, where
a fallen tree was in front. Through the interstices
of the interlaced roots I could see in every direction

MY COLOR.

necessary, and felt assured that if the game came in
that direction he would pass very near to my position.
Big Jack made a movement, and, with his red
eyes gleaming like burning balls, he seemed as if
in the act of springing at me. His ominous glare
startled me, but in an instant, noticing that his
looks were directed toward the crossing, I, too,
looked thither and heard the sound of a heavy ani-
mal sauntering slowly over the sodden ground and
approaching my lair. In an instant apair of yellow
eyes glared at me, and with as wide a look of sur-
prise as there was in mine. Recovering myself I
fired at the monster, which appeared like a huge,
animated black cloud as he rose up before me.
The brute disappeared with the smoke of my gun,
but in a moment I was startled by the report and
shock of a second discharge. The other load of my
gun had been accidentally exploded. Looking in
the direction that the bear had taken, I saw he had
run along the other side of the fallen tree and met
at the farther end the two dogs, when he turned
about and came toward me at his most rapid speed
and in savage humor. Then there was a fearful
crash and rush. The black mass came on, with
eyes gleaming, and bewildering me with the reflec-
Stion of their glare in the sunlight.
I was conscious that my gun was useless, and so
instinctively grasped my pistol, but found it hope-
lessly entangled in my belt. For a second, despair
came upon me, but a sudden revulsion aroused
every sense and prompted me to defense for life.
Quickly drawing my knife, it was presented at a
thrust as the dark mass sprang at me. In the same
moment there was the shadow of a dark body
flying through the air, and a flash of yellow light,
as Big Jack fastened his glittering fangs into the
bear's right shoulder. Bruin had his ponderous jaws

open, and his yellow teeth were frightfully hideous
as he essayed to snap at me, growling horribly all
the while. At this moment, too, Bullet leaped
at him so fiercely as to divert the monster's atten-
tion from myself and make him miss his bite.
He reared, and as he again came down on his fore-
feet and was in the act of going over the bank, I
plunged my knife to the hilt into his body, in the
region of his heart. He turned and made a terrible
snap at my legs, but at the moment I fell backward
over a bush, and so we all went into the bayou
together. The bear, with Bullet hanging to his
lip, was growling terribly as they went over the
bank. Big Jack was hanging by his first hold, and
thus they floundered in the water and mud.
I scrambled to the edge of the slough, and
watched with intense anxiety the result of the battle.
In another moment, and when the bear had nearly
reached the farther side of the pool, desperately
fighting with the dogs every inch of the way, I heard
a rushing sound and the whirring flight of the rest
of the pack as they sprang over me. In the same
instant a flash shot out from the brown barrel of
Harvey's rifle, and the bear rolled over, though he
still feebly fought the pack, and kept on fighting to
the last moment of his existence. To my mortifi-
cation, an examination of the huge carcass showed
that my shot had not made any visible mark on
the animal, and that my knife had not quite
reached his heart. Harvey's shot had killed him.
The weight of the savage animal was over five
hundred pounds.
His skin has done good service in many a
camp and field since that memorable morning,
though I could never bring myself to try to sleep
upon it, for the very memory of that fight by the
bayou is as unpleasant to me as a nightmare.

MY COLOR.

BY MARCIA D. BRADBURY.

IT glistens in the ocean wave,
It lives in yonder summer sky,
The harebell and forget-me-not
Are tinted with its brightest dye.

It sparkles in the sapphire's depths,
Its touch is on the turquoise laid;
And in the robin's speckled egg
Its faintest tinges are displayed.

So far, perhaps, you have not guessed,
But ah I fear you may surmise
When I confess this heavenly hue
Shines fairest in the baby's eyes.

474

(MAY,

RUDOLPH DON PEDRO LIVINGSTONE.

'RUDOLPH

DON PEDRO LIVINGSTONE.

BY F. H. G. B.

FRANK BOWLAND was a thoughtful and ingen-
ious boy, forever making machines of some sort,-
printing-presses, magic lanterns, scroll-saws, sleds,
and what not. Well, on one occasion he took it into
his head to construct a large doll in the semblance
of a man,-of a hideous, disproportioned, lop-
sided man, to be sure, but as nearly like something
human as the materials at hand would permit.
The nucleus, or central part of this figure, was a
bolster; the members were made of broom-sticks,
boots, and old clothes. It was a weird, grotesque
extravaganza, which threw his younger brother and
sister into an ecstasy of awe and mirth when they
were formally and privately admitted to its presence.
Oh, if it was only alive, would n't it be fun ?"
cried the younger boy.
Oh no, no! I don't want it to be alive; it would
be just too awful cried the sister.

"Why, Fanny, you would not be afraid," said
Master Franky, patronizingly. "Look at Tom;
he's a year younger than you, and he is not scared
a mite."
"Oh, but Tom's a boy," replied Fanny, fully
aware of the privileges of her sex.
It was all that was said on the subject, but it set
Master Franky to thinking. So when the audience
dispersed, and he was left alone with his new crea-
tion, he sat down and gazed at it in rapt admiration
for he knew not how long, but hour after hour
slipped away; the yellow noon sunlight changed
into red sunset; and still he sat looking at the curi-
ous object, and thinking how delightful it would be
if the thing could only be endowed with life,-be-
come a breathing, living being, of his own creation.
He thought what he would be willing to sacrifice to
obtain such a result; he would give up his new sil-

475

RUDOLPH DON PEDRO LIVINGSTONE.

ver watch, his illustrated book of wild beasts, his
knife, anything, if it were only possible for this
thing to live and move and speak. He thought
and thought and thought. The room was very
quiet, and no one came to disturb his thinking.
But what is this ? As he muses and longs,
something in the object stirs; one dislocated leg
advances a few inches, then the other, with an un-
steady motion, steps forward, and the whole bundle
moves toward him. He is rooted to his chair with
surprise and fear. Can it be possible that his wish
is to be gratified? It is indeed so.
Franky," murmurs the figure, in a husky voice,
" I want to play with you."
Play what? stammers Frank.
"Anything," says the creature; "marbles, or
mumbly peg, or anything."
It took our young inventor some minutes to re-
cover his presence of mind; but after a time he
found himself strangely familiar with his new com-
panion, and he gradually began to talk to it as if it
were some funny kind of a boy.
He sat up late into the night exhibiting his pict-
ure-books and other treasures, and explaining the
ways of the boy-world to the untutored mind of his
uncouth playmate; and, ere he retired to rest, he
constructed a comfortable bed for him on the floor.
On the next day, Tom and Fanny were introduced
to the living creature, and, after many cries and

"I WANT TO BE WITH YOU," SAID MR. LIVINGSTONE.

exclamations from the little girl, were induced to It wa.
entertain it with all their store of playthings. his be,
One embarrassment they found at first in not bling
knowing how to address their guest. Tom sug- street
gested that Bolster would be an appropriate title; against

but Fanny thought that might hurt its feelings.
Frank proposed Newcome, but this was again over-
ruled by Fanny, who wisely remarked that, as
names did not cost anything, they might as well
give him a good one; so, by her advice, he was
unanimously christened Rudolph Don Pedro Liv-
ingstone.
This iii.l.r being overcome, they felt more at
their ease, and had a right merry time with their
playmate, who was as rollicking, high-spirited a
creature as any boy of his own size.
After awhile, Frank began to want to go out into
the open air, to play with his hoop; but of course
it was out of the question to take Rudolph with
him, so, after providing him with an abundant sup-
ply of picture-books and toys, and giving him strict
injunctions not to leave the room, and to hide in
the closet if he heard any one coming, Frank sal-
lied out. When he had amused himself for a short
time, and was in the full tide of jollity and fun,
Frank felt something touch him on the shoulder,
and turning round beheld, to his dismay, the horrid
being of his own creation standing by his side. All
his companions gazed, with open eyes and mouths,
at the new arrival, while Frank stammered forth:
What did you come here for? I told you to

the room."
want to be with you," answered Rudolph.
e you. It's very pleasant to be here."
"But you can't, you know. You'd
better go home."
Why? asked the fond creature.
Frank did not like to hurt his feel-
ings, and scarcely knew what to answer.
I 'll tell you by and by. Go home,
there's a good- He did not feel
that he could say "boy," so he said,
Go home, there's a good thingummy;
do, pray do! "
But Thingummy was not to be cajoled;
he clung to his manufacturer, and com-
menced some grotesque gambols, in
imitation of the other children in the
park. Frank's companions began to
laugh.
Frank felt the blood rush to his face,
and, unable to endure the prospect of
the storm of ridicule he saw impending,
took to his heels and fled.
But Rudolph had formed an attach-
ment for the boy who had made him,
and could not be got rid of in that way.
s a close race; for, although Frank ran
st, the creature, with a loose, rickety, sham-
gait, kept close behind him. Up one
and down another, under horses' heads, up
t stout ladies, behind horse-cars, they went,

476

RUDOLPH DON PEDRO LIVINGSTONE.

till Frank, despairing of shaking off his pursuer,- pie and locks them up in a cellar, and then you 'd
who, he had hoped, would lose himself in the crowd, never see me again."
-at last made for his own home, where, dashing in I don't want to see a policeman."
at the open door, he rushed upstairs, closely fol- Well, then you must promise to stay in the

RUDOLPH AND FRANK HAVE A WRESTLING MATCH. (SEE NEX]

lowed by that dreadful creature, Rudolph Don
Pedro Livingstone.
Frank threw himself on the bed, and burst into
a flood of tears. When the paroxysm was over,
and he looked up, the creature was standing by his
side, and patting his shoulder with one of his flabby
hands.
Why did you come out ?-why did you run after
me, you awful, horrid, wicked thing ?" gasped the
agonized youth.
"It was so lonesome here; I want to be with
you," answered Rudolph piteously.
"But you can't be with me all the time, you
know," said Frank, rather more gently.
"Why?"
Why, because you are different, you know."
"Different-am I different? How am I differ-
ent?"
Oh, dear me groaned Frank, he does n't
know he is made of a bolster and a broomstick."
Then aloud: "Oh, you look different, you know.
You're very nice, of course. I like you, and all
that; but then-then, you know, you-you don't
look like us, and if you come out, perhaps-perhaps
some one-- Here a happy thought struck him ;
he would frighten Rudolph; "perhaps a policeman
might take you away."
"What is a policeman? queried Rudolph.
Oh, a policeman is a great, ugly, wicked man,
with a blue coat and brass buttons, who takes peo-

house and do as I tell you, or a police-
man will be sure to lock you up and
never let you out."
Do policemen ever lock you up ? "
Oh, no."
SWhy ? "
"Oh, because I'm different."
SHow ?"
"Oh, don't you understand, you
stupid? You 're not made like me;
you look different altogether. You 're
very nice, you know, and I like you,
and so does Tom, and so does Fanny;
but policemen don't like people that
look different, and they always lock
them up. Now wont you be good, and
please me, and stay in the house ? "
Rudolph pondered for a few moments,
-moments of dreadful suspense for
Frank,-and then pledged himself to
obey orders for the future.
Frank, much relieved, now set to work
to amuse his tormentor with all the

resources at his command, and they got on quite
merrily for an hour or two, till the supper-bell
sounded; then it occurred to Frank that the
creature might possibly experience the human
necessity for food.
Would you like something to eat ? he asked.
Rudolph looked at him vacantly.
He does not know what I mean," thought
Frank. So he ran downstairs, and procured a
couple of slices of bread and butter, which he
placed in the creature's hand, who gaped at them
in a meaningless way for some seconds, and then,
as though by instinct, thrust them into the big
mouth which Frank had marked on the bolster,
and devoured them in an instant.
More," said he, as soon as he had swallowed
them.
"More ?" echoed Frank.
"I like to eat," answered the creature.
Frank ran downstairs and again returned, this
time with four biscuits and a piece of cheese. It
did not take two minutes to dispatch these, and
again Rudolph opened his mouth to utter the now
alarming monosyllable, "More."
"Good gracious!" groaned Frank, "I hope
he's not going to be hungry all the time."
More; I like to eat."
So it seems," thought Frank, as he once more
bolted down to the supper-table, bringing up this
time an entire loaf, and a huge bone to pick.

I1

r /j II;
a T.-

- - -. - -
X'; i~3si~~'~

RUDOLPH DON PEDRO LIVINGSTONE.

The loaf and bone took some time to consume,
and Frank thought he had at last satisfied Mr.
Livingstone; but it was not long before he heard
.the ominous word uttered behind him:
More."
"Oh, dear me! sighed Frank. "Whatever in
the world shall I do with this horrid, greedy thing ?"
And, waxing wroth as the sense of wrong dilated
in his bosom, he struck out from the shoulder, and
sent Rudolph sprawling on the floor. But he soon
repented the rash act, for instantly there burst forth
such a howl, such a wild, piercing yell, from the
prostrate form, as was never heard in the house of
a respectable family before. A yell calculated to
collect a crowd, and bring to the spot all the fire
and police force for a mile around.
"Hush up!" screamed Frank, seizing Don
Pedro by the arm and trying to lift him up;
"hush up, I tell you."
Boo-o-o-o Ya-a-a-a-a-a !"
"Be quiet, stop your noise,-policeman com-
ing."
But still the howling went on.
Hush up, you wretched thing, you; do be a
good fellow; you shall have more to eat, all you
like, nice things; there now, be a good fellow,-
there."
The prospect of "more" seemed to have a paci-
fying effect upon the glutton, for he stopped suffi-
ciently long to utter his favorite word,
More."
Frank made another trip to the dining-room and
returned with a whole dish of fish-balls, and the
contents of the cake-basket, bread-plate, butter-
dish, preserve-jar, and the tea-pot.
"There," he said, handing these provisions to
Don Pedro, "be quiet now. I wont hurt you
again,-eat all you like."
After this hearty meal Rudolph went to sleep.
A feeling of loathing had now possessed Frank's
soul at the sight of this thing for which he had once
so ardently longed. Was there no way in which it
could be got rid of? If he could only pull it to
pieces, and reduce it to its primitive elements, all
would be well. He resolved to try this, and, seizing
the creature's boot with both hands, he gave a sud-
den and vigorous jerk, and off it came, exposing
the well-worn broom which had supplied the place
of a foot in the anatomy of R. Don Pedro Living-
stone, Esq. Instantly the latter sprang into an
erect position, and opened its mouth preparatory
to a yell. Seeing this, Franky sprang forward,
and, seizing it by the throat, held it firmly, whilst he
hissed in a stage whisper:
Be still,-don't make a noise. I '11 get you
something to eat,-lots of things to eat !"
But the creature struggled to free himself, and

grappled with the boy; and bolster and broom-
sticks though he was, he displayed a degree of
agility and strength that proved more than a match
for his youthful opponent. Still the tussle was
vigorously maintained by Franky; they rolled over
on the floor, butted each other against articles of
furniture, upset chairs, tumbled on the bed, and
fought and wrestled all over the room. At last
Franky let go his hold, and both fell exhausted
upon the bed.
Rudolph was first to recover, which he announced
by muttering:
Why don't you want me to be with you, and
why don't you let me come out with you?"
"Because, I tell you," pouted Frank, because
you are -different."
"Well, then, wont you make me a little sister
to play with,-one that is different and can't go out
with you, and will be obliged to play with me all
the time."
Oh no, no, no," groaned Franky, thoroughly
terrified at the bare idea of having two insatiable
monstrosities on his hands.
Oh do, please do," moaned Mr. Livingstone.
"I can have such fun then, and we can go out in
the park and play by ourselves."
I can't,-I wont,-don't ask me,-there 's a
dear, good Rudolph. I '11 do anything else you
want. I like you, and everybody likes you, only
don't-don't do things, you know."
Don Pedro remained in thoughtful silence for
some moments, and then murmured:
"I want to eat."
"Yes, yes," answered Franky, at his side;
keep quiet and you shall have all you want."
"More !"
"Yes; and more."
Presently, Franky crept down to the kitchen,
where he found a ham and two loaves of bread.
When these had been devoured, Don Pedro became,
as before, very drowsy; but he still continued to
murmur More, more."
At length a happy thought struck Frank.
Suppose we undress and go to bed," he sug-
gested, gayly, as though it were the jolliest idea in
the world.
Very well," answered Rudolph, forgetting for
a moment to ask for more.
Well, do as I do," said Franky, taking off his
coat and unbuttoning his vest.
The creature took off his coat as directed, yawn-
ing sleepily. Then he untied the cord which fas-
tened his pantaloons, but, alas for him this cord
was to him what the keystone is to the arch,-it
kept all the other parts together. No sooner was
it unfastened than his legs wavered, wabbled, reeled
over, and fell apart; his body tumbled on the floor,

[IMAY,

A LITTLE GIR

his arms dropped; the cord relaxed round his
throat, and his neck swelled to the full thickness of
the bolster; and, with a heavy yawn, he ceased to
exist.
Rudolph Don Pedro Livingstone was no more.

Frank!" cried Fanny, you 've gone to
sleep right before your funny man. That is n't
polite. Perhaps he wanted to say something."
"What !" cried Frank, springing to his feet.
" Is he there yet? Who put him together again ?
He just now fell all apart. Don't let him move or
speak Don't give him any more."

-J

L S WONDER. 479

Tom, who had come upstairs with Fanny, nox
began to laugh, and Fanny said:
"More? More what? How did he fall apart?
Did he really move or speak? I guess you've been
dreaming."
Have I been asleep ?" said Frank, half to him-
self, but looking straight at Don Pedro, as he
stood propped up against the wall, where he had
been set when Frank had finished making him.
But Rudolph Don Pedro Livingstone never an-
swered a word.
He don't want to say anything," said Tom.
" Bolsters can't talk."

A LITTLE GIRL'S WONDER.

BY NORA PERRY.

WHAT do the birds say, I wonder, I wonder,
With their chitter and chatter? It is n't all play.
Do they scold, do they fret at some boggle or blunder,
As we fret, as we scold, day after day?

Do their hearts ever ache, I wonder, I wonder,
At anything else than the danger that comes
When some enemy threatens them over or under
The great, leafy boughs of their great, leafy homes?

Do they vow to be friends, I wonder, I wonder,
With promises fair and promises sweet,
Then, quick as a wink, at a word fall asunder,
.A: lmloiin t'i- r.-. do, in a moment of heat?

S. But day after day I may wonder and
'"' J wonder,
."_ - And ask them no end of such
r questions as these,-
-- *'. _-. s: With chitter, and chatter, now over,
now under,
The big, leafy boughs of the big,
leafy trees,

They dart and they skim, with
Their bills full of plunder,
But never a word of an answer
Al they give.
And never a word shall I get, though I wonder
From morning till night, as long as I live.

480

CHAPTER XIII.

S THE CORONATION.
N the afternoon, we had our grand rally at
the Queen's Stair-way. Corny could n't
come, because her mother said she must
not be running around so much. So she
staid at home and worked on the new flag
for the coronation. We designed this flag
among us. It had a black ground, with
a yellow sun just rising out of the middle
of it. It did n't cost much, and looked
more like a yellow cog-wheel rolling in deep mud
than anything else. But we thought it would do
very well.
Rectus and I had barely reached the stairs, by
the way of the old fort, when Priscilla made her
appearance in the ravine at the head of a crowd
of whooping barefooted young rascals, who came
skipping along as if they expected something
to eat.
I 'd never be a queen," said Rectus, "if I had
to have such a lot of subjects as that."
"Don't think you would," said I; "but we
must n't let 'em come up the stairs. They must
stay at the bottom, so that we can harangue 'em."
So we charged down the stairs, and made the
adherents bunch themselves on the level ground.
Then we harangued them, and they laughed,
and hurrahed, and whistled, and jumped, while
Priscilla, as an active emissary, ran around among
them, punching them, and trying to make them
keep still and listen.
But as they all promised to stick to us and the
royal queen through thick and thin, we did n't
mind a little disorder.
The next day but one was to be coronation day,
and we impressed it on the minds of the adherents
that they must be sure to be on hand about ten
in the morning, in front of the queen's hut. We
concluded not to call it a palace until after the cere-
mony.
When we had said all we had to say, we told the
assemblage that it might go home; but it didn't
seem inclined to do anything of the kind.
Look a here, boss," said one of them,-a stout,
saucy fellow, with the biggest hat and the biggest
feet on the island,-" aint you agoin' to give us
nothing' for coming' round here ?"
Give you anything!" cried Rectus, blazing up
suddenly. That 's a pretty way to talk It 's

the subjects that have to give. You '11 see pretty
soon -"
Just here I stopped him. If he had gone on a
few minutes longer, he would have wound up that
kingdom with a snap.
"We did n't bring you here," said I, "to give
you anything, for it ought to be enough pay to any
decent fellow to see a good old person like Queen
Poquadilla get her rights."
Who 's him ?" asked several of the nearest fel-
lows.
He means Jane Henderson," said Priscilla.
" You keep quiet."
Jane Henderson Dat's all right. Don' call
her no names. Go ahead, boss!" they cried,
laughing and shouting. I went ahead.
We can't pay you any money; but if you will
all promise again to be on hand before ten o'clock,
day after to-morrow, we '1 take you down to the
harbor now and give you a small dive."
A wild promise rang up the sides of the ravine.
A "small dive" is a ceremony somewhat pecul-
iar to this island. A visitor-no native white man
would ever think of such a thing-stands on the
edge of a pier, or anywhere, where the water is
quite deep, and tosses in a bit of money, while the
darkey boys-who are sure to be all ready when a
visitor is standing on a pier-dive for it. It's a lot
of fun to see them do this, and Rectus and I had
already chucked a good deal of small change into
the harbor, and had seen it come up again, some
of it before it got to the bottom. These dives are
called "small," because the darkeys want to put
the thing mildly. They could n't coax anybody
down to the water to give them a big dive.
You see," said I to Rectus, as we started down
the ravine toward the river, with the crowd of
adherents marching in front, we 've got to have
these fellows at the coronation. So it wont do to
scare 'em off now."
We went down to a little public square in front
of the town, where there was a splendid diving-
place. A good many people were strolling about
there, but I don't suppose that a single person who
saw those darkey fellows, with nothing on but their
cotton trousers-who stood in a line on the edge of
the sea-wall, and plunged in, head foremost, like a
lot of frogs, when I threw out a couple of "big
coppers"-ever supposed that these rascals were
diving for monarchical purposes. The water was
so clear that we could see them down at the bottom,

A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP.

A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP.

BY FRANK R. STOCKTON.

[MAY,

A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP.

swimming and paddling around after the coppers.
When a fellow found one he'd stick it in his mouth,
and come up as lively as a cricket, and all ready
for another scramble at the bottom.
Sometimes I threw in a silver "check," which is
no bigger than a three-cent piece; but, although the
water was about fifteen feet deep, it was never lost.
The fellows seemed just as much at home in the
water as on land, and I suppose they don't know
how to get drowned. We tried to toss the money
in such a way that each one of them would have
something, but some of them were not smart
enough to get down to the bottom in time; and

But, after a good deal of looking, we found a brass
sauce-pan, in a store, which I thought would do
very well for the foundation of a crown. We
bought this, and took it around to a shop where a
man mended pots and kettles. For a shilling we
hired the use of his tools for an hour, and then
Rectus and I went to work. We unriveted the
handle, and then I held the bottom edge of the
sauce-pan to the grindstone, while Rectus turned,
and we soon ground the bottom off. This left us a
deep brass band, quite big enough for a crown, and
as the top edge was rounded off, it could be turned
over on a person's head, so as to sit quite comfort-

1--

44

when we thought we had circulated enough specie,
we felt sure that there were two or-three, and per-
haps more, who had n't brought up a penny.
So when they all climbed out, with their brown
shoulders glistening, I asked which one of them
had come out without getting anything. Every
man-jack of them stepped forward and said he
had n't got a copper We picked out three little
fellows, gave them a few pennies apiece, and came
home.
The next day we were all hard at work. Corny
and her mother went down to the queen's house,
and planned what they could get to fit up the place,
so that it would be a little more comfortable. Mrs.
Chipperton must have added something to our eight
dollars, for she and Corny came up into the town,
and bought a lot of things, which made Poqua-
dilla's best room look like another place. The
rocking-chair was fixed up quite royally. Mrs.
Chipperton turned out to be a better kind of a
woman than I thought she was at first.
We hired a man to cut a pole and set it up in the
queen's front yard, for the flag; and then Rectus
and I started out to get the crown. I had thought
that if we could find some sheet-brass I could
manage to make a pretty good crown, but there
did n't seem to be anything of the kind in the place.
VOL. VI.-33.

ably. With a cold-chisel I cut long points in what
would be the upper part of the crown, and when
I had filed these up a little the crown looked quite
nobby. We finished it by punching a lot of holes
in the front part, making them in the form of stars
and circles. With something red behind these the
effect would be prodigious.
At ten o'clock, sharp, the next morning, we were
all at the queen's house. Mrs. Chipperton was
with us, for she wished very much to see the cere-
mony. I think Mr. Chipperton would have been
along, but a gentleman took him out in his yacht
that morning, and I must admit that we all breathed
a little bit freer without him. There was a pretty
fair crowd sitting around in the front yard when
we reached the house, and before long a good many
more people came to see what was going on. They
were all negroes; but I don't believe half of them
were genuine native Africans. The queen was sitting
inside, with a red shawl on, although it was a pretty
warm day, and wearing a new turban.
We had arranged, on the way, to appoint a lot
of court officials, because there was no use of our
being stingy in this respect, when it did n't cost
anything to do up the thing right. So we picked
out a good-looking man for Lord High Chancellor,
and gave him a piece of red ribbon to tie in his

481

1879.]

A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP.

button-hole. He had n't anybutton-hole anywhere,
except in his trousers, so he tied it to the string
which fastened his shirt together at the collar.
Four old men we appointed to be courtiers, and
made them button up their coats. For a wonder,
they all had coats. We also made a Lord High
Sheriff and a Royal Beadle, and an Usher of the
White Wand, an officer Mrs. Chipperton had read
about, and to whom we gave a whittled :-.'I. ,.H
strict instructions not to jab anybody with i. i..r
had been reading a German novel, and -I.: ,i.:.
us to appoint "Hof-rath," who is a GC. .i' .IJ
officer of some kind. He was a nice fE I.... .. II..
novel, and so we picked out the best-lockn ...i
darkey we could find, for the position.
We each had our posts. Corny wi-. r...1.-, h.-
crowning, and I was to make the speech i.'....,:
had his place by the flag, which he wa.: r.-, l ,,l ".!
at the proper moment. Mrs. Chippe! .... i ..1.:I-
took to stand by the old lady,-that is, I.i. .qu :.. .
-and give her any support she might I, 'ijr", '.:.
need, during the ceremony.
We intended having the coronation, i r!.
house; but we found the crowd too I .' I':
this, so we brought the rocking-chair ot -,:!'-
doors, and set it in front of the only I n-
dow in the palace. The yard was :-1 .:
enough to accommodate a good many
people, and those who could not get in
had plenty of room out in the road.
We tried to make Poquadilla take off
her turban, because a crown on a tur-
ban seemed to us something entirely
out of order ; but she would n't listen
to it. We had the pleasant-faced ,
neighbor-woman as an interpreter, ,.'
and she said that it was n't any use;
the queen would almost as soon appear
in public without her head as without
her turban. So we let this pass, for ''
we saw very plainly that it would n't do
to try to force too much on Poquadilla,
for she looked now as if she thought '
we had come there to perform some /
operation on her,-perhaps to cut off '
her leg.
About half-past ten, we led her out, and made
her sit down in the rocking-chair. Mrs. Chipper-
ton stood on one side of her, holding one of her
hands, while the neighbor-woman stood on the
otherside, and held the other hand. This arrange-
ment, however, did not last long, for Poquadilla
soon jerked her hands away, 1,,,1i i -. perhaps,
that if anything was done that hurt, it might be
better to be free for a jump.
Corny stood in front, a little at one side, holding
the crown, which she had padded and lined with

red flannel. I took my place just before Mrs. Chip-
perton, facing the crowd. Rectus was at the flag-
pole, near the front of the yard, holding the hal-
yards in his hands, ready to haul. The Hof-rath
was by him, to help if anything got tangled, and
the four courtiers and the other officials had places
in the front
row of the

llil, 11,1 Pii N

ri.. I i I r ,'l'.
S. .. .:.:.1 ,-d ." " "i

'I .) '

was the second regular
speech I had ever made,-the first one was at a
school celebration,-and I had studied it out pretty
carefully. It was intended, of course, for the ne-
groes, but I really addressed the most of it to Mrs.
Chipperton, because I knew that she could under-
stand a speech better than any one else in the yard.
When I had shown the matter up as plainly as I
knew how, and had given all the whys and where-
fores, I made a little stop for applause. But I
did n't get any. They all stood waiting to see
what would happen next. As there was nothing

- I .: r

[MAY,

A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP.

more to say, I nodded to Corny to clap on the
crown. The moment she felt it on her head, the
queen stood up as straight as a hoe-handle, and
looked quickly from side to side. Then I called
out in my best voice :
"Africans Behold your queen 1"
At this instant Rectus ran up the black flag with
the yellow cog-wheel, and we white people gave a
cheer. As soon as they got a cue, the darkeys
knew what to do. They burst out into a wild yell,
they waved their hats, they laid down on the grass
and kicked, they jumped, and danced, and laughed,
and screamed. I was afraid the queen would bolt,
so I took a quiet hold of her shawl. But she stood
still until the crowd cooled down a little, and then
she made a courtesy and sat down.
Is that all ?" asked the neighbor-woman, after
she had waited a few moments.
"Yes," said I. "You can take her in."
When the queen had been led within doors, and
while the crowd was still in a state of wild commo-
tion, I took a heavy bag of coppers from my coat-
pocket-where it had been worrying me all through
the ceremony-and gave it to Priscilla.
Scatter that among the subjects," said I.
Give 'em a big scramble in the road?" said
she, her eyes crackling with delight.
Yes," said I, and out she ran, followed by the
whole kingdom. We white folk stood inside to
watch the fun. Priscilla threw out a handful of
pennies, and the darkeys just piled themselves up
in the road on top of the money. You could see
nothing, but madly waving legs. The mass heaved
and tossed and moved from one side of the road to
the other. The Lord High Chancellor was at the
bottom of the heap, while the Hof-rath wiggled his
bare feet high in the air. Every fellow who grabbed
a penny had ten fellows pulling at him. The
women and small fry did not get into this mess, but
they dodged around, and made snatches wherever
they could get their hands into the pile of boys and
men.
They all yelled, and shouted and tussled and
scrambled, until Priscilla, who was dancing around
with her bag, gave another throw into a different
part of the road. Then every fellow jerked himself
loose from the rest, and a fresh rush was made, and
a fresh pile of darkeys arose in a minute.
We stood and laughed until our backs ached, but,
as I happened to look around at the house, I saw
the queen standing on her door-step looking mourn-
fully at the fun. She was alone, for even her good
neighbor had rushed out to see what she could
pick up. I was glad to find that the new monarch,
who still wore her crown,-which no one would have
imagined to have ever been a .sauce-pan,-had
sense enough to keep out of such a scrimmage of

the populace, and I went back and gave her a
shilling. Her face shone, and I could see that she
felt that she never could have grabbed that much.
When there had been three or four good scram-
bles, Priscilla ran up the road, a little way, and
threw out all the pennies that were left in the bag.
Then she made a rush for them, and, having a
good start, she got there first, and had both hands
full of dust and pennies before any one else reached
the spot. She was not to be counted out of that
game.
After this last scramble we came away. The
queen had taken her throne in-doors, and we went
in and shook hands with her, telling her we would
soon come and see how she was getting along. I
don't suppose she understood us, but it did n't
matter. When we had gone some distance we
looked back, and there was still a pile of darkeys
rolling and tumbling in the dust.

CHAPTER XIV.
A HOT CHASE.
THAT afternoon, Rectus and I went over to the
African settlement to see how the kingdom worked.
It was rather soon, perhaps, to make a call on the
new queen, but we were out for a walk, and might
as well go that way as any other.
When we came near the house we heard a tre-
mendous uproar, and soon saw that there was a big
crowd in the yard. We could n't imagine what
was going on, unless the queen had changed her
shilling, and was indulging in the luxury of giving
a scramble. We ran up quickly, but the crowd
was so large that we could not get into the yard, nor
see what all the commotion was about. But we
went over to the side of the yard, and-without
being noticed by any of the people, who seemed
too much interested to turn around-we soon found
out what the matter was.
Priscilla had usurped the throne !
The rocking-chair "had been brought out and
placed again in front of the window, and there sat
Priscilla, leaning back at her ease, with the crown
on her head, a big fan-made of calf-skin-in her
hand, and a general air of superiority pervading
her whole being. Behind her, with her hand on
the back of the chair, stood Poquadilla, wearing her
new turban, but without the red shawl. She looked
as if something had happened.
In front of the chair was the Lord High Chan-
cellor. He had evidently gone over to the usurper.
His red ribbon, very dusty and draggled, still hung
from his shirt-collar. The four courtiers sat to-
gether on a bench, near the house, with their coats
still buttoned up as high as circumstances would
allow. They seemed sad and disappointed, and

483

A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP.

probably had been deprived of their rank. The
Hof-rath stood in the front of the crowd. He did
not appear happy; indeed, he seemed a good deal
ruffled, both in mind and clothes. Perhaps he had
defended his queen, and had been roughly handled.
Priscilla was talking and fanning herself, grace-
fully and lazily, with her calf-skin fan. I think she
had been telling the people what she intended to
do, and what she intended them to do; but, almost
immediately after our arrival, she was interrupted
by the Hof-rath, who said something that we did
not hear, but which put Priscilla into a wild passion.
She sprang to her feet and stood up in the chair,
while poor Poquadilla held it firmly by the back so
that it should not shake. I supposed from this that
Priscilla had been standing up before, and that our
old friend had been appointed to the office of chair-
back-holder to the usurper.
Priscilla waved her fan high in air, and then, with
her right hand, she took off the crown, held it up
for a minute, and replaced it on her head.
"Afrikins, behole yer queen!" said she, at the
top of her voice, and leaning back so far that the
rightful sovereign had a good deal of trouble to
keep the chair from going over.
Dat's me!" she cried. Look straight at me
an' ye see yer queen. An' how you dar', you
misribble Hop-grog, to say I no queen! You
'serve to be killed. Take hole o' him, some uv
you fellers Grab dat Hop-grog !"
At this, two or three men seized the poor Hof-
rath, while the crowd cheered and laughed.
"Take him an' kill him!" shouted Priscilla.
"Chop his head off!"
At this, a wild shout of laughter arose, and one
of the men who held the Hof-rath declared, as soon
as he got his breath, that they could n't do that,-
they had no hatchet big enough.
Priscilla stood quiet for a minute. She looked
over the crowd, and then she looked at the poor
Hof-rath, who now began to show that he was a
little frightened.
You Hop-grog," said she, "how much money
did you grab in dem scrahmbles ?"
The Hof-rath put his hand in his pocket and
pulled out some pennies.
"Five big coppers," said he, sullenly.
Gim me dem," said she, and he brought them
to her.
"Now den, you kin git out," said she, pocketing
the money. Then she again raised her crown and
replaced it on her head.
Afrikins, behole yer queen !" she cried.
This was more than we could stand. To see this
usurpation and robbery made our blood boil. We,
bt ouri.l..: ,, could do nothing; but we could get
help. We slipped away and ran down the road in

the direction of the hotel. We had not gone far
before we saw, coming along a cross-road, the two
yellow-leg men. We turned, hurried up to them,
and hastily told them of the condition of things,
and asked if they would help us put down this
usurpation. They did not understand the matter,
at first, but when we made them see how it stood,
they were greatly interested, and instantly offered
to join us.
"We can go down here to the police-station,"
said I, and get some help."
No, no!" said the tall yellow-leg. Don't
tell those fellows. They '11 only make a row of it,
and get somebody into trouble. We're enough to
capture that usurper. Let 's go for her."
And we went.
When we neared the crowd, the shorter yellow-
leg, Mr. Burgan, said that he would go first; then
his friend would come close behind him, while Rec-
tus and I could push up after them. By forming
a line we could rush right through the crowd. I
thought I ought to go first, but Mr. Burgan said
he was the stoutest, and could better stand the
pressure if the crowd stood firm.
But the crowd did n't stand firm. The moment
we made our rush, and the people saw us,.they
scattered right and left, and we pushed right
through, straight to the house. Priscilla saw us
before we reached her, and, quick as lightning,
she made a dive for the door. We rushed after
her, but she got inside, and, hurling the crown from
her head, dashed out of a back-door. We followed
hotly, but she was out of the yard, over a wall, and
into a side lane, almost before we knew it.
Then a good chase began. Priscilla had a long
start of us, for we had bungled at the wall, but we
were bound to catch her.
I was a good runner, and Rectus was light
and active, although I am not sure that he could
keep up the thing very long; but the two yellow-
legs surprised me. They took the lead of us,
directly, and kept it. Behind us came a lot of
darkeys, not trying to catch Priscilla, but anxious, I
suppose, to see what was going to happen.
Priscilla still kept well ahead. She had struck
out of the lane into a road which led toward the
outskirts of the town. I think we were beginning
to gain on her when, all of a sudden, she sat down.
With a shout, we rushed on, but before we reached
her she had jerked off both her shoes,-she did n't
wear any stockings,-and she sprang to her feet
and was off again. Waving the shoes over her
head, she jumped and leaped and bounded like an
India rubber goat. Priscilla, barefooted, could n't
be caught by any man on the island: we soon saw
that. She.flew down the road, with the white dust
flying behind her,,until she reached a big limestone

484

A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP.

quarry, where the calcareous building material of the
town is sawn out in great blocks, and there she made
a sharp turn and dashed down in among the stones.
We reached the place just in time to see her run
across the quarry, slip in between two great blocks
that were standing up like statue pedestals on the
other side, and disappear.
We rushed over, we searched and looked, here
and there and everywhere, and all the darkeys
searched and looked, but we found no Priscilla.
She had gone away.
Puffing and blowing like four steam-fire-engines,
we sat down on some stones and wiped our faces.
I guess we just ran that upstart queen out of
her possessions," said the tall yellow-legs, dusting
his boots with his handkerchief. He was satisfied.
We walked home by the road at the edge of
the harbor. The cool air from the water was very
pleasant to us. When we reached the hotel, we
found Mr. and Mrs. Chipperton and Corny sitting
outside, in the entrance court, waiting for supper-
time. A lot of arm-chairs always stood there, so
that people might sit and wait for meals, or any-
thing else that they expected. When Corny heard
the dreadful news of the fall of our kingdom, she
was so shocked that she could scarcely speak; and
as for Mrs. Chipperton, I thought she was going
to cry. Corny wanted to rush right down to
Poquadilla's house-and see what could be done, but
we were all against that. No harm would come to
the old woman that night from the loss of her
crown, and it was too near supper-time for any
attempt at restoration, just then.
Only to think of it! said Mrs. Chipperton.
"After all we did for her I don't believe she was
queen more than an hour. It's the shortest reign
I ever heard of."
And that Priscilla !" cried Corny. The girl
we trusted to do so much, and-- "
Paid every night," said I.
"Yes," she continued, "and gave a pair of
mother's shoes to, for the coronation And to think
that she should deceive us and do the usurping !"
The shorter yellow-leg, who had been standing
by with his friend, now made a remark. He evi-
dently remembered Corny, on the Oclawaha steam-
boat, although he had never become acquainted
with her or her family.
"Did your queen talk French ?" he asked, with a
smile; or was not that the language of the Court ?"
No, it was n't," said Corny, gravely. "African
was the language of the Court. But the queen was
too polite to use it before us, because she knew we
did not understand it, and could n't tell what she
might be saying about us."
Good! said the tall yellow-legs. That's
very good indeed. Burgan, you owe her one."

One what?" asked Corny.
Another answer as good as that, if I can ever
think of it," said Mr. Burgan.
Corny did not reply. I doubt if she heard him.
Her soul still ached for her fallen queen.
I tell you what it is," said Mr. Chipperton, who
had kept unaccountably quiet, so far. "It's a
great pity that I did n't know about this. I should
have liked nothing better than to be down there
when that usurper girl was standing on that throne,
or rocking-chair, or whatever it was-- "
"Oh, my dear!" said Mrs. Chipperton. "It
would never have done for you to have exposed
your lung to such a scene of turmoil and con-
fusion."
Bother my lung!" cried Mr. Chipperton, who
was now growing quite excited. I would never
have stood tamely by, and witnessed such vile in-
justice --"
We did n't stand tamely by," said I. We
ran wildly after the unjust one."
I would have stood up before that crowd,"
continued Mr. Chipperton, "and I would have
told the people what I thought of them. I would
have asked them how-living in a land like this,
where the blue sky shines on them for nothing,
where the cocoa-nut and the orange stand always
ready for them to stretch forth their hands and take
them, where they need but a minimum of clothes,
and where the very sea around them freely yields up
its fish and its conchs,-or, that is to say, they can
get such things for a trifling sum,-I would have
asked them, I say, how-when free citizens of a re-
public, such as we are, come from our shores of
liberty, where kings and queens are despised and
any throne that is attempted to be set up over us is
crushed to atoms,-that when we, I say, come over
here, and out of the pure kindness and generosity
of our souls raise from the dust a poverty-stricken
and downtrodden queen, and place her, as nearly as
possible, on the throne of her ancestors, and put up-
on her head a crown,-a bauble which, in our own
land, we trample under foot--"
At this I shuddered, remembering the sharp
points I had filed in our crown.
And grind into the dust," continued Mr. Chip-
perton,-" I would ask them, I say, how they could
think of all this, and then deliberately, subvert, at
the behest of a young and giddy colored hireling,
the structure we had upraised. And what could
they have said to that, I would like to know?" he
asked, looking around from one to another of us.
Give us a small dive, boss ?" suggested Rectus.
That 's so," said Mr. Chipperton, his face
beaming into a broad smile; I believe they
would have said that everything. You have hit
it exactly. Let 's go in to supper."

485

[MAY,

A,JOLLY FELLOWSHIP.

The next day, Rectus and I, with Corny and Mrs.
Chipperton, walked down to the queen's house, to
see how she fared and what could be done for her.
When we reached Poquadilla's hut, we saw her
sitting on her door-step. By her side were several
joints of sugar-cane, and close to them stood the
crown, neatly filled with scarlet pepper-pods, which
hung very prettily over the peaked points of brass.

Corny whispered to her mother, who nodded, and
took out her pocket-book. In a moment, Corny,
with some change in her hand, went quietly up the
yard and put the money in the queen's lap. Then
we went away and left her, still asleep.
A day or two after this, the Tigress came in,
bringing the mail. We saw her, from one of the
upper porticoes, when she was just on the edge of

"VERY WELL OFF AS SHE IS."
She was very still, and her head rested on her the horizon, and we knew her by the way she stood
breast. up high in the water, and rolled her smoke-stack
Asleep !" whispered Corny. from side to side. She was the greatest roller that
Yes," said Mrs. Chipperton, softly, and don't ever floated, I reckon, but a jolly good ship for all
let's waken her. She's very well off as she is, and that; and we were glad enough to see her.
now that her house is a little more comfortable, it There were a lot of letters for us in her mail. I
would be well to leave her in peace, to peddle had nine from the boys at home, not to count
what she pleases on her door-step. Her crown will those from the family.
worry her less where it is than on her head." We had just about finished reading our letters

486

//- -

A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP.

when Corny came up to us to the silk-cotton tree,
where we were sitting, and said, in a doleful tone:
We 've got to go home."
Home?" we cried out together. "When?"
To-morrow," said Corny, "on the 'Tigress.'"
All our good news and pleasant letters counted
for nothing now.
"How ?-why ?" said I. Why do you have to
go? Is n't this something new?"
Rectus looked as if he had lost his knife, and I 'm
sure I had never thought that I should care so much
to hear that a girl-no relation-was going away
the next day.
Yes, it is something new," said Corny, who
certainly had been crying, although we did n't no-
tice it at first. "It 's a horrid old lawsuit. Father
just heard of it in a letter. There 's one of his
houses, in New York, that's next to a lot, and the
man that owns the lot says father's house sticks over
four inches on his lot, and he has sued him for that,
-just think of it! four inches only You could n't
do anything with four inches of dirt if you had it;
and father did n't know it, and he is n't going to
move his wall back, now that he does know it, for
the people in the house would have to cut all their
carpets, or fold them under, which is just as bad,
and he says he must go right back to New York,
and, of course, we 've all got to go, too, which is
the worst of it, and mother and I are just awfully
put out."
"What 's the good of his ,:i. 'asked Rectus.
Can 't he get a lawyer to attend to it all ?"
Oh, you could n't keep him here now," said
Corny. He 's just wild to be off. The man who
sued him is a horrid person, and father says that if
he don't go right back, the next thing he '11 hear
will be that old Colbert will be trying to get a foot
instead of four inches."
"Old Colbert !" ejaculated Rectus, "I guess
that must be my father."
If I had been Rectus, I don't think I should have
been so quick to guess anything of that kind about
my father; but perhaps he had heard things like
that before. He took it as coolly as he generally
took everything.
Corny was as red as a beet.
"Your father!" she exclaimed. "I don't believe
it. I '11 go this very minute and see."
Rectus was right. The stingy hankerer after
what Corny called four inches of dirt was his father.
Mr. Chipperton came up to us and talked about
the matter, and it was all as plain as daylight.
When-he found that Mr. Colbert was the father of
Rectus, Mr. Chipperton was very much surprised,
and he called no more names, although I am sure
he had been giving old Colbert a pretty disagree-

able sort of a record. But he sat down by Rectus,
and talked to him as if the boy were his own father
instead of himself, and proved to him, by every law
of property in t-i _- i;l. Latin, or Sanscrit, that the
four inches of ground were legally, lawfully, and
without any manner of doubt his own, and that it
would have been utterly and absolutely impossible
for him to have built his house one inch outside of
his own land. I whispered to Rectus that the house
might have swelled, but he did n't get a chance to
put in the suggestion.
Rectus had to agree to all Mr. Chipperton said,
-or, at least, he could n't differ with him,-for he
did n't know anything on earth about the matter,
and I guess he was glad enough when he got
through. I 'm sure I was. Rectus did n't say any-
thing except that he was very sorry that the Chip-
perton family had to go home, and then he walked
off to his room.
In about half an hour, when I went upstairs I
found Rectus had just finished a letter to his father.
I guess that '1i make it all right," he said,
and he handed me the letter to read. It was a
strictly business letter. No nonsense about the
folks at home. He said that was the kind of
business letter his father liked. It ran like this:

DEAR FATHER: Mr. Chipperton has told me about your suing
him. If he really has set his house over on four inches of your lot, I
wish you would let it stand there. I don't care much for him, but he
has a nice wife and a pleasant girl, and if you go on suing him the'
whole lot of them will leave here to-morrow, and they 're about the
only people I know, except Gordon. If you want to, you can take a
foot off any one of my three lots, and that ought to make it all right.
Your affectionate son, SAMUEL COLBERT.

"Have you three lots?" I asked, a good deal
surprised, for I did n't know that Rectus was a
property-owner.
Yes," said he; "my grandmother left them to
me."
"Are they right next to your father's lot, which
Chipperton cut into ?"
No, they 're nowhere near it," said Rectus.
I burst out laughing.
That letter wont do any good," I said.
"You '11 see," said Rectus, and he went off to
mail it.
I don't know what kind of a business man Mr.
Chipperton was, but when Rectus told him that he
had written a letter to his father which would make
the thing all right, he was perfectly satisfied; and
the next day we all went out in a sail-boat to the
coral-reef and had a splendid time, and the
"Tigress" went off without any Chippertons. I
think Mr. Chipperton put the whole thing down as
the result of his lecture to Rectus up in the silk-
cotton tree.

(To be continued.)

487

WHAT KATY FOUND.
ONE morning little Katy Cole missed her cat. She was a pretty white
pussy, and was called Nippy. Her whole name was a rather queer one,
and was given to her by Katy's big brother, Jack. It was Nip-and-
Tuck," and of course it was too long to use, so Katy called her Nippy.
Never since she had lived on the farm had Nippy been away at break-
fast time. Katy had looked everywhere, and called her all over the house,
and was just about ready to cry, when Papa came in from the barn.
Papa," said she, "have you seen Nippy ? She 's lost."
No, I have n't seen her," said Papa; "but I heard something just
now that may have been a cat, up in the hay-loft. I think if you go up
there-very quietly-you may find her."
The stairs up into the hay-loft were steep, but Katy was used to
them, so she crept up softly, and in a few minutes was on the sweet hay
looking all about. It was not very light up there, and at first she could
not see anything; but, after a while, she could see the hay and the
window quite plainly, but no Nippy seemed to be there. She called her,
but no answer came.
"Perhaps she 's hiding," thought Katy. "I '11 keep still and see."
So she sat down on the hay and was very quiet. For some time, she
heard nothing, but at last the hay rustled, off in a corner, and Katy
looked sharply over there. In a minute she heard a soft "Pr-r-t" and
then she saw two white ears sticking up.
"Ah now I 've caught you, Miss Nippy!" she said aloud, as she
crawled over the hay to the corner.
Sure enough, there lay the lost cat, and with her-what do you
suppose ?-two-three-yes, five, tiny bits of kittens! Two were gray,
one was white, and two were gray and white.
Oh, you dear little things !" said Katy, taking them up one by one.
"Naughty Nippy! why did you hide away with your babies? I shall
take them all to the house," and she began to put them into her apron.
Nippy purred, and rubbed against her hands, and did not object when
Katy started down the stairs with her apron full of the kittens, but she
went along to see where they were put. Up to the house went Katy
with the new family, while Nippy kept close to her and looked sharply
to see that none of them fell out, and were left behind.
"O Mamma!" shouted Katy, when she came to the door; "Nippy 's
got ever so many dear little kittens I '11 make them a nest upstairs !"

488

FOR VERY LITTLE FOLK.

i879.] FOR VERY LITTLE FOLK. 489

Kittens don't want a nest," said Mamma, laughing; you may make
them a nice bed in the wood-shed."
"They have n't any eyes!" cried Katy, sorrowfully, looking at them
closely; "not one of them poor little kitties!"
Oh yes, they have, dear," said Mamma, "only they're hidden behind

the eyelids. In a few days you '11 find that each kitten has two pretty
eyes, and then they 'll be big enough to play with."
"May I keep them all, Mamma?" asked Katy.
You may keep one, and we '11 find good homes for the others when
they're big enough," said Mamma.
"Well, I '11 keep this one," said Kitty, as she held up a white one
with gray spots, "and I '11 call it Spotty."
The rest of the kittens were given away, but none of them had a
better home or a kinder mistress than Spotty.

[MAY,

JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT.

i- JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT.

HEIGHO Have I been asleep, or are the birds
and trees just waking? There 's a sudden and
delightful stir in the air. It is n't noise, and
it is n't silence. It 's a mingling of chirps and
calls and flutterings and rustlings among the
feathery leaves, that somehow makes me the hap-
piest Jack-in-the-Pulpit that lives,-and yet, I don't
know exactly why.
Perhaps it is because it makes me feel as if the
earth were growing young again; and yet, I don't
know how that can be, either.
Well, well. Never mind. Now, all stand in a
row. Open your mouths and shut your eyes;
and I'll tell you something sure to surprise.

RAINING TREES.
AT the Cape of Good Hope, near Table Mount-
ain, the clouds come down very low now and
then without dropping in rain. At such a time,
if a traveler should go under a tree for shelter from
the threatening storm, he would find himself in a
drenching shower, while out in the open, away
from any tree or shrub, everything would be as
dry as a bone !
The cloud or mist is rather warmer than the
leaves, you see, and so, when it touches them, it
changes into clinging drops, which look like dew.
Fresh drops keep forming; they run together; and,
at length, the water drips off the leaves like rain.
And this process goes on until the clouds lift and
the sun comes out again.

A BIRD THAT TURNS SOMERSAULTS.
THERE 'S a pretty little bird that lives in China,
and is called the Fork-Tailed Parus. He is about
as big as a robin, and he has a red beak, orange-
colored throat, green back, yellow legs, black tail,
and red-and-yellow wings Nearly all the colors
are in his dress, you see, and he is a gay fellow.

But this bird has a trick known by no other
birds that ever I heard of. He turns somersaults!
Not only does he do this in his free life on the
trees, but also after he is caught and put into a
cage. He just throws his head far back, and over
he goes, touching the bars of the cage, and alight-
ing upon his feet on the floor or on a perch. He
will do it over and over a number of times without
stopping, as though he thought it great fun.
All his family have the same trick, and they are
called Tumblers. The people of China are fond
of keeping them in cages and seeing them tumble.
Travelers often have tried to bring them to our
country, but a sea voyage is not good for them,
and they are almost sure to die on the way.
LOBSTERS AS PLAYTHINGS.
DID you ever set up lobsters in rows, like a
regiment of purple-clad soldiers in rank and file ?
No? You never did?
Well, then, perhaps you will get an idea for a
new game out of this,- only look out for the
claws !
Lizzie H. sends me word that she and her sister,
when they were in Sweden, used to watch for an
old boatman who served the family, and who, in
the season, would bring, up the fiord or creek, a
whole boat-load of lobsters at a time. Then the
girls would beg their nurse Johanna to let them
play with the queer things. Generally, leave
would be given, and the sisters would fetch in-
doors with great glee as many of the lobsters as
they wanted, and stand them up all around their
play-room, stroking each on the head as they did
so, and thus putting it to sleep.
They had to keep a sharp eye on the creatures,
though, and, as soon as one threatened to wake,
or waved its terrible claws, they had to run and
tickle it on the head,- when it would go off to
sleep again at once !
Lizzie says it was funny to see these play-sol-
diers-"marines," she calls them--standing
up stiff and straight, as though they were on their
best behavior at parade drill!
Your Jack would not advise you to try this
curious game, my dears, unless you are quite sure
that you have the right kind of lobsters to deal
with, for it would be awkward if they should turn
on you and give you tit for tat by stroking and
"tickling" you in their fashion with their claws.
NATURAL CANNON-BALLS.
DEAR JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT : Mly friend, the late Captain Hawley,
brought to me from that wonder-land, the far West, a very curious
stone. It is black and perfectly round, as heavy as iron, and looks
exactly like a cannon-ball. It was taken from Cannon-Ball River,
branch of thel i ; -. i'his aforesaid stream contains'
great quantities 'I I ill ..- I. to fight our battles with for
centuries. The.- ... ..i. i .. ashamed of their ignorance,
but they have n't i I -. II i.:ther these cannon-balls were
forged by the water-god or the fire-god. A neighbor of mine informs
me that he has seen some of these balls in the high clav-banks of
Red River, La., and that they were from six to eight feet in diame-
ter Some of them are formed of iron pyrites, though generally the
balls are of clay-iron stones.-Yours, S. W. K.
HOW SQUIRRELS DRINK.
IN answer to your Jack's question, in March,
whether squirrels drink 'by sucking,' or how?"

490

JACK-IN-TIIE-PULPIT.

Millie Staats writes: Squirrels suck water, like
horses. My papa says so, and he knows, for,
when a boy, he owned several squirrels. I was n't
there, but he says so."
Mary G. Hawks writes that the squirrel "laps,"
and J. S. L. boldly tells me that all herbivorous
or herb-eating animals, as the cow and the horse,
' suck up' when drinking; all flesh-eating animals
and those which are omnivorous- eating any-
thing- as the rat, to whose family the squirrel be-
longs, 'lap up' water like a dog."
Now, if I am rightly informed, squirrels do "lap
up" what they drink, but so quickly that they
seem to be sucking up," and only the sharpest
eyes can make quite sure of it.
J. S. L. is partly wrong in his answer, how-
ever, and if, one fine warm day, he will go down
on his hands and knees beside a quiet pool, and
stoop and drink, he will see the reflection of an
" omnivorous animal drinking-not lapping like
a dog, but sucking up like a thirsty boy.

MOTHER CAREY'S CHICKENS.
HERE is a picture of some sea-birds, and this is
what a friend of mine writes to me about them:
The owner of the imposing title 'Thalassidroma Pelagica' is only
Fix inches long, and is the smallest of web-footed birds. Above, its
feathers are black, sleek and glossy, with glints of blue; but under-
neath they are dark brown. Its wings are long, and it flies very
swiftly, seldom flapping.
"Sometimes it seems to hang in the air with wings outspread,
while it runs along the surface of the waves; and from this habit it
was named 'Petrel' (which means 'Little Peter'), after St. Peter,
who walked on the water.
"When a storm is brewing, although .- -.-. .. be seen by
man, the petrels flock together and give I... '. if to warn
shipment of coming danger. For this reason, sailors call them
'Stormy Petrels.' But men of science say that the reason why
petrels gather before a storm is that then they catch very easily the
sea-animals on which they feed. Some observers add that when rain

falls the petrels catch the drops, and that this is how they quench
their thirst.
These birds are named also 'sea-swallows,' because their flying is
like that of the common swallow.
"They are called 'Mother Carey's Chickens' by sailors; but I
have never learned why they got that name, nor who Mother Carey
was. I have heard, though, that in the Faroe islands these birds
become very fat, and men string them on wicks for use as lamps !
Although the stormy petrel passes most of its life on the wing, it
comes ashore to lay its eggs; and these it hides two feet deep,
buried in the beach, or in burrows near the tops of cliffs."

A PLANT WITHOUT STALK OR LEAF.
THERE is a very big flower with a queer name,
Rafflesia arnoldi; but the oddest thing about it is
that it has neither stalk nor leaf.
I don't mean a dead flower with the stalk and
leaves plucked away, but a livingand growing flower.
The one I heard of measured three feet across,
weighed ten pounds, and could hold about two
gallons of water. It was found in the East Indian
island of Sumatra, but I 'm told that others of the
same family have been seen in South America.

These curious flowers grow upon the roots of
other plants, seeming to sit on the roots, and
spreading up like heads of cabbages.

A TREE ON STILTS.
OLIVE THORNE sends word to your Jack about
a palm-tree that seems to stand on stilts. It grows
in South America in the region of the River
Amazon. Its trunk is smooth, and, when the tree
is fully grown, appears to begin eight feet or so
above the ground, standing on straight stiff roots
that have thorny, keep-away-from-me spines
growing out of them A man can stand within
these roots, and all the trunk will be above him.

491

THE LETTER-BOX.

THE LETTER-BOX.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have read your article about Persian cats,
in the March number, and it recalls something I once read which
your other readers may like to know.
The Mogul emperors of Hindustan often took to the hunt great
numbers of cheetahs, sometimes as many as a thousand at once !
Cheetahs are not always kept in cages, but many of them are so
tame that they only have their eyes blindfolded with hoods, and are
led in a leash; as soon as the game is in sight, off come the hoods,
the leash is slipped, and away go the cheetahs. So mild is the tem-
per of some cheetahs, that they make friends with the dogs and cats
of the house, and even play with boys and girls. When stroked,
they purr.
eBt the most curious thing about a cheetah, at least, the African
kind, is that it looks like a dog as well as like a cat, so that the great
naturalist Cuvier called it a canine-cat.-Truly your admirer,
D. A. C.

MANY boys and girls have written saying they have had great fun
with Mechanical Pigeons made according to the directions given in
the March number. We have not room to print all the letters, so we
make extracts from only two of them:
Lottie Osborn painted the "pigeons" red, white and blue, and
"they looked very pretty flying about," she says. "J. W. B.," of
Davenport, tried several times, the "bird" flying better every time.
Then he made the pigeon of tin instead of pasteboard, and it went a
great distance in the air, coming down on the roof of a house. He
says the tin stays in place better and flies farther than card.

Philadelphia, Pa.
DEAR ST. NICHOLAS : I am a very little boy and have never written
to you before, but I hope you will put this in your letter department
sometime. I have been away visiting, and am so glad to get home.
I think home is a very pleasant place, the best place you can go to.
There you see your mamma and papa and all the pleasant things
you have seen before. There you can enjoy all with pleasure and
delight.
Don't you think every little boy ought to love his home ?
H. T. G.

Surrey, N. H.
DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I live way up in New Hampshire among
the blue, blue sky, and white clouds and mountains! Just where I
live travelers compare to a Swiss hamlet. There are six households
of us clustered, and I live in an old tavern, part of it one hundred
years old You would think we should be lonely; but no. There is
a piano in the long front room, and in these 6 houses are 5 violins, I
bass-viol and i cornet! So we have a fine band; and mamma says
we never can be lonely with so many grand mountains so near the
stars in winter. And in summer, just before a thunder-storm, how
they and the brook seem to hush and to shield us !
Years ago an old woman lived here all alone. She preferred to live
alone! And one winter night she was going home from a neighbor's
when she met a big wolf face to face! Nothing daunted, the old lady,
not frightened one bit, began to clap her hands loudly, and soon Mr.
Wolf, scared, retreated.
Our horse, old Peter, who had learned tricks of a gang of gypsies
of whom we bought him, accompanied a young lady home one day
unasked i He pirouetted in circles about her, trying to kick, and she,
too, jumped and clapped her hands, thus keeping him off until near
fainting she reached her own house.
I am much interested in Nelly Littlehale's account of her house in
California, and think next summer Vintie Stillings and I will try to
build one, as we are "something of a mechanic! "-I am your loving
little reader. LEE STILLINGS,

Brooklyn, N. Y.
DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I .11 .. .1 ... Broadway, New York,
the other day, when I ... ...- i a huge, overgrown,
bulging tea-pot. It looked most imposing and business-like, and
might have been used to make with ease tea enough for a hundred
persons at once, more or less. It stood fully three feet high, and
measured at least that length across inside. There was a big twisted
earthenware loop near the spout, and another behind the round hole
at the top; and these loops served as handles. I suppose.
I found out that the pot was made nearly five hundred years ago in
Corea, a peninsula opposite the southern Japanese islands. On the
sides of it are scenes painted in strong colors, as in ordinary Chinese
pottery. One of the pictures shows a lady seated before a table set on
a lawn, near a house, from which she is hidden by a screen: there is

a female attendant at each side watching the lady paint; or, it may
be that she is writing, for there are paper, India ink, and other mate-
rials on the table.
The costumes are supposed to represent those of the ancient
Coreans, at a time when they were more civilized than the people then
living in Japan. Nowadays, the Japanese are far ahead of the
Coreans.-Truly yours, MINA G. L.

CAN any of the readers of ST. NICHOLAS tell H. H. A., through
the "Letter-Box," why the climate of France is so much warmer
than the climate at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, which is in
nearly the same latitude?
Philadelphia, Penn.
DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am eleven years old, and for the last two
or three years I have had your very amusing book whenever I could
get it. I suppose most of your readers, if not all of them, live on
shore, but I differ from them in that respect, for I go to sea 'most all
the time. My papa is captain of a three-masted schooner, and my
mamma and I go to sea with him. I am very lonely often at sea, and
ST. NICHOLAS is one of my most prized companions. When I have
read one month's number, I always send it to my little brother, who
does not go to sea.-From your constant reader, M. B. K.

Kingston, Canada.
DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Our teacher gave us "Hard Times" as a
subject for composition, and I wrote the one inclosed. He said it was
a good one. I thought I would send it to you, and will feel proud if
you put it in ST. NICHOLAS.

"HARD TIMES."
Hard times is a hard subject for a soft boy to write on. I do not
know what caused them, cannot tell what will cure them, and don't
believe anybody else can.
Still, think not that we boys don't know what it means. Hard
times, as I understand it, means wearing your big brother's old
clothes, going without ice-cream, and so on. I thought I knew
something about it when I found this out.
When the bills for the last circus were posted, and I was told that
owing to "hard times" it was doubtful if I could go, I thought I
understood it a little more; and on the day of the circus, when I was
informed positively that owing to the "hard times" I could not go,
and clown, witty sayings, songs, elephants, spotted horses, giants
and dwarfs, and the only things that make aboy's life "in this world"
bearable were blotted out, I realized that I understood it fully. If
not, I prefer to remain in my ignorance rather than to receive any
more knowledge in this line. J. K. G.

Girton College, Cambridge, England.
DEAR ST. NICHOLAs: The other day 1 saw the autograph signa-
ture of that friend of children, Hans Christian Andersen, and this is
what was written above it: "Life is the most beautiful fairy-tale."
Does it not seem just what he ought to write ? A fairy-tale in itself.
-Yours truly, an American in England, ANNA TUTHILL.

Indianapolis, Ind.
DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Do not think so meanly of bees as to sup-
pose that one could ever by any possible means mistake a sea-anemone
for a flower, as "Jack-in-the-Pulpit" seemed to fear in August last.
I never saw one that looked like a flower without a deal of imagina-
tion being brought to bear upon it. And a bee is not supposed to
have imagination. But bees eatsalt. They require it as much as do
other animals. And this bee alighted on the salt sea-anemone to get a
grain of the precious mineral, as he might from any sea-weed. The
anemone does resemble sea-weed, and is salt, I presume; at least, the
water upon it was salt, a it was that the bee ate.-Very respectfully,
EMMA E. B.

HERE is a terrible bear story which a little boy of six years,
named Willie, dictated to his father for ST. NICHOLAS:
There was once a man. He lived in a cottage in a woods full of
bears.' One day he was out in the woods, and he was startled by a
bear.
The animal trotted up to the man so quietly that he did not see him
at first. When the bear got close to him he put his paw on his shoul-
der, and the claws were very sharp. The man, as soon as he felt the

[MAY,

1879*1 THE L-ETTER-BOX. 493

claws, turned around. He had a pistol with him and he shot the
bear.
It was a black bear, about the size of those in Union Park.
The bear's mate bad come up behind them with her cubs; they
stopped and smelt of the papa bear and growled. The man's pistol
had only one charge in it and it was unloaded; so the man turned
and ran away, and the mamma bear ran after him. Then he jumped
over a fence and laid flat down on the ground and made believe dead.
When the bear came up, shejumped over the fence and smelt of the
man, but he held his breath and she thought he was dead. Then she
jumped back over the fence to her cubs, and they went off. The man
lay still until he thought the mamma bear had gone off with her cubs.
Then he loaded his pistol and went after the bear and her cubs. He
fired at her, and shot her through the heart, and killed her too.
Then he took the cubs and carried them to the cottage to tame; then
he took the skins off the big bears to make himself a warm coat and
cap, and used the meat to eat. That is all about those bears. I can't
write much, but I can print a little.

SOLUTIONS of the "Frozen Puzzle," which was printed in the
"Letter-Box" for March, were sent in by Ned Seely-M. West-
A. Noble Sayre-M. Lyon. All of them were correct, and showed
that the writers had made good use of their eyes.

St. Paul, Minn.
DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Some friends in Santa Barbara, California,
wrote us a while ago that they could see an unusual sight for them,-
snow not far distant from town. One of our boys, and another boy,
took their ponies, and a pail, and brought some home. Many chil-
dren had never seen snow, excepting on the tops of the high peaks
very far away. They gathered round the pail and tasted, and felt, and
wondered over the snow. One of the boys says he thought it just as
cold as the snow in Minnesota and Wisconsin.-Yours truly,
G. H.

Brooklyn, N. Y.
DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I send you some old scraps which I think
would interest some of your other boys and girls.
The following resolution was passed by a certain Board of Alder-
men:
1. Resolved, by this council, that we build a new jail.
2. Resolved, that the new jail be built out of the materials of the
old jail.
3. Resolved that the old jail be used until the new jail is finished.
Dr. Johnson, in his dictionary, defines a garret as "a room on the
highest floor in the house," and a cock-loft as "the room over the
garret."
The manager of a theater, finding upon one occasion but three per-
sons in attendance, made the following address:
SLadies and gentlemen,-as there is nobody here, I'11 dismiss you
all. The performances of this night will not be performed; but they
will be repeated to-morrow evening."-Your faithful reader,
FRANK W. FOSTER.

THIs little letter was written by a girl of eight years:
Dear Grandpa and Grandma: We had a Tramp cat come to our
house but she was not good. So we sent her away but she stayed
around our house and she is here now she looks in at the windows.
Jennie is trimming a hat but I showed her how. I am making a pair of
reins for Johnie. It is most time to have supper, father tried to kill
that Cat and the cat bit his hand, and it is all swollen now. It is
Satday and we do not go to school, it is a rainy day but it does not
rain but it mists, mother is going to a grand party to night and she
expects that the ladies will have trales three yards long. When mother
gets home I will tell what they did there. '* It was a
birth day party and Kittie was there and it was Kittie's sisters party,
and her sisters name is Annie Kittie is as old as I am and Kittle said
that she was very tired, mother ate out of silver plates and they had
iced lemon and cake of all kinds and they had a library and books on
all sides from the floor to the ceiling and picture galary and every-
thing very nice and splendid, so good by
From ETTIE

New York City.
DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I should like to tell those of your boy
readers who live in large cities, about a way my two chums and I have
of getting pleasant and instructive peeps into the country around us.
We take a day, generally Saturday, and go for long walks. In
planning the line of march, we choose, now and then, one that leads
through some places of bookish interest; and we read up before
starting. At other times we go in for botany, etc. We tzl--c _.en--.l
and paper to make notes and sketches when wanted; and i I.
carries a light luncheon. We take an extra long sleep the night
before, and start out dressed in stout under-flannels, any sort of outer
clothes, and old and easy shoes. We eat little, and drink sparingly,
of water only, when going on one of these tramps. We do not try to

walk fast nor far, but just to see easily what we can and have a pleasant
time.
Our last tramp was through Washington Irving's country, as we
call it,-about Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, and those parts. It was
lovely. We went from the city to Dobb's Ferry by steam-cars, and
came back from Sing Sing; but walked all the rest of the way. This
was our most expensive jaunt, as yet,--$.5o each. Each fellow pays
his own expenses,-Philadelphia style.-Truly yours, BEN B. T.

A PROVIDENCE correspondent sends these verses about

THE PLUCKY COOK.
There was a young maiden whose look
Was as if she'd been trying to cook:
Her apron was flour-y,
Her eyes rather showery,
And dough smeared her pretty cook-book.

But being a maiden of pluck,
She resolved that she yet would have luck.
She would not be beaten.
Her bread should be eaten,
Though now it like mucilage stuck.

At last she prepared such a lunch,
That her brothers, beginning to munch
On Saturday morning,
In spite of all warning,
Continued till bed-time to lunch !

K. H.

A YOUNG correspondent who was born in the island of Banca in the
East Indian Archipelago, and lived nine years in and near there,
writes as follows :
DEAR EDITOR: In the January number I saw the picture of the
Malayan sword-dance, and began to read at once the article belong-
ing to the picture. I do not recollect enough of the time I was at
Java to know if the article is incorrect or not; but asking my father
about it he gave me a good deal of information about the East Indies.
First, Batavia is not, in all its parts, so queer a city as described.
In the lower town are houses that have a Dutch aspect, but they are
used as offices and warehouses. The Europeans live in the upper
town in beautiful villas surrounding great squares, as, for instance,
the Koningsplein, which is four times as large as the Champ de Mars
in Paris. The Waterlooplein is another large square.
Smaller villas stand alongside canals, but no houses are built close
together; each has a fenced-in yard, and some have beautifully laid
out gardens of European and tropical plants. The houses are one-
story, have verandas, and, sometimes, marble floors. Lofty fruit-
trees grow between the squares and the dwellings of Europeans along
the canals.
The natives live in houses made of bamboo, built apart, and con-
cealed by graceful palm-trees.
The plan of Batavia is so grand, and the villas are so richly built in
general, that the city has received the deserved name of Queen of the
East. The Chinese, the Arabs, the Cingalese, etc., live in separate
camps at a distance from the European villas and Javanese Kampongs
or Desjas. Desja is the Javanese and Kampong the Malayan word
for village.
By the by, I should mention that the Javanese and Malayans differ
in habits, language, and manners.
The _'T -.1., -, 1 .. .. s 33 letters and is written from right to
left, the j :, ... -I ., letters and is written from left to right,
like English. The Javanese language is actually divided into three
branches: as, the Kromo, the language the superior speaks to his
inferior; the Nyoko, the language the inferior speaks to his superior;
and the Kawi, ii. i ,., I-poetry.
The sultan L i ..,. and the ruler of Solo are neither of
them exclusive, nor do they decline the interchange of civilities with
foreigners or strangers. These princes are very social, and, for
instance, come regularly every Saturday evening to the European
club-rooms to play a game at whist, or quadrille, with the Governor
-r- hi h officials and strangers of rank who are introduced to them.
i ,.:' i, .. European tutors for their children, to teach them foreign
h : em a European education.
11... ...* i. ." chiefs, their domains being entirely inland and
surrounded by provinces belonging to the Netherlands India Govern-
ment. To go from Djokjokarta the sultan would have to get a coupe
in a first-class railway carriage, and travel at least one hundred and
fifty miles to reach the large sea-port and trading town of Samarang.
It is true the rajahs display great wealth, but they derive it from leas-
ing parts of the provinces Djokjo and Solo, which parts are their own
property.
The leasers are mostly Hollanders, but also Englishmen and China-
men, and they cultivate sugar, coffee and rice. The work on the
plantations is done by natives, who are paid for it generally by the
day, but also by the month. Sometimes a certain amount is paid for
the produce of the coffee-shrubs which they undertake to cultivate.
The natives live on the plantations in Desias, to each of which

[MAY,

THE RIDDLE-BOX.

belongs a certain area of ground, grazing-fields and rice-fields. This
ground is owned in a sort of commune, and is administered by a
Desja chief and elders, elected yearly by the male inhabitants of the
Desja.
Besides the income of these leases, the Sultan of Djokjo receives
400,000 guilders a year (a guilder is equal to 40 cents in American
money) for governing as a suzerain prince, with the aid and advice
of the Dutch resident or governor, and according to the Dutch laws.
About the dances I have little to say, only that the swoid-dance is
performed by grown men, and is more in use at Sumatra, Banca, and
Borneo, than at Java.
The gammelang is more of a musical arrangement than the article
says. No drums, violins, horns, et .-1....-: :i and it is not at all
noisy. It consists of many gongs, ...... .I, I ...i. but sometimes as
many as a hundred; and these gongs are cast of an alloy of copper,
tin and silver. They are formed like basins, and are placed with the
hollow side on silk threads in different rows. They are correctly
tuned, and played upon by one or more musicians, with wooden stick.
covered at the ends with gutta percha or leather to soften the touch.
The gammelang, when played, has a monotonous but harmonious and
pure sound, like a soft carrillon or chimes, but more pure, on account
of the amount of silver in the alloy. It sounds pleasant near by, but
it can be heard on a still evening very well at a great distance,
when it is very sweet and dreamy to the ear.-Yours very
respectfully, EDMOND C. M. VAN DIEST,
Aged 13 years at August 13, 1878.
In reply to the criticisms in the above letter upon her article entitled
"Some Malayan Dances," Mrs. Feudge writes:
My article merely described in a passing sentence the queer appear-
ance of Batavia as seen on the seaboard. * * It is quite
possible that the sword-dance is sometimes performed by adults, but I
believe boys are far more frequently the actors,-as in the instance I
gave. * As to the other dances and the gammelang,-I
described only what I myself saw or what was told me by eye-wit-
nesses.
In respect to Malayan rajahs such as the sultans of Sourakarta and
Djokjokarta, the Count de Beauvoir expressly mentions them, as I
have described them, as maintaining a princely state; surrounded by
wealth and luxury; well-informed, refined, and extremely hospitable
to those whom they consented to receive; yet, withal, difficult of

access, and, as a rule (to which there were occasional exceptions)
declining the civilities of foreigners.
As to piracy, my article expressly states that these native rajahs do
not in person engage in that occupation; but I was repeatedly
informed by persons long resident among the Malays, that nearly all
their native princes were, to a greater or less extent, in league with
the piratical hordes who everywhere infest the Malayan Archipelago.
In fact, the Malays are a race of pirates, openly and avowedly so:
and by far the larger portion of the common men are at some period
of their lives, in one way or another, engaged in piracy as a means
of living; while the rajahs afford aid and comfort, in times of diffi-
culty, the benefit of their superior wisdom in settling disputes, and
protection against foreign interference, receiving a share of the booty
in return for such kind offices.
Itis quite possible that the present rajahs may be not the same that
were i office while I was in the East; perhaps they are their suc-
cessors in office. I cannot say positively as to this. But even in the-
event of a change of rulers, my account perfectly accords with the
character of those seen by Count de Beauvoir and others ten or fif-
teen years ago.
Macon, Ga.
DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am always interested in the "Letter-Box,"
and as I think that some of the experiences of a Georgia girl are not
altogether uninteresting, I will tell you of a trip that I made last sum-
mer to a small island (named Cumberland) on the Georgia coast, near
Savannah. It has a beautiful beach, which is delightful for bathing,
albeit some are in dread of sharks, which are numerous in one or two
places on the beach.
There was a gentleman from Macon who was seized by one while
bathing, but he was strong and active, and as the shark was young,
the bather escaped, though with a terribly mangled leg.
One of the most attractive spots on the island is a handsome estate
called "Dungenness," which was at one time the family residence of
the Revolutionary general, Nathaniel Greene; but now the mansion
is a magnificent ruin, the tabby walls alone having withstood the fire
of the Nortl.-.,. I,,;.. lhe late war. Here also repose the
ashes of L, I. i ..:. ii u Lee, the father of General Robert E.
Lee. I could tell you much more of my sports, frolics with the waves,
dancing, fishing and romaine. but forbear. lest T nccupy too much of
your time.- Your d.. ... :i ... i ..r .. :i,
LAURETTE BOYKIN, (03 years old.)

THE RIDDLE-BOX.

EASY SYNCOPATIONS.
x. SYNCOPATE a mountain named in the Bible, and leave an animal
that is very useful in deserts. 2. Syncopate a vehicle and leave a
domestic pet 3. Syncopate sullen or gloomy, and leave an animal
of the deer kind. 4. Syncopate the voice of a rooster and leave a
useful farm animal. 5. Syncopate a shepherd's staff and leave a pre-
parer of food for the table. 6. Syncopate smitten and leave gummed
tightly together. NORMA.
RIDDLE.
IN a white house is a black house; in the black house are four
members; these members are not relatives, yet are closely connected;
what are their names? P. N.
BURIED HEROES.
IN each of the following sentences is concealed the name of a Hero
renowned in history, ancient or modern. Find the names:
i. Soldiers, Cretans !" cried the chief Follow me Let us do
battle on Ida's sacred hill against the foes of our ancient liberties! "
2. "Never was there a richer man, nor one more miserable, than
Midas," said the student.
3. With imperial :... --*:... .- 1.., ear-deafening,-the proud
young victor over th. i.1 ... -. . -. torius, over the crafty Mith-
ridates, thrice trailed his robes in triumph along the streets of Rome.
4. Like the resistless twining of the boa, dice and cards and wine
ruin many a weak, too amiable young man.
5. Lodged in summer comfort at a Swiss hotel, lounging idly on its
balcony, I dreamed of the historic lake before me and the tyrannies
of the hated Gesler.
6. The sordid creature unblushingly confessed that, for his part, a
customer of his, no matter who he might be, mustkeep his wits about
him or get the worse of every bargain.
7. Avoid every chance of taking a chill, especially when you are
warm from violent exertion.
8. Small need is there to put names or dates on the rocks down
which he rode What American patriot ever can forget him or them ?
9. O magic medicated flannel! Songs to thy praise should be con-

tinually sung by the legions of rheumatic martyrs whose pains thou
hast eased!
o1. Though it should wreck my every hope
And all my fortune mar,
I, on this floor, where patriots stand,
Still give my voice for war!
s. What? Do you know no better word than "nib," Alec, my
boy, to call a bird's bill by? Call it "beak," then, and be done
with it.
i2. With glad avidity the panting hart slaked his thirst in the cool
waters of the brook.

LATIN DIAMOND.
I. IN quod. 2. A negative. 3. A dwelling. 4. An interrogative
particle. 5. In absque. J. D.

REBUS.
A familiar version of a common proverb.

Oi dOl

LITERARY DOUBLE ACROSTIC.

THE initials and finals name two of England's greatest poets.
I. That which Chatterton is supposed to have been when he suffo-
cated himself 2. The name of a periodical of which one hundred
and three numbers appeared, and to which Dr. Johnson contributed
all the articles excepting twelve. 3. An object of many verses of
young poets. 4. A reptile, said by Shakspeare to wear "a precious

x879.] THE RIDDLE-BOX. 495

jewel in its head." 5. One of the characteristics which Daniel Web- VERY EASY ANAGRAMS.
ster said "Liberty and Union" must possess. 6. The recluse to EACH example is made up of letters which are to be arranged in
which, in I1 Penseroso," Milton compares pensive Melancholy. such a way as to spell one word. After each example, the meaning
X Y. of its word is printed.
ZOOLOGICAL DIAMOND. 1. O, Nelly!-Meaning: All by oneself. 2. Tell it.-Mean-
ing: Not large. 3. Do swim!-Meaning: Knowledge and good
x. Is in quagga. 2. The name of a young domestic animal. 3. A judgment. 4. Be slow!-Meaning: Parts of a man's arms. 5.
bird esteemed highly by good livers. 4. An animal noted for its Ed bit me.-Meaning: A part of the day that generally comes too
greediness. 5. Is in lemur. ALIDA. soon. 6. Hold, I say!-Meaning: Times for fun and play.

EASY REBUSES.

EACH of these three pictures represents a name of a man distinguished in one of the arts. Two ot the men indicated are composers of
music, and the other is a famous painter, a native of France.

VERY SIMPLE DIAMOND.
I. A consonant. 2. A small animal. 3. Made gentle. 4. A
beverage. 5. A consonant. E. w. .

CROSS-WORD ENIGMA.
My first is in wren, but not in crow.
My second is in reap, but not in sow.
My third is in throw, but not in hurl,
My fourth is in boy, but not in girl.
My fifth is in mount, but not in hill.
My sixth is in murder, but not in kill.
My seventh is in peck, but not in quart.
My whole is the name of an American port.
BLACK PRINCE.

WORD SYNCOPATIONS.
i. REMOVE a hotel from gaining and leave part of a bird. 2. Re-
move a fluid from a hinting with the eye and leave a limb. 3. Remove
evil from desirous and leave to wound. 4. Remove an insect from
thoughtless and leave gained. 5. Remove a list of names from a
slattern and leave a toy. 6. Remove a tree from worthless and leave
to strive. CYRIL DEANE.

HOUR-GLASS PUZZLE.
ACROSS: I. Burns to blackness. 2. An animal. 3. In puzzle. 4.
A liquor. 5. Vegetables. CENTRALS, reading downward: A fruit.
DIAGONALS, reading downward: Garments; part of a flower. L. E.

EASY REVERSALS.
I. REVERSE a bird, and get a pellet. 2. Reverse a circular band.
and get an expression of contempt. 3. Reverse a part of a clock or
watch, and get set down. 4. Reverse clothing, and get to boast. 5.
Reverse clubs, and get a wound with a sharp-pointed weapon. 6.
Reverse a time of battles and get manufactured. 7. Reverse a
place defended from the wind, and get a fish. 8. Reverse a bark of
a dog, and get wages. 9. Reverse recompense, and get part of a
clothes' press. to. Reverse an eatable root, and get a pleasant
month. ir. Reverse a naughty boy's expression of defiance, and get
food.for cattle, r1. Reverse a road, and get to steer wildly. T.

REVERSIBLE NUMERICAL ENIGMA.
i. MY I, 2, 3 is a numeral. 2. My 4, 5, 6, 7 is powerful. 3.
My 7, 6, 5, 4 is the name of an island. 4. My 3, i is a snare.
My whole, containing seven letters, can be maintained. H. H.

FLOWER TRANSPOSITIONS.
IN the following sentences the names of flowers are transposed, and
each dash stands in the place of a word. In each sentence, the prob-
lem is, to fill the first blank or set of blanks with a word or set of

words the letters of which, when properly transposed, will fill the
second blank or set of blanks and complete the sense.
I. I never saw - a variety of before.
2. He named the in of troublesome plants.
3. I found this wild when out with a miner hunting for .
4. Can you not-- autumn bouquet, some specimens
of the beautiful for me?
5. I plucked this at the foot of Mt. in Palestine.
6. I could afford to lose that from my garden.
7. I wonder handsome flowers the grows wild
anywhere?
8. The Scotchman said: "- is nothing sweeter to me than
the smell of the "
9. I elegant blooming among those pinks.
to. On warm days the droops its lids before the --
done.
xi. The flowers of the are said to butterflies.
12. Those florists have -- for a every few minutes; the
flower is in such request. B.
SEXTUPLE WORD-CROSS.

A .

THE central letter, A, is given in the diagram, and is used for both
the Full Perpendicular and the Full Horizontal; but this central letter,
A, forms no part of the words that make the limbs of the cross.
FULL PERPENDICULAR, eight letters, reading from top to bottom:
A weapon of war much used among the red-men in former times, but
not often seen nowadays.
FULL HORIZONTAL, seven letters, reading from left to right:
Sounds, lightly made but quickly repeated.
TOP LIMB, three letters, reading downward: A boy's name.
BOTTOM LIMB, four letters, reading downward: A bird of prey.
LEFT ARM, three letters, reading from left to right: A deep hole in
the earth.
RIGHT ARM, three letters, reading from left to right: A gentle
blow. J. pB.
CHARADE.
QUOTH my second, on breakfast intent,
With his eyes on the luxury bent;
Now please, mother, if I 'm not too late,
First a whole, with dispatch, on my plate. soL.
PROGRESSIVE NUMERICAL ENIGMA.
I. My i, 2, 3 is an evil sprite. 2. My 4, 5, 6 is to deprive a per-
son of his lawful possessions. 3. My 7- rT- is endowed with
power. My X, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 8, 9, Tois iWl .i', .. be true,-not to
be expected, considering the circumstances of the case, c. D.

[MAY.

THE RIDDLE-BOX.

PICTORIAL ANAGRAM.

". T .. "4

THE answer has five words, and is a sentence frequently heard among boys and girls in the early spring. Each numeral beneath the
pictures denotes a letter in that word of the answer whose place in numerical succession is indicated by that particular numeral. Thus:
the numeral 2 under a picture denotes a letter belonging to the second word of the answer; 5 that its letter is in the fifth word of the answer,
and so on. To solve the puzzle:-Write down, some distance apart, the figures a, 2, 3, 4, and 5, to correspond with the words of the answer.
Find a word, letters, or a letter, suitably descriptive of each picture, using as many letters for each description as there are numerals beneath
its picture. Group beneath figure i all the letters denoted by the numeral I in the numbering beneath the pictures. There will thus be in one
group all the letters that go to form the first word of the answer, and these letters, when set in the right order, will spell the word itself
Repeat this process in finding the remaining words, and all the words, when read off in due order, will be the answer.

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN APRIL NUMBER.

EASY DIAMOND.-I. L. 2. MEn. 3. LeMon. 4. NOr. 5. N.
EASY SYNCOPATIONS AND ACROSTIC.-I. FiBre, fire. 2. CoAst,
cost. 3. SoLon, soon. 4. PeTal, peal. 5. Noise, nose. 6. DoMe,
doe. 7. DrOop, drop. 8. FaRce, face. 9. NiEce, nice. Baltimore.
SHORT-WORD METAGRAM.--. T-u-g. 2. D-u-g. 3. P-u-g. 4.
B-u-g. 5. J-u-g. 6. M-u-g. 7. R-u-g. 8. Lu-g. 9. T-a-g. o. T-u-b.
FRENCH BEHEADINGS.-I. Jole, ole. 2. Belle, ell. 3. Avoir,
voir. 4. Lune, une. 5. Orage, rage. 6. Maigre, aigre. 7. Dos, os.
8. M6pris, 6pris. 9. Prendre, rendre. io. Yeux, eux. ai. Veau,
eau. 12. Savant, avant.
DROP-LETTER PUZZLE.-"All work and no play makes Jack a
dull boy." VERY EASY ENIGMA.-Candle.

NEW WORD-PUZZLES-I. Beg-one. 2. Lock-age. 3. Man-go,
4. Must-ache. 5. Ode-on. 6. Par-take. 7. Pat-ella. 8. Pay-able.
GEOGRAPHICAL REBUSES.-I. Colorado. 2. Labrador. 3. Canada.
4. Cuba.
SQUARE-WORD BLANKS.--. Lord. 2 Olio. 3. Rine. 4. Doge.
EASY ANAGRAMS.-I. Indiana. 2. California. 3. Alabama. 4.
Massachusetts. 5. Nebraska. 6. North Carolina. 7. South Caro-
lina. 8. Minnesota. 9. Wisconsin.
TRIPLE ACROSTICS.--. Cab, Ado, Ran; 2. Cab, Ado, Roy.
REBUS.-" Many hands make light work."
NUMERICAL ENIGMA.-"An undevout astronomer is mad." i.
Anna. s. Vase. 3. Tour. 4. Toad. 5. Omen. 6. Ruse. 7. Dime.

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN THE MARCH NIIMBER were received, before March 20, from The Blanke Family," who solved all the puzzles
correctly, and from Bessie and her Cousin-Ethel Gillis-Edward A. Abbot-Wm. F. Judson-Retie C 11. --. J. Gemmill-Allie J
Adams-J. F. Hubbard and J. H. Frink-" King of Africa"-J. Frank Knorr, Jr.-Courtenay H. Fenn-- j. o. L."-Maud Vosburg-
Mary J. Hull-C. H. Tibbits-Eddie Snively-Aggie Rhodes-Gerie Spalding-K. H. Leonard-Alice H. Hitchcock-Bessie Taylor-
Lida N. Sims-Samuel Wells, Jr.-Mary Lamprey-Gertrude Eager-Henrietta Bacharcht-T. Alex. Payne-Flavel S. Miner-Alfred W.
Stockett-Bessie H. Hard-Lulie Coxe-Carrie Adler-Wm. S. Eichelberger-John D. Cress--H. H. Northend-Annie Davenport-Minnie
Davies-Albert T. and Sheldon Emery-E. C. Alexander--"W. H. R."-Fred. A. Ogden-Lizzie H. D. St. Vrain-Annie McIlvaine-
" Hard and Tough"-Hattie M. Greenleaf-Farnham Gardley-Ada L. Carvill-May L. "Shepard "-Florence Penny- Robert Swords
Jr.-Frank Newsome-Grace A. Smith-" Rectus "-Bertha Newsome-Frederick R. Satterlee-" Robin K. A." "S. A. B."-Bettie
Hillegeist-Fannie IM. Miner-Grace Van Vleck-Bessie F. Wheeler-Chas. Wheeler, Jr.-Dent H. Robert-S. N. O. K. S. H-Dudley
K. Carson-Stella Hereford-Sadie Duffield-Constance Grand-Pierre-Gertrude M. Gove-Adele Freeman-Daisy B. Hodgsdon-Gertie-
Stephanie M. Coster-G. Schirmer-Elfie K. Stocket-Mabel I. Barrows-"7, 8, g,"-Carrie and Arthur M.-Will. E. Nichols- Bell
Wehl-Bertha Potts-Florence Wilcox-Nellie N. Sherwin-Anne E. Jarvis-Will. O. Jarvis-Bonie-May Carman-Bird Johnston-
Severn R. Allnutt-Reta S. McIlvaine-Jennie D. Hayden-Arnot Palmer-Alice G. Lanigan-Kitty C. Atwater-Bessie C. Barney-
James Brayley-" E. and A. --Bessie L. Reilly-D. Bruce Kennedy--Lula Marschalk-Florence L. Turrill-Dycie Warden-Maggie P.
Beatie-Geo. H. Smith-Bertie H. Jackson-Ruth Baylies-Margie J. Roebling-Allan D. Wilson-Lucy V. Mackrille-Lottie P Pitkin
-Saidee Henry-C. H. McBride-Mary G. Miller-Wm. B. McLean-Ida Cohn-Sallie Lovett-"Winnie "-Alice Sutro-Katie Burne
--Mamie W. Aldrich-Carrie E. Smith-Annie E. Smith-Eleanor N. Hughes-" So-So "-Helen C. Wetmore-Evie and Lizzie-Carl
Hinkle-Estella Lohmeyer-Bertha E. Keferstein-Edward Vultee-" Prebo "-Peyton r. Van Rensselaer-O. C: Turner-John V. L.
Pierson-Frances Hunter-Bessie S. Hosmer-John Emmins-George J. & Esther L. Fiske-Oliver B. Judson-Grace E. Fuller-Wm. H.
Paul-Harry L. Frils-Snowflake and Pussie-Anita R. Newcombe-J. De la Hunt-E. G. Seibels-G. H. W., of Manchester, England.

496

	Front Cover
	The king of May
	The arithmetic of gingerbread
	The land of the powder-players
	The boy astronomer at the...
	Sing-song - Eyebright
	The May-flowers
	Jerry's baby elephant
	Terrible adventures of ourselves...
	The three wise couples
	The gourd and the oak - She could...
	The apples of Iduna
	The big bear of Wannetola
	My color
	Rudolph Don Pedro Livingstone
	A little girl's wonder
	A jolly fellowship
	What Katy found
	Jack-in-the-pulpit
	The letter-box
	The riddle-box
	Back Cover
	Spine

MILLISECOND	CLASS.METHOD	MESSAGE
0	sobekcm_page_globals.constructor
0	sobekcm_page_globals.constructor	Application State validated or built
0	sobekcm_database.verify_item_lookup_object
0	sobekcm_page_globals.constructor	Navigation Object created from URI query string
0	sobekcm_database.verify_item_lookup_object
0	sobekcm_page_globals.display_item	Retrieving item or group information
0	sobekcm_page_globals.get_entire_collection_hierarchy	Retrieving hierarchy information
0	sobekcm_assistant.get_entire_collection_hierarchy
0	cached_data_manager.retrieve_item_aggregation
0	cached_data_manager.retrieve_item_aggregation	Found item aggregation on local cache
0	item_aggregation_builder.get_item_aggregation	Found 'all' item aggregation in cache
0	system.web.ui.page.page_load (ufdc.page_load)
0	sobekcm_page_globals.constructor.on_page_load
0	html_echo_mainwriter.add_style_references	Adding style references to HTML
0	html_echo_mainwriter.add_text_to_page	Reading the text from the file and echoing back to the output stream
97	html_echo_mainwriter.add_text_to_page	Finished reading and writing the file