[Illustration: HARPER'S

YOUNG PEOPLE

AN ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY. ]

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VOL. I. --NO. 39. PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK. PRICE FOURCENTS. 

Tuesday, July 27, 1880. Copyright, 1880, by HARPER & BROTHERS. $1. 50 perYear, in Advance. 

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[Illustration: A FREE SWIMMING BATH. --DRAWN BY A. D. SHULTS. --[SEE NEXTPAGE. ]]

PODDIE AND DICK AT THE FREE BATH. 

BY UNCLE FRANK. 

"Dick, Uncle Fritz'll never come!" exclaimed Poddie Monell, with animpatient stamp of his foot, and once more he peered anxiously throughthe bars of the gate at the South Ferry. 

"Hold on; don't be so sure, old fellow; there he comes now, " said Dick;"look just beyond the Elevated. Let's go meet him. "

"Keep cool, boys, keep cool; don't rush; there's plenty of time, " saidthe gentleman, kindly, giving a hand to each; and crossing the street, they sauntered leisurely along one of the broad walks of the Battery. 

"Which of the free baths are we going to, and what are they like?" askedDick, whose mind was always travelling ahead of time in a curiousfashion. 

"We are going to the Battery bath, because it is nearest. They are allpretty much alike, however, " replied his uncle. 

"Do tell us all about them, " begged Poddie, earnestly, "for I want toknow if they're anything like our bath at Central Park--whether theyhave hanging rings, a flying trapeze, and places to dive off of. "

"Well, no, they don't indulge in the first two luxuries, but they haveplenty of space, ropes, diving places, and a fair depth of water. Butlet me tell you how much good they do. 

"There are four free baths stationed on the East River--atOne-hundred-and-twelfth Street, Thirty-seventh Street, Fifth Street, andGouverneur Street; and three on the North River--at the Battery, BethuneStreet, and Fifty-first Street; and one floating around without any homeat all--that is, it is built, and the authorities have not decided whereto anchor it. "

"Well?" exclaimed both boys, interestedly. 

"Now, boys, in order to understand thoroughly how much these free bathsare to the people who use them, you must put yourselves in some otherboys' boots, or perhaps I should say jackets, so many of them have noboots at all. 

"You and Dick live in a very lovely home. Just imagine yourselves in adingy tenement-house, shut up for the night, with three or four otherboys, to sleep in a dark room where never sunlight or breeze entersthrough the whole year; the heat is suffocating; you toss uneasily backand forth, more than likely on the floor. You have heard during the daythat to-morrow the Gouverneur Street or some other bath will be open. What do you do?

"Before the day breaks you leap from your bed, waken your brothers orcomrades, fling on your jackets and trousers, rush down the ricketystairways out into the cooler air of the morning, and scud down to thedocks. 

"When you arrive there you find already quite a line of boys and menahead of you. You can not go above them--the policemen won't allowit--so you take your places at the foot of the line, glad that it is nolonger. Poddie is number fifty-one, Dick fifty-two. By twos and threesthe line grows to be three hundred strong. At five o'clock the doorsopen, the keepers appear, and one hundred are admitted. But here we are:you shall begin to judge for yourselves. "

"Whew!" exclaimed Dick, looking up and down a long line of ragged, grimyurchins, who were tiptoeing in impatience to enter. "How will all thosefellows get in? Shall we have to foot the line?"

"Not while I have my 'open, sesame, ' with me, " replied Uncle Fritz, pointing to a small silver badge on his coat lapel. 

The keeper just glanced at it, and Dick was greatly surprised to see howpolitely they were invited to walk in, "all through a bit of shinysilver, " as he expressed it afterward. 

"What a crowd of boys!" thought Poddie, as his eye roved from one toanother of the hundred ducking, diving, splashing little and bigfellows, who were laughing and shouting with delight. "What a jolly timethey're having!" said he, turning to his uncle. 

"Yes, " said that gentleman. "I don't believe you have more fun at theCentral Park bath, Poddie. "

"Don't know as we do, " replied Poddie, dubiously. "But what does thatmean?" added he, startled by the brazen clangor of a large bell thatrung high above the noises a warning "Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding. "

"Time's up!" shouted the keeper, almost as loud as his bell. Silencefell upon the gleeful throng instantly. With downcast faces and slow, reluctant feet the bathers commenced to crawl up the wet steps, tumbleover the railings, and trailing little brooks of water behind them, sought the bath-rooms, whence they slowly emerged, some fairly welldressed, but the majority in rags and tatters. 

"The boys is putty fair to-day, along o' you visitors, sir, " said thekeeper; "but we mostly has to hunt 'em out o' the dark corners--wherethey dart to as soon as the bell rings--with this rattan, or they'd stayin all the day. "

"How about the girls--do they enjoy the privileges of these free baths?"inquired Uncle Fritz?

"Yes, sir, they does, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, an' a livelylot they is, too; the women keepers has their hands full. "

No sooner had the first crowd of boys disappeared than pell-mell inrushed a tumultuous throng, pushing and jostling in spite of theshouting keepers. 

Begrimed and perspiring, and panting with impatience to enjoy theblessing of the cooler element, it is the work of but a moment in thebath-rooms; the doors fly open, and down they plunge from steps andrailings into the cool green depths. 

The water splashes and dashes and foams, lashed by scores of activehands and feet, until the boys are fairly deafened by the roar. 

"Gracious! you'd think they hadn't seen water in a year, wouldn't you, Dick?" said Poddie. 

"Half o' them's repeaters, " said the keeper, overhearing the remark. 

"Beg pardon--did you call them repeaters? what's that?" inquired Poddie, politely. 

"Repeaters? Why, repeaters is boys who go from bath to bath, onlywaiting to get their heads dry; then they rubs mud on their faces tomake 'em dirty, so we can't know 'em, consequentially they gets in halfa dozen times at different baths. How are we to know them? bless youreyes!"

"Have you any fine swimmers among them?" inquired Uncle Fritz, pleasantly. 

"Yes, sir, " replied the keeper, "some o' these chaps are reg'larfishes--nat'ral-born eels, you may say. Here, Patsy Miller, 'Roxy, ''Spider, ' come along and show these young gentlemen some o' yourtricks. "

The three boys, hearing their names shouted by the keeper and theirplaymates, come forward, looking sheepishly pleased at their momentaryimportance. 

"Go to the roof and dive, " commands the keeper. 

In a few seconds they appear on the pebbled roof opposite, thin-limbed, brown, and lithe as Arabs. 

"Ready--dive!"

One after another the heads are bowed, hands are clasped palm to palmand pointed forward, and away they go, head-first like frogs. Threesplashes mark where they go under; three lines of bubbles across thebath tell where the glossy heads will come up. 

"Bravo! bravo! well done!" cries Uncle Fritz. 

"Dive backward, and swim oar stroke, " directs the keeper. 

Nothing loath, the boys mount the railings, the swimmers making way forthem. One, two, three. Down they go on their backs, come up like corks, throw their arms high in air, bring them down full length behind theirheads, draw back their feet, and with an oar-like sweep of their limbsmake long darts through the water. 

"How splendid!" observes Dick, turning to his uncle. 

"Turn somersaults, " shouts the keeper. 

"Goody gracious! that's what they do up at the Central, " says Dick, laughing heartily, as now six heels, then three heads, alternatelyappear on the surface of the water. 

"Make a raft, " orders the keeper. Immediately Patsy and "Spider" and"Roxy" are on their backs again; they lock arms, paddle with their feet, and make quite a respectable raft as they cross the bath. 

Suddenly the raft goes to pieces, the swimmers dive, and stay under solong that Poddie thinks they are gone for good; but no, they are upagain, ready for more fun. 

A game of "leap-frog" and "playing porpoise" are both entered into withfine spirit, for the boys all wish to show off. 

A boat-race, in which a dozen boys either "sculled" or swam "oarstroke, " as they fancied, Dick and Poddie declared "quite the bestthing" they had ever seen in the swimming line. 

Once more the great bell sounded its notes of doom, and the drippingcrowd gave place to a dry one. 

"We're obliged to do this in midsummer, " remarked the keeper, alludingto the clearing-out process, "to give the largest numbers a chance; wemust git through with the boys, for after six the men'll be comin'along, tired and dusty, from their work. "

 * * * * *

"What do you think of the free baths, boys?" asked Uncle Fritz, as theycrossed the Battery. 

"I'm mighty glad that _poor_ boys have as good a chance as _we_ richfellows, " replied Dick, clinking some silver in his pocket, with the airof a banker. 

"Then it keeps them from the sharks, " remarked Poddie, thoughtfully. 

"And makes them clean and healthy, besides giving them any amount ofinnocent pleasure, " added their uncle. 

ROSE AND CATERPILLAR. 

 "Oh, caterpillar, " said a rose One lovely summer day, "Your constant eating drives me wild; I wish you'd go away. I really can not see what use You and your kind can be; You naught but mischief do, and are Unpleasant things to see. "

 A moment after that same rose Smiled on a butterfly That stopped to show his rainbowed wings As he was passing by. Oh, if she only could have known-- The pretty, dainty rose-- _He_ was a caterpillar too, Arrayed in splendid clothes!

VISITING A TEA PLANTATION. --PREPARATION OF TEA. 

FROM ADVANCE SHEETS OF "THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE FAR EAST. " PARTSECOND. 

BY THOMAS W. KNOX. 

Frank and Fred had long wished to visit a tea plantation, and while theywere in Java this wish was gratified. The following extract from theirjournal describes what they saw and learned during their visit:

"The first thing the tea-planter has to do after getting possession ofhis lease is to clear the land and get ready for planting. The outlayfor this is considerable, and not much unlike clearing up a farm in NewEngland, or in the backwoods of Canada. Then the young plants are setout; after this has been done, the ground must be kept clear of weeds, just as in raising corn or potatoes. It must be frequently stirred, sothat the plant can get as much nourishment as possible from the earth;and when this is done, the planter has the satisfaction of seeing thebushes grow with considerable rapidity. 

"We walked through the fields where the plants were growing, and foundthem of different ages and sizes. If we had not known where we were, wemight have thought we were in a field of English myrtle bushes, as thetea-plant is much like the myrtle in general appearance. It grows fromtwo to six feet high, and has white blossoms that resemble smalldogroses. 

"One of us asked which were the plants that produced green tea, andwhich the black. The owner of the plantation smiled, and said there wasno difference. 

"We laughed at our own ignorance, as he explained that the difference ofthe teas was entirely owing to the manipulation. We asked why it wasthat some districts in China produced only green teas, while others werereputed to make none but black; and he told us it was because theworkmen in those districts had been accustomed to follow only one formof manipulation. 

"It takes three years to get a plantation in condition to produce tea. The seeds are sown in a nursery bed, and the young plants are not readyto be set out till they are a year old. They are then about nine incheshigh, and covered with leaves, and the first crop is taken when theyhave been growing two years in the field. The leaves are the lungs ofthe plant, and it would die if all of them were stripped off. Consequently only a part of them are removed at a picking; and if aplant is sickly, it is not disturbed at all. The plants will last fromten to twelve years, and are then renewed; and on all the largeplantations it is the custom to make nursery beds every year, so thatthere will be a constant succession of new plants for setting out inplace of the old ones. 

"At the first gathering the half-opened buds are taken, and from themthe finest teas are made. Then they have another gathering when theleaves are fully opened, and then another and another, till they havefive or six gatherings in the course of the year. Each time the leavesare coarser than those of the previous gathering, and consequently thetea is not of so fine a quality. A well-managed plantation produces allkinds of tea; and it was a wise requirement of the Dutch government, when they started the tea-culture in Java, that the planters shouldproduce proportionate quantities of both black and green, and not lessthan four qualities of each. "

[Illustration: GATHERING TEA-LEAVES. ]

"The gathering takes place only in clear weather; and for the best teasthe picking is confined to the afternoon, when the leaves are thoroughlydry, and have been warmed by the sun. Only the thumb and forefinger areused in plucking the leaves from the bush; the pickers are generallywomen and children, who can gather on the average about forty pounds ofleaves in a day. It takes nearly four pounds of leaves to make one poundof dry tea; and the usual estimate is that a plantation of one hundredthousand plants can send ten thousand pounds of tea to market in thecourse of a year. "

[Illustration: DRYING TEA IN THE SUN. ]

"Different kinds of tea require different treatment, as we have alreadyseen. For green tea the leaves are roasted as soon as they have beengathered, and are then rolled and dried; but the leaves intended forblack teas are spread on bamboo trays five or six inches deep, andplaced on frames where they can have plenty of sun and air. They remainhere from noon till sunset; and if the weather is damp they are furtherdried by artificial heat. For this purpose they are placed on framesover shallow pans containing burning charcoal, and are tossed andstirred with the hand until they emit a certain fragrance. The heatshould be very slight; and the frames are made so high that it isnecessary for a man to mount a small ladder in order to reach thetrays. 

"The sense of smell in the skillful workers of tea is very acute, andthey can tell, to almost a minute, the exact time when the drying shouldcease, and the next process begin. The Chinese workmen are better thanany others for this branch of the business, and on many plantations mostof the manipulation is performed by Chinese, though their labor is moreexpensive than that of the Malays. Our host showed us through hisfactory, where the men were busy in the various processes; and as hetold us about each step of the business, he took us to the departmentwhere that particular work was going on. 

"After showing the leaves spread out on the frames, he led the way to asort of stove, where a man was manipulating some tea in a pan over acharcoal fire. "

[Illustration: DRYING OVER CHARCOAL. ]

"'This is what we call roasting, ' he said, 'and the great object of theroaster is to dry the leaves without burning them. You see he does notallow them to be quiet a single instant, but tosses and turns them inall directions, so that none may stick to the bottom of the pan, whichthey might easily do, owing to the moisture they contain. '

"We watched the roasting till we thought we understood it well, and asthe place was hot, we did not care to stay there a great while. Theleaves lose their fragrance when first thrown into the roasting pan, andgive out a rank smell, but they gradually recover their perfume, and areready for the next process, which is called rolling. 

"The tea from the roasting pan was given to a couple of men, who stoodin front of a table or bench, with bamboo mats before them. One had alarge mustache, the largest we had ever seen on a Chinese face, and theother consoled himself for the absence of that hairy ornament by smokinga pipe. 

"The roller takes as much tea as he can cover with both his hands, andplaces it on the mat in a sort of ball. He keeps the leaves closelytogether, and rolls them from right to left; this motion gives each leafa twist on itself, and rolls it so firmly that it retains the shape whendry. This part of the work requires peculiar dexterity, and can only beperformed successfully after long practice. When a man becomes skillfulin it, he can roll the tea with wonderful rapidity; and when his work isdone, every leaf will be found separate from the others, and twisted asthough it had been passed through a machine. 

"The work of rolling the tea is very tiresome, and so the men sometimesperform it with their feet when they wish to give their hands a rest. Wesaw one man at his occupation in this way, and he certainly seemed toenjoy it. 

"After they have been properly rolled, the leaves are spread on trays, and exposed to the sun and air for several hours, and then they are oncemore roasted. The second roasting is milder than the first, and is doneover a slower fire; and afterward the leaves are rolled again, to makesure that none of them have become spread out. For the black tea theroasting is done in a shallow pan, the same as the first; but the greenteas are put in a deep pan, and subjected to a very high heat. 

"While the green tea is being roasted there must be a great deal of careon the part of everybody concerned. The pan is nearly red-hot when thetea is put into it, about a pound at a time, and the operator in chargekeeps it in rapid motion. One boy tends the fire, while another standsby with a fan to prevent the burning of the tea. 

"After their final roasting the teas are put in a long basket, shapedlike an hour-glass, and having a sieve in the centre. This basket isplaced over a charcoal fire and submitted to the heat for severalminutes, when the tea is poured out and receives another rolling. Thisoperation is repeated several times, till the tea is thoroughly tired ofit, and also thoroughly dry. Then it is passed through sieves, toseparate the different qualities from each other; and finally it iswinnowed, to remove all the dust and dirt. Then it is 'fired, ' or dried, once more, to drive away the last particle of moisture; and in thiscondition it is ready to go into the chests in which it is carried tothe lands where it is to be used. "

[Begun in No. 31 of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE, June 1. ]

THE MORAL PIRATES. 

BY W. L. ALDEN. 

CHAPTER IX. 

The boat was in a shallow part of the river, between the shore and along row of piles that marked the steamboat channel. Harry sounded withan oar, and found that the water was only two feet deep. "We'll have toget overboard and drag the boat over the piles, " said he, "and it'sgoing to be a mighty hard job too. That swell threw us over as neat asthe bull threw Joe over the fence up at Lenox last summer. "

"When I got pitched over that fence I staid there, " said Joe. "I didn'ttry to get back into the field where the bull was, and I don't see whatwe want to get back where the steamboats are for. "

"That's so, " exclaimed Harry. "We're safe enough here. Let's get thewater out of the boat, and keep on this side of the piles. "

When the boat was made dry, and the lighted lantern was hoisted to thetop of the mast, Tom resumed his place at the helm, and Harry and Joeprepared to take another nap. "I don't want to grumble, " said Joe, "butI wish I didn't have to lie on the coffee-pot and a tin cup. I don'tfeel comfortable on that kind of bed. "

"I'll change with you if you like, " replied Harry. "I'm sleeping on abeautiful soft bottle of oil, and some sardine boxes; but I don't wantto be selfish and keep the best bed for myself. "

"Oh, never mind, " returned Joe. "I'll manage to sleep if Jim don't stepon my face. I always did hate to have anybody step on my face when I wasasleep. "

"Well, good-night, everybody, " said Harry. "I'm going straight to sleep. Tom, be sure you wake me up if a steamboat tries to climb over thesepiles. "

This time Tom did not fall asleep at the helm, but the wind graduallydied away, and the sail hung limp and useless. Jim got out the oarswithout stepping on anybody, and rowed slowly on. In a little while theycame to the end of the shallow lagoon into which the swell had sounexpectedly cast them. A sand-bank stretched from the shore to the lineof piles, and it was impossible to go any farther. Tom decided to makethe boat fast to the limb of a willow-tree that projected over thewater, and to go ashore and sleep on the sand. Neither he nor Jimthought it worth while to wake the other boys; so they gathered up theirblankets, crept quietly out of the boat, and were soon asleep on thesoft, warm sand. When Harry and Joe awoke at daylight, stiff andcramped, they were disposed to be rather indignant at Tom and Jim, whowere sleeping so comfortably on the sand; but Tom soon convinced themthat he had acted from the best of motives, and they readily forgavehim. 

[Illustration: GETTING OUT OF THE TRAP. -DRAWN BY A. B. FROST. ]

Of course breakfast was the first business of the day, and after thatwas finished the boat had to be entirely unloaded before she could belifted over the piles into the channel. For the first time since theyhad started on the cruise the breeze was ahead, but it was so light thatit was of very little consequence. The sky was cloudy, and the daypromised to be a cool one; so the boys resolved to take to their oars, and try, if possible, to reach Albany before night. When the boat wasloaded, Tom and Jim each took a long oar, and Harry took his usual seatin the stern-sheets. They all felt fresh, in spite of their night'sadventure, and started gayly on their intended long day's row. 

By this time they had found out that although round tin boxes were verywell to keep things dry, they are by no means handy to carry in a boat. Their shape made it impossible to stow them compactly. Joe, who sat atthe bow, always had to pick his way over these tin boxes in going to orcoming from his station; and he was constantly catching his foot in thespaces left between the boxes, and falling down on them. This smashed inthe covers, and tried Joe's temper sorely. Once he sat down so violentlyon the box which held the sugar, that he went completely through thecover, and was fastened in the box as securely as a cork in a bottle. Hewas only released after a great deal of work, and just in time to enablethe boys to have sugar in their coffee at night. Harry resolved that hewould never cruise again with round boxes, but would have small rubberbags made, in which to put everything that required to be kept dry. 

The boys took turns at the oars every hour, and rowed steadily untilnoon. They gave themselves an hour for lunch and resting, and thenresumed their work. Late in the afternoon they came in sight of Albany, and went ashore, so as to get their dinner before reaching the city. After dinner they again pulled away at the oars, and at about nineo'clock they stopped at a lumber-yard on the outskirts of Albany, and, creeping in among the lumber, wrapped their blankets around them, anddropped asleep, completely worn out, but proud of their long day's row. 

Before sunrise the next morning, Tom was awakened by a stick which wasthrust into his ribs. Without opening his eyes, he muttered, "You quitthat, or I'll get up and pound you, " and immediately dropped asleepagain. Somebody then kicked him so sharply that he roused himself up, and, opening his eyes, was dazzled by the gleam of a bull's-eye lantern. He could not at first imagine where he was; but as he presently foundthat a big policeman had him by the collar, and was calling him "animpudent young thief, " he began to imagine that something was wrong. 

"I've got you this time, " said the policeman, "and the whole gang ofyou. Where did you steal that property in your boat from, you preciousyoung river pirate?"

"We're not river pirates, " replied Tom. "We're Moral Pirates, and webrought those things in the boat with us from New York. "

"Well, I like your cheek!" said the officer; "owning up that you'repirates. Now just you and your gang take everything out of that boat andlet me see what you've got. If any of you try to escape, I'll put abullet into you. You hear me?"

The other boys had been awakened by the loud voice of the policeman, andwere staring at him in utter astonishment. 

"He thinks we're river thieves, " said Tom. "Harry, we'll have to showhim what we've got in the boat, and then he'll see his mistake. "

Harry eagerly assured the policeman that they had come from New York ona pleasure cruise, and had nothing in the boat except provisions andstores. "That's a pretty story, " said the officer. "You can tell that tothe court. Your boat's full of junk that you've stolen from somewhere;and you'd better hand it out mighty quick. "

The boys were thus compelled to unload their boat, while the policemanstood over them with his club in one hand and his lantern in the other. He was not a stupid man, and he soon perceived that the boys had toldhim the truth; they were not the gang of river thieves for whom he hadmistaken them. He therefore apologized, in a rough way, and even helpedthe boys repack the boat. 

"What I can't understand, " said he, "is why you boys come here and sleepin a lumber-yard, when you might be sleeping at home in your beds. Nowif you were thieves, you couldn't get any better lodgings, you know; butyou're gentlemen's sons, and you ought to know better. Why don't you godown to the hotel, and live like gentlemen? Where's the fun in beingarrested, and taking up my valuable time?"

The boys assured him that they had never enjoyed themselves more thanthey had while on the cruise, and after a little more talk the officerturned slowly away. 

"By-the-bye, " he exclaimed, suddenly turning back again, "one of youtold me you were pirates. I ought to take you in after all. I believeyou're a lot of boys that have been reading dime novels, and have runaway from home. "

"I didn't say we were pirates, " replied Tom. "I said we were MoralPirates. That's a very different thing. "

"Of course it is, " said Joe. "A Moral Pirate is a sort of missionary, you know. I'm afraid you don't go to Sunday-school, officer, or you'dknow better. "

The policeman could not quite make up his mind whether Joe was in jokeor in earnest; but as he could find no real reason for arresting theboys, he contented himself with telling them to leave the lumber-yard assoon as the sun rose. "And you'd better look out, " he added, "that youdon't come across any real river thieves. They'll make no bones ofseizing your boat, and knocking you on the head if you make any noise. "When he was fairly out of sight, the boys crept back to their shelteramong the lumber, and coolly went to sleep again. They were so tiredthat neither policemen nor river thieves had any terrors for them. 

[TO BE CONTINUED. ]

A CONFESSION. 

BY GEORGE N. LOVEJOY. 

 "Do you love me?" stammered Benny To a bright-eyed little maid; "Do you love me, love me, Jenny?-- I'll not tell; don't be afraid. "

 "Yes, I love you, " answered Jenny; "But 'twas only yesterday That I said the same thing, Benny" (And she blushed), "to Robbie Gray. "

POOR BEN!

BY SYDNEY DAYRE. 

"Ha, Uncle Dud, I've found your lady-love's curl!"

His uncle drew near Hal, as he rummaged in an old desk. 

"Ah, " he said, "is that there? I haven't seen it for many a year, butnow I remember putting it there. "

He took the short brown lock of hair in his hand, and looked at it withalmost a tender interest. 

"He saved my life when I was a boy, Hal. "

"Who, uncle?"

"The one who wore this curl. "

"Oh, tell me all about it; come, do, Uncle Dud;" and Hal laid his handcoaxingly on his uncle's arm. "Was he one of your playmates?"

"Yes. "

"How old was he when he did it?"

"I didn't know exactly his age. Ten or twelve, perhaps, or thereabouts. But there is the tea-bell. I'll tell you about it after tea. "

Uncle Dudley found his audience increased by four or five expectant boysand girls, who gathered around him on the broad piazza, attracted by therumor that "one of Uncle Dud's stories" was in prospect. Little Elsiecrept into his lap as he began:

"I don't think I have ever told you anything of my poor friend Ben, buthe played a very important part in many of the pranks and sports andjoys and sorrows of my earlier boyhood. I think that, outside of my ownfamily, my attachment to him was the strongest I have ever formed. People used to laugh at us, and call him my younger brother, we showedso much affection for each other. "

"Was he a son of your neighbor?" asked Hal. 

"No, not his son, but his home was with our nearest neighbor. It wasnever known who his parents were. He came to Mr. Washburn's house oneday, nobody knew where from; but he attracted the attention of all byhis fine bright, honest face. I shall never forget the look of his greatearnest brown eyes; I used to think they expressed more in a minute thansome folks could talk in an hour. Then he had soft hair--this yousee--brown, with the least tinge of auburn through it, and was mostgraceful in his movements. He would strike any one as a handsomefellow. "

"What did he come for, uncle? Do you mean that he was a beggar? Did heask for food?"

"He didn't ask for anything, but it was easy to see what he needed, andcountry hospitality was not likely to wait till he asked. He staid aboutthere a few days, and made friends with every one. Before long he seemedto have quietly grown to be almost one of the family, and I think theywould have been as sorry to lose him as he would to go. He and I 'tookto' each other at once, and I owe many of the happiest hours of my boylife to his companionship, for I had no brother near my own age. "

"And did your parents really allow you to make a companion of such alittle tramp?" asked Hal, with a slight sniff, and a toss of the headwhich he conceived to be rather aristocratic. "How did they know whatkind of a fellow he might have been?"

"Well, they never seemed to fear any harm coming to me through him. Benshowed a much better disposition than I ever did. He was very gentle inhis manners, always inclined to yield to me in everything, giving me myown way to an extent which unfortunately fostered my tendency to bedomineering and overbearing. It was this trait in my character which ledto the incident I am about to tell you of. 

"In the summer vacations he and I--"

"Excuse me for interrupting you, Uncle Dud; but how did this Ben getalong at school?"

"Well, he never went to school--"

"Never went to school? Why, didn't those folks he lived with give himany advantages?"

"--But I don't think any one seemed to consider him neglected. He wasnaturally very quick of perception, and had a wonderful faculty ofgathering information from his surroundings. He seemed so well fittedfor whatever duties fell to him, that I don't believe any one thought itnecessary to send him to school. "

"What was he good for, anyhow?"

"He made himself generally useful and agreeable. He used to drive cows, dig in the garden, etc. , and as the family grew fond of him, they usedto take him out with them a great deal. "

"They must have been a queer set, though, to let him grow to be a man inignorance. "

"Ben never got to be a man. But I agree with you, Hal, that a manwithout education, or a boy either, is a poor thing. "

"Oh, did Ben die young?" said Hal, with a soberer face. 

"Yes. I _did_ take him to school with me once--what a tricky youngrascal I must have been! He walked to the school-house door with me, andI forced him in--much against his will it was, but I always made himmind me. I seated him in the master's chair, and ordered him to staythere, while I went to my seat. Of course the boys all laughed, and poorBen trembled and looked imploringly at me, but I shook my fist at him tomake him sit still. Presently the master came in. He was aquick-tempered man, and when he saw what was going on, how mad he was!He snatched up a rule, but Ben was too smart for him. He sprang from thechair and went out of the half-open window at one bound, with an awfulcrash of glass and sash, and was off swift as the wind. Then the mastertried to find out who was in fault, but could get no further than thetruth that he belonged to none of us. No one told of me, so I missed thethrashing which would have been so willingly bestowed. "

"I think it was right mean of you to treat Ben so, uncle. "

"I think so too, and that wasn't my worst treatment of him, as you shallhear. 

"A small river formed the boundary of one side of my father's farm. Onits bank, in one spot which was surrounded and sheltered by a thickgrowth of willows, Ben and I used to spend many an hour. He was anexcellent swimmer, and very fond of the water. One morning we werehaving a merry time; we swam, dived, and rowed in the lovely sunshine. At last I picked up a piece of wood and threw it to the other side ofthe stream, trying to hit a water-rat. As it left my hand, I saw that itwas a piece I had selected for the hull of a miniature boat, justsuitable for that purpose, being straight-grained and exactly the rightthickness. I told Ben to go and get it for me, but he was probably tiredof play, for, for the first time, he refused to do my bidding, and wentand lay down under a tree. I was angry, and ordered him loudly androughly, picking up a stone and threatening him. He looked reproachfullyat me, and turned and walked quickly toward his home. 

"Now throwing stones was one of my great faults. I can not tell howoften my mother had scolded, threatened, and punished me for it. Even atthat moment there came vividly before me the remembrance of a time whenI had killed a robin, and brought it and showed her what I had done--forI must do myself the justice to say I was always frank in confessing myfaults. She took the poor dead bird in her hands, and with tears in hereyes talked to me in a tone of deeper anger and sorrow than I had everheard from her. 

"'They are God's little creatures. They are dumb, except for the sweetsongs they bring us. They are helpless, except as their helplessnessappeals to human beings for pity and protection. I believe the Lord'sblessing will _never_ rest on those who are cruel to things weaker thanthemselves. '

"I was really sorry, and wanted to tell her so, but a spirit of pridetempted me to 'brave it out, ' so I said, with a poor attempt at a laugh, 'Oh, I'm sorry, of course, but you know it comes natural to boys tothrow stones. '

"If I had been at all decent about it, she would have forgiven me atonce; but, ah me! I never saw her move so quickly as when she went outthe back door and broke off a supple green apple switch. After makingmost vigorous use of it she sent me to my room, with the remark, 'Itfortunately comes natural to mothers to punish. '

"I spent the rest of the day there, and as I feasted on bread and water, and realized that there was company to tea, and that my whole beingcraved spring chicken, jelly cake, and quince preserves, I made up mymind that in future there would be one boy to whom it would come less'natural' to throw stones. 

"All this passed through my mind as I stood with the stone in my hand. But my tyrannical temper mastered me, and as Ben turned and looked back, I flung it at him. I did _not_ mean to hit his head, but there was whereit struck, in the brown hair just above one eye. I saw the blood tricklefrom a cut, as with a sharp cry of pain he ran away and disappeared. Iwas shocked at what I had done, but you know there are some conditionsof mind in which self-reproach only makes anger hotter. I did not obeymy impulse to follow the poor fellow, but threw off my jacket andplunged into the stream to recover the block I wanted. I suppose I hadalready been too long in the water, for when about half way over I wasseized with a cramp. In a moment I became helpless, and screamed wildlyas I felt myself going down--down--down. I arose to the surface againtoo nearly drowned to scream any more, but with just sense enough leftto feel myself seized by something. That was the last I knew. 

"But I was afterward told how my father and some of the farm hands camerushing down just in time to see Ben panting, almost exhausted, as hedrew me to the shore. There was blood on my face, which added to mymother's great alarm when I was carried to her. Not my blood, as you mayguess, but poor Ben's--the result of my cruel blow. 

"There is not much more to tell. I was in bed several days after it. Thefirst time Ben came to see me I put my arms around his neck, and beggedhim to forgive me. "

"What did he say?"

"Not a word. He never was a talker. But I knew by his clear, earnesteyes that he had never harbored a hard thought of me. I need not tellyou I treated him more kindly after that. We continued, if possible, closer friends than ever, till I was sent away to school. "

"And you say Ben did not live to be a man, uncle?" said Hal, whoseinterest in the "little tramp" had greatly increased. "How old was hewhen he died? Tell us about it, please. "

"His death was a very sad occurrence, taking place the same season Ileft home. One night a suspicious-looking person came prowling about Mr. Washburn's place. Ben was the first to hear him--he always seemed tohave one ear open when the interests of his friends were concerned--andran toward him, making all the noise he could to arouse the family. Thebrave fellow seized hold of the marauder, who drew a revolver, and beathim about the head, and as he still held on, shot him. "

A murmur of regret and indignation arose from the little audience. 

"The man made off, and Ben was found to be not dead, but terriblyinjured: a leg was broken, and his head fearfully bruised. All that kindcare could do for him was done, but it soon appeared that he was beyondall hope of recovery, and to put an end to his sufferings anotherbullet--this time aimed in sorrowful kindness--did its quick work on thelife of poor Ben. "

"_What's that?_" cried Hal, starting up. "Do you mean that they _shot_him? Killed a boy because he was badly hurt? I never heard of such--"

"_Boy?_" said his uncle, looking at him in great surprise. Then he wenton: "When I heard of it, it almost broke my heart; and the first time Iwent home after it, and no Ben came bounding to meet me, wagging histail, and with a face beaming welcome, I felt as though I had--"

"Hey, uncle! Wagging _his tail_? _Whose_ tail? What are you talkingabout? Haven't you been telling us about a _boy_ all this time?"

"Yes. _I_ was a boy. But Ben was not. "

"A--dog!"

Hal threw himself on the grass-plot and shouted with laughter, all hissympathy for Ben lost in his amusement at this unexpected disclosure. 

"Oh, Uncle Dud! you're too much for me. 'Never went to school, ' 'nevergrew to be a man'--oh no. 'No talker, ' 'didn't ask for anything'--modestfellow! Oh, that's too good!"

Boys and girls had a hearty laugh, and ran away to play hide-and-seek inthe summer twilight--all but little Elsie, who tenderly stroked thebrown curl, and laid it against her soft cheek, sighing, "Poor Ben!poo-oor doggie!"

[Illustration: AN UNWELCOME GUEST. --DRAWN BY H. P. SHARE. ]

[Begun in HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE No. 31, July 13. ]

THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN NAVY. 

BY BENSON J. LOSSING. 

CHAPTER III. 

"North African pirates are out on the Mediterranean Sea; our buddingcommerce there is in danger; we _must_ have a navy to protect it, " wrotea distinguished American in Europe to Alexander Hamilton. PresidentWashington called the attention of Congress to the matter, and in thespring of 1794 he was authorized to have six frigates built, eachcarrying not less than thirty-two cannon. The keel of the _Constitution_(yet afloat) was soon laid at Boston, and so the creation of the Navy ofthe United States was begun. 

To the heroes of the Continental Navy the people looked for commandersof the new frigates, and Barry, Nicholson, Talbot, Barney, Dale, andTruxton, all of whom had done gallant service in the war forindependence, were chosen. 

The building of the frigates was unwisely suspended in the fall of 1795. "Pay me so many hundred thousand dollars every year, and I will let yourships alone, " said the piratical ruler of Algiers. The terms were agreedto. Congress seemed to think that now all danger to commerce wasoverpast, and a navy would be an extravagant toy. But when, not longafterward, French cruisers seized American ships, and English cruisersclaimed the right (and exercised it) to take seamen from our vesselswithout leave, Congress perceived the folly of their humiliating action. 

War with France was threatened in the spring of 1798. The startledCongress ordered the six frigates to be finished, and more to be builtor purchased. A Navy Department was organized, and a Secretary of theNavy appointed. Recruits were called for. The navy became very popular, and the ships were soon filled, with the sons of the best families inthe land holding the rank of midshipmen. 

The first vessel of the new navy that went to sea was the _Ganges_, twenty-four guns. She was to protect the ports of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore against French cruisers. Toward midsummer(1798), Congress authorized the seizure of French armed vessels foundprowling along our coasts. For this purpose Truxton, with the_Constellation_, and Decatur the elder, with the _Delaware_, immediatelywent to sea. Decatur soon returned with the French cruiser _Le Croyable_as a prize. She was added to the navy, named _Retaliation_, and putunder the command of Lieutenant Bainbridge. Captain Barry, with thefrigate _United States_, soon followed, with many young men whoafterward became distinguished in their country's service. Before theend of the year nearly the whole American navy was among the West IndiaIslands, engaged in convoying merchantmen to and from the United States. This sudden appearance on the sea of a new naval power astonished theEnglish and the French, and made both more cautious. 

[Illustration: FIGHT BETWEEN THE "CONSTELLATION" AND "LA VENGEANCE. "]

Early in 1799, Truxton, with the _Constellation_, captured the famousFrench frigate _L'Insurgente_, near the island of Nevis, after a severebattle for an hour. This triumph made Truxton famous. His praises wereon every lip. A song called "Truxton's Victory" was sung everywhere inpublic and private. A year later his fame was increased by his combatwith another French frigate, which he had searched for among the islandsof the West Indies. Off Guadeloupe he fell in with a large French vesselat twilight, and they fought desperately in the darkness that followed. Suddenly the stranger disappeared in the gloom of night. Some timeafterward Truxton learned that the ship was the very one he wassearching for--the frigate _La Vengeance_; that he had shattered herterribly; and that she ran away in the darkness to a friendly port tosave her life. 

These victories made the navy very popular. Truxton was the hero of thiswar with the French on the ocean. It soon ceased, and the little navyfound ample employment in the Mediterranean. 

In the year 1800 Bainbridge was sent, in command of the _GeorgeWashington_, to pay tribute to the Algerine ruler. The Dey, as he wascalled, commanded the Captain to take an Ambassador to Constantinople. Bainbridge refused. "You pay me tribute, and are my slave, " said thehaughty Dey; "you must do as I bid you;" and he pointed to the guns ofthe castle. The Captain was compelled to obey. The Sultan received himkindly, for the crescent moon on the Turkish banner, and the stars onthe American flag, seemed to prophesy good-will between the two nations. He gave Bainbridge an order that made the insolent Dey tremble. With itin his hand, the Captain said to the turbaned ruler, "Release everyChristian captive you have, without ransom. " The astonished and humbledDey obeyed, and Bainbridge sailed away with threescore liberatedcaptives under the American flag. 

Meanwhile the rulers of Tunis and Tripoli--other North Africanrobbers--had exacted and received tribute from the United States. Thetreatment of Bainbridge made the latter resolve to pay tribute nolonger, but to humble the piratical powers. In the spring of 1801Commodore Dale was sent with a squadron on that errand. He captured aTripolitan pirate ship, and appeared before Tunis, where the flag-staffbefore the house of the American Consul had been cut down. Dalethreatened the ruler with chastisement. He was astonished and perplexed. Dale cruised in the Mediterranean until fall, effectually protectingAmerican commerce, for the half-barbarian powers were made timid andcautious. 

The following year a relief squadron was sent to the Mediterraneanunder Commodore Morris. The _Constellation_ blockaded the harbor ofTripoli. A flotilla of Tripolitan gun-boats tried to drive her away, butfailed. At one time the _Constellation_ successfully fought seventeen ofthem, as well as troops of cavalry on shore. The other vessels of thesquadron cruised along the northern shores of the Mediterranean, effectually protecting American commerce; and in January, 1803, all thevessels collected at Malta. In the spring they appeared off the ports ofthe Barbary States, as these African provinces were called, andeffectually imprisoned their corsairs, or pirate ships, in theirharbors. In May the _John Adams_, which had been blockading the harborof Tunis, had a severe combat with Tunisian gun-boats and landbatteries, and was much bruised. Very soon Tripolitan and Algerinecorsairs appeared, and the whole American squadron was compelled toabandon the blockade of the African ports, after they had destroyed acruiser from Tripoli. The squadron left the coast, the Africans regainedtheir spirits, and very soon American commerce was again suffering fromthe depredations of corsairs. 

The government of the United States, annoyed by the failure of thisnaval campaign in the Mediterranean, resolved to act with more vigor inthat direction. A squadron of seven vessels was placed under the commandof Commodore Preble, and sent to the Mediterranean in 1803. 

[TO BE CONTINUED. ]

THE STORY OF THE DAISIES. 

BY MRS. MARGARET EYTINGE. 

Daisies, golden-hearted, star-like, smiling daisies, all over the fieldsand meadows, all along the highways and by-ways--bonny wee flowerslooking bravely up at the dazzling sun, and giving with child-likegenerosity their beauty to the loneliest spots and most desolate places. Close up to a fence that surrounded a garden where bloomed hundreds ofrare and lovely blossoms they crowded, praising with sweet artlessnessthe grace and fragrance of their more precious sisters, and wonderingevery morning when the gardener came out at early dawn and collectedmany young plants together, and gathered roses, and pansies, andgladioles, and verbenas, and pinks, and other flowers by the basketful, to carry away, where he took them and what became of them. 

"I will tell you, " said a tall, graceful white lily that grew near thegarden gate, one day, as she inclined her fair head toward them. "I havebeen where they are going--I and the tuberoses over yonder. (We aregrowing in pots sunk in the ground, and therefore can be taken up andmoved from place to place without harm. ) Once I helped deck a large, sunshiny room--I was a very young bud then--where a great many littlechildren, looking like flowers themselves in their gay dresses, sang, and played, and laughed, and danced for joy, because a baby friend wasthree years old that day; and once I stood at the right hand of agray-haired minister, in a crowded church, and heard him say, 'Solomonin all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ' But, dear, simple, wee things, you don't understand that, do you? I forgot to whom I wastalking. They go to a large city, where nothing is seen but brick andstone buildings and hosts of people, and nothing is heard but the soundof voices and footsteps, and the ringing of bells, and the tramping ofhorses, and rolling of wagons, and where there are no bees, norbutterflies, nor birds, save canaries that live in cages, and sparrowsthat can live anywhere. "

"But the daisies are never taken to the city, " said the daisies, after ashort pause, "and they are flowers as well as the verbenas and pinks. "

"Bless your innocent little hearts! I know they are, " said the lily. "But the fact is, no one cares to buy daisies. "

"So nobody cares for us in the big city, " said the daisies to eachother, "and yet the butterflies and birds tell us we are very pretty. "

But the lily was mistaken, for the very next morning the gardener cameout into the meadow with a trowel in his hand, and digging up some ofthe largest daisy plants, replanted them in a large flower-pot. 

"Somebody wants us after all, " they called to the grass, and thedandelions, and the other daisies, as they were carried away, "and weshall see the fine houses, and perhaps live with lilies, roses, andgeraniums all the rest of our lives. Good-by, dear friends, good-by. "

In a short time the daisies found themselves in a market-place--notamong cabbages and tomatoes, but at the end of a row of blooming plantsfrom the garden at which they had so often peeped through the fence. Butthey had scarcely had time to look about them when they saw a shabbilydressed boy coming slowly toward them--slowly, poor fellow, because oneof his feet was sadly misshapen, and in his arms he carried a heavybundle of newspapers. He looked eagerly at the gardener as he came near. 

"I've got your daisies, my boy, " the man called, cheerily. "Here theyare, still wet with the dew, as handsome daisies as ever I saw. You mustkeep them in the shade a day or two, giving them a drink now and then, and I don't doubt they'll do finely. Will you take them now?"

"Yes, sir, thank you, " said the boy, his whole face lighting up, and hispale cheeks flushing, "if you will let me leave my papers here a fewminutes until I can run home with them. But you've brought so many--andthey're in a nice pot, too--I'm afraid I haven't money enough to pay forthem. "

"Five cents was the price agreed on yesterday, " said the good-naturedgardener, "and I always stick to a bargain. And if there's more than youexpected, all the better for you--some of 'em'll be sure to thriveanyhow. As for the pot, you're welcome to that. A flower-pot more orless won't make me or break me. "

The boy threw down his bundle, took the daisies with another "thankyou, " and hurried away as fast as his poor foot would let him to an old, queer-looking wooden house near the market, where, hugging his treasureclosely to his breast, he mounted the shaky stairs until he reached thegarret. Pushing open a door here, he entered a neat little room withonly one window in it, but that a dormer facing the south. The floor ofthis room was bare, with the exception of two or three round rag mats, and the walls were decorated in the oddest manner with pictures cut fromold papers and magazines, bits of colored glass, strips of glitteringtin twisted into grotesque shapes, and red and green motto-papersfashioned into some semblance of flowers. 

On a bed near the window lay a little pale-faced, brown-haired girl, with wistful gray eyes, and a smile like sunshine breaking through acloud. In her hands she held a pair of knitting-needles, with which shewas knitting with marvellous quickness some coarse thread into wide, strong lace. Beside the bed stood a small table, holding a box ofwater-colors, a camel's-hair brush or two, a lead-pencil, a cup filledwith water, and a piece of paper on which was a rude attempt at apainting of a bunch of daisies. 

"See what I've brought you, Phemie!" cried her brother, joyfully. "To-day's your birthday: thirteen years old--almost as old as I am. Betyou thought I'd forgotten it; but I didn't, dearie; no, indeed. "

"Daisies! daisies!" cried the girl, with a sweet glad laugh, droppingher work, and holding out her pretty slender hands. "Oh, brother--dear, good, _darling_ brother--will they live and grow?"

"The gardener says they will, and he ought to know, " answered herbrother. "And now you needn't be aching your poor little head any moretrying to think exactly how they look, for you can study them all daylong. But, good gracious! I must go and sell my papers, or we'll have noberries for dinner, and that would be dreadful. " And giving his sister akiss, he hurried away again, as happy, I believe, as any boy in thatgreat city on that pleasant summer day. 

"I am so glad, so very, _very_ glad that you have come, " said Phemie tothe daisies as soon as he was gone, as she set them on the table, andgazed at them with tears in her eyes, "and I beg of you to live, deardaisies. I am a poor weak little girl, and I can sit up but a few hourseach day. But a long while ago I could run about like other littlegirls, and I lived in the country, where thousands of daisies grew, andI have never forgotten them. Mamma was alive then, but she's dead now, and father left us here a year after she died, and we have never seenhim since. He didn't care for daisies or us. How good of Brother Frankto bring you to me, daisies! I shall knit so much better and faster, andearn so much more money, with your bright faces smiling at me. And someday I shall make a picture of you--I have been trying to paint one frommemory--that shall be almost as pretty as your own dear selves. " And sheleaned back against her pillow, singing softly to herself; and while herfingers plied the knitting-needles, her spirit, led by the spirits ofthe meadow flowers, wandered to green fields, and listened to the hum ofthe bees and the song of the birds, and grew lighter and happier everymoment. And Frank, coming in quietly at noon, saw her with closed eyesand clasped hands, and heard her say, "Dear God, a helpless child thanksThee for daisies!"

And the daisies all lived, and increased in numbers until the roomoverflowed with them. On floor and shelves they bloomed in crackedpitchers, broken jars, old fruit cans, everything that Frank could findto fill with them. And Phemie did paint a beautiful picture of them atlast, and through this picture came much good fortune to that garrethome. For Frank, showing it, in his brotherly love and pride, to a kindgentleman whom he served with papers, was surprised to learn that it wasworth more than his sister knitting lace for three long months couldearn. 

And now to end the story. The very prettiest New-Year's card thatappeared to celebrate the birth of 1880 was one on which the New-Year'sgreeting was printed on a ribbon encircling the stems of a bunch ofdaisies. Those daisies are Phemie's daisies. And the young flowerpainter, growing stronger day by day, is the happy mistress of twopleasant rooms and a mite of a studio. 

OLD HANNIBAL. 

BY WILLIAM O. STODDARD. 

"No, mother, " said Colonel Dunway to his wife, at the breakfast table, "I shall ride the black colt on parade to-day. Hannibal is too fat andtoo old. "

"Too old? He and Barry are just of an age. "

"And Barry's only a little colt yet? Well, you may bring him and Prueout to the grand review in the afternoon, but I guess I'll ride theblack this morning. You can put Hannibal in the carry-all. Perhaps he'dlike to take a look again at a regiment of troops in line. "

Barry and Prue listened with all their ears. 

They knew there was to be a grand parade of soldiers that day, and theywere prouder than they knew how to tell of the fact that their fatherwas to wear a uniform, and ride a horse, and give orders to some of themen. 

"Prue, " said Barry, "father's going to 'spect them. "

"_In_-speck them, " whispered Prue, correcting him. "Nobody else knowshow. "

That might be, for Colonel Dunway had been an officer of the regulararmy, and he was now Colonel of a regiment of militia; but there was onething he had said that puzzled Barry and Prue dreadfully. 

"Barry, " said Prue, after breakfast, "is Nibble old?"

"Father says he is. "

"And he said he was fat. "

"Dr. Barnes is old, and he's fat. "

"But his head's bare. "

"Nibble isn't bald, and he isn't gray either. "

"He's brown. "

Mrs. Dunway had told the exact truth about Hannibal, or Nibble, as thechildren called him. He and Barry were just of an age, and he had been amere two-year-old colt when Prue was a baby in her cradle. 

It was after that that Colonel Dunway had taken Hannibal with him to thearmy, and brought him home again. 

He had been a war-horse, the Colonel said, and so it would not do toturn him into a plough-horse, and the consequence was that Nibble didnot have enough work to do, and he grew fat too fast. 

Yet he and Barry were only nine years old apiece. That made eighteenyears between them; and if you added seven years for Prue, it would onlyhave made twenty-five, and everybody knows that is not very old, if youhad given them all to Hannibal. 

Barry and Prue would have given him almost anything they had, for he wasa great friend and crony of theirs. 

"Prue, " said Barry, "let's go out to the barn. I've got an apple. "

"He can have my bun. "

What there was left of it, that meant, for Prue's little white teeth hadbeen at work on that bun. 

That had been a troubled morning for Hannibal. Before he had finishedhis breakfast a party of men rode by the house, and one of them wasplaying on a bugle. He had set Hannibal's mind at work upon army mattersand war; so when Barry and Prue came to see him, he would not evennibble. He smelled of the apple, and he looked at the bun, but that wasall. 

"He's getting old, " said Barry. 

"And fat, " added Prue. 

"Tell you what, Prue, let's take him out into the lot. I know mother'dlet us. "

That was likely, for Mrs. Dunway always felt safer about them if Nibblewere keeping them company. 

"I'll get on his back. "

"And I'll lead him. Wait till I fix the halter. "

Prue climbed up on the side of the stall where Nibble was, and he stoodperfectly still while she clambered over to her place on his back. 

Barry knew exactly what to do, and the old war-horse began to think hedid himself. He must have been thinking, for he half closed one eye ashe was walking out, and opened the other very wide, with a wonderfullyknowing look. 

He was looking down the lane, and he saw that the front gate was open, and just at that moment there came up the road, very faint and sweet, the music of the cavalry bugle. 

"Nibble! Nibble!" exclaimed Barry, "where are you going?"

Hannibal did not answer a word, but walked on down the lane very fastindeed, and Barry lost hold of the halter. 

As for Prue, she was not scared a particle, for she had ridden in thatway many a time, and her confidence in herself and old Nibble wasunbounded. 

"Cluck, cluck, cluck--get-ap. "

"Stop, Prue, stop. He's going faster. "

"Get-ap! Come, Barry. Oh, there's mother at the window!"

[Illustration: THE "THREE CHILDREN. "--DRAWN BY KELLY. ]

Mrs. Dunway was not frightened any more than Prue, for she said toherself, "Too old, indeed! Well, they're more like three children, whenthey're together, than anything else. I'm glad he is fat. He won't gotoo fast for Prue. "

He was in the road now, and he seemed disposed to keep Barry from againgetting hold of that halter. 

"Oh dear, " said Barry, "the parade-ground's down there. "

Hannibal knew that, by the music, and he was almost trotting now. 

In fact, he was looking younger and younger, somehow, every minute, andBarry felt more and more as if he ought to have hold of the halter, instead of merely running along-side and shouting to Prue. 

The regiment was drawn up on the great bare field where the review wasto be that afternoon, and they looked splendidly. 

Colonel Dunway was saying so, as he sat in front of them, on hishandsome black colt, and a number of other officers who were riding withhim said the same, and so did the ladies who were keeping them company. 

Just then the bugle sounded again, from the head of the column, and Pruehad to hold on hard, for Hannibal suddenly began to canter, and heanswered the music with a loud, clear whinny of delight. 

Barry was half out of breath with running, but he kept up with the othertwo, and in a moment more Hannibal halted, proudly arching his neck, andtreading daintily upon the grass, right in front of the regiment. 

"I declare, " exclaimed Colonel Dunway, "the old fellow has come toreview the troops. "

"So has Prue, " said one of the officers. 

Barry hardly knew whether to laugh or to cry, but the soldiers suddenlybroke out in a grand "hurrah. "

They were cheering Prue and her war-horse, and Colonel Dunway himselfwas compelled to let the "three children" stay and keep the placeHannibal chose for them at the head of the regiment. 

There was plenty of apples for Nibble that day. 

SEA-BREEZES. 

LETTER No. 2 FROM BESSIE MAYNARD TO HER DOLL. 

 OLD ORCHARD BEACH, _July, 1880_. 

The days must seem very long and lonely to you, my sweet Clytemnestra, and I will send you another letter, to "cheer you up a bit, " as nursieused to say when she gave me a lump of sugar, after pulling my curls'most out of my head, trying to get out the tangles. 

How are you getting along all this time? and what do you find to amuseyourself with? Do you sit still in your own corner of the baby-house dayafter day, or does some kind fairy come in once in a while and wind youup, so that you can run round the room and get a little exercise? Wewill have lots of walks and talks when I get home, my Clytie. I heardmamma telling Cousin Frank last night that we should proberly go nextmonth. If I did not know that you were at home expecting and wanting me, it would be awfully hard to think of leaving this place; for life by thesad sea waves is truly (as I heard a lady say yesterday) "fassernatingand terancing. "

There are so many people here it seems like a party all the time. Thereare not many children, though--at least not at _our_ hotel; only Fanny, Dora, and me for girls; Randolph Peyton, Jack Hunter, Charley Phillips, and Hal Davis for boys; Snip and Moppet for dogs; and the cunningest weelittle mite of a pussykin, named Whitetoes, for cats. Not that cats anddogs are exactly _children_, either, but they are just as good, andsometimes better. I'm sure I would rather play any time with Snip andWhitetoes than with that horrid Randolph. He is the very unpolitest boyI ever knew. Let me tell you something he did yesterday, and then Iguess you will agree with me. We seven children and the dogs had planneda beautiful picnic down on "the island, " as we call it. 

You know the geography says (or you _would_ know if you had ever been toschool, poor child!) that "an island is a portion of land entirelysurrounded by water. " Well, _this_ "portion of land" runs out ever sofar into the sea, and has a pretty grove on it; and at high tide thewater covers the little strip of land where it really joins the beach, so that for a little while it _is_ an island, but the rest of the timeit is a _peninsula_. That is a big word, and you don't know a bit whatit means, and I can't tell you now; you shall learn about it when webegin our lessons. 

But, oh dear, I was going to tell you about the picnic, and RandolphPeyton, the great disagreeable boy. Somehow or other, when I begin towrite to you, there are so many things to essplain that I never seem to"come to the point, " as papa says. 

We had planned to start at eight o'clock, but what with Moppet's runningaway, and Snip's taking a nap behind a hay-cock down in the orchard, where we only found him by accident at the very last minute, we werenot fairly on our way till almost nine. The boys carried the lunchbaskets, Fan wheeled her baby carriage, with poor invalid Jane lyingback on the pillows, looking too forlorn for anything, but really Fanseems to love her even more than she loved Lucille; and I do think, considering what Jane has been through, that she is the very best childin the world. 

Sometimes when I look at her woe-begone face, and her poor little headwithout a single hair on it (she wears a lace cap, but we can see the_bald_ right through), and remember her cheeks as they used to be, andher lovely golden curls, and then think how gentle and kind she is, never complaining, nor speaking a single cross word, I can't helpsaying' right out to her, "You poor little dear thing. Solomon was rightwhen he said 'Handsome is, that handsome does. '" Well, Fan wheeled heralong, and I carried Moppet curled up in my arms like a white puff-ball, while Dora ran races all along the beach with Snip. 

I forgot to tell you that Randolph had been behaving badly all the way, teasing us girls, pinching the dogs, and making fun of Jane; but theterrible thing of all did not happen till we were crossing over to theisland. We always lay a board across from a rock on the beach side to arock on the island side, and over that we girls walk, though the boysgenerally wade right through the water. 

[Illustration: HOW WE LOOKED JUST BEFORE _IT_ HAPPENED. ]

Fan and Jane went first on the board, then Dora and Snip, and lastMoppet and me. 

Now listen, my Clytie, though, without having seen it, you never canquite know how perfectly terrible it was. Just as Dora and Snip were inthe very middle of the board, and _all_ of us were _on_ it, Randolph, who was standing in the water, gave a most unearthly screech, and atthat very minute-- But, mercy me! there's the tea-bell, and you _must_excuse me, my lamb, for leaving you right here, for how can I help itwhen I smell _waffles_?--waffles, and muffins too, I think. 

 In greatest haste, Your own mamma, BESSIE. 

P. S. --It _was_ waffles I smelled, and I thought of you, dear Clytie, asI ate them. Now I shall have to leave my story of Randolph at its verysmilax (or climax, which is it?), and finish it in my next letter, for Ihave written so much my fingers are all cramped up; so good-night. 

THE PITIFUL HARE. 

FROM THE JAPANESE, BY W. E. GRIFFIS. 

Hares are always treated kindly by the Chinese and Japanese people, whomake household pets of them. The Chinese believe that the hare lives tobe a thousand years old, and that at the end of five centuries its hairbecomes white. Instead of seeing a man in the moon, they imagine theysee a hare standing on its hind-legs, and pounding drugs in a mortar. There are great creatures like gigantic men, called genii, who live inthe moon, and make "the elixir of life, " a draught of which confers verylong life. The hare is their steward, and spends his time in poundingthe precious roots and bark of the "tree of the king of drugs, " fromwhich the elixir is made. In the Japanese fairy tales, whoever smells, touches, or tastes of this tree is immediately healed of all disease. 

The country folks in Japan believe a great deal more in the influence ofthe moon on crops, and good luck, and the weather, than our farmers do, and some of the Japanese almanacs are very funny to read. It is forthese reasons that the people do not injure the hare, for fear ofhindering the good influence of the moon. 

[Illustration]

The hare is considered above all others the faithful animal, and in thestory which the picture tells he is comforting his master. 

It would seem very queer to you, my readers, to see tame hares runningabout the house instead of your pet dogs and cats? But this is what thelittle Japanese see. 

[Illustration: OUR POST-OFFICE BOX. ]

 MEREDITH, NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

 I thought some of the readers of YOUNG PEOPLE would like to hear about a young robin my papa found under a cherry-tree near the house. He thought I could raise him, and take him back to New York for a pet. But after I had kept him two days in my room, he would chirp so mournfully when he heard the other birds singing merrily outside that it made me feel so sorry, I took him and put him on a branch of the tree. Oh, I wish you could have seen him flap his wings with delight. Then the old birds came, so glad to greet him. And how glad I was then that I had given him his freedom!

 ALBERTO A. DAL M. 

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 MEADVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA. 

 I am a subscriber to YOUNG PEOPLE, and am much pleased with it. It is the only pet I have. 

 I live near the Alleghany College, and I like to see the students drilling. On Commencement afternoon they had a regular sham battle. The military is composed of four companies, all under the command of Major H----. The Major ordered out two companies for the sham battle. One company he sent around the base of a hill, and up through a ravine. The other company turned the cannon round, and made the attacking party surrender as they came out in sight. 

 WILLIE V. 

 * * * * *

 ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI. 

 I caught some turtles, which I keep in a tub. I feed them on meat, bread, and carrots. Last summer I hatched out two land turtles. Now I have fifteen turtles' eggs, and I think they will hatch. We found a land turtle that had July 3, 1776, carved on its back. I hope "The Moral Pirates" will catch some turtles. I am nine years old. 

 C. G. R. 

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 WELLSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA. 

 I was up in the woods a few days ago, and I saw a woodchuck go in a hole. Having heard that they had a great deal of curiosity, I hid behind a heap of dirt real close to the hole, and in a minute out the woodchuck came to get a better look at me. Just then Dick, a little dog, came scampering up, ran by the hole, turned round, and crept softly back and stopped, watching, with eyes and ears on the alert. But I made a noise, so the woodchuck did not come out again. 

 Once Dick was watching on the top of a steep bank, and a great big woodchuck stuck its head out of a hole. Dick grabbed it, and together they rolled to the bottom of the bank, where, if somebody had not killed the woodchuck, Dick would have had the worst of the fight, as he was the smallest. 

 Are ground-squirrels, chipmunks, and gophers the same kind of animals?

 I have a barrel sunk in the ground, with cold water running in and out, and about two hundred minnows in it. Please tell me something good to feed them on. 

 SAMUEL J. 

The ground-squirrel and chipmunk are the same animal, but the gopher, orCanada pouched rat, belongs to a different family. --Feed your minnows bythrowing bread-crumbs, and flies, and other small insects on the surfaceof the water. 

 * * * * *

 CHIMACUM VALLEY, WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 

 I live on a farm. I take YOUNG PEOPLE, and I think it is a very nice little paper. 

 I have had the rheumatism since Christmas so bad that I could not walk nor turn myself in bed. Do you know what will get me well? I am thirteen years old. 

 A lady gave me eight ducks' eggs. I set them under a hen, and now I have five little ducks. The old hen looks so frightened when her little ones go swimming in a pan of water! I suppose she thinks they are strange chickens. I have a dog named Prince. He knows so much he comes very near talking. Whenever I go away and come back, he will pick up a stick in his mouth and run toward me. I have a hen with nine little chicks. Whenever they get hungry, the mamma hen will come to the door of the house and cluck. My father milks twenty-eight cows. They give a bucket of milk apiece. 

 ARTHUR S. R. 

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 YOSEMITE VALLEY, CALIFORNIA. 

 I live in Philadelphia, but it is so hot there in the summer that we decided to spend a few weeks in this beautiful Californian valley, camping out. 

 We travelled from Merced to this place in our own wagons, pitching our tents every night. I like camp life very much, sleeping in tents and eating in the open air. Sometimes we build a camp fire in the evening, and all sit around it, telling stories and singing. It is very warm in the daytime here, and cold at night; and there is such a strong wind almost all the time that if you go too near the water-falls the spray is blown over you like rain. We make excursions every day to mountains and water-falls near by. 

 On the way here we saw a tree so large that it took fourteen of us to get our arms round it. 

 If any of the readers of YOUNG PEOPLE ever get a chance to go camping, I advise them to do it, for I think it is a great deal of fun. 

 I like to read YOUNG PEOPLE very much, and I am so glad I take it. I am twelve years old. 

 ALICE W. S. 

 * * * * *

 GLENORA, MISSISSIPPI. 

 My grandma gives YOUNG PEOPLE to my brother and myself, and we like it very much. I have no pets to write about, for my little pet deer, named Nettie, died. We live in the country, on the banks of a beautiful lake, and have a nice time fishing and taking skiff rides. I wish you could see the lovely magnolia-trees in my grandma's yard; and she has so many pretty roses too. 

 LOUISE B. 

 * * * * *

 BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. 

 My papa is in Europe this summer, and he writes me very funny letters. His last one was from Paris, and he told me what people did when they wanted to take a bath in their room at the hotel. You touch an electric bell, and the man in the office telegraphs to a station, and a cart carrying a round boiler with hot and cold water, and drawn by a horse, comes dashing up to the hotel just like a fire engine; a man rushes up to your room with a tub and towels, and before you know it you are taking a nice warm bath. Papa said one day, just for fun, he rang for two baths at the same time, and it was very comical to see the two Frenchmen fight to see which bath should be used first. Papa makes little sketches all through his letters, so I know just how things look. I guess we shall all go to Europe another year, and then I will write you a letter from London or Paris. 

 PAUL S. 

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 DANSVILLE, NEW YORK. 

 I am four and a half years old, and I can not read or write, but mamma is writing this for me. Papa has taken HARPER'S WEEKLY since 1865, and binds it himself, and now he takes YOUNG PEOPLE for me, and is going to bind that too. I love to look at the pictures and hear mamma read the stories in my paper as soon as it is sewed and cut. 

 I have many nice toys and playthings, and two pet kittens; their names are Dick and Spot. 

 Papa plays on the violin, and mamma plays the organ, and I play on my triangle with them. I have a little violin, too, that grandpa gave me, but I don't play on it much when papa and mamma play. I can sing a great many pieces. I like music. 

 We live in a pleasant farm-house south of Dansville. I do lots of chores for papa and mamma, and I ride our horse to water nearly every day. We have plenty of nice fruit and flowers. 

 I think the Post-office Box is nice. 

 CLYDE H. 

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 HASTINGS, MINNESOTA. 

 I take YOUNG PEOPLE, and I like it so much. I always read the letters the very first thing when I get my paper. Almost all the boys and girls write about their pets. I have no pets except my dolls. I have eight dolls. The largest is wax, and I call her Bessie. 

 As I was trying to paint, the other day, I saw a large ant run along. I touched it with my brush, and then it was a green ant instead of a black one. 

 I tried the recipe for cup-cake that Bessie L. S. Sent, and it was just splendid. 

 I think the story of "The Moral Pirates" is very nice. When I get a whole volume of YOUNG PEOPLE, I am going to have it bound. I am ten years old. 

 MABEL I. 

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 JENKINTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA. 

 Our school closed on the last day of June, and the 1st of July we had a picnic, and we all enjoyed ourselves very much. 

 I like YOUNG PEOPLE, especially the Post-office Box. The story of "The Moral Pirates" is splendid, and I hope it will be a good long one. 

 I have no tame pets, but there are some chipping sparrows around our house. One pair built a nest in the honeysuckles by the kitchen door, and another pair built in the grape arbor. 

 Here is a recipe for cake for the Cooking Club: One and a half cups of sugar; one egg; two table-spoonfuls of butter; three cups of sifted flour; one cup of sweet milk; two tea-spoonfuls of cream of tartar; one of soda; a little essence of either lemon or almond--I like almond best. This will make a good big cake. 

 ELLA B. R. 

 * * * * *

 I found fifty-five new flowers in June. Among them was the _Ceanothus americanus_, or New Jersey tea, the leaves of which, mamma read to me, were used for tea during the American Revolution. It is a pretty shrub with white flowers. 

 I have two pet kittens, named Puck and Blossom. 

 I would like to send Carrie Harding some pressed arbutus, but it has done blooming for this year. I would be glad to exchange other kinds of pressed flowers with her, if she would like to do so. 

 HARRY H. MOORE, Windsor, Connecticut. 

 * * * * *

 ANACOSTIA, D. C. 

 On the 10th of July I was nine years old. Although it is vacation now, I practice writing in my copy-book, for it is very important to be a good writer. 

 I have a butterfly net, and have caught some very pretty specimens. If Walter H. P. Would use benzine to kill his butterflies, he would find it quite as good as cyanide of potassium, which is so poisonous. Benzine can be bought by the quart at the paint shops at a low price, and one or two drops on the head of a butterfly will kill it at once. 

 I have a bantam rooster so tame that he will allow me to pick him up and carry him in my arms. I have a kitchen-garden, too. In it there are potatoes, corn, tomatoes, water-melons, a pea-nut vine, and two fine tobacco plants. One of my tomato vines has fruit on it. There are no weeds in my garden. 

 I think HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE is the best paper published for children. 

 WILLIE C. S. 

 * * * * *

 HARSHMANVILLE, OHIO. 

 Papa takes HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE for my brother. Mamma made him a pie from Helen's recipe. It was very nice. Mamma says some little girls are born cooks. 

 When my brother reads the fairy stories in YOUNG PEOPLE, he says he would like to wade the Atlantic Ocean, and put a few whales in his pocket for his minnow tank. Now he wants to go fishing in a boat. He is almost ten, and I am seven. 

 Mamma says, Tell Puss Hunter to set her bread to rise in a deep vessel, as the less surface exposed, the better it is, as the gas is kept confined in the dough. A flannel cloth to cover it with is best, for the same reason. Mamma says she is a friend to all little bakers. 

 MYRTIE BELLE E. 

 * * * * *

 I would like to exchange dried grasses, Southern moss, birds' eggs and nests, for sea-shells, with any reader of YOUNG PEOPLE. 

 HORACE L. BARLOW, Refugio, Refugio County, Texas. 

 * * * * *

 I would be glad to exchange birds' eggs with any correspondent of YOUNG PEOPLE. 

 S. E. STRONG, 1394 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio. 

 * * * * *

 I am eleven years old. I have a pony, some rabbits, guinea-pigs, and ferrets. Not long ago my pony went into the bantam-house, and ate up a whole boxful of oats which was standing there. Then he pulled down a bag of oats, and scattered them all over the floor. I have two canaries which have set twice this spring, but have not raised a bird. 

 I would like to exchange pressed flowers with some little girl in California. 

 WINNIE WALDRON, Care of Mr. E. H. Waldron, Lafayette, Indiana. 

 * * * * *

Will Harry Starr Kealhofer, of Memphis, Tennessee, please send his fulladdress, and a list of stamps he wishes to exchange, to M. C. Stryker, corner of Argyle Avenue and Biddle Street, Baltimore, Maryland?

 * * * * *

 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. 

 Will you please tell me the origin of the name of strawberries? I take YOUNG PEOPLE, and like it very much, and my little cousins in Louisiana take it too. I am eight years old. 

 WINNIE S. G. 

The word strawberry is from the Anglo-Saxon, and was formerly written_streawberie_. The reason for applying the name to the delicious littlefruit is undecided. Some authorities hold that it should be writtenstrayberry, and that it refers to the creeping or straying habit of thevines. 

 * * * * *

C. L. B. --Alwur, sometimes written Alwar or Alvar, is a town of India, eighty-five miles southwest of Delhi. 

 * * * * *

 BONANZA, IDAHO. 

 I have heard that there are a great many towns in the United States named Vicksburg. Can you tell me how many?

 My sister tried Helen's recipe for lemon pie, in YOUNG PEOPLE No. 32, and it was very nice. 

 F. M. G. 

There are five towns and cities named Vicksburg, one in each of thefollowing States: Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Mississippi. 

 * * * * *

WILLIE M. --Directions for making an ordinary kite were given inPost-office Box No. 19. "Sim Vedder's Kite, " in YOUNG PEOPLE No. 25, also contained some valuable suggestions. 

 * * * * *

WAVE. --Common sunfish can not injure the gold-fish and other inhabitantsof your aquarium. 

 * * * * *

 OTTAWA, CANADA. 

 I am nine years old, and I have two sisters and one brother, Ruth, Alonzo, and baby Vera. 

 There was a boy who wrote to YOUNG PEOPLE and said he was very fond of history. So am I. I have read _Peter Parley's History of the United States_ five times, and now I am reading Charles Dickens's _Child's History of England_. I don't know what to read next. I wish you would tell me the names of some child's histories, for I do not understand very well those written for older people. 

 PERCY R. 

All of Abbott's Illustrated Histories would interest you. Then there aresome good histories for young readers by Miss Yonge; and child'shistories of the United States, of Greece, and of Rome, by Bonner; aninteresting child's history of the United States, by T. W. Higginson;and many other books referring to special periods, like Mr. Coffin's_Story of Liberty_ and _Boys of '76_, where you will find much valuableinformation. The works by Abbott, Bonner, and Coffin are published byHarper & Brothers. 

 * * * * *

ELLA W. --The date of the invention of gun-powder is unknown. Traditionsays that it was used in China as early as A. D. 85, for fire-works andblasting, and that the Arabs employed it at the siege of Mecca in 690. Roger Bacon is supposed to allude to its explosive force, and it is saidthat Berthold Schwartz, a monk, about 1336, discovered the mode ofmanufacturing it. It is also said that the knowledge of it was conveyedto Europe by the returning Crusaders. 

Tempt your parrot with English walnuts, bits of apple and pear, andcanary and hemp seed, and also give it a red pepper to pick to pieces. Let it out of its cage to climb about an hour or more every morning. Aparrot can not be healthy without some exercise. 

 * * * * *

GEORGE F. --Directions for "Model Yacht Building" were given in YOUNGPEOPLE No. 23. 

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F. H. L. --Any hardware merchant will send to New York city for acatalogue of toy steam-engines for you, which will give you fullinformation in regard to styles, prices, and how and where the engineyou require can be obtained. 

 * * * * *

FRED H. H. --You can purchase turtles at any store where gold-fish andmaterials for an aquarium are sold. They will cost you very little--tenor fifteen cents apiece, perhaps, for small ones. If you are going tothe country, you can catch plenty of them yourself. By reading formernumbers of Our Post-office Box you will find many directions for thecare of turtles. A water turtle needs clean water, and also stones toclimb up on. 

 * * * * *

Flavors are acknowledged from Anna Stuart, John Parr, Lulu A. Sacchi, Helen E. H. , Ed. Walshe, Edith Haigh, Blanche C. , H. Krause, FannieL. D. , Eddie A. Leet. 

 * * * * *

Correct answers to puzzles are received from Joseph Roome, Philip E. Ide, William I. Coleman, Harry Louis, May L. Davis, R. H. King, W. Fowler, J. H. Shaw, Otis L. How, John W. , Harry E. Furber, George W. Raymond, W. Callaghan, Leon Munroe, Beryl Abbott, Willie Miner, EddieWheeler, H. M. P. , Helen W. Dean, Howard Rathbone, Daisy Violet, PaulSterling, F. And B. Haigh, M. C. Stryker, Winnie Waldron, GeorgeFrancis, Carrie and Cora, Wilfred H. Warner, Lucie Ruprecht, H. H. Gottleben, Lillian Clark, Minnie Lewis, Eddie S. Hequembourg, G. Volckhausen, Alfred Jaquith, A. H. Ellard, Nannie S. S. , Hallie S. Morgan, Jessie and Gertie Evans. 

 * * * * *

PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS. 

No. 1. 

NUMERICAL CHARADE. 

 I am composed of 16 letters. My 11, 8, 15, 5 is used in winter. My 7, 12, 9, 2, 8 is found on the sea-shore. My 1, 3, 14, 6, 10 is a flock of birds. My 2, 3, 5, 15 is a vein of metal. My 1, 16, 13, 4, 5 is floating vapor. My whole was a noted British admiral. 

 "TOUT OU RIEN. "

 * * * * *

No. 2. 

WORD SQUARE. 

First, a division of time. Second, a girl's name. Third, disagreeable. Fourth, beams of light. 

 M. E. N. 

 * * * * *

No. 3. 

HIDDEN CITIES AND COUNTRIES. 

1. I know the girls have nice new gloves. 2. Yes, I am going to startfor Europe to-morrow. 3. The hero met his comrades. 4. At the sale manypeople were present. 5. The ox for David was brought home yesterday. 6. When you go to Ceylon, do not neglect to write often to mother. 7. Nearthe foxes' den marks of feet were seen. 8. When Johnny whispers, Ialways tell him to speak louder. 9. Being unjustly accused by ourteachers, we deny having disobeyed the rules. 10. There were so manypeople, I thought the procession would never pass. 

 S. B. 

 * * * * *

No. 4. 

ENIGMA. 

 My first is in float, but not in sink. My second is in write, but not in ink. My third is in barn, but not in store. My fourth is in nickel, but not in ore. My fifth is in garden, but not in walk. My sixth is in stem, but not in stalk. My whole is a delicious fruit. 

 W. H. L. 

 * * * * *

No. 5. 

DIAMOND PUZZLE. 

In soprano. A mineral. A musical instrument. A verb. In soprano. 

 WILLIE. 

 * * * * *

No. 6. 

DOUBLE ACROSTIC. 

A period of time. A measurement. An animal. A river in the UnitedStates. To signify. Answer--Two of the United States. 

 JUPITER. 

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ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN NO. 36. 

No. 1. 

 1. Black, bl_o_ck, b_r_ock, br_i_ck, _t_rick, tric_e_, tri_t_e, _w_rite, w_h_ite. 2. Rose, r_i_se, ri_l_e, _w_ile, wil_y_, _l_ily. 3. Beef, _r_eef, ree_l_, re_a_l, _v_eal. 4. Lamb, lam_e_, la_n_e, lan_d_, _b_and, b_o_nd, bo_l_d, _w_old, wol_f_. 5. Sick, si_l_k, sil_l_, _w_ill, w_e_ll. 6. Moon, _b_oon, boo_r_, bo_a_r, _s_oar, s_t_ar. 7. Town, to_r_n, _m_orn, mor_e_, mo_t_e, m_i_te, _c_ite, cit_y_. 8. Hawk, ha_r_k, _b_ark, bar_d_, b_i_rd. 9. Sew, se_t_, s_i_t, si_p_, _r_ip. 10. Page, _r_age, ra_c_e, rac_k_, r_o_ck, ro_o_k, _b_ook. 

No. 2. 

Alabama. 

No. 3. 

 M S E T M E L O N T O P N

No. 4. 

A rolling stone gathers no moss. 

No. 5. 

 P E A L E N V Y A V E R L Y R E

No. 6. 

Pudding. 

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SOLUTION TO MONDDIA PUZZLE. 

[Illustration: Fig. 1. ]

[Illustration: Fig. 2. ]

With a pair of scissors cut the straight line from A to B in Fig. 1. Then join the two pieces as in Fig. 2, and you have a Diamond. 

FIRE-EATING. 

BY F. BELLEW. 

You have read accounts, no doubt, if you have not seen the actualperformance, of men who do wonderful things in the way of swallowingfire. Some of these feats may be executed by amateurs, with very goodeffect, in parlor entertainments. 

I will first describe the feat of swallowing fire. This is very simple. Take a small piece of jeweller's cotton about the size of a walnut, andpour on it a little alcohol; a few drops will do. Then, standing withyour face to the audience, you light this with a match. You then take along breath, and open your mouth wide, holding your breath, mind, allthe time; then you put the blazing cotton into your mouth, but just asit passes your lips you blow all the air sharply from your lungs (thisextinguishes the fire in the cotton); shut your mouth quickly on thecotton, and press it boldly to the roof of your mouth with your tongue. You then slip the wad of cotton into your cheek, and swallow a draughtof water from a tumbler you have ready on the table. As you wipe yourmouth with your handkerchief after drinking the water, you remove thebit of cotton, and then you can allow any one of the audience to examineyour mouth in order to satisfy himself that you really swallowed thefire. 

In these fire-eating tricks, if you wash your mouth out with alum andwater, all the better. 

The other feat of fire-eating is a very old one, and has been oftenpublished, but I have seen so very many people astonished by it that Iventure to give it again for the new generation. 

THE CANDLE TRICK. 

[Illustration: Fig. 1. ]

[Illustration: Fig. 2. ]

Procure a good, large apple or turnip, and cut from it a piece of theshape of Fig. 1, to resemble the butt-end of a tallow candle; then froma nut of some kind--an almond is the best--whittle out a small peg ofabout the size and shape of Fig. 2. Stick the peg in the apple as inFig. 3, and you have a very fair representation of a candle. The wickyou can light, and it will burn for at least a minute. In performing youshould have your candle in a clean candlestick, show it plainly to theaudience, and then put it into your mouth, taking care to blow it out inthe same way as you would the cotton, and munch it up. If you thinkbest, you can blow the candle out and allow the wick to cool, and itwill look, with its burned wick, so natural that even the sharpest eyescan not distinguish it from the genuine article. 

[Illustration: Fig. 3. ]

Once, at a summer resort in Massachusetts, I made use of this candlewith considerable effect. While performing a few parlor tricks to amusesome friends, I pretended to need a light. A confederate left the room, and soon returned with a lantern containing one of these applecounterfeits. 

"Do you call that a candle?" I said. 

"Certainly, " he replied. 

"Why, there is scarcely a mouthful. "

"A mouthful? Rather a disagreeable mouthful, I guess. "

"You have never been in Russia, I presume?"

"Never. "

"Then you don't know what is good. "

"Good?"

"Yes, good. Why, candle ends, with the wick a little burned, to givethem a flavor, are delicious. They always serve them up before dinner inRussia as a kind of relish. It is considered bad taste in good societythere to ask a friend to sit down to dinner without offering him thisappetizer. "

"The bad taste would be in the relish, I think. "

"Not at all. Try a bit. "

I took the candle out of the lantern, and extended it toward myconfederate, who shrank back with disgust. 

"Well, " I said, "if you won't have it, I'll eat it myself. " And sosaying, I put it into my mouth and munched it up, amid the cries ofsurprise and horror of the assembled party. Two old maids insisted onlooking into my mouth to see whether it was not concealed there. 

A RIDDLE IN RHYME. 

On one occasion, while at a dinner party, Dr. O. W. Holmes composed thefollowing riddle:

 "My initials show my date to be The morning of the Christian year; Though fatherless, as all agree, I am a father, it is clear: A mother too, beyond dispute; And when my son comes, He's a fruit. Now, not to puzzle you too much, 'Twas I gave Holland to the Dutch. "

[Illustration: A WARM DAY IN THE COUNTRY--SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF VILLAGESCHOOL-MISTRESS, AND EQUALLY SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE OF SCHOLARS. ]