Produced by Annie R. McGuire








[Illustration: HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE

AN ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY.]

       *       *       *       *       *

VOL. II.--NO. 53. PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK. PRICE FOUR
CENTS.

Tuesday, November 2, 1880. Copyright, 1880, by HARPER & BROTHERS. $1.50
per Year, in Advance.

       *       *       *       *       *

[Illustration]




BITS OF ADVICE.

BY AUNT MARJORIE PRECEPT.


When you receive an invitation from a friend to make a visit at a
specified time, it is polite to answer it as promptly as possible, and
to say distinctly whether or not you can accept the offered pleasure.
Your friend may have others whom it is desirable to ask after you have
been entertained. Be sure you state by what boat or train you will go,
and your hour of leaving home, so that there will be no uncertainty
about meeting you. When nothing is mentioned as to the duration of your
visit, it is usual to assume that a week will be its sufficient period.
Do not stay longer than that time, unless you are urged to do so. The
most agreeable guest is the one who is regretted when he or she goes
away. Always anticipate a good time, and be prepared to contribute your
share to it. Be pleased with what is done for you, and express your
pleasure. Do not be obtrusive in offering help to your host, but if an
opportunity arises for you to give assistance, do not be afraid to
embrace it. There are little helpful things which come in our way at
home and abroad if we have eyes to see them. Charlie, dear boy, was at
Tom's house not long ago, and happening to glance from the window, he
noticed Tom's mother struggling to open the gate with her hands full of
parcels. He ran out at once, and relieved her of some of her bundles,
held the gate open as she passed in, and closed it behind her. Helen,
who is her mother's right hand when at home, is in request in her
friends' houses, for somehow she scatters sunshine wherever she goes,
she is so bright, so animated and cheery. She plays beautifully, and she
never has to be coaxed to sit down at the piano, but does it willingly,
and plays for dancing--a thing which most girls regard as tiresome--with
spirit and good-nature whenever there is need of her skill.

When visiting we ought to conform to the family ways. It is ill-bred to
give trouble or cause annoyance. Harry's father and mother dislike
extremely to have people late for meals. When the Lesters were staying
there they seldom heard the breakfast bell, and never came home from an
outing until dinner was almost finished. Harry said he could not help
it, but reproof nevertheless came upon him. Boys should not go tearing
wildly through a friend's house, nor, for that matter, through their
own. Grown-up ladies and gentlemen have nerves which should be
considered. Of course well-behaved young people will put away their
outside wraps when in a strange house, and not leave overshoes in full
sight in the passage, nor shawls, cloaks, hats, and gloves lying loosely
around the parlors. Young girls should be careful in their use of the
pretty things that adorn their chambers. Do not rumple that dainty lace
pillow-sham, nor strew your clothing over every chair and sofa, to the
irritation of the mistress. Do not follow your friend and host
everywhere, but at the busy times of the day amuse yourselves with books
or work, and remember to thank them, on leaving, for what they have done
for you.




INDIAN TALES.

TWO METHODS OF OBTAINING HORSES.


Of all the long list of officers who served the East India Company there
were few men whose careers were more remarkable than that of General
John Jacob.

Others have raised regiments, conquered provinces, and afterward
administered justice therein; but John Jacob was the first man who
created a nourishing town in a desert wilderness, and formed first one
and then three splendid regiments out of the most sanguinary and lawless
cut-throats on the face of the earth. In the athletic exercises so dear
to the Beloochees he excelled them all. Among a people who may be said
to be almost born on horseback, there was no rider like the commandant
of the Sind Horse.

His men were taken from all the most warlike races of Northwestern
India. The Beloochee, the Pathan, the Mooltanee, and the semi-savage
tribesmen of the hills, had alike to learn obedience when they came
under his command, and his efforts to make them soldiers in the highest
sense of the word never relaxed.

In the year 1854 the country was full of complaints of horse-stealing on
a scale that had not been heard of for many years. No steed of value was
safe, and the thief or thieves must have been tolerably good judges of
horse-flesh, as none but the finest were taken, and these of course
belonged principally to the wealthiest inhabitants. One strange thing
was that the horses were stolen in such an extraordinary manner as to
leave no foot-marks behind them. Not one of the animals could be traced
as ever having been offered for sale in the country. Stables are rare in
Upper Sind, and it is customary to secure a horse by picketing him with
head and heel ropes, the syce, or groom, usually sleeping in the open
air with the animal. The curious part of the matter was that each and
every syce who had had a horse stolen from under his care told exactly
the same story--that it had been taken away by Sheitan himself in
person, after they, the syces, had been put to sleep by his diabolical
arts.

To be sure, they described his personal appearance in many ways,
according to the impression severally produced upon their excited
imaginations, but in the main facts they were all agreed. They had been
sleeping or watching, as the case might be, beside their horses, when a
hideous figure suddenly and silently appeared to them, waved his right
hand, muffled in a white cloth, in their faces; they lost their senses,
and when they recovered, the horses were gone. In no case had the demon
injured the men. Where more than one horse was picketed the fiend never
appeared, which was considered to be the reason that the splendid
chargers of the Sind Horse were not touched.

Superstition is very prevalent in Sind, as indeed it is throughout the
East, and had any native skeptic ventured to hint that alert sentries, a
vigilant patrol, and a stable guard with loaded carbines had anything to
do with this immunity, he would, indeed, have been looked upon as a
scoffer.

As to the British officers, of course, although heroes, they were
infidels, and, however they might laugh at the idea of Satan roaming
about the earth to deprive the sons of men of their horses, they could
have no power to check the public opinion of the bazars.

There was, however, an old Ressaldar, or native captain of the Sind
Horse, who was very much inclined to take the Feringhee view of the
matter. Ressaldar Nubbee Bux was a veteran who had served in his corps
almost from its foundation, and in his younger days had fought against
the flag under which he had since served so long. He, with many other
brave Beloochees, had been opposed to Sir Charles Napier at Meeanee, and
had a vivid recollection of the time when the inhabitants of Sind
actually believed that distinguished though eccentric General to be the
fiend in human form. Since then Nubbee Bux had acquired rank, honor, and
a good deal of worldly wisdom. He was naturally a shrewd, hard-headed
man, and contact with intelligent Europeans had, if not entirely
eradicated native superstitions from his mind, at least rendered him
very dubious of any stories having for their basis supernatural agency.
He had heard of genii, jinns, divs, afrites, and other evil spirits, but
he had never seen one; he had never known them in his own time to
interfere in worldly matters, nor had he heard, even in ancient story,
that they were in the habit of laying felonious hands on live stock, or
earthly property of any description. That the Prince of Darkness himself
should be so hard up for horses as to go about stealing them appeared
to him incomprehensible. It struck him as a mystery he should like to
unravel; and as he feared nothing nor nobody on the face of the earth,
nor below it, save his commanding officer, he determined to try.
Ascertaining the whereabouts of the last wonderful robbery, he obtained
a fortnight's leave of absence, and repaired to the village, well armed,
and mounted on a magnificent thorough-bred Arab horse. He did not enter
it nor put up at the serai, but had a tent some little distance outside.
There he was soon visited by the head men of the place, who lost no time
in paying their respects, for a native officer of the Sind Horse is a
great man in the country around Jacobabad.

After salutations the local magnates were full of the unaccountable
robberies, and earnest in their warnings to the Ressaldar to take care
of his noble steed. Had he not better come into the village? The Kotwal
had a stable with lock and key at his service, and would put a watchman
over the door all night. Nubbee Bux civilly but firmly declined these
favors. He said that if it was fated Sheitan should have his horse,
neither lock, key, nor watchman could prevent it; he should stay where
he was, and his syce should sleep with the animal as usual. His visitors
departed, and the native officer, after a stroll about, took his supper
outside the tent, smoked his hookah, and when it was dark dismissed his
servants, and went to bed--or seemed to do so.

When the distant hum of the village was entirely hushed, and no sound
but the usual howling of the jackals met his ear, he rose, pulled aside
the canvas opening of the tent, and made a curious sort of barely
audible noise like the "chup, chup" of the stag-beetle. His syce, who
was lying beside the horse, swathed in a huge blanket, which covered his
head as well as his feet, rose, and with noiseless footfall entered his
master's tent. In three minutes he re-appeared, _or seemed to do so_,
and again wrapping himself in his great blanket, lay down to sleep by
the horse's side, _or seemed to do so_.

In about two hours from that time a hideous form appeared to rise from
the earth. Its figure was human, but the dark brown flesh glistened as
no human flesh ever glistened naturally, while the head was indeed
fearsome to behold. It was surmounted by an enormous pair of horns, had
two glaring eyes, and a mouth full of frightful teeth, from which
protruded a tongue forked like a barbed arrow.

The weird figure stooped and advanced its right hand, wrapped in a white
cloth, toward the head of the prostrate syce. Like a flash of lightning
that prostrate form sprang up. Ressaldar Nubbee Bux (for he was his own
syce on this occasion) dealt his assailant such a slash with his tulwar
as would have cleft the head of any mortal man in halves, and which, as
it was, stretched the horse-thief senseless on the ground.

As Nubbee Bux, bare blade in hand, bent over his foe, a strange sight
met his view.

The blow had split a head-covering composed of buffalo-skin with the
hair on, stretched over an iron mask, something like a diver's helmet,
with eyes of transparent horn ingeniously illuminated by means of minute
lamps concealed in the balls, the real eyes of the wearer having sight
beneath. The false teeth and forked tongue were knocked out, and lay on
the ground with the horns.

The Ressaldar summoned his syce, who had remained in the tent, and a
light being brought, found that the prisoner who had fallen into his
hands was a fine athletic young Beloochee, about twenty-two years of
age. He was quickly bound, and by direction of his captor carried into
the tent.

He was only stunned, and soon recovered to find himself helpless, and
the first words that fell upon his ear were spoken in his own language,
by a stern-looking man of some five-and-forty years, whose right hand
coquetted with the hilt of a tulwar, while his left hand ominously
handled a pistol.

They were few but expressive: "Rascal! can you give me any reason that I
should not blow your brains out?"

The prisoner remained silent. Nubbee Bux continued: "If I took you to
yonder village you would, as you know, be torn to pieces. If I give you
up to justice you will certainly be hanged. If, however, you obey my
orders implicitly, I may deal with you myself. Tell me instantly how you
managed all these robberies, and how you became possessed of that ugly
mask you frightened all the poor fools with."

Then raising the pistol, he added, "I give you one minute to commence
speaking, or I fire--and, mind, no lies, or it will be worse for you!"

The prisoner inclined his head, and said, in a firm voice, and with no
sign of trepidation, "Sirdar, I will speak the truth."

"You had better," replied Nubbee Bux, grimly, toying with his weapons.

"My name is Jumal. I come from Mittree, a small village about fifty
miles from here, on the banks of the Indus. My father is a very poor
man; but some two years ago he and I hid and sheltered an English
deserter from one of the European regiments at Kurrachee. He was much
inquired after by the police, but no one suspected us of harboring him.
He had rupees, and gave some to my father; but had it not been so, the
Sirdar is aware that the Beloochees, whatever else we may do, would
never turn from our door a hunted fugitive in distress."

Nubbee Bux nodded.

"We finally got him away up the river to Mooltan, where he said he would
be safe, as no one thereabouts knew him, and he had grown a long black
beard since his desertion, which, together with his hair, my father dyed
red for him. He was a clever fellow; he and I became friends, and he
made the mask which you destroyed to-night, to assist me in
horse-stealing, which I had already practiced on a small scale. He also
showed me the use of chloroform--an English medicine--and instructed me
how to procure it from Kurrachee. I used to pour some of it on the cloth
you saw on my hand, and used it to stupefy the syce after I had
frightened him. I then let the horse smell it sufficiently to render him
quiet. Before making my appearances I always dropped, a few yards off, a
small sack containing four little bags of moist sand, one of which I
tied round each foot of the horse, so that on leading him away his feet,
thus incased, hardly made any track, and the little impression there was
upon the dry loose sand far more resembled the footprint of a camel than
that of a horse, and even this was generally obliterated by the first
drifting of the sand in the morning breeze. The peculiar appearance of
my skin is due to the profuse application of cocoa-nut oil and sulphur.
When I had got the horse to a convenient distance I uncased his feet,
and stowing the coverings and my disguise in the sack, I mounted and
rode him straight across country, avoiding all roads, to a hiding-place
we had in the thick jungle. There my father and some friends who were
used to the business soon so altered his appearance by well-known means
that his late owner would hardly have known him. I never stole but one
horse at a time, and they were all sent up the river to Mooltan, thence
to be sold at various places remote from this."

After this Jumal, the young horse-thief, gave up his evil ways, and
enlisted in the Sind Horse, becoming in a short time one of the most
valued members of the company commanded by his captor, old Nubbee Bux.

This is one method of obtaining horses. Among certain tribes of Indians
in this country another method is practiced that is equally curious, but
far more honest. It is the custom called by the Indians of the plains
"smoking horses." If a tribe, or a band belonging to that tribe,
decides to send out a war party, one of the first and most important
things to be thought of is whether there are enough horses on hand to
mount the warriors. If, as is often the case, the horses of the tribe
have been stolen by other Indians, they decide to "smoke" enough horses
for present needs, and to steal a supply from their enemies at the first
opportunity.

[Illustration: SMOKING HORSES.]

In order to "smoke horses" a runner is dispatched to the nearest
friendly tribe with the message that on a certain day they will be
visited by a number of young men, forming a war party from his tribe,
who require horses.

On the appointed day the young warriors appear stripped to the waist,
march silently to the village of their friends, seat themselves in a
circle, light their pipes, and begin to smoke, at the same time making
their wishes known in a sort of droning chant.

Presently there is seen far out on the plain a band of horsemen, riding
gayly caparisoned steeds fully equipped for war. These horsemen dash up
to the village, and wheel about the band of beggars sitting on the
ground, in circles that constantly grow smaller, until at last they are
as close as they can get to the smokers without riding over them. Then
each rider selects the man to whom he intends to present his pony, and
as he circles around, singing and yelling, he lashes the bare back of
his victim with his heavy rawhide whip, repeating the stroke each time
he passes, until the blood is seen to trickle down. During this
performance the smokers take no notice of what is going on, but sit
immovable, calmly smoking and singing. If one of them flinched under the
cruel blows, he would not get his horse, but would be sent home on foot
and in disgrace.

At last, when the horsemen think their friends have been made to pay
enough in suffering for their ponies, each dismounts, places the bridle
of his pony in the hand of the smoker whom he has selected, and at the
same time handing him the whip, says, "Here, beggar, is a pony for you
to ride, for which I have left my mark."

After all the ponies have been presented, the "beggars" are invited to a
grand feast, during which they are treated with every consideration by
their hosts, who also load them with food sufficient to last them on
their homeward journey.

At last the "beggars" depart with full stomachs and smarting backs, but
happy in the possession of their ponies and in anticipation of the time
when their friends shall be in distress, and shall come to "smoke
horses" with them.




[Begun in No. 46 of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE, September 14.]

WHO WAS PAUL GRAYSON?

BY JOHN HABBERTON,

AUTHOR OF "HELEN'S BABIES."

CHAPTER VIII.

DARED.


For a day or two after the terrible collapse of the Indian theory Paul
Grayson kept himself aloof from the other boys to such an extent that he
made them feel very uncomfortable. Benny, in particular, was made most
miserable by such treatment from Paul, for Benny was not happy unless he
could talk a great deal, and as he could not even be near the other boys
without being reproached for his untruthful Indian story, the coolness
of Paul reduced him to the necessity of doing all his talking at home,
where he really could not spend time enough to tell all that was on his
mind.

Besides, there were several darling topics on which Benny's mother and
sister, although they loved the boy dearly, never would exhibit any
interest. Benny had lately learned, after months of wearisome practice
in Sam Wardwell's barn, that peculiar gymnastic somersault known and
highly esteemed among boys of a certain age as "skinning the cat," and
he was dying to have some one see him do it, and praise him for his
skill. But when he proposed to do it in the house, from the top of one
of the door frames, his mother called him inhuman, and his sister said
he was disgusting, the instant they heard the name of the trick; and
although Benny finally made them understand that cats had really nothing
to do with the trick, and that if he should ever want the skin taken off
a real cat he would not do the work himself, not even for the best
fishing-rod in town, he was still as far from succeeding as ever, for
when he afterward explained just what the trick consisted in, his mother
told him that he was her only boy, and while she liked to see him amuse
himself, she never would consent to stand still, and look at him while
he was attempting to break his blessed little neck.

And how unsatisfactory his sister was when consulted about fish bait! In
marbles she had been known to exhibit some interest, but a boy could not
always talk about marbles. When Benny explained how different kinds of
live bait kicked while on the hook, and asked her to think of some new
kind of bug or insect that he could try on the big trout that had
learned to escape trouble by letting alone the insects already used to
hide hooks with, she told him that she didn't know anything about it,
and, what was more, she didn't care to, and she didn't think her brother
was a very nice boy to care for such dirty things himself.

The change in the relations of the boys with Paul did not escape Mr.
Morton's eyes; and when he questioned his newest pupil, and learned the
cause, he made an excuse to send Paul home for something, and then told
the boys that to pry into the affairs of other people was most
unmannerly, and that he thought Paul had been too good a fellow to
deserve such treatment at the hands of his companions. The boys admitted
to themselves that they thought so too; and when next they were
out-of-doors together most of them agreed with each other that there
should be no more questioning of Paul Grayson about himself. Still, Sam
Wardwell correctly expressed the sentiment of the entire school when he
said he hoped that Paul would soon think to tell without being asked,
because it was certain that there was something wonderful about him;
boys were not usually as cool, strong, good-natured, fearless, and
sensible as he.

Pleasant relations were soon restored between the boys, but there was
not as much playing in the school-yard as before, for the weather had
become very hot; so the usual diversion of the boys was to sit in a row
on the lower rail of the shady side of the school-yard fence, and tell
stories, or agree upon what to do when the evening became cooler. Paul
Grayson occasionally begged for a game of ball; he could not bear to be
so lazy, he said, even if the sun did shine hotly. But the boys could
seldom agree with him to the extent of playing on the shadeless
ball-ground; so after dismissal in the afternoon Paul used to go alone
to the ball-ground behind the court-house, and practice running,
hopping, jumping, and tossing a heavy stone, until some of the boys, not
having promised to abstain from talking with each other about Paul,
wondered if their mysterious friend might not be the son of some great
clown, or circus rider, or trapeze performer, or something of the sort.
Paul's exercises seemed to give a great deal of entertainment to the
prisoners in the jail, for some of them were always at the large barred
window, and the counterfeiter was sure to be at the small one the moment
he heard Paul come whistling by; and well he might, for that cell,
lighted only by a single very small window, must have been a dismal
place to spend whole days in.

From occasionally looking at the prisoners from the play-ground Paul
finally came to stare at them for several minutes at a time. The other
boys could not see what there could be about such a lot of bad men to
interest a fine fellow like Paul; but Canning Forbes explained that
perhaps the spectacle would be interesting to them too if they were
strangers, and had not seen the prisoners in every-day life, and known
what a common, stupid, uninteresting set they were. All of the boys,
Canning reminded them, had been full of curiosity about the
counterfeiter when he had first been put into the jail; that, he
explained, was because the man was a stranger, and no one of them knew a
thing about him. Paul was in exactly the same condition about the other
prisoners, and the counterfeiter too.

The explanation was satisfactory, but Paul's interest in the prisoners
was not, for all the time he spent staring at the side of the jail might
otherwise have been spent with them, all of whom, excepting perhaps Joe
Appleby, felt that they never could see enough of Paul. Some of them
were shrewd enough to reason that if Paul could be made to understand
what a miserable set those jail-birds really were, he would soon cease
to have any interest in them; so they made various excuses to talk about
the prisoners by name, and tell what mean and dishonest and disgraceful
things they did.

But somehow the scheme did not work; Paul himself talked about the
prisoners, and he reminded the boys that some of those men had wives who
were being unhappy about them; and others, particularly the younger
ones, were keeping loving mothers in misery; and perhaps some of them
had children that were suffering, even starving, because their fathers
were in jail. How could any fellow help being curious about men, asked
Paul, whose condition put such stories into a man's mind?

"Perhaps, too," Paul argued, "some of those men are not as bad as they
seem. Every man has a little good of some sort in him; and although he
is to blame for not letting it, instead of his wrong thoughts, manage
him, perhaps some day he may change. I can't help wishing so about all
of those fellows in the jail, and, what is more, I wouldn't help it if I
could--would you?"

No, they wouldn't, the boys thought; still, they thought also, although
no one felt exactly like saying it aloud, that boys at Mr. Morton's
school had some good in them, and were a great deal surer to appreciate
the thoughtful tendencies of a good fellow than a lot of worthless town
loafers were, to say nothing of a dreadful counterfeiter.

"If you feel that way," said Joe Appleby, somewhat sneeringly, after the
crowd had been silent for two or three moments, "why don't you go with
Mr. Morton when he visits the prisoners? I would do it if I felt as you
do; I would think it very wrong to stay away."

Joe's tone, as he said this, was so absolutely taunting that most of the
boys expected to see Paul spring at him and strike him; they certainly
would do so themselves, if big enough, and talked to in that way. But
Paul merely replied, "I don't go, because he never asked me to."

"Oh, don't let that stand in your way," said Joe, quickly; "you can
easily do the asking yourself. I'll ask for you, if you feel delicate
about putting in your own word."

At this the boys felt sure there would be a fight, but to their great
surprise Paul sat quietly on the rail, and replied, "I should be much
obliged if you would; that is, if you're man enough to own that you
first taunted me about it."

Joe arose, and looked as proud as if he were about to lead a whole army
to certain victory.

"I'll do it," said he, "and right away, too."

"And I," said Canning Forbes, "will go along to see that you tell the
story correctly, and do full justice to Grayson."

Joe scowled terribly at this, but Canning, although a very quiet fellow,
had such a determined way in everything he undertook, that Joe knew it
was useless to remonstrate, so he strode sullenly along, with Canning at
his side. The other boys looked for a moment in utter astonishment;
then, as with one accord, all but Paul sprang to their feet and
followed.

Mr. Morton was astonished at the irruption, as his bell had not been
sounded; but he listened to Joe's request and to Canning's statement,
which was supported by fragments volunteered by other boys, then he
replied, "I will gladly take Paul with me, but am sorry that the newest
pupil in the school should be the first to express a kind thought about
the unfortunates in the jail."

Then Joe Appleby hung his head, and Canning Forbes did likewise, and
most of the other boys followed their example; but Benny rushed to the
side window, thrust his head out, and shouted, "It's all right, Paul; he
says you can go."

Then all the boys laughed at Benny, at which Benny blushed, and the
teacher rang his bell, which called in no one but Paul. Then the school
came to order, but most of the boys blundered over their lessons that
afternoon, for their minds were full of what they had to tell to boys
that attended other schools, or did not go to school at all.

The visit of Paul to the prison was made that very afternoon, and before
night nearly every family in the town had heard of how it had come to
pass, and determined that Paul Grayson was a noble fellow, no matter how
much mystery there might be about him. Benny Mallow, having learned in
advance that the visit was contemplated--for Paul could not get rid of
him after school except by telling him--Benny waited on a corner near
the jail until Paul and the teacher came out. He hid himself for a
moment or two, so that Paul would not think he had been watching him;
then he hurried around a block, intercepted the couple, and made some
excuse to stop Paul for a moment. As soon as Mr. Morton had gone ahead a
little way, Benny, with his great blue eyes wider open than ever, asked,
"How was it?"

[Illustration: PAUL GRAYSON AND BENNY MALLOW.]

"It was dreadful," said Paul, whose eyes were red, as if he had been
crying.

"Then you won't ever go again, will you?" said Benny, giving his
friend's hand a sympathetic squeeze.

"Yes, I will," exclaimed Paul, so sharply that Benny was frightened. He
looked up inquiringly, and saw Paul's eyes filled with tears. "I'll go
again, and often, now that I've been teased into doing it; but, Benny
Mallow, if you tell a single boy that I cried, I'll never speak to you
again in this world."

"I won't--oh, I won't," said Benny, and he kept his word--for weeks.

[TO BE CONTINUED.]




THE BOY-GENERAL.

BY EDWARD CARY.

CHAPTER I.


If any of my readers who live in the city of New York happen to be
passing the lower end of Union Square some day, they will see, standing
among the trees of the little park, a bronze statue. It is nearly
opposite the corner of Broadway and Fourteenth Street, and is turned a
little to one side, toward the noble statue of Washington on horseback,
which is in the centre of the three-cornered space between the park,
Fourteenth Street, and Union Square East. It represents a tall young
man, in the close-fitting uniform of an American General of the time of
the Revolution. With his right hand he clasps a sword against his
breast. His left hand is stretched out toward Washington; his figure is
erect, and inclined forward, as if about to spring from the prow of a
boat, which the base of the statue is made to represent. This is a
statue of the beloved and gallant Frenchman whom we commonly call
Lafayette, whom the people of the Revolutionary days delighted to name
"the young Marquis," and whose real name was Marie Jean Paul Roch Yves
Gilbert Motier, Marquis de Lafayette. The story of his whole life is one
of the most interesting and pleasing that has ever been written; but for
the present I am to give you only the story of his services to America,
and of his life during the few years in which those services were
rendered. The statue that I have spoken of was set up in honor of these
great services, in order that the young Americans who live in the full
enjoyment of the blessings of freedom and order for which he fought may
not forget him.

Lafayette was born in the province of Auvergne, France, on the 6th of
September, 1757, shortly after the death of his father, who was an
officer in the French army, and was killed at Minden. His own family was
poor, but the death of his mother's father made him, while yet a child,
very rich. As the custom was in those days in France, he entered the
army while scarcely in his teens, and before he had left the Academy of
Versailles, where he was educated. As was also the custom, he was
married very young--while only sixteen--to a daughter of the house of
Ayen and Noailles, who herself was only thirteen; but children though
they were, they were possessed of strong natures, and their union was a
very loving and happy one. Lafayette describes himself in boyhood as
"silent because he neither thought nor heard much which seemed worth
saying," and as having "awkwardness of manner, which did not trouble him
on important occasions, but made him ill at ease among the graces of the
court or the pleasures of a Paris supper." He was an ardent lover of
freedom in the midst of an aristocratic society, and when his family
wanted to attach him to the court he managed by a witty but offensive
remark about the royal family to break up the arrangement. "Republican
stories," he says, "charmed me," and he heard of the Declaration of
American Independence with "a thrill of sympathy and joy."

He was just nineteen when, over a dinner given by an English Duke to the
French officers of the garrison of Metz, he first learned of the
Declaration. "My heart was instantly enlisted," he wrote, "and I thought
of nothing but joining _my flag_." From that moment he regarded himself
as a soldier in the army of American freedom. He knew his family would
oppose him. "I counted, therefore, only on myself, and ventured to take
for my motto _cur non?_" (why not?). He had great trouble in getting
away. Going to Paris, he first obtained from the American agent there,
Silas Deane, a promise of a commission as Major-General; but he had to
keep everything very secret, to blind his family, his friends, the
government--to avoid French and English spies. Only his girl-wife and
two of his cousins knew what he was doing. Just as he had completed his
plans, news came of the terrible defeats which Washington had suffered
on Long Island and in the neighborhood of New York. The "arch-rebel," as
the English called General Washington, was fleeing across the New Jersey
plains, with only a handful of men, and the insurrection was believed to
be nearly over. The American agent in Paris was dismayed and cast down.
He told Lafayette that he could furnish him no vessel to go to America,
and tried to persuade him to give up his project. Thanking Mr. Deane for
his frankness, the brave young fellow answered, "Until now, sir, you
have seen only my zeal; perhaps I may now be useful. I shall buy a ship
which will carry your officers. We must show our confidence in the
cause; and it is in danger that I shall be glad to share your fortunes."
To cover his designs, he joined his uncle, the Prince of Paix, on a
visit to London, where he was much courted. "At nineteen," he wrote, "I
liked perhaps a little too well to trifle with the King I was about to
fight, to dance at the house of the English Colonial Minister, in the
company of Lord Rawdon, just arrived from New York, and to meet at the
opera the General Clinton whom I was to meet the next time at the battle
of Monmouth." Finally his arrangements were all made, and he came back
to France to join his vessel. To his dismay, he was met by an order from
the King to report, under arrest, at Marseilles. He pretended to start
for that city, but on the way, disguised as a postilion, he turned
aside, and after nearly being caught while sleeping on some straw in the
stable of a post inn, he finally boarded his ship, with Baron De Kalb
and others, and set sail for America. It was the 26th of April, 1777,
"six months, filled with labor and impatience," since he had formed his
plan. He was seven weeks on the sea. His ship was clumsy, and, armed
with "only two bad cannon and a few muskets, could not have escaped the
smallest English cruiser." Of these he encountered several, but lucky
winds bore them away from him. He slipped between the ships guarding the
coast, and landed in the night near the city of Charleston, South
Carolina. "At last," he says, "I felt American soil beneath my feet, and
my first words were a vow to conquer or perish in the cause."

He straightway set out for Philadelphia, where Congress was in session,
and near which the army of Washington was encamped. The journey was long
and fatiguing. From Petersburg, Virginia, he wrote to his wife: "I set
out grandly in a carriage; at present we are on horseback, having broken
my carriage, according to my admirable habit; I hope to write you in a
few days that we have arrived safely on foot." The fatigue of the
journey could not repress his constant gayety. When he reached
Philadelphia, Congress was greatly bothered with foreign adventurers
more anxious for rank and pay than to fight for America. Lafayette
perceived the coolness of his reception, but far from being discouraged,
he wrote to the President of Congress, "By the sacrifices that I have
made I have a right to demand two favors: one, to serve without pay; the
other, to begin my service in the ranks." Carried away by such generous
devotion, Congress immediately gave Lafayette a commission as
Major-General, and Washington placed him on his own staff.

[TO BE CONTINUED.]




O'ER THE HILLS O' ARGYLE.

BY LILLIE E. BARR.


  I said, when a laddie o' ten, as I gaed o'er the hills o' Argyle,
  "The way is sae rocky and steep, I am weary this many a mile;
  Just leave me, and gang on yoursel'; the road I'm no likely to miss."
  Then my feyther stooped down, wi' a laugh, and gied me a tender bit
      kiss.
  "Why, Donald," he said, "be a man, and keep mind o' the words that I
      say,
  A strong, stout heart and a sturdy step gang o'er the steepest brae."

  "It, isna the steepness," I said, "but the way is sae wearifu' lang."
  "Tut! tut! if your heart gies the order, your body will just hae to
      gang.
  Think, Donald, o' mither and hame, and dinna give up for your life;
  Step out to the sang you like best--'Here's to the bonnets o' Fife!'
  Sing, lad, though you sing through your tears, and keep mind o' the
      words that I say,
  A strong, stout heart and a sturdy step win o'er the langest way."

  Then I said to my heart, "Gie the order." Singing, I walked or I ran;
  My feyther stepped, laughing, beside me, and called me "his bonnie
      brave man."
  And sae, ere the storm-clouds had gathered, we were safe at our ain
      fireside,
  And feyther sat watching the snaw-drifts, wi' me cuddled close to his
      side.
  "Donald," he said, "my dear laddie, no matter wherever you stray,
  Keep mind--a strong heart and a sturdy step gang o'er the steepest
      brae."

  Now far from the bonnie Scotch Highlands I've travelled full many a
      mile,
  Yet always, in trouble or sorrow, I think o' the hills o' Argyle,
  Say, "Heart, gie the order for marching!" strike up the auld "Bonnets
      o' Fife,"
  And then I set dourly and bravely my face to the mountains o' life,
  For the thought o' my feyther is wi' me: and, "Donald," I hear him
      say,
  "Keep mind--a strong heart and a sturdy step gang o'er the steepest
      brae."




THROUGH THE RAPIDS WITH INDIANS.


  MOOSE LAKE, _August 16_.

MY DEAR CHARLEY,--I've had at last the experience of a real Indian canoe
voyage, of which we used to dream when we read _The Young Voyageurs_ on
the sly behind our desk at school. To begin at the beginning (which
modern stories seldom do), imagine me starting from Bear Creek to
descend the river in a canoe with two "real live Indians." If you want
to know what Indians are like, just fancy two overfried sausages wrapped
in dirty brown paper, and you'll have a perfect picture of my "noble red
men," whose names sounded to me exactly like "Cock-a-doodle-doo" and
"Very-like-a-whale." But you soon get used to such things in a country
where names like Nomjamsquilligook and Kashagawigamog are quite
every-day matters.

[Illustration: 1. Beaver-Hunting. 2. A Poacher. 3. His first Rapid. 4.
Over the Beaver Dam. 5. The Drift Pile.

THROUGH THE RAPIDS WITH INDIANS.]

Now, Charley, if you value my blessing and your own welfare, never get
into an Indian canoe. I ought to know something of uncomfortable
conveyances, having crossed Central Asia with camels, gone a hundred
miles into the Sahara in an Arab wagon, drifted over the Volga on a
block of ice, and shot an Icelandic torrent in a leaky boat. But all
these fall far, far short of the glorious uncomfortableness of my canoe.
Louis XI. would have given any money for such an invention when he
wanted to torture Cardinal Balue. I sat, and forthwith fell down on my
back; I knelt, and promptly fell forward on my nose. I even tried to
squat cross-legged, forgetting that Achmet Bey had spent three days in
vainly showing me how _not_ to do it when I was with him in Arabia; and
how I _did_ finally manage to stow myself I haven't found out yet. If
the Indians had scolded or laughed at my mishaps, or even noticed them
at all, it would not have been so bad, but their calm, silent,
statuesque disapproval of everything I did made me feel as small as the
first boy who breaks down at a spelling bee.

My first night was a very queer experience. Beyond the circle of light
cast by our camp fire the great black shadow of the forest looked
blacker and vaster than ever, and in its gloomy depths no sound was
heard but the ghostly rustle of the leaves, which seemed to be
whispering to each other some horrible secret. Then up rose the cold
moon, glinting spectrally through the trees upon the swirling foam, and
giving strange and goblin shapes to the huge trunks all around. In that
dreary silence the hoarse sough of the river sounded unnaturally loud,
and the wild faces of the Indians, seen and gone again by turns as the
fire-glow waxed and waned, looked quite unearthly. But the mosquitoes
soon gave me something else to think about, I can promise you.

For the next two days I enjoyed camp life in all its fullness--a
buffalo-robe for bedding, a jackknife for dinner service, a camp fire
for kitchen range, a freshly caught fish for breakfast, a water-fall for
shower-bath. The very sense of existence seemed a pleasure in that
glorious atmosphere, which made one feel always hungry, but never tired;
and to jump into a swollen river, clothes and all, to carry the canoe a
mile or more over broken ground, to start splitting wood at night-fall
after voyaging all day, to get out on a wet rock at midnight and begin
fishing, came quite natural. Once or twice I felt as if I must really
give vent to my superfluous vitality by shouting or singing at the top
of my voice, and was only deterred from striking up "I paddle my own
canoe" by the reflection that I hadn't paddled it a foot since we
started.

On the second day we passed several water-falls, and it was a rare sight
to see the floating trees plunge over them. Sometimes a big trunk would
stop short on the very brink, as if shrinking back, and then it would
give a kind of leap forward, and over it would go--a regular suicide in
dumb-show. A little below one of the falls the floating timber had
drifted together into such a mass that it fairly blocked the channel,
forming a barricade several hundred feet broad, and we had to get out
and drag the canoe bodily over it as best we might. If you've ever
walked over an acre of harrows piled on an acre of trucks, you'll know
what kind of footing we had, and it's a marvel to me that I've got a leg
left to stand on.

A little farther I espied a great shaggy beast, not unlike a bear,
coming out of the river with a big fish in his mouth. I fired at him,
but the bullet probably hit him too obliquely to pierce his thick hide.
That's _my_ theory at least; the Indians were mean enough to suggest
that I never hit him at all.

On the third morning we came to a huge beaver dam, bigger than any I'd
seen in Canada, and as neatly put together as any dike in Holland. The
fur-coated gentlemen were hard at work when we appeared, some gnawing at
the trees, while others plastered the dam with mud, using their broad
tails for trowels. But at our coming they all went splash, splash into
the water, which was all alive for a moment with dancing ripples and
flapping tails--a regular fac-simile of that scene in _The Last of the
Mohicans_ over which we used to laugh so.

Of course we had to make another "portage" with the canoe; and while we
were dragging it along, up jumped a barefooted boy from among the
bushes, and lent us a hand with it. A splendid young savage he was, who
would have quite delighted my old friend Tom Hughes of Rugby. Straight
as a pine, keen-eyed as an eagle, so supple and sinewy that one might
almost have rolled him up and pocketed him like a ball of twine. He told
me he was "after beaver," and had done pretty well this season, trapping
and what not. I gave him some tobacco, which seemed to please him
mightily, and he repaid me with what my New York friends would call "a
tall yarn":

"Time when beaver hats was all the go (which don't I just wish they was
_now_!) a feller went for a swim in a river one day, leavin' his hat and
things on the bank. It happened to be pretty close to a beaver dam; and
when he cum out agin, fust thing he seed was two young beavers a-weepin'
over his hat, 'cause they knowed it for the skin o' their father."

Toward four that afternoon we began to hear a dull booming roar far away
ahead. You should have seen the Indians' eyes flash when they heard it!
_They_ knew the sound of the rapids well enough. All at once the sloping
banks seemed to grow high and steep, and the overhanging pines to go far
away up into the air, and the channel to get dark and narrow, and the
stream to go rushing along like a mill-race. Then suddenly we swung
around a huge black rock, and were fairly in the thick of it.

After that I have only a confused recollection of being tossed and
banged about in a whirl of boiling foam, and clinging like grim death to
the sides of the canoe, while the river itself seemed somehow to be
standing stock-still, and the great cliffs on each side to be flying
past like an express train. The whole air was filled with a hoarse
grinding roar that seemed to shake the very sky, and the spray came
lashing into my face till I was glad to shut my eyes.

When I opened them again I almost thought I was dreaming. Instead of the
foaming river and the frowning precipices, we were floating on a broad
smooth lake, with a little toy town pasted on the green slope above us,
and half a dozen big fellows in red shirts running down to welcome us
in.

But I must break off, for I'm so sleepy, after hauling timber all day,
that I can hardly sit upright. Remember me kindly to all your folks, and
believe me

Yours to death (or till my next railway journey, which is much the same
nowadays),

  D. KER.




NEW GAMES FOR WINTER EVENINGS.

BY G. B. BARTLETT.


TIP.

Under this odd title a new and excellent game is described which is very
popular in Germany, and will be equally so in America when it becomes
known.

When first read it may not seem to amount to much, but it needs only to
be tried to become a favorite with old and young.

Any number can play, as no skill nor practice is required, and it is
adapted as well to the parlor as to the picnic. The writer has joined in
it on two successive days, once in a pleasant drawing-room, with a large
round table in the centre, by the cheery light of a flashing wood fire,
and again under the radiant maples by the side of a beautiful lake. On
the latter occasion a large shawl was spread on the ground, and a merry
group of bright-eyed children, with their parents and older friends, sat
around on the grass.

One of the mammas poured out from a paper package of assorted candy and
small toys about as many pieces as the number of players, making the
tempting heap, as nearly as possible, in the middle of the shawl within
easy reach of all. After one of the children had been blindfolded, one
of the ladies touched an article in the pile in the shawl, in order to
point it out plainly to all excepting the one whose eyes were closed.
The player then opened her eyes, and was allowed to select one at a
time, and keep for her own all she could obtain without taking the
"tip," or the piece that had been touched.

Often a great many pieces can be taken, and in some cases the "tip" is
the last one to be pitched upon; but sometimes an unlucky player selects
the "tip" first, in which case she gains nothing, for the moment she
takes the "tip" she must give it up, and the turn passes to the next
player on her right.

Of course all the children scream when the tip is touched, and the
unlucky ones are laughed at a little, but are soon comforted by presents
of candy from the stores of the more fortunate.

All who do not believe in the interest of the game are cordially advised
to secure a group of children and a paper of candy, or of little
presents nicely wrapped in papers, and to try it for themselves.


INITIALS.

This new and interesting game can be played in several ways, and can be
used also in connection with other old games, to which it lends a new
charm. Any number of players can join, each one of whom tells the
initials of his or her name, which the others can write on a slip of
paper if they do not prefer trusting to memory. Each player invents an
initial sentence, using the letters of one of the names. This sentence
may be humorous or sensible, complimentary or the reverse, and can
sometimes be made to fit exceedingly well. As specimens, a few impromptu
sentences are given on the actual names of some of the original players:
Easter Eggs, Exquisite Elegance, Fairy Prince, Fried Pork, Willful
Negligence, What Nonsense, Serene Truth Triumphs, Saucy Tell-Tale,
Goodness Brings Blessings. When all have prepared one or more sentences,
the leader begins by addressing any person he pleases with a remark
formed upon his initials, and each of the other players follows his
example, also using the same letters. This attack is kept up
indiscriminately on the person addressed by the leader, until he can
answer the person who last addressed him before another of the players
can say another sentence in the letters of his name, in which case the
others all turn their remarks on the one who has been thus caught. The
game then goes merrily on, as shouts of laughter always follow the quick
conceits which are sure to be inspired by the excitement of the game. As
a specimen of the way in which it can be applied to an old game, "Twirl
the Platter" has a new interest when the players are called out by
initial sentences, as the effort to discover one's own name in some
obscure remark made by the twirler, in order to catch the platter before
it ceases to spin, keeps every player on the alert.




OUT OF THE WOODS.

BY A. TEMPLE BELLEW.


In that rocky part of New York State called Sullivan County lived a poor
widow and her little daughter.

The cold weather was approaching--the trees showed that; the maples were
in flames, and the surrounding woods had such varied leafage that at a
distance they looked like the border of an Indian shawl. Yes, cold
weather was approaching, and the widow said one morning, as she came up
from the cellar, "Well, Nannie, we have potatoes enough to last all
winter, so we sha'n't starve; but what ever we shall have to wear I
don't know. I can't _buy_ any clothes, that is certain."

"We'll wear our old ones," said Nannie.

"They ain't fit for carpet-rags, child. We must stay in the house all
winter, I guess, unless we want to freeze to death."

Nannie grew grave, and her brown eyes were full of trouble, as she
listened. She had not thought of clothes all summer; she had trotted
about in her little calico dress as happy as a sparrow; and now she felt
very much like that same sparrow when he sees the first snow-flakes come
drifting through the air.

What could she do to help her mother? If it were something to eat, it
would not be so difficult; she could pick up nuts--lots of them; but
something to _wear_: that was a great deal harder. So she sat on the
door-step puzzling her little brains, until her eyes happened to fall
upon a necklace she had that morning made of scarlet mountain-ash
berries, and a brilliant idea occurred to her: she would make a dress of
leaves--of bright red leaves.

"I can make it just as easy," she said to herself; "I won't say a word
to mother till it's all done. Won't she be glad when she sees me dressed
up so nice? And then I'll tell her I can make _lots_ of things just like
it."

She had a spool of thread in her pocket, and a needle carefully stuck in
her frock, so she had only to run off to the woods, without bothering
any one.

Once there Nannie had no trouble in finding leaves enough, bright red
ones, too--so red that they made her blink when she held them out in the
sunlight. She filled her apron with those scattered on the ground, and
picked a huge bunch of long rush-like grasses that grew in a small
clearing; then seated herself on a low stone, ready for work, surrounded
by scarlet and gold like a little empress.

The tiny fingers proved very deft, and the tiny brain very ingenious.
Leaf overlapping leaf, like the scales of a fish, they were sewn on the
grass stems, until a garment was shaped resembling what is fashionably
called a princesse dress. The sleeves Nannie could not manage, so
instead she put shoulder-straps with epaulets of leaves. She could
hardly keep from dancing, she felt so delighted at the success of her
plan. On went the gay suit of armor gleefully, but slowly, lest it
should be harmed.

"Don't I look pretty?" sighed Nannie, in perfect content, as she glanced
down at her leafy skirt; "but I can't wear that old sun-bonnet. I must
make a new hat too."

Again the thread and needle, grass and leaves, were called into service.
This time a queer comical cap, like Robinson Crusoe's, placed jauntily
on her head, turned her into a wood-sprite indeed.

She primly picked her way through the wood, avoiding every brier as if
it were poison-ivy, until she reached the opening; here she stood
suddenly still, rooted to the spot by wonder. A man, a stranger, was
there, sitting on a funny crooked kind of bench, doing something to a
big board fastened to three long sticks in front of him. He seemed
nearly as wonder-struck as Nannie for a moment; then, as she was about
to move, he called out, "Who in the world are you, little fairy, and who
dressed you up like that?"

He looked so pleasant that Nannie gave him a laugh for his smile, and
answered promptly, "I did it my own self; ain't it pretty?"

"Yes, indeed; and what made you think of such a pretty dress?"

Then Nannie's little tongue being loosened, she told him all about
it--how poor they were that year, and how badly her mother felt; in
fact, chattered over all her small history, some parts of which made the
stranger's blue eyes misty, while others made him smile, whereat Nannie
had always to laugh in return--she very seldom smiled.

"Now," said the stranger, "do you think you could stand still for a
short time?"

Nannie at once became motionless, and the stranger began to work away at
the big board before him with some very thin sticks. Once in a while he
would say, "There, you may move now; sit down on that stone and rest."
Then Nannie would sit down until he asked if she felt like standing
again, when she would spring to her feet and take her former position.
She was beginning to feel very tired--so tired that her little tongue
was quiet--when he said, "That will do, little one; come and look at
this."

And she came beside him. Why, there she was on the board, scarlet dress
and all; her black curls ruffling about her head, her big brown eyes
wide open, and her cheeks as pink as king apples.

"Why, that's me!" she cried.

"Of course it is," laughed the stranger.

"Why, ain't I pretty!--only I wish I had my shoes on. I've got a pair in
the house, but I only wear 'em in winter."

"It looks prettier in the picture without shoes," said the artist.

Then he told her that she had been a very good little girl; and taking a
piece of something like green paper from his pocket, put it in her hand,
saying,

"Give this to your mother, and tell her to buy you a nice warm dress
with it. I am coming to see you to-morrow; and now good-by, little
maid."

Then he stooped down and kissed her, and she ran away up the hill-side,
covered with red leaves, and holding a green leaf in her hand--a
wonderful green leaf, as she afterward discovered.

She rushed into the cottage like a small cannon-ball, and startled her
mother not a little, appearing in such strange attire, and too
breathless to tell her story except in excited snatches that puzzled
more than they explained, and for a short time the widow thought that a
three-legged man had stolen Nannie's clothes, and was coming to-morrow
to steal hers; but as soon as Nannie regained breath she made her
understand the real state of the case.

"Wonder what he is?" said the mother, puzzled. "Three sticks--a big
board."

After long cogitation she decided that he must be "one of them
archertics from New York as took your photergraph."

"He's real kind, anyway," she added. "Why, child, he's give you _ten
dollars_!"

"Ten dollars!" gasped Nannie, with an overwhelming sense of wealth.

Next morning the stranger appeared in good season, and won the widow's
heart by his courtesy.

"Jest as polite as if I was the minister's wife," she afterward told
Nannie.

He explained the mystery of the big board and three sticks, and showed
how they were used, getting Nannie to stand for him again in her dress
of leaves.

Nannie opened her eyes when he told her that her picture was going to
New York to hang in "a great big room called the Academy." "At least I
_hope_ so," he added, laughing.

He came many following mornings, always to paint Nannie, getting more
interested every time in the simple-hearted widow and her bright little
child, while they in turn delighted in his visits, his stories, and his
painting.

At last the day came when he had to go back to the city. Nannie cried
her eyes as red as the maple leaves, and they all felt that "good-by"
was a very miserable word.

So the stranger went away, and the widow tried to console herself and
Nannie by making a journey to the nearest town, and laying out the
wonderful ten dollars in warm clothing for Nannie; but though Nannie got
very busy and happy over her shopping, she did not forget her stranger
friend, and felt even bright red flannel a very poor substitute for kind
blue eyes.

Nannie spent the long white months very merrily, romping by day and
sleeping by night, only one thing happening to vary the quiet life: at
Christmas came a letter and a box of goodies from the stranger, then all
went on as before.

By-and-by winter turned to spring in town and country, the spring
fashions of one doing duty for the spring leaves of the other; and among
the pleasantest of spring fashions in New York is--the Exhibition of
that "great big room called the Academy," about which the stranger had
told Nannie so much. And this fair April upon its walls hung the picture
of a bright-faced little girl, clad and capped with scarlet leaves,
coming out of the dim gray woods.

Of all the many visitors there not one passed it by unnoticed; young
ladies all beauty and old ladies all back-bone and eyeglasses, artists
gray-headed and young fellows just from Paris, one and all, and many
more, stopped to admire the brown-eyed child so quaintly garmented. The
morning and the evening papers, too, did not overlook it, but patted the
young artist kindly with their pens. Rich people talked about it, and
the richest bought it for the sake of saying that "the gem of the
Exhibition" was in his gallery.

A few days after this a letter, registered and stamped carefully enough
to carry it to China, had that been its destination, came to Nannie and
her mother--a letter from the stranger, telling all about it, and
sending to his "little good genius" a check for _fifty dollars_.

What other wonderful things were the result of that queer dress of
leaves may perhaps be told some day.




[Illustration]

THE LITTLE TEASE.


  "Now div me my dolly." If baby were able
    To talk in plain fashion, he'd certainly say,
  "I think you are awfully mean, sister Mabel,
    To trouble and tease me and vex me this way."

  But baby can only let grieving lips quiver,
    And lift little hand in an angry protest:
  Come, sister, from trouble the wee one deliver,
    'Tis naughty to pain him so, even in jest.




[Illustration: LITTLE SHOPPERS--"A VERY DOOD SMOOFING-IRON."]




[Illustration: OUR POST-OFFICE BOX.]


  NEW YORK CITY.

     I like YOUNG PEOPLE very much, and can hardly wait from one number
     to another, I am so impatient to get it. All the stories are very
     interesting, and the pictures are beautiful. But I don't like the
     advertisements after the Post-office Box, because they keep out
     something I would like to read. I like "Old Times in the Colonies"
     very much.

  CARRIE M.

Our correspondent will see that her wishes have been anticipated.
Henceforth all advertisements for HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE will be printed
on a neat cover, as in the present number, and will no longer appear in
the body of the paper. This cover will also serve to keep the paper
clean, and the bound numbers at the end of the year will form a perfect
book.

       *       *       *       *       *

  EAST HAMPTON, CONNECTICUT.

     My sister takes YOUNG PEOPLE, and I like it very much.

      Eight of us girls have a society, which we call the Y. L. F. S. We
      have singing, readings, and charades, and have lots of fun. We
      meet around at the members' houses once in two weeks, on Monday
      evenings. Next time we meet we are all going to make speeches on
      politics. I am fifteen years old.

  VIOLET S.

We should like very much to have a fuller report of the doings of this
society. Now that the long winter evenings are approaching, societies of
this description bring about much pleasant recreation, and if any
systematic course of good reading is followed, enlivened by music,
recitation, or discussion of any given topic, the benefit to the members
becomes of an importance beyond mere social enjoyment.

       *       *       *       *       *

  NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

     I have taken YOUNG PEOPLE since No. 36; papa subscribed for me
     then. I like "The Moral Pirates" and "Old Times in the Colonies"
     best of all, and I am very fond of reading the letters of the
     little boys and girls in the Post-office Box.

      I go to a large private school one block from my house. I speak
      French and English, and I am learning to play the piano. I have a
      splendid black cat, named Beauty.

  VIRGINIA S.

       *       *       *       *       *

  MAYERSVILLE, MISSISSIPPI.

     I have taken YOUNG PEOPLE from the first number, and am perfectly
     delighted with it. My subscription will soon be out, but I am going
     to renew it.

      We have a very nice time here playing on the riverbank in the
      sand. There is some beautiful grass growing on the sand-bar in the
      river opposite our town.

  DELLA R. S.

       *       *       *       *       *

  WYOMING, ILLINOIS.

     I am eleven years old. I have no pets, except a canary named
     Freddie, but I have a play house, and I think it is a very nice
     one. I have four nice dolls, and a doll carriage, and in the play
     house I have a bureau, table, chair, cupboard, blackboard, and a
     very nice set of dishes. The house is carpeted, and the rain does
     not get into it. I have a girl's velocipede, and I ride on it to
     school. I have some plants of my own.

  HATTIE G. S.

       *       *       *       *       *

  CANTON, NEW YORK.

     I have a black dog named Jet. He will sit up, sing, speak, shake
     hands, stand up and beg, and lie down when I tell him. I have an
     aquarium, and I tried to get some sticklebacks, but they all had
     five spines. Are they the kind that make nests?

      I have two turtles, and would like to know how to keep them
      through the winter.

      I am making a squirrel cage, and am very anxious to catch a gray
      squirrel. And I have a collection of birds' eggs. I get nests and
      all. I am twelve years old.

  MARK M.

All kinds of sticklebacks, so far as known, build nests. Set your
turtles at liberty in the yard before the ground freezes, and they will
take care of themselves until spring. Or if you are afraid of losing
them, give them a tub of earth to bury themselves in during their long
nap.

       *       *       *       *       *

  JAMAICA PLAINS, MASSACHUSETTS.

     Here are some directions for making a pretty decoration which some
     reader of YOUNG PEOPLE may like to try. Take a carrot, the largest
     and smoothest you can find, and cut off the pointed lower end. Then
     make a cup of the large upper part by carefully hollowing it out,
     leaving the bottom and sides a quarter of an inch thick. Bore some
     holes in the sides near the top. Three will do. Through these pass
     strings by which to suspend the cup. When it is finished fill it
     with water, and hang it in a sunny window, and it will soon send
     out leaves from the bottom, and become a very pretty hanging
     basket. Never allow all the water to evaporate, but put in a little
     fresh every day. If the carrot is large enough to allow the sides
     and bottom to be left thicker, the green leaves will last longer
     and be more abundant.

  DANIEL D. L.

       *       *       *       *       *

  NEW YORK CITY.

     I thought perhaps you would like to hear of a plan we have made. It
     is this: We are going to have a club, each member of which takes
     YOUNG PEOPLE, and every Friday we meet to read the stories and work
     out the puzzles. I wish other children would try this plan, and
     write to the Post-office Box how they succeed.

  N. D.

       *       *       *       *       *

  WATERTOWN, NEW YORK.

     My papa has taken YOUNG PEOPLE for me since the first number. I
     read it all through. I think "Mirthful Magic" is very funny.

      I have two pet bantam chickens, and they are very tame. I hold
      them as I would a kitten. I have four caterpillars that I am
      feeding on apple leaves, and one that has spun a cocoon. I am
      seven years old.

  Z. C.

       *       *       *       *       *

  NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

     Since my request for exchange was published in YOUNG PEOPLE I have
     received no less than ten letters every day. My time is pretty well
     taken up at present, but I wish to say to all correspondents who
     have sent me postmarks that I will answer them as soon as possible.

  JAMES A. SNEDEKER.

       *       *       *       *       *

     I wish to inform the egg collectors with whom I have exchanged
     specimens that I have changed my residence. I would be very happy
     to exchange some of my eggs for Indian arrow-heads, as well as for
     other varieties of eggs. My new address is

  I. QUACKENBOSS,
  169 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn, New York.

       *       *       *       *       *

  TOLEDO, OHIO.

     I have received so many letters in answer to my request for
     exchange of minerals that I can not answer them all immediately, as
     my school duties keep me very busy. I will answer them all in time.
     I have no more specimens to exchange at present.

  CARRIE THORNER.

       *       *       *       *       *

     I have a great many different kinds of Iowa postmarks, and will
     send one hundred to any reader of YOUNG PEOPLE who will send me
     some pretty thing in return.

      I have taken YOUNG PEOPLE ever since it was published. I am almost
      eleven years old.

  LUCY HENDERSON,
  Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa.

       *       *       *       *       *

     I would like to exchange stamps of all kinds with any boys or girls
     who take YOUNG PEOPLE. I will also exchange a piece of cedar of
     Lebanon for a reasonable number of stamps.

  SAMUEL MCMULLIN, Jun.,
  Circleville, Pickaway County, Ohio.

       *       *       *       *       *

     I would like to exchange rare stamps for foreign or United States
     coins with any readers of YOUNG PEOPLE.

  SIDNEY ABENHEIM,
  127 East Sixty-ninth Street, New York City.

       *       *       *       *       *

     I have a large number of foreign postage stamps that I would like
     to exchange. I have also a large collection of mineral and Indian
     curiosities. I think YOUNG PEOPLE is a splendid paper.

  WILLIAM HARRIS,
  226 Fort Street West, Detroit, Michigan.

       *       *       *       *       *

     I have gained about one hundred and fifty stamps by exchange since
     my letter was printed in YOUNG PEOPLE. I am collecting sea-shells
     and curiosities, which I would also like to exchange.

  VERNON L. KELLOGG,
  P. O. Box 413, Emporia, Kansas.

       *       *       *       *       *

     I have taken two copies of YOUNG PEOPLE ever since it was
     published, one of which I send to my cousin, and the other I keep
     for myself.

      I am collecting minerals, shells, animal and vegetable
      curiosities, stamps, coins, and relics, and would like to arrange
      an exchange of these articles with any correspondent.

  LOUIS N. BROWN, care of Ph. Hake,
  155 William Street, New York City.

       *       *       *       *       *

     I have a large collection of internal revenue stamps which I would
     like to exchange for foreign stamps and postal cards.

  WILLIAM H. PIKE,
  20 Edinboro' Street, Boston, Massachusetts.

       *       *       *       *       *

     My brother has taken YOUNG PEOPLE for me since the first number. He
     says it is a splendid paper for children, because it contains no
     trash. We like it so much we are going to have it bound.

      I have two pet cats. Dick is the name of one. He is seventeen
      years old, and was born in the barn on the same day that my
      brother was born in the house. I call them twins. The other cat I
      call Kitty. She was born about one week before my other brother,
      and is fourteen years old. She is getting very weak now, and we do
      not think she will live as long as Dick, who is still very lively.

      I would like to exchange slips of fern grown in New Jersey for
      fern from any other State with any girl. I wish to get a specimen
      of fern from every State and Territory if possible.

  JULIA D. MOORE,
  1107 Locust Street, Camden, New Jersey.

       *       *       *       *       *

     I take YOUNG PEOPLE, and I think it is the best paper I ever saw
     for little folks. I expect to take it till I am grown up, and that
     will be a long time, as I am only eleven years old.

      I would like to exchange flower seeds for geranium and fuchsia
      slips, or ocean curiosities. I have many kinds of seeds which I
      raised myself.

  ANNIE SIDNEY DUFFIE,
  Princeton, Arkansas.

       *       *       *       *       *

     I am twelve years old, and have taken YOUNG PEOPLE since April,
     when I received a year's subscription for a birthday present. I
     always look forward with pleasure to its coming.

      I, too, am making a collection of postage stamps, and would like
      to exchange with readers of YOUNG PEOPLE. I have several hundred,
      among which are Danish, Norwegian, Japanese, and other foreign
      issues.

  NELLIE HYDE,
  162 Third Street, Oakland, California.

       *       *       *       *       *

     I am making a collection of stones, one from each State. I will
     exchange a stone from Iowa or Missouri for one from any other
     State. If Jessie I. Beal will send me a stone from Michigan, I will
     gladly exchange with her.

  LOTTA R. TURNER, P. O. Box 705,
  Keokuk, Lee County, Iowa.

       *       *       *       *       *

     I received several very satisfactory answers to my request for
     exchange of stamps. I would now like to get a Chinese and an
     Italian stamp. I will exchange for them French and German stamps,
     or morning-glory or double-hollyhock seeds. I will also exchange
     these seeds or postmarks for new postmarks.

  WILLIE D. VATER,
  Office of the _Daily Journal_, Lafayette, Indiana.

       *       *       *       *       *

     Since my request for exchange was printed in the Post-office Box I
     have received over one hundred letters, and have gained about four
     hundred stamps. I have now thirteen hundred. If any other readers
     of YOUNG PEOPLE would like to exchange with me, I will be very glad
     to do so, especially if they have any duplicates of rare stamps.

  LEWIS S. MUDGE,
  Princeton, New Jersey.

       *       *       *       *       *

     I wish to exchange postmarks with any boy or girl in the United
     States or Canada.

  H. L. MCILVAIN,
  120 North Fifth Street, Reading, Pennsylvania.

       *       *       *       *       *

     I am studying natural history, and am very fond of it. I would like
     to exchange specimens of minerals and insects, especially with "Wee
     Tot."

  FRANCES M. HEATON,
  Flushing, Long Island.

       *       *       *       *       *

     I am making a collection of minerals, and would be glad to exchange
     petrified wood, celestine, satin spar, chalcedony, fossil shells,
     or concrete sand balls for other minerals, or Indian relics.

      I am a reader of YOUNG PEOPLE, and like it very much.

  HERBERT E. PECK,
  P. O. Box 296, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

       *       *       *       *       *

MABEL C.--We suggest "Agate Club" as a pretty name for your society. In
the language of gems agate signifies prosperity. Take each letter of the
word as the initial of another gem, and let the sentiments of these gems
be the mottoes of your club. You can give the name this interpretation:
agate, prosperity; garnet, constancy; amethyst, love and truth; topaz,
friendship; emerald, faith. If you wish for a club pin, you can have an
agate in a simple setting, which would be a very pretty ornament, and
not expensive.

       *       *       *       *       *

  BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

     I would like to know if the story about Captain Cook's goat is
     true.

  WILLIE W.

We only know of one goat connected with Captain Cook. This travelled
beast twice circumnavigated the globe--first in the ship _Dolphin_, with
the early discoverer Captain Wallis: and secondly in the ship
_Endeavor_, with Captain Cook. After the goat arrived in England for the
second time, the Lords of the Admiralty granted it the privilege of a
residence in Greenwich Hospital, and a silver collar was put around its
neck, inscribed with a Latin couplet composed by Dr. Johnson. But the
goat, like many other old sailors, did not apparently thrive on dry
land, for it died in April, 1772, as it was about to be given to the old
seamen at Greenwich for a pet, and less than a year after its return
from the long voyage with Captain Cook.

       *       *       *       *       *

C. B. M.--Postage stamps, if they are clean and in good order, will be
received in payment for the covers of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE.

       *       *       *       *       *

"BILL."--We refer you to the advertisement of toy steam-engine in
HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE No. 53.

       *       *       *       *       *

ERNST H.--Your insect from Colorado answers the description of the
caddis-worm. This worm, which is a soft, white creature, lives under
water in a movable house which it makes for itself out of bits of stone,
pieces of shell, and grains of sand. It feeds on minute particles of
water refuse. When its life as a worm is ended it forms a chrysalis,
from which issues a fly with hairy wings called the caddis-fly, of which
there are many species. The caddis-worm is much used as bait by
fishermen.

       *       *       *       *       *

The following communication is longer than those we can, as a rule,
admit to the Post-office Box, but as we are sure it will be interesting
to other little mothers of doll families, we make an exception in its
favor:

     My family of dolls are unfortunately all orphans. I had the parents
     of the four girls named French, but my brother Jack sat on the head
     of the papa, and hopelessly crushed it. The mamma I left too long
     in a sun bath, and her beautiful wax complexion melted all away.

      Dora French is the oldest girl, and has auburn hair like the
      Empress Eugenie. Her hair comes off sometimes, but I use a
      sticking stuff for tonic, and fasten it on just as the ladies do
      their puffs. Dora is very graceful, and turns her head
      beautifully. She wears blue, to suit her hair.

      Sue French is a brunette with handsome black eyes, long black
      hair, and bangs. She is very beautiful. My uncle sent her to me as
      soon as she arrived from France. She is named for my aunty Sue.

      Lizzie French, the third girl, came over in the same steamer with
      Sue. She is the sweetest blonde, and is called for my own mamma.
      Both Sue and Lizzie are very fond of dress.

      Louise French is the intelligent one of the family. She talks
      beautifully, and is always calling for mamma and papa; but, poor
      thing, they never answer her. Perhaps if they were alive, and had
      the strings in their sides pulled as hard as I pull those of poor
      Louise, they would answer lively enough. Louise has lovely teeth,
      but by an accident one was knocked out.

      The baby is named Minnie. She is an American, and the pet of all
      the dolls. A lady found her in a doll's orphan asylum, or rather a
      big store. She is just too lovely for anything, and has lots of
      long clothes, like a real baby. She has a cradle with sheets,
      blankets, pillows, and quilts; a pretty baby carriage; a baby
      basket, lined with blue and trimmed with lace, which holds her
      brush, comb, sponge, soap, towels, nursing bottle, and rattle. She
      has caps, cloaks, and an afghan for her carriage.

      I have almost forgotten dear Gretchen. She is not the little Dutch
      Gretchen who sat in the kitchen eating her cold sour-krout, but is
      a cousin to the Misses French. Her trousseau came in the box with
      her; and such queer satin and white Swiss dresses, funny little
      aprons, quaint slippers, fine stockings, and dear little hats you
      never saw, unless you have been in Switzerland. Her hair is light,
      and braided in two long plaits. I tell you she is a beauty; and
      although she is the youngest of all the dolls, except the baby,
      she is as tall as any of them.

      Then there is Ho Shen Chee, the Chinaman. He is the only boy in
      the whole family. Mamma picked him up at the Centennial. He looked
      so forlorn and lonesome that mamma felt sorry for him, and brought
      him home. We do everything to make him happy, but he still has
      that same sad look, and his head wobbles awfully. His clothes are
      a great trouble to us, for we can never make any like those he had
      on when he came.

      The French girls have everything elegant. Their Saratoga trunk is
      filled with lovely dresses, shoes, bonnets, fans, stockings,
      gloves, jewelry, parasols, hats, dressing-cases and travelling
      bags, writing-paper and desk, watches, perfumery bottles, books,
      and everything that young ladies need. Their furniture is very
      handsome, too. Their bedstead was made to order, and has a
      mattress, pillows, shams, and everything. They have a large
      bureau, a lounge, tables, chairs, and a cabinet filled with
      bric-à-brac. They have a small work-basket, with little scissors
      that open and shut, thimble, needles, and all other work-box
      necessities.

      Olive, or Aunt Olive, as the dollies call her, is the very
      smallest, but the beauty of the family, and the richest. She lives
      in a large house with her adopted daughter Pussy, and a great many
      servants. Her house has five rooms--parlor, dining-room, bedroom,
      kitchen, and bath-room, where real water runs from a faucet. All
      these rooms are furnished too lovely for anything. The windows
      have real glass and curtains; the doors have curtains too. We have
      a large barn (when I say _we_, I mean my brother Jack and myself,
      for he loves dolls as well as I do), which has horses and a
      dog-cart, in which Olive rides. We have a Park phaeton too. We
      build our farm-yard in one corner of the room, and our fort in
      another; these are the summer resorts. We move the things on
      Jack's big dray and cart. We play the figures in the carpet are
      lakes, rivers, and ponds. The dolls ride on these in our boats,
      which go on wheels. Away off in another part of the room we put up
      the tents. We build the railroad, and the dollies go out to the
      camp. When we want to take them to amusement, we build our
      theatre, which plays _Cinderella_. When they get tired of that we
      take them to the dog show, which is Jack's collection of beautiful
      china dogs. We have a race track, where the dolls go to the races
      on the elevated railroad which we set up. When they get hungry we
      put the cooking stove on the fender, with the pipe up the chimney,
      and make a fire, and really cook. Of course we do the eating,
      using our pretty blue and gilt dishes.

      We only know one other little girl in New York, and she does not
      care to play with dolls; so Jack and I get in a room all by
      ourselves, and put up all these things, and I tell you we have a
      splendid time. When we get tired we put the dollies to bed, and
      get out their wash-tubs, boards, and irons, which we heat on the
      little stove, and wash and iron their little clothes.

      Next to reading HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE, this is the best fun we
      have.

  BESSY GUYTON.

       *       *       *       *       *

Favors are acknowledged from Percy Schuchardt, L. P. Wilson, Willie E.
Billings, W. L. Bradley, Belle Sisson, Cass K. Shelby, A. G. Norris,
John Moody T., Daisy May B., Annie Quinn, Bertha A. F., Frank A.
Harmony, Abbie Parkhurst, Jessie De L., Hattie Cohen.

       *       *       *       *       *

Correct answers to puzzles are received from Bessie C. Morris, Florence
Nightingale, Isabel L. Jacob, Clara B. Kelso, Lizzie, "Freeport,
Illinois."

       *       *       *       *       *

The following names are of those who sent answers to Wiggle No. 14 too
late for acknowledgment with the others: Maggie and Harvey Crockett,
Lucy P. W., Estelle R. Moshberger, Jackson, Bertie, Helen C. Edwards.

       *       *       *       *       *

PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.

No. 1.

ST. ANDREW'S CROSS OF COMBINED DIAMONDS.

Central.--In Westmoreland. A margin. A despicable person. Bipeds. In
Ireland.

Upper Right Hand.--In game. Obscure. One of a class of laborers. A
sea-fowl. In sport.

Upper Left Hand.--In grapes. Devoured. Something dreaded by sailors. To
blunder. In melons.

Lower Right Hand.--In general. At present. A bird. Humor. In captain.

Lower Left Hand.--In amethyst. A tropical vegetable. A nobleman's house
and lands. A tumultuous crowd. In emerald.

  OWLET.

       *       *       *       *       *

No. 2.

ENIGMA.

  My first is in mat, but not in rug.
  My second in wasp, but not in bug.
  My third is in red, but not in blue.
  My fourth is in false, but not in true.
  My fifth is in wren, but not in owl.
  My sixth is in bird, but not in fowl.
  My seventh is in calm, but not in rough.
  My eighth is in shawl, but not in muff.
  My ninth is in poem, but not in ditty.
  My whole is a European city.

  MAMIE.

       *       *       *       *       *

No. 3.

EASY NUMERICAL CHARADES.

  1. My whole is a beautiful sheet of water composed of 13 letters.
  My 8, 13, 5, 3, 9 is a river in Europe.
  My 6, 2, 11 is a domestic animal.
  My 4, 10, 7, 8, 12 often wakes the baby.
  My 3, 13, 1 is always fresh.

  LITTLE SISTER.

  2. My whole is composed of 12 letters, and is always in motion.
  My 11, 2, 9, 6 can never be trusted.
  My 4, 7, 12 is a fluid.
  My 10, 3 is a musical term.
  My 8, 5, 1 is much used by the Japanese.

  JULIAN.

       *       *       *       *       *

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN NO. 50.

No. 1.

      W           H
    V I A       B A G
  W I T C H - H A Z E L
    A C E       G E M
      H           L

No. 2.

  J U R A   H A N D
  U R A L   A G U E
  R A A B   N U L L
  A L B A   D E L L

No. 3.

Wood-box.

No. 4.

1. Mustard seed. 2. Rhinoceros.

No. 5.

Boston.




NEW BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS.


To the hosts of young readers who bade Dr. Bronson and his nephews Fred
and Frank good-by in Hong-Kong at the end of Part First of _The Boy
Travellers in the Far East_[1] the announcement that, by the appearance
of Part Second of this fascinating narrative, they may once more journey
into strange lands with their young friends, will be a welcome one.
Starting from Hong-Kong, the boys continue their travels down the coast
to Singapore, stopping by the way in Cochin China, Anam, Cambodia, and
Siam. From Singapore they sail through the Malayan Archipelago to
Batavia, in doing which they cross the equator. From Batavia they take
long excursions into the interior of the island of Java, and here the
reader has again to leave them for a time while they make preparations
for further explorations of the wonderful lands of the Far East.

[1] _The Boy Travellers in the Far East_. Part Second: Adventures of two
Youths in a Journey to Siam and Java, with Descriptions of Cochin China,
Cambodia, Sumatra, and the Malay Archipelago. By THOMAS W. KNOX.
Illustrated. 8vo, pp. 446. New York: Harper & Brothers.

The book is filled with tales of adventure by land and sea with pirates
and wild animals, curious bits of history, accurate descriptions of
strange people and queer customs, animals, birds, and plants. In it the
author has so artfully blended instruction with amusement that the young
reader is taught in spite of himself, and finds the driest facts
interesting when presented in this charming form. The letter-press is
supplemented by copious illustrations that appear upon nearly every
page. The binding is very handsome, and the book bids fair to prove one
of the notable attractions of this year's holiday season.

       *       *       *       *       *

Most books of foreign travel are written with the view of cramming the
minds of their readers with the greatest possible amount of information,
and the result is apt to be a fit of mental indigestion from which the
victim does not readily recover. In _Harry Ascott Abroad_,[2] however,
the author has carefully avoided the text-book plan, and has confined
himself to the simple relation of an American boy's every-day experience
during a year's residence in Germany, and while travelling in
Switzerland and France. The story is told in the boy's own language, and
is made up of just such facts as will interest other boys, and at the
same time teach them what to expect, and what mistakes to guard against,
if they happen to find themselves in a position similar to that of Harry
Ascott.

[2] _Harry Ascott Abroad_. By MATTHEW WHITE, Jun. 16mo, pp. 94. New
York: The Authors' Publishing Company.

       *       *       *       *       *

Mrs. Cochran (Sidney Dayre) has earned so enviable a reputation as a
writer of short stories for children that while the "young readers" feel
sure that anything from her pen must be interesting, their parents are
equally confident that the tone of the story will be healthy and pure.
_The Queer Little Wooden Captain_[3] and _The Little Lost Girl_, the two
stories contained in the present volume, are Christmas tales, both of
which, without moralizing, teach how much greater are the joys of giving
than those of receiving.

[3] _The Queer Little Wooden Captain_. By SIDNEY DAYRE. 16mo, pp. 152.
Illustrated. New York: The Authors' Publishing Company.




HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE.


SINGLE COPIES, 4 cents; ONE SUBSCRIPTION, one year, $1.50; FIVE
SUBSCRIPTIONS, one year, $7.00--_payable in advance, postage free_.

The Volumes of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE commence with the first Number in
November of each year.

Subscriptions may begin with any Number. When no time is specified, it
will be understood that the subscriber desires to commence with the
Number issued after the receipt of the order.

Remittances should be made by POST-OFFICE MONEY-ORDER OR DRAFT, to avoid
risk of loss.

Volume I., containing the first 52 Numbers, handsomely bound in
illuminated cloth, $3.00, postage prepaid: Cover for Volume I., 35
cents; postage, 13 cents additional.

  HARPER & BROTHERS,
  Franklin Square, N. Y.




[Illustration]

THE PEG-TOP.


  Spin away, spin away, round and round--
  The hum of the top has a merry sound;
  The peg-top's journey is just beginning,
  Ever so long it will go on spinning.
  Up in my hand, or down on the ground,
  Still the peg-top goes round and round.
  Baby looks on with eyes so bright--
  Isn't top spinning a wonderful sight?




[Illustration: BREAD AND MILK.]

BREAD AND MILK.


  Bread and milk, bread and milk, fit for a king,
  Plenty of sugar has been put in;
  Mix it up well with a silver spoon,
  Wait till it cools, and don't eat it too soon!

  Milk and bread, milk and bread, isn't it nice?
  Why! the whole basinful's gone in a trice!
  Oh! there is many a poor little boy
  To whom bread and milk would be a great joy.




[Illustration: FLYING THE KITE.]

FLYING THE KITE.


  Fly away, fly away, comical kite,
  Up in the sky to a terrible height;
  When you come back, tell us where you have been,
  Where do the stars live, and what have you seen?




[Illustration: MAYING.]

MAYING.


  Oh! who loves May, so sweet and gay?
  A long, long way I've been to-day,
  Over the fields and down the lane,
  Into the copse, and back again;
  Such a ramble, such a scramble,
  Catching my dress on a blackberry bramble.
  All the merry brown bees were humming,
  And all the birdies sang, "Who's coming?"
  And the butterflies came to my branch of May,
  For I've been Queen of the Woods to-day.





End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Young People, November 2, 1880, by Various