little girl, and that it gives you a great deal of comfort. You see
your "prayer" was answered in just the way you most wanted. Our Father
in Heaven always answers all prayer, but sometimes he has to say "No"
because He can tell whether what we have asked is the best thing.
_Edwin_ from New York. My boy, if you have done a "kind act" each day
since you took your pledge, you must have some pleasant stories to tell
which the Pansies would like to hear. Cannot you write out one of them
for us?
_Andrew_ from Illinois. O the teeth! I am very glad you have pledged to
take care of them. I know a boy who says he "cannot" remember to brush
his, only on Sundays, and I am very much afraid the consequence will
be, they will not be worth brushing by the time he is a man. Thank you
for being a worker for THE PANSY. I know of no better way to show that
you like the magazine than to try to get others to take it.
_Ethelwyn_ from Pennsylvania. How many people have you helped, my dear?
And how many ways have you discovered in which you can help others? Can
we be helpful without speaking a word? One of the most helpful little
people I know is a deaf and dumb girl. How do you suppose she manages
it?
_Minnie_ from Ohio. Dear little friend, it is very easy to be
"impatient." There is a little girl of my acquaintance who became so
impatient with a door which would not open that she knocked it with
her knee. Now it happened that in her pocket was a small cushion with
needles on it, and the knock sent a fine needle into her knee, which
caused her dreadful pain and kept her from taking a step for many
weeks. She used to say, "Oh, dear, if I only _hadn't_!"
_Willie_ from Ohio. I like your pledge. When a boy has a good father
and mother, and pledges himself always to obey them in everything, he
is about as safe as he can be in this world; especially if they are
Christian people, who say to him, "My boy, your first duty is to give
yourself to the Lord Jesus to obey him in all things."
_Jessie_ from Colorado. I wish you had sent me a copy of the
"Exercise," "Jesus Our Star." It must have been very beautiful, and
perhaps the Pansies would like to use it in their Sabbath-schools.
Perhaps you can send us a copy for next Christmas? How many presents
you received! What did you do for those who had none?
_Frank_ from Michigan. So, my seven-year-old Blossom, you sometimes
get angry, do you? That is bad; the perfume of angry flowers is very
disagreeable. It is well you have taken the pledge to overcome.
_Inez_ from Indiana. You are not alone in your fault, my darling. It is
as natural for people to want their own way, as it is to breathe. The
important thing is, to be very pleasant about giving it up, when for
any reason you cannot, or ought not to have it. This is a thing well
worth trying for.
_Anne_ from Washington. I was very deeply interested in your letter,
and have great sympathy for you in your great affliction. What a
wonderful and blessed thing it will be if all the members of your large
family meet in Heaven! Are you doing all you can to make sure of that
happy meeting?
_Florence_ from New York. A letter "all to yourself" is something I
cannot give, my Blossom, much as I would like to. Don't you see it
would not be fair to the others? I think you have the best possible
sort of "pet." Finger nails are very useful things, and have a way of
looking very badly if they are forgotten. I am glad you are going to
care for yours.
_Edith_ and _Lilian_ from Massachusetts. I am always glad to welcome
two sisters; I think they can be such helps to each other. We are
delighted to accept "Grandma" as an "honorary member." We have a
special and tender love for all the dear grandmas. I have not the least
doubt but she will keep her beautiful pledge to try to make somebody
happy every day; and I can imagine how happy you two can make her if
she sees you trying.
_Robert_ from Massachusetts. So you "don't like to mind quickly?" Well,
never mind whether you like it or not, if you succeed in doing it. I
think myself it requires a good deal of decision to accomplish it, and
I don't know of any habit more important to acquire, so I welcome you
with pleasure.
_Pauline_ from Massachusetts. My little "wilful" Blossom! A will is a
very good thing if you make a servant of it, and oblige it to do just
the right thing; but when one gets to be its slave, oh, dear! I am glad
you have begun early to train it aright.
_Daisy_ from New York. Poor finger nails! How would you like to be
bitten every time you plucked up courage and grew a little. Don't treat
your faithful little servants so badly. "Clayton" is very nearly right.
We can do almost anything we try hard to do, that is if it is right
that we should do it. For, back of this idea lies a great truth: God
never gives us any command which is too hard for us to obey. It is very
easy to get angry, and sometimes hard to break the habit; but it can be
done.
_Lulu_ from Virginia. Here is another little Southern Blossom who wants
to overcome "all" her faults. Brave little girl! I am sure you will
succeed much better than those who never think about their faults at
all.
_Emma_ from Connecticut. Did she have so many faults that she couldn't
count them? Poor little robin! Still I suspect that is the honest truth
about every one of us. We are great bundles of faults. If you try with
wide-open eyes to overcome each as it appears to you, you will keep a
very important pledge.
_Arthur Fred_ from Rhode Island. My boy, I can sympathize with "mamma."
I am not sure that I know a more troublesome small habit than the one
of moving slowly. Especially when one is waiting for you. Did you ever
hear of the boy who lost his life because he waited to say "What for?"
when told to bend his head? I could tell you of a little girl who lost
a long delightful journey because she moved so slowly across a railroad
depot that the train went off and left her behind.
_Bertha_ from Maine. "Getting mad!" Oh, dear! what a sorrowful fault
for a little Bertha. The "Whisper Motto," my dear, is "For Jesus'
Sake." It is called so because though we may be often in places where
we could not whisper to our father or mother or any earthly friends,
it is not possible to go where we could not speak to Jesus, and get
his help. If you control your temper for Jesus' sake, you will surely
succeed.
_Lena_ from Massachusetts. "Little sister" will have a much happier
life because of your pledge. And she will probably make a better woman
if she lives, because of it. If sisters only knew how much they could
help each other, by watching their words, I think they would take your
pledge.
_Helen_ from Connecticut. You are right, my friend, everybody has "need
of patience." I don't suppose you will find a day in your life but you
will need a large stock of it to draw from. You do well to begin early
to gather it.
_Jessie_ from Connecticut. We are glad to enroll you among our number.
There is no doubt but that you and your friend can be great helps to
each other. Patient people, those who can be patient with little trials
or annoyances, are sadly needed in this world. I heard a gentleman say
of a quiet little lady once, that she had a remarkable mind. "How do
you know?" I asked, for I was aware that he had not talked much with
her. "Because," he said, "I saw her keep a perfectly quiet face and
gentle manner under a series of annoying circumstances; and only people
with very cultured minds or hearts can do that."
_Laura_ from New Jersey. Your plan for getting up a P. S. is an
excellent one. I hope you will write and tell us how you succeed. We
are very glad to welcome Andrew. I wish all the boys in the country
would take his pledge to keep their arms off the table. Wouldn't the
mothers rejoice!
_Anita Harriet_ and _Ada Maud_. Welcome, dear little sisters, who write
such nice letters. Does the old giant Impatience trouble you so much,
Anita? I suspect about the time he comes along, Giant Cross gets hold
of Maud. Am I right? Those two are very fond of working together. You
are wise to join hands in fighting them.
_Harvey_ and _Lillie_ from New York. A brother and sister starting out
together; that is good. Harvey, my boy, I don't often get a letter
which gives me more pleasure than did yours. It is not easy work that
you have undertaken, it is true, but you have a great Helper on your
side. As soon as I can manage it, we must get up a mammoth temperance
organization from the members of the P. S. As for the little sister,
her sweet and thoughtful pledge will be helpful to you, as well as to
herself.
- - - - - - - - -
DEAR PANSY:
In reading my magazine I found you would like to know how your Pansies
spent Christmas. I spent mine very pleasantly; we had a small tree
in our sitting-room, with presents from papa and mamma, and all the
family. In the evening sister went to the organ and played some sweet
pieces, and we all joined in the singing. Then we went up to grandpa's.
I think the day was filled with pleasant things.
Dear Pansy, I do try to keep my pledge. I try hard to keep things in
their proper places; but I find I need to be very watchful, and to ask
for a great deal of help from God. Mamma has just written to Boston to
renew my subscription to THE PANSY. It is rather late, but I hope not
too late to wish you a Happy New Year.
Lovingly yours,
LANETTA BRIGGS.
- - - - - - - - -
DEAR PANSY:
I want to join the P. S. because I have many faults, and I think the
badge would help me. I believe my worst fault is being careless. Last
year I raised some strawberries, and in that way earned the money for
my PANSY. I hope to make enough this year to take it again. I can
hardly wait for the next number to come. I would like to have your
photograph if you have any to sell. I try to remember our "Whisper
Motto." This is the first letter I ever wrote.
Your friend,
GEORGE CROSLEY.
- - - - - - - - -
DEAR PANSY:
I have a good many faults, but I think my temper is the worst. That is
when I get out of patience I am _awful mad_! Don't that sound dreadful?
I am trying to control it, and I know THE PANSY helps me. I like it
better than all the papers and magazines in the world. Thank you for
your good stories. I wish you a Happy New Year, not in words, but from
my heart.
Your dear friend,
WILLIE PARSONS.
- - - - - - - - -
DEAR PANSY:
I write to you to promise three things:
1st. I promise to avoid the use of slang language of all descriptions.
2nd. I promise to avoid being irritable.
3rd. I promise to get as many people to sign the temperance pledge as I
can.
HARVEY ROMER.
I have signed the temperance pledge and would have tried to carry out
my third promise before but I did not know where to get pledges.
I am aware that what I undertake is not easy to perform, but I am one
of Jesus' followers and I know he will help me if I ask him. I hope
also that the badge will remind me of my pledge, and the whisper motto
encourage me to perform it.
Yours Very Truly,
HARVEY ROMER.
P. S. I am a subscriber to the Pansy and would like a badge.
H. R.
- - - - - - - - -
DEAR PANSY:
My brother Milton and I take THE PANSY this year, and I want to be one
of your little Pansies. I am seven years old, and can read and make
letters and figures on my slate. I am trying to be a good boy, and if
you will let me be one of your Blossoms, I will try to be better every
day, and will promise not to drink any wine or cider, or anything that
will make people drunk, and to be like the little boy my grandma read
about in THE PANSY, who signed the pledge when he was such a little
boy. I say my prayers, and go to Sunday-school when I am well. I am
sick now, have been in bed for two days, and my grandma reads to me out
of THE PANSY. We have some pretty pansies in our flower garden in the
spring, and when they bloom I shall think of Pansy, and maybe I will
send you some. My brother Milton has written to you, and I send twelve
cents to pay for one of our badges. Warren wants to join too--says he
is going to try to be good every day, but we think he is too little--he
is only three years old. Don't you think he had better wait till he is
a little bigger? With love from
Your little Blossom, D. JEMISON TITLOW.
I can write my own name, but not very good yet.
- - - - - - - - -
DEAR PANSY:
My papa takes THE PANSY for me this year, and I want to be one of your
little Pansies. I am a little boy five years old, and live away down
on the Eastern shore of Virginia. I go to school and am in my Second
Reader and spelling-book, and make letters and figures on my slate. I
can't write yet, so my papa is writing this for me. I try to be a good
boy, but I want to be better, and am going to try and mind my papa and
mamma every day, and help them all I can. I also promise not to drink
any wine or cider, or anything to make me drunk. I say my prayers
every night, and ask the Lord to bless my papa and mamma and brothers,
and make me a good boy. I have a brother named Jemison who is seven
years old, and a little brother named Warren who is three years old.
Warren says naughty words sometimes. He says he is going to stop, and
wants to be one of your Pansies, but I think he is too little. Jemmie
is going to write to you and send twelve cents to pay for a badge. I
go to Ocean Grove sometimes, and if I go this summer I hope I will see
you. My papa gave me a copy-book to-day, and I am going to learn to
write, so that I can write to you myself. I must now close, with love,
from
Your little Blossom, MILTON R. TITLOW.
A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA.
I KNOW you are acquainted with the Hales, Edward Everett and Miss
Susan; therefore you know, without my telling you, that they write
thoroughly delightful books. But I wonder if you are acquainted with
the Horners? Not the family of "Little Jack Horner" who "sat in a
corner," but some friends of the Hales who took delightful journeys
all over the world. What I want of you is to accompany them, and
have a good time, and learn more about the world we live in than you
imagined you could without bidding good-by to your father and mother,
and spending a great deal of money. This trip is very cheap indeed; in
fact, if you belong to the P. S.--as of course you do--it will actually
cost you only one dollar and fifty cents! Who ever heard of travelling
over Egypt and Spain for a dollar and fifty cents! For the matter of
that, if you are not particular about the dress, and will choose one a
little plainer, you may save thirty cents and go for a dollar-twenty.
The book has nearly four hundred pages, and a great many pictures. It
is beautifully bound, and printed on the best of paper. I do not know
how you could have a prettier ornament for your book table than it
offers.
But the best way of helping you to understand how well the book is
written, is to give you a piece of it, and I therefore let you have a
peep at Damascus with the Horner family:
DAMASCUS.
One of the first things the Horners did was to go to the top of the
minaret of the city gate, for the view which is presented there of the
town.
They saw below them a plain of flat roofs, broken here and there by
a white cupola, and a tall minaret, and the large dome of the great
mosque.
At their feet was the beginning of a narrow lane, winding along
as far as the eye could follow it. This was the "street called
straight,"--straight, meaning narrow; for it certainly would not be
called straight in Philadelphia. In the Roman period of Damascus a
noble street extended through the city in the same direction, and
excavations made under the present Straight street have revealed
fragments of a Corinthian colonnade which adorned it. For, during the
great age since the founding of Damascus, and in the many _evèuements_
it has experienced, one set of buildings after another has been
destroyed, so that, as at Jerusalem, there is supposed to be layer upon
layer of demolished cities to a great depth, underlying the present one.
[Illustration: PUBLIC GARDEN, DAMASCUS.]
In the distance they saw Mount Hermon, snow-covered at the summit.
A walk through this street led them past scenes of the massacre
of 1860, and other interesting sites; then, under a low Roman arch,
they entered the region of the bazaars. This reminded them of Cairo,
"only more so." The same narrow streets, and same open fireplaces
as Bessie had called them, where the merchants sat cross-legged, in
front of little shelves, on which were piled their stuffs; but at
Damascus there was a greater variety of strange and gorgeous materials,
rich and splendid. They could not resist the fascination of these
shops, and bought a good many things, Hassan doing the bargaining,
which consisted in a long and violent argument between him and the
shopkeeper, ending in a mutual compromise. Both parties love these
tilts of the tongue, and it is a regular part of shopping in the East.
The dealer demands a price which he does not dream of receiving, and
Hassan mentions a figure which he knows he shall have to raise. The
squabble became sometimes violent, but after awhile the repetition was
tedious, especially as our Americans did not understand a word of it.
Miss Lejeune saw some pretty little damask napkins, for which her soul
longed, bordered with red and yellow stripes.
"Well, Hassan," said Mr. Horner, "you may begin the fight over these;"
and while it went on, the party turned their attention to the crowds
flocking by in the narrow streets, dressed in the brilliant colors of
the Orient: the men with gay turbans, and full trousers of every bright
tint, the women veiled, in dark garments. A man went by with a cooling
drink, rattling tumblers to attract attention; a lemon was stuck on the
pointed top of the tin vessel he carried it in. Tommy tried it, and
pronounced it "not bad!"
[Illustration: A HOUSE TOP SCENE, DAMASCUS.]
An expedition on donkeys, which was shared only by Mr. Hervey, Miss
Lejeune and Bessie, while the others were busy in bazaars, was to
Salahiyah, a suburb of Damascus. They rode at first through a narrow
lane, with high blank walls on either side. The houses of Damascus are
all built in this way, with all their pleasantness concentrated within,
upon an interior court. The street walls are without windows or access,
except through heavy doors. This is on account of the numerous attacks
the inhabitants have received, leading them to protect their outer
works.
They stopped before a dingy little door, and knocked. They had to
stoop to enter, when lo! they heard the sound of a rushing fountain,
and found themselves standing on a balcony surrounded by orange and
lemon-trees. Roses and fleur-de-lis were blooming along the paths of a
lovely garden, through which poured a deep, though narrow river, with
its edge tufted with maiden-hair and grasses that danced in the water.
A slowly turning wheel lifted water from the stream to feed the little
fountain.
The gentlemanly proprietor, in a turban and gown of striped red and
blue cotton, spread a carpet and brought chairs for them to repose
upon, while he entertained them by playing upon a musical instrument
something like a fiddle, and there they ate their picnic lunch, which
Hassan, who accompanied them, had brought. This was his surprise. He
had proposed the expedition, and was disappointed that the whole party
did not join it; but for some reason, they had not understood the
extent of the plan, and so the others lost seeing the pretty garden.
There is much more about Damascus, for which I have not room. There is
much to delight you in the book. I hope you will be able to own it, and
will give it careful reading.
PANSY.
The April issues of the popular
[Illustration: WIDE AWAKE ART PRINTS]
will be the following:
APRIL 1. "THE PIPERS," by Jessie Curtis Shepherd. This charming picture
is the very spirit of springtime--springtime of the greening earth,
springtime of life, in the gay procession of children blowing on
dandelion pipes.
APRIL 15. "ON EASTER DAY," by W. L. Taylor. This Easter picture is an
exquisite idyl of the maid and the lily.
_Already issued:_
Oct. 1. LITTLE BROWN MAIDEN. _Kate Greenaway._
Oct. 15. ON NANTUCKET SHORE. _F. Childe Hassam._
Nov. 1. IN GRANDMOTHER'S GARDEN. _W. T. Smedley._
Nov. 15. THE DREAM PEDLER. _E. H. Garrett._
Dec. 1. MORNING. _F. H. Lungren._
Dec. 15. EVENING. _F. H. Lungren._
Jan. 1. WILD DUCKS. _Charles Volkmar._
Jan. 15. IN HOLLAND. _F. Childe Hassam._
Feb. 1. THE THREE FISHERS. _Thomas Hovenden._
Feb. 15. UNDER THE ELECTRIC LIGHT. _F. H. Lungren._
Mar. 1. TWO CONNOISSEURS. _T. W. Wood, N. A._
Mar. 15. LOST. _W. L. Taylor._
The WIDE AWAKE ART PRINTS are sent post-paid in pasteboard tubes for 50
cents each. Half yearly subscription, $5.50; yearly, $10.00.
THE PRESS SAYS
of the beauty and art-educational value of the ART PRINTS:
"_Will delight the artist, the art lover, and every friend of
art-education._"--Boston Beacon.
"_Fine examples._"--Art Union, N. Y.
"_Deserve to be most popular._"--Boston Sunday Times.
"_Will give unfailing and refined pleasure._"--Boston Transcript.
"_We can very cordially praise the new_ WIDE AWAKE ART PRINTS. _They
are wholly charming. We most unhesitatingly pronounce them admirable
specimens of reproductive art, giving the character of the original
work, and even the technical qualities of the artist's handling to a
very remarkable degree. We wish that such charming gems of art could be
in every home ... for they will be a source of very great pleasure ...
and have a very important educational value._"--Boston Post.
WONDER STORIES OF SCIENCE.
=Price, 1.50.=
To improve as well as to amuse young people is the object of these
twenty-one sketches, and they fill this purpose wonderfully well. What
boy can fail to be interested in reading an account of an excursion
made in a balloon and a race with a thunder-storm? And is there a girl
who would not enjoy an afternoon in the Christmas-card factory? It is
a curious fact that only one hundred and thirty years ago the first
umbrella was carried in London, much to the amusement of the ignorant,
and now there are seven millions made every year in this country. And
who would believe it possible that there was a large factory full of
women who earned their living by making dolls' shoes. A bright girl or
boy who insists to know something about the work done in the world,
who does it, and how it is done, cannot fail to enjoy these stories.
The writers are all well-known contributors to children's periodical
literature, and the book will be a welcome addition to any child's
library, and might be used with advantage as a reading book in schools.
=Books particularly adapted for=
=SUPPLEMENTARY READING FOR SCHOOLS.=
=History of the American People.= By Arthur Gilman. 12mo, very fully
illustrated. $1.50.
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illustrated. $1.50 each.
=Popular Biographies=, descriptive of such eminent men as Longfellow,
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=Our Business Boys.= 60 cents.
=Health and Strength Papers for Girls.= 60 cts.
=In Case Of Accident.= The simplest methods of meeting the common
accidents and emergencies. Illust. 60 cts.
=Temperance Teachings of Science.= 60 cents.
=A Boy's Workshop.= By a Boy. $1.00.
=How Success is Won.= By Sarah K. Bolton. $1.00.
=Boys' Heroes.= By Edward Everett Hale. $1.00.
=Children of Westminster Abbey.= By Rose G. Kingsley. $1.00.
=Old Ocean.= By Ernest Ingersoll. $1.00.
=Dooryard Folks.= By Amanda B. Harris. $1.00.
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=ALL THE BOYS AND GIRLS=
WANT A ROGERS' SCROLL SAW.
Our latest Special Premium given to any subscriber
sending us =SIX= new subscriptions to OUR LITTLE MEN
AND WOMEN or THE PANSY (at $1.00 each); or for =FOUR=
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[Illustration]
_Two_ BABYLAND _subscriptions equivalent to one_ PANSY.
The entire framework is made from Iron, painted and
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All parts made to interchange.