rabbit. One is black with a white breast, and the other two are
white and gray. We give them apple-wood, and they peel the bark off
so clean! We have two cats, both gray. One of them is very old; we
call her Kitty Gray. The other is a kitten, and is named
Christopher. He will run up my dress to fetch a piece of bread
which I hold as high as I can. We have eight bantams; one of them
is blind. We ourselves write a paper called "The Monthly Budget";
we compose it all. We like YOUNG PEOPLE very much. I am ten. Robert
is eight, and Pauline is five. We can all read.
MARIANNE W.
Send me a copy of your "Budget," please. I would like to have a peep at
it.
* * * * *
HUNTINGTON, WEST VIRGINIA.
The boiler in a flour mill here blew up the other day. It lifted
the large chimney away up in the air, and that came down with an
awful crash. When the boiler blew up it shook all the houses near
it. It blew the large water tank that was on the roof clear up into
the air. Pieces of the boiler and engine were blown across the
street. Some bricks and large pieces of timber were blown over the
street, and burst in the side of a house. There was a real large
barrel factory that caught fire here, and the fire-engine worked
from seven until eleven o'clock, but could not stop it, it had got
under headway so much. It rained almost every day in the next week,
but the fire kept on smoking. We have good teachers at our day
school. I am ten years old, and study spelling, reading,
arithmetic, grammar, and geography.
CHARLIE A. P.
What an exciting time you have had between the explosion and the fire! I
am afraid you boys enjoyed the fun more than you thought about the
calamities.
Not long ago I saw an explosion of a different kind. Some boys were
playing marbles near my house, and a quarrel had arisen. One little man
jumped up, shook his fist at another, and with blazing eyes said, "You
just get me mad, now, and see what I'll do!" He looked as though he
might turn into a torpedo on the spot. It made me think of a Bible verse
which I like very much: "Better is he that ruleth his spirit than he
that taketh a city." I fear the angry boy had not learned that verse by
heart, if, indeed, he had ever heard of it.
* * * * *
GRATTAN, MICHIGAN.
Although I am thirteen years old, I am not too old to write to a
young people's paper. I went to school in the winter, but just a
week before school closed the school-house burned. My papa owns a
hop yard, and in the fall we have a number of girls to pick hops. I
like to pick quite well, but when the sun is hot the hops settle,
and you don't get your box full so quickly. I have only two pets.
One is a large, playful yellow-dog, and the other is a ferret. Her
name is Jennie, and she is very nice. She looks very much like a
weasel, only her fur is yellow and black. She likes bread and milk
very much, and if we give her a cracker she will run and hide it.
We can take a saucer of milk and hold it up a foot and a half from
the floor, and she will jump and catch hold of the edge of the
saucer and eat. I have taken YOUNG PEOPLE for about four months,
and like it real well. This is the first letter I have ever written
to a paper.
OLLIE L. W.
So even a ferret appreciates kindness! It must be a pretty sight when
the girls go out to pick the hops. I am sure they have a happy time over
their work. Are they paid according to the number of boxes they fill in
a day?
* * * * *
JOSIE E. L.--For a little girl still in the Primary Department your
letter is very well written indeed. I hope the new Maltese kitten will
be as cunning and as great a pet as the one that died.
* * * * *
MARGARET S. S.--Your account of your travels almost took away my breath.
Twice across the continent; twice from New York, by Panama, and thence
by steamer, to San Francisco; and then, last summer in the Yosemite! You
are a fortunate girl to have seen so many places. Well, dear, when you
grow up you will have many pleasant and some droll things to remember,
and you will not be a timid or fussy traveller, making every one around
you uncomfortable. Your room must be very beautiful, decorated as you
describe it. I presume your sister and you are both fond of natural
history.
* * * * *
C. Y. P. R. U.
EFFIE D.--Pot-pourri is a French word which means a mixture. In music it
is used to describe a piece or a series of pieces in which fragments of
various melodies are oddly contrasted. But its prettier meaning, and the
one which you will probably like to carry out for yourself, is that by
which it was known to our grandmothers when they were young. The
pot-pourri was a vase or jar into which rose petals, sprigs of lavender,
bits of fern, and other delicate flowers were thrown, often with
perfumes and essences, and all the year round it shed a faint sweetness
through the parlor where it stood.
* * * * *
The Postmistress was much interested, not long ago, in the description
given by an English lady residing in Pekin of the funeral of a Chinese
Empress. The manners and customs of China are not at all like our own.
Their way of showing their love and respect for the dead is quite
different from ours, as you will see by reading about the procession
which followed the lady Tung-tai-how to her resting-place in the
Imperial Tombs. Her body was inclosed in a splendid coffin, and the
tablet telling her name and the story of her life was hung in a niche in
the Temple of Ancestors. The road to the Tombs was spread with yellow
earth, and banners were hung across it at intervals, while blue cloth
was festooned at crossings, and wherever there was danger that the
curious eyes of the common people should peep at the tablet. In complete
silence came the imperial umbrella, flag, and Sedan-chair, all of
beautiful yellow satin. The chair containing the tablet was carried by
eight bearers in crimson dresses with yellow spots. It was followed by a
train of Mandarins in court dress, their garments glittering with
embroidery. After them came a troop of spearmen, wearing yellow jackets
with black sleeves, and bearing long slender lances.
On arriving at the Temple of Ancestors, which is within the palace, the
procession was met by some of the ministers of state and the princes.
The tablet was lifted to its place of honor, and then the ceremonies
were over for the time, though offerings will be placed before it, as
before the tablets of other ancestors, whenever any event of importance
takes place in the royal family.
Perhaps some of you do not know that the Chinese worship their
ancestors. They fancy that the souls of the dead linger around these
tablets, and so they place food, clothing, and money near them. Even the
poorest consider this a sacred duty. Every home has its tablets, if not
its ancestral hall. It is their idea that the spiritual part only of the
food is eaten by the dead, and so, after a while, most families use the
rice and fruit themselves. Money and clothing are represented by paper,
which, at stated periods, is very devoutly burned before the shrines.
* * * * *
TWO AMUSING GAMES.--By the same mail which brought the Postmistress a
letter from the pupils of the Prairie Mound School, Watkins, Iowa,
asking her to tell them of a nice game to play at recess, came another
letter from St. Louis, Missouri, telling of two games. So what can be
better than to let Olga answer the Prairie-Mounders? The Postmistress is
sure they were thinking of games for rainy days. On fine days top, ball,
I-spy, and tag usually enlist active boys and girls, and those are the
best plays for them which give them wholesome exercise in the open air:
I have two very interesting games that may be played in-doors--one
is called "Cross-Purposes," and the other is "The Cook who likes no
Peas." The first is played in the following manner: One player goes
around among the circle, and whispers in each one's ear an answer
which he is to make to the next player who shall come after him
asking questions. For instance, Charles goes around to Nos. 1, 2,
3, and 4. To No. 1 he whispers, "Hot, sweet, and strong," to No. 2,
"With pepper and vinegar," to No. 3, "With my best love," and to
No. 4, "No, indeed." Jane comes after Charles to ask any questions
her own wit may suggest. She asks No. 1, "What kind of a week have
you passed?" No. 1 answers, "Hot, sweet, and strong." She asks No.
2, "Shall you ever marry?" No. 2 answers, "With pepper and
vinegar." To No. 3, "How will you keep house on these?" No. 3
answers, "With my best love." To No. 4, "Where do you live?" No. 4
answers, "No, indeed." Much amusement is sometimes made by the
total variance of the questions and answers, and sometimes a very
hard blow is administered to some of the company, but of course no
offense can be taken.
Now for "The Cook who likes no Peas." The leader of the game must
put the following question to his right-hand neighbor, and also to
all the players in succession: "My cook likes no peas; what shall I
give her to eat?" If any player replies, "Potatoes, apples, and
parsnips," the other answers, "She does not like them--pay a
forfeit." But if another says, "Onions, carrots, veal," she likes
them, and consequently no forfeit is required of the player. The
trick of this game is evident: it is the letter "p" that must be
avoided. Thus, to escape the penalty of a forfeit, it is necessary
that the player should propose some kind of food in which the
letter "p" does not occur.
OLGA C. B.
* * * * *
We would call the attention of the C. Y. P. R. U. this week to the
article, by Sarah Cooper, entitled "How Jelly-Fish Live and Move"; to
the story of shipwreck entitled the "Loss of the HALSEWELL," and told
under the head of "Peril and Privation" by Mr. James Payn; and to the
article on fencing, by Sherwood Ryse, entitled "A Princely Art."
* * * * *
Correct answers to puzzles have been received from "Fleur-de-lis," Kitty
Hoyt, Jennie Belknap, Jack Hayes, Robbie Keyes, Mary Jane Nichols,
"Lodestar," H. W. B., "Bo-Peep," Mary Stansbery, Emily Atkinson, G. P.
Taggart, Samuel S. Wolfsohn, S. May, Herman Metz, William H. Shine,
B. J. Lautz, L. E. C., Caspar Van Gieson, Lillie D., Willie T. Blew,
Smith Olcott, Lulu Payne, Dudley Long, Henry Clayton, Fanny Grey, John
Hobson, Archie McIntosh, Dick Fanshaw, Thomas B. Irons, Elsie V. Bess,
Mollie Ramsay, "I. Scycle," D. Herman Winter, Jun., Allie E.
Cressingham, "Benny Fishel," Eddie Lawler, and Everett C. F.
* * * * *
PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.
No. 1.
CHARADE.
1. A little pool (so called in England).
2. A little pool (so called in Scotland).
Whole--A city in Ireland.
J. P. B.
* * * * *
No. 2.
WORDS WITHIN WORDS (GEOGRAPHICAL).
(The word defined is contained, without transposition, between the first
and last letters of the second).
1. An ancient city in an ancient plain.
2. A passage in a church in a large town in Scotland.
3. A girl in a town in Switzerland.
4. An attorney in a town in Italy.
5. Always in a river of England.
6. An Austrian river in trouble.
7. A domestic animal in a lake of Russia.
J. P. B.
* * * * *
No. 3.
ENIGMA.
In bed, but not in sleep,
In boil, but not in steep.
In can't, but not in could.
In bark, but not in wood.
In stay, but not in stood.
My whole, though a great trouble,
Is a book that all should keep.
MABEL M. S.
* * * * *
No. 4.
GEOGRAPHICAL PUZZLE.
I am the name of a favorite English novelist, and am composed of
fourteen letters.
My 2, 6, 5, 12, 13, 3 is a city in Arkansas.
My 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 is a cape on the Atlantic coast.
My 4, 6, 8 is a river in Louisiana.
My 14, 13, 3, 11, 12 is a river in Idaho.
My 6, 4, 9, 12 is one of the great lakes.
My 10, 5, 9, 13, 10, 2 is a river in Virginia.
OLIVETTE.
* * * * *
No. 5.
TWO DIAMONDS.
1.--1. A letter. 2. A tag. 3. Emaciation. 4. A stout satin-striped silk.
5. The slanting bank opposite the tow-path. 6. To perceive. 7. A letter.
2.--1. A letter. 2. A receptacle. 3. Pipes. 4. Hollow. 5. To beat. 6. A
boy's nickname. 7. A letter.
FOSSIL.
* * * * *
No. 6.
BEHEADINGS.
1. I am a home; behead me, and I am a fluid.
2. I measure time; behead me, and I am a fastening.
3. I am burnt; behead me, and I am a conjunction.
4. I am a factory; behead me, and I am sick.
5. I am a being; behead me, and I am a part of speech.
6. I am a pleasant pastime; behead me, and I am a girl's name.
7. I am used in hunting; behead me, and I indicate the summer.
8. I am a boy's name; behead me, and I am part of a verb.
9. I am a mechanical instrument; behead me, and I never end.
P. F. S.
* * * * *
ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN No. 129.
No. 1.
T opmos T
I ndian A
T ormen T
T aproo T
L itera L
E pidot E
No. 2.
Eli Whitney. Victor Hugo. Boy.
No. 3.
C R E S T
R E A C H
E A G E R
S C E N E
T H R E E
No. 4
P C
P I G T H E
P I A N O C H I N A
G N U E N D
O A
P
P A D
P A N I C
D I N
C
* * * * *
[_For Exchanges, see 2d and 3d pages of cover._]
[Illustration]
HOW THE DANDELIONS GROW.
How do they grow? Why, little sprites
Pop up from the ground on starry nights;
One, with a candle, sits aloft,
Another rakes till all is soft;
Then one little elf a bellows wields;
He scatters the seed o'er dewy fields.
And now, small people, you surely know
The way that the dandelions grow.
* * * * *
A DOG WHO LIKED CATS.
Poodles are, in some respects, the most intelligent of all species of
dogs. This is the reason why the performing dogs who are taught to do
all sorts of curious tricks are almost always poodles. There was a lady
who owned a large poodle which was very fond of walking with her. Every
day at about ten o'clock he would find the articles of dress that he
thought she ought to wear out-of-doors, and would bring them to her, and
bark loudly until she would put them on. He always insisted that she
should wear rubber overshoes, no matter what the weather might be, but
he never brought her an umbrella except when it rained. It was very nice
in him to wait on his mistress; but sometimes, when he would drag her
best bonnet by one string down stairs and through the whole house until
he found her, she would not remember to thank him as heartily as he
imagined that he deserved.
Unlike most dogs, this poodle liked cats. He had intelligence enough to
perceive that cats had their uses, and that it was much better to use
them than to waste them recklessly by killing them. In the family where
he lived there were at one time two large cats. Now the poodle was not
allowed to wear any wool except on his head, fore-quarters, tail, and
legs, and the consequence was that in the winter he suffered from the
cold. He therefore made friends with the cats by giving them scraps of
his dinner, and so induced them to come and lie down by him when he
wanted a nap. With one cat on each side of him he was quite warm and
comfortable, and when the cats showed signs of wakefulness he would put
them to sleep by licking their fur with his rough tongue.
The two cats finally died or ran away, and a small kitten took their
place. The dog did not think it worth while to waste bones on the
kitten, as she was a weak, foolish little beast, who fancied that she
must do whatever the poodle wanted. When he felt sleepy, he would go
into the kitchen and find his kitten. Picking her up in his mouth, he
would walk slowly through the house until he found a nice sunny spot on
a soft carpet, when he would lie down, placing the kitten close to him.
If any one called him while he was walking about with the kitten in his
mouth, he would throw her away with a toss of his head, never caring
where she might land. This rough treatment, together with the fact that
he would sometimes pick the kitten up by the tail or the head, and carry
her for several minutes in a most trying position, proved too much for
the meek little animal's constitution, and one day, to his great
disappointment, the dog found her dead, and so cold that she was no
longer of the slightest use to him.
It is a great pity that other dogs have not discovered that cats can be
put to good use if dogs only take a little pains to win their friendship
and develop their useful qualities. But dogs are too often reckless and
thoughtless, and prefer to waste valuable cats in order to enjoy for a
few moments the pleasures of the chase.
* * * * *
AN EVENING AMUSEMENT.
DROPPING MELTED LEAD.
From far-away Russia we may learn of a pretty custom which Florence and
Fanny might propose some evening when the cousins and school-mates have
gathered for an hour or two of fun. It forms one of the traditional
amusements of the New-Year festival, but you might try it at any period
of the year.
Pin a large white sheet against the wall. Have ready a basin of cold
water, and over the fire melt a quantity of lead. Let some one drop this
liquid lead by spoonfuls into the water. It of course cools quickly, and
hardens into shape. Hold it up, and observe the shadow it casts on the
sheet. If this is like a boat, or a sleigh, or a horse and phaeton, it
is a sign that somebody in the company will soon start on a journey.
Should it assume the shape of a blossoming bough, it betokens the speedy
convalescence of a friend who is ill; if it resembles a dove, you may be
sure that Albert and Elsie, who have quarrelled, will soon be
reconciled. In short, by the aid of a vivid imagination, you may fancy
that the lead tells you almost anything you wish to hear.
* * * * *
[Illustration: SPRING SPORTS--"SKIPPITY-HOP."]
End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Young People, May 9, 1882, by Various