BLOWN FROM THE RIM OF A CRATER.
When our lads next awoke they were oppressed with a sense of suffocation
and uncomfortable warmth. It was still dark, and M. Filbert was striking
a match in order to look at his watch.
"Seven o'clock!" he cried, incredulously. "How can it be?"
"_Cole suass!_" (snow) exclaimed the Indian, to whom the flare of light
had instantly disclosed the cause of both darkness and suffocation. The
cave was much smaller than when they entered it, and was also full of
steam. Its walls were covered with moisture, and rivulets of water
trickled over the floor.
"_Cultus snow!_ Heap plenty! Too much! _Mamook ilahie_" (must dig),
continued the Indian, springing to his feet, and making an attack on the
drifted snow that had completely choked the cavern's mouth. When he had
excavated a burrow the length of his body, Bonny took his place, while
Alaric and M. Filbert removed the loosened snow to the back of the cave,
where they packed it as closely as possible.
Although a faint light soon appeared in the tunnel, it was a full hour
before it was dug to the surface of the tremendous drift and a rush of
cold air was admitted.
A glance outside showed that while no snow was falling at that moment,
the day was dark and gloomy, and the mountain was enveloped in clouds
that were driven in swirling eddies by fierce gusts of wind.
In spite of the threatening weather, M. Filbert declared that they must
begin their retreat at once, as they had but one day's supply of food
left, while the storm might burst upon them again at any minute and
continue indefinitely. So, after a hasty meal of biscuit and cold meat,
the little party sallied forth. The Indian, having no longer a burden of
fire-wood, relieved Alaric of his camera, and led the way. M. Filbert
followed, then came Alaric, while Bonny brought up the rear.
Oh, how cold it was! and how awful! To be sure, the dangers surrounding
them were hidden by impenetrable clouds, but they had already seen them,
and knew of their presence. As they started to traverse the rocky
crater rim that still rose slightly above the snow, the entire summit
was visible; but a few minutes later a furious gust of wind again
shrouded it in clouds so dense as to completely hide objects only a few
feet away.
Just then Alaric tripped on one of his boot-lacings that had become
unfastened, and very nearly fell. That was no place for tripping, and
such a thing must not happen again. So he paused to secure the loosened
lacing, and, as he stooped over it, Bonny cried impatiently from behind:
"Hurry up, Rick! the others are already out of sight, and it will never
do to lose them in this fog."
The necessity for haste only caused the lad's numbed fingers to fumble
the more awkwardly, and several precious minutes were thus wasted.
With his task completed, Alaric, full of nervous dread, started to run
after their vanished companions, slipped on a bit of glare ice at a
place where the narrow path slanted down and out, and pitched headlong.
Bonny saw his danger, sprang to his assistance, slipped on the same
treacherous ice, and in another moment both lads had plunged over the
outer verge of the sheer wall.
Neither Alaric nor Bonny could ever afterwards tell whether they fell
twenty feet or two hundred in that terrible, breathless plunge. Almost
with the first knowledge of their situation they found themselves
struggling in a drift of soft, fresh-fallen snow, and a moment afterward
rolling, bounding, and shooting with frightful velocity down an icy
rooflike slope of interminable length.
At length, after what seemed an eternity of this terrible experience,
though in reality it lasted but a few minutes, they were flung into a
narrow snow-filled valley that cut their course at a sharp angle, and
found themselves lying within a few feet of each other, dazed and sorely
bruised, but apparently with unbroken bones, and certainly still alive.
As they slowly gained a sitting posture and gazed curiously at each
other, Bonny said, impressively:
"Rick Dale, before we go any further I want to take back all I ever said
about the life of a sailor being exciting, for it isn't a circumstance
to that of an interpreter."
"Oh, Bonny, it is so good to hear your voice again! Wasn't it awful? and
how do you suppose we can ever get back?"
"Get back!" cried the other. "Well, if we had wings we might fly back;
but there's no other way that I know of. We must be a mile from our
starting-point, and even to reach the foot of the place where we dove
off we'd have to cut steps in the ice every inch of the way. That would
probably take a couple of days, and when we got there we'd have to turn
around and come down again, for nothing except a bird could ever scale
that wall."
"Then what shall we do?"
"Keep on as we have begun, I suppose, only a little slower, I hope,
until we reach the timber-line, and then try and follow it to camp."
"I wonder if we can?"
"Of course we can, for we've got to."
Painfully the lads gained their feet, and with cautious steps began to
explore their surroundings. They walked side by side for a few yards,
and then each clutched the other as though to draw him back. They were
on the brink of a precipice over which another step would have carried
them.
While they hesitated, not knowing which way to turn nor what to do, the
clouds below them rolled away, though above and back of them they
remained as dense as ever, and a view of what lay before them was
unfolded.
Rocks, ice, and snow; sheer walls on either side of them, and a
precipitous slope forming an almost vertical descent of a thousand feet
in front. There were but three things to do: Go back the way they had
come, which was so wellnigh impossible that they did not give it a
second thought; remain where they were, which meant a certain and speedy
death; or make their way down that rocky wall. They crept to its brink
and looked over, anxiously scanning its every feature and calculating
their chances. The first thirty feet were sheer and smooth. Then came a
narrow shelf, below which they could see others at irregular intervals.
"There is only one way to do it," said Bonny, "and that is by the rope.
I will go first, and you must follow."
"I'll try," replied Alaric, with a very pale face but a brave voice.
So Bonny, with the knowledge of knots that he had learned on shipboard,
made a noose that would not slip in one end of their rope, tied half a
dozen knots along its length for hand-holds, and fastened its other end
about his body. Then he looped the noose over a jutting point of rock,
and, slipping cautiously over the brink, allowed himself to slide slowly
down.
It made Alaric so giddy to watch him that he closed his eyes, nor did he
open them until a cheery "All right, Rick!" assured him of his comrade's
safety. Now came his turn, and as he hung by that slender cord he was
devoutly thankful for the strength that the past few weeks had put into
his arms. He too reached the ledge in safety, and then, with great
difficulty, on account of the narrowness of their foothold, they managed
to whip the noose off its resting-place. Now they _must_ go forward, for
there was no longer a chance of going back. In vain, though, did they
search that smooth ledge for a point that would hold their noose. There
was none, and the next shelf was twenty feet below.
"We must climb it, Rick, and this time you must go first. Put the loop
under your arms, and I will do my best to hold you if you slip; but
don't take any chances, or count too much on me being able to do it."
There were little cracks and slight projections. Bonny held the rope
reassuringly taut, and at length the feat was accomplished. Then Alaric
took in the slack of the rope as Bonny, tied to its other end, made the
same perilous descent.
So, with strained arms and aching legs, and fingers worn to the quick
from clutching the rough granite, they made their slow way from ledge to
ledge, gaining courage and coolness as they successfully overcame each
difficulty, until they estimated that they had descended fully five
hundred feet. Now came another smooth face absolutely without a crevice
that they could discover, and the next ledge below was further away than
the length of their dangling rope. There was, however, a projection
where they stood over which they could loop the noose.
"We've got it to do," said Bonny, stoutly, "and I only hope the drop at
the end isn't so long as it looks." Thus saying, he slipped cautiously
over the edge, let himself down to the end of the rope, dropped ten
feet, staggered, and seemed about to fall, but saved himself by a
violent effort. Alaric followed, and also made the drop, but whirled
half round in so doing, and but for Bonny's quick clutch would have gone
over the edge.
There was now no way of recovering their useful rope; and fortunately,
though they sorely needed it at times, they found no other place
absolutely impossible without it. Now came a rude granite stairway with
steps fit for a giant, and then a long slope of loose bowlders, that
rocked and rolled from beneath their feet as they sprang from one to
another. They crossed the rugged ice of a glacier, whose innumerable
crevasses intersected like the wrinkles on an old man's face, and had
many hair-breadth escapes from slipping into their deadly depths of
frozen blue. Then came a vast snow-field, over which they tramped for
miles with weary limbs but light hearts, for the terrors of the mountain
were behind them and the timber-line was in sight. Darkness had already
overtaken them when they came to a steep rock-strewn slope, down which
they ran with reckless speed. They were near its bottom when a bowlder
on which Bonny had just leaped rolled from under him, and he fell
heavily in a bed of jagged rocks.
As he did not regain his feet, Alaric sprang to his side. The poor lad
who had so stoutly braved the countless perils of the day was moaning
pitifully, and as his friend bent anxiously over him he said, in a
feeble voice,
"I'm afraid, old man, that I'm done for at last, for it feels as though
every bone in my body was broken."
[TO BE CONTINUED.]
RIGS AND MAKESHIFTS OF THE SMALL BOAT.
BY DUDLEY D. F. PARKER.
While a boy may not have occasion or the good fortune to handle or own a
large boat, he is almost certain, if he lives near water, to have
something to do with a bateau, skiff, or small boat of some character.
Or perchance he may own a row-boat of the St. Lawrence skiff variety,
and may wish to put a sail on it. Now there is nothing more clumsy and
dangerous than a badly rigged small boat. By badly rigged is not meant
only the boat whose spars are imperfect, or other things connected with
her rig radically wrong, but also the boat that carries a rig that may
be perfectly suitable for another class, but is entirely out of place in
one of this size. A thing to be avoided in all small boats is
unnecessary rigging; too many halyards and sheet ropes are in the way,
and, where the rigging is on a very small scale, are very apt to get
tangled or out of order when most wanted. So it may readily be seen
that, for instance, the jib-and-mainsail rig of a twenty-five-foot boat,
with its accompanying number of sheets, stays, and halyards would be
totally out of place in a fourteen-foot bateau. The whole attention of
the natives or "shell-backs" in or near our fishing villages has been
devoted to the originating of makeshifts for the avoidance of everything
that makes the construction and handling of a boat more difficult. Their
idea seems to have been that anything that could be accomplished without
the aid of mechanical means, simply by the use of a little extra muscle,
had better be done that way.
[Illustration: PLATE 1.]
[Illustration: PLATE 2.]
[Illustration: PLATE 3.]
It might be said that in the small boat are seen the various rigs, in
their simplicity, whose principles have been elaborated and altered to
meet the different conditions required. Taking them in order of
simplicity, we first come to the "leg-o'-mutton" rig. Here only two
spars are used, and no halyards. In No. 1 (Plate I) the boom has no
jaws, and is held in place at the mast by catching the projecting end in
a sling, and by poking the other end through a cringle in the leech. The
only lacing required is to fasten the sail to the mast, the sail only
being fastened to the boom (more properly sprit) at the points
mentioned. If it is found to bag, the remedy is to shorten the sling
until the sail sets flatly. This can never be entirely accomplished, as
the sail, being supported by the boom only at the extreme outer end and
the mast at the other, is very apt to stretch in a stiff breeze.
Advancing a step, we come to the remedy of this trouble (Fig. 2, Plate
I). It is the introduction of jaws at the mast, instead of the rope
sling. The tendency to bag is removed, as the sail is fastened at
frequent intervals by lacing to the boom, along which it may be kept
stretched tightly. Also the tendency of the boom to slide forward is
effaced as it butts up against the mast. In this method a much lighter
spar can be used, as the strain is made to come more or less throughout
its whole length, whilst in the first-mentioned it comes wholly at the
ends. The principal objection against the "leg-o'-mutton" rig in general
is the great length of mast required. This is one of its most serious
drawbacks, and the other is the inability to reef the sail. Of course
modifications of this rig have been made, introducing halyards and
supplying reef points, but a discussion of that is beyond the scope of
this paper, such modifications being rarely seen on a small boat.
As mention has been made of lacing a sail to spars, perhaps it would be
just as well to digress a little here, and speak of three well-known
methods of lacing. The first, A, (Plate III), is the simplest and about
as effective as any. The sail is fastened to the boom by an
"over-and-over" lacing. In B, the sail is held by a series of
"half-hitches," and in the third, or C, the lacing runs through eyes
screwed into the boom.
The next step in rendering the rig more compact is to shorten the mast.
This can only be done at the cost of an increase in the complexity of
the rigging. A new spar is introduced, and the sail is cut down from a
triangle to an area having four sides. Some means had to be found to
support the upper edge, and a study of the last three sail plans will
show some of the methods in use. Figs. 3 and 4 are nearly equal, as far
as simplicity goes, though Fig. 3 is simpler on account of the absence
of lacings on the upper edge. This is commonly known as the
"sprit-sail," and, taking all things into consideration, it seems to be
the most efficient and handiest of all the rigs. Of course it is not as
efficient in some respects as the sail in Fig. 5, the same trouble being
experienced on the top edge as in the "leg-o'-mutton"--bagging--but it
possesses the advantage of greater simplicity. If we examine this rig we
will readily see that it is any large fore-and-aft sail reduced to its
simplest form. We find, instead of the gaff and the two halyards to hold
the sail up, all this is replaced by the simple device of the pole
(sprit), one end of which is stuck in a cringle in the upper corner of
the sail, and the other caught in a sling. The sail does not move on the
mast, and is laced to it. The boom has jaws at the mast, and the sail is
laced on, or sometimes the device shown in No. 1 is resorted to, though
the former method will be found to make this sail set better. There are
no reef points, and the only way to reef is to drop the peak by removing
the sprit. Of course it must be understood that this rig is not at all
practicable in a boat of any size, but in any of about the size of a
row-boat it will be found to be most convenient.
In the next device (No. 4) we approach nearer to the regular
"fore-and-aft" sail. There can be seen the introduction of a yard to
which the upper edge of the sail is laced, as to the ordinary gaff. No
halyards are used, and the yard is lashed to the mast, and held at the
proper angle to keep the sail flat by a rope fastening its lower
extremity to the mast. The only objection to this rig is that the yard
has a tendency to give and to permit the sail to bag. This rig is
frequently seen on duck-boats. There is no method of reefing except
dropping the yard, unless reef points are introduced.
[Illustration: A DUCK-BOAT TYPE.]
Taking a step further we come to the "fore-and-aft" sail proper. Here we
find the introduction of a gaff, which might be looked upon as the
shortening of the yard in the preceding rig. There are jaws on both boom
and gaff, and the sail is movable on the mast, being usually held on by
loops, the gaff moving up and down. To take the place of the lashings in
the preceding rigs, ropes (halyards) fastened to this spar and passing
through blocks at the mast-head and so down have been introduced.
Because of the ability to hoist and lower the sail, reefing is
accomplished by a row, or rows, of little ropes (reef points), by which
it is tied down, thus reducing it to almost any size desired according
to the number of reefs tied in. Most small sails of this character have
at least one row, and some two; though the small cat-boat usually has
three. In a previous article (HARPER'S ROUND TABLE, No. 827) a
description of how to tie a reef in the sail of a larger boat was given.
The principle is the same in all sized sails, and perhaps it will only
be necessary to add here that the reef points are not tied around the
boom but around the part of the sail taken in by the reef (D, Plate
III). The stop at the outer cringle, however, is tied around the boom. A
simple means of reefing, which may be used in all the rigs except the
first, is by rows of holes of the same character as the leech cringle;
and after pulling the sail down to the proper distance (most sails laced
to the mast can, with a little care, be moved), hold the reef in by a
single lacing through them, in the same manner as the sail is laced on
in A. A stop at the leech is required, as in the preceding method.
[Illustration: ST. LAWRENCE SKIFF WITH FORE-AND-AFT SAIL.]
Many combinations are made with the jib. There seems to be about only
one common way of rigging a jib for a small boat. A pretty clear idea
may be gained from the sketch (Plate I). As may be seen, no stay is
used, the sail usually being bound with a rope, which gives it
sufficient strength; no halyard is used, either the jib being lashed to
the mast, and lowered and hoisted when it is stepped or unstepped. The
lower edge is laced to a boom, which is secured to the bow with a
lashing about four inches long, a third of its length projecting. The
sheet rope is fastened to the inner extremity. The most common
combination is the jib and sprit-sail, generally known as the "skiff
rig" (see sketch). It is quite often used with one of the
"leg-o'-mutton" sails. The most general use of the "leg-o'-mutton"
types, however, is either two together, as in the sharpie rig, or
separately as the only sail in the boat.
[Illustration: A SHARPIE-RIGGED OYSTER-BOAT.]
Perhaps a few words on the spars would be in place here. First, taking
the stick itself; it should always be a straight-grained piece of wood,
as free from knots as possible, and well seasoned. The several spars
require different degrees of tapering. The aim of the taper is to reduce
weight, by concentrating the greatest amount of material at the point
most strained, and removing the surplus. The mast should leave little
taper, except in the "leg-o'-mutton"--where it is tapered very much
towards the head--and ought to be nearly the same size throughout its
whole length, the thickest part, if any, from a short distance above the
deck or brace to a few inches below. It should have a slight taper at
the head and a pretty good sized one at the heel where it enters the
step. The boom should have a slight gradual taper, the thickest part
being between a quarter and a third of the distance from the mast to the
end of the spar, and the mast end much heavier than the other. The
making of the jaws has been described in a previous article (HARPER'S
ROUND TABLE, No. 818). The thickest part of the gaff should be about a
third of the distance from the mast. The sprit should be about the same
thickness throughout its entire length. In the yard rig the thickest
part of the yard should be in about the same relative position to the
mast as it is in the gaff.
[Illustration: A DOUBLE-END CLAM-BOAT.]
Turning now to the rigging of the boat; the only one of the rigs
requiring halyards is the fore-and-aft sail (No. 5). The method of
threading can readily be understood from a study of the sketch. No. 5
(Plate II) is only practicable for a small boat, but No. 6 is more
suitable for a larger one. About the only other thing requiring mention
in the rigging are the different methods of reeving the sheet rope. No.
1 and No. 2 are the simplest, the only difference between them being the
positions of the fastened ends. In the first the end is secured to the
boat, and in the second it is fastened to the boom. The device shown in
the third sketch is a trifle more complicated. The fourth one is the
most intricate of all, but has the least drag on the sheet, as every
time the rope passes over a wheel in a block by so much is the pull
diminished. This rig requires the introduction of a double block on the
traveller, and perhaps a snatch block to ease the pull when close
hauled.
As blocks have been mentioned, perhaps it would be as well to say that
small galvanized iron blocks can be procured at very little cost, and
will accomplish all that is required of them. Of course, if the boat's
owner is inclined to spend more money, wooden blocks will make the
rigging neater and run easier. Travellers are used to fasten sheet ropes
to the boat, and may be made in two ways, either out of iron or rope.
The iron traveller in this case is an iron rod carrying a ring to which
the block is attached, bent down at the ends, which are threaded and
fastened with nuts through the stern. The rope traveller is a strong
cotton rope, the ends fastened on each side of the boat, and the rope
passing through a ring on the lower side of the block. In the rigging
may be also included the cleats for belaying the halyards and sheets.
For the halyards, and for purposes where it is desirable to fasten the
rope securely and for some time, a cleat shaped like E is best; but if
it is desired to fasten the rope temporarily, or to use it as a means of
breaking the pull on the rope, the jam-cleat F is the most efficient, a
turn or two causing the rope to jam. Leaving the rigging, we will turn
to the boat proper.
[Illustration: SKIFF-RIGGED BATEAU.]
There are three methods of keeping a boat from making leeway (going
side-ways)--by a centre-board, leeboard, or keel. The last is
impracticable for a small boat, and will not be considered. There are
two varieties of centreboards in use--the ordinary drop pattern, as used
in the larger boats, and the dagger. The drop is generally triangular in
shape, held in place by a pin at the lower corner of the trunk passing
through the apex. The dagger is only a board or board shaving a
projecting cap on the top, so that it will not fall through the trunk,
and is lifted entirely clear when not wanted. The drop pattern is a
little more convenient, but somewhat difficult to make. The drop is just
as efficient, and can never get out of order, whilst easily replaced if
broken. It is the one most used by the "natives." The only danger of
this board, and one that must be always borne in mind when sailing in
waters where bars abound, is that it cannot raise up when it strikes an
obstruction as the drop will, and, if you are not watchful, may upset
your boat. The leeboard seems only a miserable apology at the best, and
is only pardonable when you do not desire to cut a hole in your boat's
bottom to build a trunk. The only practicable method is to make a
movable board with clamps that fit over the gunwale, and move it to the
lee side as the boat's course changes. In a previous article (HARPER'S
ROUND TABLE No. 818) there has been described how to make a rudder with
tiller and yoke-line attachments, and it will be unnecessary to go into
details here. The yoke lines are sometimes the only way of steering in
some types of boats, as, for example, the St. Lawrence skiffs. In the
sea skiffs and river bateaux there is an extremely simple means of
steering by an oar. It is held in two places, either in a lock or groove
cut in the stern-board or under the lee counter. The stern oar is used
in much the same manner as a rudder, but the lee oar is kept out of the
water most of the time, only being immersed when the boat begins to
fetch up, and taken out as soon as this tendency is corrected. The
reason of this is that the oar, being rested against the gunwale,
projects over the side at quite an angle from the fore and aft, and
hence, if kept in all the time, it would throw the boat's head off.
There is quite an extensive use of the jib in this class of boats. The
jib can be made to exert quite an influence on the boat's speed, and if
the sails are nearly balanced the boat can be held on a straight course
by proper trimming. It is only by experience that the trim of the jib
can be learned, as it depends on the balancing of the sails, on how
close you are sailing, and on the strength of the wind. When going about
let slack the jib-sheet just before the boat begins to round up,
trimming it again when on the other tack. If the jib is out too far it
has a tendency to flap, and if too flat, there is a tendency of the
boat's head to fall off the wind.
A SKATING ADVENTURE.
Tim lived in Minnesota. His mother had forbidden his attending a skating
carnival that was to be held at some lumber mills ten miles down the
river. Against her orders, however, Tim had clapped on his skates, and
was whirring along the frozen stream.
He kept in the middle of the stream to avoid the dark shadows cast by
the trees and any soft ice along the banks. It was a beautiful moonlight
night, sharp and cold. The pine and fir trees along the banks
crystallized with ice crackled as the wind sighed through them. He had
gone about five miles, and was speeding along past some small brush that
lined the bank, when he heard the noise of something heavy crashing
through it. The thought of wolves came to his mind, and he grew
frightened.
He looked in the direction of the sounds, and there, skulking along, was
a dark shadow, surely a wolf. Thoroughly frightened, he paused, and then
thinking he would not be noticed, slowly turned, and began skating back.
But the dark shadow hesitated, and then also turned and followed him.
Tim skated faster and faster, but on came the shadow. Fear now fell upon
him and lent him additional speed, and his skates fairly hummed along
over the ice.
The dark shadow had left the bank, and had taken to the centre of the
frozen stream, bounding along after Tim with rapid leaps. As Tim glanced
back he was sure he could see the red distended nostrils and gleaming
eyes of the wolf, his tongue hanging from his mouth.
Every now and then came the sharp yelp of the animal, and on the still
air he could plainly hear its panting breath. "Oh, why did I come?" he
thought, and the tears froze on his cheeks. At last a light appeared. It
was his house. He knew that wolves seldom enter a clearing or village,
and with renewed efforts he made for the foot of his garden, that
bordered on the river. But on came the panting shadow, and as he reached
the garden and attempted to run up the bank his skates tripped him. With
a loud cry for help he fell.
When he came to, the blue starry sky stared down at him, and the fearful
dark shadow was softly licking his face. Then Tim saw what a coward he
had been, for it was neighbor Ransom's big Newfoundland dog that had
been lost a couple of days before.
The dog, seeing and recognizing Tim, had joyfully chased after him,
doubtless thinking he was skating away from him in fun. Tim got up
slowly, thoroughly frightened by his evening's adventure, and unclamping
his skates, determined that he would never disobey his mother again.
GYPSY'S FURY.
BY WILLIAM HEMMINGWAY.
Of all the wild animals tamed by man, the elephant is in many respects
the most dangerous and treacherous. All old animal-trainers know that.
In spite of the many tales that are told about the good nature and
honesty of these gigantic brutes, no experienced man will trust them.
You will notice, for example, at the circus, that the man who puts the
herd of elephants through a lot of tricks always faces them, or, if he
turns his back, he does so only for an instant. And while the crowd is
applauding the evolutions and capers of the big fellows, you will notice
half a dozen helpers armed with elephant hooks ready to jump into the
ring and help the trainer at a moment's notice. No one can tell at what
moment an elephant may become sulky and obstinate. When that happens the
brute must be led away as soon as possible. It is useless to try to
force him to go on with his tricks.
Living for years in confinement, having little exercise or none, the
poor elephants become sickly, worried, and irritable. They suffer
physical changes. If you look closely at an elephant that has been kept
long in captivity, you will see that the knees of his hind legs are bent
inward, and that the legs look weak and wobbly. That is the result of
swaying from side to side, which the elephant does partly from
nervousness and partly from want of exercise. The beasts deteriorate
mentally in as great a degree, and you will find it the rule that old
elephants are bad-tempered.
In Chicago, not long ago, Gypsy, a gigantic elephant, killed a man, and
kept a whole neighborhood in terror for three hours. The man had been
warned to keep away from her, and his overconfidence in his ability to
subdue the savage beast cost him his life.
Gypsy is forty-five years old, and weighs five tons. She spent the
winter in Chicago with a circus, and was kept in a stable at No. 232
South Robny Street. Her name used to be Empress years ago, but she
killed a man, and her owners gave her a new name and hoped she would
never become vicious again. But an elephant that goes wild is like a
horse that runs away. She may not misbehave for a long time, but she is
almost certain to do great harm sooner or later. Gypsy had been
irritated for several days before her outbreak. Her regular trainer and
handler, Bernard Shea, was called away to Omaha, and Gypsy did not like
to be left in the care of a stranger. She was not fond of Frank Scott,
who took charge of her. She allowed him to bring her food and water, but
she grew angry whenever he took her out for exercise. On Tuesday night
she saw a mouse running along a ledge in the barn, and this frightened
her into a panic. She trumpeted and tugged at her chain, and could
hardly be quieted. Scott did all he could to soothe her, but she was
restless all night long.
Frank Scott took Gypsy out for exercise early on Wednesday afternoon.
W. H. Harris, who owns the elephant, says he often warned Scott not to
do this, but the man persisted. There is an alley between Jackson and
Van Buren streets, and here the keeper made the big beast trot up and
down for ten minutes, while he sat astride of her neck close behind the
back of her huge head. Twice she balked and shook her great ears, but
Scott jabbed her with a sharp prod and forced her to go on. This prod or
hook is a bit of steel shaped like a rooster's spur, fastened to the end
of a short thick wooden handle. It has been the instrument used for ages
in controlling elephants. When Gypsy came to the door of the barn again
she stopped, and tried to turn in. There was a malicious gleam in her
little eyes, and she had swung her ears forward--a sure sign of anger in
an elephant.
"Go on, Gyp!" Scott commanded, sharply. But the elephant shook her head
and advanced toward the barn door. The man drove the steel hook deep
into her ear. She screamed with pain, and with a wild toss of her head
threw Scott to the ground. She wrapped her trunk around him, and picked
him up as easily as you would lift a little doll. She held him high
above her head and roared. Mr. Harris, her owner, and three other men
who had been attracted by the noise came running up the alley. Mr.
Harris shouted to the elephant to be still, but she seemed not to hear
him. She walked across the alley, and threw Scott against a building. An
ambulance and a squad of twelve policemen had been called now, but they
could do nothing for a time. Gypsy was infuriated, and she charged
wildly up and down the alley. As she ran away again, two men quickly
jumped out of the barn and carried Scott in. The ambulance took him to
the hospital, but he never recovered consciousness.
More than five hundred persons had gathered by this time to see the
furious elephant. The police had all they could do to keep many of them
out of the alley. Two policemen, leaving the box from which they had
sent a call for the patrol wagon, had to run to avoid Gypsy. A blow from
her trunk swept past them with a rush that doubled their speed.
Thirty-six more policemen came up and helped to drive back the crowd.
The streets for blocks around were cleared of people, because if the mad
beast should choose to leave the alley she could not be stopped, and she
would certainly kill everybody she could reach. It would be too late to
try to escape after she came out, for a mad elephant runs like the wind.
The speed of a horse is child's play compared with the mighty rush of
this clumsy giant when enraged. All the fire-arms in the neighborhood
were brought out, but the circus men prevailed on the police not to let
them be used, as ordinary rifle-bullets would only have made Gypsy more
angry without hurting her at all.
After running up and down the alley until she was tired, Gypsy at last
sauntered into the barn. The circus men quickly closed the doors behind
her. These doors were made of great oak planks four inches thick, firmly
riveted together, yet they were no more of a barrier to the elephant
than a paper hoop is to a circus rider. The moment Gypsy heard the doors
swing into place she wheeled around and ran out of the barn. She left
the doors in splinters. She did not slacken her pace, nor did she seem
to know that she had met an obstruction as she was passing through the
massive oaken structure. Once more she galloped blindly up and down the
alley. An old elephant man said that bread would quiet the animal, so
some one hurried to a bakery and soon returned with ten newly baked
loaves. These were thrown over a fence into the alley, and Gypsy ate
them greedily. Ten more were brought up and fed to her, and more after
that, until she had consumed fifty loaves. As she ate, her rage seemed
to pass away. When the fiftieth loaf had disappeared she wandered into
the barn once more. Claude Orton, a trainer, tried to fasten a chain
around Gypsy's leg, but she pushed him away; yet she showed no signs of
rage against him. A big piece of canvas was hung over the broken door.
Gypsy walked over and felt it carefully with her trunk, but she made no
attempt to break through. At the end of an hour she allowed Orton to
chain her leg, and she quietly remained after that in her accustomed
place.
DANDELION DOWN.
Happy spirit of the air,
Floating all the sunny day
Here and there and everywhere
Down the shadowy woodland way,
I would like to be like you,
Tossing, drifting down the May,
'Neath the skies of cloudless blue
With the breezes e'er at play.
R. K. MUNKITTRICK.
[Illustration: From Chum to Chum]
BY GASTON V. DRAKE.
XVIII.--FROM BOB TO JACK.
GENEVA.
[Illustration]
DEAR JACK,--I did dream about that Guillotine as I was afraid I
would and it wasn't any fun. I'm sorry I went to bed that night. I
thought I went to the barber's to get my hair cut and all he had to
cut it with was the guillotine. He said his scissors were off being
ground but if I wouldn't wiggle the guillotine was just as safe,
and it was, though I didn't enjoy it very much until I waked up and
found it was all a dream, and then like a donkey I went and told Ma
all about it and she said I'd have to stop eating _Table d'hôte_.
Do you know what _table-d'hôte_ is? It's French for a kind of a
dinner where you eat everything there is on the bill of fare, and
it's great because they ring in three or four different kinds of
desert in such a way that nobody thinks of telling you it isn't
good for you. First you have soup and then you have fish and next
comes a patty which is generally a sort of chicken-hash short cake,
and it goes right to the spot. Then you have roast lamb with mint
sauce and green pease about as big as bird shot cooked with sugar
and soft as peaches. Then comes another desert called sherbet,
which is only lemon water ice and you think your dinner is over
when pop! in walks the waiter with some kind of a bird, with some
salad. Then you have cheese and then a pudding and on top of the
pudding ice-cream and cake. They call the cakes petty fours but I
could eat 'em by the petty sixes and I do. If you ever come abroad
don't forget to eat all of these dinners you can. They're cheap and
good only don't try to get one by asking for a Tay-bill-de-hote as
you'd think it was called. No Frenchman would know what you meant,
but if you call for a _Tar-bull-doat_ they'll bring it in a minute.
Ma said it was too many of these that was making me have dreams
like the guillotine one but Pop said he didn't think it was; the
boy is naturally excited by what he sees and hears about. We'll
have to tell Jules to stop telling him stories. I'd rather go
without the table d'hôte said I. And there it dropped and you can
bet I'm not going to bring the subject up again no matter if I
dream my head's being chopped off.
[Illustration]
We left Paris yesterday. We didn't any of us want to come away but
our time was up and so we left leaving about ninety-nine per cent.
of the city unvisited. We didn't see the cemetery or go to the
opera or any of those places--at least I didn't. Pop went to see
the cemetery and he said it was not very cheerful and reminded him
of a city of bathing houses, which I think must have been a mighty
queer looking cemetery. Jules took me and the babies to the circus,
but it isn't like our circus. There wasn't any pink lemonade or
monkies or things like that, but all sorts of goings on in the ring
and only one ring which I don't think is much and all the clowns
cracked their jokes in French so I was just as glad when it was
over.
[Illustration]
It was a long ride from Paris to Geneva. Fourteen hours and near
the end a Frenchman insisted on getting into our compartment which
Pop had paid a man to let us have all to ourselves--and wasn't Pop
mad! He tried to tell the Frenchman he had no business there, but
his French got mixed up with several other languages and Pop never
was strong on pantomime so the man didn't catch the idea until we
got to Geneva and then he got out, but it was too late. All this
time Jules was in the next car but we couldn't get at him to tell
him, and that made Pop more nervous than ever. However we all got
here alive and Pop has calmed down. He couldn't help calming down
here. It's a beautiful city and clean as a whistle--I don't mean a
railroad whistle, but the clean kind. It's right on the lake and
such green water you never saw and way off in the distance Mount
Blanc plays peek-a-booh with you through the clouds. Mount Blanc is
the finest Alp I ever saw and it looks good enough to eat--like a
great big plate of ice-cream. I wanted Jules to get up early the
next morning and go out and climb it with me and have a snow-ball
fight, but he says it takes nine hours to get to it riding all the
way in a wagon, and two days more to climb it. It hardly seems
possible, but I guess he knows because he's done it--leastways he
says he has though Pop doubts it. Pop says Jules is a French
Sandboys who has done a heap of things which no man ever did, but I
don't care he's a good fellow to go with and I like him. He told me
that when he climbed up Mount Blanc it was so cold it contracted
his head so that he couldn't keep his hat from sliding down over
his eyes, and as he had lost his golf cap and wore a beaver this
was trying because it prevented him from seeing many of the things
that other people who have climbed the mountain have seen and made
books of. Jules wants to write a book and I wish he would because
I'd like to read it. He's had so many things happen in his life.
Why the time he went up this Mount Blanc he encountered a polar
bear that wanted to eat him and Jules was willing he should because
he said he was so cold he was willing to go anywhere where it was
warm and he says the inside of a bear is a great deal warmer than
the outside of a bear, but in his frozen state he didn't know what
he was doing and so fought like a tiger and killed the bear, which
warmed him up a good deal and really in the end saved his life, for
if it hadn't been for the bear's skin he'd have frozen while he was
up on top of the mountain which rises to a height of 16,000 feet
above the level of the sea.
[Illustration]
Pop and I went into a place this morning where there was a race
going on between two music-boxes and one of 'em did a tune in at
least a minute less time than the other one did the same tune. I
enjoyed it very much but Pop called it a din and said let's go, so
we went. Aunt Sarah may be musical but I've heard her play the
piano and she can't get through that Cavalere Rusticannio half so
quick as one of these music-boxes.
Pop bought me a gold watch here yesterday, but I don't see what
good it's going to do me because he says he thinks he'll carry it a
year himself until it gets regulated.
When we get to Genoa where Columbus used to go I'll write again.
Yours always, BOB.
[Illustration: INTERSCHOLASTIC SPORT]
The New England Interscholastics will be held next Friday instead of
Saturday, because of the Harvard-Pennsylvania ball game which is to be
played on Holmes Field on the latter date. The events will number
fourteen, being the regular inter-collegiate programme, except that the
bicycle event will be limited to a one-mile race.
[Illustration: ANDOVER'S SPRINTERS.]
The English High-School athletes are determined to win this meet. They
have won every championship so far this year, and will make a strong bid
to complete the season victors in every department. Their chances at the
present writing seem much brighter than those of any other school.
Worcester Academy, however, will have plenty of fire in its eye. Its
backers claim to be sure of three firsts, which is a big bonus to begin
with. Worcester is smarting under the poor showing made in the winter
meet, and is sure to retrieve itself this spring. Andover, too, will
send down a hot set of runners.
For the sprints the Worcester men count on Robinson, who can run in
.10-1/5. But Kane of E. H.-S., who had his first experience in racing in
the winter meet, is backed by his schoolmates to win the event. Owens of
Newton, Mason of W.H.-S., Duffy of E.H.-S., Jones of Andover, Kennington
of Dedham High, Seaver of Cambridge High, and Hersey of W. A., make a
list that, with Kane and Robinson, probably includes the six starters in
the final heat. This list will have to be enlarged to fit the 220. Boyce
of Brookline High, who won the 150 at the Harvard open games early in
May, runs with a beautiful stride and finishes strong, and is making a
specialty of this game. Carleton of Hopkinson's is training for this
event. His legitimate distance is the quarter; but a recent serious
illness will prevent his getting into condition for that exhausting
race, and he will probably confine himself to the 220 in hope of beating
his old rival, Robinson. With Carleton in good form, this 220 ought to
furnish an exciting race.
There are a dozen lads around Boston who can run the quarter in better
than .55. In the interscholastic relay race at the Harvard games English
High's winning team of Kane, Purtell, Hanson, and Emery averaged
.54-1/2. Emery has been selected to win this event for them Friday. To
do it he will have to beat men like Badger of W.H.-S., Shirk of W.A.,
Clapp and Huntress of Hopkinson's, Garrett of Cambridge High, and
Thompson of C.M.T.S. Thompson and Badger are the best of the lot, and
with Emery ought to get the three places. The race will probably be run
in one heat, as heretofore, although the field in the event, which is
the prime favorite in New England, will be unusually large. Burke's
record is not in danger, but the race is sure to be a pretty one.
Albertson of Worcester High will be out to win the half this year, and
with Dadnum and Boyle of the same school will make a trio of exceedingly
high-class performers. Hartwell of W. A., Burdon of Newton, Gaskell of
Andover, if he is in condition, and Applegate of Cambridge High, ought
to be well bunched at the finish. Purtell will not run this distance
this year, but has assigned the task of beating Albertson to Hanson, who
won the 600 so pluckily at the winter meet. If Porter of Chauncy Hall
enters the half-mile, Hanson may find it hard to get better than third.
Mills of Berkeley School is almost sure of the mile, with Sullivan,
W. H., second, now that Dow of E.H.-S. has stopped training. Dow's
withdrawal will be a severe loss to E.H.-S., and will lower their
chances materially. Lincoln of Boston Latin, Richardson and Palmer of
Andover, and Porter of Chauncy Hall will keep the race from dragging.
Laing's old record of 4.34 will probably stand; but the winner should
make at least 4.37.
Purtell in the high and Ashley and Converse in the low hurdles are a
good team from E.H.-S. Purtell takes the flights in excellent form, and
is particularly strong in the short dash to the tape. His special rival
will be Cady, from Andover, who bears a name of international reputation
in hurdling. English High is backing Ashley and Converse to win two
places in the low hurdles, shrewdly reckoning that Seaver of Brookline
is devoting too much time to baseball and tennis. But Mason of W.H.-S.
is still in the game, and so is Hallowell of Hopkinson's; and Boyce of
Brookline has developed into a dangerous man this spring.
English High has three good walkers, Rudickhauser, Mohan, and O'Toole.
The best of them is O'Toole, who walks in perfect form, and is an
experienced athlete. He ought to get first out of the race. His nearest
rival, now that Delaney of W.H.-S. is barred, is Mallette of B.L.S.
Mallette has improved wonderfully since he has been out-of-doors. He is
a big strong fellow, very different from the wiry O'Toole, and could
give him a hard race, except that he is very liable to break when hard
pressed. He won the mile walk at the Harvard games, having the limit
handicap, but got two warnings. Crouse of Andover and Lockwood are both
working hard, and if they can manage to stay on the track, ought to make
it a hard race.
It would be hard to make a prediction in regard to the bicycle-race,
since so much depends on accidents. Stone of Andover is riding better
than any one else just at present, and, barring smash-ups and pockets,
ought to draw first. The pole vault will probably go as it did in the
in-door meet--Johnson of W.A. first, Sharey of Cushing Academy second,
and a big lob of other lads tied for third. Johnson already holds the
out-door record of 10 feet 7 inches, and is going after it again this
spring. Duffy of E.H.-S. has been doing some good work lately, and is
likely to get a place.
The high jump will probably go to Arthur Rice, of Noble's; Perry of
Andover, Howe of W.A., Rotch of Hopkinson's, and Converse of E.H.-S. are
any of them likely to get a place. The shot is a sure thing for O'Brien,
E.H.-S.; next to him is Edmands of W.A.; Heath of Hopkinson's or Coe of
Noble's ought to get third place.
Andover and Worcester held their second dual games a week ago Saturday,
at Andover, and Worcester for the second time defeated her old rival. It
is true that the Andover team was slightly crippled by the loss of Senn
and Peck, who were "ineligible" for faculty reasons, and of Gaskell, who
was laid up. Nevertheless, it is doubtful if the presence of these men
would have been of great assistance, for Andover was strong as it was in
their events.
ANDOVER-WORCESTER DUAL GAMES, ANDOVER, MAY 23, 1896.
Event. Winner. Performance.
100-yard dash Jones, A. 10-3/5 sec.
220-yard dash Jones, A. 23-1/5 "
Quarter-mile run Robinson, W. 52-2/5 "
Half-mile run Richardson, A. 2 m. 10-1/5 "
Mile run Palmer, A. 5 " 1 "
Mile walk Lockwood, W. 8 " 7 "
Two-mile bicycle Stone, A. 5 " 33-2/5 "
120-yard hurdles Edmands, W. 17-3/5 "
220-yard hurdles Hersey, W. 28-3/5 "
Throwing 12-lb. hammer Edmands, W. 115 ft.
Putting 16-lb. shot Edmands, W. 86 " 8 in.
Running high jump Johnson, W. 5 " 7-1/4 "
Running broad jump Hersey, W. 21 " 1-1/2 "
Pole vault Johnson, W. 10 "
Event. Second. Third.
100-yard dash Robinson, W. Clark, W.
220-yard dash Gould, W. Clark, W.
Quarter-mile run Johnson, W. Newcombe, A.
Half-mile run Bennett, W. Hartwell, W.
Mile run McPherson, W. Poynter, A.
Mile walk Crouse, A. Wright, A.
Two-mile bicycle Manning, A. Whitney, W.
120-yard hurdles Cady, A. Shirk, W.
220-yard hurdles Lindenburg, A. Cady, A.
Throwing 12-lb. hammer Dunston, A. Campbell, W.
Putting 16-lb. shot Campbell, W. Hersey, W.
Running high jump Perry, A. Long, A.
Running broad jump Therrein, W. Williams, A.
Pole vault Perry, A. Kendall, W.
Points.
Event. A. W.
100-yard dash 5 3
220-yard dash 5 3
Quarter-mile run 1 7
Half-mile run 5 3
Mile run 6 2
Mile walk 3 5
Two-mile bicycle 7 1
120-yard hurdles 2 6
220-yard hurdles 3 5
Throwing 12-lb. hammer 2 6
Putting 16-lb. shot 0 8
Running high jump 3 5
Running broad jump 1 7
Pole vault 2 6
-- --
Total 45 67
[Illustration: F. A. EDMANDS.]
The star athletes of the day were the Worcester men Edmands and Bascom
Johnson. Edmands took first place in three events, the shot, the hammer,
and the high hurdles--which, by-the-way, is exactly what Holt of Andover
did in these same games last year. Johnson was not far behind Edmands in
the number of points he scored. He took first in the high jump and the
pole vault, and second in the quarter-mile run. Robinson, of whom
Worcester expected so much, disappointed his schoolmates in not winning
the 100. A little later, however, he redeemed himself by taking the
quarter in the easiest kind of way in very good time.
In the low hurdles and broad jump Worcester produced a dark horse in
Hersey. He is a promising young athlete, and ought to take some points
at the New England Interscholastics on Friday. The mile walk was easy
for Lockwood, who secured a big lead early in the race, and beat out his
Andover opponents by fully a quarter of a lap. Jones, the new Andover
sprinter, won both dashes with ease. He is a large powerful runner, and
moves along the path in fine form. He has three years more in school,
and will undoubtedly make a fine record for himself before he graduates.
On account of Gaskell's being unable to run in the half, Richardson, who
took second in the mile last year, was put in there to represent
Andover. He ran a good race and won. McPherson of Worcester was picked
for first man in the mile, but Palmer of Andover outran him. He showed
good head-work all the way around, and beat his pace-maker with a strong
dash at the finish.
It is interesting to note that, excepting in the distance runs and the
walk, the conditions this year in respect to winners of events were
exactly reversed from that of last season, the case of Holt and Edmands
being the most striking. Andover is strong in the sprints this year, but
weak in field events, whereas Worcester, whose representatives made such
a poor showing on the field last year, captured every turf event on this
occasion.
The Connecticut interscholastics will be held next Saturday at New Haven
on the Yale field instead of at Hartford as last year. There are three
new members of the League--Black Hall, University School of Bridgeport,
and Hopkins Grammar of New Haven--and their entries will materially
affect the result.
With so much new material it is impossible to guess who will win the
dashes, none of last year's point winners being in school. With the high
hurdles it is the same, now that Cady has gone to Andover, but the low
hurdles ought to go to Hotchkiss with Cheney. Foster of Bridgeport
H.-S. and Luce of Hartford H.-S. will have a close race in the quarter.
In the half Bassett of New Britain ought to win in time pretty close to
2.05.
The mile will bring out a great many new men, and at the present writing
there is no one of great enough promise to claim it in advance.
Tichbourne of Hillhouse ought to take the walk. Lyman of Hotchkiss and
Strong of Hartford will have a hard fight for first place in the bicycle
event. Sturtevant of Hartford should take the high jump, with Goodwin of
Hotchkiss second. The broad jump is claimed by a dark horse from the
University School, of Bridgeport. In the pole vault Paulding of Black
Hall will have to do his best to defeat Sturtevant. The latter defeated
Paulding at the Yale games of May 2 with a leap of 10 ft. 4-3/4 in., but
Paulding can go higher than that.
Ingalls of Hartford High seems to have a pretty sure thing of it in the
hammer and shot. At the Hartford H.-S. games a week ago Saturday he
threw the 16-pound hammer 113 ft. 6-1/2 in., and put the same weight
shot 36 ft. 1 in. At these games Luce took the 100-yard in .10-2/5. If
he can repeat this performance Saturday he ought to take that event.
[Illustration: C. W. BEGGS, JUN.,
Winner of the Princeton Interscholastic Tennis Tournament.]
The Princeton Interscholastic Tennis Tournament was won again this year
by Lawrenceville. The victor was C. W. Beggs, Jun., who won the Chicago
Interscholastic Tennis Tournament last year. He has been doing a good
deal of track-athletic work this spring, and it had hardly been hoped by
Lawrenceville that he could pull out first honors in tennis;
nevertheless, he went in strongly at Princeton a week ago Saturday, and
earned the privilege of representing that association at Newport in
August. The runner-up, H. Little, as well as the winners of third and
fourth places, H. Richards, Jun., and J. P. Kellogg, are Lawrenceville
men.
Although forty or fifty schools had been invited to the Princeton
tournament, not more than six were represented on the courts. Next year,
however, it is probable that there will be a much larger representation.
In the preliminary round McMillan of the Princeton Preparatory School
defaulted to Richards, Lawrenceville, who defeated King, New York
Military Academy, 6-1, 6-1, in the first round. Kellogg, Lawrenceville,
beat Musselman, N.Y.M.A., 6-4, 4-6, 6-4; Beggs beat Cook, Hackettstown
Institute, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4; and Little, Lawrenceville, beat Trump,
Kiskiminetas School, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, making a clean sweep for
Lawrenceville in the first round.
In the semi-finals Beggs beat Richards, 6-4, 6-0; and Little beat
Kellogg, 8-6, 6-3. In the finals Beggs won from Little, 7-5, 6-1, the
third set being defaulted. Outside of the Lawrenceville players, Cook of
Hackettstown Institute was decidedly the best man, and shows
considerable promise. Beggs won handily over the other Lawrenceville
men, and is probably the best tennis-player Lawrenceville has ever had.
The fact that there are thirty tennis-courts on the school grounds, and
that there exists a regulation for compulsory play, brings out every
year some very fair material, and serves also to develop good men like
this year's champion, who may come to Lawrenceville from other schools.
[Illustration: PRINCETON INTERSCHOLASTIC TENNIS CUP.
Won by Lawrenceville.]
The silver cup, of which a picture is given herewith, is now the
property of Lawrenceville School, having been won for three successive
years--in 1893, by J. H. Smith; in 1894, by S. G. Thomson, now one of
Princeton's best tennis men; and in 1895, by M. G. Beaman, now at
Harvard. This cup was offered by the Princeton Lawn-Tennis Association.
The cup now being competed for has been offered by Mr. T. E. McVitty, of
Bryn-Mawr, a graduate of Lawrenceville. The conditions under which it is
offered for competition are the same as those of the previous cup, but
this trophy is far handsomer than the first.
The Inter-Academic League's Tennis Tournament was held in Philadelphia,
on the Belmont Cricket Club grounds. J. K. Willing, of De Lancey, was
the winner, defeating S. H. McVitty, also of De Lancey, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3,
in the finals. Willing will probably go to Newport in August to
represent the Inter-Academic League. This will be the first time that
the Philadelphia schools have sent a representative to the national
tournament.
F. L. R. S. JR.--1. There is a chapter on the care of a bicycle in
_Track Athletics in Detail_ (Harper & Brothers, $1.25). 2. We
cannot recommend any individual make of wheel. 3. The different
manufacturers have various ways of designating the "year" of their
machines. Inquire at the agency for the make you wish to learn
about.
THE GRADUATE.
ADVERTISEMENTS.
Up Hills
[Illustration]
with ease on Hartford Tires. Their firm, elastic construction prevents
loss of power and makes rough places smooth.
[Illustration: Hartford Single Tube Tires]
The Standard Single-Tubes
On most high grade bicycles. Can be had on any if you insist. The
pleasure and safety of bicycling depend on proper tires.
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NEW YORK. CHICAGO. HARTFORD, CONN.
[Illustration: ROYAL BAKING POWDER]
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_Top Coats, and Capes,_
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HARPER'S
ROUND TABLE
Not only is it excellent in its written text, but artists make its pages
artistically beautiful.--_Chicago Inter-Ocean_, Feb. 22, 1896.
5 CENTS A COPY $2.00 A YEAR
[Illustration: Thompson's Eye Water]
[Illustration: BICYCLING]
This Department is conducted in the interest of Bicyclers, and the
Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the subject. Our
maps and tours contain many valuable data kindly supplied from the
official maps and road-books of the League of American Wheelmen.
Recognizing the value of the work being done by the L.A.W, the
Editor will be pleased to furnish subscribers with membership
blanks and information so far as possible.
[Illustration: Copyright, 1896, by Harper & Brothers.]
Continuing our trips in Connecticut, it seems wise to give the run up
through the middle of Connecticut from New Haven, through Hartford, to
Springfield. Leaving the City Hall at New Haven, run out by Elm Street
four blocks, and then turn right to Dixwell Avenue, which should be kept
to until Cheshire is reached. The road is in excellent condition, is
very easily kept to, and there are few hills until just after leaving
Cheshire. On leaving Cheshire keep to the right, and follow the main
road to South Meriden, turning there sharp to the right, and when within
about a mile and a half of Meriden--that is, on the outskirts of the
city--turn sharp to the left, and run through the centre of Meriden
itself. Passing out on the northeast of Meriden, take North Colony
Street until the Cedar Hill Cemetery is reached, having passed through
Berlin, Newington, and to the eastward of Newington Junction.
The road from Meriden up to Cedar Hill Cemetery is almost unmistakable,
except that on passing through Berlin the rider should keep to the right
instead of running into the centre of the town, and thus take the direct
route to Cedar Hill Cemetery. This road is in admirable condition, and
is not very hilly, except at Cedar Hill itself. On passing the cemetery
keep to the left, rather than running straight in, and follow the
macadam, then turn right and run direct into the City of Hartford. It is
possible, however, to keep to the left just before entering Berlin, and
run into the centre of the town at the railroad station, continuing from
there direct to New Britain, then following the road given two weeks ago
from New Britain to Hartford, that is, from New Britain to Elmwood and
thence to Hartford itself.
This route from New Haven to Hartford is one stage on another tour from
New York to Boston. We have already given, some months ago, the route
from New York, through New Haven, New London, and Providence, to Boston.
This route extends from New York to New Haven, then to Springfield
through Hartford, from Springfield to Worcester, and from Worcester to
Boston. The route, however, is not nearly so good as far as road-bed is
concerned, is more hilly, and the average wheelman is advised to take a
train from Springfield to Worcester. Our object in giving this journey
across Connecticut is not so much to lay out that particular route to
Boston as to give directions for the best methods of crossing the State
and leading up into the Berkshire Hills, where some of the most
picturesque riding in the northeastern part of the United States is to
be found.
NOTE.--Map of New York city asphalted streets in No. 809. Map of
route from New York to Tarrytown in No. 810. New York to Stamford,
Connecticut in No. 811. New York to Staten Island in No. 812. New
Jersey from Hoboken to Pine Brook in No. 813. Brooklyn in No. 814.
Brooklyn to Babylon in No. 815. Brooklyn to Northport in No. 816.
Tarrytown to Poughkeepsie in No. 817. Poughkeepsie to Hudson in No.
818. Hudson to Albany in No. 819. Tottenville to Trenton in No.
820. Trenton to Philadelphia in No. 821. Philadelphia in No. 822.
Philadelphia-Wissahickon Route in No. 823. Philadelphia to West
Chester in No. 824. Philadelphia to Atlantic City--First stage in
No. 825; Second Stage in No. 826. Philadelphia to Vineland--First
Stage in No. 827; Second Stage in No. 828. New York to
Boston--Second Stage in No. 829; Third Stage in No. 830; Fourth
Stage in No. 831; Fifth Stage in No. 832; Sixth Stage in No. 833.
Boston to Concord in No. 834. Boston in No. 835. Boston to
Gloucester in No. 836. Boston to Newburyport in No. 837. Boston to
New Bedford in No. 838. Boston to South Framingham in No. 839.
Boston to Nahant in No. 840. Boston to Lowell in No. 841. Boston to
Nantasket Beach in No. 842. Boston Circuit Ride in No. 843.
Philadelphia to Washington--First Stage in No. 844; Second Stage in
No. 845; Third Stage in No. 846, Fourth Stage in No. 847; Fifth
Stage in No. 848. City of Washington in No. 849. City of Albany in
No. 854; Albany to Fonda in No. 855; Fonda to Utica in No. 856;
Utica to Syracuse in No. 857; Syracuse to Lyons in No. 858; Lyons
to Rochester in No. 859; Rochester to Batavia in No. 860; Batavia
to Buffalo in No. 861; Poughkeepsie to Newtown in No. 864; Newtown
to Hartford in No. 865.
[Illustration: THE PUDDING STICK]
This Department is conducted in the interest of Girls and Young
Women, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the
subject so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor.
A girl who writes from a remote part of North Carolina inquires whether
I approve of the bicycle for girls. It appears that where she resides
there are still people who look rather doubtfully on the wheel as not
adapted to feminine use, and who think girls should avoid it. These good
people belong to a class with whom I was very familiar in my own youth.
Then great stress was laid on being "ladylike," and the worst thing
which could be said of a girl was that she was a hoyden or a tomboy. Our
point of view has changed so much that we in the great cities, where
public opinion is formed, and where all opinions are heard and sifted
one by one, are surprised when we hear a condemnation of the bicycle.
Doctors unite in praising it, and girls in ordinary health cannot do
better than ride as their brothers do. Of course a beginner must be
prudent, not take too many risks, and avoid going for long distances
alone. A party of girls accompanied by an expert rider or a teacher may
start out and enjoy a lovely day's journey, or, if all is arranged
beforehand, set forth for a trip of some days or weeks, under proper
escort and chaperonage. But a novice must not go far from home, or risk
rough roads.
As for myself, I do approve of the bicycle for girls. My questioner's
inquiry is whether a girl loses caste by riding a wheel. Emphatically
no. It is as proper to ride a wheel as to ride a pony or to walk. But a
girl must ride with grace and fearless courage. She must have the right
kind of saddle, must have her handle-bars at the right height, and be
dressed so that her skirts will not entangle or entrap her. There is no
pleasure which surpasses that of swift motion, when one is young and
strong and the blood courses buoyantly through the veins, whether the
motion come from skating, running, riding, or going forward in any sort
of progress which requires exercise. The old Greeks understood this, and
one of their favorite goddesses was always flying along. Look her up in
your mythology, and you will find which one I mean. Her name is very
short, and a popular American author wrote a beautiful story about her,
which I am sure you all have read.
This query of Annabel W. L. about corsets for growing girls needs a very
definite answer. No girl should wear a corset while her figure is
developing. A girl confined in an inelastic cage composed of steel and
bone and buckram can never move as freely and carry herself as
gracefully as one whose loose and comfortable style of dress affords
free play to every part of her body. Skirts should be light, and dress
throughout arranged with a view to deep breathing and the pleasure of
unrestricted movement. Fancy a girl's learning to row or working in the
gymnasium in tightly fitting corsets! A small waist is not beautiful or
desirable. Health is beauty, and a look of strength and vigor the thing
our girls should crave.
MARGARET E. SANGSTER.
1896 Hartford Bicycles
Reduction in Price.
Patterns Nos. 1 and 2, from $80 to $65
Patterns Nos. 3 and 4, from $60 to $50
Patterns Nos. 5 and 6, from $50 to $45
This is the best value for the money offered in medium-grade machines.
COLUMBIAS
=The Standard of the World=--acknowledge no competitors, and the price is
fixed absolutely for the season of =1896= at
$100
If you can't buy a Columbia, then buy a Hartford.
All Columbia and Hartford Bicycles are ready for immediate delivery.
POPE MFG. CO.
General Office and Factories, HARTFORD, CONN.
Branch Stores and Agencies in almost every city and town. If Columbias
are not properly represented in your vicinity, let us know.
Postage Stamps, &c.
$117.50 WORTH OF STAMPS FREE
to agents selling stamps from my 50% approval sheets. Send at once for
circular and price-list giving full information.
C. W. Grevning, Morristown, N. J.
[Illustration]
100 all dif. Venezuela, Bolivia, etc., only 10c., 200 all dif. Hayti,
Hawaii, etc., only 50c. Ag'ts w't'd at 50% com. List FREE! =C. A.
Stegmann=, 5941 Cote Brilliante Ave., St. Louis, Mo
=STAMPS!= 100 all dif. Bermuda, etc. Only 10c. Ag'ts w'td at 50% com. List
free. L. DOVER & CO., 1469 Hodiamont, St. Louis, Mo.
JOSEPH GILLOT'S
STEEL PENS
Nos. 303, 404, 170, 604 E. F., 601 E. F.
And other styles to suit all hands.
THE MOST PERFECT OF PENS.
THE NEW YORK SUN _on April 11, 1896, said of_
HARPER'S
PERIODICALS
They are handsome and delightful all, and are as friends that one is
glad to see. They please the eye; the artistic sense is gratified by
them; they overflow with varied material for the reader. They educate
and entertain. They are the well-known and well-liked literary and
artistic chronicles of the time. They are a credit to their publishers
and to the discernment of the public that approves them. May they
continue to be as admirable as they have been and as they are. Better
could hardly be wished for them.
* * * * *
FOR SALE EVERYWHERE.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Commit to Memory]
the best things in Prose and Poetry, always including good Songs and
Hymns. It is surprising how little good work of this kind seems to be
done in the Schools, if one must judge from the small number of people
who can repeat, without mistake or omission, as many as Three good songs
or hymns.
[Illustration: Clear, Sharp, Definite,]
and accurate Memory work is a most excellent thing, whether in School or
out of it, among all ages and all classes. But let that which is so
learned be worth learning and worth retaining. The Franklin Square Song
Collection presents a large number of
[Illustration: Old and New Songs]
and Hymns, in great variety and very carefully selected, comprising
Sixteen Hundred in the Eight Numbers thus far issued, together with much
choice and profitable Reading Matter relating to Music and Musicians. In
the complete and varied
[Illustration: Table of Contents,]
which is sent free on application to the Publishers, there are found
dozens of the best things in the World, which are well worth committing
to memory; and they who know most of such good things, and appreciate
and enjoy them most, are really among the best educated people in any
country. They have the best result of Education. For above Contents,
with sample pages of Music, address
Harper & Brothers, New York.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Thompson's Eye Water]
Swiss Funerals.
This is a solemn subject to write about, but the funerals in
Switzerland, at least in the part of Switzerland I know, are so
strange that I think it may interest the Table to hear about them.
In the first place, when a person dies a notice is put in the
paper, always with a deep black margin around it. Here is one I
translated from a German paper.
DEATH NOTICE.
To sympathetic relations, friends, and acquaintances, we here
announce the sad news that our much-beloved husband, grandfather,
father, brother, brother-in-law, and uncle,
MR. FRIEDRICH KARL MULLER,
Surgeon,
departed this life in his sixtieth year, after much suffering, and
blessed with the comfort of our holy religion.
For quiet sympathy beg,
St. Gall, the 25th of December, 1895,
The deeply mourning wife,
MARIA MULLER, née FUCHS,
Fanny, her daughter,
in the name of all the relations.
The mourning urn will be exhibited from
1.30 till 4 o'clock P.M.
You will perhaps wonder what a mourning urn is. In front of the
house where the person died there is placed a little black table,
covered with a black cloth, on which stands a large black jar. Into
this the friends and acquaintances of the family drop little
black-margined visiting-cards, sometimes with a few words of
sympathy on them. The urn is put out on the table on the day of the
funeral.
No one except gentlemen ever go to the church-yard, and they
generally follow the hearse on foot, though sometimes carriages are
used. The horses that draw the hearse have long black cloaks on,
with places cut out for them to see through. One custom I like is
that whenever a gentleman sees a funeral passing him, he takes off
his hat until it has gone by, whether he knew the dead person or
not.
The graveyards over here are very different from the American ones.
None have separate lots belonging to their family, but persons are
buried according to the year in which they died. For instance, I
once had a French governess who walked with me to the cemetery one
day. She happened to remember that her grandfather died in 1879,
and found his grave immediately, but we had the greatest hunt for
the place where her grandmother was buried, as the date of her
death had escaped mademoiselle's memory. I have forgotten the exact
date myself, but I remember that we at last discovered her grave in
quite another part of the cemetery, as she died while young, and
was buried in the rows for 1867 or 1868. I must confess I think
this custom very disagreeable, and like our American way much
better.
MARIAN GREENE, R.T.F.
* * * * *
For the Natural History Club.
There have been living in an old willow-tree in our yard this
winter six very dark colored birds, the size of a robin, with long
slender bills. They have a whistle call very much like the
mockingbird, and have only shown themselves on very warm days early
in the morning. They evidently get their food from a neighboring
chicken-pen. We have been here fifteen years and have never seen
these little guests before. I should like some one interested in
ornithology to see them and tell me how they happened here.
L. E. B.
YONKERS, N. Y.
* * * * *
Going Back to Old Greece.
We wish to tell you of our Chapter of Minerva's Owlets, organized
this winter for the purpose of gaining an idea of Greek and Latin
mythology, "and," as our constitution says, "for having a good time
withal." We each bear the name of an Olympic deity, and during our
meetings call each other by those names.
After the regular business meeting at which, of course, Jupiter
presides, a god and goddess each gives an autobiographical sketch
of their wanderings among mankind, and then necter and ambrosia are
served, usually by mortal hands. The meetings are not always held
upon Mt. Olympus, but often at the different haunts of ye deities.
Already have we met in the palace of Jupiter, in Venus's arbor,
with Neptune in his submarine grotto, in Diana's temple, and in the
grove of Athena.
Ye gods and goddesses have interested themselves so much in the
affairs of mortals that they are now expending their godly
abilities in behalf of the Good Will Farm. They hope to be able to
soon send to it the greetings of
YE CHAPTER OF MINERVA'S OWLETS.
MINNEAPOLIS.
[Illustration: THE CAMERA CLUB.]
Any questions in regard to photograph matters will be willingly
answered by the Editor of this column, and we should be glad to
hear from any of our club who can make helpful suggestions.
HINTS FOR THE DARK ROOM.
All bottles containing chemicals should be plainly labelled, not only to
prevent mistakes in mixing solutions, but also to avoid accidents from
careless handling. Chemicals which are poisonous should have some
distinctive mark on the bottle. One of the best, and one which is easily
distinguished in the dark-room, is a strip of white paper, two inches or
more in width, pasted entirely round the bottle.
A good strong paste which keeps well, and sticks so fast that the label
is not easily detached from the bottle, is made as follows:
Gum-arabic 2 oz.
Gum-tragacanth (powdered) 2 "
Acetic acid 1-1/2 drs.
Glycerine 2 oz.
Water 4 "
Heat the water and dissolve the gum-arabic and the gum-tragacanth, then
add the glycerine and acid. Stir till thoroughly mixed, and put in a
wide-mouthed bottle. This is a very good paste for sticking labels,
etc., but is not good for mounting photographs. A good black ink for
marking labels is made from--
Lamp-black 12 grs.
Indigo 4 "
Copal (powdered) 2 drs.
Oil of lavender 2 oz.
Heat the oil and dissolve the gum-copal in it, then stir in the
lamp-black and indigo. This ink will not corrode, and it will not fade.
To prevent chemicals running down the side of the bottle when pouring,
coat the rim of the bottle with paraffin wax by dipping the mouth of the
bottle in the melted wax.
All trays must be washed after using. The decomposition of chemicals in
an unwashed tray will often spoil fresh solutions if put into the tray.
Never leave solutions standing in trays; when through using turn the
solution into a glass bottle. When not in use trays should be turned
upside down on a shelf or table.
Developing solutions should be filtered between each using. Bits of film
often come off the plate, and if left in the developer will settle on
the plate and cause a spot on the negative. The better way is to filter
a solution after using and before returning it to the bottle.
To ensure perfectly clear negatives always use clean hypo. Hypo which
has been used several times becomes a dark muddy color, and is apt to
stain the negative. Hypo is so cheap that one can afford to use fresh,
and run no risk of spoiling negatives.
In placing plates in the holders, instead of using a brush for dusting,
take a piece of surgeon's cotton, roll it into a soft ball, and rub
lightly over the plate. This will remove the specks of dust, and will
not scratch the plate.
It often happens when travelling that a dark room is not always to be
found in which to change plates in the holders. The provident amateur
carries a candle with him, and when no dark room is convenient he lights
the candle, sets it _under_ a table, and changes the plates _on_ the
table. This can be done with perfect safety if care is taken that no
reflected light strikes the plates. The plates being in the shadow, and
the light from the candle being rather dim, the plates are not injured
any more than by a red light.
Letters are often received asking what one must do in order to
become a member of the Camera Club. All that is necessary in order
to become a member is to send name and address to the editor and
state your desire.
GEORGE H. BAYNES, JUN., St. Paul's School, Concord, N. H., and
HOWARD PRESTON BARTRAM, No. 67 Washington Street, Newark, N. J.,
both wish to be enrolled as members of the Camera Club. Sir Howard
asks what is the object of the club. Its object is to raise the
standard of amateur photography among young people, and by helpful
suggestions aid its members in perfecting themselves in the art of
making pictures with the camera. It also keeps its members informed
in regard to the best methods and new discoveries in the mechanical
part of photography, and each year offers valuable prizes for the
best pictures submitted by members of the club, in order to
stimulate them to excel in photography.
SIR KNIGHT E. D. BALL, Spartansburg, S. C., wishes to correspond
with some amateur photographer living in the tropics, as he would
like to make exchanges of photographic views.
SIR KNIGHT CHARLES E. BOTSFORD, Newark, N. J., asks for a
blue-print solution which will keep, how to make sensitive plates,
and how to make paper like solio, aristo, etc. He also encloses two
blue prints made from a formula given in the ROUND TABLE, and asks
why one is not good. Blue-print sensitizing solution will keep for
a long time if not mixed. Keep the two solutions separate till
wanted for use, and wrap the bottles in non-actinic paper, or keep
them in a dark-room. Directions for making sensitive plates would
occupy too much space to allow giving them in "Answers to Queries."
Both sensitive plates and solio and aristo papers are so cheap, and
are so much better made than an amateur can make them, that it is
better to buy them ready prepared. The trouble with the print from
the negative is that it was not printed long enough, and faded in
the washing. Print till the shadows are deeply bronzed. The paper
sent seems to be very evenly sensitized and of a good color. Also
asks for the address of George McCarthy.
SIR KNIGHT SPRAGUE CARLETON asks what is the reason of the
transparencies which he makes having no detail. He says he prints
one second, and develops according to directions, using Eastman's
plates and formula. The proper way to print transparencies is to
print by the dark-room lantern. Place the plate in the holder, then
open the door of the lantern, and holding the printing-frame twelve
or fifteen inches from the light, print for at least five seconds,
moving the frame a little all the time, so that the picture may
print evenly. Some negatives will require a longer time than
others, just the same as if printing on paper. If the dark-room
lantern is not suitable, use a No. 2 kerosene burner turned about
half-way down, and expose the plate from three to ten seconds,
according to the density of the plate.
[Illustration: STAMPS]
This Department is conducted in the interest of stamp and coin
collectors, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question
on these subjects so far as possible. Correspondents should address
Editor Stamp Department.
All U. S. stamps are first engraved on a soft steel die, which is
afterwards hardened; several impressions of the die are then made on a
roller of soft steel, which is subsequently hardened. Impressions from
the roller are then made upon the soft steel plates used in printing.
The following are some of the ways in which minor varieties of the
design are caused: By the shifting of the roller during the making of
the plate, causing the top and bottom parts of the stamp to be doubled;
by missing the guide-lines, causing them to appear in the stamp; by
retouching the die roller or plate--each plate is retouched, but some of
the dies and rollers are not; by a brittle roller--small pieces break
off and become embedded in the plate, causing white blotches to appear
in the design; by re-entering--that is, impressing the roller twice on
the same stamp in the plate; also by the wearing of the plate.
A unique medal is said to be preserved in the Paris mint. It is a very
large gold piece bearing on the obverse the Emperor Napoleon's portrait,
and the reverse Hercules strangling the giant Antæus. The inscription is
_Descente en Angleterre_ (Invasion of England), and _Frappé à Londres_
(Struck in London). The die was broken after the collapse of Napoleon's
plan, and only the proof copy preserved.
The movement among the younger philatelists to collect late issues only
is growing everywhere. The low prices at which the bulk of the stamps
issued during the last ten years can be had is a great argument in its
favor. In 1890 the first postage-stamp ever issued was fifty years old.
One collector in England began with the stamps current January 1, 1890,
and now has a collection in ten albums of seventy pages each. The
"Seebecks" appear, but they cost so little, are so handsome in
themselves, and as the issues have undoubtedly done postal duty, many
collectors will not be frightened off even by the S. S. S. S. I wonder
whether the Seebecks, fifty years after their issue, will not be as
scarce and as much sought after as early English, French, etc.?
W. H. BANGS.--The quarter-dollar is worth face only; the 3c.
Playing Card green is worth $4 perforated, $15 unperforated.
J. HUNG.--The collection of entire U. S. envelopes means the
spending of a large amount of money and the exercise of patience,
as the rare envelopes only turn up occasionally. Many collectors of
entire envelopes do not try to collect all sizes, but take one of
each die on each paper. Other collectors prefer to take their U.S.
envelopes "cut square"--that is, the die only, leaving a large
square margin. This is the usual method, and U. S. envelopes are
likely to increase in value every year.
J. RIVO.--See answer to T. L. Watkins, No. 864. Ribbed paper is
ordinary paper (wove or laid), run between rollers having fine
lines cut in them longitudinally. Many ordinary stamps present the
appearance of ribbing in consequence of their having been pasted on
ribbed paper envelopes or wrappers. Personally I do not believe in
the so-called ribbed paper U. S. stamps.
PHILATUS.
[Illustration: Ivory Soap]
The best is not always low in price, but the housekeeper can have the
best soap without extravagance.
Ivory Soap costs little, but experienced persons know that no other can
do the same work and do it as well.
THE PROCTER & GAMBLE CO., CIN'TI.
_There is lots of pleasure, satisfaction and health corked up in a
bottle of HIRES Rootbeer. Make it at home._
Made only by The Charles E. Hires Co., Philadelphia.
A 25c. package makes 5 gallons. Sold everywhere.
[Illustration: Thompson's Eye Water]
EARN A BICYCLE!
[Illustration]
We wish to introduce our Teas, Spices, and Baking Powder. Sell 75 lbs.
to earn a BICYCLE; 50 lbs. for a WALTHAM GOLD WATCH AND CHAIN; 25 lbs.
for a SOLID SILVER WATCH AND CHAIN; 10 lbs. for a beautiful GOLD RING;
50 lbs. for a DECORATED DINNER SET. Express prepaid if cash is sent with
order. Send your full address on postal for Catalogue and Order Blank.
W. G. BAKER, Springfield, Mass.
PLAYS
Dialogues, Speakers, for School, Club and Parlor. Catalogue free.
=T. S. Denison=, Publisher, Chicago Ill.
SOME NEW BOOKS.
* * * * *
TRACK ATHLETICS IN DETAIL.
Compiled by the Editor of "Interscholastic Sport" in HARPER'S ROUND
TABLE. Illustrated by Instantaneous Photographs. 8vo, Cloth,
Ornamental, $1.25. In "HARPER'S ROUND TABLE Library of Sports."
Each chapter of this book treats of a different event of track and field
athletics, and is illustrated by instantaneous photographs of the
leading athletes of America. These pictures show the detail of the work
for each event, and the text gives instruction and advice which will
prove most valuable not only to athletes who cannot avail themselves of
the services of a trainer, but to more experienced performers as well.
In an appendix are given the A. A. U. rules and tables of amateur,
inter-collegiate, and interscholastic records.
FOR KING OR COUNTRY.
A Story of the American Revolution. By JAMES BARNES. Illustrated.
Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.50.
A boy's story, full of movement, and full of surprises.... The picture
of the old "Sugar House" prison in New York and of the secret societies
of patriots are drawn with entertaining pen, and the book will instruct
as well as interest the average boy who reads it.--_Boston Journal._
TOMMY TODDLES.
By ALBERT LEE. Illustrated by PETER S. NEWELL. Square 16mo, Cloth,
Ornamental, $1.25.
There is plenty of droll fun in this book.... We pity the person who can
refuse to grin at some of the jocund surprises, sprung like steel traps
by the story's comical turns, preposterous as it is.--_Independent_,
N. Y.
* * * * *
HARPER & BROTHERS, Publishers, New York.
[Illustration: WAITING FOR THE BOAT.]
* * * * *
ON A RAINY DAY.
"Mamma," said little Herbert, the other day, "what good are my rubber
boots, anyhow?"
"Why, to keep your feet dry when you go out in the rain."
"If that is so, mamma," said little Herbert, triumphantly, "may I go out
now and play in the rain?"
"No; I am afraid you will catch croup."
"What, mamma dear, with my rubber boots on?"
"Yes, Herbert, with your boots on."
"Then I can't see what good the rubber-boots are," protested Herbert.
"They're to wear that you may keep on the safe side. On the safe side of
your health."
"Mamma," asked Herbert, "I don't want to appear rude or impertinent, but
has my health really a safe side?"
"It has."
"Which side is it, mamma, the inside or the outside?"
Here Herbert's mother, entirely out of patience, looked into the fire.
"Mamma," said Herbert, presently, "you keep me in the house when I'm
naughty, don't you?"
"Yes."
"And when I'm good you don't let me go out. Now what's the use in being
good?"
"Sometimes you get a piece of cake for it."
"I forgot all about that, mamma. Now I'm going to be good all the time;
then, I suppose, I can live on cake."
"That would make you sick."
"Then it would be as bad as playing in the rain. No, it wouldn't,
either; it would be a great deal better. Can I have a piece of cake now,
mamma?"
"Yes, if you'll keep still."
He agreed, and when he got the piece of cake he became so absorbed in it
while absorbing it that he could not only not ask questions, but
actually couldn't answer any.
* * * * *
JUST THE SAME.
TOMMY. "Baby Indians must be just like baby geese, mamma."
MAMMA. "Why so?"
TOMMY. "Why, because the down on their heads all turns into feathers
when they grow up."
* * * * *
IMPORTANT ANATOMICAL INFORMATION.
The _Junior League_ is a paper "published semi-occasionally, or whenever
it is convenient, by children, for children, in aid of children." In the
May issue are printed a number of articles that took prizes in a recent
story competition, and from among these we copy the following essay on
"Bones," which took the prize in Class V.:
"Bones is the framework of the body. If I had no bones in me I should
not have so much shape as I have now. If I had no bones in me I should
not have so much motion, and teacher would be pleased, but I like to
have motion. Bones give me motion, because they are sometimes hard for
motion to cling to. If I had no bones, my brains, lungs, heart, and
larger blood-vessels would be lying around in me and might get hurt, but
now my bones get hurt, but not much unless it is a hard hit.
"If my bones were burned, I should be brittle, because it would take the
animal out of me. If I was soaked in acid, I should be limber. Teacher
showed me a bone that had been soaked; I could bend it easily. I should
rather be soaked than burned. Some of my bones don't grow close to my
others snug, like the branches to the trunk of a tree, and I am glad
they don't, for if they did, I could not play leap-frog and other good
games that I know. The reason why they don't grow that way is because
they have joints. Joints is good things to have in bones. They are two
kinds. The ball and socket joint like my shoulders is the best. Teacher
showed it to me only it was the thigh of a cow. One end was round and
smooth and whitish. That is the ball end. The other end was hollowed in
deep. That is the socket and it oils itself. It is the only machine that
oils itself. It never creaks like the school door. There is another
joint that doesn't seem much like a joint. That is the skull. It don't
have no motion. All my bones put together make a skeleton. If I leave
out any or put any in the wrong place it ain't no skeleton. Some animals
have their skeletons on the outside. I am glad I ain't them animals for
my skeleton like it is on the chart wouldn't look well on my outside."
* * * * *
INCONSISTENT.
"I saw a funny thing to-day,"
Said little Arabella;
"A man was walking in the rain
Beneath a sun-umbrella."
* * * * *
A DOG-DAY QUERY.
"Mamma," said little Jimmy the other day, "if a dog's bark is worse than
his bite, why don't they choke him off with a collar instead of putting
a muzzle on him?"
* * * * *
THE ROUND YEAR.
MAMMA. "Can you tell me how many seasons there are, Herbert?"
HERBERT. "Yes, mamma, there are four--kite, skating, baseball, and
football."
End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Round Table, June 2, 1896, by Various