feel like the little old woman who lived in her shoe, and had so many
children she did not know what to do? _She_ gave them some broth,
without any bread, and whipped them all round, poor things! and sent
them to bed. You, I am sure, are not so unkind to your dollies as the
poor bothered old lady of the shoe.
* * * * *
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.
I am going to tell you about my pets. I have a terrier named Jack.
I like him very much. If I throw a stick, he will run and bring it
to me. I have seven land turtles and two water turtles. There is
one big turtle which I call grandfather of them all. I am very fond
of them. I sunk half of a barrel in the ground, and I keep it
filled with water for them to drink and swim in. They are all the
time digging in the ground. I have fifty pigeons of all colors, and
I have ten young ones. I like to watch the old ones feed their
young; they are so cunning about it. We have a big old cat named
Tom, and two canary-birds; so you see I have plenty of pets. My
sister took me over to New York to see your big building, and to
buy the story of "Toby Tyler." I have been taking YOUNG PEOPLE two
years, and think it is splendid. I think "Mr. Stubbs's Brother" is
very nice, and I hope when it is ended that you will publish it as
you did "Toby Tyler." If you do so, my mother intends to give me
money to buy it. I think I will close my letter with my best thanks
to you and Mr. Otis for writing such nice stories.
JESSE W. P.
* * * * *
They built a fort upon the shore,
With merry heedless din.
They never spied the evening tide
Was rolling, rolling in.
They made it firm and fast without,
They made it firm within.
But evermore along the shore
The tide was rolling in.
Without a fear they slept that night,
But when they went next day,
They found no sign, no stone, no line--
The fort was washed away.
'Tis ever so, my little men; you'll find it, one and all,
That forts, not only those of sand, are very apt to fall.
But if they fall, why, let them fall; away with doubt and dread,
And build again with might and main a better fort instead.
* * * * *
SANBORNTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE.
MY DEAR POSTMISTRESS,--I was so glad to see your kind answer to my
letter in the C. Y. P. R. U. Perhaps you don't remember me, but I
am the girl who was reading so many exciting novels, and you kindly
suggested more solid and less exciting reading. Mamma said the same
things you did, and disliked to have me read so many love stories,
but I was so fond of them. Now I am not reading any of them. The
only novel I have read for ever so long is one, by Auerbach, called
_Edelweiss_, and it is a lovely book, I think, and so does mamma,
but really I don't care so much about reading when here in the
country as I did in Worcester, for there are so many other things
to take my attention.
We are at the old homestead, where papa used to live when he was a
little boy, and there are such lovely walks and drives all about
here. A few days ago I ascended my first mountain. Papa and I drove
to the first pair of "bars" on the mountain-road, and tied the
horse there, and then we climbed the mountain (Mount Atkinson). It
was a long hard climb, but the view when we reached the top paid
for all our trouble. We could see blue Lake Winnipiseogee in the
distance, and on our left was Mount Lafayette, with little Victory
Mountain, close beside it. Further east was Chicorowa,
Passaconoway, off in the east the Unconoonocks, and then came
Monadnock, and even our Worcester mountain, Wachusett, besides a
great many others whose names I can not remember.
After we had staid on the summit some time enjoying the beautiful
view, we came down, found Leonard (the horse), and drove home. It
was a beautiful ride, and we appreciated it after our toil. This
afternoon I shall take Leonard, and drive over to the post-office,
about two miles away. When it is too warm to walk or ride, I lie in
the hammock and read. Isn't Butcher and Lang's translation of the
Odyssey beautiful? But I must close this long letter.
We children have our dear YOUNG PEOPLE forwarded to us here, and we
enjoy it so much.
I was very much interested in the beautiful picture and interesting
account of St. Elizabeth in the last YOUNG PEOPLE. I had heard the
legend of St. Elizabeth and the Roses before, and think it is a
charming story. I never saw a paper with such beautiful pictures in
it as HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE has; and I especially like W. A.
Rogers's pictures, because he illustrated dear "Toby Tyler." But,
dear Postmistress, I _must_ stop, and I really think I like oth er
things besides novels a great deal better than I used to.
OLIVE R.
It is very pleasant, indeed, to receive such a letter as this, and to
find that one's advice has been so willingly taken. You were well
repaid, dear, for your trouble in climbing the mountain. Yes, you may
send your exchange again.
* * * * *
N. R. AND L. D. M.--When you and your friend are walking together, it is
polite for both to lift your hats to a lady with whom only one is
acquainted. If you meet a lady with whom you are only slightly
acquainted, you should wait for her to bow first. In performing an
introduction, name the lady first, in this way. "Miss ----, may I
present Mr. ----?"
As for the causes of the war between Egypt and England, it would take a
far more learned personage than the Postmistress to make it plain to
you. The principal cause seems to be that through the Suez Canal lies
the highway to England's immense possessions in India, and England can
not afford to let Egypt shut up or barricade this path. You and other
young gentlemen who are interested in this war should read the daily and
weekly newspapers carefully, and listen to the conversation of
intelligent men who have studied the question.
It would be well now that all eyes are turned to the East, that you
should read some volume on Egypt. _The Khedive's Egypt_, published by
Messrs. Harper & Brothers, will give you a great deal of interesting
information about Egypt as it is to-day.
* * * * *
C. Y. P. R. U.
Some merry young people in Cohasset, Massachusetts, amused themselves
the other day by making a list of comparisons in common use. The result
of their efforts was sent to the Postmistress, and she thinks perhaps
some others among her boys and girls will try their hands at the same
game of words:
Blunt as a broomstick, black as pitch, black as night, black as
jet, black as a sloe, black as ink, black as ebony, black as a
crow, brown as a berry, brown as a bun, bright as a button, bright
as a new dollar, busy as a bee, brisk as a bee, brisk as a lark,
brittle as glass, big as an elephant, big as saucers, big as
canal-boats, blind as a bat, bitter as gall, bitter as worm-wood,
busy as a beaver, bold as brass, bald as an egg, blind as a mole,
blue as indigo, cool as a cucumber, cold as a stone, cold as
charity, clear as glass, clear as crystal, clear as mud, common as
dirt, cold as Greenland, cold as ice, crooked as a ram's-horn,
crooked as a rainbow, clumsy as a cow, cunning as a fox, cross as a
weasel, cross as a bear, cross as fiddle-sticks, cross as two
sticks, cold as a frog, crazy as a loon, clean as a whistle, dead
as Chelsea, dead as a door-nail, dusty as a miller, deep as a well,
dark as Egypt, dark as a pocket, dry as a bone, dull as lead, dull
as ditch-water, dull as dish-water, deaf as a post, deaf as an
adder, dumb as a fish, early as the lark, easy as jumping over a
log, easy as kissing your hand, flat as a flounder, flat as a
pancake, fresh as a daisy, fine as a hair, fine as a fiddle,
faithless as a monkey, fat as a seal, fat as butter, fierce as a
lion, gray as glass, gray as a badger, good as pie, green as grass,
good as gold, greedy as a pig, gentle as a lamb, hot as fire, hot
as blazes, hot as fury, hot as Tophet, handy as a pocket in a
shirt, hoary as Time, hard as flint, hungry as a wolf, hungry as a
hunter, hungry as a hawk, hungry as a bear, hard as a rock, hard as
a brickbat, happy as a king, high as a kite, homely as a crow,
happy as a clam at high water, happy as a big sunflower, heavy as
lead, lean as a hen's forehead, light as a fairy, light as
thistle-down, light as a feather, long-waisted as a snake, limp as
a rag, merry as a grig, merry as a thrush, merry as a
marriage-bell, mad as a hatter, mad as a March hare, mischievous as
a monkey, meek as Moses, neat as wax, neat as a pin, old as the
hills, obstinate as a mule, proud as a peacock, proud as Lucifer,
poor as poverty, poor as a church-mouse, plain as print, pretty as
a pink, pretty as a picture, plain as daylight, playful as a
kitten, poor as a crow, patient as Job, quick as a wink, quick as a
flash, quick as lightning, right as a trivet, red as a lobster, red
as a beet, red as a rose, rich as a Jew, sick as a pussy cat, slow
as cold molasses, slow as a snail, short as pie-crust, straight as
an arrow, stiff as a ram-rod, stiff as a poker, still as a mouse,
soft as dough, swift as the wind, spry as a grasshopper, shifting
as sand, scarce as chickens' teeth, smart as a steel-trap, sure as
fate, sour as vinegar, sour as a plum, shy as a rabbit, strong as a
horse, sticky as molasses, spotted as a leopard, simple as A, B, C,
sweet as honey, sweet as sugar, stupid as an owl, soft as silk,
sound as a nut, smooth as velvet, sharp as a razor, strong as
Samson, smooth as glass, slippery as an eel, swift as thought,
sharp-eyed as a lynx, thin as vanity, thin as gauze, thin as a
rail, tight as a drum, tall as a steeple, tall as a bean-pole, true
as steel, tired as a dog, tipsy as a lord, thirsty as a fish, tough
as leather, tough as a boiled owl, thick as spatter, thick as
blackberries, wet as sop, white as a sheet, white as snow, white as
milk, warm as toast.
* * * * *
J. A.--The stamps you mention are not duplicates.
* * * * *
TOMMY P. S.--You could not do a better thing than to learn to write
short-hand. I hope you will make a very good reporter for the press. You
are beginning early to be a journalist, helping your father on his
paper. Does your pet bird know you when you go home on Saturday night?
* * * * *
ALLEN L.--A boy who is not strong enough to work out-of-doors should
find some pleasant occupation which he can practice in the house. Have
you a scroll-saw and a few designs? If so, you may make pretty boxes,
book-racks, frames, and easels, for which you will find a sale among
your friends. Or, if you can obtain a small printing-press, you may earn
some money by printing visiting-cards, circulars, and invitations for
your acquaintances. Perhaps, though an invalid, you are well enough to
help along a little in the house, where there is a great deal to do, and
where the mother and sisters are sometimes very tired. In the times of
canning fruit, of pickling and preserving, a clever and quick-witted boy
can render very welcome service. This kind of work ought to be paid for
as liberally as the hoeing and weeding by which your active and healthy
brothers are able to obtain their spending-money.
* * * * *
EVA W. AND BESSIE MCC.--Thank you, dears, for the programme of your
little entertainment. You displayed a great deal of ingenuity in
arranging it.
* * * * *
We would call the attention of the C. Y. P. R. U. this week to Mrs. John
Lillie's entertaining article on the great musical composer Christoph
Willibald, Ritter von Gluck, and to "Something about Lightning," by Mr.
C. J. Muller. The very little folk will be interested in the wonderful
German baby with such a long list of names, and so many royal relatives
to love him and teach him how to fill nobly the great station to which
he is born.
* * * * *
PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.
No. 1.
TWO ANAGRAMS.
1. On a car I vote.
V.
2. Dream of wit dear.
SUKEY.
* * * * *
No. 2.
TRANSPOSITION.
Transpose a water-way of which much is told,
And find a famous Grecian god of old.
EUREKA.
* * * * *
No. 3.
DOUBLE ACROSTIC.
A beautiful Princess of gracious mien,
Who by a brave crusading Prince was seen--
And loved and wooed and won. The gentle wife,
In fond devotion, saved her husband's life.
Th' initial letters will disclose her name;
The final word, the kingdom whence she came.
* * * * *
No. 4.
TWO NUMERICAL ENIGMAS.
1.
I am composed of 14 letters. I disgraced myself, and my name is in
American history.
My 3, 4, 5 is a boy's nickname.
My 5, 12, 11, 4 means finished.
My 1, 9, 10, 14 is a poet.
My 6 is an important letter of the alphabet.
My 2, 13, 4, 7, 8 is to choose.
GERTRUDE W.
2.
I am composed of 24 letters, and my whole would make almost any one
happy.
My 4, 12, 18, 4, 9, 20, 3 is a river in South America.
My 17, 16, 23, 6, 12 is a city in Asia.
My 24, 5, 1, 8, 4 is a girl's name.
My 7, 2, 13, 10, 21 is something children like.
My 22, 11, 14 is a boy's nickname.
My 15, 16, 23, 16, 9 is a delicious beverage.
My 7, 19, 5 is a favorite name.
ELVIRA R. U.
* * * * *
No. 5.
THREE DIAMONDS.
1.--1. A letter. 2. Part of the foot. 3. Circular. 4. Finis. 5. In doll.
EUREKA.
(_To Douglas._)
2.--1. A consonant. 2. A line. 3. A bird. 4. A receptacle. 5. A
consonant.
(_To North Star._)
3.--1. A consonant. 2. Past tense of fourth word in this diamond. 3. A
great power. 4. A means of sustaining life. 5. A consonant.
NUNKY.
* * * * *
ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN No. 143
No. 1.
A G N E S
O I L E R
P L A I D
A R S O N
S E N O R
No. 2.
J am B
I mprope R
M ezzotint O
M ello W
Y eoma N
No, 3.
Synagogue. Elizabeth. America.
* * * * *
Correct answers to puzzles have been received from Beryl Abbott, "Sam
Weller, Jun.," "Eureka," Addie Goodnow, M. Goodnow, P. Embury, Henry W.
Nichols, Florence P. Jones, Sherman Hait, F. Edwin Harris, Frank Lomas,
Arthur Valhalla, Maude A., Lillie Meyer, Elizabeth, Martha, Elsie M. K.,
Jessie Oppenheimer, Max Wintner, Charley Case, Maggie Holmes, "Fuss and
Feathers," "Fern," Emily Atkinson, Gertrude W., Edgar Seeman, M. L.,
Albert L. Taylor, Laura B. Gretchen, and Eddie S. Hequembourg.
* * * * *
[_For Exchanges, see 2d and 3d pages of cover._]
[Illustration]
Here comes a poor woman from baby-land,
With five small children on her hand;
One can brew, the other can bake,
The other can make a pretty round cake;
One can sit in the garden and spin,
Another can make a fine bed for the king.
Pray, ma'am, will you take one in?
--_From Mother Goose's Melodies_.
* * * * *
NINE HOLES, OR EGG-HAT.
Near a wall where the ground is level dig nine or a less number of
holes, according to the number of players, large enough for a ball to be
bowled in without difficulty. Number them, and let each player be
allotted a number, by chance or choice as it may be agreed. A line is
drawn about five yards from the holes, at which one of the players
places himself, and bowls the ball into one of the holes. The player to
whom the hole into which the ball is bowled belongs picks it up as
quickly as he can, and endeavors to strike one of the others with it
(the latter will run off as soon as they perceive that the ball is not
for themselves); if the thrower miss his aim, he loses a point, and is
called "a fiver," and it is his turn to bowl; if, however, he strike
another, he loses nothing; but the party so struck, in case he fail to
hit another with the ball, becomes "a fiver," and it is his turn to
bowl. Five or six may be struck in succession, and the ball may be kept
up, no matter how long, until a miss be made, when the party so missing
loses a point and bowls. It is also allowed for one player to accept the
ball from another, and run the risk of striking a third; thus, if A
stand close behind B, and C have the ball in front of B, A may signify
by motions that he will take the ball, which is then thrown toward him
by C; he catches it, and endeavors to strike B before he can run away;
if he miss, he loses a point, and bowls. The second bowling is conducted
precisely as the first; but he who bowls three times without passing the
ball into a hole loses a point, and if he have lost one before, becomes
"a tenner"; he must still go on, until he succeeds in putting the ball
into a hole; it is his own fault if he bowls into that which belongs to
himself. A party who misses his aim a second time becomes a "tenner," he
who loses a third point "a fifteener," and when four points are lost,
the party stands out. The game goes on until all the players are out but
one; the latter wins the game.
This game is sometimes called "Egg-Hat," on account of the players using
their caps instead of digging holes; the ball, in this case, is tossed
into the caps instead of being bowled into the holes.
* * * * *
A SNAKE STORY.
Once in my home in Ceylon, when I was a little girl, we discovered a
large snake coiled up in a corner of the chimney. It was during the
rains, and the creature had come inside for warmth.
Well, there was a general stampede out of the room of ayahs and
children, and the men-servants were summoned to dispatch the bold
intruder. The snake was about seven feet long, and three or four inches
in diameter at the thickest part of its body. It was yellow in color,
like the old gold so much in favor now with fashionable dames. The men
came with long poles to get rid of the intruder; but whether they were
too timid to approach it, or the snake was too wide awake, I can not
tell, but the creature glided swiftly out of the room into the veranda
where we children were looking on with the ayahs, and went down into the
compound.
I shall never forget what followed the snake's escape. The men rushed
after it, but so quickly did it trail along, they could not even reach
its tail. They were in hot pursuit; my little brother, a baby boy of
three years, stood laughing and cooing with delight at the fun, his
little legs widely astride, when, horror! the snake glided toward the
spot where he stood. The men in pursuit stopped suddenly still, the
ayahs screamed, my own heart beat with dread.
But judge of what followed. The snake glided, or rather writhed, swiftly
between my little brother's legs, without touching him, and disappeared
quickly out of sight, probably in the crevice of a tree or hole.
It would be idle to tell my readers what superstitious meaning was held
by the natives at my little brother's escape, but they believed that he
was especially singled out by the great God from earthly harm.
[Illustration: THE CHICKS AND THE WORM.]
A brood of young chicks are surrounding a worm,
Much puzzled they are as they see the thing squirm.
What is to be done? they ask one another.
At length they decide upon calling their mother.
End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Young People, August 15, 1882, by Various