CHAPTER XXXII.

HOW A SONG SAVED ALARIC'S LIFE.

When Alaric made that promise he had no more idea of how it was to be

kept than he had of what was to become of Bonny and himself. He only

knew that active exertion of some kind was necessary to keep him from

utter despair. Besides, it was just possible that he might discover and

secure another bird, though not at all probable, as the one on which he

had breakfasted was the first that he had encountered since coming to

the mountain.

By the time he emerged from the timber the morning clouds had rolled

away, the sun was shining brightly, and the whole vast sweep of gleaming

snow and tumultuous rock, from timber line to distant summit, lay piled

in steep ascent before him. It was a wonderful sight, but as terrible as

it was grand, for in all its awful solitude there was no movement, no

voice, and no sign of life.

Oppressed by the loneliness of his surroundings, and having no reason

for choosing one direction rather than another, the lad mechanically

turned to the right and began to make his way along a bowlder-strewn

slope, where every now and then he came to the bleached skeletons of

stunted trees, winter-killed, but still standing, and seeming to stretch

imploring arms to their retreating brethren of the forest.

He had not gone more than a mile when there came something to him that

caused him to halt and glance inquiringly on all sides. At the same time

he lifted his head and sniffed the air eagerly, like a hound on the

scent of game. He was certain that he had smelled smoke. Yes, there it

came again; a whiff so faint as to be almost imperceptible, but the

unmistakable odor of burning wood.

Facing squarely the breeze that brought it to him, the lad pushed

forward, and a few minutes later stood on the verge of a little mountain

meadow, sun-warmed and rock-walled on all sides save the one by which he

had approached. Here the slope was so gentle that he started down on a

run. He had thus gone but a short distance when he suddenly paused with

his eyes fixed on the ground where he was standing.

He had been unconsciously following a path, faintly marked and hardly

to be distinguished, but nevertheless one that he felt certain had been

trodden by human feet. The discovery filled him with excitement, and he

bounded forward with redoubled speed. Half-way down the slope, at a

point commanding a lovely view of the flower-strewn valley, the trail

ended at a crystal spring that bubbled from among the roots of a tall

young hemlock. Other trees were grouped near by, and beneath them stood

a rude hut built of poles and boughs, but having a rain-proof roof of

thatch. Before it smouldered a log fire, from which rose the thin column

of smoke that had directed Alaric's attention to the place.

Filled with exultation and wild with joy over his discovery, the lad

gazed eagerly about for some sign of the proprietor or occupants of this

lonely camp, and at length, seeing no one, he began to shout. Receiving

no response, he entered the hut, and was surprised at the absence of

even the rude comforts common to such a place. There was a heap of white

goat-skins in one corner, and a quantity of meat, either smoked or

dried, hung from a rafter overhead. A kettle and fry-pan lay outside

near the fire, an axe was driven into the trunk of one of the trees,

and, so far as Alaric could see, there was nothing else. But even these

things were enough to indicate that this was a place of at least

temporary human abode, and wherever its proprietor might be, he would

return to it sooner or later. Then, too, Alaric believed it to be the

camp of a white man; for though his knowledge of Indians was limited, it

in no way resembled that of Skookum John.

"At any rate," he said to himself, "I must try and get Bonny here as

quickly as possible, for he will be a thousand times better off in this

place than where I left him."

So, with a lighter heart than he had known since his comrade's accident,

Alaric started back over the trail by which he had come. Bonny was awake

and sitting up when he reappeared, and the sufferer's face brightened

wonderfully at the great news of at least one other human being, a camp,

and an abundance of food so near at hand.

"Do you really think I can get there, though?" he asked.

"Yes," replied Alaric, "I know you can; for, as you said yesterday when

we were looking at that precipice, it is something that must be done. We

can't stay here without either food or shelter, and we don't dare wait

for the owner of that camp to come back and help us move, because he may

stay away several days. I know it is going to hurt you awfully to walk,

but I know too that you'll do it if you only make up your mind to."

"All right, I'll try it; but, Rick, don't you forget that if I ever get

down from this mountain alive, never again will I climb another."

As Alaric was doing up the sleeping-bags a familiar-looking baseball

rolled from his, and caught Bonny's eye.

"If you aren't a queer chap!" he exclaimed. "What ever made you bring

that ball along?"

"Because," answered the other, "it means so much to me that I hated to

leave it behind, and then I thought perhaps it would be fun to have a

game on the very top of the mountain. When we reached there, though, I

forgot all about it."

"Yes," said Bonny, grimly, "we did have something else to think of.

Ough! but that hurts."

This exclamation was called forth by the poor lad's effort to gain his

feet, which he found he was unable to do without assistance.

Although Alaric carried both packs, and lent Bonny all possible support

besides, that one-mile walk proved the most difficult either of the lads

had ever undertaken. Brave and stout-hearted as Bonny was, he could not

help groaning with every step, and they were obliged to rest so often

that the little journey occupied several hours. At its end both lads

were utterly exhausted, and Bonny was suffering so intensely that he

hardly noticed the place to which he had been brought. The moment he

gained the hut he sank down on its pile of goat-skins with closed eyes,

and so white a face that he seemed about to faint.

When Alaric was there before he had mended the fire and set on a kettle

of water, with a view to just such an emergency as the present. The

water was still boiling, and so within three minutes he was able to give

his patient a cup of strong tea that greatly revived him. Food was the

next thing to be thought of, and Alaric did not hesitate to appropriate

one of the strips of goat's flesh that hung overhead. Not being quite

sure of the best way to cook this, he cut one portion into small bits,

put these into the kettle with a little water, and set the whole on the

fire to simmer. Another portion he sliced thin and laid in the fry-pan,

which he also set on the fire. Still a third bit he spitted on a long

stick and held close to a bed of coals, where it frizzled with such an

appetizing odor that he could not wait for it to be cooked before

cutting off small bits to sample. They were so good that he went to

offer some to Bonny; but finding the latter still lying with closed

eyes, thought best not to disturb him. So he sat alone and ate all the

frizzled meat, and all that was in the fry-pan, and was still so hungry

that he procured another strip of meat from the hut, and began all over

again.

They had been nearly two hours in the camp before his ravenous appetite

was fully satisfied, and by that time the contents of the pot had

simmered into a sort of thick broth. At a faint call from Bonny, Alaric

carried some of this to him, and had the satisfaction of seeing him

swallow a whole cupful. Then, as night was again approaching, he helped

his patient into one of the sleeping-bags, which he underlaid with

several goat-skins, and sat by him until he fell into a doze. When this

happened Alaric went softly outside and, to dispel the gathering gloom,

piled logs on the fire until it was in a bright blaze. Sitting a little

to one side, half in light and half in shadow, and having no present

occupation, the lad fell into a deep reverie. How was this strange

adventure to end? Who owned that camp, and why did he not return to it?

What would he think on finding strangers in possession? Had any boy ever

stepped from one life into another so utterly different as suddenly and

completely as he? One year ago at this time he was in France, surrounded

by every luxury that money could procure, carefully guarded from every

form of anxiety, and dependent upon others for everything. Now he was

thankful for the shelter of a hut, and a meal of half-cooked meat

prepared by his own hands. He not only had everything to do for himself,

but had another still more helpless dependent upon him for everything.

Was he any happier then than now? No. He could honestly say that he

preferred his present position, with its health, strength, and glorious

self-reliance, to the one he had resigned.

Still there had been happy times in that other life. Two years ago, for

instance, when his mother and he had travelled, leisurely through

Germany, halting whenever they chose, and remaining as long as places

interested them. Thoughts of his mother recalled the plaintive little

German folk-song of which she had been so fond.

_Muss i denn._ Yes, that was it, and involuntarily Alaric began to hum

the air. Then the words began to fit themselves to it, and before he

realized what he was doing he was singing softly:

"Muss i denn, muss i denn

Zum Städtele 'naus, Städtele 'naus:

Und du mein Schatz bleibst hier--"

So engrossed was the lad with his thoughts and with trying to recall the

words of the song running in his head that he heard nothing of a soft

footstep that for several minutes had been stealthily approaching the

fire-lit place where he sat. He knew nothing of the wild eyes that,

peering from a haggard face, were fixed upon him with the glare of

madness. He had no suspicion of the brown rifle-barrel that was slowly

raised until he was covered by its deadly aim. But now he had recalled

all the words of his song, and they rang out strong and clear:

"Muss i denn, muss i denn

Zum Städtele 'naus, Städtele 'naus:

Und du--"

[Illustration: THE STARTLED LAD SPRANG TO HIS FEET IN TERROR.]

At that moment there came a great cry from behind him: "Ach, Himmel! Wer

ist denn das!" and the startled lad sprang to his feet in terror.

[TO BE CONTINUED.]

THE MANUFACTURE OF GUNPOWDER.

BY FRANKLIN MATTHEWS.

There would be no sense in having powerful war-ships, enormous cannons,

and hard, tough projectiles to use in them, if we did not have improved

powder to make them all effective. The high-grade powder used in warfare

in these days is known in this country as "brown powder," because of its

color. In Europe such powder has a dozen or more names, generally called

after the men who have invented each kind. There are only two places in

this country where the powder used in our big guns is made. One of them

is the works of the E. I. Du Pont de Nemours & Company's plant on the

Brandywine Creek, near Wilmington, Delaware, and the other is the works

of the California Powder Company, near Santa Cruz, California. In both

of these places the process is secret, and no one except those employed

about the works is supposed to know exactly how "brown powder" is made.

All powder, whether it is intended for blasting, hunting,

rifle-shooting, or warfare purposes, is made in the same general way,

and so, in telling of a visit I recently made to the Du Pont Works, near

Wilmington, I shall reveal no secrets if I describe the various mills

and processes which practically all powder goes through before it is

finished. Ordinary powder is composed of three ingredients--saltpetre,

sulphur, and charcoal, or nitrate of soda, sulphur, and charcoal. Powder

intended for blasting is generally made with soda; powder intended for

shooting is generally made with saltpetre. It takes a great deal more

than these ingredients, however, to make powder. There must be a lot of

small buildings, generally scattered about a ravine, through which a

stream runs to furnish power to the mills. These mills are for the most

part small, one-story structures, that look at first glance like

tumble-down affairs, out in the woods. Closer examination shows that

they are built for the most part of stone on three sides and wood on the

fourth, and that they all have light wooden roofs. Still closer

examination reveals that the floors are laid with big wooden pegs

instead of nails, and that so far as possible all the machinery they

contain is made of wood. All the shovels and other implements used by

the workmen are of wood, and every man about the place wears shoes with

wooden-pegged soles instead of shoes which have nails. Fancy these

conditions in a beautiful wooded park, running for three miles along the

picturesque Brandywine Creek, near Wilmington, and you can imagine

something of the attractive external appearance of the Du Pont Works.

There is good reason for the use of wood instead of metal in the thirty

or forty buildings which make up this plant. You may not know it, but,

it is said to be a fact that there must be a spark to ignite powder. You

may take a live coal, for example, and drop it into a dish of powder,

and the result will be that the powder will simply burn rapidly. Strike

a spark and let it come in contact with the powder, and there is an

explosion. All powder-mill explosions, with their dreadful losses of

life, are caused by sparks. It is to avoid sparks that wooden-pegged

floors and shoes are required in the mills, and that wooden shovels and

machinery are used. You can see how dangerous metal is about a

powder-making plant when your guide takes a bunch of keys from his

pocket to unlock a mill where the work is done for the day. He inserts

the key in the padlock as slowly and as gently as if he were performing

a most delicate surgical operation, one where life is at stake by the

mere turn of the wrist. He turns the bolt as carefully as if the lock

were made of an egg-shell, which he didn't want to break. Your life and

his really are at stake, and neither he nor you can exercise too much

care.

[Illustration: THE CHARCOAL-MILL.]

There are two distinct stages in powder-making. The one is the part that

is not dangerous of itself, and the other is the part that is

dangerous--so dangerous, in fact, that the life of no one engaged in the

work is safe. Still, so thorough are the precautions taken that the

percentage of loss of life at this work is really very small, and one

sees about the Du Pont Works men who have been employed there for thirty

and forty years. The part of the manufacture that is not dangerous

consists of the preparation of the ingredients that compose the powder.

In one of these mills the charcoal is made. For the higher grades of

powder only willow wood is used in making the charcoal. For

blasting-powder almost any wood of good grain is used. The willow is

grown largely on the grounds of the beautiful park, and the smaller

limbs of trees are taken. Willow has an especially fine grain and

texture, and this makes it valuable for powder manufacture.

In another mill the saltpetre is refined by boiling. The refined product

is dumped into vats, from which it is shovelled into barrels to be

taken to the mixing-house. The saltpetre in the vats is so pure and

white that one might fancy that the roof had opened and an old-fashioned

snow-storm had fallen inside the building, and the men who are

shovelling it up resemble snow-shovellers, except that they are not

bundled up. The sulphur is prepared in another place, and then the

ingredients are taken to the mixing-mill, where they are weighed and

mixed, and there the part of the work that is not dangerous ends.

[Illustration: THE ROLLING-MILL.]

Near by the mixing-mill are the rolling-mills. Now we are close to

danger. In the centre of this mill is a big iron saucer, probably six

feet in diameter. The rim of the saucer is about eighteen inches high.

Standing up in the saucer are two wheels. They seem to be about six feet

in diameter also, and their rims about a foot broad. These wheels and

this saucer do the rolling of the powder--that is, they grind the three

substances that compose the powder into a new mixture. The wheels are

swept around and around in the saucer, and they also turn on their own

axes. It is as if they were kept rolling over and over, just as the

wheels of a carriage roll, but also as if some power kept them turning

about constantly in the small circle of this saucer. This mill is where

wooden machinery cannot be used, and of course that makes it a very

dangerous place.

The mixture of the ingredients of the powder is brought in and dumped

carefully in the saucer. It is spread about smoothly by a workman, who,

after this work is done, goes outside the mill, and does not come back

until the powder is rolled thoroughly. The workman goes to a wheel a few

feet away from the building and turns it very slowly. It starts the

machinery that moves the wheels in the saucer. The greatest danger in

rolling comes at this time. The rolling must be begun in the slowest

possible way. The danger is that there may be a lump in the mixture in

the saucer that will raise one of the wheels as it turns around and then

drop it suddenly in the saucer, causing a spark. If this comes, away

goes your mill and machinery, and possibly the workman's life with them.

There are many of these rolling-mills in the Du Pont plant, because the

owners act on the principle that it is not a good thing to carry all

your eggs in one basket. Rarely is more than 150 pounds of powder rolled

at one time, and it takes from three to eight hours to do the rolling,

according to the grade of powder that is being made. The workman in

charge will go to the door of the mill from time to time to look in, but

he never steps inside until he has stopped the machinery and the rolling

is done.

After the powder is rolled it is shovelled up and taken to a press-mill.

It is put into a long wooden trough about two feet high and two feet

broad, and packed between thin plates of aluminum. Pressure is applied

by water-power to one end of the trough, and the powder is squeezed into

thin slabs of hard dry cakes. After all the moisture is squeezed out,

these cakes are removed, and one by one they are slipped down into a

slot between some rollers, where each is broken up into bits that

resemble the small stones that are used in making macadam roads. This

breaking-up process makes a terrific noise, and when one thinks of the

dangerous compound that is being handled, this noise is likely to cause

a feeling of great fear in one who hears it for the first time. At this

stage of the process it is difficult to restrain the impulse to take to

one's heels and run out of hearing of the terrifying sound.

[Illustration: THE GRAINING-MILL.]

After the cakes have been broken up into these bits of rough, dirty

stone, the powder is taken to a graining-mill. This is really the most

dangerous part of all the work. One man runs each of these mills. He

cannot start the machinery in motion and go away, like the man who has

charge of a rolling-mill, but he must stay in the place all the time,

and feed the stones to the machinery that crushes them into grains of

various sizes. He shovels the powder into a large hopper, big wooden

wheels go around and around, and the powder passes between zinc rolls

and through sieves of various sizes. It is a grewsome place. The

machinery reminds one of the pictures that we have all seen of some of

the contrivances they used to have in the days of the Inquisition with

which to torture people, and it is hard to keep back a shudder as one

looks at this work. Sometimes there is as much as a ton of powder at one

time in the big hopper of this machine. In one of these mills at the Du

Pont Works you will notice that the stone wall is eight feet thick on

one side. This is on the side next to a press-mill. One side of the

place is entirely of wood. This is toward the creek. The idea is to save

as much property as possible in case of an explosion.

After the powder is broken up into grains it is taken in bags to another

mill. This is known as a glazing-mill. It is here that the powder is

polished and made shiny. There are several sheet-iron hoppers that

resemble enormous barrels in this place. The powder is dumped into them,

and they are turned over and over. A certain quantity of lamp-black is

put into each barrel, according to the amount of powder each contains,

and the barrel is turned until every grain has received a polish. The

polish simply gives the powder a nice appearance. It adds no strength to

the product, but it helps to keep out moisture, and it prevents the

powder from losing some of its strength in damp weather. Every one knows

how much better a pair of shoes look when they are polished, and how

desirable it is at all times to have one's shoes kept in this condition.

It is for that same reason that a polish is put on the grains of powder.

When the powder is polished, and separated by means of sieves again into

grains of various sizes, it is ready for packing. It is then run into

tin or wooden kegs, and is ready for storage in a magazine in a remote

part of the grounds. The kegs are made in another part of the grounds,

and painted in various colors, each color indicating the kind of powder

the keg contains. It is then ready for shipment to the places where it

is used. The powder that goes into cartridges for shooting purposes goes

to the factories where cartridges are made, the blasting powder goes to

the men who sell it, and thus it is carted off the place, and the mills

go on making a supply to take its place.

The government powder is made in a general way in the same manner that

ordinary powder is made. The chemical ingredients are somewhat

different, of course, but it may be said that powder for use in cannons

is simply of a finer grade than ordinary powder. It is what is

technically known as a "slow" powder. That is, it ignites slowly, and

burns more slowly than ordinary powder. Of course to the eye it goes off

in a flash, like ordinary powder, but really it is slow in its explosion

compared with ordinary powder. The object of this is to secure the full

force of the power in the powder, and also to start the projectiles in

cannon very slowly in their terrible journey of destruction. By using a

slow powder there is less strain on the cannons and less danger of their

bursting. There must be as little shock as possible to the cannons, when

they contain such a terrible power as an ordinary charge of powder, and

it is desirable that all of the powder should be used. Hence the need

for "slow" powder. The government powder is packed in small cakes or

prisms, with a little hole through the centre. These prisms look like

the nuts used on the hubs of big wagons. A lot of them are put together

in a package and stowed away in the cannon behind the projectile, and a

spark is used to set the charge off.

One soon gets used to danger, and in going through a powder plant it is

interesting to watch the men go about their tasks with as little concern

apparently as if they were employed in a flour-mill. It is healthy work,

aside from its danger, and for that reason it would be difficult to find

a sturdier lot of men than those employed at this task. The men saunter

about the place as if they preferred that sort of life to any other. In

their manner there is no indication that they are oppressed by the

possibility that some day they may be blown into bits. Most of them seem

to be what are known as fatalists. One must die sometime, and a powder

explosion provides a speedy and painless exit. They can get no insurance

on their lives, but doubtless they console themselves with the thought

that the percentage of the loss of life is small, much smaller than in

many other kinds of hazardous employment.

These men may count with reason upon a long life, and a physician is

rarely needed by any of them. They live in comfortable homes in the park

where they are employed, and seem most contented with their lot. The Du

Pont people have fitted up a delightful club-house on the grounds for

their employees, and these find existence in their lot in life so

attractive that they remain in it year after year, a contented and

prosperous set of men.

A PALM-LEAF FAN.

BY CAROLINE A. CREEVEY.

When ministers preach sermons they take texts. We will make a text out

of a palm-leaf fan.

Palms do not grow around Brooklyn, where I live; but the children of

North Carolina, and further south, know their straight slim

palmetto-tree, bearing a cluster of large frondlike leaves at the top,

as we know a chestnut-tree. Indeed, one of the Southern States is called

the Palmetto State, and has a palm-tree in its State emblem.

Small palms may be obtained at a florist's, and are fashionable parlor

ornaments. But in a greenhouse they do not grow very large. In hot

countries they sometimes reach a height of 150 feet. The bud at the top

must not be broken off, else the tree will die; for, unlike Northern

trees, palms do not branch, but continue always to grow straight up. As

the leaves become old, they drop off, leaving curious scars on the

trunk. New leaves grow one at a time from the apex. A maple-tree

branches in all directions, and you may pinch off its buds anywhere

without interrupting its growth. But it is rare to see a palm with even

two branches. Such are called forked palms, referring to old-fashioned

two-tined forks. Another curious thing about a palm is that it has no

bark. My fan-handle is the natural stem of the leaf, and it has never

had more bark than it has now.

Have you noticed a trunk of a hickory or chestnut tree which has been

sawn straight across? There is a distinct centre, with rings of wood

around it, growing larger and larger, all covered by bark. On such trees

the outside ring of wood forms new every year, and if you can count the

rings you can tell how old the tree is. When the tree is cut lengthwise

into boards, these rings make beautiful grainings. A palm-tree has no

apparent centre, no rings of wood, and no real bark. It is a very

different kind of tree from the chestnut. There is wood, of course, in

the palm trunk, else it would not be stiff enough to stand up so

straight and tall. But the wood is in threads, long and slender,

scattered without order through the trunk. The dots in the end of my

fan-handle are the tips of threads of wood. If you were to see a palm

sawn across you would find hundreds of similar dots. You cannot tell how

old the palm is. The cut end of a cornstalk will show the same kind of

structure, woody dots in soft juicy tissue. Grasses grow in the same

way, and so do orchids, lilies, hyacinths, daffodils, iris, flag-root,

cat's-tails, and many of our pretty spring wild flowers--the yellow

dog-toothed violet, lily-of-the-valley, Solomon's-seal, etc. Our

grains--corn, wheat, oats, rye--are humble but useful members of this

same grand division of _Endogens_. All other trees and herbs which have

bark, wood, and pith, and which when long lived increase by additional

rings of wood under the bark, are _Exogens_.

Next examine the spread-out part of our fan. Ridges start from a common

centre, where the stem joins the blade, and radiate towards the

circumference. These ridges are the paths for the veins, and all leaves

whose veins run side by side are called _parallel_-veined leaves. A

plantain leaf shows this plainly. A chestnut leaf has an arrangement of

veins like a feather. There is a central _midrib_, from which veins

spring, running across the leaf, joined irregularly with intertwining

_veinlets_. These leaves are _net_-veined, and grow on exogens. The

parallel-veined leaves of endogens often clasp and surround the stem,

the upper leaf growing from within the lower. Even the seed of endogens

grows differently from that of exogens. A grain of corn sends up one

first leaf; so do lilies and grains. A squash seed sends up two first

leaves. The first leaves of a seed are _cotyledons_, and the one-leafed

seed is _mono_cotyledonous, while two-leafed seeds are dicotyledonous.

Banana-trees are endogens, and produce such abundant fruit in their

native soil that ground which planted in wheat would support two

persons, if planted with bananas would nourish fifty. If you were cast

away on a desert island you would fare better if the trees above you

were endogens than if they were exogens. A grove of bananas and a

cocoanut palm would support you better than chestnuts, hickories, oaks,

and maples.

JENSEN FALLS OVERBOARD.

BY OSCAR KING DAVIS.

The United States Revenue-cutter _Corwin_ was taking the court officials

from Sitka to Juneau to hold court. There was to be a term to deal with

the seizures of seal-poachers that had been made by the patrol fleet in

the Bering Sea that summer. They were in a hurry, and the _Corwin_ was

doing her best. It was perhaps 4 o'clock in the afternoon of a dismal

dull November day that the revenue-cutter rounded a point in Chatham

Straits, and came plump upon a sleek little Columbia River fishing-sloop

beating down the channel. Something in her trim suggested smugglers to

the officer of the deck. The Captain was below with some of the court

officials when the messenger from the Lieutenant reported. When he got

on deck a quartermaster was already standing by the flag halyards, ready

to send aloft the signal to the sloop to stop, and a boat's crew stood

ready to clear away the dingy. The Captain took in the situation at a

glance, and almost with one breath ordered the signal flown and the boat

cleared away. The men in the little sloop had been watching with eyes of

experience, and as the signal-flags fluttered from her spanker-gaff they

swung their boat up into the wind and dropped the jib.

On the cutter the men were lowering the dingy, and the Lieutenant stood

by the rail ready to go the moment his boat caught the water. Three

sailor-men were in the boat, two at the fall-ropes and one in the middle

with the oars and cushions. Jensen, the man at the after fall-rope, was

a fine big Swede, broad-shouldered and stalwart. A drizzling rain was

driving down from the mountains that line the Straits, and all the men

were in their oil-skins and sou'westers. Jensen had added a great pair

of rubber boots with long tops that reached up to his hips. The

fall-ropes had begun to slip through the sheaves, and the dingy had

started toward the water, when the eye-bolt at the stern, to which the

lower block of the fall-rope was hooked, broke with a snap like a pistol

crack. Instantly the stern of the boat fell into the water, but quickly

as it fell the sailor-men were quicker. As they heard the snap of the

breaking bolt and felt the boat begin to go out from under their feet,

all three threw up their hands and grasped the wire stay that stretches

between the davits. Two caught it with both hands, but Jensen missed

with his right. The lurch with which the dingy fell had given him a

twisting motion, and as he clung to the stay with his left hand he swung

around until his arm could be twisted no further, and then he let go.

Instantly there was a tumult on the cutter, but it was not the crew of

the _Corwin_ that made it. The court officials from Sitka and their

wives had come on deck to see the fishing-sloop examined, and the

instant they saw Jensen fall and heard the splash of the water as he

struck, they set up a shout of "Man overboard!" Then they began to throw

things over to the sailor-man, who was rapidly drifting astern. The

first signal to the fishing-sloop had been accompanied by an order to

the engine-room to stop and back, but the _Corwin_ was still under good

headway when Jensen fell. As the dingy struck the water it turned bottom

up, and all the oars and cushions and movable gratings in the bottom

fell out and floated astern with the sailor-man. Added to these things

were a lot of deck-gratings and things slung over by the excited

Sitkans. Half a dozen life-buoys that were thrown over at the first

alarm promptly went to the bottom. They had been cleaned and painted so

many times that not even the heavy salt water would float them.

At the cry of "Man overboard!" Captain Hooper's orders were short and

sharp. In response to them a boat's crew leaped at the big whaleboat.

Almost in the twinkling of an eye it was in the water, and eight sturdy

fellows were responding with all their might to the bo's'n's

exhortations to "give way." But at the same time another crew had

cleared away the Captain's gig, and the young Lieutenant who was to have

boarded the suspected sloop from the dingy was placidly going about his

errand in the gig.

It takes a long time to tell it, almost as long, perhaps, as it seemed

to Jensen, but all this really occupied a very few minutes. The people

from Sitka, hanging over the taffrail and wondering if the cutter would

never begin to go astern, saw Jensen go down, and held their breath with

the instant's fear that he had given up. But presently he bobbed up

again, and then one, with a glass, made out that he had taken off his

heavy oil-skin coat. He had his big sou'wester in his teeth, and was

treading water. As he stood up out of the water he lifted one side of

the heavy coat. He caught the air under it, when he dropped the edge of

it again, and the man with the glass could see the coat float by itself.

Then Jensen disappeared under the water again. He was down what seemed

an interminable time, and they thought that surely this time he was gone

for good. But he came up again, and this time he had his long rubber

boots in his left hand. He caught his sou'wester in his teeth again,

and, swimming with his right hand and holding his boots in his left, and

pushing his coat with his brawny chest, he struck out comfortably for

the whaleboat that was rapidly bearing down on him.

Before it reached him, however, there floated by one of the gratings

that had been flung over after him. They were half a mile or more astern

of the revenue-cutter, and the thick day prevented the nervous watchers

on the _Corwin_ from seeing what happened. But the bo's'n in the

whaleboat saw Jensen grasp one end of the grating with his right hand

and try to crawl up on it. Its buoyancy wasn't enough to stand the

weight of the burly Swede and his heavy boots. His end sank, and the

other end rose out of the water further and further as Jensen scrambled

up. At last, with a smash, it turned end for end, and cracked the plucky

sailor-man a resounding whack on the head. He went down as if he had

been lead, and even the bo's'n in the whaleboat thought it was all up

with him. But Jensen apparently was not born to drown. He was up again

almost as soon as the grating was, and as the whaleboat dashed alongside

he flung his big boots in and crawled over its side, helped by half its

crew.

Then the whaleboat started back for the _Corwin_, and as it went along

it stopped at intervals, and picked up the oars and cushions and seats

and gratings and things that had been spilled out of the dingy, or flung

over for Jensen. The water was desperately cold. A glacial current sets

down the coast through Chatham Straits, and it was this ice-water that

Jensen had been in for what seemed half an hour, but was really not half

so long. His teeth chattered when he got into the whaleboat, and he

needed something to warm him up. When the whaleboat returned to the

cutter the court officials and their wives crowded along the rail,

expecting to see a half-drowned man lying in the bottom of the boat.

They saw only the boat's crew, and one extra man, not Jensen, standing

up in the stern sheets, beside the bo's'n.

"Why, where's Jensen?" some one asked Captain Hooper.

"There he is," said the Captain, "pulling the bow-oar."

That was Jensen's way of warming up. He scrambled up on deck in his wet

clothes and in his stocking feet, with his coat and rubber boots under

his arm, saluted the Captain, and stood at attention. There was an ugly

cut on his face where the grating had hit him.

"How did you fall?" asked the Captain.

"The bolt broke, sir," said Jensen, "and she went down."

"Go forward and get some dry clothes," ordered the Captain; "and here,

messenger," he added, to his boy, "tell the apothecary to give Jensen

something to warm him up!"

The Captain turned to one of the Sitkans and said, "He goes overboard

almost every other day just to get warmed up afterwards."

As the whaleboat was slung in the davits again, the gig came back from

the fishing-sloop.

"She's apparently all right, sir," reported the Lieutenant. "They say

they are examining the coast, looking for a place to found a colony."

There was a jingling of bells in the engine-room, and the _Corwin_

steamed full speed ahead again, hurrying to Juneau.

[Illustration: From Chum to Chum]

BY GASTON V. DRAKE.

XIX.--FROM BOB TO JACK.

GENOA.

[Illustration]

DEAR JACK,--Maybe we haven't been travelling! My! Pop met a man in

Geneva and he says going to Venice aren't you? Not much said Pop.

New York's wet enough for me. Then you make a great big error said

the man. It's fine this time of year and anybody that gets as far

into Italy as Genoa without going a little further to see the most

unicorn city in the world doesn't know as much as he thinks he does

and wastes an elegant importunity. So Pop spoke to Ma about it and

Ma said she'd sort of like it and as for Aunt Sarah she was so

pleased she forgot all about the music-boxes and recovered her

health right away, but it's kept us on the jump, and I've seen so

many things I hardly know how to begin telling you about 'em. The

first jump was to Luzerne where we only stayed all night though Pop

was afraid we might have to stay there forever in order to get

money enough to pay our bill. They had a band playing in the office

of the hotel which seemed very nice until the bill came in the next

morning and they'd charged us forty cents apiece, babies and all

for it. Pop said it would have been cheaper for us to have bought

an orchestrion and sat up with it in the Park all night. Next day

we took the corkscrew train and bored our way right through the

Alps, over the St. Gothard railway into Italy, landing at Milan

late in the afternoon, where there isn't much for boys to see,

though Jules says the cathedral collectors think it's bully; and

then we went on to Venice and of all the places yet it's the best.

Talk about going yachting, or sailing across the ocean in a great

big ship--it's all nothing to living in a place like Venice where

you can sit in your parlor at home and still be on the water, with

no motion to make you seasick and no fear that a big wave will come

up to engollop you in its midst. We stayed at a hotel that used to

be a palace and it was palatial--that is, it was in front. All the

parlors were fine, but the bedrooms in the rear wouldn't do for

store-rooms home. These old Dukes that used to live there were

great on parlors, salongs they called them, but when it came bed

time most anything was good enough.

[Illustration]

I suppose you know that Venice is built mostly on water--like

American railroads Pop says, though I never saw one of them and I

guess that's what Aunt Sarah calls one of Pops suttle political

whimsies. The houses are held up by spiles that have been driven

down into the mud, and when people want to go anywhere they hire a

gondola and get paddled off to where they want to go. Of course

they haven't any horses and Pop says the only driving they can do

is spile driving. He told Jules to get a team of quiet gentle

spiles that a lady could drive and let me try 'em, but Jules was so

stupid he didn't understand--though he pretended he did and

promised to have 'em at the door at three o'clock, and when three

o'clock came he told Pop he was very sorry but every one in town

had been hired for the season. Jules is smart even if he can't

understand American jokes.

Venice is a great many years old and used to be managed by men they

called Dodges. They didn't have mares the way we do in our cities

because horses couldn't get along there, but they whacksed very

rich and built magnificent houses and churches and palaces. They

have a great big public square called St. Marks where the bandolins

play every night and it's full of pigeons.

[Illustration]

Pigeons are so sacred here that when they have 'em on the bills of

fare at the hotels they call them squab for fear the populace would

rise and tear them limb from limb for eating pigeons. They make

glass in Venice too, smelling bottles and tumblers and chandeliers,

but the best part of the whole thing is the canals. The water isn't

very clean but it's clean enough and I tell you what a boy has a

great advantage over a nurse in a place like Venice. One morning

when Pop and I were getting gondoliered along the Grand Canal we

heard a fearful shrieking in one of the palaces and in a minute we

saw a boy being chased by his nurse. He was only about a foot ahead

and she almost had him when he jumped off the front stoop into the

canal and swam up and down just out of her reach and my, wasn't she

mad! I don't know what she said because she spoke Italian, but I

could guess generally what she meant. Just think of it for a

minute. If you want to go swimming or fishing or boating you can do

it all right in front of your own house. We'd be pretty rich in

America if we could stand on our front door steps and catch all the

dinner we needed.

[Illustration]

One great thing for children is to stand in the square and feed the

pigeons I was telling you about. Pop bought me three bags of corn

and the minute I dropped one little kernel of it on the walk about

a hundred pigeons flew down. A lot of 'em roostered on my arms and

one fellow sat on my hat, and then we went inside the cathedral

which is magnificently furnished with things the Venetians used to

steal from the heathen they went out to convert, but they're a

little sore because Napoleon came down and stole a few things from

them. People over here don't like to put the boot on the other leg

any more than they do at home, which Aunt Sarah says shows that

human nature is the same in Italian as it is in English.

Where they haven't got canals in Venice there are little narrow

streets about three feet wide mostly and you'd have as hard a time

finding your way about through them as Pop would trying to follow

the lines of a sailor suit for a boy of seven through one of Ma's

Bazar patterns. That's what Pop said. He said Venice must have been

laid out after a BAZAR pattern and he asked Ma to go up in a high

tower they have there called the Campanini to get a bird's eye view

of it and see whether it was a bicycle costume or a pignoir they

had in mind when they laid it out. Ma said Pop was flippant and he

said all right my dear, I'll let you find our way home and she

tried it and in ten minutes she had us lost and she turned to Pop

and said I guess you're right about the BAZAR pattern, popper, this

is the worst yet.

We all wanted to stay there a week but it wasn't possible. A birds

eye view of it was all we had time for and so we left for Genoa

after two days at Venice. To-morrow we sail for Hoboken on the

_Werra_ and my next letter will be from home, when I'll tell you

all about Gibraltar, Genoa, and Hoboken.

Good-bye BOB.

P.S. The bandolins came and sang under our window at Venice the

last night and it was very romantic Pop says even if the soprano

did fall into the water reaching up for a ten cent piece Pop had.

[Illustration: INTERSCHOLASTIC SPORT]

A notable event in interscholastic baseball was the defeat of

Lawrenceville, May 27, on their own grounds, by the St. Paul's nine. The

game was a hard one, and lasted for twelve innings, the final score

being 3-2. As the score indicates, the teams were very evenly matched,

but St. Paul's excelled slightly in team-work, and (Cadwalader being

unavailable for Lawrenceville) was stronger in the box. Hall, the Garden

City pitcher, is a better man than either Arrott or Blake. He showed

himself to be especially strong when he had men on bases.

[Illustration: W. M. ROBINSON,

St. Paul's School.]

In batting, the teams were about equal, in spite of the fact that the

tabulated score credits St. Paul's with ten hits to Lawrenceville's six.

Arthur Robinson, the clever young sprinter who did such remarkable work

at the Long Island Interscholastics, played short-stop in this

Lawrenceville game without an error; he had five difficult chances, and

accepted them all. The out-fielders on the St. Paul's team distinguished

themselves not only in field-work, but also at the bat. This victory,

coupled with the fact that the St. Paul's nine has not been defeated by

any school team for two years, places the Garden City team in the front

rank of scholastic ball-players.

The Columbia Interscholastic Tennis Tournament, which was played on the

Oval at Williamsbridge, was won by J. M. L. Walton, of the Callisen

School. He met R. D. Little, of Cutler's, in the final round, and took

the match in three straight sets--6-1, 6-2, 6-1. His work was steady

throughout the tournament, and he showed good head-work, especially in

his contest with Little.

[Illustration: T. R. PELL,

Winner of the N.Y.I.S.A.A. Tennis Tournament]

First place in the tournament for the tennis championship of the New

York I.S.A.A. was taken by T. R. Pell, of Berkeley. This tourney was

held on the Berkeley Oval, but no playing of a very high order

developed. Pell won all his matches in straight sets, and defeated

Wenman of Drisler's in the finals--6-3, 6-1, 6-1. In the semi-final

round he met R. D. Little, who lost to Walton in the Columbia

tournament, and disposed of him--6-4, 6-2.

The winning of the New York I.S.A.A. Tennis Tournament does not entitle

Pell to play at Newport. Walton, however, as the winner of the

Columbia-Interscholastic Championship, has the privilege of representing

this district at the national event, and will no doubt be seen on the

courts at Newport in August.

[Illustration: Decrow, r.f. Cook, p. Noyes, 1 b. Coy, l.f.

Fincke, s.s. Camp (Capt.), 3 b. Warner, c.

McKelvey, 2 b. Parton, c.f.

HOTCHKISS SCHOOL BASEBALL NINE.]

The Hotchkiss School baseball Team is rapidly getting into shape, and

promises to be a stronger nine than that which represented the school

last year. Five of the old men are back, and the new material is

developing rapidly. The batting is considerable of an improvement over

last season's. Warner, the catcher, makes a good back-stop, but is not

reliable in his throwing to bases. He is weak too on high fouls, and

somewhat slow; but he makes up for these deficiencies in his batting,

and runs the bases well.

Cook, in the box, is a new man, and promises to develop into a strong

pitcher. He is liable to be wild at times, but grows steadier at

critical points of the game. He bats well and he runs well. Noyes, at

first, is very strong on high throws, but muffs badly on grounders. His

throwing is only fair, but he handles the stick pretty well. McKelvey,

at second, is a veteran, and is keeping up to his old standard. He still

retains his old fault, however, which is a very bad one, of stepping

back from the ball when he is batting. This is a fatal weakness for a

man who hopes to become a hard hitter. He slides well, but does not run

quite fast enough around the bases.

Fincke, at short-stop, is a good athlete, and comes from good athletic

stock. He is a cousin of the quarter-back of last year's Yale team, and

he has only recently made a record for himself by winning the Yale

Interscholastic Tennis Tournament. This is his first year on the team.

He throws and fields well, but bats only fairly. He is slow on the

bases, but has the promise of an excellent ball-player. Captain Camp, at

third, is steady both in fielding and in throwing. He bats well, but

would have a better average if he were not constantly trying to make

home runs. He is a good base-runner, but his responsibilities as captain

have somewhat weakened his all-round work.

Coy, in left field, is another new man who has also done well on the

tennis-court. He is sore on high flies, but unreliable on running

catches. He does not throw well, and his batting is only fair, whereas

his base-running is open to great improvement. Parton is also new to the

team. He is not sure of line drives, and would be an excellent thrower

if he could cultivate accuracy. He is good on the bases. Decrow is

probably the best fielder on the team; he covers more ground than any of

the others, and shows good judgment on flies. He throws better than he

did last year, and his batting is improving, but he needs a good deal of

coaching on base-running and sliding.

The Fourth Annual Interscholastic Meet of the Illinois high-schools was

held at Champaign on May 16, and the banner went to Rockford H.-S. with

23 points, Englewood High, the favorite, coming second with 21 points.

But as the bicycle-race was protested, and has gone to the L. A. W. for

final decision, Englewood may yet attain the title of champion.

On account of heavy rains in the morning, the events were postponed

until afternoon, and considering the heavy track, the performances were

very creditable. A dark horse, Machin of Duquoin, took a good many

points away from Englewood in the sprints, and proved a surprise to the

knowing ones. These dashes and the mile run were the most interesting

events of the day, although the quarter-mile afforded a spirited finish.

The field events were fairly well contested, but the wet condition of

the turf hindered the hammer-throwers considerably, and many fouled

repeatedly.

The list of events is one of the most acrobatic and non-athletic that I

have seen for a long time. It included such events as the high kick,

which must have been an imposing event to watch on an athletic field,

and a hop, step, and jump; the standing broad jump, a quarter-mile

bicycle-race, and a 50-yard dash. Of course there is no special

objection to the last two events in themselves, although they are not

recognized as standards for interscholastic field days in this part of

the country, or in any place where track sports have become thoroughly

systematized. But there is an objection to them when they are put on the

programme to the exclusion of such standard events as the hurdles.

Some of the performances in the standard events, however, were above the

average. The mile was run in 4 min. 46-2/5 sec.; the 100-yards was taken

by Machin in 10-2/5 sec.; the quarter went to Egbert in 53-1/5 sec.;

Martin ran the 220 in 23-3/5 sec.; and Hutchinson cleared 20 ft. 3 in,

in the broad jump. The score by points follows: Rockford, 23; Englewood,

21; Hyde Park, 11; Duquoin, 10; Chicago English High and Manual

Training, 9; Peoria, 9; West Aurora, 8; Urbana, 8; Canton, 7; East

Aurora, 6; Champaign, 6; Springfield, 5; Mattoon, 5; Chicago Manual

Training, 5; Macomb, 5; Jacksonville, 5; Lake View, 4; Winnetka, 3;

Tuscola, 3; Pekin, 1.

PHILADELPHIA I. A. L. GAMES, FRANKLIN FIELD, MAY 29, 1896.

Events. Winners. Performance.

100-yard dash McClain, Haverford. 10-3/4 sec.

220-yard dash McClain, Haverford. 25-1/2 "

Half-mile run Little, P. C. 2 m. 12-1/2 "

One-mile run Ross, Haverford. 5 " 46 "

Half-mile walk Evans, P. C. 3 " 53-1/5 "

120-yard hurdles Marshall, P. C. 18-2/5 "

220-yard hurdles Marshall, P. C. 30-1/5 "

One-mile bicycle White, G. A. 2 " 58-4/5 "

Running high jump Newbold, De Lancey. 5 ft. 7 in.

Running broad jump McClain, Haverford. 20 " 6 "

Standing broad jump Claflin, Haverford. 9 " 5-3/4 "

Pole vault Hanson, P. C. 9 " 6 "

Putting 16-lb. shot Sayers, Haverford. 32 " 6-1/2 "

Points. 1sts. 2ds. 3ds. Totals.

Penn Charter 5 8 7 56

Haverford Grammar School 6 3 3 42

De Lancey Academy 1 2 2 13

Germantown Academy 1 1 1 9

Cheltenham Academy 1 0 0 5

Episcopal Academy 0 0 1 1

-- -- -- ---

Total 14 14 14 126

The Inter-Academic League of Philadelphia held its field meeting at

Franklin Field on Friday afternoon, May 29, and three of the old records

were lowered. Newbold of De Lancey jumped 5 ft. 7 in., the former record

being 5 ft. 4-1/2 in.; Hanson vaulted 9 ft. 6 in., which is 3-1/2 in.

better than the old figure; and Little of Penn Charter brought the

half-mile figure down from 2 min. 13-1/4 sec. to 2 min. 12-1/2 sec.

Marshall of Penn Charter, the big football-player, took both the hurdle

events, although in neither case was the time particularly good. But for

a big man he is a clever hurdler.

After the games had been under way a short time the contest narrowed

down to a duel between Penn Charter and the Haverford College

Grammar-School. Penn Charter finally came out ahead by 56 points to 42.

A full record of the day is given in the accompanying table.

Some of the semi-professional and mercenary athletes among the students

of the New York schools have been talking a great deal in the public

prints of late about how they think amateur athletics should be managed,

and, in private, so far as I am able to find out, they have been doing

all they can to interfere with the success of the National tournament

scheduled for the 20th of this month. It looks now as if these young men

with professional tendencies were going to have some success in

weakening the team which will represent the New York Interscholastic

Association, and if reports are correct, many of the winners of the

recent games at the Berkeley Oval will not appear in the National

tournament, either because they support the opinions that have lately

been so freely expressed in some quarters, or because they are

influenced by the clique above referred to.

It is amazing that there should be any young men who would condescend

for a moment to support such opinions; and yet there seems to be a

number, and they have the assurance to pose as amateurs! Some even

intimate openly that they do not wish to go into the National games

because there is not enough money in it for them. Of course they do not

use the word "money," or "cash," or "dollars," because they know that

the A. A. U. would get after them, but they are brazen enough to say

that they do not think the medals which are to be offered on this

occasion are of sufficient intrinsic value for them to compete for.

Perhaps the readers of this Department who do not live in this city, and

do not know how near to professionalism some of our scholastic athletes

here can go, will think that I am exaggerating when I say that many of

them are apparently in sport largely for the intrinsic value of the

medals. Whether it is to pawn them afterward or not I cannot say. But to

show these readers in other cities that I am not exaggerating, let me

quote from an interview published in the New York _Sun_ of May 31. The

_Sun_ is so rarely inaccurate in quoting an individual that we may all

depend upon its accuracy in this case.

The name of the young man who is quoted in the article is given as Rose

Ambler Curran. He is said to attend the Drisler School. I do not know

whether Mr. Curran has ever done anything himself in athletics; he

certainly is not in any way prominent in interscholastic sport here, and

I do not think that he represents a very large element of the

school-boys of this city. He certainly does not represent the best

element. What he is quoted as having said, and what I think every true

amateur will consider most reprehensible, is this: "The medals which

were offered at the last in-door games" (the games given by the New

Manhattan A. C. at the Madison Square Garden last March) "were of such a

poor character that many would not have competed had they seen them

before. This is the main reason, as stated by the boys, for what might

be termed their lack of interest in the meet" (the National Meet).

As a matter of fact, the medals given to the winners at the Madison

Square Garden games were as handsome and appropriate as any I have ever

seen. They were simple. They were laurel wreaths on ribbons--gold

wreaths, silver wreaths, and bronze wreaths. The designs were not such

as would appeal to a pawnbroker, but they were such as would appeal to

any honest boy who takes a pride in his athletic achievements for their

own sake.

There is nothing ambiguous about Mr. Curran's statement as quoted above.

He says clearly that the money value of the medals at the winter games

was not great enough for a certain class of New York school-boy athletes

to contest for, and that these same individuals are not going to spend

their valuable time and energy in running races for less than a certain

weight of gold or silver. I do not see how much nearer to

professionalism these boys can get without being thrown out body and

baggage from the society of amateurs. It is well if they do keep away

from the National Interscholastic meeting. Such medal-hunters are not

wanted, and the sooner they can be detected by the officers of the

Association and prevented from mingling with the true and sportsman like

element among school-boy athletes, the better will it be for athletics

in this city.

The New Manhattan Athletic Club, or rather its athletic directors, were

considerably surprised, I know, at the attitude taken by this

semi-professional element among the New York school-boys. It had been

their intention to offer a valuable trophy in the form of a cup, to be

contested for on this occasion, in addition to individual medals, and

they had even gone so far as to consult with the President of the

National Association concerning the order for this cup. But when they

found that their interest in school-boy athletics was apparently

unappreciated, they gave up the idea entirely.

Fortunately the success or failure of the National Meet does not depend

upon the entries from the New York Association, and we may well rejoice

if a lot of medal-hunters keep away. Strong teams will come down from

Maine, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and there will be representatives

from New Jersey, and probably from other leagues, and the sport will be

good and clean, and the races will not be run with the sole idea of

getting money value in prizes at the end, but for the sake of the honor

of winning on that day--of the glory of sport for sport's sake.

At the recent Olympian Games the prizes were olive wreaths--plain,

ordinary vegetable growth; worth, say, ten cents a bushel, with perhaps

fifty wreaths to the bushel. And yet those dried branches brought home

from Greece by the American winners are worth more to them than any

yellow metal they can get here. The young men who talk of remaining away

from the National meet, because the weight of the medals is not great

enough to suit their tastes, would do well to reflect on this: there is

a greater object in life than the collecting of medals.

The New England Interscholastic baseball season is practically closed,

although there are a number of games yet to be played. But Brookline has

won the championship, having played all its scheduled matches, and

having won each of them. In the last game Brookline defeated English

High 6-0. Brookline played excellent ball both in the field and at the

bat, but E.H.-S. was weak all around. Some of the features of the game

were Nettleton's stop of Manning's hard hit in the fifth inning, Wise's

clever throw from centre to third in the eighth, putting out Cronin, and

the heavy hatting of Lewis and Parker. A review of the whole baseball

season will be made in this Department as soon as space enough becomes

available.

C. S. D., BAYONNE, N.J.--Any interscholastic association composed

of at least two schools may join the National Interscholastic

Association upon applying for membership. The field meeting this

year will be on June 20, and is the first one ever held by the

Association, which was formed only last December.

THE GRADUATE.

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[Illustration: Hartford Single Tube Tires]

[Illustration: ROYAL BAKING POWDER]

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Broadway & 19th st.

NEW YORK.

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.

Harper's Catalogue,

Thoroughly revised, classified, and indexed, will be sent by mail to any

address on receipt of ten cents.

[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 the journey from New Haven to Springfield, which was left

last week at Hartford, the rider is advised to take what is called the

East Connecticut River Road: that is, leave Hartford by Main Street, and

four blocks from the City Hall--where, by-the-way, the United States

Hotel gives L. A. W. rates--turn into Morgan Street to the right, and

run over the bridge to East Hartford Street. On reaching East Hartford

keep to the left, and take the long road that runs never more than a

mile away from the Connecticut River. The road is in fairly good

condition, and there are hardly any hills to speak of during the whole

run. The rider, however, is of course advised to use side paths.

There is another route which may be taken along the west side of the

Connecticut, and which is perhaps the better of the two. To take this,

run out Main Street direct instead of turning right into Morgan Street,

and keep on until Windsor is reached. At the latter town keep to the

right and cross the Farmington River, crossing the railroad, and running

along between it and the Connecticut River until Windsor Locks is

reached. This town is fourteen miles from Hartford. At this point the

Connecticut should be crossed, and starting from Warehouse Point, the

rider should take the road already described, running up the east bank

through Thompsonville towards Springfield. Crossing the

Massachusetts-Connecticut line, he enters upon what is called Long

Meadow Street, runs into Long Meadow, past Long Meadow station, and

finally runs close upon the Connecticut River again at Pecowsic station.

From Pecowsic the run into Springfield to the Massassoit House is easily

found.

As has already been said in this Department, this is not what may be

called the Springfield route from New York to Boston, and while the

stretch of country from Springfield to Worcester is of course rideable,

it is not a particularly good road, and the country is not to any great

extent picturesque, so that unless the trip is a matter of making the

journey--that is, if it is simply for pleasure--the rider is advised

rather to turn westward than eastward, to ride a day or two in the

Berkshire country, and then take a train or trains for Worcester,

continuing from Worcester to Boston on his wheel. This trip from

Worcester to Boston, and, in fact, from Springfield to Boston, will be

given in the near future in this Department to complete that particular

way of crossing Massachusetts from west to east.

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 in Utica in No. 866;

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; New Haven to Hartford in No. 866.

[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.

SIMPLE CHEMISTRY FOR AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHERS.

In order to do good photographic work by method rather than by guess, it

is necessary to understand something of the nature of the chemicals used

and their effects. Even a slight knowledge of chemistry enables the

amateur to work understandingly and with far better results. We are

therefore going to give, for the benefit of our Camera Club, a few

papers on chemistry as used in photography, and shall try to make them

so plain and simple that even the youngest member will understand them.

Chemistry is that science which explains the composition of the

substances which compose the crust of the earth, the atmosphere which

surrounds it, and the water which occupies so much of the earth's

surface. These substances are called chemical elements. A chemical

element is a simple substance containing only one kind of matter, such

as gold, silver, platinum, hydrogen, oxygen, etc. According to the last

report of Mr. F. W. Clark, the chief chemist of the U.S. Geographical

Survey, there are seventy-two known elements. About thirty of these

elements are used in the different processes of photography.

Each element is represented by a symbol, this symbol being the first

letter or letters of the name of the element. The symbol of hydrogen is

"H"; of oxygen is "O"; of gold, "Au," the first two letters of the word

"Aurum," the Latin name for gold. Each symbol also stands for the weight

of one of its atoms. (An atom is supposed to be the smallest possible

division of a substance.) Hydrogen is the lightest element known, and is

taken as the standard of weight when comparing the weight of other

atoms. The symbol "H" would therefore not only stand for the element

hydrogen, but for its weight, 1, or a unit. An atom of oxygen is sixteen

times as heavy as an atom of hydrogen, and an atom of gold is 196 times

as heavy.

In making up chemical compounds the chemical elements are combined in

different proportions, which, united, make a new substance. The way in

which these elements combine is always in the same proportion. The

smallest number of atoms which combine to form a new substance is called

a molecule. Take water, for instance, which is composed of hydrogen and

oxygen; it takes two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen to form a

molecule of water. These chemical combinations are expressed or written

by the symbols of the elements of which they are composed, called

chemical formulas. If two or more atoms of an element are used to form a

chemical compound, the number of atoms used is written directly after

the symbol; thus, H_{2}O is the chemical formula for water.

Two well-known developing agents, pyrogallol--commonly called pyro--and

hydrochinon, are composed of the same chemical elements, carbon, oxygen,

and hydrogen, the only difference in their composition being that a

molecule of pyro contains one more atom of oxygen than the hydrochinon.

The chemical formula for pyro is C_{6}H_{6}O_{3}, and the chemical

formula for hydrochinon is C_{6}H_{6}O_{2}.

The chemical compounds employed in photography are used in the form of

solutions. A solution is the liquid combination of a liquid and a solid.

A simple solution is one in which the solid is entirely dissolved in the

liquid, leaving the liquid transparent. A saturated solution is a liquid

containing as much of the solid as can be dissolved in it and remain

clear. In making saturated solutions, unless the exact proportions are

known, add the solid to the liquid until there is a deposit of the solid

at the bottom of the vessel containing the solution. The clear liquid

can then be turned off carefully into a bottle.

A solid dissolves much more quickly if it is first powdered. If one has

no mortar, put the solid inside a piece of muslin, lay it on a board or

stone, and pound with a hammer. When powdered, put the cloth and powder

both into a glass vessel, and turn the liquid over it. When the solid is

dissolved, remove the cloth. Another way in which to dissolve a solid

more rapidly than by mixing it with the liquid is to tie the powder in a

cloth and suspend it in the liquid.

In making up a formula for developing or toning, etc., be exact in the

measuring and weighing of the ingredients. Even a slight deviation from

the rule sometimes changes the action of the chemicals.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

"All is not

Columbia

that Glitters."

[Illustration]

Your pleasure and safety depend on knowing what is under enamel and

nickel before you buy a bicycle.

No question about Columbias. If you are able to pay $100 for a bicycle

why buy any but a Columbia?

See the Catalogue. Free if you call on the agent. By mail for two 3-cent

stamps

POPE MFG. CO.

HARTFORD, CONN.

Branch Houses and Agencies are almost everywhere. If Columbias are not

properly represented in your vicinity, let us know.

* * * * *

All Columbia Bicycles are fitted with

HARTFORD SINGLE-TUBE TIRES

UNLESS DUNLOP TIRES ARE ASKED FOR.

WE KNOW NO TIRES SO GOOD AS HARTFORDS.

[Illustration: Thompson's Eye Water]

WALTER BAKER & CO., LIMITED.

Established Dorchester, Mass., 1780.

Breakfast Cocoa

[Illustration]

Always ask for Walter Baker & Co.'s

Breakfast Cocoa

Made at

DORCHESTER, MASS.

It bears their Trade Mark

"La Belle Chocolatiere" on every can.

Beware of Imitations.

There is

no

Substitute

Every card of the famous DeLONG Hooks and Eyes has on the face and back

the words

[Illustration]

_See that_

hump?

RICHARDSON & DELONG BROS., Philadelphia.

Also makers of the CUPID Hair Pin.

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

1000 Mixed Foreign Stamps, San Marino, etc., 25c.; 101 all dif., China,

etc., 10c.; 10 U.S. Revenues, 10c.; 20 U.S. Revenues, 25c. Ag'ts w'td at

50% com. _Monthly Bulletin_ free. Shaw Stamp & Coin Co., Jackson, Mich.

=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.

=10 Rare Stamps free= (postage 2c.). 5 Japan, all different, 8c. F. JELKE,

516 La Salle Ave., Chicago.

* * * * *

The Fatal Letter.

Here is a letter and a puzzle all in one:

There was once a detective who had followed a criminal long and far, and

when he thought he had "run him to cover" he found the place empty and

only an open letter lying on the floor. He was overcome with chagrin,

for it had been said of him that "he had never failed to catch his man."

In despair he caught up the letter and read it. On the first reading it

seemed a mere succession of idle village gossip. He read it again, then

sat down, and pondered over the peculiar sentences all the night long.

His vigil, however, was not in vain, for three hours after dawn the

criminal was behind prison bars. Below is a copy of the "Fatal Letter."

Can you discover the secret message contained therein, the solution of

which led to the arrest of the criminal? Don't be discouraged because

the detective spent a night over it. Perhaps you are even sharper than

the detective. He had no clew. Neither can one be given to you. But this

much may be said, the message is not a haphazard affair, but follows a

distinct plan.

THE LETTER.

BELOVED SISTER,--Dwellers of this town have been much excited over

a little affair of recent happening. A servant stole from a rich

woman what she called a ewer; it was brought from over the ocean.

It was of fine porcelain with heavy gilt edges and a calm summer

scene painted on the sides. A man of this town will soon begin

sheep-raising. If that old ewe is saleable send her on. It is the

druggist who wants her; R. Jones is his name. He will marry soon a

girl of this city; his wedding gift is a diamond necklace of

elegant and chaste design. It must have cost every cent of a

thousand dollars.

The man who lived next door is dead. He took a draught of poison

and only lived two hours after. His wife was once the belle of the

town. She keeps crying, "I'll take poison myself." Yet he was a

poor provider; they had meat only once a month, and their table was

always ill supplied. He was also as meddlesome as a flea and of

very uncertain temper. Quite lately he quarrelled with me because

of my statement concerning a lump of iron ore which he owned.

Answer this soon and don't forget about the old ewe. Ah, another

bit of news. The woman at the candy store has found a dye that has

turned her gray tresses as black as a coal.

BROTHER TOM.

* * * * *

How We Interested Our Chapter.

A few weeks ago the Allen Chapter, 715, was on the verge of

"breaking up." The writer, who is president and a Founder, thought

long and at last found a way by which he could start an interest

again. It was this. We began to publish a paper called the _Allen

Courier_. Only one copy was made, and that was written. A circuit

was started--_i.e._, a member, after keeping the paper a day,

handed it to the next on the list. In this paper the writer, who is

editor-in-chief, inserted stories written by the members,

clippings, Chapter news, etc., and so started a fresh interest in

the glorious old Allen. At the next meeting all were on hand.

CLAUDE T. RENO.

ALLENTOWN, PA.

* * * * *

For the Natural History Club.

One day in July, in company with a friend, I crossed a lake near my

home in search of interesting specimens. By chance we came upon the

nesting-place of a colony of water turkeys. These birds are

abundant here, but this is the first time I ever found their nests.

The latter appeared to be several years old and were large

structures, nearly flat on top. It was late for eggs, and young

birds were everywhere. They were covered with white down, and

presented a great contrast to the dark colors of the old birds.

When the boat approached a tree containing young birds they would

tumble into the water, a distance of ten or more feet, where they

would dive long distances to escape us. The nests were in

cypress-trees growing in two or three feet of water. Sometimes as

many as a dozen nests were in one small tree. Under these trees we

shot two small alligators. Perhaps the alligators knew the birds'

habit of falling into the water. We also found nests of the purple

and Florida gallinule. I would like to belong to a press

association or corresponding Chapter.

ED. H. CLUTE.

LAKE CITY, FLORIDA.

* * * * *

Puzzle to Draw.

Two angles acute;

A triangle on rails;

Two little serpents

With twists in their tails;

Two spikes with a bar;

A tall headless tack;

Two angles acute

Which are placed back to back;

A part of a circle

Two straight lines to meet;

Two thirds of a cross;

A circle complete;

And lastly two angles. And do you not find

A character loyal, brave, noble, and kind?

WASHINGTON.

* * * * *

Knights in a Far-away Land.

The Table has two devoted members in distant South Africa. Their names

are George Uhlig and Ernest A. Chaplin. Writing under date of the middle

of February, they say the fruit season is just ended, and that apples

are being barrelled for winter, now coming on. Both attend Gill College,

to which students come from all parts of the colony, and their favorite

games are cricket and football; the former in summer and the latter in

winter.

One of them remarks that from a perusal of the ROUND TABLE he thinks

baseball must be a good game, and that he would like to see a game--the

"New York's," for example. Both are fond of farm life, of hunting and

fishing. The principal birds are the dove, sparrow, fink, day-breaker,

laughing, and mouse birds. Both young men are stamp-collectors. Their

address is Somerset East, Cape Colony, South Africa.

* * * * *

Washington State Salmon.

In the State of Washington the fish industry comprises a good share

of the business. Salmon are the principal market fish, and are

found in abundance in the waters of Puget Sound and Gray Harbor.

The salmon-fishing season begins in September and closes the 1st of

April.

In the first part of the season the "silver-side" salmon are alone

caught, and the run is very large. In the latter part the

"steel-head" salmon is the principal catch, the run being far less

than in the former part. The canneries only run during the period

of time when the silver-sides are running. Only Chinamen are

employed in the canneries on Gray Harbor. In the cannery at

Cosmopolis eighty-five Chinamen are employed.

In the process of canning, the heads of the fish are first cut off,

and the salmon are dressed and washed until perfectly clean. They

are next cut into small pieces by what might be termed a

"gang-chopper," after which they are packed into cans. Every can

has to be weighed. The salmon are put up in one and two pound cans.

The average sliver-side will weigh thirteen pounds, for which the

fishermen are paid thirteen cents apiece, large or small, by the

canneries.

REUEL M. NIMS,

COSMOPOLIS, WASHINGTON.

* * * * *

A Glimpse of Newfoundland.

The chief fisheries in which the public of St. John's are

interested are the cod, seal, salmon, and herring. These afford

labor to the people of the principal city of Newfoundland. Quite a

few people are engaged in the manufacture of the different kinds of

gear used in taking fish, such as lines, twines, nets, and cordage,

also boats and tackle. The cod season lasts longest. The seal

fishery is the most valuable. Salmon and herring are not much

caught. The principal merchants of St. John's are engaged in

exporting fish. Times are very bad here.

B. BOWERING.

ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND.

[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.

The secret of being at ease wherever you are is a very simple one. It is

only this--Do not think about yourself. Bashfulness, awkwardness, and

clumsiness are caused by what we call self-consciousness, and as soon as

we entirely forget ourselves these pass away. A girl who writes to me

complains that she is so tall for her age that she cannot help being

awkward. "The moment I enter a room," she says, "I look about to see if

any other girl is as tall as I am, and I am always the tallest--a

perfect bean-pole. Then I fancy that everybody is sorry for me, and I

cannot fix my attention on anything which is going on. It makes me quite

wretched. What shall I do?"

In the first place, my dear, your height, if you carry yourself well and

hold your head up, is a great advantage. Far from being a thing to

regret, it is something to be glad of.

Tall, or short, fat, and dumpy, or thin and pale, let the young girl

never think of this when she meets her friends. Instead, let her try her

very best to make the rest happy. If there is a girl in the room who is

a stranger, or who seems not to be having a pleasant time, single her

out and entertain her. Your hostess will be pleased with this sort of

unobtrusive help, if it is kindly given.

A summer or two ago I happened to be paying a visit in a country house

where there were a half-dozen young guests. Among them were several

lovely girls from the South. I noticed that these girls had each some

useful social accomplishment. One played very sweetly, and she was

always ready to go to the piano and to play accompaniments for the

violinist of the house party, as well as to give us her dreamy nocturnes

and slow sonorous marches when we asked for them. Another sang, and she

needed no urging when there was a wish to hear songs. Still another

played chess, and lent herself to be partner to any one who wished that

diversion. It was beautiful to watch the sweet unconscious way in which

these girls entertained the rest, never putting themselves forward, but

always to be depended on when it was a question of how to pass an

evening delightfully.

These are the days of out-door enjoyment, and my girls are playing golf

and tennis, and riding their wheels, and spending some portion of every

day in healthful exercise. Perhaps some of you like work out-of-doors as

well as play, and if there is a garden where you can dig and plant seeds

and watch flowers grow, or you have a poultry-yard with chickens and

hens, or your talent for the practical leads you to raise

vegetables--radishes, pease, and lettuce which grow for you will taste

as no common market vegetables can. Keep in the sunshine, girls.

Sunshine means brightness and bloom for every one of you.

[Illustration: Signature]

[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.

One mail brought me two letters suggesting the formation of an exchange

society by the readers of the ROUND TABLE. Harold C. Day, Upland Farm,

Harrison, Westchester Co., N. Y., and Willis H. Kerr, Bellevue, Neb.,

both say they would like to hear from any one interested. Other

correspondents have suggested the same thing at other times, and asked

my opinion on the plan. I regret to say it is not favorable. I have had

some experience of exchange societies, and have come to the conclusion

that it is feasible only when some capable man is at the head of the

scheme who is willing to give his time and experience to the plan, and

that all sales are for cash only. All the larger societies already have

exchange circuits, and experience shows that common stamps are not

exchanged, and that valuable stamps must always be sent by registered

mail or by express, which is a considerable expense. The Dresden

International Society sends out books of stamps every year worth many

thousands of dollars; the leading society in New York has sent out five

circuits this year, aggregating about $2000 on each circuit. The first

circuit was completed a month ago. Stamps to the value of $1200 were

taken. The second circuit will be about the same. Almost all other

societies have similar plans.

Their method is quite simple. 1. All members who wish to contribute

stamps for exchange purchase a small blank book from the manager (Price

10c.). 2. These books, filled with stamps, are sent to the manager, and

when he has a sufficient number they are done up in a package and sent

out to the first name on the circuit. 3. This person looks over the

books, picks out what he wants, sends a list of what he has taken to the

manager, with P.O. money-order for the amount. 4. He then sends the

books to the second name on the list, etc. 5. After the books have gone

through the entire list the last man returns them to the manager, who

returns the unsold stamps to their owners, and sends the cash (less

commission) to those members whose stamps were sold.

Some members buy very little and sell very much, others sell very little

and buy much. Before the books are sent out the manager examines them,

removes counterfeits, etc. Each man who takes out a stamp puts in its

place a "control" stamp with his number on it. These control stamps are

bought of the manager, and he only knows who has sold and who has

bought.

It is expensive and troublesome. A much better plan is the old-fashioned

one of "swapping" stamps with one's comrades and friends.

H. B.--Your piece is a "Hard Money" token, not a coin. It has no

money value, but is very interesting.

L. K. BABCOCK.--See answer to H. B.

A. ULMER.--The 6c. Hawaii, 1864 issue, is catalogued as worth 25c.

PHILATUS.

[Illustration: IVORY SOAP]

TO BICYCLISTS:

There is no better chain lubricant than Ivory Soap; it is a cleanly

application and perfect for this use.

Copyrighted, 1896, by The Procter & Gamble Co., Cin'ti.

_The coolness is refreshing; the roots and herbs invigorating; the two

together animating. You get the right combination in HIRES Rootbeer._

Made only by The Charles E. Hires Co., Philadelphia.

A 25c. package makes 5 gallons. Sold everywhere.

[Illustration]

THE

BALTIMOREAN PRINTING-PRESS

has earned more money for boys than all other presses in the market.

Boys, don't idle away your time when you can buy a self-inking

printing-press, type, and complete outfit for $5.00. Write for

particulars, there is money in it for you.

THE J. F. W. DORMAN CO.,

Baltimore, Md., U.S.A.

[Illustration: Thompson's Eye Water]

TWO GOOD BOOKS.

* * * * *

TRACK ATHLETICS IN DETAIL.

Compiled by the Editor of "Interscholastic Sport" in HARPER'S ROUND

TABLE. Illustrated from Instantaneous Photographs. 8vo, Cloth,

Ornamental, $1.25. In "HARPER'S ROUND TABLE Library."

The young athlete who cannot secure instruction at the hands of a

professional trainer will find this book invaluable. It gives in clear,

terse sentences abundant directions for learning each event at present

contested in intercollegiate and interscholastic meetings.--_Boston

Herald._

FOR KING OR COUNTRY.

A Story of the American Revolution. By JAMES BARNES. Illustrated.

Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.50.

A fascinating study. It is replete with those Homeric touches which

delight the heart of the healthy boy.... It would be difficult to find a

more fascinating book for the young.--_Philadelphia Bulletin._

A capital story for boys, both young and old; full of adventure and

movement, thoroughly patriotic in tone, throwing luminous sidelights

upon the main events of the Revolution.--_Brooklyn Standard-Union._

* * * * *

HARPER & BROTHERS, Publishers, New York.

[Illustration: THE ORIGINAL CANTILEVER.]

* * * * *

Some people are never at a loss for an answer, and the colored valet who

got off the following is a good exponent of that class. It seems he was

a lazy rascal, and his master one day remonstrated with him about his

neglect of duty.

"But, massa, I's am not equal to de occasion as I once wuz."

"Why, George, what on earth is the matter with you now?"

"I's got a stitch in my side, sir, dat trubbles me a powerful lot, and

I's not able to do as much as I hab been doin'."

"A stitch in your side! Oh, come, George, that won't do. Where did you

get such a thing as a stitch in your side?"

"De oder day, sah. You see, I wuz hemmed in by a crowd."

* * * * *

Clara wanted very much to go out in the yard to play. Her big sister

said to her:

"You mustn't go in the yard. Don't you see that moolly-cow out there?

What do you suppose she would do with her horns if you went close to

her?"

Clara answered, "I suppose she would blow them."

* * * * *

There are many little acts of heroism, displaying rare courage and

presence of mind, performed around us daily that ofttimes pass unnoticed

in a popular sense. It is not so long ago that a certain bright young

fellow was the hero of a deed that escaped the newspapers and,

consequently, the public. It happened in one of our largest cities; and

to tell it as modestly as the hero did, it must be told briefly, so

perhaps it would be best to use his own words.

"I am very fond of my bicycle," said he, "and ride whenever I chance to

have an opportunity, and I am also very fond of practising all sorts of

stunts on the wheel. I was riding down the avenue that evening, when I

heard the clashing gong of a fire-engine coming through the side street

ahead of me. I felt tempted to push ahead and cross the street before

the engine reached the corner, and as I was momentarily figuring just

what I would do I saw a little girl standing in the middle of the

crossing, clapping her hands in childish glee at the approaching engine.

The people on the sidewalk seemed paralyzed with fright, and stood, in a

sort of fascination, gazing at the child's perilous position. All this I

saw with my first startled look, and unconsciously I pushed the pedals

down hard and rushed at the child. In a second I reached the crossing,

and a few feet off were those three horses tearing along in their mad

gallop, the driver doing his best to pull them in, with but little

success. They were too close on the girl. As I passed the little one I

seized her by the arm, throwing my weight over to the other side of the

wheel as I did so. I felt a stinging sensation in my arm, and heard the

child scream with fright and pain from the fierce grip with which I

grasped her. The velocity with which I was moving, however, accomplished

the purpose, for it dragged the child a number of feet before I came to

a standstill--or rather before I fell off the bicycle. It was a narrow

escape, for those engine horses were very close upon me, and it was

lucky I never thought at the time of the danger of my position, for I

should never have had the courage to carry out my purpose. Several

people took the little one, and I hastened down the avenue before they

got me too. You see stunt-practising comes in handy at times."

* * * * *

THE BEAR.

CARRIE. "Isn't the bear's skin to keep him warm in winter?"

MAMMA. "Yes, Carrie."

CARRIE. "Then what does he have to keep him cool in summer?"

* * * * *

It is not very often that we hear of the Russian peasant equalling the

Irish peasant in witty sayings, but doubtless those who read the

following retort of a Russian will allow that sometimes they are fully

equal to the Irish, regardless of the wonderful readiness of the Celtic

tongue.

It seems a peasant, having accumulated a little money, took himself to

town to purchase a new pair of boots. Returning homewards he espied a

luxuriant spot for a siesta, and being tired, lay down for a quiet nap,

which developed into a sound sleep. A conscienceless tramp passing along

the road took note of the peasant's new boots, and also of his own very

poor footgear, and decided an exchange would be beneficial; and

accordingly he stripped the peasant of his new purchase and proceeded on

his way. The driver of a passing wagon, seeing the peasant's legs

stretched part way across the road, yelled for him to "take his legs out

of the way."

"Legs?" inquired the half-awake peasant, "what legs?" and then rubbing

his eyes, he stared stupidly at his lower limbs. "Drive on," said he;

"those legs ain't mine. Mine had boots on."

* * * * *

A MUSICAL QUESTION.

BOBBY. "Isn't that an ear-trumpet that man over there is using?"

MAMMA. "It is."

BOBBY. "And is he working it in connection with his ear-drum?"

End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Round Table, June 9, 1896, by Various