Produced by Annie McGuire
[Illustration: HARPER'S
YOUNG PEOPLE
AN ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY.]
* * * * *
VOL. I.--NO. 22. PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK. PRICE FOUR
CENTS.
Tuesday, March 30, 1880. Copyright, 1880, by HARPER & BROTHERS. $1.50
per Year, in Advance.
* * * * *
[Illustration: A DELUSION AND A SNARE.]
"APRIL-FOOL!"
BY MARGARET EYTINGE.
There was one boy in the Merrit Academy who never joined in any of the
games; never went skating; never went swimming; never made a snow man or
threw snow-balls; never came to the meetings of the debating society,
where such questions as, "If a fellow ask a fellow for a bite of a
fellow's apple, which is the politer way to give it to a fellow--to bite
off a piece yourself, or let a fellow bite for himself?" were debated
with much mock gravity and real fun.
He looked with horror on all kinds of fighting; had no admiration for
great generals; thought war should be abolished; shuddered at tales of
cruelty and suffering; was constitutionally timid and extremely
credulous; hated thunder and lightning; liked birds, flowers, pretty
verses, and fairy tales; believed in ghosts and supernatural beings; was
very fair haired, very blue eyed, tall, slender, and named Harold Lord.
But after the first week or two of his attendance at school--he was a
day scholar--his real name was never heard, for his school-mates,
quickly finding out his peculiar characteristics, skillfully turned it
into "Lady Harriet," and Lady Harriet he remained for many a long
year. Of course, being so girlish in his appearance, ways, and tastes,
and of so reserved and gentle a disposition, the other boys rather
looked down upon him, and, after the manner of boys, made him the
subject of much chaff and many practical jokes; and so it came about
when Charley Bennet and Ned Morningstar and Hen Rowe began on the
afternoon of the 31st of March to talk about the 1st of April, they hit
upon Lady Harriet as a boy who would make a capital "April-fool."
"We can have no end of fun with him," said Charley. "You know he lives
all alone with his grandmother--"
"A Little Red Riding-hood," interrupted Hen Rowe.
"--down by the cedar woods," continued Bennet. "But the question now in
order is, what kind of fun shall it be?"
"Dress up like Indians, and pretend you're goin' to scalp him," proposed
little Al Smith, who had joined the party--a thing no other small boy in
that establishment would have dared to do; but then Alfred, as his aunt
called him--and a very cross old aunt she was, too--had no father nor
mother, and was such a good-natured, willing, reliable young chap that
his older school-mates made quite a pet of him, and allowed him many
liberties they would have allowed to no one else in his class.
"Nonsense, Smithey," said Hen Rowe. "Ghosts is the thing;" and striking
an attitude, he quoted:
"'I am thy father's spirit;
Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night;
And, for the day, confined to fast in fires....
I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul; fre-e-e-eze thy young blood;
Make thy--'"
"That's quite enough of that, Rowe," said Bennet. "A band of young
desperadoes is my idea. The papers are full of 'em just now--fellows
living in caves and other queer places, and robbing right and left
(result of reading too many dime novels; heard the Professor say so this
morning). Been 'round here too; stole Uncle Jeff's calf day before
yesterday; and his grandmother goes to sewing society to-morrow night."
"The calf's grandmother?" asked Hen Rowe.
"Didn't know you had any grandmother," said Bennet.
"Charley's hit on the very thing," declared Ned Morningstar. "We'll let
three or four other fellows into the joke, and I'll be captain, and
we'll wear masks, and all the old clothes we can beg, borrow, or take,
and get ourselves up prime as a No. 1 band of reg'lar young villains.
Aha! your money or your life!" making a lunge at small Al.
"But you won't really hurt Lady Harriet?" said the little fellow, an
anxious look coming into his soft brown eyes. "He's good to me, and
gives me candy, and took me fishin' once."
"Took you fishin'!" repeated Charley Bennet, counterfeiting the greatest
astonishment. "If he did, I'll bet he never let you catch a fish. He'd
'a fainted when he saw it a-wriggling on the hook."
"He did too," answered Al, stoutly. "I caught four, and six crabs, and
he got eight," adding, frankly, "but he said he didn't like to catch
them, only his grandmother said he must."
"Very reprehensible old lady," said Hen Rowe, gravely, "to allow her
greediness for fish to trample on the softest feelings of her grandson's
head--I mean heart. But don't be afraid, Smallbones"--stroking Al's dark
curls--"we won't hurt him, not a bit; make your mind easy about that. He
shall live to take you a-fishin' again.
"It does him good to wake him up once in a while," added Ned
Morningstar, "he's such a turtle. I think I see his face when we all
shout 'April-fool'!"
* * * * *
At dusk the next evening, after Grandmother Lord had gone to the sewing
society, six or seven dreadful-looking objects came splashing through
the mud up the road which led to her cottage. They were dressed in
uncouth garments of all sizes and colors. Hats, brimless, or with brims
very much turned up or very much turned down, two flaming red turbans,
and a round handleless basket, through the open wicker-work of which the
hair of the wearer straggled in the most outlandish and porcupinish
manner, constituted their head-gear. The leader carried a gun. The
others were armed with hatchets, knives, and clubs. All their faces were
hidden by paper masks painted in various colors. "This is the house,"
said one of them, in a voice that seemed to come out of the ground
beneath his feet, as they ranged themselves on the front porch, and he
rapped sharply on the door with the stick he carried. It opened, and
there stood Lady Harriet, gazing out with horror-stricken eyes upon the
motley gang. "Your money or your life!" demanded he of the gun, at the
same time pointing the weapon at the trembling boy.
Lady Harriet turned pale, and shrank back. "I have no money," he said,
in a faltering voice.
"Then we must have your life," was the gruff reply, "unless you consent
to become one of us. Seize him and search him!"
"_Do_ go away, and leave me alone," implored the boy, falling upon his
knees and clasping his hands. "There is no use--making me--join your
gang," he continued, with chattering teeth. "I--couldn't be a--a--what
you are--to save--my life."
But the young desperadoes paid no attention to his entreaties, and while
two of their number rifled his pockets, the others, lighting a couple of
lanterns they had brought with them, followed their leader on a tramp
through the house, with much noise and deep growling. On the return of
the latter, the pocket-searchers presented the captain with half a stick
of peppermint candy, a penknife, a dime, a small book (_The Language of
Flowers_), and some violets wrapped in a handkerchief.
"Prisoner," said the captain, sternly--that is, as sternly as the pebble
he had under his tongue would allow--"if you make an attempt to escape,
the consequences be on your own head. Right about face! March!"
And away they went, dragging poor Lady Harriet, begging and imploring to
be set free, with them.
"Did you ever see any fellow so scared in all your life?" whispered
Charley Bennet to Hen Rowe, as their victim began to cry and scream.
"Never," said Rowe. "I begin to feel sorry for him. But what a baby he
is! Why don't he break and run? He can make good time with those long
legs when he's a mind to."
"Halt!" cried the captain, when they reached the cedar woods. "This has
gone quite far enough. We want no cowards among us. Boy, you are--" And
the mouths of his followers simultaneously opened for a tremendous
shout, when--
"I perfectly agree with you," interrupted the prisoner, quickly,
wresting himself at the same time with a dexterous movement from the
grasp of the two boys who had held him; and then he went on in his usual
soft voice and slow way: "I mean this joke's gone quite far enough. You
came half an hour or so before I expected you, but I think we've all
acted our parts first-rate. Good-evening, Captain Morningstar.
Good-evening, desperadoes. Farewell, April-fools." And he turned and
walked leisurely toward his home again.
"Jiminy!" exclaimed Ned Morningstar, snatching off his mask and pulling
a long face. "Somebody has--"
"Blundered," said Hen Rowe.
"Fools to the right of me,
Fools to the left of me,
Fools ev'ry side of me--
Oh, how they wondered!
"what's the use of being glum about it. I've an idea it serves us right.
Three cheers for Lady Harriet. He's not such a fool as he looks."
"As we look, I think," said Roy Wheeler.
And then, like the jolly boys they really were, they gave the cheers
with a will, and followed them up with a roar of laughter that wakened
all the echoes for miles around.
GENERAL SCHUYLER AND THE TORIES.
BY BENSON J. LOSSING.
The Tories of the Revolution were the most bitter and annoying foes of
the patriots who were struggling for their independence. The relation of
the Whigs and Tories was that of belligerents in a civil war--cruel and
uncompromising.
General Philip Schuyler, whose sleepless vigilance acquired for him the
title of "the Eye of the Northern Department," was the terror of the
Tories in Northern New York, from Sir John Johnson down to Joe Bettys.
Schuyler was, for a long time, commander of the Northern Department. In
1781 he was not in military command. He lived at his country-seat at
Saratoga a part of the year, and the rest of the time at his fine
mansion situated in the southern suburbs of Albany. The British, under
Burgoyne, having destroyed his mansion at Saratoga, and that place being
exposed to incursions of the British and Indians, he made his residence
permanently at Albany.
Early in August, 1781, an attempt was made by some Tories and Indians to
capture him, that he might be used in exchange for some prominent
British prisoner, and also to get rid of the watchfulness of that
dreaded "Eye." In Saratoga lived a man named Walter Myers, who knew
Schuyler well. He had eaten at his table in Albany, and knew the
character of his house and its surroundings. Myers had joined the Tory
Rangers of Colonel Robert Rodgers--a famous partisan on the northern
frontier. The British authorities in Canada employed Myers, who had
become a captain under Rodgers, to seize General Schuyler, Governor
Clinton, and other prominent patriots in the region of the Hudson River,
as far down as Poughkeepsie. Myers was at the head of the party of
Tories and Indians above alluded to, who attempted to carry off
Schuyler. I will let the General tell the story of that attempt in the
following letter to General Washington, dated "Albany, August 8, 1781."
I copied it from the original:
"On Saturday, the 29th, while with the commissions for detecting
conspiracies, I received information that a certain Captain Myers,
of Rodgers's Rangers, from Canada, lurked in the vicinity of this
place, with an intent to take or assassinate me. This corroborated
intelligence given to General Clinton by a person escaped from
Canada. On the Monday following I was informed by a Tory (whose
gratitude for favors received surmounted the influence of his
principles) that a reward of 200 guineas had been offered by the
government in Canada to bring me there.
"On Sunday last, Major McKinstry wrote me by express from Saratoga
that a party under Captain Jones had ambushed some time about
Saratoga, that he had certain intelligence that I was their
object, and that another party was down here with the same
intentions. I took every precaution, except that of requesting a
guard from General Clinton.
"Last night, about nine o'clock, Myers, with about twenty others,
made the attempt. He forced the gate of a close court-yard, and
afterward my kitchen door, from which servants, who had taken
alarm, flew to their arms, and by a gallant opposition at the door
of my house, afforded me time to retire out of my hall, where I
was at supper, to my bedroom, where I kept my arms. After having
made prisoners of two of the white men, wounded a third, and
obliged the other to make his escape out of the house, some
surrounded it, and others entered it. Those in the quarter exposed
to my fire immediately retired. Those who had got up into the
saloon to attempt, I suppose, the room I was in, retreated with
precipitation as soon as they heard me call, '_Come on, my lads!
surround the house; the villains are in it._' This I did to make
them believe that succor was at hand, and it had the desired
effect. They carried off two of my men, and part of my plate. The
militia from the town and some of the troops ran to my assistance,
and pursued the enemy, but too late to overtake them."
Thirty years ago, Mrs. C. V. R. Cochrane, of Oswego, the youngest child
of General Schuyler, told me the story substantially as it is told here.
Her father also related that when the family fled up stairs from the
hall, in affright, the baby was left behind in the cradle. Mrs. Schuyler
was about to rush down stairs for the child, when the General
interposed, saying, "_Your_ life is more valuable." Her daughter
Margaret, then about twelve years of age, hearing this, ran down for the
baby, snatched it from the cradle, and started up the stairs with it. An
Indian threw a tomahawk at her. It grazed the infant's head, cut a hole
in Margaret's dress, and lodged in the mahogany stair rail. That infant
became Mrs. Cochrane, and Margaret became the wife of Stephen Van
Rensselaer, the Patroon, at Albany. The mansion yet stands; and well up
the stairway may be seen the scar made by the keen blade of the tomahawk
in the rail.
YOUNG DIAMOND MERCHANTS.
A noted traveller, who wrote about the diamond mines of India a very
long time ago, describes the work done by the children. In speaking of a
visit to the principal mine of Golconda, he says:
"A very pretty sight is that presented every morning by the children of
the master-miners and of other inhabitants of the district. The
boys--the eldest of whom is not yet over sixteen, or the youngest under
ten years of age--assemble, and sit under a large tree in the public
square of the village. Each has his diamond weight in a bag, hung on one
side of his girdle, and on the other a purse, containing sometimes as
much as five or six hundred pagodas.
"Here they wait for such persons as have diamonds to sell, either from
the vicinity or from any other mine. When a diamond is brought to them,
it is immediately handed to the eldest boy, who is tacitly acknowledged
as the head of this little band. By him it is carefully examined, and
then passed to his next neighbor, who, having also inspected it, gives
it to the next boy. The diamond is thus passed from hand to hand, amidst
unbroken silence, until it returns to that of the eldest, who then asks
the price, and makes the bargain. If the eldest boy is thought by his
comrades to have given too high a price, he must keep the stone on his
own account.
"In the evening the children take an account of their stock, examine
their purchases, and class the diamonds according to their water, size,
and purity, putting on each stone the price they expect to get for it.
These children are so perfectly acquainted with the value of all sorts
of gems, that if one of them, after buying a stone, is willing to lose
one-half per cent, upon it, a companion is always ready to take it."
The diamond mines of Brazil were discovered by a curious circumstance in
1730. Some miners in searching for gold found some curious pebbles,
which they carried home to their masters as curiosities. Not being
considered of any value, they were given to the children to play with.
An officer who had spent some years in the East Indies saw these
pebbles, and sent a handful to a friend in Lisbon to be examined. They
proved to be diamonds. A few were collected and sent to Holland, and
were pronounced to be equal to those of Golconda. The news soon reached
Brazil, and those who possessed any of the "pebbles" soon realized large
sums of money. The Portuguese government laid a claim upon all diamonds
that might be found thereafter, a search was made, and mines were
discovered.
[Begun in No. 19 of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE, March 9.]
ACROSS THE OCEAN; OR, A BOY'S FIRST VOYAGE.
A True Story.
BY J. O. DAVIDSON.
CHAPTER IV.
A DARING FEAT.
Luckily for our hero, Mr. Hawkins, the first officer, was a shrewd,
clear-headed man, and had his own opinion of Master Monkey. The latter
told his tale confidently enough, but a few pointed questions confused
him at once: he stammered, contradicted himself, and was finally turned
out in disgrace. Austin then gave _his_ version, and the officer, after
questioning him closely, appeared satisfied.
"Here, my lad," said he, writing a few lines on a slip of paper, "take
that to the chief engineer--you'll find him in his bunk, I reckon."
In his bunk, sure enough, lay the "chief," groaning dismally. He was a
tall, fine-looking fellow, with bright blue eyes, and an arm like a
blacksmith's; but when a man is on his back from seasickness, how _can_
he look heroic?
"So, my boy, you've run away to sea, eh? Humph! that's just what _I_ did
when I was your age--and much good I've got by it! It was all through
reading those precious sea-stories, which made me think I'd only to
start to be made a captain at once. Wish I'd never learned to
read--ugh!"
Here came a terrible spasm of sickness, to the great amazement of Frank,
who had never dreamed of such a thing as a seasick sailor. Such cases,
however, are not uncommon; and Nelson himself, one of the greatest
sailors on record, never got over this weakness at all.
"This is how _I_ am for the first week of every voyage," resumed the
engineer; "and I always vow that every cruise shall be my last; but when
I get ashore, I can't be happy till I'm afloat again--ugh! oh!"
And another spasm followed, worse than the first.
Frank said nothing, but his pitying face spoke for him; and the sick
man, evidently touched by it, went on in a cheerer tone:
"Well, youngster, you're lucky not to be sick like me. Your name's Frank
Austin, eh? Well, go and tell Mr. Harris to give you some work in the
engine-room."
This promotion was the beginning of a new life for our hero. Now, at
last, there was a chance of learning something; and the men, in whose
estimation he had risen greatly since his defeat of Monkey, were always
ready to answer his eager questions. He was never weary of admiring the
huge machine which did with one smooth and regular movement the work of
hundreds of strong men, obeying the slightest turn of a tiny wheel, yet
capable of tearing the whole ship to pieces should its irresistible
strength ever break loose.
And now, as they began to enter the tropics, everything grew warm and
bright. Flannels were doffed, and an awning spread over the after-deck.
The wind, though it still blew strongly, was now in their favor; and
foretopsail and mainsail, jib and spanker, were set to catch it, till
the ship staggered under her press of canvas, and careened as if about
to dip her very yards.
So passed several days, during which nothing special occurred; for by
this time everything had got "shaken into its place," and the routine of
the ship's duties proceeded as regularly as clock-work. Frank, now
restored to his place at the mess table, and high in favor with the crew
(who henceforth reserved for Monkey the cuffs and jeers formerly
bestowed upon our hero), was beginning to feel quite at home in his new
life, when it was suddenly broken by a very startling adventure.
One evening about dusk the machinery slackened suddenly, and an unusual
bustle was heard on deck. A man running past thrust an oil-can into
Frank's hand, and bade him carry it to one of the engineers upon the
starboard (right-hand) paddle-box. On deck all was confusion. Men were
rushing hurriedly to and fro, while the paddle-box itself was occupied
by an excited group of officers and engineers; and it was some time
before Frank could make out what was the matter.
An obstruction of some kind had impeded the turning of the shaft in the
"outboard bearing," which had grown dangerously hot. It was this that
had caused the "slowing down" of the engine, which could not be set
working again till the impediment was removed, and the "bearing" oiled.
Looking over the side, Austin saw a man hanging by a rope on the outer
face of the paddle-box, like a spider on its thread, and laboring
stoutly, with hammer and oil-can, to set matters to rights. Suddenly the
ship plunged, and the man disappeared into a surging wave. He rose
again, vanished a second time, reappeared once more, and again the
blows of his hammer were heard, and again the boiling whirl of foam
swallowed him up. At every plunge Death seemed to gape for him; but
drenched, gasping, and half stifled as he was, he still worked bravely
on.
On the deck all was now deadly still; and in that grim silence the hard
breathing of the excited crew could be heard as they watched the
solitary man at his fearful task. Would it _never_ be over? Crash after
crash the cruel waves came bursting upon him, and all could see that his
strength was beginning to fail.
But the work is nearly done! A few more hammer strokes and he is safe.
Already the anxious crew are beginning to breathe more freely, and even
to greet their hero with encouraging shouts, when suddenly a mountain
wave is seen coming right down upon him.
"Look out, Allen!" roar the sailors, with one voice.
Allen casts one glance up at the overhanging mass, and then twines his
arms and limbs around the "open-work" of the paddle-box with the
strength of desperation. The next moment there comes a stunning shock
and a deafening crash, and all is one whirl of blinding spray and
seething foam, amid which nothing can be heard and nothing seen. But
when the rush passes, the brave man is still there.
A shout of joy arises, but is instantly followed by a terrible cry. _The
safety-line around Allen's body has parted!_
"Grapple him with boat-hooks, some o' ye!" roars the boatswain. "Fling
him a rope!--quick! or he's lost."
[Illustration: MAN OVERBOARD!]
But before any of the hands stretched toward the doomed man could reach
him, his stiffened fingers lost their hold. For one moment he was seen
balanced in mid-air, with his imploring glance cast upward at the stanch
comrades who were powerless to save him, and then down he went into the
roaring sea.
There was an instant rush to the life-boat; but it was barely half way
to the water when a huge sea dashed it against the ship's side, crushing
it like an egg-shell. This was the last chance. An arm tossing wildly
through the foam of a distant wave, a faint cry borne past on the wind,
and poor Allen was gone forever.
Then, amid the dismal silence, was heard, clear and strong, the firm
voice of the captain:
"Lads, I won't _order_ any of you to run such a risk; but this job must
be done somehow, or we shall all go to the bottom together. Fifty
dollars to any man who'll volunteer!"
A dozen men sprang forward at once; but quick as they were, there was
_one_ before them--and that one was Frank Austin. Unnoticed by all, he
had knotted a rope around his waist, fastened the other end to an iron
stanchion, and before any one could stop him, down he slid to the
perilous spot, escaping, as if by miracle, several heavy seas which came
rolling in, one upon another.
[Illustration: OILING THE OUTBOARD BEARINGS.]
For a moment the whole ship's company stood as if thunder-struck; and
then one of the sailors, muttering, "Guess he'll want _them_, anyhow,"
lowered a hammer and oil-can, which Frank dexterously caught. The work
was so nearly done that a few blows of the hammer sufficed to complete
it; and a deafening cheer greeted the young hero as he prepared to climb
up again.
"Smart, now, lad!" shouted half a dozen voices; "here's another sea
comin'."
But Frank saw at once that the wave would be upon him before he could
reach the deck, and that there was only one way of escape. Thrusting his
slim figure between the beams of the open-work, where no full-grown man
could have passed, he held on with all his strength. Crash came the
great billow against the side, making the whole ship quiver from stem to
stern; but Austin remained unhurt. The next moment he was safe on deck.
And now came a scene that might have served any painter for a study of
Horatius among the Romans after his defense of the bridge. Frank was
snatched up and carried shoulder-high to the forecastle by the cheering
crew, who kept shouting the news of his exploit to all that had not seen
it. His hands were shaken till they tingled, and his shoulder-blades
ached with friendly slaps on the back from the sledge-hammer fists of
his admirers. Every one was eager to give something to the hero of the
hour. Offers of pipes, clasp-knives, tobacco, etc., rained upon him from
the very men who had cuffed and kicked him like a dog but a few days
before; and even his refusal of these gifts, which would formerly have
been set down to conceit and "uppishness," was now taken in perfectly
good part. In fact, that one deed of promptitude and courage had raised
him from the last to one of the first among the whole crew. So true is
it that they who succeed best are not always the bravest, or the wisest,
or the strongest, but simply those who keep their wits about them, and
never miss a chance of doing something.
[TO BE CONTINUED.]
A STRANGE FELLOW-VOYAGER.
I've had many a queer voyage in my time, said Captain M----, but the
queerest I ever had was one that I made (somewhat unexpectedly, as you
will see), upon the Great Fish River, in South Africa, on my way back
from a hunting excursion.
As I neared the bank I saw that the river was in full flood, more than
twice its usual breadth, and running like a mill-race. I knew at once
that I should have a very tough job to get across, for a flooded African
river is no joke, I can tell you. But I knew also that my wife would be
terribly anxious if I didn't come back on the day I had fixed--South
Africa being a place where a good many things may happen to a man--and
so I determined to chance it.
Just at the water's edge I found an old Bushman that I knew well, who
had a boat of his own; so I hailed him at once:
"Well, Kaloomi, what will you take to put me across the river?"
"No go fifty dollar this time, baas" (master), said the old fellow, in
his half-Dutch, half-English jargon. "Boat no get 'cross to-day; water
groed" (great).
And never a bit could I persuade him, although I offered him money
enough to make any ordinary Bushman jump head-first down a precipice.
Money was good, he said, but it would be no use to him when he was
drowned; and in short he wouldn't budge.
"Well, if you won't put me across," said I at last, "lend me your boat,
and I'll just do the job for myself; I can't very well take my horse
with me, so I'll just leave him here in pledge that I'll pay for the
boat when I come back."
"Keep horse for you, master, quite willing; but s'pose you try cross
to-day, you never come back to ask for him."
He spoke so positively that, although I'm not easily frightened, I
certainly did feel rather uncomfortable. However, when you've got to do
a thing of that sort, the less you think of it the better, so I jumped
into the boat and shoved off.
I had barely got clear of the shore when I found that the old fellow was
right, for the boat shot down the stream like an arrow. I saw in a
moment that there was no hope of paddling her across, and that all I
could do was just to keep her head straight. But I hadn't the chance of
doing even that very long, for just then a big tree came driving along,
and hitting my boat full on the quarter, smashed her like an egg-shell.
I had just time to clutch the projecting roots, and whisk myself up on
to them, and then tree and I went away down stream together, at I don't
know how many miles an hour.
At first I was so rejoiced at escaping just when all seemed over with
me, that I didn't think much of what was to come next; but before long I
got something to think about with a vengeance. The tree, as I've said,
was a large one, and the branch end (the opposite one to where I sat)
was all one mass of green leaves. All at once, just as I was shifting
myself to a safer place among the roots, the leaves suddenly shook and
parted, and out popped the great yellow head and fierce eyes of an
enormous lion.
I don't think I ever got such a fright in my life. My gun had gone to
the bottom along with the boat, and the only weapon I had left was a
short hunting knife, which against such a beast as that would be of no
more use than a bodkin. I fairly gave myself up for lost, making sure
that in another moment he'd spring forward and tear me to bits.
But whether it was that he had already gorged himself with prey, or
whether (as I suspect) he was really frightened at finding himself in
such a scrape, he showed no disposition to attack me, so long at least
as I remained still. The instant I made any movement, however, he would
begin roaring and lashing his tail, as if he were going to fall on me at
once. So, to avoid provoking him, I was forced to remain stock-still,
although sitting so long in one position cramped me dreadfully.
There we sat, Mr. Lion and I, staring at each other with all our
might--a very picturesque group, no doubt, if there had been anybody
there to see it. Down, down the stream we went, the banks seeming to
race past us as if we were going by train, while all around broken
timber, wagon wheels, trees, bushes, and the carcasses of drowned horses
and cattle, went whirling past us upon the thick brown water.
All at once I noticed that the lion seemed to be getting strangely
restless, turning his great head from side to side in a nervous kind of
way, as if he saw or heard something that he didn't like. At first I
couldn't imagine what on earth was the matter with him, but presently I
caught a sound which scared me much worse than it had done the lion. Far
in the distance I could hear a dull, booming roar, which I had heard too
often not to recognize at once: we were nearing a water-fall!
I had seen the Great Falls of the Fish River more than once, and the
bare thought of being carried over those tremendous precipices made my
very blood run cold. Yet being devoured by a lion would hardly be much
of an improvement; and as I hadn't the ghost of a chance of being able
to swim ashore, there really seemed to be no other alternative.
Faster and faster we went; louder and louder grew the roar of the
cataract. The lion seemed to have quite given himself up for lost, and
crouched down among the leaves, only uttering a low moaning whine every
now and then. I was fairly at my wits' end what to do, when all of a
sudden I caught sight of something that gave me a gleam of hope.
A little way ahead of us the river narrowed suddenly, and a rocky
headland thrust itself out a good way into the stream. On one of the
lowest points of it grew a thick clump of trees, whose boughs overhung
the water; and it struck me that if we only passed near enough, I might
manage to catch hold of one of the branches, and swing myself up on to
the rock.
No sooner said than done. I started up, hardly caring whether the lion
attacked me or not, and planted myself firmly upon one of the biggest
roots, where I could take a good spring when the time came. I knew that
this would be my last chance, for by this time we were so near the
precipice that I could see quite plainly, a little way ahead, the great
cloud of spray and vapor that hovered over the great water-fall. Even at
the best it was a desperate venture, and I can tell you that I felt my
heart beginning to thump like a sledge-hammer as we came closer and
closer to the point, and I thought of what would happen if I missed my
leap.
Just as we neared it, it happened, by the special mercy of God, that our
tree struck against something, and turned fairly crosswise to the
current, the end with the lion on it swinging out into mid-stream, while
my end was driven close to the rock on which the clump of trees grew.
Now or never! I made one spring (I don't think I ever made such another
before or since), and just clutched the lowest bough; and as I dragged
myself on to it I heard the last roar of the doomed lion mingling with
the thunder of the water-fall, as he vanished into the cloud of mist
that overhung the precipice.
As for me, it was late enough that night before I got home, and I found
my poor wife in a fine fright about me; so I thought it just as well, on
the whole, to keep my adventure to myself, and it wasn't till nearly a
year later that she heard a word about my strange fellow-voyager.
EASY BOTANY.
MARCH.
The delightful science of botany treats of the forms and habits of
plants.
This study leads the steps away from the busy town to the quiet woods
and hills, giving a charm to every stroll, and making for each young
student hosts of friends whose sweet faces will greet him through life
with unaltering truth and beauty.
Gathering wild flowers is a pleasure too well known to need dwelling
upon, but studying plants botanically involves more than this, as the
student will soon find out. And there are difficulties, such as hard
Latin words of many syllables which must be pronounced, and, worse
still, _spelled_--a trying process even to the experienced. Care must
also be taken to write down everything distinctly, and there must be
patience, faithfulness, and resolute perseverance. But the reward comes,
and one feels paid for his trouble when he is able to pick a flower, to
sit down and _find it out_, and give to it its hard botanical name.
It is now spring, and the tears and smiles of April will quickly awaken
the sleeping wild flowers. Let me urge the young people to take up the
study of these "darlings of the forest." Gray's _First Lessons in
Botany_ will help along beginners, and before the flowers come we will
tell them where to find them.
Let each one have a ruled blank book of _good size_ to write down the
botanical and common name of every flower. How many flowers do you think
you can find in April? and who will find the most?
NOBLESSE OBLIGE.
BY V. G. SMITH.
Those of you who have studied French can translate this motto, and those
who have not may perhaps guess that it means "nobility obliges"; but it
is a favorite expression with so many different people, and it seems to
mean such different things to different persons, that perhaps it may be
worth while to tell a few anecdotes about what nobility has been
supposed to oblige us to do.
When James I. of England was a little boy in Scotland, he had an
extremely clever tutor, George Buchanan. Now Buchanan was a great Latin
scholar. He wrote verses, and was called the Scotch Virgil. Of course he
was very ambitious that his royal pupil should be a good Latin scholar
too, and the books say he "_whipped_ so much knowledge into him" that
James was called the "British Solomon." This was the approved way in
Great Britain at that time to educate boys. But there is a fact about
which most of the books are silent: Buchanan and his friends reasoned
that though it was quite true that James could never learn Latin unless
some one was whipped, it would be a dreadful thing to strike a boy of
the blood royal, and so they arranged that another boy should live at
court, who should be whipped every time James failed in his declensions
and conjugations.
This seems to have been a very satisfactory arrangement, and you see, in
this case, "nobility obliged" somebody else to be punished when the
"nobility" had done wrong.
This is the sense in which a great many splendid and magnificent people,
with crowns on their heads and sceptres in their hands, have understood
the motto.
Tradition does not say what James himself thought about it. Perhaps he
worked all the harder with his lessons, and felt that "nobility obliged"
him not to let any one else suffer for his faults. If that was so, it
was not a bad plan, after all.
There is a better sense in which some have understood the motto. Perhaps
some of you have read the touching letter of the Prince Imperial before
he went to the fatal Zululand, where he was so cruelly murdered. The
poor boy felt as if he had no object in England. He thought of the great
deeds of the other Napoleons, and was stung at his own inaction. There
seemed to be no duty left for him to do, in the way of fighting; but
fight he must, to show he was as brave as the rest of his family. They
say he was a gentle, affectionate, noble-spirited boy, and it seems as
if he thought others would suppose he was weak unless he did some deed
of daring. _His_ nobility obliged him to be foremost in the most
desperate places; and so he died, and the world mourned for him.
I think, as you read history more and more, you will believe, as I do,
that men, and even children, of high birth, are surer to be brave and
courageous than those in more obscure station. They may have other
faults--dreadful ones--but it seems as if they dare not be cowards,
because their whole race is looking at them, and expecting them to be
noble. In this country, where we know so little about our ancestors, we
need a still higher courage to make us do as grand things from yet
higher motives.
For, much as I pity and admire the little Prince, I think there is even
a better way than his to understand the old motto.
Perhaps you have been reading lately some account of the wedding
festivities of the young King Alfonso of Spain; but it is not very long
since he was married to his first wife, sweet little Princess Mercedes,
who died within a few months after her marriage. Indeed, their nobility
often obliges kings who lose their wives to be married again very soon.
It is of Queen Mercedes I wish to tell you. When she was about thirteen
or fourteen years old she was sent to school to a convent in France. The
convent was full of lovely and noble ladies, who had gone there because
they had met with misfortunes of one kind or another. These ladies
taught the young girls under their care very gently; still, there were
certain light punishments for those who were careless or idle. I think
one of these was that the offender should stand in a corner for a
certain length of time.
Although most of the girls were of high birth, the little Princess, soon
to be Queen, was of higher rank than any of the others. Her seat was a
little apart from theirs, and by various small tokens of this kind her
position was recognized.
Now one day it happened that Mercedes committed some fault. Perhaps she
was late in rising, or failed in some other way to carry out the convent
rules. The fault was not serious, and the Sisters did not think it
necessary to enforce the punishment; but Mercedes, blushing very much,
went of her own accord to the corner where she knew she ought to stand,
and staid the appointed time. You see she felt that if she was of too
high rank to receive punishment from others, the duty of inflicting it
upon herself was her own. _Noblesse oblige._
Although the illustrations I have given you have all been from royal
families, where, I suppose, the motto originated, I am sure you will be
able to apply it to hundreds of other cases, and will believe that
nobility of character obliges us with still more force to do the best
things always, though we are bound by no outward law.
[Illustration]
THE SUN AT MIDNIGHT.
There are portions of our globe, away toward either pole, where the sun
remains above the horizon for about two months of the year, making one
long day. During this period the pleasant alternations of morning, day,
evening, and night, are unknown in those regions; and there is also a
long season of night, when the sun is not seen at all. This must be
still more unpleasant, because it is winter-time. The pale cold moon
sheds a chilling light at times over the snow and ice, and the aurora
borealis flashes its splendors through the heavens. The cold is so great
that old chroniclers, writing about the arctic regions, pretended that
when the inhabitants tried to speak, their very words froze in coming
out of their mouths, and did not thaw out till spring. It is not safe to
believe all that old chroniclers tell us, and perhaps in this case they
only tried, in an extravagant way, to make their readers understand how
very cold it was in that Northern land.
[Illustration]
Our next picture shows the pleasanter side of arctic life, when the sun
is above the horizon most of the time, and disappears from sight for
short periods only. Many travellers have gone as far as the famous North
Cape, in Norway, for the sake of seeing the sun at midnight. Among them
is Du Chaillu, whom many of our readers know through his interesting
books about Africa. He stood on the very edge of the cape one July
midnight--that is, it was midnight by the clock--and saw the sun descend
nearly to the horizon, and then begin to rise again. Far to the
northward stretched the deep blue waters of the Arctic Ocean; close
around him was a bleak, dreary, desolate landscape. A few blades of
grass sprouted at the edge of the cape. Further back, in places
sheltered from the winds, the ground was clothed in rich verdure, and
adorned with flowers. Still further inland were little patches of dwarf
birch, scarcely a foot high, crouching close to the ground to escape
being torn away by the furious winds that sweep over the land. There was
none of the abundant life that we see around us in our fields and woods.
A spider, a bumble-bee, and a poor little wanderer of a bird, were the
only living things Du Chaillu saw.
But he beheld the sun at midnight. As the hour of twelve approached, the
pale orb sank almost to the horizon, the line of which it seemed to
follow for a few moments, as it shone serenely over the lonely sea and
desolate land. It was a sight never to be forgotten by one who had
travelled hundreds of miles to witness it.
Sailors and explorers in the far Northern regions find it hard at first
to accustom themselves to the long arctic day; and animals carried on
board ship from lower latitudes are entirely at a loss when to go to
sleep. There is a curious story of an English rooster that seemed to be
utterly bewildered because it never came night. He appeared to think it
unnatural to sleep while the sun was shining, and staggered about until
he fell down from exhaustion. After a while he got into regular habits,
but was apparently so disgusted to wake up in broad daylight, instead of
the gray dawn to which he was accustomed, that he discontinued crowing.
Perhaps he thought he had over-slept himself, and was ashamed to crow so
late.
It seems almost incredible that the dreary regions of which our pictures
afford a glimpse enjoyed, ages ago, a climate even warmer than our own.
The chilling waves that dash against the base of the dreary North Cape
once washed shores clothed in luxuriant vegetation. Stately forests
stood where now only stunted shrubs struggle a few inches above ground.
The mammoth, and other animals that require a warm climate, roamed in
multitudes through those regions. Their bones, found in great abundance
when the banks of the lakes and rivers thaw out and crumble away in the
spring, form an important article of traffic.
The people who live in the dreary regions of the far North are,
generally speaking, industrious, sober, simple-minded, and contented.
They have few pleasures, and their lives are toilsome. But in whatever
region we find them--in the fishing villages of the northernmost coast
of Norway or Lapland, and even in Greenland--they fondly believe their
country to be the best and most favored part of the world. We must beg
leave to differ with them. We love our changing seasons, that gradually
come and go, the sweet succession of day and night, the joyous life that
fills our fields and woods, and the comforts, luxuries, and all the
advantages of civilization. But it is a great blessing to mankind that,
wherever our lot may be cast in this great and wonderful world,
"Our first, best country ever is at home."
A BOARDING-SCHOOL CLUB.
BY ELINOR ELLIOTT.
"Well, Mildred, what does she say?" asked Dr. Clifford of his pretty
eldest daughter, as she came to the end of her long letter; and the
shower of questions following showed how eager were all at the breakfast
table to hear from the sister away at boarding-school.
"She says so much," laughs Mildred, "that I will read it to you."
ELM BANK, ---- 13, 1880.
DEAR MILLY,--I am rejoiced to know your first party was a success,
and that you were spared the ignominious fate of "full many a
flower born to blush unseen, and waste its sweetness on
the"--ball-room wall.
Your dress must have been a beauty, but I do not envy you. "Fine
clo'" I have forsworn, and I would not exchange my jolly
school-days for all your festive parties.
Tell papa I must have some new boots--very thick, with broad soles
and low heels--and entreat him not to send them C. O. D., for I
truly can't pay the expressage.
We girls have formed a club for the "Abolition and Extirpation of
Grotesque Idiotic Style."
Our initials, A, E, G, I, S, as you see, spell "Aegis," which is
to be our shield (its literal meaning) from aristocratic scorn. I
dare say I shall not be received in polite circles when I go home,
but when I look at my ring, on which is engraved A E G I S, I
shall gain such invulnerability that all sneers will glance aside
ineffective.
There is a curious fact about our club and motto. Like the old
English Cabal, we have five members whose initials form the name,
viz.,
Anna Clifford,
Enid Evans,
Gertrude Wood,
Ida Langford,
Sallie Peterson.
I have given up curling my hair, and braid it. Of course it isn't
becoming, but we Aegises stoop not to vanity. I have gained five
pounds since Christmas; so when my spring suit is made, tell the
dress-maker to put the extra material into the waist, and not
waste it (a pun, but very poor) in puffs and paniers, for we have
abolished them. We try to get along with the bare necessities of
life.
I'd give a good deal to see you all, but I'm not the least bit
homesick.
Good-by. Give my double-and-twisted love to everybody, and kiss
the dear pink of a baby a hundred times for me.
Lovingly,
ANNA I. CLIFFORD.
P.S.--When you send the boots, perhaps if you put them in a
fair-sized box, there'll be room for a cooky or two.
A. I. C.
"Isn't that a happy letter!"
"Think of our dainty, exquisite Anna so independent! her pretty brown
curls straightened out in a braid, and her dresses shorn of puffs and
ruffles!"
"That's the kind of 'society' for school-girls to form," says papa.
"I'll order the thickest boots I can find to be sent up; also a chicken
for Bridget to roast; and as she has given us so delicate a hint,
perhaps you can find something else to put in the box."
Afternoon finds the Clifford family again assembled in the dining-room,
intent upon packing the boots and "cookies"; and from the size of the
box on the table one would infer that the boots must be No. 17's, and
the cookies as large as cheeses, or, more correctly, that something more
is to be added.
"Wouldn't it be fine to send five things for the club individually?"
asks one.
"Capital!" "Good!" "Just the thing!" cry all.
"And have their initials spell Aegis."
"What shall the first be?"
"A--Apples!" sounds a full chorus.
"It is a vote. And the next?"
"E--Eels," suggests fourteen-year-old Dick, whose suggestions are apt to
be more ludicrous than elegant.
"Eggs; hard-boiled eggs are always dear to my heart in the scenes of my
childhood."
"Bridget, put on a dozen eggs, to boil ten minutes."
"G--Ginger-snaps."
"Grapes."
"Gum-arabic," from Dick.
It takes so long to decide this important point that Dr. Clifford calls
out the fourth letter:
"I."
A hush falls upon them, but, as Dick would say, made no noise, and did
no damage in falling. No one can think of anything but ice-cream. And I
challenge you: put your hand over your eyes, and name two other edibles
beginning with "I."
At last Dick, in an ecstasy of inspiration, starts up, and cries,
"Inch-worms!"
A peal of laughter, and each one suggests some impossible or awful
article; and then the dauntless Richard again: "A few _I_deas."
"If we had them to spare," says papa, dryly.
"Irish potatoes would be like coals at Newcastle."
"I feel it in my bones that Bridget would suggest '_I_sters.'"
"Apropos of that," says Milly, "I think we shall have to adopt the
sound, and send Inglish walnuts, as Anna loves them dearly."
"Now for the last letter."
"S--Sardines."