Once upon a time Puck and his little sister Blossom lived together in a
great big egg.
"It's too close in here," said Puck: "let's go and see how it looks
outside." Bang! went his head, right through the wall.
[Illustration]
Outside it was raining, so he drew back his head in a hurry; but the
rain came pattering in after him. "Oh, my doodness!" moaned Blossom, "is
_that_ how it is outside? Now we shall det wet to the skin."
"Come," said Puck, "let's go find us another house; it'll be better
by-and-by."
[Illustration]
So they went, and they went, till they came to old Mother Bee, who lived
with her children in the leafy house of the linden-tree.
[Illustration]
"Oh, come in," said she; "but you must sit quite still, or else my
children will sting you. As for me, I must go and gather honey."
[Illustration]
For a little while they sat quite still. "Sister Blossom," said Puck,
"it's too close in here. I must go see where they keep the honey." He
was starting off that very minute, but all the Bee children flew up in
such a rage, and fastened themselves upon Puck and Blossom, that they
got away, they hardly knew how.
"I didn't even det a taste of their old honey, and I'm all stung up,"
sobbed Blossom.
"Never mind," said Puck, comfortingly, "it'll be better by-and-by."
On the meadow whom should they meet but Master Stork. "Oh, take us with
you up to your nest!" cried Puck. Master Longlegs, being quite willing,
quickly snatched up the children in his long bill, and set them down in
his nest.
[Illustration]
"Sit still," said he, "then you'll have plenty of room."
[Illustration]
For a little while they sat quite still. "Sister Blossom," said Puck,
"it's too close in here. I've seen young storks fly. I know how they do
it; I can do it too. Come, now, you do just what I do." He spread his
little arms, she spread her little arms, and--
[Illustration]
Thump!--they lay on the ground.
[TO BE CONTINUED.]
[Illustration: OUR POST-OFFICE BOX.]
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.
I have subscribed for YOUNG PEOPLE for a year. When I have read
it, I send it to my cousins in England. We are going there in
June, to stay at my grandfather's house. I shall be eight years
old on the 25th of March, and I have been across the ocean six
times. I will write when I am in England, and tell you about the
beautiful things I shall see there. Grandma has some rabbits
waiting for me. There is a pond there, with ducks, and Chinese
geese, and swans, and all kinds of fowls.
JOHN MACC.
* * * * *
MUSKOGEE, INDIAN TERRITORY.
I am nine years old. We live on a hill. There are many hills here
just like it, and the people here call them mounds. They are
shaped very queer. They rise straight up on one side. There are
rocks on some, and on others trees. We have two ponies, and when
we go hunting, they let me ride on one of them. When they shoot
anything, I go and bring it back to the buggy.
EVA S. T.
* * * * *
JEFFERSON BARRACKS, MAINE.
I am a poor boy. I lived with an officer here, and I was so fond
of reading the daily papers and other things that his wife kindly
subscribed for YOUNG PEOPLE for me, and I like it very much. I
live in the woods, and I caught nineteen wild rabbits this winter
in traps. I tried to tame some of them, but I could not. I wish
you would tell me how to tame them.
JOSEPH D.
Have any of our correspondents had experience in taming wild rabbits?
* * * * *
GRAHAMVILLE, OKLAWAHA RIVER, FLORIDA.
I am a little boy eight years old, and a subscriber to YOUNG
PEOPLE. I made the money myself that paid for the subscription. I
live away down in Florida, and during the winter months I sell
flowers and curiosities to the Northern visitors. I have made
twenty dollars this season. I don't go to school now, but my mamma
and papa teach me at home. I have a handsome scroll-saw, and can
make nice brackets. I had a shepherd dog, but it died. I want to
take YOUNG PEOPLE till I am a grown-up man.
TURNER E.
* * * * *
DAVENPORT, IOWA.
I want to tell you something about myself. My papa was an
American. When he was young, he went to Florence, Italy. There he
met my mamma, who was an Italian lady, and married her. I was born
in Florence. When I was five years old we moved to Spain. Then I
learned the Spanish language. Papa taught me to speak English. We
staid in Spain one year, and then moved to America, and came out
here. We had not been here long when mamma--poor dear
mamma!--died. Then papa went back to Italy, and left me with Aunt
Esther. He died while he was there, and now I am an orphan. I am
eleven years old, and I can speak and write Italian, French,
Spanish, and English, and I am studying German now. I want to be
an artist some day, and go back to Italy, and make my name
renowned. A friend here gives me YOUNG PEOPLE, and I like it so
much! Please put some nice pictures in it for me to draw.
AURORA.
* * * * *
DANVILLE, ILLINOIS.
Some little girls--my cousins Nellie and Fannie, Clara Hessey,
Nellie Woods, and Kittie Short--are going to have a cooking club,
and I wish some other little girls would send some receipts. My
cousin Nellie sends you a letter too.
PUSS H.
Here is a receipt for sugar-candy that some little girl may like
to try: Two table-spoonfuls vinegar; four table-spoonfuls water;
six table-spoonfuls sugar (brown is best). Boil twenty minutes,
and pour into a buttered plate. I think the Spanish Dancer was
very pretty.
NELLIE H.
* * * * *
FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS.
I am a reader of YOUNG PEOPLE. I live on the border of the Indian
country, and I see plenty of Indians when they come to town to
trade. I went to the United States jail not long ago, and I saw
about fifty prisoners. Some of them were white, some Indians, and
some negroes. They were all together. I felt so sorry for them. I
am ten years old, and I go to school.
CARL C. M.
* * * * *
FORT PLAIN, NEW YORK.
My uncle has come home from India, and brought my brother and
myself a beautiful bow, quiver, and arrows. The bow and arrows are
made of black cocoa-nut wood, and have ivory tips. The arrows have
pointed ends, and colored feathers on the head. The target is
three feet high, and has an ivory heart in the middle. In the
centre of the heart there is a hole. We have a club of girls and
boys, and the one that shoots his arrow in the hole gets a prize.
The next prize to be given is an upright writing-case. We only
shoot once a week for the prize, but we can shoot other times as
much as we wish. Charlie Clark got the prize a month ago. It was a
pair of skates. We live in Chicago, and are going home in May. We
are visiting my grandma now.
PEARL F. S.
* * * * *
FORT WARREN, BOSTON.
I have a pet Newfoundland dog about three months old. I am
teaching him to "fetch and carry." He is very intelligent, and
learns very quickly. Every morning he waits at the door of our
quarters for my papa, and when papa goes to his office he carries
his papers for him. He looks so much like a young bear that we
call him Oso, which is Spanish for bear. I am ten years old, and I
live on an island in Boston Harbor.
MARY B. R.
* * * * *
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.
I want to tell you about a baby bear I saw yesterday. A man had it
in a store. He brought it from the North Woods. It was so gentle
that mamma held it in her hands, and I took hold of its little
paw. We have two canaries, named Dick and Daisy. Daisy has made
her nest, and there are two pretty little blue eggs in it. If we
should have any little birds by-and-by, I will write and tell you
about them.
ETHEL M. L. (6 years).
* * * * *
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.
I am nine years old. I found the answer to the Geographical Double
Acrostic in No. 18. "Sadie," the little girl who made it, is three
years older than I am, but I have studied geography the last two
years, and I think I can find out any geographical puzzle she can
make. Ask her to try again, please.
MAUD T. K.
* * * * *
MUNICH, GERMANY.
I am a little girl six years old, and my name is Meta, but my
sisters call me Peter. My thirteen dolls have all funny names. My
rubber boy doll is Moses in the Bulrushes. My big rubber doll is
Pharaoh's Daughter. I live in Germany, and am learning German. I
hope next year to go back to America, and I shall be glad to see
all my friends again. I have two gold-fishes, and I feed them with
fish food. Papa bought me a microscope to look at bugs with. I am
tired, so I will stop.
META F.
* * * * *
SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, _March 25, 1880_.
I wrote you last November, and told you I was lame, and confined
to the house. I am in the house still, but better. I have a
gentleman friend who comes to see me every other day, and last
week he brought me a plant which he got in the woods, called
hepatica, and it is now on my window, in bloom. It is sometimes
called liverwort. [Hepatica is a Latin word, and signifies
pertaining to the liver.] The willow "pussies" have been out here
two weeks. As I can not go out and enjoy sports like other boys, I
amuse myself by reading, and I enjoy HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE and
WEEKLY very much. I fare pretty well for a sick boy, for I take
five different periodicals.
HORACE F. H.
* * * * *
ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.
I thought some of the young readers might like to hear about our
alligator. It is about nine inches long, from its tail to its
nose. It came from Florida last month. We keep it in a tub. It
would not eat much, but we feed it by tapping it on the nose, and
putting a small piece of meat on its tongue with a stick.
J. O. U., JUN.
You would better give your alligator a piece of board to crawl up on,
for it will die if compelled to remain constantly in the water.
* * * * *
MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS.
I found a caterpillar when I was going to school one morning last
fall. When I came back, I brought it home with me. I put it under
a glass globe, and fed it with milkweed leaves for about a week,
and then it changed into a large brown butterfly, with black and
white spots on its wings. We put it on a piece of Brazilian wood,
such as naturalists use, which a lady gave me. The time to find
the caterpillars is in July and August. I am trying to keep a
cabinet. I found willow "pussies" last January. I put the twigs in
a vase of water, and now they have leaves on them about an inch
long.
ARTHUR L. H.
Your caterpillar must have passed some time in the chrysalis state
before it became a butterfly. It is very interesting to watch the
process of transformation from a caterpillar to a chrysalis, and nothing
is prettier than the butterfly or moth creeping out of its cell, and
expanding its wings for the first time.
* * * * *
CHESTER, NEW JERSEY.
I like YOUNG PEOPLE very much. Although I am only eight years old,
I can read it all except the hard names you call some of the
animals and plants. But papa explains them to me. I have a Maltese
kitty. A short time ago we moved, and I was afraid I would lose
it. A lady told me to take it to the new house, and rub butter on
its paws. I did so, and kitty spent hours licking off the butter.
It kept it busy until it became used to its new home, and
contented to stay.
MAMIE B. L.
* * * * *
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE, _March 22, 1880_.
We are four children, two boys and two girls, living in rather a
lonely place, and YOUNG PEOPLE gives us a great deal of pleasure.
In warm weather we hunt wild flowers and go fishing. There is a
brook near here, where I have caught a good many nice pickerel. My
sister has found trailing arbutus buds, which have blossomed in
the house.
B. M.
* * * * *
NEW HAVEN, VERMONT.
I shall be eight years old next August. I have a cat named Pet. I
have a little saw-horse and a little saw, and I saw kindling wood
for Grandpa Kent.
KENT K.
* * * * *
DEER RIVER, NEW YORK.
I have four brothers, and we have lots of fun. We have three
lambs, seven rabbits, a pair of peacocks, and guinea-hens, geese,
doves, ducks, and eleven little pigs. My brother Bert is eleven
years old, and I am nine.
DE VERE V.
* * * * *
C. V. Hess, No. 440 North Seventh Street, Philadelphia, writes that
L. H. N., of Lockport, Illinois, can obtain collections of minerals by
addressing him as above.
* * * * *
JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.
I take your paper, and nobody is more happy than I when papa
brings it home. Just as soon as my sister comes back, we are going
to get up a sewing society. Do you think it is a good idea?
"BLUE LIGHT."
If you intend to devote your time to making clothes for poor little
girls like Biddy O'Dolan, your sewing society is an excellent idea, and
we hope you will carry it out. If you stop to look about you, there are
many poor children within your reach whose lives you can make brighter
and more comfortable. You can not realize the good you can do until you
begin, and see the effects of your work.
* * * * *
MILLIE B. S.--The fact that you take YOUNG PEOPLE through a news agent
makes no difference whatever. "Wiggles," puzzles, and other favors from
our young readers all receive the same attention, and are equally
welcome.
* * * * *
C. H. W.--Ceres, called Demeter by the Greeks, was the goddess of
agriculture. She was pictured by the ancients holding a torch and sheaf
of corn, a basket filled with flowers at her side, and a garland of
wheat ears interwoven in her hair. Her festival fell on the 19th of
April, the beginning of seed-time. There is a pretty legend that
Persephone, the daughter of Ceres, was stolen by Pluto, who allowed her
to leave his subterranean kingdom only during the period between
spring-time and autumn, and that Ceres, enraged at the theft of her
daughter, refused to bless the earth with fruits and flowers during
those months when she was deprived of Persephone. The name Ceres is
derived from the Sanskrit, and signifies to create. Vulcan, whose Greek
name was Hephaestus, was the son of Jupiter and Juno, and the god of
fire. He was lame and ugly, but was worshipped as the patron of all
craftsmen who worked at the forge. He is represented by ancient artists
as a powerful, bearded man clad in a workman's cap and short blouse,
surrounded by smith's tools. His festival fell on the 23d of August,
when the young men of Athens ran torch races in his honor. You can
obtain answers to your other question by inquiring at the rooms of the
Society, corner of Court and Joralemon streets, Brooklyn.
* * * * *
HARRY VAN N.--Wheeling is the capital of West Virginia. The _New
Hampshire Gazette_, published at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is the
oldest paper in the Union which has been continued without interruption
or change of name. It was established by Daniel Fowle in 1756. The
Worcester _Spy_, still in existence, was established in 1770, and there
are several other papers of equal age. The New York _Commercial
Advertiser_ is one of the oldest dailies. It was established in 1793 as
the _Minerva_, but soon assumed its present name. The New York _Evening
Post_ first appeared in November, 1801. You will find a complete
history of American newspapers in Frederic Hudson's _Journalism in the
United States_, published by Harper & Brothers.
* * * * *
WILLIE S. W.--There are no rules by which you can train cats. They are
not so easily taught as dogs and birds; still, with patience and
kindness, you may accomplish your purpose.
* * * * *
"NORTH STAR."--Your puzzle is very neatly and correctly made; but we can
not use it, as we have recently published one with the same solution. Do
not be discouraged, but try again. The book you inquire for is published
by Henry Holt & Co., and is a very useful little volume.
* * * * *
C. W. LISK.--The dauw (_Equus burchellii_) is a South African quadruped,
intermediate between the zebra and the quagga. It is found in numerous
herds in the wide plains north of the Orange River. It is somewhat
larger than the zebra, but more easily domesticated.
* * * * *
WILLIE B. A.--Read the paper on "Gold-Fish" in YOUNG PEOPLE No. 6.
* * * * *
PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.
No. 1.
EASY NUMERICAL ENIGMA.
The combined numerals in the following sentence form the name of a great
poet, which is composed of 11 letters. A little girl sat in the garden
watching some 6-2-5-8-7 frolicking on the grass. The gardener was at
work with a 10-9-4-11, and he gave her a 7-5-3-10 to eat. Then a poor
Italian came up the road with a 2-9-10-7, and she ran to 9-1-4 her
mother if 6-9-10-3-2 might give him a piece of bread.
POLLY.
* * * * *
No. 2.
DROP-LETTER PUZZLE.
Each dash represents a letter. The whole is a familiar proverb:
B--r--s--f--f--a--h--r--l--c--t--g--t--e--.
A. T.
* * * * *
No. 3.
ENIGMA.
My first is in battle, but not in fight.
My second is in darkness, but not in night.
My third is in brighten, but not in cheer.
My fourth is in antler, but not in deer.
My fifth is in knot, but not in tie.
My sixth is in near, but not in nigh.
My whole is a tropical fruit.
EFFIE VIOLET (12 years).
* * * * *
No. 4.
DOUBLE ACROSTIC.
A vegetable. A puzzle. A gem. A buffoon. A bird. Labor. A roll of coin.
An affirmation. Answer--Two branches of an important study.
C. P. T.
* * * * *
No. 5.
WORD SQUARE.
First, a governor. Second, to join. Third, flexible. Fourth, a girl's
name. Fifth, attachments to fishing-rods.
E. M.
* * * * *
No. 6.
ENIGMA.
My first is in made, but not in done.
My second is in work, but not in fun.
My third is in knit, and also in spun.
My fourth is in take, but not in won.
My fifth is in chase, but not in run.
My sixth is in cake, but not in bun.
My seventh is in left, but not in begun.
My eighth is in mortar, but not in gun.
My whole was a noted French general.
C. W. L.
* * * * *
ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN NO. 21.
No. 1.
Violet.
No. 2.
Story of Robinson Crusoe.
No. 3.
Athens, Orleans, Oporto, Dover, Granada, Naples, Madrid, Paris, Basle,
Berlin, Lyons.
No. 4.
Candy.
No. 5.
H ebre W
U mbrell A
D um B
S iberi A
O at S
N eig H
Hudson, Wabash.
No. 6.
Wellington.
* * * * *
Favors are acknowledged from Lula Barlow, May Thornton, William N.,
Carrie G. Hard, Laura Wharry, C. N. MacClure, H. T., Lura W., William
H. M., Frank Haid, Jennie Clark, L. A. G., J. E. Conger, Clarence L. M.,
Jennie Graves, Robert Hoyt, Amy R. Du Bois, N. Rust Gilbert, M. H. and
M. B., G. C. M., R. V. Thomas, Munn Trowbridge, Walter B. and Clara M.,
Jeanie Curtis, Marion Comer, Nellie Douglas, E. G. L., Lillian Murdoch,
Annie Wright, "Frank," Susie Benedict, Florrie Cox, C. B. Albree, M.
Isaacs, Lillian Morton, Fanny Pierce, Deffie MacKellar.
* * * * *
Correct answers to puzzles are received from Maud Knowlton, C. H. MacB.,
George W. Raymond, F. Schakers, Fred and Mary Pitney, Susie Randall,
Willie Atkinson, Grace J. Richards, Lottie G., Herbert N. T., Edward
Chamberlin, Hugh Burns, Arthur Brigham, George B. Wendell, Fannie and
Florence M., Rose C., May Fields, Agnes Witzel, Lily and Carrie Levey,
Huntington Merchant, Etta Rice, Walter Dodge, V. L. Kellogg, Dora
Jelliff, W. S. Wenship, Fannie Rockwell, Pierre Jay, "George," C. H.
Conner, J. E. Marshall, Clara Jaquith, Willie Morris, Jessie G., Katie
and F. Lawlor.
ADVERTISEMENTS.
HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE.
HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE will be issued every Tuesday, and may be had at
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Subscriptions may begin with any Number. When no time is specified, it
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Remittances should be made by POST-OFFICE MONEY ORDER or DRAFT, to avoid
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The extent and character of the circulation of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE
will render it a first-class medium for advertising. A limited number of
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per line.
Address
HARPER & BROTHERS,
Franklin Square, N. Y.
CANDY
Send one, two, three, or five dollars for a sample box, by express, of
the best Candies in America, put up elegantly and strictly pure. Refers
to all Chicago. Address
C. F. GUNTHER,
Confectioner,
78 MADISON STREET, CHICAGO.
=CARDS OF BEAUTIFUL PRESSED SEA-FERNS=, from New England coast, at 25
cents per dozen, postpaid. Will be sent to any address on receipt of
price, by
B. A. A., Vineyard Grove,
Lock Box 54.
Dukes Co., Mass.
OUR CHILDREN'S SONGS.
* * * * *
Our Children's Songs. Illustrated. 8vo, Ornamental Cover, $1.00.
* * * * *
The best compilation of songs for the children that we have ever
seen.--_New Bedford Mercury._
This is a large collection of songs for the nursery, for childhood, for
boys and for girls, and sacred songs for all. The range of subjects is a
wide one, and the book is handsomely illustrated.--_Philadelphia
Ledger._
It contains some of the most beautiful thoughts for children that ever
found vent in poesy, and beautiful "pictures to match."--_Chicago
Evening Journal._
An excellent anthology of juvenile poetry, covering the whole range of
English and American literature.--_Independent_, N. Y.
Songs for the nursery, songs for childhood, for girlhood, boyhood,
and sacred songs--the whole melody of childhood and youth bound in
one cover. Full of lovely pictures; sweet mother and baby faces;
charming bits of scenery, and the dear old Bible story-telling
pictures.--_Churchman_, N. Y.
* * * * *
Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.
HARPER & BROTHERS _will send the above work by mail, postage prepaid, to
any part of the United States, on receipt of the price._
Old Books for Young Readers.
* * * * *
Arabian Nights' Entertainments.
The Thousand and One Nights; or, The Arabian Nights'
Entertainments. Translated and Arranged for Family Reading, with
Explanatory Notes, by E. W. LANE. 600 Illustrations by Harvey. 2
vols., 12mo, Cloth, $3.50.
Robinson Crusoe.
The Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York,
Mariner. By DANIEL DEFOE. With a Biographical Account of Defoe.
Illustrated by Adams. Complete Edition. 12mo, Cloth, $1.50.
The Swiss Family Robinson.
The Swiss Family Robinson; or, Adventures of a Father and Mother
and Four Sons on a Desert Island. Illustrated. 2 vols., 18mo,
Cloth, $1.50.
The Swiss Family Robinson--Continued: being a Sequel to the
Foregoing. 2 vols., 18mo, Cloth, $1.50.
Sandford and Merton.
The History of Sandford and Merton. By THOMAS DAY. 18mo, Half
Bound, 75 cents.
* * * * *
Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.
_Sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, on
receipt of the price._
CHILDREN'S PICTURE-BOOKS.
Square 4to, about 300 pages each, beautifully printed on Tinted
Paper, embellished with many Illustrations, bound in Cloth, $1.50
per volume.
The Children's Picture-Book of Sagacity of Animals.
With Sixty Illustrations by HARRISON WEIR.
The Children's Bible Picture-Book.
With Eighty Illustrations, from Designs by STEINLE, OVERBECK,
VEIT, SCHNORR, &c.
The Children's Picture Fable-Book.
Containing One Hundred and Sixty Fables. With Sixty Illustrations
by HARRISON WEIR.
The Children's Picture-Book of Birds.
With Sixty-one Illustrations by W. HARVEY.
The Children's Picture-Book of Quadrupeds and other Mammalia.
With Sixty-one Illustrations by W. HARVEY.
* * * * *
Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.
_Sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, on
receipt of the price._
[Illustration: I'M ALL READY.]
DECAPITATED CHARADE.
My whole a churchman is of weight,
Summoned his grievances to state,
Where, in the lofty audience-hall,
The bishops are assembled all.
His head cut off reveals his plan,
Which he will do as best he can.
What's left, again beheaded, shows
The state of mind in which he goes,
As, mounted on his good gray steed,
He rides along through vale and mead.
Behead that word, and, lo! 'tis plain
Why all his efforts were in vain.
Dejected now, at close of day,
He, sighing, takes his homeward way.
Behead once more: see what he did
Ere sleep fell on each weary lid.
A GEOGRAPHICAL GAME.
An amusing and instructive geographical game has just been invented by
M. Levasseur, a well-known French geographer. It is called "Tour du
Monde," and is played on a large terrestrial globe, richly illustrated,
and divided into 232 spherical rectangles, each of which is marked with
a number corresponding to a number on a list which indicates gains or
losses in the game. A brass rib or meridian running from pole to pole of
the globe, but raised above the latter, is perforated with a row of
eighteen holes; and there are eighteen tiny flags provided for the
purpose of being planted in the holes. Each flag corresponds to one of
the principal states of the world, from China the most populous to
Holland the least populous.
To play the game the globe is set revolving, and a player, commencing at
the south pole, plants a flag into each hole one after another at each
revolution of the globe, and advances northward. The score of the
player, which may be either a gain or a loss, is determined by the
nature of the facts indicated on the rectangular space above which a
flag may stand when the globe stops revolving; and this is, of course,
the interesting and humorous part of the game. London, for example,
counts thirty, Paris twenty, and so on, according to population. A coal
mine, a Manchester cotton factory, a grain mart, all are reckoned gains;
but an encounter with a Zulu or a lion in Africa, a storm in the
Atlantic, a polar iceberg, a crocodile on the Nile, naturally go for
serious losses.
A PERSONATION; WHAT IS MY NAME?
BY ELEANOR JOY.
I was a queen of royal birth. I was married on the 8th of September,
1761, to a certain King of England, with whom I lived for fifty-seven
years. I had fifteen children, all of whom lived to grow up except two.
The king whom I married had never seen me, and was only attracted toward
me by my writing him an eloquent letter on the miseries and calamities
of war. I was brought to England in a yacht covered with streamers and
flowers. I was not very handsome, and the king, my husband, winced when
he saw I was not as beautiful as some of his ladies at court. But he
soon began to love me, and I lived happily with him till my death. Who
am I?
THE METRIC SYSTEM IN COINS.
It may not be generally known that we have in the nickel five-cent piece
of our coinage a key to the tables of the linear measures and weights of
the metric system. The diameter of this coin is two centimeters, and its
weight is five grams. Five of them placed in a row will, of course, give
the length of the decimeter; and two of them will weigh a decagram. As
the litre is a cubic decimeter, the key to the measure of length is also
the key to measures of capacity. Any person, therefore, who is fortunate
enough to own a five-cent nickel may be said to carry in his pocket the
entire metric system of weights and measures.
[Illustration: GIVING THE BABIES AN AIRING.]
End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Young People, April 13, 1880, by Various