[Illustration: HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE]
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VOL. II.--NO. 89. PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK. PRICE FOUR
CENTS.
Tuesday, July 12, 1881. Copyright, 1881, by HARPER & BROTHERS. $1.50 per
Year, in Advance.
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[Illustration: THE DUNCE'S SEAT.--DRAWN BY JESSIE CURTIS SHEPHERD.]
A PALACE UNDER THE SEA.
BY DAVID KER.
For any one who wants to take a month's holiday, there are few better
places than the islands of Orkney and Shetland and Faroe. They are a
long way off, to be sure, and in the midst of a very rough sea, that
plays sad tricks with any one who is not a good sailor; but there is
plenty to be seen when you once get there. The great black cliffs rising
straight up out of the sea for two or three hundred feet, with thousands
of sea-birds fluttering and screaming around them; and the wide, bleak,
gray moorlands, without a single tree to relieve their grimness--for on
most of these Northern islands no trees will grow; and the bright blue
sea dancing and sparkling in the sunshine, or flinging itself up against
the rocks in flying gusts of foam; and the little red-tiled cottages,
inhabited by hard-faced old sailors, who have chased the whale in the
far Northern seas, through many a floating "ice-pack," and many a
fearful storm; the Shetland ponies, with their funny little black faces
and shaggy manes, frisking about the lonely hill-sides, and many other
objects of interest.
But in the Shetland Islands there is one sight worth all these put
together, and, by good luck, it is close to the town of Lerwick, where
all the steamers from the South put in. But for all that, it is no easy
matter to see it properly. To begin with, you can only go there in a
boat, and you must go at low tide, and you must take all sorts of things
with you--ropes and boat-hooks and pine torches, and sometimes food as
well; and perhaps, after all this, you may have to come back again
without seeing anything at all.
And what _is_ this wonderful sight, then? you will ask. Wait a little,
and you shall hear.
Early on a fine spring morning, when the March gales seem to have fairly
blown themselves out, and the sea is smooth as glass, I come tramping
down to the shore through the straggling streets of Lerwick, which, with
its little one-storied cottages, and its narrow windows, and its tiny
fort, and its pavement of slippery cobble-stones, and its quaint
old-world aspect, looks quite like a town in a fairy tale. So close does
it lie to the water's edge that many of the houses have boats drawn up
under their very windows; and beside one of these boats I find two old
acquaintances of mine standing together. The one is a tall, handsome
young fellow of five-and-twenty, the other a grim old "salt," with a
voice as hoarse as a raven, and a face like the figure-head of some
storm-battered vessel.
"Good-morning, Hay; good-morning, Peter. Can we go to Bressa Head
to-day?"
"We can try't," growls old Peter, in his broadest Scotch, "and _maybe_
we'll do't, if the wind dinna get up."
"And if it _does_ get up, what then?"
"We'll a' be at the bottom in twa minutes."
This is certainly comforting; but "nothing venture, nothing have." I
jump into the boat, the two sailors get out their oars, and off we go.
Away, away, over the smooth bright water, with the green sunny slopes of
mainland on one side, and the huge gray cliffs of Bressa on the other.
We are soon round the point, right out into the open sea; and to our
left a sheer wall of black frowning precipice towers up against the sky
for six hundred feet, while to our right, far as eye can reach, extends
the great waste of dark water, which may at any moment lash itself into
rage, and ingulf us all. Looking from it to that tremendous cliff, on
which not even a cat could find footing, I begin to see that Peter was
right as to what might happen should the wind rise.
But for the present all is going well. Not a ripple on the water, not a
breath in the air, not a cloud in the sunny sky. And now we turn our
boat's head, and steer, as it seems to me, straight into the rocks, for
look as I will no sign of an opening can I see.
Ha! what is this dark line that suddenly shows itself in the face of the
cliff? At first it seems no broader than the stroke of a pencil; but the
line soon widens into a rift, and the rift grows into a deep shadowy
archway like the mouth of a tunnel. We shoot into it, and instantly the
bright sky and the golden sunshine and the sparkling sea vanish like a
dream, and around us is the blackness of midnight, while far within we
hear the dull boom of unseen waves, rolling through the sunless caverns
where no man has ever been.
Suddenly Peter lights a pine-wood torch, and a blaze of splendor bursts
upon us, dazzling as a tropical sunrise. Roof, walls, archway, every
point and every corner, are one great rainbow of blue, and crimson, and
yellow, and green. Pillars stand ranged along the sides, polished and
shapely as if carved by a sculptor. Long icicle-like points of rock hang
from the roof, glittering like diamonds in the sudden light. There are
tapestries, too, such as no Norman castle ever had--tapestries of purple
sea-weed, smooth and glossy as the finest velvet. And instead of a
floor, this strange place is paved with smooth clear dark green water,
upon which the red glare of our torch comes and goes like the light of a
magic lantern.
This is the sight for which we have come--our "palace under the sea."
And a palace indeed it is, which might suit the Sleeping Beauty herself.
For all we know (for in such a place any wonder seems possible) she may
be dreaming out the last of her hundred years behind these heavy folds
of sea-weed, which are undoubtedly a curtain worthy of any princess.
Aladdin may be sitting in yonder corner industriously rubbing his
wonderful lamp; Tom Thumb may be peeping slyly at us over the edge of
that pointed rock; the "Little Mermaid" and her sisters may have been
swimming in this pool when we entered, and fled at our approach. And as
we glide into the smaller cave that opens out of the larger, what is
this queer-looking creature that scurries off along the nearest ledge?
Puss-in-Boots? Hop-o'-my-Thumb? one of Gulliver's Lilliputians? Alas!
no--only a big crab.
At the farther end of the second cave a wide cleft in the rock seems to
offer us an easy passage, but another look shows me two sharp rocks
planted within, like huge teeth, threatening certain destruction to any
boat that may venture between them.
"Mony a mon has tried to pass yon place," says old Peter, shaking his
gray head, "but nane ever did it, nor ever will. And noo, Maister Ker,
the tide's-risin', and I'm thinkin' the sooner we're oot o' this the
better."
A BOY'S ROW-BOAT.
BY W. P. STEPHENS.
The building of a round-bottomed boat requires more skill in using tools
than most boys possess, and some experience besides, but a very
serviceable bateau, or flat-bottomed skiff, is easily built by any one
who can use a saw, plane, and hammer.
Our boat must be of light draught, capable of carrying three or four
boys, and adapted for rowing, hunting, and fishing on rivers and ponds.
So we will take a flat-bottomed bateau, twelve feet eight inches long
(so as to use thirteen-foot boards, the common size) and of three feet
six inches beam.
But one mould will be needed, of the shape of Fig. 2, thirteen inches
wide, three feet four and a half inches on the top, and two feet ten and
a half inches on the bottom. It may be of rough board, as it has no
permanent place in the boat. A strip one inch square is nailed on the
upper edge, projecting over each end, and making a guide in setting up
the sides.
The bow is a piece of oak three by four and a half inches, and sixteen
inches long, its shape being shown in Fig. 5. It can be hewn out with a
hatchet and finished with a plane, the rabbets or recesses on each side
for the ends of the side boards being cut with a mallet and chisel, and
finished up square and true with a rabbet-plane. Too much care can not
be taken to have all the joints true and close, leaving no seams to be
stopped with putty. The square should be used constantly, as small
errors at the start have a way of ending as very great ones.
Before going further, let us look at one very important difference
between the work of most amateurs and that of a finished mechanic. The
amateur generally _cuts out_ his guide lines, while the other cuts _just
to them_, and no more. For marking, a sharp pencil or the point of a
knife should be used, the rule or square being held firmly, and but one
steady stroke taken.
Now we are ready to mark out our two side boards of pine, thirteen feet
long, fifteen inches wide, and three-quarters of an inch thick. First
plane an edge of one up straight. Then draw lines across with the square
as in Fig. 8--one, _a e_, as near to the end as possible, _f i_ at six
feet six inches from it, and _b h_ at twelve feet nine and a half
inches; and also the lines _a d_ and _b g_, the distance _d e_ being
three inches and _g h_ four inches, laying off eight inches from _b_ to
the point _c_. To draw the curves at top and bottom, a piece of
straight-grained wood half an inch square and thirteen feet long is
needed. Such a piece is called a batten, and is used in ship and boat
building when it is desired to draw any curve other than small circles,
as when bent it will take of itself an even, regular curve, with no flat
spots or breaks. One end of the batten is tacked at _e_, and the centre
at _f_, and the other end is bent up to _c_. A few nails may be driven
at intermediate points until it coincides with the line from _e_ to _f_,
and thence curves gently up to _c_. After the line is drawn, the same
process will give the upper curve, _i_ being an inch and a half from the
edge. The board so marked must now be laid on the other; and a few nails
driven to hold them together, when both are ready to be sawn to shape,
as shown by the heavy lines in Fig. 8, except that the end beyond _b c_
must be left for the present. After sawing and planing up the fore end
and two sides, the lines _b c_ and _i f_ are marked on the second side
also. The stern (Fig. 4) is cut from an oak or ash board an inch thick,
and is eight and a half inches wide, two feet four and a half inches
long on the top, and one foot ten and a half inches on the bottom. After
painting the rabbet in the bow with thick white lead, one side is laid
in place, and secured with one-and-a-half-inch No. 9 or No. 10 iron
screws, first boring the holes with a gimlet and countersinking the
heads, the screws being dipped in white lead before inserting. Then
stand the board on edge, and screw on the other side, when they will
resemble a large V. Now take the mould, and nail it to one side board at
the centre mark; then, with some one to help, draw in the other side,
and nail it to the mould, making a letter A.
Place this frame-work on a level floor, and measure carefully to
ascertain that it is all right--the sides at the same angle, etc.; then
place a rope around the projecting ends beyond _b c_, and draw them
together until the stern-board will just fit between them. Now the ends
of the stern being cut square, and the side boards not being parallel,
there will be an opening of perhaps a quarter of an inch between the
sides and the inner edges of the stern. Fasten the stern exactly in
place, and taking a pair of compasses, set their points a little farther
apart than the greatest width of the opening; then keeping one leg of
the compasses flat against the side board, move them so that the other
point will draw a parallel line on both sides of the stern. Mark each
end in this way; then remove and cut to the marks, and on returning the
piece to its place it will fit exactly, except that, being now a little
shorter, the sides must be drawn in to it, when they can be screwed
fast.
Remove the rope; saw off the projecting ends, and plane them down; and
turn the boat over, when it will be ready for the bottom. Now apply a
straight-edge, as in Fig. 6, and it will be seen that it touches only
along the outer edges, _n o_, which must be planed down until it lies
flat on each board; then starting at the stern, nail on the bottom
boards of three-quarter-inch pine, eight to ten inches wide. Eightpenny
finishing nails are the best, three in each board, the heads being
driven in to admit of puttying. The holes must be bored with a brad-awl,
and the nails driven very carefully, or they will run out at either
side. The joints between the boards must be planed very neatly, as the
boat is not to be calked. When all are nailed on, the bottom is planed
over. A skag, _m_, Fig. 7, is then put on, and nailed from the inside,
and a piece of oak nailed down the stern and its after-end to stiffen
it. Turn the boat over once more, and screw in a cleat on each side, ten
inches long, seven inches above the bottom, and just forward of the
mould; fit the seat on it, and nail fast, and then remove the mould. A
board five inches wide is now nailed the entire length of the bottom to
stiffen it, six-penny clinch nails being used.
The seats in bow and stern are of three-quarter-inch pine, supported by
cross-pieces, shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1; or a locker may be made
instead in the stern, with a hinged lid. A gunwale of oak or ash two
inches wide and three-quarters of an inch thick is next nailed around
the edge on each side. Two pieces of oak, twelve inches long, one and a
half inches wide, and one inch thick, are screwed on to take the
rowlocks: iron ones are best, and cost but little; if wooden ones are
used, they are of oak or hickory, seven inches long, two inches wide,
and half an inch thick, mortised into the bed-piece and gunwale, the
centre of the opening being eleven inches from the after-edge of the
thwart.
Two pieces of oak, with notches, forming a rack, are nailed to the edges
of the bottom piece, and a strip of oak an inch square is laid across to
form a brace for the feet. The oars are of spruce, seven feet long, and
the blades five inches wide; leather is tacked around them where they
rest in the rowlocks, and a strip of copper protects each end. After
punching in all the nails, the boat may be planed off where it needs it,
and then sand-papered all over.
The first coat of paint should be white lead mixed with boiled oil,
enough black being added to make a lead-color. When it is dry, all the
holes should be puttied over, and a second coat applied. White looks
well, with a red stripe around the gunwale; but it is difficult to keep
clean, and green makes a less noticeable color, and is better for
hunting. Any light tint will do for the inside.
Should the boat leak after being in the water for a day or two, the
seams must be calked with cotton, forced in with a blunt knife. A
ring-bolt in the bow and fifteen feet of three-eighths inch rope
complete the equipment, unless a chain is needed for security.
The cost of the materials will be from five to seven dollars.
[Illustration: WORKING PLANS FOR A BOY'S ROW-BOAT.]
A MIDSUMMER DAY.
BY GEORGE COOPER.
There's a flush in the sky of crimson deep;
From a waking bird there's a drowsy cheep;
There's a ripple of gold upon the brooks,
And a glitter of dew in dusky nooks.
And this is the way
A midsummer day
Bids the world good-morning.
There's a tremulous cry from a tree-toad hid,
And the husky plaint of the katydid;
Then the fire-flies wink, now high, now low,
Like a sudden flurry of golden snow.
And this is the way
A midsummer day
Bids the world good-evening.
[Begun in No. 80 of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE, May 10.]
THE CRUISE OF THE "GHOST."
BY W. L. ALDEN,
AUTHOR OF "THE MORAL PIRATES," ETC.
CHAPTER X.
"Get out the hammer and nails, and take a couple of the bottom boards
and nail the canvas over the cockpit," ordered Charley. "We must keep
the water out, or we shall get into trouble."
The boys silently obeyed him. The canvas cabin was laid across the
cockpit; the boards were placed over the edges of the canvas and nailed
down to the deck. An opening was left close to the tiller, so that any
one could creep into the cockpit, but with the aid of a cord even this
small opening could be closed.
"Now, boys," said Charley, when this work was done, "I want Tom and
Harry to go below and go to sleep. We are in no danger just at present,
but we may have hard work before us, and we can't afford to have
everybody fagged out at the same time. Joe will stay here with me, in
case I want him to help me. So go below, the port watch, and sleep while
you can."
"Do you think we shall be drowned?" Harry whispered to Tom, as he
prepared to follow him into the cabin.
"I hope we shall come through all right," replied Charley. "With that
canvas over her cockpit, the boat ought to live through a pretty heavy
gale. Keep up your courage. The wind may blow itself out in a little
while. Anyway, we'll do our duty like men, and leave it to God to take
care of us. By-the-bye, how are we off for water and provisions?"
"The water keg is full, for we filled it this morning, and we've
provisions enough for three or four days, if we don't eat much."
"That's all right, then; but mind and don't drink a drop of water while
you can get along without it."
Harry disappeared below the canvas, and Charley, after lacing up the
opening, took two pieces of rope, one of which he passed around his
waist and made it fast to the rudder-head, and the other of which he
handed to Joe, and told him to lash himself to a ring-bolt in the deck.
"Now, Joe," he said, "we're safe and comfortable."
"And I'm going to get wet again," replied Joe.
The two boys sat quietly munching the biscuits that Harry had passed up
to them when he went below, and which were all the dinner they cared to
eat. As night came on, the weather grew decidedly worse. The _Ghost_
fairly flew before the wind, and Charley was compelled to abandon the
tiller, and to steer with an oar. Luckily he had placed a socket for a
rowlock at the stern of the boat when he lengthened her, and this
enabled him to use a steering oar now that the _Ghost_ kept pitching her
rudder almost out of the water, and frequently refused to answer the
helm. She rolled a good deal, and occasionally a shower of spray would
fly over the stern, drenching Charley and Joe. Neither of them felt much
like talking. Charley's whole attention was given to the work of
steering, for the least carelessness or mistake might have led to the
instant swamping of the boat, and Joe was too much occupied with
thinking of the dangerous situation they were all in. The _Ghost_ was
certainly in an alarming situation. She was hurrying further and further
out to sea, in a storm that would have tried even a stanch sea-going
yacht. So far from showing any signs of improvement, the weather was
constantly growing worse. The sea was heavy, and rolled after the boat
as if it was about to pour over her stern, and beat her down into the
depths of the ocean. At about ten o'clock Charley saw plainly that the
danger was very great in continuing to scud before the wind. Had the
_Ghost_ been able to carry the close-reefed mainsail, she could have
lain to with perfect safety; but he had already found that she could not
bear that amount of sail. More than once the sea swirled up around her
stern, and buried the after-part of the overhang. Should a rough sea
fairly come on board over the stern, the _Ghost_ would fill and sink in
a moment.
"Call the other fellows, Joe," said Charley.
Tom and Harry did not wait to be called, for they were wide awake,
having been far too nervous to sleep. They instantly crept out of the
cabin, and stood hanging on to the main-boom, which was lashed
amidships.
"We can't scud much longer," Charley said, in his cheerful voice, "and
we must try to make a drag. Get out your knives, and cut the gaff loose
from the sail; but mind you don't let the sail get adrift. Joe, you find
one of the rubber blankets, and a lot of that heavy blue-fish line."
When the gaff was cut loose, and the mainsail made snug around the boom,
Charley ordered the spare oar to be lashed at right angles across the
middle of the gaff. He then showed the boys how to lash the India rubber
blanket over this frame-work, so that when finished it resembled an
enormous black kite. Next the cannon was lashed firmly to one end of the
gaff, and finally the cable was cut loose from the anchor, passed
through a hole in the middle of the blanket, and made fast to the gaff
and the oar just where they crossed each other.
"Now, boys, what I'm going to do is this," said Charley, when the drag
was finished. "I'm going to try to bring her head up to the wind, and
let her ride, with the drag as a sea-anchor. The danger will be when she
gets broadside to the sea, but it will only last a minute or two. It
will be a very ticklish minute; but if she lives through it, we shall
probably ride the gale out safely."
"Have we got to try it?" asked Tom.
"It is the only thing we can do. If we keep on scudding, we are certain
to be swamped; but if she doesn't ship any heavy sea while the drag is
bringing her up, we shall be pretty safe."
"Then we'll do it," said Tom; "and I suppose the sooner we do it, the
better."
"All right," returned Charley. "Take the halyards, and take a turn
around your waists, so that you won't get washed overboard. Now, when I
give the word, heave the drag overboard, and stand clear of the cable,
for it may catch you by the legs. Are you all ready?"
"Ready," answered Tom and Harry.
"Then haul down the jib, Joe, just as quick as possible, and the minute
it's down, hang on to the mast as tight as you can. Heave away that
drag."
The drag was overboard just as the jib came down. The cable ran out
swiftly, and the moment the boat felt the strain of the drag, she began
to swing around toward the wind. Charley helped her with his oar,
working at it with frantic energy. A kind Providence befriended them,
and during the long minute--which seemed at least five minutes to the
anxious boys--while the _Ghost_ was in the trough of the sea, hardly a
drop of water came aboard her. The danger was over when the boat's bow
was presented to the gale, and Charley, ceasing his efforts with the
oar, exclaimed, in a reverent tone, "Thank God!" and then called the
boys to come into the cockpit and make themselves comfortable.
"As long as the cable holds, and the drag doesn't break up, we are as
safe as if we were ashore," said he, gayly.
Taking in the now useless oar, and lashing the helm amidships, Charley
crept into the cockpit, where his companions joined him. They got out a
box of sardines, and with the remains of a loaf of bread, they made a
comfortable supper. The spray occasionally flew over the bow, and
slapped the canvas, but the cockpit remained perfectly dry.
"What do you think about the drag? Is it going to hold together?" asked
Tom, when the supper had made him feel a little more comfortable, and
the gale seemed to his imagination less terribly dangerous.
"It's well made, and the only danger about it is that the oar may break.
Even if it does, the weight of the cannon will keep the gaff
perpendicular, and there will be enough of the drag left to keep us head
to the sea. The cable is strong, and I don't believe we are pulling hard
enough on it to snap it. I think we can feel perfectly easy, and I'm
going to turn in and have a good sleep. Tom, will you keep your head out
of the cabin, and keep your eyes open for the next two hours, and then
call Harry to relieve you? We must have somebody on the look-out."
"Don't we need a light too?" asked Tom.
"Of course we do. Will that lantern of yours burn in this wind, Harry?"
"It ought to. It's warranted to burn in any weather; at least that's
what the advertisement says."
"Then light it, and hang it up alongside of the mast. You'll have to
lash it to the mast, or it will swing round and smash against it. Call
me if you see a ship's light anywhere, or if the weather gets worse, or
anything happens. Come on, Joe; let's have four hours of good sleep, and
we shall turn out in first-rate spirits."
So saying, the young Captain wrapped himself in his blanket, and was
asleep long before Joe yielded to weariness, rather than sleepiness, and
sank into an uneasy slumber.
When Charley was called four hours later by Harry, he found that there
was little change in the weather. The wind was still howling as fiercely
as ever, and the sea was at least as heavy as it had been, although the
effect of the drag was to break the seas that were sweeping down on the
_Ghost_, so that she really felt them rather less than she had when
running before the wind. Charley refilled the lantern, which had nearly
burned out, examined the cable and the ring-bolt to which it was
fastened to see if he could find any signs of weakness, and then, going
aft, sat down and thought over the situation. He felt confident that the
gale, which had come up so suddenly and fiercely, would blow itself out
in the course of the next twelve hours, and he had little doubt that the
boat would live through it. But the morning would certainly find the
_Ghost_ far out of sight of land, without a compass, and with only a
small supply of food and water. If the sky should be clear, he could
judge of the points of the compass by the sun; but it would be
impossible to get the gaff on board again, and without it the boat would
hardly be able to beat to windward in case the direction of the wind
should not change. There was, however, a good chance that some vessel
bound to New York would pick the boys up, and perhaps tow in the
_Ghost_. While he felt that the danger of foundering was probably over,
Charley could not conceal from himself that the situation was not a very
encouraging one, but he never thought of losing his courage; and though
he felt the responsibility of his position as the one to whom his young
comrades looked for counsel and orders, he was calm and cheerful, for he
knew he was doing his duty to the best of his ability.
He did not call Joe, when the latter's turn came to come on deck, for he
was anxious to see the sun rise, and he knew that Joe needed sleep.
The sun rose just where he had supposed it would, and a short time
afterward the wind perceptibly lessened its violence. At six o'clock he
called the other boys, and told them the welcome news that the gale had
broken, and that fair weather could not be far off.
"Where does all this water come from?" demanded Harry, as he awoke to
find that he was lying in a pool of water. "Did we ship a sea last night
after I went to sleep?"
"She may be leaking a little," replied Charley. "Pump her out, somebody,
and we'll soon find out if she leaks."
Tom pumped for ten or twelve minutes, and freed the _Ghost_ of water;
but before breakfast was over, the water again made its appearance.
"She's sprung a leak sure enough," said Harry.
"The pump throws the water out faster than it comes in," replied
Charley, "and that kind of a leak will never sink her. She has strained
a little in this sea, but I don't think she will leak any worse than she
is leaking now."
But the leak was a more serious matter than the boys supposed that it
was. It increased slowly but surely, and by ten o'clock it became
necessary to pump the boat out every half-hour.
"Don't be worried about it," Charley said to Joe, who was becoming
alarmed at the rapidity with which the water flowed into the _Ghost_.
"If the pump won't keep her free, we can all get to work and bail. A
boat that four fellows and a pump couldn't keep afloat would be worse
than a sieve."
Still, the leak was not a pleasant thing, and Charley was not quite so
careless about it as he seemed to be.
Both the wind and sea had now gone down very decidedly, and the boys
were hoping that before long they would be able to set the mainsail. It
is true that they had no gaff, but by hooking the throat halyards into
the corner of the sail, it could be converted into a rude leg-of-mutton
sail, with the peak dangling and flapping in the air. Toward noon a
two-masted vessel came in sight, directly to leeward of them, though too
far off for them to make out her rig. They watched her carefully for an
hour, and could not see that her position changed in the least, except
that the distance between her and the _Ghost_ was diminishing.
"Boys," said Charley, "I think we can venture to cut loose from the
drag, and run down to that vessel under the jib. I think I can make out
her jib-boom now, and if I'm not mistaken she's steering westerly. Very
likely we can get her Captain to lend us a compass, or perhaps he can
give us something that will do for a gaff."
"And have we got to abandon our own gaff, and the cannon, and the rubber
blanket?" inquired Harry.
"There is too much sea for us to run the risk of trying to get them on
board again," answered Charley. "I'm sorry to lose the cannon, for it
did us good service in Hempstead Bay; but we shall never see it again.
Run up the jib, Joe, and, Tom, you get hold of the cable and walk aft
with it, so as to give the boat a sheer to port. We want to be quick
about it, and Joe must have the hatchet ready to cut the cable the
moment the jib fills."
The manoeuvre was successfully accomplished, and the _Ghost_ ran down
toward the strange vessel. As she neared the stranger, the latter proved
to be a deserted brig. Her sails were all furled except the maintopsail,
which had blown out of the bolt-ropes, and she was evidently
water-logged, for she was very low in the water, and occasionally a wave
seemed to wash clear over her, as she rolled in the trough of the sea.
"We've wasted our time," cried Tom. "She's worse off than we are."
"That may be," said Charley, "but I think we had better try to get on
board of her. She isn't going to sink, for she must have had all the
water in her that she will hold a long while ago. Let's board her
anyhow, and see if we can get a compass."
[Illustration: BOARDING THE WATER-LOGGED BRIG.]
It was a delicate matter to board the brig with the sea that was still
running. The _Ghost_ was brought around her stern, and near enough to
her main-chains for Tom to leap into them with a rope in his hand, while
Charley, using an oar as a fender, prevented the brig and the boat from
coming together. The rope, which was the peak halyard, used as a
painter, was made fast to the brig, and then the _Ghost_ was carefully
hauled up, until Harry was near enough to jump. The same process was
repeated until the other two boys had joined Tom and Harry, and then the
_Ghost_ was permitted to drift away as far as her painter would let her.
Climbing into the main-rigging, so as to be out of the reach of the
water, the boys remained long enough to see that the seas which came on
board the brig were not heavy enough to be dangerous. She was apparently
a French vessel, and Charley thought that she was probably loaded with
timber. The quarter-deck was dry, except for the spray which now and
then flew over it, and the boys felt no fear in coming down from the
rigging, and looking into the binnacle to see if the compass was still
there. The moment Charley saw the compass, he cried out: "Boys, the wind
has changed, and is very nearly southeast. What do you say to sailing
the brig into New York, and getting a pile of salvage money?"
"Will she sail?" asked Tom.
"Can we sail her?" asked Harry.
"She's awfully wet," remarked Joe.
"I think we can sail her into port if the wind holds, and her steering
gear is all right, as it looks to be. I say let's try it. We can tow the
_Ghost_, and she will always be ready for us if we want to abandon the
brig."
"Don't let's decide in a hurry," said Tom. "It will be slow work getting
this water-logged vessel into New York, and I don't believe we have
fresh-water enough to last us more than two days longer."
"There's a water cask on deck right in plain sight," exclaimed Charley.
"I can see from here that the bung is in, so it must have fresh-water in
it. Hold on till I try the wheel. There! I told you so. The rudder and
steering gear are all right. Now if you'll agree to try what we can do
with the brig, I'll jump up and loose the fore-topsail, and we'll have
it set in a jiffy. Come, now, it's a splendid chance for us, and we
ought not to lose it."
"Go ahead, Charley," cried the boys, catching their leader's enthusiasm.
"Give us our orders, and we'll sail the brig in if we can do it."
"Then come forward with me, and we'll set the head-sails, and get her
out of the trough of the sea."
[TO BE CONTINUED.]
'TIS HARD TO BELIEVE.
BY MARGARET EYTINGE.
Very-warm was the day, very drowsy and still,
And the farmer sat reading the news;
And the wife of the farmer was milking the cow,
And his eldest son blacking his shoes;
And the ma of the farmer was on the back porch
Making apple and blackberry pies,
With the farmer's wee girl in a chair by her side,
Looking at her with sleepy blue eyes.
And the maid in the kitchen was washing the plates,
With many "Oh, dears!" and "Oh, mys!"
And the house-dog was lying upon the door-mat,
A-lazily snapping at flies,
When some Naps, just escaped from the country of Nod,
Came noiselessly flying that way;
And the funniest pranks that small Naps ever played,
In a moment they managed to play.
From the hands of the farmer the paper they snatched,
From his head jerked the kerchief of silk;
And they tumbled his wife from her stool 'gainst the cow,
And away went the pail of new milk.
They jogged the boy's elbow, and up flew his arm,
And the blacking splashed over his nose;
And they charmed the poor maid with a nice little dream,
And then dropped a big plate on her toes.
Close together they brought Pompey's teeth with a bang,
Just catching the tip of his tongue;
And the ma of the farmer they teased, till at last
Half her fruit in the garden she flung.
And they closed Baby's eyes, and she slid from the chair,
And lay on the floor in a heap;
And yet these same Naps, though 'tis hard to believe,
Are the children of quiet Dame Sleep.
[Illustration: "A FAIR EXCHANGE."--FROM A PAINTING BY MEYER VON BREMEN.]
TAKING HIS PLACE.
BY LILLIE E. BARR.
"Oh, Charlie! Why did you do it? On my birthday too! I am so sorry, for
now you will miss all the fun of the Fourth." And as she spoke, Mary sat
down, dangling her broad hat by one string, and looked disconsolately at
her brother, who had been sent to bed as a punishment.
"How was I to know that just a little bunch of fire-crackers like that
was going to smash the goblet? I did not think it would do anything but
just lift it up some."
"Who told you to do such a thing, Charlie?"
"Nobody; I thought of it myself. Oh dear! I wish I had a grandma, or an
aunt, or somebody like that!"
"What for, Charlie? I am sure nobody could be half so good as mamma."
"I like grandmas and aunts. Eddie Bates has a grandmamma, and she always
gets him out of scrapes; and Tom Taylor has an aunt that does lots of
things for him. People ought not to get married if they don't have
mothers and sisters to make grandmas and aunts for fellows who are
always getting blamed for nothing at all."
"But, Charlie, you did break the glass."
"No, I didn't either; the fire-crackers broke it. Oh, dear! dear! I wish
there wasn't any Fourth of July, nor fire-crackers, nor nothing! What's
the use of fire-crackers, if a fellow can't fire them off? It was real
mean to let me spend all my money on fire-crackers, and then not let me
have any fun with them. There's my pin-wheel too. I promised Bates to
fasten it to the top of the highest clothes-pole in his back yard
to-night."
"I am so sorry, Charlie dear!"
"And, Mary, I am so dreadfully hot. I have got a raging fever; I know I
have."
"Why do you not say you are sorry?" suggested Mary.
"Didn't I say so?--over, and over, and over. And father just said he
thought bed was the best place for boys who exploded fire-crackers under
goblets. If I was a father, and wanted to kill a boy, I'd do it out and
out, and not roast him to death in bed on a Fourth of July. I wouldn't
for millions of dollars send a poor boy to bed on his sister's eighth
birthday." But what particular attention was due to his sister's eighth
birthday Charlie did not explain.
"You knew the crackers would break the goblet."
"No, I didn't; I never saw them smash one. Didn't they bang, though?"
And at the recollection Charlie's eyes grew bright, and a delighted
expression illumined his sombre little face. The next moment, however,
he was crying bitterly; and Mary, having watched him a moment, ran down
stairs, just in time to stop her father as he was going out.
"Papa, please forgive Charlie. He is so sorry, and he wants to go out so
much!"
"He must have a lesson, Mary, that will teach him not to be so
destructive." But he added, smiling, "If you choose to take his place,
Charlie may go out."
Mary bounded away to her brother's room. "Papa says you may go out,
Charlie. Get up, dear."
Charlie needed no second bidding, and he asked no questions. Five
minutes later he was explaining to Eddie Bates the principles upon which
he had blown a goblet all to smithereens in his back yard.
What a glorious Fourth it was! Charlie did not go home until tea-time.
He would not have gone then, but that his pin-wheel and the rockets were
under his clean shirts in the bottom drawer of his bureau, and must be
gone for.
Up stairs he ran, as gay as a cricket, and burst into his room. "Let me
see; they are in this one. Bother! Where did I put them?"
"What are you looking for, Charlie?"
"What are you doing in bed?"
"Taking your place."
"What!"
"Papa said if I would take your place, you might go out; and girls do
not care much about the Fourth of July," said Mary, cheerily.
"And you have been in bed all day?"
"Of course; papa said you were to stay in bed all day, and I am taking
your place."
"But you are not me."
"But I am your substitute."
"Oh, Mary, you dear, dear, darling sister! you are better than all the
grandmothers and aunts in the world: catch them going to bed a whole day
for a fellow!" cried Charlie, kissing her proudly.
"I am very, very glad I took your place, Charlie."
"You get up now, Mary, and I'll give you my pin-wheel and my rockets,
and you and Ella Bates can fire them all off. I wouldn't be so mean as
to let you lie there any longer," said Charlie, beginning to remove his
coat.
"That will do, Charlie," said papa, coming into the room. "Get up, my
little daughter; Charlie has learned his lesson, I am sure."
"Indeed I have, papa, and I am real sorry."
That same evening Eddie Bates was boasting to a crowd of boys about his
grandmother having saved him from an evening of sorrow in his own room,
when Charlie spoke up:
"Grandmas and aunts are all well enough, boys, but sisters are a heap
better. You just listen." And in a voice of pride and love he related
his sister's generous act.
And the gay little crowd gave Mary three cheers and a tiger, besides
firing off nine starry rockets simultaneously in her honor.
BOBBY BOY AND ROBIN BIRD.
BY KITTY CLOVER.
"Oh, Robin, Robin bird,
Wise as wise can be,
Why do you sit on the chestnut bough,
Nodding your head at me?
Haven't you any work to do,
Hopping about all day?
Is it the whole of a Robin's life
To whistle, and eat, and play?"
"Oh, Bobby, Bobby boy,
Why shouldn't I look at you?
If I am only a little bird,
I have plenty of work to do.
Don't you whistle, and eat, and play,
And play, and whistle, and eat?
Don't I see you at breakfast-time,
And out in the sunny street?"
"Yes, but Robin, Robin bird,
I study as well as play;
I'm half-way through my spelling-book,
And many a lesson I say;
But you don't have any books to read,
A life that you must enjoy;
I wish I was only a Robin bird,
Instead of a Bobby boy."
"Ah, Bobby, Bobby boy,
You don't know what you say;
There's nobody longing to eat you up,
Whenever you go to play;
There's nobody ready to hunt your nest,
And steal your innocent brood,
Or shoot you at sight with a horrid gun
If you venture into the wood.
"But yonder the cat sits blinking
Her great green eyes, you see;
She'd break every bone in my body
If she got her claws on me.
I never can be any other
Than only a Robin, you know,
While you, perhaps, from a little boy,
A tall, strong man, will grow,
"And maybe win fame and honor,
Wherever your name is heard,
While my greatest-grandson Robin
Will be nothing but a bird.
So don't be idly wishing,
For God knew best, you see,
When He made you a pretty Bobby boy,
Instead of a Robin like me."
[Illustration: QUEEN ELIZABETH AT THE AGE OF SIXTEEN.--FROM A PAINTING
BY MILLAIS.]
QUEEN ELIZABETH'S YOUTH.
Elizabeth Tudor, the famous Queen, was born September 7, 1533, at a
beautiful palace on the Thames, at Greenwich. Her father was the cruel
Henry VIII., the husband of six wives in succession; her mother, the
fair, unfortunate Anne Boleyn. Her birth was the occasion of a splendid
ceremony. At her baptism the Lord Mayor of London and his officers came
in state to Greenwich, clad in gold and purple. The nobility and the
clergy assembled, and brought rich gifts of gold, silver, and jewels.
The trumpets sounded, the people cheered, and the infant princess was
brought back to the palace with blazing torches by a crowd of gayly clad
attendants. For nearly three years she was looked upon as the heir to
the crown; a palace was given her, and she seemed destined only to good
fortune. But now her cruel father cut off her mother Anne Boleyn's head,
and married another. Elizabeth was neglected, and was left without
clothes, and almost without food. "She hath neither gown, nor kirtle,
nor petticoat," wrote her governess of her, and "no meat at home." Her
father forgot his child, and seemed almost to desire that she might die,
like her mother.
His third wife, Jane Seymour, died, leaving a son Edward, who was to be
King of England. Elizabeth was now treated with kindness, and formed a
strong affection for her young brother. She was about four years older
than he was. As they grew up, they were educated together in the same
palace, and had the same tutors. They studied Greek, Latin, Italian,
French, and learned to write well. At twelve, Elizabeth could compose in
French and Italian; and when Edward was about twelve, he began to keep a
journal, which is still read with pleasure. Their elder sister, Mary
Tudor, afterward the cruel Queen, was sometimes with them. Their father,
Henry VIII., gave them excellent teachers, and they lived in happiness
together for several years. But Henry had in the mean time divorced one
wife (Anne of Cleves), cut off the head of another (Katharine Howard),
and finally married a widow, Katharine Parr, who outlived him. He died
in 1547. When the news of his death was brought to Elizabeth and Edward,
who were in the room together, they burst into floods of tears.
Edward went up to London and became King at nine years of age. Elizabeth
fell into bad health, grew pale and thin, and for many months seemed
scarcely to hope for life. She wrote sometimes to Edward, and their
fondness for each other still continued. She grew up tall, fair, her
eyes blue, her hair red or auburn, her nose prominent, her manners
pleasant and attractive. She played on the viol, danced, sang, read
Greek, spoke Latin easily, and was fond of literature; she made
translations from the Italian, and was one of the most intelligent
persons of the time. At this period she dressed very plainly, and lived
a studious life. In 1553 Edward died, at sixteen. Mary, his elder
sister, became Queen, and at one moment wished to put Elizabeth to
death. She was carried to the Tower, passed through the Traitor's Gate,
and was a prisoner for many months. At last Mary relented, and set her
free. Mary died in 1558, and Elizabeth became Queen of England.
Her life can scarcely be called a happy one, for she was in constant
danger of assassination, and her enemies on all sides threatened to
deprive her of her crown. Her chief rival and foe was her second cousin,
Mary Queen of Scots. Mary was Queen of Scotland, and claimed to be Queen
of England. She said Elizabeth had no right to the throne. Mary was
suspected of murdering her husband Darnley, was driven from Scotland by
the people, and became Elizabeth's prisoner for nineteen years. She was
always plotting against her cousin; sometimes she planned the
assassination of the Queen with the discontented English, and sometimes
she called upon the Kings of France and Spain to invade England, and
place her on its throne. Mary's long captivity and various misfortunes
have made her an object of lasting interest. Like all the Tudors, she
was very intelligent and very cruel. Elizabeth kept her for nineteen
years a state prisoner in different castles. At last, when some new plot
was discovered, it was thought necessary to put her to death. Elizabeth
signed the order for her cousin's execution with tears and hesitation.
She had, no doubt, some humanity.
Soon after, Philip II. of Spain sent the great Armada to conquer England
and destroy Elizabeth; but the brave English sailors defeated the
Spaniards, and the great fleet was dashed to pieces on the coasts of
Scotland and Ireland. Elizabeth's reign was a very famous one.
Shakspeare and Spenser were its poets, Bacon, Cecil, and Raleigh its
active leaders. The Queen was always fond of reading, and spoke Latin to
the students at Oxford. But she grew vain, proud, and forgot her early
simplicity. At sixteen, she had worn only plain clothes, and lived in
quiet study; at sixty, she covered herself with laces, brocades, and
satins, and left, at her death, three thousand costly dresses and eighty
wigs. She never married; and when she died, in 1603, James I., the son
of her cousin and rival, Mary Queen of Scots, became King.
[Begun in HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE No. 87, June 28.]
AUNT RUTH'S TEMPTATION.
BY MRS. JOHN LILLIE.
CHAPTER III.
I suppose it was the excitement of the performance which, a little
later, roused me to some enjoyment of the evening. We had a merry tea
party in our costumes before the play began, and when it came my turn to
appear, I found employment enough for all my senses. I must own to no
small discomfiture when I found myself upon the stage. I had expected to
make quite a success, but the crowd of faces, the lights, the
consciousness of being listened to, perhaps the guilty burden on my
heart and soul, confused me. I spoke and acted very badly, and tears of
vexation were in my eyes when I left the stage.
"Don't be so frightened, Ruth," Mr. Ludlow whispered. "It really is of
no _great_ consequence what people think of it, you know."
So the play continued. The great success of the evening was Kate's, and
it was due to her playing a part which all the audience knew was like
her own: a loving, unselfish, charitable woman, whose part it was to
bring about a happy ending to the little play. Kate had thought so
little of herself and her own part in the play that she seemed surprised
and confused by the applause and congratulations. Everybody was in good
spirits when we went down to supper, and all had so much to say to each
other about the play that for a few moments I felt somewhat neglected. I
stood near a window in the supper-room, concealed from view by heavy
curtains, and now that the play was over, I realized fully the
wickedness of the thing I had done. As I stood there, bitterly
regretting that I had not obeyed my father's instructions, I could not
help overhearing a portion of a conversation that was held just outside
the heavy draperies behind which I stood. A lady's voice, that was at
first unfamiliar to me, said, "Yes, she has wonderfully fine qualities,
but she is eaten up with selfishness. I think it such a dreadful shame.
Why, all C---- talks of the way Winifred is sacrificed to her."
"I can not believe she is naturally so selfish," the other voice said,
and I recognized it as Mr. Ludlow's. "It is true, she never seems to
consider any one but herself, but I think it is the fault of her
education."
"But," persisted the other voice, which I now remembered was that of
Mrs. Judson's sister--a lady who lived in New York, and was a great
friend of Cousin Mary's--"but you don't know the life poor Winny leads,
so shut up, hard-worked with those children, never given any sort of
amusement, while Ruth grasps everything; and now I hear that Winifred is
very ill...."
More was said, but I lost the words. The lady moved away; Mr. Ludlow
remained standing by the table. I could hear the music in the distance,
and the sounds of laughter and merry-making jarred upon me painfully.
Finally I thrust back the curtains, and stood before Mr. Ludlow, the
tears streaming down my cheeks.
"Oh, Mr. Ludlow," I exclaimed, brokenly, "it is all true; I am just
that--a miserable, selfish girl." And flinging myself into a chair, I
put my head down upon the table, giving way to a fresh burst of tears.
Mr. Ludlow did not speak for a moment; he let me weep silently. Then I
felt his hand on my head.
"I am not sorry you overheard us, Ruthie," he said, in his kindest
voice. "Perhaps, dear child, this was the lesson you needed."
I shook my head, and sobbed freshly. "Oh, but you don't know all!" I
exclaimed. "I have been so bad! I am not only selfish, but a liar."