coins, nor supply catalogues. Refer to advertisements of dealers.
J. R. AVERY.--You can buy a very good 1834 half-dollar from a
coin-dealer for 75c.
H. L. UNDERHILL.--Your stamp is a Swiss revenue stamp.
H. LEK. DEMAREST.--An unused U.S. stamp which has been creased
cannot have the crease removed without taking off the original gum.
Trondhjem stamps are Norway locals. A revenue stamp with one side
unperforated is worth a little less than one with all four sides
perforated.
D. D. WARDWELL.--Apply to any dealer for list of S.S.S.S. stamps.
Confederate bills are worthless, as there are millions of them in
existence. The San Francisco find of $20,000 U.S. Revenues will not
affect the value of the stamps.
G. H. C. and E. D. BEALS.--No value.
C. W. WALKER.--The half-penny is worthless. U.S. half-cent, 1809,
is worth 10c.
J. SMYTHE.--I know very few collectors of postal cards, and
personally never collected them. I think it would pay you to join
the Postal-Card Society if you are going to collect cards on
anything like a fair scale. At auctions postal cards bring very
small prices, but probably there are no rarities in the lots
offered in this way.
A. A. FISCHER.--The water-marks on the Tuscany stamps, first issue,
are in four horizontal rows of three crowns in each row. It
requires quite a block to see an entire crown. The second issue is
on a paper bearing interlacing lines, with an inscription running
diagonally from the lower left to the upper right corner.
PHILATUS.
[Illustration: IVORY SOAP]
IMPORTANT BOOKS
_PUBLISHED RECENTLY_
* * * * *
George Washington
By WOODROW WILSON, Ph.D., LL.D. Copiously Illustrated by HOWARD PYLE,
HARRY FENN, and Others. Crown 8vo, Cloth, Deckel Edges and Gilt Top,
$3.00.
We doubt if the career of Washington has ever received worthier
treatment at the hands of biographer, historian, or political
philosopher.--_Dial_, Chicago.
A familiar and delightful study of Washington.... We do not recall
a popular work on Washington of more graphic interest than
Professor Wilson's performance.--_Philadelphia Bulletin._
"Harper's Round Table" for 1896
Volume XVII. With 1276 Pages and about 1200 Illustrations. 4to, Cloth,
Ornamental, $3.50.
The book is one which is sure to delight all the
children.--_Detroit Free Press._
One of the best periodicals for children ever
published.--_Philadelphia Ledger._
Naval Actions of the War of 1812
By JAMES BARNES. With 21 Full-page Illustrations by CARLTON T. CHAPMAN,
printed in color, and 12 Reproductions of Medals. 8vo, Cloth,
Ornamental, Deckel Edges and Gilt Top, $4.50.
Unquestionably both the most lifelike and the most artistic
renderings of these encounters ever attempted.--_Boston Journal._
Brimful of adventure, hardihood, and patriotism.--_Philadelphia
Ledger._
The Dwarfs' Tailor
And Other Fairy Tales. Collected by ZOE DANA UNDERHILL. With 12
Illustrations. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.75.
The twenty-two tales form a cosmopolitan array that cannot fail to
delight young readers.--_Chicago Tribune._
Fascinating for old and young.--_Boston Traveller._
A Virginia Cavalier
A Story of the Youth of George Washington. By MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL.
Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.50.
Warmly commended to all young American readers.--_Chicago
Inter-Ocean._
An absorbing tale.--_Philadelphia Bulletin._
Rick Dale
A Story of the Northwest Coast, By KIRK MUNROE. Illustrated by W. A.
ROGERS. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.
Lively and exciting, and has, incidentally, much first-hand
information about the far Northwest.--_Outlook_, N. Y.
Capital story of adventure.--_Philadelphia Evening Bulletin._
* * * * *
HARPER & BROTHERS, Publishers, New York
THAT MYSTERY TRIP.
Answers and Money Awards in that Exciting Contest about a Queer Journey.
The Mystery Trip story proved a mystery indeed to many, for while the
puzzle was rather easy, it scared out not a few contestants by its
looks--like the famous animal in the Bunyan narrative. And the questions
thought by most solvers to be the hardest proved to the successful ones
the easiest. For example, the great majority could not find "Tidbottom's
spectacles," nor guess the riddles. The first-prize winner failed on one
of the easy questions--What was the sea of darkness?--but answered
everything else. His name is Herbert Wiswell, and he lives in Melrose,
Mass.; and since he did so much better than any one else he is awarded a
big prize--$25 in cash. The next two winners are girls. One is Anna
Whitall James, of Riverton, N. J., and the other Bessie Steele, of
Chicago. They did almost equally well, but not quite the same. So to the
former is given $5 and the latter $3. To the other eight of the best
ten--in addition to the first big prize--the offer was to divide $40
among the best ten--$1 each is awarded. Their names follow in order: De
F. Porter Rudd, of Connecticut; Franklin A. Johnston, New York; Bryant
K. Hussey, of Illinois; J. Lawrence Hyde, of Washington; W. Putnam, of
New York; Fred P. Moore, of Massachusetts; J. Lurie, of New York; and G.
Edwin Taylor, of Pennsylvania.
The following are placed on the honor list. All found at least 33 of the
37 questions: Freida G. Vroom, of New Jersey; Nannie R. Nevins, of New
York; Maud G. Corcoran, of Maryland; Robert Meiklejohn, Jr., of Ohio;
Ernest Haines, of New York; Frank J. and S. N. Hallett, of Rhode Island;
Robert C. Hatfield and William J. Culp, of Pennsylvania; Margaret A.
Bulkley and Rose G. Wood, of Michigan; and Claude S. Smith, of New York.
Here are the answers to the questions: 1. A travelling-rug that would
transport its owner anywhere he wished to go. 2. A golden arrow given
him by the gods which rendered him invisible as he rode through the air.
3. Vulcan. 4. Spectacles that enabled their wearers to see real
character beneath an assumed one. (See George Wm. Curtis's _Prue and
I_.) 5. A broom which he put at his ship's mast-head to indicate he
intended to sweep all before him. 6. A Druid monument near Aylesford, in
England. 7. Don Quixote. 8. Rosinante. 9. Dean Swift. 10. John Brown's
dog "Rab." 11. One that could cover an army and yet be carried, when
desired, in one's pocket. 12. An offering given to the priest at
Whitsuntide according to the number of chimneys in his parish. 13. Roman
coins dug up at Silchester, in England. 14. Old German coins made to
unscrew; inscriptions were placed inside. 15. The Gate of Dreams. 16. An
old name for the Atlantic Ocean. 17. A ship made by the dwarfs, large
enough to hold all the gods, which always commanded a prosperous gale;
it could be folded up like a sheet of paper and put into a purse when
not in use. 18. The flying island, inhabited by scientific quacks,
visited by Gulliver in his travels. 19. A mountain which drew all of the
nails out of any ship which came within reach of its magnetic influence.
20. Scotland. 21. Roger Bacon. 22. Charles II. 23. Garibaldi. 24. Robert
Southey. 25. Should have been "budge," not "bridge." The question is
therefore ruled out--that is, none who missed it had the error counted
against them. The answer is: a company of men dressed in long gowns,
lined with budge or lamb's wool, who used to accompany the Lord Mayor of
London on his inauguration. 26. Something made of all the scraps in the
larder. (See _Merry Wives of Windsor_.) 27. An imaginary land of plenty,
where roast pigs ran about squealing "Who'll eat me?" 28. The Escurial.
29. Caverns in the chalk cliffs of Essex, England. 30. An old jail in
Edinburgh, Scotland. 31. A curious stone in Mexico cut with figures
denoting time. 32. Corea. 33. December 13, 1688. 34. Simple people in
the time of King John who danced about a thorn-bush to keep captive a
cuckoo. 35. A badge worn by those who received parish relief in the
reign of William III.; it consisted of the letter P, with the initial of
the parish where the owner belonged in red or blue cloth, on the
shoulder of the right sleeve. 36. The paper that enclosed the cartridges
which were used in the Civil War. 37. A bookworm.
* * * * *
Boys will be Boys.
In the _Life and Letters of Dr. Samuel Butler_ recently published, it is
shown that the saying "boys will be boys" was as true many years ago as
it is to-day.
"There was a certain Exciseman in Shrewsbury who was very trim and neat
in his attire, but who had a nose of more than usual size. As he passed
through the school-lane the boys used to call him 'Nosey,' and this made
him so angry that he complained to Dr. Butler, who sympathized, and sent
for the head boy, to whom he gave strict injunctions that the boys
should not say 'Nosey' any more.
"Next day, however, the Exciseman reappeared, even more angry than
before. It seems that not a boy had said 'Nosey,' but that as soon as he
was seen the boys ranged themselves in two lines, through which he must
pass, and all fixed their eyes intently upon his nose. Again Dr. Butler
summoned the head boy, and spoke more sharply. 'You have no business,'
said he, 'to annoy a man who is passing through the school on his lawful
occasions; don't look at him.' But again the Exciseman returned to Dr.
Butler, furious with indignation, for this time, as soon as he was seen,
every boy had covered his face with his hand until he had gone by."
* * * * *
Signs of Coming Events.
Burning ears indicate, you know, that we are being talked about.
When the right ear burns, something to our advantage is being said;
when the left ear is troubled, something detrimental is being said.
An old darky I knew of had a spell to stop this kind of gossip. She
spat on her finger, made the sign of a cross on her ear, and said,
"If yer talkin' good, good betide ye;
Talkin' bad, hope de debil ride ye."
"Mother Goose" is responsible for the following:
"If you sneeze on Monday, you sneeze for danger.
Sneeze on a Tuesday, kiss a stranger.
Sneeze on a Wednesday, sneeze for a letter.
Sneeze on a Thursday, something better.
Sneeze on a Friday, sneeze for sorrow.
Sneeze on a Saturday, see your sweetheart to-morrow."
EUGENE ASHFORD.
PORTLAND, OREGON.
A cat eating grass is a sign of rain.
"Evening red and morning gray
Lets the traveller on his way.
Evening gray and morning red
Brings down rain on the traveller's head."
Snow lingering on the ground is a sign that the winter will be
severe.
Stumbling up stairs is a sign of your marriage within the year.
ROSA ELIZABETH HUTCHINSON, R.T.F.
MONTCLAIR.
* * * * *
Knew Himself Best.
The Rev. John Watson, who has written several successful books under the
_nom de plume_ of "Ian Maclaren," recently visited this country--his
home is in Liverpool, England--where he met with wonderful success on a
lecture tour. Just before departing for his home he met a New York
editor who was a class-mate of his at school years ago in Edinburgh,
Scotland. Calling him familiarly by his first name, as of old, Dr.
Watson, in response to congratulations, said: "I am glad this success
did not come to me when I was young. Why, Dave, if this had happened
when I was twenty-one, it would have turned my head, and I should have
thought myself a very great man! But now I know better."
* * * * *
Funny Incidents with Unfamiliar Languages.
The late George du Maurier, an account of whose early student days has
recently been published by Messrs. Harper & Brothers, was once much put
out by an Englishman who took him for a Frenchman. The two conversed for
a while in French, the Englishman stumbling through the conversation,
thinking it necessary to bring into service all the French he knew in
order to make himself understood by this greatest of English satirists.
But Du Maurier was not the only man to have this experience. Some years
ago a party of four American gentlemen met, in the park at Versailles,
four American ladies whose acquaintance they had made some months before
in Germany. Desiring to treat them to a carriage ride, one of the
gentlemen motioned to a cab that stood near. Supposing cabby to be
French because he was in France, the eight summoned their best French,
and, after a great deal of difficulty, in which cabby seemed dull and
the Americans unable to give a French pronunciation to their French,
succeeded in fixing upon a price for a two-hour ride. As four of the
party were about to enter the carriage, one lady objected to the small
seat. The cabby desired, so it afterward developed, to tell the lady she
could sit on the front seat with him. Thinking of an inducement for so
doing, he undertook to express it by bending over, shaking his trousers,
then his coat tails, next his coat collar, and lastly his mustaches,
which he pulled to their greatest length, having first inflated his
cheeks to their fullest extent. His performance was so ludicrous that
the whole party laughed, and some lady, in true American vernacular,
shouted,
"Well, I never!"
The man straightened up instantly. "Are you folks English?" he
ejaculated. Assured that they were next thing to English, and that they
could not speak French, cabby said, "Neither can I."
"But what were you trying to say by those antics just now?"
"That it would be cooler on the high front seat," said cabby.
Of course the objection to the seat was waived, and the party, not put
out as was Du Maurier, enjoyed a hearty laugh over their half-hour
wasted in trying to make a bargain with cabby in a language that neither
they nor he understood.
* * * * *
Societies Active in Good Deeds.
I write to tell you of the success of the Iris Club, of which I
told you in the fall. After I wrote, we decided not to give our
dues to a "home," but to give a church fair instead. It was a big
undertaking for five schoolgirls, busy with lessons and music, but
would bravely, making as many articles as possible. I made about
one hundred. We got tickets printed free, and the fair was held at
our house. Several ladies furnished music, and tickets, including
ice-cream, were fifteen cents. We sold plants, embroidery, and
other things on commission. So, although we took in $65, when
everything was paid for we had $53.60 to give to the church. At the
fair we had five tables, and then one large cake-table, besides a
Wheel of Fortune and a fortune-teller. We asked all our friends for
cakes and articles for sale, and the girls acted as waitresses. It
was a great success, and the club justly feels proud of it.
Besides the Iris, another club, the Drumtochty, has been started
here, also a benevolent institution, for making clothes for poor
children. We meet every week, and we sew our garments. After they
are finished we keep them until a poor family is found. Instead of
reading books, the Iris reads "A Loyal Traitor," in HARPER'S ROUND
TABLE, and enjoys it very much. We wish success to any other young
society trying to do good.
ADELAIDE L. W. ERMENTROUT, Secretary.
"GRANSTEIN."
* * * * *
National Amateur Press Association.
Undoubtedly one of the most interesting and beneficial hobbies of
young people is amateur journalism. The chief promoter of this
cause in the United States is the National Amateur Press
Association, an organization consisting of upward of three hundred
members scattered all over the country. Conventions are held every
year, when new officers are elected and other business transacted.
The last one was held at Washington, D. C., and was a success in
every way. The next convention will be held in San Francisco,
California. For the nominal sum of $1 any one interested to that
amount is admitted to membership. A large number of papers are
issued by different amateurs of the association, which are sent to
all members, free of charge. Mr. Allison Brocaw, Litchfield,
Minnesota, is at present recruiting chairman, and will supply any
one interested with further information.
ELMER B. BOYD.
[Illustration: THE CAMERA CLUB]
Any questions in regard to photograph matters will be willingly
answered by the Editor of this column, and we should be glad to
hear from any of our club who can make helpful suggestions.
A NEW PROCESS FOR SENSITIZING PAPER.
In the _American Annual of Photography for 1896_, Mr. E. W. Newcomb
tells how to make vignettes with an atomizer by spraying the paper with
a sensitive solution. This seemed such a clever idea that the editor
made a trial of the method, and found that many artistic effects could
be produced in this way which could not be made by any other process
either of printing or sensitizing the paper.
The sensitizing solution can be applied so as to obtain any form
desired, and paper thus prepared may be used in many different ways not
possible with a paper which is coated all over evenly.
The atomizer must be of hard rubber--both tube and stopper--as metal
either corrodes or injures the sensitive solution. The spray must be so
fine that it is almost a mist, and the atomizer should be tried before
purchasing. Clear water will do to test the fineness of the spray.
The first experiments should be made with the blue-print solution, as
this is not only cheaper, but easier to prepare and handle, and when dry
it shows just where the solution has been applied. Pin the paper by the
corners to a smooth board, set it in an upright position, and holding
the atomizer perhaps a foot away from the paper, direct the spray to the
place on the paper where the heaviest printing is intended. Squeeze the
bulb gently, so that the solution will not soak into the paper, and at
the edges, where the solution must be applied lightly in order to
produce vignetted effects, hold the spray farther away from the paper.
By a little practice one can soon make any shaped vignette desired.
If any member of our Camera Club is looking for some new way of making
prints for gifts, here is a suggestion: Cut plain salted paper in sheets
8 by 10 in. in size. Take an 8 by 10 in. card-mount, and cut out a
square from the centre, leaving a margin 1 in. wide on one side and at
the top and bottom, and on the other side a margin 1-1/2 in. wide. Over
the corners of this mat paste triangles of paper in the way that corners
are made for desk-blotters, pasting the edges down on one side, and on
the other leaving the paper free from the card-board, so that a sheet of
paper may be slipped under the corners. Take a piece of plain paper,
slip it into the mat--the corners holding it in place--turn it over, and
hanging or fastening it against the wall, spray it with the sensitive
solution in the places where you wish to print pictures. The mat made of
card-board protects the edges of the sensitive paper, and makes a nice
wide margin. Half a dozen sheets sensitized, printed, and bound together
with an attractive cover, either made of rough paper or some fancy
card-board, will make a pretty gift for a friend, and something that
will not be duplicated. To make a more elaborate present, select some
familiar poem, easily illustrated, choose negatives which will make
appropriate pictures for it, print, wash, and dry the pictures, then
with French blue water-color letter the verses of the poem in the clear
spaces left on the paper. If a little taste is used in arranging and
printing the pictures, putting them in different places on the sheet,
one can make a very artistic little booklet. The side of the paper with
the 1-1/2 in. margin is the edge for binding. If a touch of gold is
given to the lettering the effect is more striking. Small cakes of what
is called water-color gold may be bought for 10c. or 15c., and is the
kind used for lettering on paper.
This way of sensitizing paper will suggest many ideas for decorative
work, such as menu-cards, letter-heads, calendars, mats for pictures,
etc. The blue-print solution is the simplest to use in preparing paper
in this manner, but the same result may be obtained with other
solutions. The formulas given for tinted sensitive solutions in previous
numbers of the ROUND TABLE could be used, and many delicate and
attractive tones be obtained. Prints made on paper sensitized with a
spray instead of being applied with a brush have the appearance of wash
drawings.
SIR KNIGHT HUGO KRETSCHMAR sends a number of negatives and asks
what is the matter with them. He explains that they were taken with
a No. 1 kodak on a day when the ground was covered with snow,
making an exposure of ten seconds. The trouble with the negatives
is that they are much over-exposed. Ten seconds is a long time to
expose a plate even on a dark day, and when the snow is on the
ground the exposure should be instantaneous, unless plate and lens
are both very slow. The best time to make snow pictures is early in
the morning or late in the afternoon, when the shadows are long. If
a slow plate is used, make an exposure of two seconds, and develop
as for a time picture. The camera which Sir Hugh asks about is a
good camera for a cheap camera.
SIR KNIGHT W. D. CAMPBELL, 420 Fifth St., Brooklyn, N. Y., asks if
some member of the club living in St. Louis, Mo., will send him a
view of the part of the city which was destroyed by the tornado. In
return he will send a good picture of the ocean greyhound
_Campania_.
SIR KNIGHT WILLIAM MERRITT, Rhinecliff, N. Y., wishes to exchange
some interesting views taken at Rhinecliff, N. Y., for some views
taken in Central Park, New York city. Will some of our New York
members write to Sir William? He would also like to exchange
scenery photographs with any of the members of the club.
Any member who does not receive a response to his request for
prints may have the same printed again, after a reasonable length
of time.
ADVERTISEMENTS.
Postage Stamps, &c.
[Illustration]
=STAMPS!= 300 genuine mixed Victoria, Cape, India, Japan, Etc., with Stamp
Album, only 10c. New 96-page price-list FREE. Approval Sheets, 50% com.
Agents Wanted. We buy old U.S. & Conf. Stamps & Collections. =STANDARD
STAMP CO., St. Louis, Mo., Est. 1885.=
[Illustration]
=ALBUM AND LIST FREE!= Also 100 all diff. Venezuela, Bolivia, etc., only
10c. Agts. wanted at 50% Com. =C. A. Stegmann=, 5941 Cote Brilliant Ave.,
St. Louis, Mo.
500
Mixed, Australian, etc., 10c.; =105 var.= Zululand, etc., and album, 10c.;
12 Africa, 10c.; 15 Asia, 10c. Bargain list free. F. P. VINCENT,
Chatham, N.Y.
=AGENTS WANTED=--50% com. Send references. Lists free. =J. T. Starr Stamp
Co.=, Coldwater, Mich.
1000
Best Stamp Hinges only =5=c. Agts. wt'd at 50%. List free.
=L. B. DOVER & CO.=, 5958 Theodosia, St. Louis, Mo.
U.S.
Postage and Rev. Fine approval sheets. Agts. wanted.
P. S. CHAPMAN, Box 151, Bridgeport, Ct.
"A perfect type of the highest order
of excellence in manufacture."
[Illustration: Walter Baker & Co.'s Breakfast Cocoa]
COSTS LESS THAN ONE CENT A CUP
Be sure that you get the
genuine article, made at
DORCHESTER, MASS.,
By WALTER BAKER & CO., Ltd.
Established 1780.
[Illustration: MEFISTO SCARF PIN]
A brand new joke; Mefisto's bulging eyes, bristling ears and ghastly
grin invite curiosity every time when worn on scarf or lapel, and it is
fully satisfied when by pressing the rubber ball concealed in your
inside pocket you souse your inquiring friend with water. Throws a
stream 30 feet; hose 16 in. long; 1-1/2 inch ball; handsome
Silver-oxidized face colored in hard enamel; worth 25c. as a pin and a
dollar as a joker; sent as a sample of our 3000 specialties with 112
page catalogue post-paid for ONLY 15c.; 2 for 25c.; $1.40 Doz. AGENTS
Wanted.
ROBT. H. INGERSOLL & BRO.,
Dept. No. 62, 65 & 67 Cortlandt Street, New York City.
ARE YOU CLEVER?
[Illustration]
$25.00 $15.00 $10.00
In Gold, will be paid to the three purchasers sending in the most
solutions of this novel Egg Puzzle. Interests & amuses young & old.
Requires patience & steady nerves. Send 15 cts. for Puzzle, (2 for 25
cts.) and learn how to secure a PRIZE.
Walter S. Coles, Neave Building, Cincinnati, O.
HOOPING-COUGH
CROUP.
Roche's Herbal Embrocation.
The celebrated and effectual English Cure without internal medicine.
Proprietors, W. EDWARD & SON, Queen Victoria St., London, England. All
Druggists.
E. Fougera & Co., 30 North William St., N. Y.
BOYS and GIRLS
can earn money by working half an hour daily distributing free samples
of Headache Powders. For full particulars address,
CAPITAL DRUG CO., Box 880, Augusta, Me.
PLAYS
Dialogues, Speakers for School,
Club and Parlor. Catalogue free.
T. S. DENISON, Publisher, Chisago, Ill.
HARPER & BROTHERS'