applauding it, while they complimented a young architect and sculptor,
whose work it was. His head was modestly bent as he received the
commendation, but in a moment he raised it, and turning to a very old
man in a professor's gown, whose hair was white with the snows of many
winters, he took him by the hand and presented him to the visitors.
"Gentlemen, this is the person you must thank for the pillar. Whatever
beauty it possesses, whatever expression it is of truth and religion, is
due to my master, whose kindness rescued me from idleness, whose skill
directed my youthful efforts."
SLUMBER SONG.
Sleep, little daughter!
Ay, chill is the weather,
But we in our cottage
Are cheerful together.
Father is sailing
Across the wild water;
Father in heaven
Smiles down on my daughter!
Sleep, little daughter!
The wind is abating;
Father is sailing,
And mother is waiting.
Soon he will come,
In the soft sunny weather;
Father in heaven
Will bring us together.
A STEAM CHAIR.
BY JIMMY BROWN.
I don't like Mr. Travers as much as I did. Of course I know he's a very
nice man, and he's going to be my brother when he marries Sue, and he
used to bring me candy sometimes, but he isn't what he used to be.
One time--that was last summer--he was always dreadfully anxious to hear
from the Post-office, and whenever he came to see Sue, and he and she
and I would be sitting on the front piazza, he would say, "Jimmy, I
think there must be a letter for me; I'll give you ten cents if you'll
go down to the Post-office"; and then Sue would say, "Don't run, Jimmy;
you'll get heart-disease if you do"; and I'd walk 'way down to the
Post-office, which is pretty near half a mile from our house. But now he
doesn't seem to care anything about his letters; and he and Sue sit in
the back parlor, and mother says I mustn't go in and disturb them; and I
don't get any more ten cents.
I've learned that it won't do to fix your affections on human beings,
for even the best of men won't keep on giving you ten cents forever. And
it wasn't fair for Mr. Travers to get angry with me the other night,
when it was all an accident--at least 'most all of it; and I don't think
it's manly for a man to stand by and see a sister shake a fellow that
isn't half her size, and especially when he never supposed that anything
was going to happen to her even if it did break.
When Aunt Eliza came to our house the last time, she brought a steam
chair; that's what she called it, though there wasn't any steam about
it. She brought it from Europe with her, and it was the queerest sort of
chair, that would all fold up, and had a kind of footstool to it, so
that you put your legs out and just lie down in it. Well, one day it
got broken. The back of the seat fell down, and shut Aunt Eliza up in
the chair so she couldn't get out, and didn't she just howl till
somebody came and helped her! She was so angry that she said she never
wanted to see that chair again, "And you may have it if you want it
Jimmy for you are a good boy sometimes when you want to be."
So I took the chair and mended it. The folks laughed at me, and said I
couldn't mend it to save my life; but I got some nails and some
mucilage, and mended it elegantly. Then mother let me get some varnish,
and I varnished the chair, and when it was done it looked so nice that
Sue said we'd keep it in the back parlor. Now I'm never allowed to sit
in the back parlor, so what good would my chair do me? But Sue said,
"Stuff and nonsense that boy's indulged now till he can't rest." So they
put my chair in the back parlor, just as if I'd been mending it on
purpose for Mr. Travers. I didn't say anything more about it; but after
it was in the back parlor I took out one or two screws that I thought
were not needed to hold it together, and used them for a boat that I was
making.
That night Mr. Travers came as usual, and after he had talked to mother
awhile about the weather, and he and father had agreed that it was a
shame that other folks hadn't given more money to the Michigan
sufferers, and that they weren't quite sure that the sufferers were a
worthy object, and that a good deal of harm was done by giving away
money to all sorts of people, Sue said:
"Perhaps we had better go into the back parlor; it is cooler there, and
we won't disturb father, who wants to think about something."
So she and Mr. Travers went into the back parlor, and shut the door, and
talked very loud at first about a whole lot of things, and then quieted
down, as they always did.
I was in the front parlor, reading _Robinson Crusoe_, and wishing I
could go and do likewise--like Crusoe, I mean; for I wouldn't go and sit
quietly in a back parlor with a girl, like Mr. Travers, not if you were
to pay me for it. I can't see what some fellows see in Sue. I'm sure if
Mr. Martin or Mr. Travers had her pull their hair once the way she pulls
mine sometimes, they wouldn't trust themselves alone with her very soon.
All at once we heard a dreadful crash in the back parlor, and Mr.
Travers said Good something very loud, and Sue shrieked as if she had a
needle run into her. Father and mother and I and the cook and the
chambermaid all rushed to see what was the matter.
[Illustration: "IT HAD SHUT UP LIKE A JACKKNIFE."]
The chair that I had mended, and that Sue had taken away from me, had
broken down while Mr. Travers was sitting in it, and it had shut up like
a jackknife, and caught him so he couldn't get out. It had caught Sue
too, who must have run to help him, or she never would have been in that
fix, with Mr. Travers holding her by the wrist, and her arm wedged in so
she couldn't pull it away.
Father managed to get them loose, and then Sue caught me and shook me
till I could hear my teeth rattle, and then she ran up stairs and locked
herself up; and Mr. Travers never offered to help me, but only said,
"I'll settle with you some day, young man," and then he went home. But
father sat down on the sofa and laughed, and said to mother:
"I guess Sue would have done better if she'd have let the boy keep his
chair."
I'm very sorry, of course, that an accident happened to the chair, but
I've got it up in my room now, and I've mended it again, and it's the
best chair you ever sat in.
[Illustration]
"TOO MANY COOKS SPOIL THE BROTH."
See our Harry, Rosie, Lil--
Restless darlings, never still;
In and out all day they run,
Little people, full of fun--
Rosie, Lil, and Harry.
"Here's a lovely pan!" they cry;
Mary, maid, has set it by.
"Let us all, while no one looks,
Play at being real cooks--
Lillie, Rosie, Harry.
"Tie on aprons, big and brown;
Careful, lift the old pot down;
Now we'll nicely fill it up;
Stir it, girls, and take a sup--
Harry, Lil, and Rosie.
"Not quite nice--pour pepper hot,
Oil, and treacle in the pot;
Salt and coffee; apples too--
Pop this one into the stew"--
Rosie, Lil, and Harry.
In goes all, from peas to paint--
Well may Mary all but faint.
Well may she declare, quite wroth,
"Many cooks do spoil the broth"--
Harry, Rosie, Lillie.
[Illustration]
Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross
To see a young woman upon a white horse;
Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes.
She will have music wherever she goes.
[Illustration: OUR POST-OFFICE BOX.]
TROY, KANSAS.
I am eight years of age. I can write, but not plain enough for
"tired eyes." I can set up type, and print in a small
printing-press, so I will print this letter. I have no pets, as we
stay in one place but a short time. I had a pretty kitty when we
were at home. One day mamma put some paper shoes on her feet, and
it was too funny to see how she acted. She shook one foot and then
another, until she got them off.
I have a sister named Bessie, nearly four years old, and every day
we take a long walk.
I go to school now, and read in the Fourth Reader, and study
arithmetic, spelling, geography, and writing.
I have taken HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE for over a year. I like
everything in it, but Jimmy Brown's are the funniest stories.
I see a great many interesting things, going from place to place,
but my letter is already too long, so I will close.
J. B.
* * * * *
The little Glastenbury girl who does not like cats has stirred up quite
a number of defenders for the household pet. We would like her to write
again, and let us know whether she has been converted by the friends of
puss.
GLENWOOD, IOWA.
I want to say a word to the girl who don't like cats. I have two
beauties--Skip, who is so black that mother calls him Prince of
Goree, and Bronk, a lovely blue Maltese. They have so many cute
little ways, and afford so much pleasure to us all, that I know
that little girl who "hated cats" would like these Western kitties.
Now let me tell how much I like the little paper. I have read every
number that has been published so far. Even father listened to
"Toby Tyler," and wondered why Mr. Otis had to kill Mr. Stubbs,
though he said he supposed Uncle Daniel would not know what to do
with a monkey, and it was lucky he was killed. Jimmy Brown affords
us great amusement. I wonder who the real Jimmy is! YOUNG PEOPLE
reaches us on Saturday, and that is a happy day for
CADDIE KING.
* * * * *
MOLOKAI, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
I am a little boy ten years old, and have been a subscriber to
YOUNG PEOPLE since the tenth number. I like the paper very much,
and intend to take it always, as it is so interesting, especially
the Post-office Box, where I read all the little folks' letters,
and feel as if I were acquainted with them. The weather here is
very pleasant, and there are lots of pheasants, quails, and many
other kinds of birds here. I wish I were near New York, so that I
could go and see the editor, or send some money for Young People's
Cot. My father is a white man, and my mother Hawaiian. I have been
to school three years. Good-by.
HENRY P.
* * * * *
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.
I have written to the Post-office Box a great many times, and have
not yet seen one of my letters in print; but I do not think, like a
great many others, that they have gone to the dreadful
waste-basket. I have sent Wiggles too, but none have been
published. At first I thought it was because I was not a
subscriber, but pa has been taking YOUNG PEOPLE from a news' agent
for a year and a half.
I am taking music lessons. I take YOUNG PEOPLE to school, and my
teacher uses it in preference to a Reader. I have got two
subscribers for you. I do not know whether they have subscribed yet
or not. One boy's mother bought a number of papers from different
publishers to make a selection, and chose YOUNG PEOPLE.
At our school there is to be a prize given, at the completion of
the book, for the best drawing. Professor S., the gentleman who
prepares our book in New York, visited all the schools in
Pittsburgh for the purpose of examining the drawing-books. He
visited our school last, and concluded that our drawing was the
best and finest he had seen in any of the schools in Pittsburgh. I
tried the leaf photograph, and succeeded.
FRANK B. H.
* * * * *
WORTENDYKE, NEW JERSEY.
I think your paper is lovely. My aunt in Jersey City takes it for
my sister as a birthday present. I have read so many interesting
letters about pets that I thought I would write one about ours. We
have a large Newfoundland dog, named Bingo, and every time I go out
he runs and jumps on me. We have lots of fun with him, he is so
gentle. Our cow, named Betsey, is real gentle, and when I go to the
bars and call her, she comes running and jumping to me like a
little kitten, and she plays with us real cunning. We raised her
from a little calf. Her mother was killed on the railroad; her name
was Daisy. We have two _cherry_-colored cats, Toby--not named after
Toby Tyler--and Charlie. Every cold morning Toby climbs up on the
grape arbor, and jumps from that to the front piazza, to my window,
where he taps until I let him in, and when he gets in he cuddles
down in bed and goes to sleep. These are all the pets we have. My
brother had some pet rabbits, but he sold some, and the rest he let
run around, and they got killed or lost. Our little baby sister is
two months old. There are seven of us in our family, and all girls
but one.
INA J. P.
* * * * *
CHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.
My home is in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. In winter it is
very cold here, and sometimes it is so cold that the thermometer is
20° below zero. I have a nice pony from Sable Island, near Nova
Scotia. I have some postage stamps and postmarks which I would like
to exchange with the readers of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE. My age is
thirteen years and six months.
C. L. HAMMOND, P. O. Box 314.
* * * * *
WOODSIDE (NEAR LINCOLNTON), NORTH CAROLINA.
MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,--You are all very often in my thoughts, and
sometimes when any of those funny little mistakes are made in
Sunday-school, I wish you could enjoy the fun. We are trying, as we
can, to take the children into the Natural History Society. My
sister and I thought, as they wanted so much to belong to it, that
they could begin by making a collection of Indian curiosities. We
told them that all who wished to belong to the Natural History Club
might bring arrow-heads or any pretty stems with them when they
came to sing on Saturday. They all came. One family of five little
ones were very nervous, with their hands full of arrow-heads, but
whimpered out that they wanted to sing, but didn't want Miss Ida to
put them in a tub. I wish you could have seen their relief when
they found they were not to have a bath. Then the carols began.
They all learn the tunes quickly, but Ellen Pete will sing, at the
top of her voice, "Carol, _buzzards_, carol," instead of
"brothers," as the words really are.
Since my last, I must acknowledge gifts from Mrs. N. B. Blunt,
Lexington Avenue, N. Y.; Miss Lulu Mears, Danby, Vt.; Master Robert
Cranson, St. Johns, Mich.; Miss Julia Slack, Bristol, Penn.
For these, and all your gifts, accept my sincere gratitude. Your
friend,
MRS. RICHARDSON.
* * * * *
ST. JOHNS, MICHIGAN.
In No. 110 the Postmistress asks if any one has seen dandelions
later than November 20. I send you a pressed dandelion picked by
the road-side on December 10. They have been in bloom all the fall
in the yard of our court-house, but they have now gone to seed.
This is the more remarkable, as we have had quite deep snow and
some very cold, blustery weather, though the ground is bare now,
and the weather quite mild for this time of year.
My large shepherd dog is very fond of sugar and candy, and mamma
once had a little dog that would eat almost anything, if a little
molasses were poured on it. He would wag his tail and lick his
chops when she took the plate to pour the syrup on.
I wish we could have some more of Ben Buttles's adventures. I think
they were very surprising.
ROBERT E. C.
* * * * *
NEW YORK CITY.
It was my good fortune to spend a part of last summer at Newport.
The house where I lived was just on the banks of Almy's Pond--a
charming place, surrounded with lawns and flowers of all kinds.
What pleasure it was to me to obtain the key of the boat! I would
run to the landing, unfasten the boat, take my oars, and push off.
I acquired great skill in rowing, and it made my arms strong. Once,
in the middle of the pond, I tried to catch those big lazy
gold-fish; but though lazy-looking, they were more clever than I,
for they invariably avoided the net.
It was not so, however, with the turtles; of a more inquisitive
mind, when they heard some noise they looked out of the water to
see what all that noise was about, and their curiosity caused their
capture, for I very seldom missed them. The result was that I had
quite a respectable drove of them; but the day before my return to
the city I gave them their freedom, with the exception of two
beauties which I brought home with me.
If you wish to have the pleasures of society and of country life
combined, go to spend the summer at Newport. There you will find
fun.
GEORGEY C. B.
* * * * *
WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS.
I want to tell you a droll cat story. Six weeks ago a family near
us bought a place two miles out of the village, and moved there.
Their pet cat, three years old, was placed in a basket, covered up,
and carried to her new home, her owners hoping she would be
delighted to walk in the woods and catch the squirrels. But when
she jumped out of the basket she ran away; she liked the village
company better. She wandered three weeks, hunting for her old home,
where at last she arrived, half starved. We called her in and fed
her, and she seemed very happy. We sent a postal to the family, and
May came over, delighted to know puss was alive. She tied her in
the basket again, and took her home. She seemed more contented, and
they thought this time she would stay; but in three days back she
came again. We sent word to them she was here, and they came for
her; and in all four times she was carried home. The last time Mr.
T. told her plainly that this would be the last time he should come
for her. Now what do you think? she is round here again, and no one
can catch her.
FRANKIE L. W.
* * * * *
ROME, OHIO.
I want to tell you about my pet lamb. One day papa brought in a
lamb which could not stand alone. He gave it to me. We kept it in
the house until it could stand alone, and I named it Kate. I fed
her, and she would follow me all around. I kept her in the orchard,
and when I went to feed her, I would say, "Katie, Katie," and she
would run to me and drink her milk. When I stopped feeding her, her
wool was five inches long, and now it is nine and one-quarter
inches long.
MARY B. R.
* * * * *
ALEXANDRIA, LOUISIANA.
I have a nice doll house and five dolls. Josephine is the mamma.
She has three children--Hattie, Fannie, and Clarence. I love my
dolls very much.
I live on a sugar plantation, and love to go to the sugar-mill.
There are two little squirrels that stay about the yard. They have
a nest in the back yard, and are right tame. I watch them playing,
and think they are very pretty.
We have two little kittens, John and Ambrose. They are the sweetest
little kittens that I ever saw. They are named after two young
gentlemen friends of the family. They play and sleep all day, and
are very lazy. Their old mother went away and left them. They used
to have fits quite often, but whenever they had them I would pour
cold water over them, and now they are perfectly cured.
ELLA B.
* * * * *
FORT GRATIOT, MICHIGAN.
I am nine years old. I have a little brother four years old. His
name is Weymouth. I love him very much. He always wants to play
church, and be the minister. When I had company, and we danced
"Sally Waters," Weymouth said he would not dance, for ministers did
not dance. This summer mamma took Weymouth and me to Aylmer,
Canada. We had a nice time, and I saw "Don W." and his sister there
at the picnic he spoke of in his letter to the Post-office Box.
We have a bird, and I have several dolls, and one pretty paper doll
mamma made for me.
I think I am the only one in this place who takes the YOUNG PEOPLE,
and I am going to try and get more to take it. I like it so very
much. My auntie in Montana sent it this year to me.
LIZZIE M. K.
* * * * *
BIRDSBOROUGH, PENNSYLVANIA.
I am a little girl six years old. I go to school, and like my
teacher. Her name is Miss N. D. I like to hear my papa read the
letters in HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE to me. I have a sister Olivia, who
is ten years old. She gets HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE every Saturday,
and likes the stories very well. I have a pet cat named Flora, and
a rooster named Dick. He is very tame, and comes running to me when
I call him.
HATTIE H.
* * * * *
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.
We have three little kittens just three weeks old, and they are
real sweet. My aunt Helen wanted to take them up stairs, but as
soon as she took hold of them the old mother cried, and would not
have them out of her sight a moment. When the mother wants to go in
the yard, she comes away up stairs to the third story and cries,
and then when some of us come down, she goes and stands by the door
until we open it. I have a sister Etha, and a brother Josie, and we
all enjoy YOUNG PEOPLE very much. I can not think which of the
stories I like the best, because I like them all so well.
LOTTIE L. S.
* * * * *
HAVANA, CUBA.
Perhaps some of your young people will like to hear about a parrot
that we used to have. He was a very funny fellow. He repeated
almost everything that he heard. When mamma asked for the servants
in the morning, he would commence to call them: "Lola! Dolores!
German! it is time to get up; the mistress is calling you!" When he
was angry he would begin to cry, "I am angry! I am angry!" When the
servants did not give him dinner, he would cry, "I am hungry! I am
hungry!--the servants have not given me my dinner." He knew how to
laugh. Sometimes he scolded the servants, and afterward he would
laugh--"Ha! ha! ha!" When we were breakfasting he used to come to
the table for us to give him his breakfast, and he would eat from
our hands. Sometimes he would sit on papa's shoulder. His plumage
was red, green, and blue. He was very pretty.
Have you ever seen a crane? The other day a gentleman presented
one to papa. He has a long neck and long legs, and is very pretty.
He eats from our hands, and is very tame. He eats all the flies and
roaches he can find. The other day a dog bit a little friend of
ours. As it was a strange dog, that came from the street into the
yard where the child was playing, it is not known whether the dog
was mad or not. But the doctor said he must treat the wound as if
he knew the dog was mad; so he had to burn the place to prevent the
boy from having hydrophobia.
CONCEPCION.
* * * * *
POLK TOWNSHIP, ILLINOIS.
I am a little boy six years old. I live on a farm. I have two dogs,
and my grandpa named one of them Peter. I have a brother four years
old, and a darling sister, too. Papa calls sister "Black-eyes," but
her name is Clara. She can say two lines of "Three Little Kittens,"
and says "please" and "thank you" as well as anybody. My brother
and I saved our money until we had enough to buy "The Franconia
Stories" and "Little Learner Series," but we like our YOUNG PEOPLE
better than any books we have.
PAUL C.
* * * * *
NEW YORK CITY.
I will be twelve years old in a few days. I notice, in looking over
my first volume of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE, that most of the boys and
girls who write to you are under that age. When I read some of
their letters, I only wish I was favored as they are, and could
have chickens and rabbits, and live in the country. But I am a city
boy, and go to the public school, and have lots of books, and enjoy
myself in reading, and playing with my two little sisters, who are,
I think, the most cunning little girls I know.
JOHN M. H.
* * * * *
HOBART, NEW YORK.
I like your paper very much, and receive it with great pleasure
every week. I am not going to school at present, but expect to very
soon. We have six cats, and none of them are cunning. I am nine
years old, and live on a farm. We send our milk to New York. This
is one of the sections of New York State in which maple sugar is
made, and it is very interesting to watch the process. We have had
no snow as yet, but usually at this time of the year have about two
feet--more or less.
MYRA G. W.
* * * * *
LIMA, PERU.
As the editor hopes that some girl will write in the defense of
poor puss, I beg to say that I have two splendid cats. The largest
is a fine Maltese, looks very much like an old woman, and is
exceedingly fat. He is named Mr. Mason. Besides having the good
quality of being an excellent mouser, he is very religious, and
often spends the nights in the Cathedral, which is just in front of
our house. Early in the morning he comes back, howling for
something to eat. The other cat is named Mr. Stubbs, and is
decidedly the favorite. He is rather thin, and has a face like a
mouse, but is the most affectionate animal alive; and when mother
opens the door in the morning, he stands quite still, and says,
"Mew! mew!" as if to say good-morning; he then walks in, and pays
us each a visit in bed. He never scratches, and I am almost sure
that if Augusta C. knew him, she would think differently about
cats.
I have one sister and two brothers. We were all born in Mexico,
but, my parents being Americans, we are all, of course, American
citizens. During the last eight years we have been living in Lima,
Peru, and so Mr. Harper will not think it strange that this letter
takes a little longer to go to him than some others. We have taken
HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE since it has been published, and always
praise and recommend it to everybody. It is just splendid.
CARLOTA L.
* * * * *
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.
I am a little boy nearly ten years old, and live in Boston. My
brother Theo (who is seven) and I have taken HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE
ever since we first heard of it, and we like it very much, and so
do all the boys and girls in our neighborhood.