an eagle on the head of AEschylus, the Grecian poet, the eagle having
mistaken the poet's bald head for a stone, and it is from my
great-grandfather, who, as you see, was so closely brought into contact
with one of the most learned heads of ancient Greece, I inherit my
talent for literature. Another relation of mine, an uncle on my mother's
side, was the principal in the great walking match which is so
graphically described by AEsop. But enough of my family. I promised to
tell you something about my life. I am so sleepy that I don't know as I
can make it very interesting.
You see, we turtles stay awake all summer, and sleep all winter; we are
_hibernating_ animals, my master says. At first I thought that he meant
that we were of Irish extraction, and as I am very proud of my Greek
descent, the next time I saw the dictionary on the floor I found the
word. If you don't know what it means, you had better look it out too:
you will remember it better than if I told you.
My master read about a cousin of mine who lived for a time with a
Reverend Mr. Wood, and ate bread and milk, and climbed on the footstool,
and did all sorts of tricks; so he came and dug me out of the nice hole
where I was asleep for the winter, brought me into his room, and before
I was fairly awake thrust my head into a saucer of milk. Of course I
would not eat. Then he tried to make me climb; but I was so bewildered
that I drew in my head and shut up my shell. My master went out, saying,
"Mr. Wood is a humbug, anyway." I waited till all was quiet, then I took
a survey of the room. I began to feel hungry, as you may imagine, for I
had eaten nothing since the first of November; so I crawled over to the
saucer of milk, and drank it all. How I did laugh when my master came in
and I heard him say, "That cat has been here and drunk all the turtle's
milk"!
Since then he has watched me very closely. He gave me a piece of banana
the other day, and it was very good. Sometimes he gives me a few
earth-worms, of which I am especially fond; and there are four flies in
the room--there were five, but I caught one and ate him: he was
delicious. I mean to have the others before long. The way in which I
catch them is this: I lie perfectly still in the sun, and when one comes
along, I snap him. Flies are generally too quick for me, but I am very
patient.
The first thing that I can remember is that I lived on a sand-bank with
thirteen brothers and sisters. We used to eat flies and little insects
then, and as we were very lively, we could catch them easily, and I
think that the flies were more plenty. We grew very fast at first, and
we soon wandered off, and were separated. For the next two years of my
life I travelled, living near strawberry beds in the spring, then among
raspberry and blackberry bushes, and finally in pear and apple orchards.
I lived mostly upon insects, only taking a bite of strawberry or pear
for a relish. I have heard my master say that I always picked out the
best-looking pears to bite; but that is only fair, for if I did not eat
up the insects, he would not have any best-looking pears at all, so I
don't think that he ought to grumble.
It was in a pear orchard that one of the happiest events of my life took
place. It was while eating pears that I met my Matilda Jane. Oh, she was
the most lovely young turtle that you can imagine! Her beautifully
rounded shell, with its delicate markings in black and "old gold," which
was just then coming into fashion, her snake-like head and neck, and her
beautiful bright yellow eyes, gave her the well-deserved name of "The
Belle of the Village." We loved each other at the first, and for some
time we were inseparable, until one morning, when my master's father was
coming to the city, I was picked up, wrapped in a newspaper, and packed
off to Brooklyn, that I might "kill the slugs in the garden," I heard my
master say. For two weary years I lived alone in the garden, thinking
only of my Matilda Jane. You can imagine my joy when, this fall, four
more turtles were brought and placed in the yard, and one of them was my
long-lost friend! I knew her immediately, from her having the letters
"A. F., 1869," cut on her shell. Ever since that joyful meeting we have
lived very happily together.
Of course we have troubles, like every one else, but they mostly arise
outside our own household. There was one old turtle who used to put on
airs because he had "Adam, year 1," cut on his shell; but my Matilda
stopped his boasting by telling how she saw my master cut the name at
the same time that he marked her. Old Adam, as we used to call him,
sneaked off, and I have not seen him since.
I want to tell you one thing more, and then I will be done. Perhaps you
don't know how the little turtles are born. The mamma turtle finds a
quiet, secluded place where the soil is sandy; there she digs a hole,
and lays from twelve to thirty eggs. The eggs are perfectly round, and
about an inch in diameter. They do not have shells like birds' eggs, but
they are covered with a coating like parchment. After she has laid her
eggs she covers them up, and leaves them to be hatched by the heat of
the sun. In about three weeks the young turtles make their appearance;
they are not much larger than a silver fifty-cent piece. They are very
lively, and are very cunning about hiding when any one comes near their
home. They grow very rapidly, however, and in a short time wander away,
as I did. I hope that you will all remember that turtles more than pay
for the fruit that they eat by keeping your gardens free from worms and
insects; and I trust that you will let your pet turtles sleep through
the winter, and not keep them awake to study about them as my master has
done.
Yours truly,
LAND TURTLE.
FUN IN A CHINESE SCHOOL-ROOM.
BY WILLIAM ELLIOT GRIFFIS.
[Illustration]
These five Chinese boys (except the one whose ear is being pulled) are
having fine fun. The Fu-tse, or old teacher, has gone out of the room
for a few minutes to fill his tobacco pouch. Let us look round and see
what kind of school-rooms they have in China, and how the pupils study.
The boys in this case are all of one family, and the old gentleman is
their private tutor. He is white-bearded and shaven-pated, and has
rather long finger-nails, as the fashion is in China among those who do
not have to work with their hands. Long finger-nails with them are like
white hands and tapering fingers among us.
The floor of the room is of stone set in squares like a checker-board.
It is very pleasant and cool in summertime, and in all weathers the lads
keep on their velvet and maple-wood shoes. These are thick-soled and
warm, slightly turned up at the end, but do not "draw" the feet, as our
leather or rubber shoes do. The three younger boys wear embroidered
coats. All except the "baby" have plaits of hair on the side of the
head; but the little fellow, who is not yet six years old, still wears
the very young child's circle of hair.
Every day or so their heads are neatly shaved; and when they are twelve
years old, there will be a family party, and each one will lose his
boyish locks, and begin to raise a "pigtail," or queue, which hangs down
his back. Then they will feel as proud as our boys when they sport their
first attempt at a mustache.
The walls of the school-room are plain, but are not complete without the
usual picture of the bamboo swaying in the wind or soughing in the
moonlight. The Chinese have thousands of stanzas and ditties of which
the graceful bamboo is the subject.
Notice the tables: they are of hard polished wood, with colored marble
tops. The seats are of round hollow wood, with leather tops. They look
like ginger jars with paper covers. On these the boys sit while tracing
the characters which we see on _real_ Chinese tea boxes (for those made
in New York are almost always upside down, as if they had turned a
somersault). Every boy must learn from two hundred to ten thousand of
these characters, and many years of hard study are required. Their
books, ink-stones, brush-pens, water-pot, and pen-rests are all on the
table. They use "India" ink, and write with a brush.
In learning their lessons the scholars study out loud, and a Chinese
school-room is a very noisy place, and worse than the buzzing of many
bee-hives.
When a boy has learned his lesson he comes to the teacher, and then
"backs his book"; that is, he hands his book to the instructor, and then
turns his back, so as not to see the page or face of the teacher, and
then recites. At the same time he holds out two of his fingers, first of
one hand and then of the other, beating them up and down alternately,
like a music leader beating time.
The boys in the picture have become tired of so much sitting; so, as
soon as the cat leaves the room, the mice begin to play. One of them
mounts the table, taking the master's wooden seat with him. On this he
poses himself, foot over knee, and dons Fu-tse's hat, on which is the
crystal button and horse-hair plume, of which all dignified men are very
proud. He quickly anchors the huge goggle spectacles astride his nose,
with the aid of the guy-ropes around his ears, seizes the empty pipe in
one hand, and with fan in the other, calls out to the oldest boy to
"back his book."
The big boy begins to see-saw his fingers up and down, and to bawl out
his lesson, but quickly turns round to see the fun. The next oldest boy
is pulling the ears of "the baby," who squeals out, while the boy on the
floor, who pretends to be in disgrace, and can not rise, calls on the
teacher to speak to the mischievous urchin.
But the old Fu-tse has heard the squealing and the racket, and is
hurrying along the corridor to see what is the matter.
What will be done? There will be no rattan or ruler used, or ears boxed,
but each one will receive a lecture on propriety, and an extra lesson.
The bigger boys will be ordered to learn fifty new characters, and the
smaller ones will each have a longer copy to write after school.
MOTHER GOOSE'S MAY PARTY.
BY AGNES CARR.
It was May-day, and the sun popped out of bed early that morning to wake
up the little birds and flowers, that they might clear their throats,
and wash their bright faces in dew, by the time the old woman had swept
the cobwebs from the sky, and left a beautiful blue roof over Gooseneck
village; for they knew it was the 1st of May, and that dear old Mother
Goose, who taught the _Kindergarten_, or infant school, was going with
all her little scholars to have a May party under the trees in the merry
green wood.
And the children knew it too, and they were all on hand bright and
early--Tommy Green and Johnny Stout, Humpty Dumpty and Little Bo-peep,
Jack and Jill, Little Boy Blue in a brand-new suit of clothes, and
Goldilocks with her yellow hair flying in the wind, Tom, the Piper's
son, and poor Simple Simon, the dunce of the school, with many others
that we have known and loved--and all brought baskets filled with good
things for their dinner.
"Oh, won't we have fun!" said Margery Daw to Jacky Horner. "I hope you
have got something nice in that big basket of yours."
"Yes, indeed," said Jack. "Cook made me a lovely pie, and stuffed it
just full of plums. I will try and pull one out for you;" and he lifted
up the napkin over the basket, and was trying to break a hole in the
pie-crust, when Mother Goose came in, and seeing him, said, "Here, here,
Master Jack! keep your fingers out of the pie. I never saw such a boy.
He sticks his thumb into everything, from Christmas pies to inkstands."
"Oh, Mother Goose, do let us start!" shouted the children.
"Yes, yes, my dears, very soon. We are only waiting for Contrary Mary. I
have sent Nimble Dick for her; and here they come now."
Sure enough, there was heard a jingling of bells, and in danced Mary,
quite contrary, with her fingers covered with rings, and her apron
filled with flowers from her garden, with which to make a wreath for the
May-Queen.
And now they all started, walking two and two, with Mother Goose at the
head, holding the youngest scholar, Baby Bunting, tight by the hand, for
fear he should fall down and tear his new rabbit-skin overcoat, while
Tom, the Piper's son, played "Over the hills and far away" on his pipe,
and all the little folks danced and skipped along to the gay tune.
When they reached the pleasant wood, they were all glad to sit down on
the green moss and rest awhile; and Mother Goose said, "The first thing
is to choose a May-Queen: now who shall it be?"
"Goldilocks!" "Goldilocks!" shouted the children, for they all loved the
dear little girl with pretty hair and sweet blue eyes.
"Oh, no, no!" said Goldilocks, and she hid behind Tommy Tucker.
But they made her come out and sit on a throne formed of Miss Muffet's
tuffet, scattered over with wild violets and May-flowers, which grew all
around; and Contrary Mary put a beautiful crown of "roses and lilies and
daffadown-dillies" on her golden curls, and she looked just the dearest
little May-Queen in all the world.
Then all the children joined hands, and danced round the throne,
singing,
"Hail to the Queen of May
On this our festal day!
Gay flowers we'll bring,
Sweet blossoms of spring,
To crown our Queen of May."
The little Queen then gave each one a flower, and let them kneel and
kiss her tiny white hand; and then they scattered through the woods, and
played "Oats, peas, beans," tag, and other games, until Little Boy Blue
blew a blast on his horn, which meant "Come to dinner"; and when they
all came running back at the call, they found Mother Goose had a
table-cloth spread on the grass, and all the biscuits, cake, and fruit
from their baskets set out on green leaves, while in the centre stood
Jack Horner's pie, a bowl of curds and whey that Miss Muffet brought,
and a plate of strawberry tarts sent by the Queen of Hearts; and Jack
and Jill were bringing a pail of nice cold water from the spring.
How hungry they all were, too, and how good everything tasted! while
they had such a laugh at little Miss Muffet, who screamed and ran away
when a great daddy-long-legs walked across the table.
They ended the feast with the plum pie, which the little Queen cut, and
gave every one a piece; and they all said it was so nice. Jack Horner
felt quite proud, and thought he was a bigger boy than ever.
After everything was eaten up, Margery Daw and Little Bo-peep washed the
dishes, while Little Boy Blue went fast asleep under the fence, and
Mother Goose told all the little ones a story, until the cobwebs began
to come over the sky, and the sun whispered to the little birds and
flowers it was time to shut their peepers for the night, when they
started for home, Goldilocks the Queen riding in the middle of the
procession on big John Stout's shoulder; and when they bade their
teacher a tired but happy good-night, all said they had had the nicest
kind of a day, and hoped next year Mother Goose would give them another
May party.
[Illustration: GOING HOME FROM THE PICNIC.--DRAWN BY JESSIE CURTIS.]
[Illustration: OUR POST-OFFICE BOX.]
SOUTH NORWALK, CONNECTICUT.
I have two large Maltese cats--one nine and the other three years
old--a dog, and a parrot. The oldest cat is named Meow, and the
other Maltie Beeswax. We called him that, because he sticks so. If
he gets in our laps, there is no getting rid of him. He will jump
through my hands held three feet high. The parrot does not talk
much, because it is tongue-tied. She calls "papa," and screams
when she wants to get out of her cage. The dog Spry is the
cunningest of all. His body and color are like a black and tan;
but his nose is shaggy, like a Scotch terrier, which makes him
look very funny. He will sit up, and clap his paws together, and
say patty-cake. The way he does it he growls, whines, and barks
while some one else says the words. If he don't like what is given
him to eat, we only have to say, "Give it to me," and he will eat
it all up rather than let any one else have it.
M. F. LE C.
* * * * *
SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA.
I am eight years old. My home is near the sea. There are a great
many visitors here in the summer, and they bathe in the surf. We
have no snow here. The hills are already covered with green (April
4), and soon there will be a great many wild flowers. My teacher
reads stories to us from HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE.
EDITH D.
* * * * *
MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN.
On the 23d of March I picked some willow "pussies." They were the
largest I have ever seen here. I think it was very early for them
up in this cold country.
MAY L. B.
* * * * *
BENTON, NEW YORK, _April 10, 1880_.
I found the first trailing arbutus in full bloom to-day. It was
very fragrant and pretty. We take YOUNG PEOPLE, and like it very
much. I have a pet rabbit that is pure white.
LOUISE D. T.
* * * * *
FORT KLAMATH, OREGON, _April 1, 1880_.
I like YOUNG PEOPLE better and better all the time, and it seems
as if Tuesday was longer coming than any other day in the week,
because that is the day I get my paper. The snow is so deep that
the mail-carrier has a hard time getting 'way out to this fort to
bring us our letters and papers, and it is almost night sometimes
before he gets here. I told you that I had a little brother and a
dog to play with, and a pair of snow-shoes to go about the country
on, so I send you a sketch that, looks just like us when we are
out on the parade-ground playing.
SOPHIE L. W.
[Illustration: AT PLAY ON SNOW-SHOES.]
* * * * *
DUNKIRK, NEW YORK.
I am six years old. I can read the letters in "Our Post-office
Box" myself. I have three little sisters. Helen and Ethel like to
look at the pictures in YOUNG PEOPLE, and hear the stories read. I
have a pet dog. His name is George William. He has a bad trick. He
steals eggs, and will drive the hens off the nests to get them.
GUY H.
* * * * *
EDNA, MINNESOTA.
I wish to thank the children through YOUNG PEOPLE for sending me
so many nice presents since I wrote. A great many of those who
have written to me have inquired my age. I am sixteen, but I have
been to school only two years in my life. When I was between seven
and eight years old, I was taken sick, and six years ago my feet
were taken off. Since then I have been at school nearly two years,
and before I was taken sick I had learned to read a little. I am
not as well educated as I would be if I had been well, like other
boys. My home is in Edna, Polk County, Minnesota. When I wrote
before, I was staying with a friend in Crookston.
ELMER R. BLANCHARD.
* * * * *
GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN.
I tried Puss Hunter's little recipe too, but I put frosting on my
cake. I made a mistake, and put it in a jar with dried beef. When
I treated a slice to the folks, they laughed at me, and said it
tasted as if it was flavored with ham. I like YOUNG PEOPLE, and I
like the little letters best of all.
MAY W. (10 years).
* * * * *
BELLERIVE, SWITZERLAND, _April 5, 1880_.
I noticed in YOUNG PEOPLE of March 16 that it was time to look for
violets and anemones. I wish to tell you that I have already found
them here, and also the "pussies." I am fourteen years old, and I
am at school here in Vevey, on Lake Geneva.
L. SULLIVAN.
* * * * *
FOX LAKE, WISCONSIN.
Here is a recipe for water cookies that my sister asked me to send
to Puss Hunter for her cooking club: One cup of sugar; one-half
cup of butter; one-half cup of water; caraway seeds; flour enough
to make it very stiff. Roll very thin, and sprinkle with sugar
after putting the cookies in the pan.
H. F. P.
* * * * *
BAILEY'S MILLS, FLORIDA.
I am staying now on Lake Miccosukie, which is ten miles long and
from two to three miles wide. About two miles from the lake the
outlet sinks into the ground. The Miccosukie Indians once lived
here. There is a large live-oak where they used to dance around
their scalp pole at the green-corn feast. I have some pieces of
pottery and arrow-heads; some are very pretty. General Jackson
fought the Indians here, and drove them across the lake. There is
an Indian mound near here which has large trees growing on the
very top. I wonder who made it, and what for. The trees here are
in full leaf, and many are in bloom (April 13). The orange-trees
are filled with fruit.
WILLIE L. B.
* * * * *
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA.
I am ten years and five months old. I read YOUNG PEOPLE every
week. The answer to the "Personation" in No. 24 is Queen Charlotte
of England, wife of George the Third. She was married in 1761, and
died in 1818. The town in which I live is named for her. It was
incorporated by the Colonial Legislature in 1762. Two miles
southeast of this town is Monticello, the former residence and now
the burial-place of Thomas Jefferson, the writer of the
Declaration of Independence, and former President of the United
States. One mile southwest from here is the University of
Virginia, founded by Jefferson. When I am old enough I hope to
become a student there.
HARRY A. G.
* * * * *
OWENSBORO, KENTUCKY.
I once had a gray fox, but one night he got loose, and a dog
killed him. Last spring I bought a 'coon, and kept him all summer.
He was very cunning, but my fox was the best. He would play
hide-and-seek with me for hours. Will you please tell me what
minnows eat, and must I change the water every morning and
evening? Sometimes I leave the water unchanged for days, and the
fish seem livelier. I caught them in a ditch.
WILLIS E. L.
Minnows may be fed the same as gold-fish (see YOUNG PEOPLE No. 6). Once
a day is sufficient to change the water, although if you have certain
kinds of water-plants in your globe or aquarium, the water may go
unchanged for days, and still remain pure.
* * * * *
INGLESIDE.
I am a little girl only ten years old. I live on a farm in
Cherokee County, Georgia. Last summer I began to make a collection
of insects, but did not succeed very well. Will you please tell me
what is the best way to kill and preserve them?
KATIE R. P.
The best method of catching butterflies and insects is with a net, which
can be made in the following manner: Take a common barrel hoop, and slit
off a strip about a quarter of an inch wide. Of this make a hoop about a
foot in diameter, and fasten it with wire to a light rod about a yard
long. Then take a round piece of mosquito netting about three-quarters
of a yard in diameter, and bind it firmly to the hoop. Insects captured
with a net do not get broken as if caught rudely with the hand. When
your treasure is secured, gather the net in your hand, thus confining
the insect in a very small space. Then dose it carefully with a few
drops of ether, which should be poured on the head. This will probably
kill the insect at once; but should it a few moments later show any
signs of life, another drop will finish it. The advantage of ether is
that it evaporates quickly, and leaves the color and texture of the
insect uninjured. The best way to mount your specimens is to have thin
pieces of cork glued to the bottom of your case, to which the insect is
fastened by a long slender pin stuck through its body. If you have no
corks, soft pine wood will do. You must mount your specimen and arrange
its wings and feelers immediately, as it soon becomes stiff and brittle,
and will break if handled. The great enemies of a collection of insects
are mice and moths. Mice will ruin the result of a whole summer's work
in a single night if they can get at it. But a little care and
forethought will guard against the ravages of these mischievous
destroyers.
* * * * *
KENOSHA, WISCONSIN.
I had a young wild rabbit that grew so tame I could let it out in
the yard to eat grass and clover. It would also eat bread and milk
out of a dish. I liked it very much. When I caught it I put it in
a wire cage, and fed it, and it soon got tame, and played around
the kitchen most of the time. I am sorry to say that my little
sister squeezed it to death. I am twelve years old, and I live on
a farm one mile west of Kenosha. I have three brothers and three
sisters, and I am the oldest of them all. Five of us go to school
in Kenosha.
E. B. C.
* * * * *
HORACE C. W.--See YOUNG PEOPLE No. 18, page 232.
* * * * *
MATTIE L.--There are so many good books of the kind you require, that it
is difficult to say which is "best."
* * * * *
A. H. E., and OTHERS.--We receive a very large number of puzzles from
our youthful correspondents. If no answer accompanies them, they are not
examined. If the solution is one we have already published, it can not
be used again. Good puzzles are always welcome, but even after being
accepted, they may wait weeks before their turn comes to be printed.
* * * * *