distinct for a long while--the Rhone like a green ribbon, and the Arve
whitened by glacier torrents. Here a poor boy was fishing. What he
caught was the little Swiss man, bobbing along on the stream, and he
took this prize to the stone cottage, his home.
"I am glad to be out of the water," thought our wooden hero. "All the
same, I wish I was back in the shop window. Ah! I did not know
gratitude, as the Edelweiss said."
THE CANARY'S MUSIC LESSON.
"Now teach me your song, Canary," said Maud with the roguish eyes,
"And when father comes home with mother, I'll give them such a
surprise;
They'll think I am you, Canary, and wonder what set you free,
And nearly die a-laughing, when they find it is only me.
Teach me your song, Canary; I'll whistle it if I can;
Now open your throat, dear Tiptoe, and sing like a little man."
Tiptoe, the pretty fellow, cocked up his bright black eye,
As if to say, "Little mistress, it will do you no harm to try."
Then taking some slight refreshments, and polishing off his bill,
Broke into a rapture of singing that ended off with a trill;
And Maud, with her head bent forward, sat listening to his lay,
And fast as he sang, she whistled, till gathered the twilight gray.
Then she crept down to the parlor as quietly as a mouse:
The maids were in the kitchen, and no one else in the house.
And when the key in the doorway the dear little mischief heard,
She whistled away so sweetly, they thought it was surely the bird.
Hither and thither she flitted, behind the sofa and chairs;
Her mother cried, "Mercy, Edward! the bird! Is the cat down stairs?"
Wildly they stared around them, till, "It's me, it is me, papa!"
Said Maud, from her corner springing. Ah, then what a loud "Ha! ha!"
Rang through the room. Her father, convulsed, on the sofa sat.
Gravely appeared among them their sober old pussy cat.
Maud merrily laughed and shouted, "A cunning old cat like you--
To think _you_ should mistake me for a little canary too!"
MODEL YACHT-BUILDING.
A SLOOP-YACHT.
The boat here described is a model of a sloop-yacht of about fifteen
tons measurement, forty-four feet long, and fifteen feet beam; the
model, on a scale of half an inch to the foot, being consequently
twenty-two inches long, on the water-line, and seven and a half inches
wide. The wood should be a block of clear dry pine, twenty-five inches
long, seven and a half inches wide, and five inches thick, the sides
being first planed square; then on one of the five-inch sides lines are
drawn two inches apart across the block; the water-line (W L, Fig. 2) is
drawn two inches and thirteen-sixteenths from the top at the end
selected for the bow, and two inches and five-sixteenths at the stern;
the stern-post (_s t_) is laid off, and the outer line of the stern
(_t f_); and finally the curved lines _a f_ and _a v_ are drawn,
completing what is called the sheer plan.
In copying from the drawings it must be kept in mind that they are
exactly one-fourth the full size, so that any distance taken from them
with the dividers must be laid off four times on the block.
To copy the curved lines, their distance from some line, as A B or W L,
is measured on each of the two-inch lines, by which a number of points
on the curve are found, and a line drawn as nearly as possible through
all of them by means of a flexible ruler, held in place by pins.
The block must now be cut away to the outline _a f t s v_, after which
lines two inches apart are drawn on the top, the line A B drawn entirely
around the block in the centre of the top, bottom, and ends, and Fig. 1
drawn on top, both halves being of course the same.
The block is next cut to the line _a b c d_, Fig. 1, the widest part
being, not on deck, but along the line _c d_, as there is some "tumble
home" from _b_ to the stern.
The outline of the deck is _a b e f_, the stern being a segment of a
circle of five inches radius.
A piece of thin board must be cut of the shape of Fig. 5 (which is half
size), which is the widest part of the boat, and is fourteen inches from
the bow, and by using it for a guide, both sides may be cut out exactly
alike.
The stem piece, half an inch thick, and the stern-post, five-sixteenths
of an inch, are sawed out, and tacked in place temporarily, and a wooden
keel of the shape shown in Fig. 4 (marked "Lead Keel"), half an inch
thick, tapering to five-sixteenths where it joins the stern-post, is
fitted in between them.
The shaping of the hull may now be completed, using a gouge, spokeshave,
and rasp, keeping the midship section for a guide, and running the
curved surfaces smoothly and evenly into the sides of the keel, stern,
and stem, the latter tapering to five-sixteenths of an inch forward.
The hole for the rudder-stock is next bored, one-fourth of an inch in
diameter, and burned out with a moderately hot iron to five-sixteenths
of an inch; then, should the stock swell when wet, it will not stick in
the charred wood, but will still turn freely.
The keel, stem, and stern are removed, to avoid injury to them, and the
line _l m n o p_, Fig. 1, is drawn, after which the wood inside is cut
away with a large gouge or carving tool, until it is one-fourth of an
inch thick, care being taken to have it all an even thickness, and not
to cut through at any point, and also to leave the wood solid around the
rudder-hole.
After the hollowing out is completed, a rabbet one-eighth of an inch
wide and deep is cut to receive the deck, its outer line being
_g h i k_, Fig. 1. Then a light deck beam is set in amidships, the mast
step put in, and the inside of the hull and the bottom of the deck
painted. The deck is of pine, one-eighth of an inch thick, and after
being cut out should have lines scratched in with the compasses
three-eighths of an inch from each edge to represent the water-ways, and
parallel lines one-fourth of an inch apart scratched in to represent the
joints of the deck plank.
Now the deck is laid and tacked down, and the joints painted, and calked
if needed, the stem and stern-post replaced permanently, and the
bowsprit screwed to the deck and stem.
The length of the bowsprit is eight and a half inches from the point
_a_, Fig. 4, to the outer end, three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter,
and three inches from _a_ to the inner end, where it is framed into the
bitts, the inner end being half an inch square.
A piece (_x_, Fig. 4) is next fitted on deck at the stern, forming the
after portion of the bulwarks, which on the sides are one-eighth of an
inch thick, flaring out at the bow, where they are nailed to the
bowsprit, and tumbling in aft, where they are nailed to the piece _x_, a
strip one-eighth of an inch thick (shown in Fig. 5) being first tacked
to the deck, and the bulwarks nailed against it. Small brads should be
used in nailing.
The rail is of walnut or mahogany, one-fourth by three-thirty-secondths
of an inch, nailed on top of the bulwarks, and running out on the
bowsprit to a point (Fig. 3).
For a sailing model a leaden keel of about two pounds is needed, a mould
being made in plaster of Paris from the wooden pattern, and the melted
lead poured in, after which it is smoothed with a plane. It is put on
temporarily, and the boat, when rigged, put in the water; then enough
may be planed off to make her trim properly, and the keel put on
permanently.
The mast is twenty-one inches from deck, where it is half an inch in
diameter, to cap, where it is a quarter of an inch square, and the
topmast is eleven inches long, projecting eight inches above the lower
mast.
The boom is twenty-two inches long, fitted to the mast by wire staples;
and the gaff, fourteen inches long, has two jaws embracing the mast.
All spars are of yellow pine; the rigging is of fishing-line; and the
blocks, five-sixteenths of an inch long, and the dead-eyes, one-fourth
of an inch in diameter, are cut out of any hard wood. The lower one of
each pair of dead-eyes has a wire looped around it, the other end being
turned up, and driven into the boat's side, as in Fig. 5.
The upper end of each shroud has a loop spliced in, which goes over the
mast-head, and a dead-eye is spliced into the lower end.
The forestay has a loop at the top, and runs through the bowsprit,
forming a bobstay.
Davits are placed on each bow for the anchor, and two on each side for
the boats, and a capstan stands just forward of the mast.
[Illustration]
The sky-lights and companion way are of mahogany, and with the decks,
spars, and rail, are varnished, the rest of the hull being painted
black, white, or green, and that portion below the water-line being
varnished, and dusted over with bronze powder, and when perfectly dry,
varnished again, giving the appearance of metal sheathing.
The sails are of muslin or lawn, and are laced to the boom and gaff and
to curtain-rings on the mast, or for the jibs the common "eye" used for
dresses makes a capital jib hank, and will slip readily up and down the
forestay.
The drawings show all the remaining details, and by following them
carefully a handsome and able boat may be built.
[Illustration]
THE WHITE RABBITS AND THE TAR BABY.
BY AGNES CARR.
[Illustration]
Ten little white rabbits once lived on the edge of a wood, in a snug
little hole at the foot of a tall tree; and they were as happy as ten
rabbits could be, for every day a good little girl, who lived just back
of the wood, brought them their breakfast of white rolls and brown
gingerbread; and near by there was a beautiful stream of clear, sweet
water, where they went to drink, and which sang a merry tune to them as
it went rippling along.
But one morning when the little rabbits went for their water, they found
the brook full of sticks and stones, and the water so muddy they could
not drink it at all.
"Who has done this?" asked Frisky, the oldest and wisest of the rabbits.
"It was old Reynard the fox," said the brook; "and I am so choked up I
can not sing."
So the little rabbits set to work to clear away the dirt and rubbish,
and did it so well that before long the brook began its gay song again,
and the water was clear enough for them to drink.
Next day, however, the stream was filled up again, and they had all the
work to do over, until their little paws ached. So when, on the third
morning, they found the water as muddy as ever, they all sat down on the
bank and cried.
At last Frisky jumped up and said, "It is no use to cry over muddy
water; but we must do something to punish this old rascal of a fox, and
make him leave our brook alone."
"But what can we do?" asked his brothers and sisters.
"Come with me, and I will show you."
So the little rabbits followed Frisky to a pile of tar and pitch that
some men had left; and out of it they made a black tar baby, which they
set up on a rock close by the edge of the brook, with a piece of
gingerbread in its mouth; and when night came, and the moon shone
bright, they all hid behind a tree to see what would happen.
Pretty soon the old fox smelled the gingerbread, and spied the baby on
the rock.
Then he came up close and said, "Little girl, little girl, give me a
piece of your gingerbread, or I'll box your ears."
The baby did not answer, so the old fox climbed up on the rock, and
boxed her on the ear; and his paw stuck so fast he could not pull it
away again.
Then he said, "Little girl, little girl, give me a piece of your
gingerbread, or I'll box you on the other ear."
The baby did not say a word, so he boxed her on the other ear, and his
other paw stuck fast.
Then he said, "Little girl, little girl, give me a piece of your
gingerbread, or I'll bite off your nose." Still the baby would not
answer, so the fox bit at her nose; and his teeth stuck tight in the
pitch, and he was almost choked with the tar.
The little rabbits then all came out and danced around the wicked old
fox, saying, "Now you can't choke the pretty brook, for your own mouth
is choked with tar!"
At last Frisky asked, "Now what shall we do with him?"
"Leave him to starve," said one. "Set fire to his tail," said another.
And they all proposed something, except Snowflake, the youngest and
prettiest of the family, who said nothing until Frisky turned to her and
asked, "And what would you do?"
"I should let him go," replied Snowflake, "if he would promise not to
trouble the water again."
"Snowflake is right," said Frisky; "he has been punished enough. We will
let him go."
So they first loosened his mouth, and rubbed his teeth with butter to
take off the tar, and when he had said three times, "Hope my tail may
drop off if I ever hurt you or the brook again," they set his paws free,
and he scampered off, and hid himself in his den in the wood.
And the little rabbits lived happy forever after.
[Illustration: OUR POST-OFFICE BOX.]
BUFFALO, NEW YORK.
I am a teacher in one of the public schools of this city. I take
HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE to school with me, and my pupils enjoy it
very much.
I have the oldest children in the building, and they can
understand all of the pieces. I read them the articles as a reward
for good behavior and well-learned lessons, and let them copy and
work out the puzzles.
It would please you to see how anxiously they wait for each new
issue, and how happy they are when it comes. We are reading the
touching story of "Biddy O'Dolan" now, and I hope it will lead
them to think more about these unfortunate children, and try to do
what they can to make the life of some one a little happier.
Permit me to congratulate you on the success your paper has
achieved both here and abroad.
A TEACHER.
* * * * *
PINAL CITY, ARIZONA TERRITORY.
I am a little girl ten years old. I live in Arizona, where the
great silver mines are, and where the cactus grows forty feet
high. There were only three white families in this place when we
came, three years ago. The place was called Picket Post then,
because soldiers were stationed here. I have several pets.
Nuisance is my pet deer. She is almost two years old, and is as
tame as my cat. She wears a red collar, so hunters will not kill
her. Bub is my pet donkey. I love my Arizona pets very much, but
not so much as my dear pet grandma, whom we left in Chicago. When
papa strikes it rich, we are going home to her.
PEARL R. BROWN.
* * * * *
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.
I have had a great many different kinds of pets, but two that
amused me the most were Charley, a snow-white rabbit, and Jet, a
black kitten. The two were good friends, and played together, and
ate out of the same dish. One day bunny stole a large red rose,
and came running into the house with it in his mouth, and Jet at
his heels. The deep red of the rose, the snowy rabbit, and black
Jet made a picture pretty enough to paint. After a while bunny
became very troublesome, and ate the paper off the dining-room
wall as high as he could reach. Then he was sent away, and Jet
seemed lonely for days. Soon after he disappeared, and my pets
since have been birds and dogs, but none were brighter and
prettier than Jet and Charley.
AGGIE R. H.
* * * * *
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.
The alligator I told you about [Post-office No. 19] was finally
found in a dark corner of the cellar. It only lived two days after
we found it.
PUSS.
* * * * *
ISHPEMING, MICHIGAN.
In a late number of YOUNG PEOPLE, Edwin A. H. wrote about his
cabinet of curiosities, and inquired if any other readers had one.
I would like to tell him that my brother and I each has a small
one.
F. B. MYERS.
* * * * *
NEW YORK CITY.
In answer to L. H. N.'s question in YOUNG PEOPLE No. 20, I would
say that the whale is dead.
JOHN R. BLAKE.
* * * * *
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.
In YOUNG PEOPLE No. 18 there was a letter from Nellie R. asking
what to do for her parrot. In Holden's book on birds I found if
you feed your bird with too rich food, it causes a skin disease
and an itching sensation which the bird tries to relieve by
pulling out its feathers. The only remedy is to feed it on raw or
boiled carrots, or well-roasted pea-nuts.
LYDIA R. F.
* * * * *
NEW YORK CITY.
I would like to have you tell E. L. M., of Washington, that the
reason the mouse she used to feed is wild now is because mice are
very shy, and when they can get their supper without going in
danger, they will not take any foolish risk. Before E. L. M. fed
the little fellow, I suppose he was almost starved, and did not
think anything about getting hurt.
MABEL H. B.
* * * * *
ENTERPRISE, MISSISSIPPI.
I read YOUNG PEOPLE every week, and I like it very much. I am now
reading "Biddy O'Dolan." We have not had any snow and ice here
this winter, so we can not make snow images and skate, like our
little friends in the North. But we find other ways to amuse
ourselves. Our flowers are blooming very pretty. I wish I could
give you one of our fresh bouquets.
ADDIE CHAMBERS.
* * * * *
OLD WESTBURY, LONG ISLAND.
This morning I made cake from Puss Hunter's recipe in YOUNG PEOPLE
No. 19. Mamma measured the things; but I made it all myself, and
it was lovely. I hope some other little girl will try it. I baked
it in two saucers. One cake we ate, and the other I cut in two,
and sent a piece to each of my grandmothers. I have a little
brother Sam. He is six years old, and the dearest little fellow in
the world. He and I have a nice dog. He is a pointer, and his name
is Perie. He is very handsome, but he is very naughty to cats. He
chases and kills them, so we can not have a kitty. I have six
dolls--three are French, and three are wax.
NELLIE T. WILLETS (8 years).
* * * * *
FORT PREBLE, PORTLAND, MAINE.
I thought you might be interested to hear about some Indians who
were confined in the old Spanish fort at St. Augustine, Florida,
when I was there. They were sent from the West, as disturbers of
the friendly relations between us and their tribes. When they
first came they looked very wild and savage, with their red
blankets, and long black hair, of which the men were very proud:
but when they went away their hair was short; they wore shoes and
collars and neck-ties, and the United States uniform. They behaved
so well that they were allowed to post their own sentinels, were
drilled by the officer in charge of them, and made a very
respectable company. Many of them learned to read and write, and a
large number are now at school in Pennsylvania.
CAMPBELL HAMILTON.
* * * * *
GROESBECK, OHIO.
My cousin Harry and I found some pepper-and-salt (or erigenia, as
my big sister calls it) on the east side of a hill in our woods on
the 28th of February. We also found spring-beauties and
pepper-root in bud. I never found wild flowers so early before.
Last year we found the first on the 11th of March.
HAZIE POOLE.
* * * * *
GALLIPOLIS, OHIO.
I am seven and a half years old, and I go to school. I had a
canary named Sweet. It died, and I buried it under the kitchen
window. I take YOUNG PEOPLE, and like the Post-office best of all.
My cousin Lizzie made me a fire-fly out of pasteboard, and it
flies nicely.
HERBERT H. HENKING.
* * * * *
TOPEKA, KANSAS.
I am a subscriber to YOUNG PEOPLE. I think it is a very nice
paper. I have a little pet antelope, and we feed it out of a
bottle.
HENRY BLAKESLEY.
* * * * *
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.
When I was four years old we had a young mule. The day it was born
my brother and I were going to see a little friend who lived near
us. I asked mamma if the mule could not go too, because it looked
very anxious to go. After that we always called it the anxious
mule.
WALTER H. C. (9 years).
* * * * *
ELDRED, NEW YORK, _March 10_.
The picture of a little girl pulling the Chinaman's pigtail, and
asking if it would ring, amused us very much, for it reminded us
of something that happened to my little brother. He went with papa
and mamma to the Centennial Exhibition. At first he was very shy
of the life-size groups dressed in the costumes of different
countries; but when he found they were not alive, he would go and
examine them very closely. When he visited the Chinese Department,
a gentleman stood there in full Chinese costume. The little fellow
ran up and touched his dress, thinking he was a figure like the
others, and was frightened almost to death when the supposed
figure stooped down and patted his cheek. Willow "pussies" were
here two weeks ago.
ELIZABETH E. BECK (10 years).
* * * * *
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.
I like YOUNG PEOPLE very much. My father is a clergyman, and he
says it is a good paper for boys and girls. I like to make
"Wiggles." I made a big pig from No. 9, but it was very crooked,
and looked like a calf. When I get to be a man, I will learn to
print newspapers, and I will put in lots of "Wiggles." I like the
new story, "Across the Ocean," very much.
THEO. F. JOHN.
* * * * *
HASTINGS, MINNESOTA.
In our school we use HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE for a reader, and we
all like it so much. We had a lesson to-day about "Tracking a
buried River." On Saturday before Washington's Birthday our
teacher let us have a school party. He bought candy and oranges
for us, and the boys and girls brought pies and cake. Some of the
teachers from the other schools came, and we set a table, and made
tea.
LUCY A. T.
* * * * *
XENIA, OHIO, _March. 8, 1880_.
I have been to a sugar camp, and I saw how maple sugar is made.
When I did not want to stay in the camp, I ran over the hills, and
I went with the boys on the sled to gather sap, and I found some
pretty moss and flowers. When they made sugar, one of the boys
made me a little wooden ladle to eat it with.
JESSA HOOVEN.
* * * * *
FORT CONCHO, TEXAS.
I wish that every boy and girl would read HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE,
for I like it very much. I like the puzzle part best of all. I
have read Bertie Brown's letter. I live at an army post too, but
there are no Indians here. We have prairie-dogs, all kinds of
cactus, and mesquite-trees. I have seen some big tarantulas, too.
I go to the post school every day. We have good times out here. I
am a little over ten years old.
ARTHUR W. DUNBAR.
* * * * *
NEW YORK CITY.
I would like to inquire if the pupils of a big school, of which I
am one, each send a short story, essay, poem, or a drawing to
YOUNG PEOPLE, if the one the editors think the best would be
published, with the name of the author.
B.
We will publish such contributions, giving full name and address of
author. But before being sent, the stories, poems, essays, and drawings
must be submitted to your teacher, and only those forwarded to us which
the teacher considers the best. We will ourselves make the final
decision. The copy must be neatly written, and on one side of the paper
only.
* * * * *
ARTHUR M. M.--There will be a table of contents published at the end of
every volume of YOUNG PEOPLE.
* * * * *
HARRY S.--An answer to your question would occupy too much space in this
department. It will, however, be made the subject of a separate article
in some future number of YOUNG PEOPLE.
* * * * *
J. U. B.--Any taxidermist will give you the desired information.
* * * * *
JESSIE S.--The great Greenland whale which is found in the Northern
Ocean has a throat so small that it can not swallow anything larger than
a herring. Its principal food consists of a small marine mollusk, about
an inch and a half long. It catches its dinner by rushing through the
water with its immense jaws wide open. When its mouth is full, it ejects
the water, while the whalebone fringe with which it is provided catches
all the little sea-creatures, which serve as food for the monster. The
sperm-whale has a much larger throat, and is said to be able to swallow
a man.
* * * * *
CHARLES H. B.--There are so many kinds of worms, snakes, and other
little creatures which may be the architects of the holes you have
noticed, that you had better dig open some of the little dwellings, and
see what you can find. Dig very carefully, and send word to YOUNG
PEOPLE'S Post-office if you discover anything curious.
* * * * *
BIRDIE S.--Thanks for your very kind notice, but your pretty puzzle is
so complimentary to ourselves that we can not print it.
* * * * *
EMMET M. L.--_The American_, your amateur paper, is very neatly printed,
and well made up.
* * * * *
MARIE L.--The extra number of brakes on Mount Washington steam-engines
is to increase the safety of the descent.
* * * * *
Sallie Floyd reports Japan quinces in bloom at Carthage, Missouri, on
March 7; Nellie Sands, of Lawrence, Kansas, writes that robins and
redbirds have lived all winter in the evergreens in her garden; "Henry,"
of Philadelphia, says the dandelions have been in bloom almost all the
time; and Lillie Cassiday writes that it snowed hard on March 14 and 18
in Winterset, Iowa--the only snow of the winter in that locality.
* * * * *