The curious fishes with the tremendous name, the last part of which
means snipe-billed, are very long and defenseless, and are invariably
found among the leaves of a long sea-grass, which very nearly resembles
them in form and color. Their head is quite long, and they always seem
to stand on it, and when a hungry fish comes along, he would have to
look long and well to tell which was the grass and which the fish. These
grass-fish well earn their right to be called "mimics." These strange
features in such low animals teach an interesting lesson: they show more
strongly the wise governing of the great Maker, and correct the
mistake, often thoughtlessly made, that the lower animals have no
feelings, thoughts, or pleasures. If they do not show them as we do, it
is none the less true that they possess them, but in different degrees.
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=Little Jack Horner.=--The origin of the nursery rhyme has been said to
be as follows: When monasteries and their property were seized, orders
were given that the title-deeds of the abbey estates of Mells, which
were very valuable, should be given up to the commissioners. The mode
chosen of sending them was in the form of a pasty to be sent as a
present from the abbot to one of the commissioners in London. Jack
Horner, a poor lad, was chosen as the messenger. Tired, he rested in as
comfortable a corner as he could on his way. Hungry, he determined to
taste the pasty he was carrying. Inserting his thumb into the pie, he
found nothing but parchment deeds. One of these he pulled out and
pocketed, as likely to be valuable. The Abbot Whiting of Mells was
executed for having withheld the missing parchment. In the Horner family
was discovered years afterward the plum that Jack had picked out, one of
the chief title-deeds of Mells abbey and lands.
[Illustration: OUR POST-OFFICE BOX.]
Our heartiest thanks are due to our youthful readers who have sent us
pretty and gracefully written New-Year's wishes from all parts of the
United States. We would like to print every one of these welcome
letters, but they are so numerous it would be impossible. Our young
friends, however, may be sure that whether we print them or simply
acknowledge them, they are alike pleasing and gratifying to us.
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Robie Lozier (eleven years) writes that he punches a hole in his _Young
People_, and ties the numbers together with a ribbon, adding the new
numbers as fast as they come. This is an excellent suggestion, as it
preserves the numbers from getting scattered and lost.
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