Skip to content

Chapter I: Front Matter

Text size

Chatterbox

FOUNDED BY J. ERSKINE CLARKE, M.A.

Boston: DANA ESTES & COMPANY, 212, Summer Street.

Copyright, 1878, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1879, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1880, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1881, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1882, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1883, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1884, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1885, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1886, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1887, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1888, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1889, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1890, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1891, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1892, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1893, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1894, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1895, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1896, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1897, by Estes & Lauriat.
Copyright, 1898, by Dana Estes & Co.
Copyright, 1899, by Dana Estes & Co.
Copyright, 1900, by Dana Estes & Co.
Copyright, 1901, by Dana Estes & Co.
Copyright, 1902, by Dana Estes & Co.
Copyright, 1903, by Dana Estes & Co.
Copyright, 1904, by Dana Estes & Co.
Copyright, 1905, by Dana Estes & Co.
Copyright, 1906, by Dana Estes & Co.

PRESSWORK BY COLONIAL PRESS; C. H. SIMONDS & CO. BOSTON, U.S.A.

CONTENTS.

1906.

Page

About the Ash 250

About Topiaries 99

A Brave Answer 43

A Brave Lad 309

A Chinese Solomon 15

A Generous Act 99

A Gentle Donkey 378,
390, 398, 402, 410

A Good Comrade 159

A Hasty Judgment 375

A Humorous Punishment 70

A Hundred Years Ago 15,
54, 74, 107, 155, 179, 211, 250, 282, 307, 347

A Modern Wizard 394

An Artful Jack 162

An Eastern Puzzle 355

Anecdotes, 6,
30, 34, 43, 51, 66, 147, 179, 190, 218, 227, 235, 323,
341, 355, 371, 378, 382, 395, 407

An Intruder 269

A Pincushion Factory 91

Apples or Thistles? 267

A Seasonable Answer 11

A Silent Reproof 331

A Story of the Unforeseen 190

'As You Please' 277

A Turkey's Costly Diet 302

Average 395

'A Will of Her Own' 279

A Wonderful Weighing Machine 203

Barnacles and Geese 238

'Billikins' 239

Catching Birds under Water 323

Caught by a Tree 218

Chinese Physic 182

Clothed in _Chatterbox_ 348

Conquered by Love 214

Conscience and the China Figures 178

Counting 238

Crébillon and the Rat 291

Crocodiles in Central Africa 75

Crowded Out 403

Curious Granaries 292

Cutting It Down 278

Elephants attacking a Granary 46

Ethel's Golden Offering 22

Eva's Kitten 333

Faithful to Duty. 83

Famous Roses 326

Feathered Friendship 53

Flowers and Colours 262

Flowers of the Night 118

Fred's New World 62

Forgetful Fanny 26

Gas-light Insect-hunting 395

Glimpses of Hedgehog Life 141

Graham's Last Practical Joke 162

Grey-skin's Adventures 221

Hare _versus_ Pheasant 214

Haydn's Drum 34

His Master's Hat 15

How Gordon Kept Shop 238

How the Arabs Bake their Bread 357

How to Obtain Food 139

Huge Birds 403

In Harvard Museum 350

Iron-smelting in India 285

Jess 397

Jock's Collie 351

Long Lived 83

Long Tom's Gratitude 13

Marvels of Man's Making 2,
42, 78, 126, 148, 187, 218, 243, 282, 316, 405

Mary's Reward 77

May Day 175

Movable Roofs 253

'Mr. Harold' 349

Muriel's First Patient 327

Not Afraid 407

Not Guilty 251

Now 237

Old Oxford Castle 230

Old Sarum 342

Olive and the Bees 109

One Thing at a Time 175

Peeps into Nature's Nurseries 11,
37, 59, 75, 100, 131, 134, 164, 203, 235, 275, 299, 339,
371

Ping-Kwe's Downfall 303

Plants with Signs 347

Ploughing in Syria 315

Puzzlers for Wise Heads 15,
51, 75, 115, 147, 179, 214, 254, 286, 323, 371, 395

Rosie 165

Round the Camp-fire 19,
26, 34, 66, 82, 98, 130, 154, 194, 205, 226, 258, 338, 354,
386

Saved by a Gipsy 243

Sir Ralph Abercromby 174

Sowing and Reaping 18, 123

Spider Runners 382

Stories from Africa 30,
46, 58, 60, 106, 138, 170, 210, 242, 266, 290, 330, 362

Strange Nesting-places 324

Tabby's Ghost 389

Taking It Literally 132

Teaching Him a Lesson 410

Telegraph Wires in Central Africa 164

The Arbalist, or Crossbow 212

The Barberry 147

The Brave Countess 379

The Broken Promise 365

The Captain's Pudding 258

The Count and the Dove 254

The Cow-waggon 363

The Dead Watch 115

The Duck-billed Platypus 181

The Duke's Ruse 299

The First Tea 159

The Force of Labour 390

The Giant of the Treasure Caves 6,
10, 22, 30, 38, 47, 50, 63, 70, 74, 87, 94, 102,
110, 114, 123, 134, 142, 146, 157, 166, 172, 182,
186, 198, 202, 214, 222, 230, 234, 246, 254, 262,
270, 274, 286, 294, 298, 310, 314, 322, 334, 342,
346, 358, 367, 370, 382

The Groaning Tree of Baddesley 235

The Honest Sailor 122

The Hoof-mark on the Wall 171

The Kestrel's Eggs 196

The King of Persia 396

The Ladybird and the Caterpillar 306

The Last Time 3

The Leopard's Looking-glass 380

The Little Old Woman 373

Themistocles and the Greek Generals 331

The Misunderstood Poets 286

The Moles and the Mountain 54

The Multiplication Table 26

The Music of the Nations 21,
51, 69, 115, 147, 172, 195, 229, 261, 292, 324, 380

The New Zealand Glow-worm 334

The Penguin 277

The Picture-cleaners 139

The Policeman's Joke 301

The Prairie Dog 61

The Ptarmigan and Pine Marten 66

The Reward of a Genius 142, 151

The Riddle of the Year 155

The Rosemont Grotto and the Petchaburg Caverns 396

The Self-heal 267

The Sensible Hare 374

The Shadoofs and Draw-wheels of Egypt 43

The Sloth 93

The Soldier of Antigonus 291

The Story of Rock-salt 302

The Sugar Maple 294

The Symbols of Japan 214

The Timid Mouse 348

The Trials of Leckinski 306, 319

The Union Jack 348

The Way to Command 62

The Yak 125

Think This Out 222

'Those Horrid Boys' 207

Too Much for the Whistle 54

To the Rescue! 261

True Happiness 310

Umbrella Treason 18

Union is Strength 189

Waits 166

Well Repaid 355

Where there's a Will there's a Way 387

Wild Animals in Captivity 18

POETRY.

A Butterfly's Wing 207

A Mermaid's Song 182

A Studious Elf 235

A Tale of Bremen 101

A Thoughtless Daisy 351

Cloud Pictures 374

Dream-time 310

Fairy Pictures 163

'Fire!' 243

Fire Pictures 258

For the Little Ones 159

Going to Bed 126

Heart's-ease 387

Little Things 62

Little Workers 190

Looking Up and Looking Down 299

Lying Awake at Night 115

Made Beautiful 379

Mornin' 339

Mr. and Mrs. Brown's Journey in the Family Coach 406

My Dreams 147

My Garden 291

Night and Day 396

No Harm Meant 6

Perhaps 110

Santa Claus 358

Santa Claus's Postman 171

Stop Thief! 227

The Almond and the Raisin 83

The Bee 54

The Daisy 75

The Disappointed Hen 26

The Disobedient Mouse 213

The Fairies' Night 363

The Fairy Queen's Gift 34

The Fountain 319

The Glow-worm 195

The Grumbling Rose 276

The Little Blind Linnet 254

The Moon-ship 70

The Mysterious Visitor 139

The Night before My Birthday 94

The Pedlar 407

The Princess has Come 286

The Shepherd Moon 131

The Singers Yet To Be 218

The Singing Bird 402

The String of Pearls 384

The Undecided Travellers 43

The Wrong Wind 18

Time Flies 257

Two Little Drops of Rain 326

ILLUSTRATIONS.

COLOURED PLATES.

Close on His Heels, _Frontispiece_

The Boy Doctor, facing p. 64

A Fight to a Finish, facing p. 128

Opportunity Makes the Thief, facing p. 192

'Chorus, Please!' facing p. 256

Tent Pegging, facing p. 320

Page

A Brave Lad 309

A _Chatterbox_ Costume 348

A Clay Grain Storehouse 293

A Contest with the Longbow 213

A Cow Waggon Encamped and on the March 364

'All went well at first' 392

'A Madi village being removed' 253

An Arab Bakery 357

'A native lay at the foot of a tree' 129

'A terrible sight met their view' 289

'A wren built its nest in the pocket' 325

'By waters still in sweet spring-time' 388

'Charlie Eccles half lay, half sat upon the ground' 97

'Colonel Smith emptied the glass' 361

'Concealment was impossible' 137

Crossbow and Arrows used for Sport 213

Egyptian 'Sakiveh' 44

Egyptian 'Shadoof' 44

'Fast Asleep!' 301

'Father, is that my present?' 377

'Fire!' 244

'Give me back my money' 356

Grain Huts 293

'He finished by backing hard into the small wooden gate' 400

'He handed John an official paper' 180

'He has a winning tongue' 408

'He placed a sovereign on the counter' 121

'He placed the "drum" on a chair, and practised diligently' 33

'He ran out just as he was' 84

'Here is a nice little bit of work for you, my lad' 268

'He sat silent, waiting for the reply' 265

'He seized one of the ladders' 85

'He staggered forward and reached the landing' 240

'He swung himself off the ground' 329

'He was chaired all round Covent Garden' 156

'He was greeted by a jet of water' 152

'His shoulder caught me as he passed' 153

'Hold hard there!' 197

'I held a long stick for him to hook on' 93

'In his despair he clenched his fist' 4

Iron-smelting in India 285

'I say that he is a French spy!' 305

'Is the bird alive or dead?' 277

'I struck furiously at the brute' 385

'I struggled up' 260

'It became necessary to descend the shaft' 41

'It is only the masterful calf 269

'It's Captain Halliard!' 393

'I was received with joy' 205

'I will come with you at once' 365

'Just then a man on horseback appeared' 25

'King Louis leaped fully armed into the sea' 29

'Let me have a doll to play with' 208

'Lieutenant Fegan led a gallant resistance' 241

Loading a Military Crossbow 212

'Mag raised her shrill note of warning' 53

'Managed to upset a wooden watch-house' 108

'Mother, this chair was full of gold pieces!' 56

'Mr. Merry was just leaving the house' 389

Muriel's First Patient 328

'My partner being the lamp-post' 337

'No room for Jealousy' 404

'One at a time, they found themselves pinioned' 105

'One of the largest pounded upon the wall with his tusks' 45

Peeps into Nature's Nurseries (Illustrations to), 12,
37, 60, 76, 76, 100, 101, 132, 164, 165, 204, 233, 237,
276, 300, 340, 341, 372

'Piggy lifted the heavy lid to feed upon the cheese' 141

'Please, sir, will you--would you buy a pincushion?' 92

Ploughing in Syria 316

Plymouth Breakwater 188

Prairie Dogs 61

'Scores of angry bees came buzzing round her' 109

'See! A Matabele!' 193

'Set to the hardest and most menial work' 57

'She was floating away in the midst of the stream' 280

'Some one is lost in the snow, and Lassie knows it' 373

'Soon the two little mischief-makers were busy at
work on the pictures' 140

'Stalked while I myself stalked the water-buck' 36

'Stepping down from the vase and crowding round Hugh's bed' 177

'Stop thief!' 228

'The African beauty was greatly taken with Lander' 209

'The bear would eat and drink in a truly dignified fashion' 249

The Birmingham Water-works 317

'The carpenter took off his coat' 281

The Cooking Lesson 77

'The crowd drew him along in triumph' 308

'The dog darted after the bat' 16

'The dog gave the horse the turnip' 160

'The dog took kindly to her foster-children' 17

The Duck-billed Platypus 181

The Egg Poacher 65

The first Passenger to cross the Brooklyn Bridge 1

The first Railway Journey in England 80

The Forth Bridge 245

The Giant of the Treasure Caves (Illustrations to), 8, 9,
24, 32, 40, 48, 49, 64, 72, 73, 88, 96, 104, 112, 113,
124, 136, 144, 145, 157, 168, 173, 184, 185, 200, 201,
216, 224, 232, 233, 248, 256, 264, 272, 273, 288, 296,
297, 312, 313, 321, 336, 344, 345, 360, 368, 369, 384

The Great Eastern 149

'The great work was soon accomplished' 120

'The head of a snake thrust out close to him' 169

'The kitten at once began lapping' 333

'The lad emptied the pail over his employer' 133

'The luckless fugitives were dragged forth' 89

The Manchester Ship Canal 281

'The most wily and cunning black pig that ever made his escape' 192

'The motor came to a standstill' 401

The Music of the Nations (Illustrations to), 21, 52, 69,
116, 148, 172, 196, 229, 261, 292, 324, 380

'Then came the difficult task of bringing down the little lad' 13

The Nile Dam at Assuan 220

'The pike seized the stoat' 161

'The precious picnic-basket rolling down the turf' 376

'The promise of a thousand songs' 217

'There, still on the boulder, was Collie, barking' 352

'The thing exploded in the air' 225

'The third time he collapsed, and was pulled back 353

The Union Jack 348

'The weight of the two birds had the desired effect' 189

The Words of Command 117

'They began to examine the damaged axle' 332

'They were passing a field of ripe corn' 409

'They were playing with me as though I were a big mouse' 68

'This is a present which your uncle has sent you' 397

'Three yelping, delighted dogs' 28

'Throw your bad temper overboard' 304

'Tim pressed up the lid with his head' 412

Victoria Falls 128

'"Watch him!" said Douglas' 252

'What a feast I had!' 221

'What did the strange beast mean by gazing at him?' 381

'What do they want with me?' 320

'"What is the matter?" I asked him' 81

'Who's that that dares to serve me so?' 5

'Why don't you take off your hat to me?' 176

'Why not start, a round of story-telling?' 20

Yaks 125

'"You have found me out," said the captain' 257

Chatterbox.

MARVELS OF MAN'S MAKING.

I.--THE BROOKLYN SUSPENSION BRIDGE.

When two large cities stand opposite to one another on the banks of a river, it is not likely they can do very well without a bridge to connect them. Yet the citizens of New York and Brooklyn were obliged to manage as best they could for a good many years before they had their bridge. There were many difficulties in the way. For one thing, the river is very broad; for another, the tall-masted ships ply up and down so frequently that it would never do to build anything which would obstruct their passage; and to overcome these difficulties would mean the expenditure of a vast sum of money. But the folk who earned their daily bread in New York and lived in Brooklyn grew thoroughly tired of spending chilly hours in foggy weather on the river-side piers, waiting for the ferry-boat to come and take them across, and at last they began an agitation which resulted in the Brooklyn Bridge.

The engineer who made the first design was Mr. John A. Raebling; but he did not live to see it carried into effect; for one summer day in 1869, when selecting the spot at which the great work should be begun, he met with an accident which caused his death a few days later. His son, Mr. Washington Raebling, then took the lead. Plans were carefully drawn and submitted to the Government, who, after much consideration, ordered that the bridge should be five feet higher and five feet wider. This apparently slight change added about 172,800_l._ to the cost of building, for little changes in big things mean more than big changes in little ones. The original cost was to be 10,800,000 dollars, or about 2,160,000_l._; but in the end it amounted to nearly 3,100,000_l._

Before we talk of the trouble and labour, let us look for a moment at the great things the engineers have accomplished.

The Brooklyn bridge is five thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine feet long and eighty-five feet wide. The huge cables that support it stretch like the strands of a monster spider-web from the tops of two towers, each two hundred and seventy-six feet high and standing one thousand five hundred and ninety-five feet apart. The above is the length of the central span; the two other spans, from the land to the towers, are each nine hundred and thirty feet long in addition. The roadway, one hundred and thirty-five feet above the river, is divided into five parts. The two outside ones are for vehicles, the middle one for foot passengers, and the remaining two for cable trams. The footway is eight feet higher than the others, so that an uninterrupted view is gained from it. The four cables supporting this heavy structure are anchored at both ends in blocks of masonry weighing sixty thousand tons each; so that there is little fear of their being dragged from their moorings. The bridge was opened amid a blaze of fireworks on May 24th, 1883.

On May 7th, 1870, the tower on the riverside at Brooklyn was begun, and completed just five years later; its companion on the opposite side was a year behind it. The foundations of these great towers lie in solid rock seventy-eight feet below the high-tide line on the New York side, and only a little less on the Brooklyn side.

The towers once completed, the task of laying the cables across from summit to summit engaged the thoughts of the engineers. This was no ordinary case of swinging a steel rope across a river, for the gigantic size and weight of the cables made it impossible to use ordinary means. First of all it would be necessary to make a communication from tower to tower. To accomplish this, one end of a coiled steel rope was carried to the top of the Brooklyn tower and passed over until it dangled into the river beneath. Here a steamboat dragged it across the river to the foot of the New York tower, where it was hauled up, and having been passed over the top, was carried down to the masonry anchorage already mentioned. Here it was wound round a revolving drum or pulley, and started back again to Brooklyn in the same manner, thus forming an endless band along which material could be carried by revolving the pulley at either end.

Though this rope was three-quarters of an inch in thickness, it was almost invisible to the people on the river, two hundred and seventy-six feet below. Yet it was the first 'stitch' in the great web, and thousands of eyes were turned towards it on August 25th, 1876, when the very first passenger crossed along it from shore to shore. This passenger was Mr. Farrington, one of the engineers. He wished to encourage his men by a good example, for over that terrible gulf it would soon be necessary for many of them to go. His seat was a small piece of board such as we use for a swing in a playground, and it was attached to the wire by four short ropes. The perilous journey took more than twenty minutes, and the people below watched almost breathlessly as the slender thread swayed up and down with the weight of the traveller. To their eyes it appeared at times as if he was soaring through the air unsupported, so thin was the line by which he hung.

And now the weaving of the cables began, and this was perhaps the most remarkable undertaking in the construction of the great bridge. To the endless band by which Mr. Farrington had crossed, there was fixed what is called a 'carrier.' This was to grip the end of the first wire (as the eye of the needle takes the thread); bear it across the river over the tops of the lofty towers; 'stitch' it to the New York shore (or anchorage) and bring it back again.

And that is what it did. This new wire (only one-eight of an inch thick--thinner, that is, than the first wire, on which Mr. Farrington had crossed) was two hundred miles long, and it had to perform the journey many hundred times before the first 'skein' was complete. Thus you will see that a single 'skein' stretched from shore to shore, consisting of nearly three hundred separate threads. These were bound tightly together at frequent intervals, and when a bunch of nineteen of them had been made, the first cable was ready for completion. But this was a matter of great difficulty. You will easily understand that it was necessary for every wire to do its share in bearing the weight of the bridge. Therefore, they must all be at an equal strain from tower to tower. Now you know that on a sunny day a bar of steel is longer than it is on a cloudy day, for the metal expands with heat. Consequently, when the sun came out to see what they were doing at Brooklyn, the wires upon which it shone became longer than those in the shadow behind them. Of course, in a short distance this would not be noticeable, but it made such a difference in the work we are describing, that the strength of the cable would have been greatly lessened had the strands been bound together in the sunshine, while some of the wires were slack, and some were tight. Even the wind interfered sadly; but by choosing dull, still days, when all the wires were subjected to the same temperature, they were at last successfully bound together.

Notwithstanding the perilous nature of this cable-weaving, it was attended by only one serious accident, and that was when one of the 'skeins' broke loose from the New York shore, and, leaping like the lash of a giant whip over the tower top, plunged into the river below. It narrowly missed the ferry-boats and other craft.

The effect of the temperature on such vast quantities of metal is shown in many ways. By shortening and lengthening the cables, it heightens and lowers the bridge, which is consequently slightly higher above the river in winter than it is in summer. At the tower-tops the cables rest on huge iron saddles, which are placed upon forty steel rollers, so that the cables may move more freely in expanding and contracting. Again, the bridge itself is not made in one piece, but is severed half-way across and provided with a sliding joint, so that all shall act obediently to the dictates of the ever-changing weather.

Thus you see there is more in building a bridge than appears to those who do not remember that a knowledge of nature's laws must guide the architect's hand when he is drawing his plans, and govern the engineer's tools when he is carrying those plans into effect.

JOHN LEA.

THE LAST TIME.

'You might do it for me, just this once, Barton,' said Lopes in a tone of anxiety not often heard from a schoolboy. 'Your father is a rich man, and you can always get all the money you want from him, and if you will only lend me this, I will never borrow from you again. Do ask for the money at once!'

Barton looked much perplexed at this appeal, but he answered firmly: 'I can't do it, old fellow! I have given my word to my father never to be mixed up in any betting transaction, and I cannot ask him for money to go to a bookmaker.'

'Then I'm ruined!' said Lopes, passionately, 'and much you care, though you and I have been chums together ever since we first entered the school!' and in his despair he clenched his fist and seemed almost as if he were going to strike his friend.

Barton put up his arm to shield himself as he said in a low voice, 'Look out, Lopes; don't shout so! we don't want all the kids to know about this matter;' for just at this moment a trio of merry lads came round the corner of the Fives Court, whooping and shouting at the top of their voices. 'Come to the garden; we shall be quiet there, and can talk over matters, and see what can be done;' and Barton closed the book he had been studying and led the way to the nut-walk which was sacred to the Sixth Form.

Lopes followed gloomily. 'It's no good talking, if you won't help me,' he said as they reached the quiet path.

'But I want to help you,' said Barton, 'and I think I see a way out of this scrape.'

'Oh, do you?' said Lopes eagerly. 'If only I could pay off this man and have done with him, I would never bet again. I see now what a silly fool I have been. Tell me your plan, Barton.'

'Go and tell Mr. Arundel all about it. I don't believe bookmakers have any right to tempt boys like us to lay money on horses, and---- '

'Mr. Arundel! one of the masters! He would go and tell the Head straight off, and I should be expelled,' said Lopes bitterly. 'I thought you had some better plan than that!'

'Mr. Arundel is a gentleman,' said Barton quietly, 'and what you tell him in confidence will go no further, you may be sure of that; I believe he could help you.'

'I wish I could think so,' sighed Lopes. 'I can think of nothing, and settle to nothing with this debt on my mind.'

'Go to Mr. Arundel,' urged Barton. 'I know you will not regret it.'

'Well, I will,' at last said Lopes. 'I will go at once before my courage fails me.'

'I will come with you,' said Barton, taking his friend's arm.

'You are a good chap, Barton; you don't desert a fellow when he is down!' said Lopes gratefully. 'I wish I had taken your advice at first, and thrown the bookmaker's letter on the fire.'

* * * * *

There is no space here to tell of all Mr. Arundel said and did to help Lopes out of his ugly betting scrape. Though the master did not fail to show Lopes how wrongly he had acted, he had a real pity for the boy who had been so tempted by the bookmaker's letter, and he determined to let that gentleman know what he knew of him.

So a very strong letter was sent off by Mr. Arundel, telling the man that unless he released the schoolboy from all his so-called debts, he would have him publicly shown up and prosecuted for dealing with a minor.

By return of post came the desired release from the bookmaker, and Mr. Arundel handed it to the boy with a pleasant smile. 'You are free, Lopes; you will hear no more of this man, I can promise you, and you must promise me never to bet again.'

'I will--I do, sir! and thank you most deeply,' said Lopes earnestly. If this had reached my father's ears, it would have broken his heart. Oh, thank you so very much! You do not know how miserable I have been.'

Lopes kept his word, and that bet was his last one. He had learnt that honesty and straightforwardness get rid of any difficulties.

NO HARM MEANT.

Two puppies with good-natured hearts, but clumsy little toes,
Were feeling rather sleepy, so they settled for a doze;
But underneath the very ledge on which they chanced to be,
A large and stately pussy cat was basking dreamily.

A short half-hour had hardly passed, when one pup made a stir,
And stretching out a lazy paw, just touched the tabby's fur;
'Twas nothing but an accident, yet, oh! the angry wail!
The flashing in the tabby's eye, the lashing of her tail!

'Who's that that dares to serve me so?' she cried with arching back.
'I'll teach you puppies how to make an unprovoked attack!'
One puppy started to his feet with terror in his eyes,
The other said, as soon as pluck had overcome surprise:

'I'm really very sorry, ma'am, but honestly declare
I hadn't any notion that a pussy cat was there.'
But just like those who look for wrong in every one they see,
She left the spot, nor deigned to take the pup's apology.

HOW MANY?

The Spartan King Agis was asked shortly before a battle: 'How many soldiers can you bring into the field?'

'As many as will suffice to rout the enemy!' was the Spartan's curt reply.

THE GIANT OF THE TREASURE CAVES.

By MRS. MULLIKEN.

Comments

Log in to leave a comment.

Chatterbox, 1906Chapter I: Front Matter

0%18 min left in chapter