Chapter XX: Misgivings (2)

_Tuesday_.--Jog a quarter of a mile for the purpose of developing the stride.

_Wednesday_.--Run seventy-five yards at speed; rest, and then run fifty yards at speed.

_Thursday_.--Practise the start ten times, running as before, not further than twenty yards each time; jog 220 yards slowly for stride.

_Friday_.--Run fifty yards at speed twice, with a rest between.

_Saturday_.--Run a trial 100 yards on time, and, after a rest, jog around the track for 220 yards.

To an ambitious young athlete who feels he is a future record-holder this schedule may seem altogether too light. There are no words strong enough, however, with which I can urge him not to attempt to do a bit more at the beginning. What is more, at the slightest sign of fatigue at this work, quit for the day.

For practising starts, where a pistol is unavailable, get some one to snap two boards together. Don't start by oral command. Get in the habit of getting off the mark at the crack of a pistol, or to a sound as nearly similar as possible. The jogging around the track should be taken very slowly, and is intended purely as a leg exercise and to develop the muscles of the calves and thighs. A long loose jog will lengthen the stride. When preparing for a contest lay off altogether the day immediately preceding it, and don't run your distance against time for three or four days previously. Run only fifty yards at those times if you are going into the 100, and try 150 if you intend entering the 220. In a 220 race you will find that you can make a stronger finish if you ease up a trifle for 5 or 10 yards at the 200-yard mark--although this is merely _comparatively_ speaking, for this race is a dash from start to finish. It will be better not to experiment with this suggestion until you become a pretty good judge of your pace.

The proper costume for a runner is a light jersey shirt with no sleeves, and china-silk running trousers that barely reach to the knees. If china silk is unavailable, cambric or cotton will do very well. Corks may be purchased of any dealer in sporting goods. Working shoes should be made of horse-hide, with no heels, and six spikes in the toes. The athlete should also have a pair of calf-skin shoes of the lightest possible make for use only in competition. While at work it is well to wear light socks, as these make the shoe fit more snugly; but in a race wear "pushers"; these are made of chamois, and cover the toes from the instep downward.

The interest in the big in-door games to be held at the Madison Square Garden on March 28th seems to be increasing every day. Not only have most of the prominent athletes of the New York schools already entered or signified their intention of entering, but many sportsmen from a distance will be on hand to try their powers against the home talent. The Hartford High-School will send three representatives to the meeting. Luce, the Captain of their track-athletic team, will enter the half, the quarter, and the 220. He won the quarter in the Connecticut H.-S.A.A. games of 1894, but only took second in the event last year on account of having gone stale. His best time is 51-2/5 seconds; his records for the half-mile and the 220 are 2 minutes 7 seconds, and 23-2/5 seconds. These, of course, are out-door records. F. R. Sturtevant will enter the pole vault and the running high jump. He has an in-door record of 9 feet 8 inches in the former event, and can clear 5 feet 7 inches in the jump. He has held the championship of the Connecticut H.-S.A.A. in these events for the past two years. J. W. Bradin, the third Hartford man, has not made a very strong showing in athletics as yet, but he is full of promise. He took third in the quarter at the Connecticut H.-S.A.A. games last year, and will enter that event in the Madison Square Garden games.

The baseball schedule of the New York Interscholastic League has been formulated, and was announced at the last regular meeting of the association. As was the case last year, the competing teams will play in two sections, and the games will be held on the following dates:

FIRST SECTION.

April 6--Drisler _vs._ Barnard.
April 10--Condon _vs._ Cutler.
April 15--Barnard _vs._ De La Salle Institute.
April 20--Condon _vs._ Drisler.
April 24--Cutler _vs._ De La Salle.
April 29--De La Salle _vs._ Drisler.
May 4--Barnard _vs._ Condon.
May 8--Cutler _vs._ Barnard.
May 13--Condon _vs._ De La Salle.
May 18--Cutler _vs._ Drisler.

SECOND SECTION.

April 8--Woodbridge _vs._ Hamilton Institute.
April 13--Columbia Grammar _vs._ Trinity.
April 17--Hamilton _vs._ Berkeley.
April 22--Columbia Grammar _vs._ Woodbridge.
April 27--Woodbridge _vs._ Berkeley.
May 1--Berkeley _vs._ Trinity.
May 6--Hamilton _vs._ Columbia Grammar.
May 11--Trinity _vs._ Hamilton.
May 15--Columbia Grammar _vs._ Berkeley.
May 20--Trinity _vs._ Woodbridge.

The winner of the first section will play the winner of the second for the League championship on May 27th, and all games will be played at the Berkeley Oval. Should there be a tie in any section, the Baseball Committee will assign a date for the deciding game.

THE GRADUATE.

This Department is conducted in the interest of Girls and Young
Women, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the
subject so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor.

"Why should that old lady care," I heard a girl say the other day, "whether or not her hair is turning gray? What possible difference can it make of what color is the hair of an old, old woman? Why, she mast be almost eighty!"

In the case in question the lady criticised was on the borderland of seventy, but to sixteen she might as well have been a hundred. Age and youth are relative. To the very young years count for more than they do to the older, who have lived longer, and have learned that the soul does not grow old with the body. I myself feel pity for elderly people who are ashamed of their age, and are so weak as to try to hide it, but I don't quite like to see young girls unsympathetic. Try, if you can, to fancy yourselves in the position of some of your elders--of women who remember, but do not look forward. As you go tripping on, with light steps, imagine what it would be to totter a little, to see dimly, to hear faintly, to feel worried at every little pain and mishap, to reach the days when "the grasshopper is a burden." No, you cannot do it. You are too full of life and gladness and energy. You are young, and youth is charming.

All this should make you very patient and gentle with old people. There is nothing more beautiful in this world than to observe the tenderness of some girls toward their aged relatives. Dear grandmother cannot thread her needles so easily as she used to do, and is sensitive on the subject; and does not like to be too obviously helped, to have attention called to her failing eye-sight, which she so much regrets and does not like to admit. There are two ways of meeting the difficulty. Mattie, a kind-hearted girl without much tact, will exclaim: "Oh, gran! what perfect nonsense for you to fuss over that needle! You know you cannot find the hole where the thread should go in; your eyes are too old. Give me the thing; I'll thread your needles!" The intention is most excellent, but the old lady is hurt and stifles a sigh. She had young eyes once, and she has the same independent spirit still. Edith, in the same circumstances, manages in another fashion. She simply threads a dozen needles, and leaves them all ready for grandmamma in her needle-book, saying, pleasantly, "It saves so much time, dear, in these busy days, to have one's needles all ready and waiting." Tact is a wonderful gift, girls, and well worth cultivating when it will help to make a saddened heart light, or to oil the domestic wheels and make them run smoothly.

Whatever you do, never suffer yourselves, girls, to show irritation or amusement at the foibles of an old lady or gentleman. One is as hard to bear as the other. The sweet girl who is thoughtful for and deferent in manner to the old people she meets wins the love and admiration of every one.

One rather peculiar thing about very old people is a failure of memory. They tell you a story to-day, and to-morrow they forget that they told it, and tell it over again. Now it really is not very hard to listen with a patient air and with interest to a tale you have heard before; it may be done, and it is worth the doing, if it adds a little pleasure to lives which are not as full of strength and cheerfulness as your own are.

MARGARET E. SANGSTER.

* * * * *

RECALLED STORMY TIMES.

"Well, that looks natural," said the old soldier, looking at a can of condensed milk on the breakfast-table in place of ordinary milk that failed on account of the storm. "It's the Gail Borden Eagle Brand we used during the war."--[_Adv._]

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NOT A DYSPEPTIC PEOPLE.

It is time that the old saw about Americans being a dyspeptic people was hung up. This has been a pet phrase with medical papers, some physicians, and professors of cookery altogether too long. The story has been repeated until we have acquired abroad the reputation of being a nation of dyspeptics, and if a nation of dyspeptics--then the producers of dyspepsia-provoking food.

Now it is not true that we are a dyspeptic people. On the contrary, whatever we may have been years ago, it is now a fact that we are the people freest from alimentary disorders upon the face of the earth. Further than this, the introduction of our hygienic foods among other nations is perceptibly increasing their health rate and adding to the longevity of their people.

There have been borrowed by our people from the French, English, and Germans the best cooking methods of each, and, combining these with American ideas, methods, and agencies, we have developed a school of cookery purely American, which is the perfection of culinary art, at once the delight of epicures and the hope of physicians.

In the aid of this reform no agency has had an equal influence with the Royal Baking Powder. It has been frequently remarked by the medical fraternity that the decline of those dyspeptic ailments which formerly prevailed among the American people was contemporaneous with the extended use of this article. The fact has likewise caused particular comment from both English and French hygienists. Professors Kahlman and De Wildes of the French Academy coincide that the Royal Baking Powder is the most important of cooking devices because of the essentially hygienic properties which it adds to the food, while Dr. Saunders, an eminent specialist, and the head of the Health Department of London, is an enthusiastic advocate of the "Royal," which he says is "a boon to mankind."

We are not a dyspeptic people, and the chief reason is because of our better, purer, and more wholesome bread.--_Journal of Health._

BREAKFAST--SUPPER.

EPPS'S

GRATEFUL--COMFORTING.

COCOA

BOILING WATER OR MILK.

A Request.

Readers of _Harper's Round Table_ will please mention the paper when answering advertisements contained therein.

FREE.

Comic return envelopes. Sleight of Hand exposed. List of 500 gifts. Album of cards. Send 2 stamps for postage. Address Banner Card Co., Cadiz, Ohio.

This Department is conducted in the Interest of Bicyclers, and the
Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the subject. Our
maps and tours contain much valuable data kindly supplied from the
official maps and road-books of the League of American Wheelmen.
Recognizing the value of the work being done by the L. A. W., the
Editor will be pleased to furnish subscribers with membership
blanks and information so far as possible.

Among the most difficult questions to answer, because it is always so varied, is that which involves how much, how long, how far the impersonal "I" should ride. I do not write this in the spirit of ridicule at all, for evidently the many inquiries received are sent in all seriousness, and even if this were not so the subject is such a serious one that it would demand earnest attention. It may be said that any particular person can ride, or rather may ride, just so far on a wheel as his physical powers and his physical training will permit him to without completely exhausting him. This is, of course, entirely relative, and there are at the same time cases where a man may exhaust himself without fear of injury, and other cases where he must stop long before he approaches the point of exhaustion, unless he wishes to take the chance of severe injury. Each person, in other words, must be his own judge of what his distance and speed may be, unless there is some one near to watch and advise him competently.

Having stated the general case, let us particularize. An average afternoon ride for a business man who does not train regularly is twenty miles, without much of a stop anywhere from the first to the twentieth mile. An average ride for a woman who probably never has taken much exercise is ten miles, with several dismounts, to walk up most hills, and get the variation on the muscles furnished by a little walk. An average ride for a young man in school or college who has been in pretty good condition for some time, if not absolutely in training, is from forty to fifty miles in an afternoon, without much stop. An average ride for a girl of healthy out-door life and training--for there is always a certain amount of physical training in out-door life--is twenty miles in a day, with several stops. Here are four grades, so to speak, which merely give us a basis to work on. Now as to the time occupied. In the first, the man's twenty-mile ride, it would be safe to say two hours should be occupied in doing the ride. In the second, or woman's ten-mile ride, about an hour and a half altogether would be required. That is to say, she will wheel at the rate of seven or eight miles an hour to occupy a good fifteen minutes in walking. The third case, that of the young man in training doing fifty miles, ought to occupy under four hours, or, at any rate, not much more than four hours; thus starting out at one o'clock in the afternoon, he should do his fifty miles and be at home again by five. Finally, in the girl's twenty-mile ride, with its more or less frequent stops for a walk, two to two and a half hours should be employed. If you happen to belong to any one of these four classes, very probably you cannot easily do the amount set down here as the average for that class. It will be found, however, that these figures in the end will strike the amount nearly at the general average. The fact that you cannot do the amount without becoming exhausted at the moment and stiff the next day simply means that you are not yourself up to the average. This is nothing to be discouraged over, as it is a very simple matter to reach the average by a little training--that is, a little steady riding for a week or two--unless, of course, there is something organically defective about you.

The important point in all this--for we cannot stop to go into details--is that bicycling does not depend on the amount of ground covered, nor upon the speed with which you cover it, but upon the pleasure of being out-of-doors, and of moving along over the ground to the comfort rather than the discomfort of your body, and, consequently, of your mind. Hence, if you are planning out a trip for some holiday, for example, or for a holiday of more than twenty-four hours, do not think out a trip which will be a record for distance covered. Yet that is the point of most of the inquiries received by this department. "Please tell me whether I can do seventy miles a day for a week. I am going to spend my vacation of a week on my wheel, and want to take as long a trip as possible. Can I do 500 miles in the week without becoming sick?" This is, of course, an imagined case, but it is representative of what is often considered the point of a trip of this sort. There never was a greater mistake made. The point of a week's bicycle trip is, or should be, fun, unless the absolute object is a road record for so many hundred miles--fun and amusement and health; and therefore you must not ride so far that you begin to make work of it, nor so short a distance that you do not get the pleasure of the exercise. You should not tire yourself by riding up absurdly steep hills; you should not make yourself disgusted with wheeling, or your doctor disgusted with you, by trying to keep up with a better rider, or trying to beat some professional bicyclist's record. Let the pace and the distance disappear from among the factors that make up a bicycle tour.

A NEWSPAPER MAN'S PROTÉGÉ.

An old newspaper man told the following story not long ago, which is interesting, in that it shows what pluck and ambition will do for a boy: "Several years ago I was detailed to cover some disastrous floods in the lower part of the State. After travelling slowly all the afternoon, about dusk we began getting into the flooded district. The conductor of the train expressed some fears about the condition of the track, so when the train reached Boylston, I hunted up the telegraph operator to learn what the chances were of reaching the scene of the floods.

"While discussing the probabilities, the train-boy came up and called out to the operator, 'Oh, Mr. Jackson, have you that shorthand book you promised me?'

"When he had gone the operator apologetically said, 'The boy is studying shorthand, sir.'

"'Rather a bright boy,' I remarked.

"'Oh yes; he knows a deal of shorthand already, and he can send on the wires almost as good as I can.'

"That sort of boy aroused my curiosity. I got hold of him when the train started, and found out a little of his history. Nothing extraordinary, you know; a country lad of poor parentage endeavoring to earn his living. Well, we were rolling along, it seemed to me very rapidly, when I felt the car give a lurch; then came a terrific bumping, and as the thought flew through my mind that the rails had spread, the car toppled over on its side with a crash. I came out of that wreck bruised and battered, with a broken leg.

"They got me into a house close by, and later I heard that fifteen people lost their lives. While waiting for the doctor I wondered how I could get the news of the disaster to the office. I thought of the train-boy. Just the chap, and I got one of the men in the house to search for him. In a short time the boy came, for luckily he had escaped with a few scratches. I explained to him what I wanted. Well, gentlemen, that boy knew everything about that accident, even to the number of spikes in the spread rail, and he took my copy down in shorthand like a professional.

"Before I got through I gave up, fainted, you know, and I never learned until some time after how the matter came out. It seemed from the dictation I gave him he got enough of an example out of it to enable him to finish the rest of the story in the same style, and got it over the wires in time for the edition. They never knew at the office that the story of the disaster had been sent by a train-boy until a couple of days later, when the corrected list of the killed and wounded reached them. As the boy failed to put my name on the list he sent in, and receiving what they thought was my report, they had concluded I had escaped. Several weeks after, when I was able to get about, I hunted up the lad, and made him a sort of protégé of mine; he is now a brilliant man in the profession!"

Any questions in regard to photograph matters will be willingly
answered by the Editor of this column, and we should be glad to
hear from any of our club who can make helpful suggestions.

PREPARATION OF TINTED SENSITIVE PAPERS.

NO. 3.--ANOTHER WAY OF OBTAINING VIOLET TONES.

In paper No. 2 directions were given for making violet tones in prints by sensitizing prepared photographic paper with nitrate of uranium, and developing the image with a chloride-of-gold solution. The French have a process of making violet tints much softer in tone than these, and which resemble delicate engravings. It is some trouble to prepare the paper, and a beginner would perhaps not be successful the first time trying, but the prints are so beautiful that it is worth while to learn how to make them.

Take a sheet of best photographic paper--Rives is very good--and coat it with the following solution: Hydrochlorate of ammonia, 1 oz.; rock candy, 1 oz.; distilled water, 20 oz. Dissolve the candy in the water, which may be slightly warmed if necessary, then add the chlorate of ammonia. Dip a piece of blue litmus paper in this solution, and if it turns it red add a few drops of ammonia water till it does not turn the litmus paper. Put the solution into a large flat tray, and float the paper on it for five minutes; drain, and hang up to dry. After the paper is dry, sensitize it with a solution made of 1-1/2 oz. of nitrate of silver and 10 oz. of distilled water. Float the salted paper on this bath for five minutes, and then dry. As soon as the paper is dried it is ready for printing. This is a printing-out paper, and the prints should be made as deep as for aristo or albumen paper.

Place the prints in a dish of soft water, to which has been added a few drops of ammonia water. Leave them in only a minute, and wash at once in several changes of clear water. The toning solution is made with Sel d'Or, 7-1/2 grs., distilled water, 15 oz., hydrochloric acid (pure), 1 dr. As soon as the prints have washed sufficiently place them one at a time face up in this solution, and tone till the prints have a deep purple tone in the shadows and a creamy white in the high lights. Wash well, and place in a fixing bath composed of 3 oz. of hypo and 16 oz. of water. Leave in this bath for half an hour, till the purple tones have faded somewhat; wash well in running water, and place them in a dish of clean water, and leave them for twenty-four hours. On taking them from the water they must be coated with albumen in order to avoid the dull appearance which the print would have if dried in the usual way.

Have a solution of equal parts of albumen and water, and as soon as the prints are taken from the water blot off the moisture with a piece of fine white blotting-paper, and brush the surface of the print with the mixture of albumen and water, using a flat camel's-hair brush. Pin them to dry on a flat board placed in an upright position. The reason why prints which are not squeegeed on to glass or a ferrotype plate should be dried in a horizontal or upright position is because, if they are dried flat, drops of moisture are apt to settle on the face of the print, and either cause distortion--that is, the print does not dry evenly--or the water leaves spots on the face of the print.

Any one who has seen some of the imported French prints in violet tones knows how exquisite they are, and while the process is some trouble, and the paper needs careful handling, after one has prepared two or three kinds of sensitive paper by more simple methods he will find this comparatively easy, and will be delighted with the result.

SIR KNIGHT RAY MEAD, WINONA, WISCONSIN, asks for a good formula for
a developer to use with films. The following will be found to give
excellent negatives: Solution No. 1. Water, 10 oz.; sulphite of
soda, 2 oz.; eikonogen, 165 grs.; hydroquinon, 80 grs. Add enough
water to make the solution up to 16 oz. Solution No. 2. Water, 10
oz.; carbonate of potassium, 1 oz.; sodium carbonate, 1 oz.; and
enough more water to make the solution up to 16 oz. For developing
take 1 oz. of No. 1, 1 oz. of No. 2, and 4 oz. of water.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

Ornamenting

It recently occurred to Tiffany & Co., the New York jewelers, to ornament a bicycle elaborately with gold, silver, and precious stones, believing that some wealthy customer would esteem so handsome a mount. They preferred to pay $100 each for

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Factories and General Offices, Hartford, Conn.

Branch Stores and Agencies in almost every city and town. If Columbias are not properly represented in your vicinity let us know.

Arnold

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Infants' and

Children's Wear.

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French Caps.

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Postage Stamps, &c.

STAMPS!

=800= mixed Victoria, Cape of G. H., India, Japan, etc., with fine Stamp Album, only =10c.= New 80-p. Price-list =free=. _Agents wanted_ at =50%= commission. STANDARD STAMP CO., 4 Nicholson Place, St. Louis, Mo. Old U.S. and Confederate Stamps bought.

$117.50 WORTH OF STAMPS FREE

to agents selling stamps from my 50% approval sheets. Send at once for circular and price-list giving full information.

C. W. Grevning, Morristown, N. J.

100 all dif. Venezuela, Bolivia, etc., only 10c.; 200 all dif. Hayti, Hawaii, etc., only 50c. Ag'ts w't'd at 50% com. List FREE! =C. A. Stegmann=, 5941 Cote Brilliante Ave., St. Louis, Mo

LOOK HERE, BOYS! 50 stamps and hinges, 15c.; 100, 25c. Cheaper packets if you want. Sheets on approval. List sent free. Send Postal Card.

W. C. SHIELDS, 30 Sorauren Ave., Toronto, Canada.

105 Stamps, Java, etc., hinges, cats., album, 5c. Agents at 50% get _free_ 8 stamps and album. Bargain cats. free; 3 bbls. of stamps free. A. BULLARD &. CO., 97 Pembroke St., Boston, Mass.

310 foreign Bolivia, etc., 10c.; 100 different China, etc., 10c. Finest approval sheet, at 50%. Agents wanted. Large price-list, free. SHAW STAMP CO., Jackson, Mich.

125 dif. Gold Coast, Costa Rica, etc., 25c.; 40 U. S., 25c. Liberal com. to agents. Large bargain list free. F. W. MILLER, 904 Olive St., St. Louis, Mo.

STAMPS! 100 all dif. Barbados, etc. Only 10c. Ag'ts w't'd at 50% com. List free. L. DOVER & CO., 1469 Hodiamont, St. Louis, Mo.

Stamps! App'l Sheets, 33-1/3 and 40% dis.; ref. req'd.

R. W. DeHAVEN, Box 4023, Station B, Phila., Pa.

Harper's Catalogue,

Thoroughly, revised, classified, and indexed, will be sent by mail to any address on receipt of ten cents.

ANOTHER PRIZE MUSIC COMPOSITION.

We have already announced the prizes for the best song settings to Mrs. Sangster's charming verses, "Our Little Echo." Here are awards for the Hymn Competition, "For Sowing and Reaping." We give the first-prize composition and the additional verses. The winner of the first prize of $5 is Mr. E. S. Hosmer, of Bristol, Conn., and of the second, Mr. W. H. Squires, of Philadelphia, both Round Table Patrons. Those whose compositions deserve special praise are: Christine R. Benedict, Harvey Reese, Blanche Elizabeth Wade, H. Hamilton Craig, Thacher H. Guild, Alice C. Banning, Helen H. Sohst, Harry R. Patty. Additional verses of "A Thanksgiving Song."

For parents who care for us day after day,
For sisters and brothers, for work and for play,
For dear little babies so helpless and fair,
O Father, we send Thee our praise and our prayer.

For teachers who guide us so patiently on,
For frolics with mates when our lessons are done,
For shelter and clothing, for every day's food,
We bless Thee, our Father, the giver of good.

For peace and for plenty, for freedom, for rest,
For joy in the land from the east to the west,
For the dear starry flag, with its red, white, and blue,
We thank Thee from hearts that are honest and true.

For waking and sleeping, for blessings to be,
We children would offer our praises to Thee;
For God is our Father, and bends from above
To keep the round world in the smile of His love.

Awards for Best Stories.

The most successful story contest the Table has ever had closed some weeks ago. Competition was restricted to those who had not passed their eighteenth birthday, and the limit of length, first announced at 1500 words, was raised to 2500. The prizes, three of $25 each, were increased by the addition of five $5 prizes. The success of the contest lies in the fact that the stories received were a great deal better than we ever received before, while the slightly changed conditions, without working injustice to any one, made the competition both easier and more liberal.

Conscientious judges read every word of every story submitted. Some stories of unusual merit were read half a dozen times. The number of well-written, probable, and interesting stories was most creditably large, and the making of awards correspondingly difficult. The three highest prizes are equal in value, but we place at the top, in point of excellence, "A Story of Strife," by Sir Knight F. M. McNaughton, aged sixteen, who lives in Quebec, Canada. Next, in rank we put "How Hector Saved the Train," by Sir Knight S. O. Rittenhouse, aged sixteen, of Lynn, Mass., and the third to "The Duke of Alva's Humiliation," by Sir Knight George C. Hirst, aged seventeen, of Philadelphia. Each is sent $25 in money.

Proofs of these stories have just been mailed to nearly three hundred persons, all under eighteen, who are to try to illustrate them. We want one illustration, and offer $10 for the best. Artists select their own subject after reading the stories. We allow them three stories in order to give them the best possible chance. We shall print the prize story that we happen to receive the best illustration for, and perhaps the other two. This Illustration Contest ends March 21th, but entries for it have now closed.

The five $5 prizes we award to the following, their excellence in the opinion of the judges standing in the order named--the best first, etc.:

"Quailin," by Lady Olive Arnold Dame, aged thirteen, of Medford, Mass.; "A Tale of the Football Field," by Sir Knight Lucien Memminger, aged sixteen, of Charleston, S. C.; "Putnam's Wolf," by Sir Knight Charles Frederick Hoffman, aged fifteen, of New York City; "A Wild-Goose Chase," by Sir Knight Harry T. Trowber, aged sixteen, of South Haven, Mich.; and "A Profitable Adventure," by Sir Knight Marion R. Gilbert, of Harrisburg, Pa.

Stories deserving, in our opinion, special commendation are: "A Last Chance," by Lady Frances S. C. James, of Mich.; "The Old Water-mill," by Lady Dell Whitney, of Wisconsin; "Three Chums and a Buffalo," by Sir Knight Egbert B. Heyser, of Missouri; "A Day's Fishing," by Sir Knight Preston K. Smalley, of Michigan; "Saving the Papers," by Sir Knight Rupert S. Holland, of Pennsylvania; "Balloon Voyage Round the World," by Sir Knight William Swanson, of Canada; and "The Little Cripple," by Sir Knight Edwin H. Andrews, of California.

The prizes, with our congratulations, have been forwarded, and the manuscripts of all stories returned to writers.

Answers to the Prize Puzzle.

Here are answers to Sir John R. Moreland's new-ideas puzzle. They are in two parts, 1, the numbers, and 2, the arithmetic:

1. A. D. 1572. 2, Raphael. 3, A. D. 70. 4, A. D. 1156. 5, Toucan (2). 6, Lincoln and Garfield. 7, A. D. 1015. 8, A. D. 1670. 9, Spina, a monk of Pisa. 10, Paulding, Van Wart, Williams. 11, "Jesus wept," "Rejoice evermore." 12, Drebel, a Dutchman. 13, King of Bourges. 14, 146. 15, 56. 16, "Citizen King." 17, John Hancock. 18, Francis Marion. 19, Stubb. 20, Deborah Simpson. 21, Paul Blouet. 22, Devil River. 23, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. 24, B. C. 31. 25, "Sailor King."

1572x7=11,004+70=11,074-1156=9918x2=19,836÷2=9918-1015=8903+1670=10,573+5= 10,578÷3=3526+4=3530+6=3536-13=3523-146=3377+56=8433-11=3422+11=3433-13= 3420÷5=684-14=670+10=680-5=675-21=654-31=623-10=613--that is, 6.13=the sixth day of the week (Friday), and the 13th of the month--the proverbial unlucky figure.

* * * * *

Questions and Answers.

Henry W. Ticknor, R. T. K., Clanton, Ala., makes the following kind offer: "As I live 'way down South in the land of cotton,' I will send to any one who sends me five cents to pay postage some cotton seeds and instructions how to plant and tend them. Should any members respond who live outside the United States and Canada, they should send at least fifteen cents for postage."

* * * * *

Several members who have recently asked to have their names published as wanting correspondents are reminded that we cannot print such requests, since unscrupulous persons not infrequently use such addresses. We would be glad to grant you the favor were it possible to do so, and avoid this annoying consequence. Reader: The Table rarely prints poems on this page, and prefers not to criticise young "poets" publicly. Jos. L. Dwyer, 103 Porter Street, Detroit, Mich., wants to receive sample copies of amateur papers.

* * * * *

Who?--When?--Where?--What?--Why?

I wonder if you would like to try the game of "The Five W's, or
Biographical Jumbles?" Provide each player with a pencil and a slip
of paper (a half sheet of commercial note is a good size), then
request each one to write at the top of the paper the first W, the
name of some well-known historical character; fold the paper over
to conceal the name, and pass it to his right-hand neighbor. Then
each player writes on the folded sheet the second W, when did he
live, and folding it again, passes it on as before. The third W,
written in the same way, tells where he lived and died; the fourth,
what he did; the fifth, why he did it; and the sixth and last
folding gives the results or consequences of his life.

The paper must be folded at each writing, and no player must know
what the others have written till the results are given, when each
player in turn unfolds his paper and reads it aloud. Of course
there are all sorts of incongruities and lots of fun over them,
besides a grand chance to furbish up forgotten history, in
straightening out the tangles, and setting matters right. Should
the sheet of paper at first supplied prove insufficient, another
may be easily attached with a convenient pin without unfolding. Of
course, the more items of interest brought in the better. A prize
may be given to the one who corrects the most mistakes, a tally
being kept for the purpose.

A game of Geographical Jumbles may be played in the same way, by
making an arrangement like this:

1. What--Name of country, city, river, mountain, etc.

2. Who--Inhabitants, celebrated people, etc.

3. Where--Situation.

4. When--Founded, antiquity, etc.

5. Why--Importance, productions, climate, historical associations

Try these games and you will like them.

H. E. BANNING.
NEWPORT, R. I.

This Department is conducted in the interest of stamp and coin
collectors, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question
on these subjects so far as possible. Correspondents should address
Editor Stamp Department.

The number of intelligent inquiries I receive each week is so large that all of them cannot be answered in the narrow limits of this column. Inquirers sending a _stamped and addressed_ envelope will be answered direct. Inquiries without prepaid and addressed envelopes will have to wait their turn.

The upper left-hand pane of 100-stamp sheet No. 170 contains both varieties of triangles (II. and III.). The first discovery was made in San Francisco, and dealers have been buying these sheets all over the country at $3 each. Several collectors managed to find a number of sheets in New York city, which they bought at face, and sold at fifty per cent. profit.

D. H. S.--I would advise you to ask your postmaster.

MRS. MAUD G. F.--The red stamps are the common 1851 issue.
Millions were used every day for over five years. The blue ones
are 1869 issue worth 25c. each. The Brattleboro, Vt., has the name
of the town and initials of the postmaster. It is printed on buff
paper in black ink.

MRS. E. V. B.--The $1 Colombian can be purchased for $8.

P. F. LISK.--I do not purchase stamps.

ROBERT PELTIER, Lycee Janson de Sailly, Paris, France, wants to
exchange French stamps for U.S. stamps and others.

W. T. HELM.--The "Postal Service" envelopes are not stamps; they
are franks. The one described is worth 20c.

ELIAS ALTER, New York City (gives no street address), and BURETTE
SNYDER, Cape Girardeau, Mo.--Wish to exchange stamps.

R. C. MEGRUE.--All the proof specimens of U. S. stamps are more or
less valuable. The "Department" proofs are worth more than the
proofs of the regular issues.

G. G. STONE.--The 1c. Columbians can still be bought at many
post-offices, hence there is no premium. Treasury Department used
set is worth about $8.

E. L. DAVIS.--There is no way to restore the color of a stamp
except where the color has oxydized. In that case a chemical which
can be bought of stamp-dealers for 25c. per bottle, will restore
the original color. Put your stamps on hinges, and you can change
easily as often as you want. Hinges cost 10 to 15 cents per 1000.

G. R. MOFFITT.--Your stamp is from Montenegro, which has issued
sets in 1874, 1880, 1893, and 1894.

F. S. PERKINS.--It is a medal or token, not a coin. No value.

S. C. R. OF K. B. K.--I cannot keep on repeating values of coins
given in back numbers of the present volume. See the ROUND TABLE
for December 17, 1895, and January 14, 1896. The rare pink is a
3c., not a 2c. stamp.

SERGEANT.--See answer to S. C. R.

L. B. HERSHEY.--The 3c. 1869 unused is worth 25c.; used, 2c.--that
is, dealers ask those prices. They buy much cheaper.

D. BARNUM.--Your list of inquiries is too long for answer in this
column. You have some very nice stamps, but there are no rarities
in the list.

MRS. W. H. H.--See ROUND TABLE of December 17, 1895, and January
14, 1896, for prices asked by dealers for U. S. coins. What
dealers pay I do not know.

H. MERRITT.--What you describe are not postage-stamps or stamped
postage-envelopes. Before postage-stamps were used almost every
postmaster had a hand stamp to mark "Paid," "Paid 5 cents," or
"Paid 10 cents," etc., on letters for which he received postage in
advance. Where not so marked the person to whom the letter was
addressed had to pay the postage. I know very few collectors of
these postmarks, as they have no money value.

G. M. ROSS.--The prices quoted in this column are those asked by
dealers, not what they pay. That, of course, I do not know.

A. SCHMENGLER.--The 1861 3c. U.S. comes in hundreds of shades,
from a pale washed-out color to a deep scarlet. Only one of these
varieties has any value; that one is the "Pink," which is a
brilliant color on a bluish background. It is very scarce. I have
looked over tens of thousands of this stamp, and never found a
copy of the true "Pink."

PHILATUS.

Some persons insist on having the costliest of everything. They do not buy Ivory Soap. Those who want the best do.

THE PROCTER & GAMBLE CO., CIN'TI.

THE

BALTIMOREAN PRINTING-PRESS

has earned more money for boys than all other presses in the market. Boys, don't idle away your time when you can buy a self-inking printing-press, type, and complete outfit for $5.00. Write for particulars, there is money in it for you.

THE J. F. W. DORMAN CO.,

Baltimore, Md., U.S.A

JOSEPH GILLOTT'S

STEEL PENS

Nos. 303, 404, 170, 604 E.F., 601 E.F.

And other styles to suit all hands.

THE MOST PERFECT OF PENS.

HOOPING-COUGH

CROUP.

Roche's Herbal Embrocation.

The celebrated and effectual English Cure without internal medicine. Proprietors, W. EDWARD & SON, London, England.

E. Fougera & Co., 30 North William St., N.Y.

BAKER

sells recitations and PLAYS

23 Winter St., Boston

CATALOGUES FREE.

CARDS

The FINEST SAMPLE BOOK of Gold Beveled Edge, Hidden Name, Silk Fringe, Envelope and Calling Cards offered for a 2 cent stamp. These are GENUINE CARDS, NOT TRASH. UNION CARD CO., COLUMBUS, OHIO.

SOME POPULAR BOOKS

"HARPER'S ROUND TABLE" FOR 1895

Volume XVI. With 1096 Pages, and about 750 Illustrations. 4to, Cloth, Ornamental, $3.50.

There is nothing, we imagine, that the young reader would be likely
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A truly royal volume for the youthful reading appetite.--_Boston
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Mr. W. J. Henderson's latest sea-story for boys is one of the best
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* * * * *

HARPER & BROTHERS, Publishers, New York

KILLJOY'S BARGAIN.

"Well, I declare," said the Moonfay Boy,
"There's old Killjoy,
The meanest fish that ever did swim;
He knows that I've no use for him.
He eats my bait
At a fearfal rate.
I've changed it twice
From flies to mice.
From mice to slags.
And potato-bugs,
And still he bites.
For the last ten nights
I've caught nothing else but old Killjoy,"
Said the Moonfay Boy.

"It ain't polite
To bite and bite,
And chew and chew,
On the bait of one who don't want you."
And old Killjoy
Grinned at the boy.

"Oh don't get mad,
Dear Moonfay lad,
You set the best table that ever I had,"
Said he.
"For don't you see
It agrees with me,
And to pay you back I'll invite to tea
All the sharks and the shad,
And the little poletad,
And the whale and the blue,
And the halibut too.
And when all's ready I'll wink at you,
And the catch you'll catch
Will have no match
On the land or sea!
Just count, old Moon-faced Fay, on me!"

* * * * *

And the Moonfay Boy went home that night
With a mess of fish that was out of sight.
For old Killjoy, be it understood,
Paid him back for his bait, as he'd said he would.

AN ADVENTURE WITH A BEAR

A letter came to light not long ago that was mailed in 1843. It was sent from a small town far out in the Northwest, and was written, evidently, by some hardy hunter to his family at home. In one of the paragraphs the writer describes an adventure he had had with a bear. It reads somewhat as follows:

"I had gone several miles up the rocky trail, and finally striking off at right angles, left the valley and scaled the mountain-side. In a short while this brought me on a narrow ledge, and I proceeded along, thinking to skirt around the mountain that way, and reach down the other side into what was called Bear Trail. I never saw bear around the spot, and attached but little importance to the significance of the name. As I proceeded, the ledge grew very narrow--in fact, so much so that I was almost compelled to hug the face of the cliff to prevent my tumbling over.

"Suddenly I was horrified to hear a scraping kind of noise ahead, and before I could make up my mind as to what it was, a large bear crawled around a bend of the ledge into view. It was no use retreating, for the bear had a surer footing than I, being by nature adapted to it; but whatever brought him so far out of the valley I could not guess. He eyed me and I eyed him, and then I did the queerest thing I imagine any man would do--that was to treat the bear as though he were a human being. We were both in a predicament, as it would have been impossible for the bear to turn, and useless for me to do so, for the moment I retreated he would be after me. So I made a motion to the bear, and lying down on my face, I beckoned to him to come on and pass over me.

"Of course I gave myself up for lost. The bear eyed me suspiciously, and then came slowly on. He reached me, and putting down his cold wet nose, sniffed at my hair. I was dead with fright, and felt as though I would faint any moment.

"My harmlessness seemed to satisfy him; in a gentle manner he crawled over me and passed on, never once placing his paws on my body, for had he done so I should have been crushed.

"If he had but pushed me the slightest bit I would have fallen over. In a few minutes I recovered somewhat from my fright, and proceeded along the ledge, which shortly widened and permitted me to make better headway to safety. The only reason I have to account for the bear's gentleness was that he had had plenty to eat, and the savage instincts were dulled by the sight of my helplessness."

* * * * *

TEACHER (_unable to conceal her anger and disgust_). "Tommy Winks, you spell horribly."

TOMMY. "H-o-r-r-i-b-l-y."

* * * * *

A man having pointedly ridiculed Tasso, he remained perfectly silent, much to the astonishment of the railer. A listener muttered loud enough to be heard that a man was a fool not to defend himself.

"You are mistaken," said Tasso; "a fool does not know enough to be silent."

End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Round Table, February 25, 1896, by Various