Chapter X (2)

Running High Jump.--Won by W. Grace, Columbia Grammar, with a jump
of 5 feet 2-1/4 inches; W. Duvan, Newark Academy, second, with a
jump of 5 feet 2 inches; L. Curtiss, Barnard, third, with a jump of
5 feet 1 inch.

Pole Vault.--Won by R. G. Paulding, Berkeley, with a vault of 10
feet; C. Eastmond, Brooklyn High, second, with a vault of 9 feet 2
inches.

Putting 12-pound Shot--Won by J. Stewart, Barnard, with a put of 41
feet 11-1/2 inches; John Tomlinson, Collegiate, second, with a put
of 38 feet 4 inches; G. Miller, De La Salle, third, with a put of
37 feet 7 inches.

For some time past the athletes at the public schools of this city have felt that they could make a good showing in various branches of sport if they only had the opportunity, but as the Interscholastic Association admits to its competitions students from private schools only, the public-school boys have never been able to meet them. It is reported now, however, that a meeting is soon to be held by representatives from a large number of the New York public schools, with a view to establishing an association similar to the Interscholastic Association.

It is greatly to be hoped that this movement may prove a success, and that the public schools will hold tournaments, as the private schools do; and in baseball and football it would be well if, toward the close of the season, the best teams of the two leagues could meet and settle the supremacy of New York schoolboy teams.

A meeting of the executive committee of the National I.S.A.A. is announced for next Saturday evening at the Knickerbocker Athletic Club.

"TRACK ATHLETICS IN DETAIL."--ILLUSTRATED.--8VO, CLOTH, ORNAMENTAL, $1.25.

THE GRADUATE.

QUESTIONS FOR YOUNG MEN.

GOOD MANNERS.

The average young man scoffs a little at a chap who is noticeable for his good manners. Many a healthy boy thinks a certain roughness in speech or manner is a sign of vigor and manliness in contrast to the weak and womanly ways of one who is always bowing and scraping to the people whom he meets. There could not be a greater mistake; because, while an over-display of politeness is a sign of hypocrisy, natural courtesy will never permit boy or man to behave in any way except in the thoughtful, quiet, refined way which belongs to good manners. A rough, honest chap is better than a slippery, well-mannered, dishonest one, to be sure. That perhaps is the reason for so much of this deliberately rough way some of us adopt. But this does not prove that courteous behavior is wrong or to be avoided. It means that courteous behavior is sometimes used as a cloak for other motives.

There is no reason, therefore, why the average young man in school or college or business, in his daily occupation, or when he comes in contact with women or men, girls or boys, should not make it a point to be reserved, self-contained, tolerant, and observant of the little rules which every one knows by heart, and which go to make his company and companionship valuable to others. It is the same in his contact with men as with women. A systematic method of observing ordinary rules in such cases invariably has its effect. For example, you will see many a boy in some discussion among his friends talking all the time, demanding the attention of others, insisting on his views, losing his temper over a game of marbles and declining to play longer, or making himself conspicuous in a hundred other ways. He may be a very good chap, full of push and vigor, and so sure of his own views that in his heart he cannot conceive of any other person really having a different view of the subject. That is an estimable character for a healthy boy to have. Confidence in one's own ideas often carries one over many a bad place. But the fact that the boy has such a character and his disagreeable way of forcing it upon you are two entirely different things; and the difference of being confident and disagreeable and confident and agreeable is the difference between good and bad manners.

Besides, this aggressive confidence never has the weight that quiet belief in one's ideas has. It is a very familiar incident in the course of business men's meetings and of boys' meetings for one to propose something, the others to agree to it, and then for one quiet man to express his contrary views, and bring the assembled company over to the opposite side of the question. This reversal of opinion is caused by the fact that one man, who has been reserved until all the others have finished, has now by the force of his quiet confidence turned the whole tide the other way. Such quiet methods are real portions of good manners, and they act far more strongly than aggressiveness. The old proverb advising you to count ten before doing something on the spur of the moment is meant to prove the same point.

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.

E. L. SMITH, 64 Sparks St., Cambridge, Mass., wishes to exchange
stamps.

W. A. WHEELER.--I never heard of a "Walkers Penny Post." If it is
on the original letter or envelope, I should like to see it.

R. BOWERS.--The stamp _Cerrado y Sellado_ is a Mexican "officially
sealed" stamp. These are, properly speaking, labels, not stamps,
and consequently are no longer catalogued.

W. M. FOORD.--As the Olympian stamps are still in use they are
worth face value only, if unused. Used they are very common.

J. KRANZ.--All the leading dealers in New York sell stamps by
auction at irregular intervals throughout the season. Catalogues
are sent free on application.

H. BUNKER.--Entire envelopes are collected by comparatively few
compared with those who collect stamps. Envelopes can be bought for
one-quarter, or in some instances one-tenth, the price which
adhesive stamps of equal rarity would command.

F. X. STAHN.--Nova Scotia stamps are not being bought up by
speculators. The fact is, no one knows how many were sold by the
government to the syndicate now controlling the same. One set
should satisfy you under these circumstances.

A. LOBENTHAL.--Join your local stamp society, if there is one. If
not, then join the American Philatelic Association.

A. HOWARD.--Inverted centres on U.S. stamps are extremely rare. The
price quoted by you is very reasonable if the stamp is in good
condition.

A. SENG.--The Canadian new issue has not been definitely announced.

A. THALMAN.--Philatelic literature is a feature in a few public
libraries. Pittsburg set the example in this respect. It will pay
you as an active collector to take the three periodicals mentioned.

J. J. BRIGGS.--Age does not determine the value of coins. It is
altogether a question of supply and demand. If dealers have ten
copies of a scarce coin and twenty collectors want them, the price
will go up. If, on the other hand, there is little or no demand the
prices will go down. As to U.S. coins in general I would say that
the supply in the hands of the dealers is equal to any prospective
demand. The immense quantity of old U.S. coins in the hands of the
public will not command a premium. Coin-collecting to-day is very
much what stamp-collecting was twenty years ago--that is to say,
the speculative element is lacking.

W. SMITHSON.--Collect Seebecks all you want. No society or
association can prevent you. The stamps are pretty in themselves,
and they have undoubtedly been used for postal purposes.

G. H. DAVIS.--I never heard of the stamps issued by the
"Stamp-Saving Society." They are interesting as curiosities.

PHILATUS.

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SHIRT WAISTS.

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CHILDREN'S WEAR.

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_Gingham and Organdie Frocks,_

_Reefers, Jackets._

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MR. LAURENCE HUTTON

contributes a short story

The

Uncertain Glory

of an April Day

to the next number of

HARPER'S ROUND TABLE

Five Cents a Copy. Two Dollars a Year.

* * * * *

HARPER & BROTHERS, Publishers, N. Y.

CURES WHERE ALL ELSE FAILS.

Best Cough Syrup. Tastes Good. Use

in time. Sold by druggists.

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

LANTERN SLIDES.

So many of our new members have written asking how lantern slides are made, and what is required for an outfit, that we publish another paper on the subject.

Most young amateurs have an idea that it requires a great deal of skill to make lantern slides, but any one who can make a good negative can soon learn how to make a good lantern slide. The simplest way is by contact-printing. Select a negative free from spots, scratches, or pinholes. It must have fine detail in the shadows, and no harsh contrasts of light and shade. The regulation size of a lantern slide is 3-1/2 by 4, so choose a negative which will still make a good picture if all but the portion included in these dimensions is blocked out. Cover the part of the negative which is to be blocked out with needle-paper, or paint it with non-actinic paint, applying it to the glass side of the negative. The negative is placed in a printing-frame, and then by a red light, the slide is placed over the part to be printed from, the film side toward the negative.

If one has a lantern the light of which is suitable for printing lantern slides, cover the negative, open the door of the lantern, and then holding the printing-frame about fifteen inches from the light, expose from five to twenty seconds, according to the density of the plate. A plate that prints quickly will need but five or eight seconds, but a denser plate will require a much longer exposure, often as long as thirty seconds. Cover the plate as soon as it is printed, close the lantern, remove the slide from the frame, and place it face up in the developing-tray. Turn the developer over it quickly, taking care that the whole surface of the plate is covered immediately. Any developer that makes good negatives will make good lantern slides. A weak developer is to be preferred to one which brings out the image quickly. Develop till the detail is well out, wash and fix same as a negative.

As every imperfection in a plate is magnified many times when thrown on the screen, great care must be taken in the developing, fixing, washing, and drying. When the slides are washed enough, take a piece of clean surgeon's cotton and wash the film very gently, then place to dry where no dust will settle on the surface.

If there are any spots on the plate after washing and before drying, they may be removed with ferricyanide of potassium in solution. Tie a small piece of surgeon's cotton to the end of a glass rod, dip it into the solution, and touch the spot very lightly. Rinse the plate at once, and if the spot has not entirely disappeared, repeat the operation. The ferricyanide works very quickly, and must be rinsed off as soon as applied.

Negatives which are too large for contact-printing are made into lantern slides by the process known as reduction, directions for which will be given again if requested.

The making of lantern slides is one of the most fascinating branches of photography, and the work is specially appropriate for winter, both in making the slides and showing them with the lantern.

By Anton H. Schefer, New York, N. Y.]

By Lesley Ashburner, Media, Pennsylvania.]

By Howard Cox, Helena, Montana.]

S. F. MACQUAIDE, 46 Mechlin St., Germantown, Pa., says that she has
a number of 4-by-5 views which she would like to sell. If any of
the Camera Club wish to purchase, a letter sent to address given
will bring list of subjects and price of same. Our correspondent
also wishes to buy a second-hand No. 2 Bull's-Eye camera.

B. COVER, 713 Avenue W, Ashland, Wis., has a 5-by-8 Anthony view
camera, with three double plate-holders, which he will sell cheap,
or exchange for a 4-by-5 camera.

WILLIAM O. WICKMAN, Great Barrington, Mass., wishes to purchase a
picture of the White House, Washington, D.C. Would like either 4 by
5 or 5 by 8.

JOHN G. VOLKES, 324-1/2 Eighth St., New York city, would like to
correspond with members of the Camera Club on photographic
subjects.

CLAUDE A. WOLFE, 1701 Diamond St., Philadelphia, would like to
exchange a print of the State Capitol building of Tennessee for one
of the Capitol buildings of New York, Massachusetts, and Maine; he
also asks if any member has a good view camera which he wishes to
sell, or exchange for a bicycle and a 5-by-7 Premo camera with five
plate-holders.

B. A. PORTER, 212 Tulip Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y., has views of Strong,
Me., and of Brooklyn and New York, which he would like to exchange
for views of other localities. Our correspondent asks those members
sending prints to use an extra fixing-bath in toning the prints, as
he is making a collection, and many of the prints fade after a
while. For those who do not care to exchange, and who would like
good views of the places named, he will sell unmounted views for
10c. each.

DUDLEY GREGG, Hogsett Military Academy, Danville, Ky., asks if any
member of the Camera Club has a pocket-kodak which he would like to
sell.

WILLIAM S. JOHNSON asks what is sel d'or; a good formula for
mounting-paste; a formula for metol developer; if hydrochloric and
muriatic acids are the same; and where rubber finger-tips may be
purchased. Sel d'or is a salt of perchloride of gold and
hyposulphite of soda. Starch paste made by mixing with cold water
and then boiling until of the proper consistency makes an excellent
paste for mounting photographs. It will not keep, but must be made
fresh when wanted. A good formula for metol developer is: Metol, 30
grs.; sodium sulphite crystals, 180 grs.; carbonate of potassium,
90 grs.; and water, 4 oz. Hydrochloric and muriatic acid are the
same. Dealers in photographic supplies sell rubber finger-tips.
Three finger-tips cost 15c.

R. B. T. asks if there is any remedy for a negative which is
under-developed after it is fixed. It can be intensified--in other
words, redeveloped. See directions for intensifying in No. 824,
August 13, 1895. If you have not this number, it will be mailed you
from this office on receipt of 5c.

FREDERICK S. COLLINS asks if solio toning solution can be used for
toning albumen and aristo prints; and what makes a thin negative.
The solio toning-bath can be used for aristo, but is not suitable
for albumen paper. A thin negative may be the result of
over-exposure, under-exposure, or under-development. Over-exposure
makes the negative a uniform color and lacking in contrast.
Under-exposure gives strong high lights and no detail in the
shadows. Under-development gives good detail, but the negative is
too weak to make a good print. Such a negative can be redeveloped
or intensified. See answer given to R. B. T.

L. K. asks where to get the magazine _American Amateur
Photographer_. The address of the publishers is 239-241 Fifth
Avenue, New York city. The price of the magazine is $1 per year.

HENRY READ wishes a remedy for keeping the film from looking as if
it were crackled; also how to make dry-plates. The tray should be
rocked during the development of the film. The crackled appearance
will then be avoided. Do not try to make dry-plates. The operation
is too long, and the plates can be bought much cheaper than they
can be made at home, besides being always reliable.

The stores which keep the best that's made
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The shoppers who are shrewd and wise
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Copyright 1896, by The Procter & Gamble Co., Cin'ti.

Royal in their beauty, strength and speed. They are leaders in every sense of the word. $100 to everyone. Tandems, $150.

* * * * *

Middletown Cycles, $60, $50, $40.

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Factories: Middletown, Conn.; Worcester, Mass.

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SEND FOR CATALOGUE.

The CRAWFORD MFG. CO., Hagerstown, Md.

NEW YORK, BALTIMORE, ST. LOUIS.

EARN A GOLD WATCH!

We wish to introduce our =Teas and Baking Powder=. Sell 50 lbs. to earn a =Waltham Gold Watch and Chain=; 25 lbs. for a =Silver Watch and Chain=; 10 lbs. for a =Gold Ring=; 50 lbs. for a =Decorated Dinner Set=; 75 lbs. for a =Bicycle=. Write for a Catalog and Order Blank to Dept. I

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Right Prices

You can pay more money for a bicycle, but you cannot secure a machine of higher grade than the Crescent, or one that will please you better. $75, $50, $40.

Crescents are the most popular bicycles made--70,000 Crescents sold in 1896.

Crescents for everybody--men and women, youths and misses, boys and girls. Light, strong tandems.

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HARPER'S

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CARDS

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Florida Pines and Pickaninnies.

Pines are the principal trees of this part of Florida, though
gnarled and mossy oaks are common. A glimpse of a sunset or the
glow of a forest fire behind a group of these trees outlined
against the sky forms many a beautiful picture. The pines are very
picturesque too, they stand so tall, and the gray Florida moss
hangs from their branches like draped garments.

A picturesque feature of the Florida woods is the numerous negro
cabins made of logs. All have the same kind of mud and stick
chimneys, built hardly up to the peak of the hut, so that when the
thick black smoke, perhaps full of sparks, comes out of the mouth
of the chimney, it curls against the under part of the projecting
shingles, and then passes away. It is certainly very curious that
the huts do not burn down, but it is a fact that they rarely do.

The cabins are very dirty, and passing one, you may see from two to
perhaps five negro "pickaninnies" laying in the sand with a pig or
two sometimes. The pigs here are commonly termed "razor-backs,"
because they are so small and thin that their backbones seem almost
to prick through their skin. This county is named Alachua (the ch
is pronounced as k), meaning in the Seminole Indian tongue "big
jug," because there is a sink in an open space that is called
Paine's Prairie when it is dry, and Kanapaha Lake when it is
changed--after a heavy rain--into a sheet of water. The sink is so
deep that no one has ever discovered the bottom.

The names of some of the places in Florida, and the flint
arrow-heads which are frequently found, are all the traces that are
left here of the Seminole Indians who once owned the land. Down by
the coast, about fifty miles west from here, are found mounds of
sand and oyster-shells, which, when dug into, reveal skeletons of
Indians, and Spaniards who were killed. There is a place south of
here which is historic. A great many soldiers were killed there by
the Indians when asleep and off their guard. The Seminoles have
been driven down into the "Everglades" of South Florida, a great
swamp into the heart of which no white man has ever penetrated.
Here the Indians stay, never daring to venture out to massacre in
their old way, for there is no use in trying to do that now.
Palmettoes grow in great abundance here. Sinks are very numerous,
and so are natural wells.

There is a place called Waldo in Florida, where there is a swamp in
which cedar-trees grow, and a lake in which alligators live in
great numbers, and on the banks of which beautiful wild-flowers
grow. The alligators lay their eggs in straw on the land, go back
to the water, and visit the eggs from time to time until they
hatch. Then the parents lead their young to the water, where they
live. These alligators are caught for their handsome skins, of
which many things are made.

ELSIE VERMILYE SMITH (aged 12).
ARREDONDA, FLORIDA.

Accompanying this most interesting letter is a wash-drawing of a negro cabin, with the too-short chimney, and the pig and pickaninnies in the foreground. It is a clever drawing. The TABLE is glad to print descriptive letters like this one, because everybody likes to read these interesting insights into peculiar features of other parts of the country. Will other readers send the TABLE equally good morsels?

* * * * *

It Went to Paradise Valley.

There are always hurry and confusion at the end of every session of Congress, and these are multiplied severalfold, if that be possible, when the Congress dies, by Constitutional limit, with the expiration of a President's term. In these busy hours droll things sometimes happen and witty things are said. In the Congress just expired--the extra session just called by President McKinley is of the new and not of the Congress that sat during the winter--an incident occurred that illustrates how great things often come about from small causes--a slight turn in the tide of their fortune at the right time.

A railroad company wanted a right of way through a forest reserve in the West. Senator Vest, of Missouri, opposed the grant for the reason that in the dry summer seasons forest fires would be kindled by the locomotives. The time was limited, and many important measures were to come up. A Senator sitting near the famous Missourian whispered something.

"Time presses," remarked Senator Vest, "and I am just informed that this road leads to 'Paradise Valley.' If the road helps anybody to get to Paradise, why, let it go through."

And it went.

* * * * *

How the Prisoner Escaped.

H. D. Dantzler, St. Matthews, S. C., and several other readers, ask about the solution of the "prisoner puzzle." A prisoner was offered his liberty if, by starting at the warden's office, he could enter each of the thirty-six cells once, and only once, double on his route, and arrive at the office again.

Here is his route.

* * * * *

Programme for April-fool Day.

The TABLE is asked: "Can some one through your columns suggest some
entertainment for a young people's party to be given on April-fool
day? Something appropriate for the day is wanted.

"I. S."

If any reader will favor us, we will mail direct to this inquirer, since the time is growing short, and print for the benefit of other readers in future years.

* * * * *

The Sign in the "Sail" Puzzle.

"I hope you will not think me very stupid, but even with the answer I cannot read the sign of the boat-house in the puzzle. Will you kindly explain through your columns now to read it?"

The preceding, either in these words or others of the same meaning, came to us from several readers. The first word is read by taking not the letters on the sign, but the succeeding one in the alphabet, as "b" for "a," "e" for "d," and so on. The second word is read by taking the preceding letter in each case, as "l" for "m," etc. The remaining words are read by taking the letters in reverse alphabetical order. For example, the fourth word on the sign begins with "x," which is the third letter, reading backwards, or from the end of the alphabet. For it read "c," and so on.

* * * * *

In that Fifteen Problem.

The way to place the figures one to nine on a "tic, tac, toe" diagram so that in eight ways the sum of the three figures will be fifteen is: Reading from left to right, the top line, 4, 3, 8; the second line, 9, 5, 1; and the lower line, 2, 7, 6.

* * * * *

Thirty Cents and Five Cents per Dozen.

Frank Smith figures out that A, B, and C sold eggs at the following prices. Did you get answers agreeing with his?

A sold 9 doz. at 30 cts., and 1 doz. at 5 cts. = $2.75
B sold 5 doz. at 30 cts., and 25 doz. at 5 cts. = 2.75
C sold 1 doz. at 30 cts., and 49 doz. at 5 cts. = 2.75

* * * * *

Questions and Answers.

"B. H. S." asks: "To whom is application made in order to get a position in any of the large railroad offices? I have heard that in order to get a position in any of the New York Central offices certain examinations had to be taken." The railroad you name examines applicants for positions in the auditors' and all departments where good penmanship and accuracy in figures are required, but it does not examine applicants for positions in other departments. But it has no regular examining-board. Nor do railways of the country have, as far as we know, such boards for applicants to apply to. If one desires to get into the telegraph service of a railway, he applies to the superintendent, or in some cases to the chief operator or train-despatcher. Any local telegraph operator can give the name of the proper official on his road. For positions in auditors' and other accounting offices applications are made to those officials. For places on trains apply to the superintendent, and on locomotives to the master-mechanic. As a rule the best course is to get acquainted with some employé, and through him make the application.

J. B. Coles asks how to get into West Point. Old readers must bear with us when we answer again this much-answered query to say: Apply to your member of Congress. The appointment is made by him, and by him only, save in the case of a very few appointments made by the President of the United States, which appointments are usually reserved for sons of army officers, who have, as a rule, no legal residence and, therefore, no member of Congress to apply to. The same course is to be followed to get an appointment to Annapolis. If you prefer, you can write, merely for information about vacancy and conditions, to the Secretary of War or Secretary of the Navy. Address your communication as here named, and add, Washington, D. C. Make the request plain and brief, and you will receive a reply in good time. Don't hesitate to write to these officials. They are public servants, and are always ready to answer such proper inquiries. Only one cadet from each district can be at West Point and at Annapolis, respectively, at a time.

Ralph Leach: Address G. A. Hentey, in care of _Boys' Own Paper_, Paternoster Row, London, and Kirk Munroe, in care of this publication.--Minnie Louise Naething asks what a "parchment eater" is. We give it up--because our reference-books, like hers, are silent on the subject. Can some one enlighten us?--"Cape Vincent" asks us some questions, and desires answers by mail. We are always glad to oblige our readers, but our purpose in answering questions is to give information to all. Why not have answers published?

Robert H. Nead asks for information about the "Mad Yankee," which occurred in one of the recent puzzle questions. We discarded "Mad" Anthony Wayne because he was not a Yankee. Robert retorts that Elisha Kent Kane was born in Philadelphia. The question was, in effect, what public man went by the nickname "Mad Yankee"? The answer was Kane. Whether the nickname was or was not correctly applied we cannot say. Nor is it material. Wayne could not be accepted, for he was not the bearer of that nickname, and our conditions included nicknames in the list of questions.

Louise A. Littlepage, who lives in Colon, Guatemala, sends us a poem of six verses on "The Noble Boy." The TABLE rarely prints poems--for obvious reasons. Louise says, "If the TABLE wishes, I will send some more verses." Will she not tell us in plain prose not about noble boys, because such are not rare with us, but about Guatemala--the school she attends, the interesting sights of the city she lives in, what time blackberries are ripe, if she have such fruit, the flowers that bloom in Colon in March, what the people of Colon think of the new republic of which Guatemala is now a part? Does Colon have cable cars? Has she ever been out in the country on a visit to a country house? If so, what was it like, how furnished, and what did the housewife have for dinner? Noble boys are noble boys the world over. But Guatemala is different from Georgia, Maine, or Dakota. Please describe for us some of these interesting differences.--A member: Wood-engravers' tools are for sale only by a few first-class dealers in hardware. They are purchased in the rough, and have to be finished and put in condition by the engraver. A set of tools, including leather-pad and magnifying-glass, suitable for a beginner would cost about ten dollars.

THE LUXURY OF SOAP.

Dr. Nansen is not a man whose happiness depends much on the possession of luxuries, but there was at least one luxury which he confesses that he missed during his long tramp with Lieutenant Johansen after they left the _Fram_. The winter they spent in a hut passed comfortably, he says, and if they had had a little flour, a little sugar, and a few books they could have lived like lords. They did not complain at the absence of these things, however, but one thing they did long for was soap. "It was difficult enough," Dr. Nansen writes, "to get one's person clean, but that we managed to a certain extent by rubbing in bear's blood and fat, and then rubbing this off with moss." But this process was inapplicable to clothes, and they were very desirous of washing their under-clothes before beginning their spring journey. "After trying every other possible way, we found, to our despair, no better expedient than to boil them as best we could and then scrape them with a knife. In this way we got so much off of them that they did to travel with, though the thought of putting on clean clothes when we once got back to Norway was always in our minds as the greatest enjoyment that life could bestow."

An analogy is traceable between this pleasure of anticipation and the glee of Dan Troop, as described in Kipling's _Captains Courageous_, at the prospect of getting back to Gloucester after five months on the Banks and sleeping in a clean boiled night-shirt.

There is a picture in _Farthest North_ of Nansen at the end of his long ice journey, and still in the soapless state, meeting Captain Brown of the _Windward_, who brought him home.

* * * * *

A RESTLESS BOY'S REASON.

"I'm going to be a minister," said Tommie, forcibly.

"Why, Tommie dear?" asked his father.

"So's I can talk in church," said Tommie.

Postage Stamps, &c.

60 dif. U.S. $1, 100 dif. Foreign 8c., 125 dif. Canadian, Natal, etc. 25c., 150 dif. Cape Verde, O. F. States, etc. 50c. Agents wanted. 50 p.c. com. List free. =F. W. Miller, 904 Olive St., St. Louis, Mo.=

=STAMPS!= 300 genuine mixed Victoria, Cape, India, Japan, Etc., with Stamp Album, only 10c. New 96-page price-list FREE. Approval Sheets, 50% com. Agents Wanted. We buy old U.S. & Conf. Stamps & Collections. =STANDARD STAMP CO., St. Louis, Mo., Established 1885.=

=ALBUM AND LIST FREE!= Also 100 all diff. Venezuela, Bolivia, etc., only 10c. Agts. wanted at 50% Com. =C. A. Stegmann=, 5941 Cote Brilliant Ave., St. Louis, Mo.

STAMPS

Best in the market at 50% disc.; rare foreign at 33-1/3%; U.S. at 25%. Reference required. Give us a trial.

BOSTON STAMP CO., Box 2789, Boston, Mass.

500

Mixed, Australian, etc., 10c.; =105 var.= Zululand, etc., and album, 10c.; 12 Africa, 10c.; 15 Asia, 10c. Bargain list free. F. P. VINCENT, Chatham, N.Y.

=FREE!= Sample P'k (250) Stamp Hinges with New Stamp List. DOVER & CO., St. Louis, Mo.

=CONFEDERATE STAMPS=, reprints, 100, all dif., 12c. S. ALLAN TAYLOR, 24 Congress St., Boston.

=155 VARIETIES!= some unused, =12c.= 25 No. Amer., 10c. Sheets =50%= com. HARRY S. LEE, MATTAPAN, MASS.

Nansen's Great Book--"Farthest North"

Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration of the Ship _Fram_ (1893-1896), and of a Fifteen Months' Sleigh Expedition by Dr. NANSEN and Lieut. JOHANSEN. By Dr. FRIDTJOF NANSEN. With an Appendix by OTTO SVERDRUP, Captain of the _Fram_. With over 100 Full-page and Numerous Text Illustrations, Sixteen Colored Plates in Facsimile from Dr. NANSEN's own Water-Color, Pastel, and Pencil Sketches, an Etched Portrait, Two Photogravures, and Four Maps. About 1300 pages, 2 Volumes, Large 8vo, Gilt Tops and Uncut Edges, $10.00.

PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK

It was at Vicksburg during the war. A company were out on a foraging expedition, when one of the privates, in nosing around the out-houses of a farm, ran across a barrel of prime cider. Now, as the private expressed it, a barrel of prime cider was not to be sneezed at, and with the help of an aged darky he carried it after nightfall into the camp. The next day he went to work rigging up a little counter, and before noon was ready to dispense the refreshing beverage at the small sum of ten cents a cup, according to the rudely scrawled sign outside the tent flap.

Now liquid refreshment was scarce, and with a luxury like cider to soothe the palate it was but a short while before the front of that tent resembled the entrance to a circus. Business was brisk, exceedingly brisk, and the private's arms ached in passing out the cups of cider. His little till was rapidly filling up with coin, when there was a perceptible dwindling in his customers.

The change was alarming, and he looked around for the cause. A loud noise in the rear of his tent attracted his attention, and warily closing up his shop, he walked around. A large crowd had gathered, and after a great deal of struggling he managed to see that another barrel of cider had reached the camp, for in the midst of the crowd he could hear a man shouting, "Here ye are--cider five cents a glass!"

He hastened around to his tent and changed the sign from ten cents to three cents a glass. In a short time the crowd discovered the change, and his business boomed. Then his competitor could be heard shouting, "Here ye are--cider for nothing!"

That settled it: he closed up his tent flap, and went around to see what sort of a man gave cider away. This time he was able to get near, and found, to his astonishment, that his competitor had driven a spigot into the other end of his own barrel, which he had placed so carefully in the rear of the tent.

* * * * *

According to the New York _Press_, when John C. Reid was managing editor of the _Times_ he had an office-boy whose nerve and cheek were colossal. Greatness never embarrassed him, for he was no respecter of persons. One day he entertained in the reception-room a waiting visitor, whose patronizing way nettled him. All kinds of questions concerning his life and occupation were fired at him, and finally he was asked how much he earned a week. His reply was, "Fifty dollars," which caused the interrogator to whistle. At that moment the visitor was summoned by Reid, to whom he related his experience with an office-boy who said he made fifty dollars a week.

Reid rang bell; enter boy.

"Did you tell this gentleman that you made fifty dollars a week here?"

"I did not tell him any such thing."

"What! You mean to say you didn't tell me a moment or two ago that you made fifty dollars a week?"

"Never said any such thing."

"Why, you little liar! You--"

"What did you tell the gentleman?" put in Reid.

"I told him I earned fifty dollars a week; but you pay me only three dollars."

The visitor was so excited that he forgot his business with the managing editor. When he had taken leave of the office Reid raised the boy's salary to six dollars.

* * * * *

The late Jay Gould used to tell a good story of Mr. William M. Travers. As Mr. Gould related it, he described Mr. Travers's going downtown to a dog-fancier's place in Water Street, New York, in search of a rat-terrier. The dog-fancier scented the value of his possible customer at once, and cheerfully dilated upon the merits of the different canines in stock. Finally, he selected a ratter, assuring Mr. Travers that the dog would go for a rat quicker than lightning. Mr. Travers was rather sceptical as he observed the shivering pup, and the dog-fancier noticing this, said,

"Here, I'll show you how he'll go for a rat," and he put the dog in a box with a big rat. The rat made a dive and laid out that unfortunate terrier in a second. Mr. Travers turned around to the fancier and said,

"I say, Johnny, what will you take for the rat?"

* * * * *

An Oakland, California, bootblack deserves special mention as an honest man who would not deceive his patrons. When he first went into business, six years ago, he put up a sign which read:

"Joe Garibaldi, bootblack. Has two small children."

Each succeeding year found him deserving of more sympathy, for he kept amending the sign, until it read eight small children. A few days ago Joe's bootblack stand was locked for a whole day, and when he returned the next morning, he confided to the butcher's boy that his baby had died. His first work was to amend the sign so that it might not mislead the public, and it then read: "Joe Garibaldi, bootblack. Has seven small children." Then, to avoid being placed in a false position before the public, he added with his finger and shoe-blacking, "One he die."

* * * * *

Senator Voorhees relates a story of emotional eloquence which came to an ignominious end, as _Current Literature_ tells it. He had succeeded in delivering an appeal which had brought tears to the eyes of several jurymen. Then arose the prosecuting attorney, a gruff old man with a piping voice and nasal twang.

"Gentlemen," said he, deliberately helping himself to a pinch of snuff, "you might as well understand from the beginning that I am not boring for water."

This proved so effectual a wet blanket to the emotions excited by Mr. Voorhees that he realized the futility of his own "boring."

* * * * *

"Oh, your song is most annoying,
And unless you take it back,"
Said the Doctor, "I will fire."
But the Duck still shouted: "Quack!

"Of your powder and your shot, sir,
I am not the least afraid:
So long as pills and potions
You don't summon to your aid."

End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Round Table, March 23, 1897, by Various