Chapter XII: The Fairy's Story Continued

Sooner than he had supposed, Arthur heard the soft little twitter
of his new friend.

"I have flown really quite a distance, and had the good fortune to
see the elf who has charge of these woods. He is very much vexed
with you, and will not listen to any excuse; though knowing so
little about the matter, I hardly knew what to offer. I pleaded
your youth, however, and made bold to promise your good behavior
in the future, and while I was speaking one of the lesser elves
twitched my wing a little, and whispered:

"'Promise him something he likes as a ransom, and perhaps he will
answer your request.'

"'But I do not know what he likes,' I replied. 'Can you suggest
anything?' I added, in the same whisper.

"'He is very much in need of some sea-weed. I heard him say the
other day that he wanted some iodine, and that he would have to
send a party of us off to the sea-shore to get sea-weed, from
which we make iodine. Now if your friend can get it, he would be
so much pleased that I am sure he would be willing to forgive him,
and restore him to his proper condition.'

"After hearing this, I made the offer in your name, and received a
favorable reply. You are to get two pounds of sea-weed in less
than a fortnight. It is to be laid on the large flat rock which
you will see lower down the stream under the chestnut-tree. You
are to leave it there, and by no means to remain there, but return
here, and your reward will await you."

Arthur thanked the little bird warmly, but inwardly despaired of
accomplishing anything so difficult.

The little bird hopped restlessly about. "You will try to do this,
will you not?" she asked.

"Of course I will try," said Arthur, rather ashamed, and striving
to put a bold face on the matter. "I will try, but I do not know
exactly what to do first."

"Streams run into rivers, and rivers to the sea," twittered the
bird.

"'Yes; but I hardly think frogs swim in deep water. I will have to
contrive a boat or a float of some sort."

Just then a huge trout sprang up after a fly, and missed it. Quick
as a flash the little bird darted up, caught the fly, dropped it
into the trout's open mouth, and twittered something
unintelligible to Arthur. He heard, however, a curious sound of
words from the trout.

"Jump on my back, jump on my back, and be off, alack!"

"Go," said the bird, quickly.

Arthur made a bound, and found himself on Mr. Specklesides' back
in an instant.

"Good-by," sang the little bird, loudly, for already the trout had
flashed away into a dark pool beneath a cascade, where the falling
waters made a deafening noise. In another instant he made another
dart, and, quick as lightning, they were in broad shallow water.
Again they were whirled from eddy to eddy, and already the stream
had widened into a little river. The bending trees, the weeds and
grasses, were mirrored in its cool depths, as now with long steady
stroke the trout swam on.

Suddenly another shape darkened the glassy surface of the water.
It was the figure of a man in slouched hat and high boots, and
long tapering rod in hand. He seemed to be quite motionless, but
far out near the middle of the stream, just where the trout was
swimming, danced a brilliant fly. A leap, a dash, and then began
such a whirling mad rush through the water that Arthur knew he
would be overthrown. The trout had seized the fly, and the
fisherman, rapidly unreeling his line, waited for the fish to
exhaust himself. Before this was done, however, Arthur was thrown
violently off the trout's back, and by dint of desperate efforts
reached the shore, where for a long while he lay motionless.

When he revived he found himself in long sedgy grass, well
shielded from observation. The trout was nowhere to be seen, and
Arthur knew that it was idle to search for him. Poor fellow! his
fate had found him, and no doubt he was lying quietly enough now
in the fisherman's basket.

"'Streams run into rivers, and rivers to the sea,' and I must look
for some other method than the trout's back."

He hopped about wearily, ate a few flies, and then, quite worn
out, fell fast asleep. When he awoke it was dark. Fire-flies
flashed about him brilliantly; stars beamed so brightly that they
seemed double, half above in the sky, and half below in the water.
From some overhanging boughs came a dismal hooting.

"Hush!" cried Arthur, impatiently. "Why do you want to spoil the
night with such wailing?"

"I have lost three lovely little owlets," was the response.
"Darling little fluffy cherubs! Never had an owl mother three such
beauties!"

"Where are they?" asked Arthur.

"Devoured by a horrible night-hawk," sobbed the owl.

"Where has the night-hawk flown?"

"Far down the river after prey."

"Why do you not go after him, and punish him?"

"It is too far, and I am too sorrowful."

"You have no spirit. _I_ would peck his eyes out were I in your
place."

"Ah! you are young and strong and brave."

"Take me on your back, and we will fly after him."

"Come, then, and do battle for me, noble friend."

Down flew the owl, and up jumped Arthur quickly on its back,
inwardly wondering how a frog could be a match for a night-hawk,
but quite resolved to aid the poor owl if he could. With a
delightful sense of freedom and glorious liberty, such as he had
never before even imagined, they rose high above the tree-tops.

The moon had now risen, and the air seemed transparent silver.

Keeping near the border of the river, which had greatly widened,
they emerged from one forest only to enter another.

The wild cries of loons saluted them. Herds of deer, cooling
themselves in the water, glanced up with startled gaze as they
passed.

A dark bird flapped low over the water as a fish leaped from the
waves.

"It is my enemy," whispered the owl.

"Pursue him," returned Arthur.

"My heart sinks within me; the memory of my owlets subdues all
revengefulness. Though I should make him suffer, it would not
return to me my children."

"But if we kill him, he can do no further mischief."

"True, true; but he is a fearful fellow. What weapons have you
with which to meet him?"

"None but my eyes and legs; a frog is a poor despicable wretch
under such circumstances. Our weight together might sink him. You
must fly at him with one tremendous blow, get him down in the
water, and all the fish will assist to punish him, for all owe
him a grudge. Or stay: fly close to him, and I will leap upon him;
the weight will surprise and annoy him, and you must then make a
dash for his eyes. Pluck them out if you can; it will be worse
than death for him."

"Barbaric torture! But the memory of my owlets hardens my motherly
heart; it pulsates with tremendous force; their loss is the
world's loss. I hasten to the combat."

They swept down low as the hawk swooped for fish; Arthur sprang
upon its back; the owl darted at the creature's eyes, and with a
furious blow, first at one, then at the other, made her enemy
sightless. The hawk, with a cry of pain, fell into the water.
Instantly an enormous fish dragged him beneath, and it was only by
wonderful dexterity on the part of the owl and of the frog that
the latter was unhurt. He nestled once again amongst the owl's
soft feathers, and they sought the shore.

"Now how shall I repay you, my brave friend?" asked the owl, as
Arthur leaped upon land.

"I do not wish for any reward," replied Arthur.

"Nevertheless, you will not refuse to grant a sorrowful and
stricken mother the little balm which her grateful spirit seeks in
the return or acknowledgment of so vast a favor as you have
conferred upon me."

Arthur thought a moment, and then told the owl of his journey and
errand to the sea-shore. "Perhaps, as you are so famous for
wisdom, Mother Owl, you may be able to give me some advice which
will assist me to get the sea-weed, and return as speedily as I
can," he said, as he finished his narration.

"I will consider," replied the owl, bending her searching gaze
toward the earth. After a few moments' reflection, in which she
rolled her luminous and cat-like eyes about, ruffled her feathers,
and uttered a few soft "to-whit to-whoos," she murmured: "I have
it. Seldom do I require to deliberate so anxiously, but parental
anguish has clouded my active brain; the recent combat, also, has
exhausted my nervous system. I have the happy thought at last,
though, and you shall be assisted. We will fly to the nest of an
old friend, a celebrated kingfisher. He lives not far from here;
he knows the coast well, and will aid us. Come, mount upon my
willing back, and we will fly at once."

This was no sooner said than done. They flew swiftly over the now
broad expanse of water rolling in a powerful stream, bordered by a
wild and harsh-looking forest. A few tall and leafless trunks in a
cluster contained, high among the bare boughs, a huge nest. From
it, aroused from his sleep, sullenly flapped a large bird.

"Wait a moment, my friend," called the owl, in her most beseeching
manner. "I have a favor to ask. I wish to appeal to your
intelligent, geographical, topographical, and comprehensive
intellect for guidance. You know the coast; lead us to it before
the dawn of day."

"A most unwarrantable request, upon my word," was the answer, in a
gruff voice. "Why should you thus disturb my slumber, and demand
of me this journey in the night?"

[TO BE CONTINUED.]

THE EASTER BUTTERFLY.

BY SUSAN ARCHER WEISS.

George and Ella were in the garden, helping to gather the last of the fruit from the big apple-tree under which they had played all the summer. One large red apple fell on the walk, and rolled away under the gooseberry hedge, and Ella knelt down to look for it. But as she was about reaching under the bushes, she suddenly started back with a scream. "Oh, Georgie, such a horrid, _horrid_ caterpillar!"

George, who hated caterpillars, and thought that they did a great deal of harm in gardens, took up a stick to kill this one. But Aunt Kate, who was looking on, checked him. "Stop, George; let us see what he is doing."

It was a very large and very ugly caterpillar, hanging to a twig of the gooseberry bush. He was curled up in almost a circle, and moving his head busily from side to side. A great many fine threads were twisted all around him.

"He is trying to get out of that cobweb," said Ella.

"No; he is making the web himself," said George, looking closely. "See how he is spinning out the threads, and winding them round himself."

"Yes," said Aunt Kate, quietly, "he is spinning his shroud. Don't disturb him, and to-morrow we will come and see what he has done."

So next day they came again into the garden, and looked under the gooseberry bush. But instead of the caterpillar, they found, hanging to the twig, a little dry brown case, or cocoon, which George said looked very much like the stump of an old cigar.

"He is in there," said Aunt Kate. "That is his coffin."

"Why, Aunt Kate! a caterpillar burying himself in a shroud and a coffin?"

"Yes; he has spun himself a fine silken shroud, and fastened himself up in a coffin."

"Is he dead?" asked Ella.

"You would think so if you could see him. He is nothing now but a little hard dry shell, which neither moves nor breathes. He can neither see nor hear."

"Then he must be dead," said George.

"No, not dead; there remains a spark of life in the little dried-up body. By-and-by, when the right time comes, you will see him burst out of that shroud and coffin, but not as an ugly caterpillar: he will be a beautiful butterfly with lovely wings."

"Why, Aunt Kate!" they both exclaimed, in surprise.

But Aunt Kate was standing with a dreamy, far-away look in her blue eyes, and a soft sweet smile on her lips. George said she looked as though she saw the air full of beautiful butterflies. And at that Aunt Kate smiled, and kneeling down, tied a bit of silk thread around the little cocoon, and took it gently off the twig. "It shall hang on a nail in your room," she said to Ella, "and in the spring we shall see what will happen."

So all through the winter the poor caterpillar, in his shroud and coffin, hung on the wall, near the ceiling, where he might be out of harm's way. More than once George and Ella were tempted to take the cocoon gently off the nail; and feeling how light it was, and how it rattled with a dry, hollow sound, they could not believe that any life remained in it. But Aunt Kate told them to have faith in what she said, until they should see with their own eyes.

On Easter-eve the children were seated before the fire, coloring eggs. Aunt Kate was explaining to them that the festival of Easter was in remembrance of our Lord's resurrection from the tomb.

"It was wonderful, when He had been three whole days dead," said Ella, solemnly.

"Yes, but we shall all rise from our tombs as our Saviour did," said George; "Mr. Danton told us so last Sunday. I know it must be true. But, Aunt Kate, it seems such a wonderful thing to believe."

"Do you believe, George, that that poor dried-up insect on the wall there will ever come out of its tomb a beautiful creature with wings?"

"I don't know," said George, doubtfully. "He seems too dead ever to come to life again."

"_I_ believe he will, because Aunt Kate says so," said Ella; and Aunt Kate smiled.

"That is having faith," said she.

Next morning was Easter--Sunday--a bright, lovely day, almost as warm and bright as summer.

"Auntie," cried Ella, rushing into the room with her hands full of white and yellow crocuses, "see what I have found in the garden! These dear flowers poking their little yellow heads out of the ground, and looking as if they were staring around to see if spring had come. Isn't it wonderful how they could come up out of the dirt so clean and bright?"

"So the little dry balls which have lain all winter in the cold dark ground have come to life again," said Aunt Kate. "But now put them in water, and let us go to breakfast."

Ella went into her own room, which was next to Aunt Kate's, to get a little blue china vase for the flowers. But in a moment she called out: "Oh, auntie, come and see! There is a hole in the cocoon!"

Sure enough, when Aunt Kate came, she saw that a large hole had been made in one end of the cocoon, and that it was empty.

Then she looked carefully all over the room, and while she was doing so, Ella suddenly gave a cry of wonder and delight. On the window-seat in the bright sunshine was a large and beautiful butterfly, lightly balancing himself, and slowly waving his gold and purple wings to and fro.

"Oh, Aunt Kate, can that be our ugly caterpillar turned into such a beautiful butterfly?"

"Yes, this is the poor ugly worm which once crawled on the ground, and did nothing in all its life but search for food. He has broken his tomb, as you see, and come forth a lovely winged creature, to fly in the air, and rest upon flowers, and sip dew and honey from their fragrant blossoms."

"How he trembles!" said Ella; "and why does he wave his wings so?"

"He is getting them ready for flight. And perhaps he trembles from joy to find himself what he is."

"Auntie," said Ella, in a low voice, and with a very grave look, "do you think we shall be as beautiful and as happy when we come out of our graves, and find ourselves angels with wings?"

"No doubt of it," Aunt Kate replied, softly. "A thousand times more beautiful and happy."

"If we are _good_ while we are caterpillars."

"Yes, if we are good."

Ella stood a long time looking at the beautiful insect. Her heart was full of a solemn wonder and awe at this great miracle, as it seemed to her.

"If the caterpillar could have known," she said, "while he was a poor ugly worm, that he would some time be a beautiful butterfly, I think he would have been glad to bury himself up in that coffin. And, Aunt Kate, it seems strange that he should have come out of his grave on Easter-day, our Lord's resurrection day.[2] Perhaps it was to teach Georgie and me an Easter lesson. George will believe it now."

Just then the butterfly slowly lifted himself on his wings, fluttered around in a circle, and settled quivering and trembling on the crocus blossoms. So they left him there while they went down to breakfast.

FOOTNOTES:

[2] A fact.

The offers for exchanges from our correspondents have come in so fast of late that we have been obliged, for the present, to place a large portion of them on the third page of the cover, in order to make room for letters, answers, and puzzles, which fill the two pages allotted to the Post-office Box.

* * * * *

NEW YORK CITY.

We children have just had a box of odd things from our auntie, who
lives in Cuba, and I thought the readers of YOUNG PEOPLE would like
to hear about it. It was a great big box, and the first thing we
saw when papa took off the cover was a lot of sugar-cane. It looked
very hard and dry, but when papa cut off the outside, how nice and
white the inside was! We sucked the juice, and it was sweeter than
sugar. Then papa took out a bundle done up in yellow paper, and
marked, "Open carefully." It was full of _pinol_, which is a kind
of corn meal made by the country people in Cuba. They roast the
corn, and then grind it fine, and mix it with brown sugar. They eat
it just that way, and sometimes they wet it with milk, and make
little cakes. Auntie wrote that the school-boys in Cuba take a
mouthful of _pinol_, and then try to say _fou-fou_ without blowing
out any meal. We tried, but the meal, which tastes very nice, was
like dry powder, and we couldn't do it.

There was a little box full of what we always called guinea-peas,
but which are called _pepusas_ in Cuba. They are a bright red pea,
with a little black spot on one side. Auntie always writes a
description of everything, and so we know that these grow on
bushes, like our hazel-nuts. The bushes are covered with husks,
which crack open when they are dry, and show a whole bunch of
_pepusas_ inside.

There were so many candied fruits that I couldn't tell about half.
There was one very curious, which they call _marañon_ in Cuba, but
papa says in Jamaica it is called cashew. The fruit is yellow and
red, and is shaped something like a pear. The curious thing about
it is that the seed, which is a kind of nut, is outside the fruit,
and hangs on the lower end. If this nut is roasted when it is
fresh, it is nicer than a chestnut.

There were a great many _corojo_ nuts in our box, and we have
enough to play with for a year; for we are going to do just like
the Cuban children--carry them in our pockets, and use them for
marbles until we are tired of them, and then crack them and eat
the meat. They are a small, round, green nut, and the meat is like
a tiny piece of cocoa-nut. The _corojo_ nuts grow on a palm-tree,
and hang in great bunches right under the crown of glistening
green leaves.

My letter is growing too long, but I must tell about something
auntie sent us a year ago. There is a very beautiful tree, which
grows all through the Cuban woods, which they call _salvadera_. In
Jamaica they call it the sandbox-tree, because they get the
pretty, fluted seed cases, and make sand-boxes of them. If they
are picked just at the right time, they last for years. If they
are left on the tree, they ripen until they are dark brown, and
then they fly open with a bang, and send the seeds in all
directions. You can hear them sometimes in Cuban woods popping on
every side, like hundreds of pistols.

Well, last year auntie sent us a very handsome sand-box, all
varnished, and mounted on a wooden stand. We stood it on the
mantel-piece. One evening we were all sitting in the parlor, when
some one, as it seemed, fired off a pistol right in the room. Papa
ran to the door, thinking it was in the street, and we children
all crept close to mamma, and got hold of her dress. Pretty soon
papa came back, looking very much puzzled, for the street was all
quiet. He came and stood in front of the fire, wondering what the
noise could have been, till all of a sudden he began to laugh and
point to our sand-box. There stood the wooden stand, but every bit
of the box had disappeared. We found it afterward in little pieces
scattered all over the room. I suppose it had been picked too dry,
and the heat of the fire had finished it.

HALLIE J. R.

The sandbox-tree is one of the most beautiful growths of West Indian forests. As we are sure our little readers will like to see a picture of the seed case which "flies open with a bang," we take the accompanying illustration from _A Christmas in the West Indies_, by Charles Kingsley, published by Harper & Brothers.

* * * * *

SOUTH SALEM, NEW YORK.

I have taken YOUNG PEOPLE from the first number, and find it very
entertaining.

I have no brothers, and only one sister. She is married, and has
gone as a missionary to far-off India. She has been there more
than a year. In her last letter she said they were camping out in
a grove of three or four hundred orange-trees. She has oranges,
lemons, bananas, custard-apples, mangoes, and other fruits growing
in her own garden, and a great many flowers too.

I go to a good district school a mile and a half from our house.
We have had twenty-nine scholars all through the winter.

LUCIE N. P.

* * * * *

NEW YORK CITY.

I have a pair of roller skates which I skate on every afternoon.
They are the easiest kind to skate on. You just have to move a
little, and they roll along as easy as possible. I read an article
in YOUNG PEOPLE about roller skates, and I thought it was splendid.
I have a little sister named Minnetta, and I let her skate. It is
real amusing to see her, as she is just learning.

ROSALEE C.

* * * * *

WEST NEWTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

I am a little boy five years old. I have a papa and mamma, and a
sister Jessie, who is nine years old. And I have a sister and
brother in heaven. My aunt is here, but she is sick now, and I have
to keep real quiet, and can't beat my drum any. We live on the
railroad, and I can see the cars nearly all the time.

My papa is a minister. I do not go to school, but I recite to my
papa. I read, spell, and recite arithmetic. I can print, and I can
write some.

FRED R. P.

* * * * *

IRVINGTON, NEW YORK.

I wish some correspondent of the Post-office Box who lives in a
maple-sugar region would tell me how much sap it takes to make a
pound of sugar.

G. H.

* * * * *

PORT ORANGE, FLORIDA.

I have come all the way from Kentucky to Florida, and I have had
such a nice time that I want to tell YOUNG PEOPLE about it.

It was snowing hard when we left Louisville on the 16th of
February, and when we reached Palatka, three days afterward,
people were sitting out under the orange-trees in summer dresses.
We felt as if summer had really come when we saw green peas and
strawberries on the table.

I saw an alligator that was twelve feet long. There are plenty of
little ones for sale. A young lady in our hotel has one for a pet.

There are a good many curiosity stores in Palatka, and all of them
are full of stuffed birds. In one is a large panther which was
killed near the town.

On our way here from Orange City we came through several cypress
swamps. The cypress-trees had tall ferns growing at their roots,
and different kinds of air plants were fastened to them all the
way up to the top. One of the swamps was so deep that the water
came up into the bottom of the wagon, and spoiled our lunch.

This is a lovely place. The Halifax River is just in front of the
hotel. The water is salt, and papa says it is really an arm of the
sea. We take a sail-boat and go across the river, a mile and a
half, then we walk a little way, and come to the Atlantic Ocean,
where we find pretty shells and go in bathing.

There are lots of fish here, and oyster beds all along near the
shore. I am keeping a diary of my Florida trip, and write in it
every day myself. I am eight years old.

ETHEL A.

* * * * *

CANTON, NEW YORK.

Here is something that may amuse some little readers of YOUNG
PEOPLE. Cut out a number of very small paper dolls, not over half
an inch long, and lay them in a row on the table. Then take a
ribbon, and rub it over your head quickly several times. Then hold
it directly over the dolls, and they will all rise up.

ANNIE W.

* * * * *

HINSDALE, ILLINOIS.

It is nice here in the summer-time, and we have many pretty
flowers, but in the winter it is so cold that people get sick, and
sometimes they have to go to Florida, and stay until the cold
weather is over.

I have a large Esquimau dog, and sometimes I harness him to my
sleigh, and have a good ride with my little sister.

In the summer I go fishing over to Brush Hill Creek. I catch as
many as fifteen bull-heads and half a dozen sunfish, and that
makes a very good meal for my Esquimau dog.

CHARLES R. JONES.

* * * * *

HINSDALE, NEW YORK.

I think YOUNG PEOPLE is the nicest paper published. We go to
Chautauqua every year. Last summer I saw YOUNG PEOPLE there, and I
thought so much of it I asked papa to take it for me, and he did.

I have been very sick this winter with diphtheria, but I am well
enough now to go to church and to school again. My papa is a
Methodist Episcopal minister. He has two little ponies, and I ride
one of them. I am twelve years old.

DORA J.

* * * * *

PORTLAND, CONNECTICUT.

My finances are nearly in the same condition as those of Percy L.
McDermott. I get a dollar monthly, papa pays all my postage, and
mamma gives me ten cents for keeping my stamp box out of the way
when I am not using it. Although papa is a great advocate of
neatness, he is interested in stamp collecting, and rejoices with
me when I get a new specimen. He always asks me to get the box down
when he is at home; mamma never hints at such a thing. She is
content to leave the box, stamps, and all put aside unless I
agitate the subject. I do not go to school. Mamma teaches me at
home. I study in the morning by myself, and it is very hard to keep
my mind from wandering, especially as the kite season is in its
height, and we are having such mild spring weather.

I take orders to manufacture kites, free of charge, from small
boys in the neighborhood, who will cut toward their hands. In this
way I drive a thriving business, but mamma gets more and more
particular with my recitations as the season advances. I study
geography, grammar, arithmetic, geology, French, drawing, and
music, and mamma holds to the point that a spelling and reading
lesson can not be studied too well. All this takes time, and can
not be done in a minute.

I sympathize greatly with Percy in his awful fix, as he expresses
it, as I too have a great many letters to write, and a geological
research on cryolite to make for a professor. (That research is
the "last feather on the camel's back.") I am one of Percy's
correspondents, but freely forgive him for not answering my
letter, and when in future years he is nominated for the
Presidency of the United States, I will never mention the stamp
exchange to a single soul.

I wish it was in my power to alleviate the sufferings of Jimmy
Brown. As it is not, I hope he will continue to write his sad
experience to YOUNG PEOPLE. I am sure he will get sympathy from us
all.

I live opposite Middletown, which truly is a "forest city." We
have a fine view of the Meriden Mountains, the Great Hills, and
the Connecticut Valley, which with its noble river is considered
by strangers, as well as ourselves, the most beautiful and
fascinating scenery in the world.

In winter the ice-boats of the Wesleyan students, sleighs with
spirited horses, and little boys and girls coasting with sleds,
make our river even more picturesque than the far-famed Neva of
Russia, while in summer tugs, schooners, and yachts pass each
other on its surface, the sailing vessels looking like
white-winged sea-birds on the water. To-day it is clear and calm,
and the water looks like silver. A few days ago the ice was
rushing and ploughing its way to the Sound.

ALTIA R. A.

* * * * *

WASHINGTON COURT-HOUSE, OHIO.

I have a hen with seven young chickens, and it is so cold I have to
keep her in a box in the kitchen. My chickens were hatched on March
28. I would like to know if any readers of YOUNG PEOPLE had any
little chickens this spring hatched earlier than mine.

I sympathize with Percy McDermott. I had so many letters, after my
offer of exchange was printed, that it kept me awake nights
thinking where I could get arrow-heads enough to supply all the
boys in the Eastern States.

If Percy McDermott and Jimmy Brown would come along, I will go
with them and get Toby Tyler and his monkey, and we will all go to
the Rocky Mountains.

EMMER E.

* * * * *

I wish to notify correspondents that I have no more coins to
exchange, but I will exchange ores and minerals of different kinds,
petrified wood, curiosities from the Mammoth Cave and from
Colorado, Indian arrow-heads, shells, and foreign postage stamps,
for all kinds of American coins.

WILL B. SHOBER,
Cumberland, Md.

* * * * *

We have many ancient artificial mounds in this part of Illinois,
which contain pottery, stone pipes, axes, and other things, and the
Indians while here used them for burial-places, but always would
say they did not know who built them, but that it was not any of
their race, but another people. There are persons yet living here
who talked with the Indians about the mounds before they went away,
fifty years ago. These mounds appear to have been burial-places for
both the people who built them and for the Indians. They certainly
contain Indian relics, and they also contain many other things,
such as stone axes, and oval, concave, convex, and curiously formed
stones, which the Indians declare they never used. Most of the
bluffs along the Illinois River contain relics, and not long since
I saw a skeleton on one of the highest ones, which had become
partly exposed. It was of gigantic size.

I will exchange pieces of Indian or Mound-Builders' pottery, and
arrow-heads, for sea-shells and ocean curiosities.

A. W. TAYLOR,
Mount Sterling, Brown Co., Ill.

* * * * *

I would like to exchange a portion of a genuine Sioux scalp-lock,
with a piece of ermine attached, given me by a Crow chief from
Montana, for foreign postage stamps, especially those of Ceylon,
Africa, and Brazil.

W. S. CANFIELD,
1224 Fourteenth St. N. W., Washington, D. C.

* * * * *

DETROIT, MINNESOTA.

I have received over thirty applications for Swedish coins, and
could only answer four. Those who have received no answer will
please wait until I secure more coins.

JAY H. MALTBY.

* * * * *

I am going away, and can not exchange any longer with the readers
of YOUNG PEOPLE. I would request those correspondents who are still
owing me a return exchange to send to me as soon as possible.

ALICE E. THORP,
P. O. Box 618, Newport, R. I.

* * * * *

Annie Wheeler, Danville, Virginia, notifies her correspondents that she has no more foreign stamps to exchange.

* * * * *

I feel very sorry for Eddie S., and some of the other little boys
and girls, because they are sick, and can not run about. I wish I
could send them something. I am glad they can take YOUNG PEOPLE,
for it is such a beautiful paper to read.

I will exchange stamps, postmarks, pressed ferns, sand in bottles,
and pretty stones and fossils, for specimens of ore, ocean
curiosities, stamps, any interesting curiosity, or pieces of silk
for a quilt.

NELLIE RITZ BURNS,
Lewistown, Mifflin Co., Penn.

* * * * *

I am in the same fix as Percy L. McD. I did not have many stamps to
start with, and in less than a week they were all gone, and still
the letters come faster than I can answer them. I have no more
stamps for exchange, but I would like to exchange specimens of wood
from Kansas, for wood from the Eastern States or California, or for
stamps.

I have three brothers. We have lived in Kansas several years, and
we like it very much here. We are surrounded by Indians, but they
are peaceful and somewhat civilized. They dress much like white
men. Some of them have fields, and hire white men and negroes to
work for them. One family has a good piano, and the daughter is
well educated, and plays nicely. They have ponies which they
trade, or sell very cheap. The ponies are quite small, and very
gentle.

The Indian children play ball, and shoot arrows, and race with
their ponies. The bats which they play ball with are very curious.
Those the big Indians use are about four feet long. They are made
of hickory, and at one end the wood is bent around and tied with
narrow strips of buck-skin. One throws the ball, and the others
all rush to catch it in the bat, and hit a long pole. Whoever hits
the pole wins the game. When they play ball they dress in Indian
costume, and paint their faces, and stick feathers in their hair.

GEORGE LINSCOTT,
Holton, Jackson Co., Kansas.

* * * * *

I would request correspondents to send me scraps at least two
inches wide, so that I can cut a diamond of that width.

I wish correspondents would write their name and address, or at
least put initials on the outside of packages, for so many
letters, postal cards, and packages all come together, that often
we can not tell who each particular package is from. We try to
compare the handwriting, but can not always succeed. If any one
who has sent me a package and received no return will let me know
by a postal card, I will answer at once.

NINON G. HARE,
Lynchburg, Harris Co., Texas.

* * * * *

ROME, ITALY.

I am a subscriber of YOUNG PEOPLE, and I like it very much. I am a
Boston boy, and have been in Europe nearly two years. I am
collecting postage stamps, and would like to exchange a Greek,
French, or Italian stamp for an African one.

NATTIE L. FRANCIS,
Care of Brown, Shipley, & Co.,
London, E. C., England.

* * * * *

I have an Indian bow which I would like to exchange for a
collection of minerals. There are four arrows that go with it.
Three are common arrows, and the fourth is an arrow used for
shooting fish. The bow is wrapped with sinews, and is a very good
shooter. It shoots about one hundred yards.

FRANK REEL,
Hawk Farm, Baden P. O., St. Louis, Mo.

* * * * *

I will exchange eighteen "registered envelope" stamps, formerly
used on registered packages and rare, a Japanese "Five Sen" stamp,
and 1-cent, 2-cent, 3-cent, and 6-cent stamps of United States
Treasury and Post-office departments, for any curiosities except
stamps. Correspondents will please inform me by postal card what
they are willing to exchange.

HORACE N. HAWKINS,
P. O. Box 18, Huntingdon, Carroll Co., Tenn.

* * * * *

Here is a very simple recipe for a beautiful yellow ink. Put a
handful of hickory bark into one pint of water, and boil for about
an hour. Then strain the liquid, of which there should be about a
third of a pint, and add a little alum.

I have sand from the Kansas River at Topeka--the capital of Kansas
and the centre of the United States--and some small shells from
the Pacific coast, that I will exchange for curiosities suitable
for a museum. Minerals and specimens of wood from other countries
especially desired.

I will also give fifteen foreign stamps for fifty old United
States stamps and envelopes. Correspondents will please mark all
specimens plainly.

G. GRIFFIN, JUN.,
Emporia, Lyon Co., Kansas.

* * * * *

I think YOUNG PEOPLE is just splendid. What a good lesson we boys
can learn from "Toby Tyler!" I would not like to go with a circus.

The skeleton of a huge mastodon was found here this winter by some
men digging a ditch. Its horns and tusks were nine feet in length.
One tooth weighed six pounds, and its lower-jaw measured three
feet to the point where it began to curve upward. Our geological
professor said the animal measured twenty-six feet in length with
the tusks.

I will exchange geological specimens of Illinois for curiosities
from any other State or Territory.

PERCY W. HALL,
East Lynn, Vermilion Co., Ill.

* * * * *

INQUISITIVE JOE.--The railroad you inquire about is a narrow gauge. The gauge of the Liverpool and Manchester Railroad was fixed by George Stephenson at 4 feet 8-1/2 inches. Roads have been built 7 feet, 6 feet, 5 feet 5 inches, 5 feet, 4 feet 9 inches, 3 feet 6 inches, 3 feet 3-1/2 inches, 3 feet, and 2 feet, but the very broad and very narrow gauges are losing favor, and 4 feet 9 inches is the standard, 6 feet being generally known as broad gauge, and 3 feet 6 inches as narrow gauge, though anything over 4 feet 9 inches is broad, and anything under is narrow.

* * * * *

LODESTAR.--The height of the Egyptian obelisk in Central Park, New York, is 68 feet 11 inches from base to apex, its volume is 2678 cubic feet, and it weighs about 186 tons. It is about eight feet square at the base, and five feet where it assumes the shape of a little pyramid at the top. The pedestal on which the obelisk stands is 6 feet 10 inches high and about nine feet square.

* * * * *

E. L. H. AND L. L. M.--The United States coins about which you inquire are not rare, as the coinage of the years you specify was very large. On account of their age they are sold by dealers in coins at a small advance on their face value, this advance being more or less, according to the condition of the coin.

* * * * *

L. C. M. S.--Wood-lizards live upon flies, bugs, and small insects of various kinds; they will also eat raw meat cut into very small pieces. They are perfectly harmless, and are quite easily tamed. It would be almost impossible to give any especial directions for taming them; like any wild creature, they can only be domesticated by careful and persistent kindness, gentle treatment, and the slow process of becoming familiar with their owner's presence. They can be kept in a box made with sides of glass or wire netting, and a piece of wire netting over the top. The floor should be covered with dirt and dried grass and leaves. It is well to put a little water in a shallow saucer into the cage, for though the lizard does not drink a great deal, he sometimes takes a bath. Lizards sometimes become very tame, and can be taught to perform many amusing tricks, though of course this depends entirely upon the patience and skill of the teacher.

* * * * *

PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.

No. 1.

DOUBLE ENIGMA--(_To Zelotes_).

In sweet-potato, not in vine.
In cheap whiskey, not in wine.
In grinning monkey, not in fool.
In turner's lathe, but not in tool.
In pantry shelf, but not in pie.
In growing corn, but not in rye.
In knight's weapon, not in lance.
The whole two useful garden plants.

BOLUS.

* * * * *

No. 2.

TWO HALF-SQUARES.

1. A fountain. A musical instrument. A characteristic of April. A river in Europe. A denial. A letter from Washington.

GOODY TWO-SHOES.

2. A current. An entertainment. To raise. The head of a useful grain. A preposition. A letter.

G. B.

* * * * *

No. 3.

HOUR-GLASS PUZZLE.

[Only one vowel is used in forming this puzzle. It occurs twelve times.]

A city in South America. A savory dish. Something often used by boys. A letter from Cuba. An animal. Quadrupeds. Fruit. Centrals read downward--one of the United States.

LEON.

* * * * *

No. 4.

EASY DECAPITATIONS.

1. Behead a tangle, and leave a horse. 2. Behead pleasing, and leave a necessity of life. 3. Behead a fruit, and leave to exist. 4. Behead closed, and leave a small dwelling. 5. Behead happy, and leave a boy.

NORTH STAR.

6. Behead a stream of water, and leave a bird. 7. Behead a country, and leave another country. 8. Behead a country, and leave distress. 9. Behead a river in South Africa, and leave a kind of stove. 10. Behead a cape of North America, and leave a weapon. 11. Behead a gulf on the coast of Africa, and leave a lair of wild beasts.

WARD A. P.

12. Behead a belt, and leave a number. 13. Behead a hard substance, and leave a sound. 14. Behead not fresh, and leave a story. 15. Behead elevation, and leave a number. 16. Behead a mineral, and leave tardy. 17. Behead an elevation, and leave not well.

LODESTAR.

* * * * *

No. 5.

ENIGMA.

My first in just, but not in right.
My second in strength, but not in might.
My third in streak, but not in line.
My fourth in yours, but not in mine.
My fifth in present, not in prize.
My sixth in peaches, not in pies.
My seventh in low, but not in high.
My eighth in grieve, but not in sigh.
My ninth in tomb, but not in shrine.
My whole is found in Palestine.

MAY E. T.

* * * * *

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN No. 74.

No. 1.

Cleopatra.

No. 2.

B A L T I C
A L O E S
L O A N
T E N
I S
C

No. 3.

H P
C A P T I E
H A V R E P I A N O
P R Y E N D
E O

N
H A L
N A T A L
L A R
L

No. 4.

Rabbit-skin (_Baby Bunting's_).

No. 5.

P yrami D
L yr E
A loo F
I mag E
N atha N
T oa D
I schi A
F alco N
F ores T

Plaintiff, Defendant.

* * * * *

A Personation, on page 352--Robert Bruce, King of Scotland.

* * * * *

Correct answers to puzzles have been received from J. H. Allen, Jun., Jemima Berston, Willie Brainard, C. F. Bishop, Clare B. Bird, Joshua Crane, Jun., A. C. Chapin, A. E. Cressingham, E. A. C. S. Cassie Ennsworth, Foran, Guylhope, Nolan, Mullen, Minon, and Smith, Marcella Street Home, Lena Fox, Fannie Grimes, William Hadley, Banks Hudson, Isabel, _Isobel L. Jacob_, C. L. Kellogg, "Lodestar," _J. McClintock_, Percy McDermott, Minnetta and Rosalee, Phebe O'Reilly, H. H. Romer, H. O. Resdue, Bella T. Smart, Grace Stone, "Stars and Stripes," "Starry Flag," Willie T. Smith, Oliver C. Sheppard, G. P. Salters, F. Voorhees, Charlie W., _Charles Westcott_, Willie F. Woolard.

HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE.

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The Volumes of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE commence with the first Number in November of each year.

Subscriptions may begin with any Number. When no time is specified, it will be understood that the subscriber desires to commence with the Number issued after the receipt of the order.

Remittances should be made by POST-OFFICE MONEY-ORDER OR DRAFT, to avoid risk of loss.

HARPER & BROTHERS,
Franklin Square, N. Y.

COMING TO TERMS.

BY W. T. PETERS.

"Oh, Confectionery Lady, what have you good to-day?"
"All sorts of cakes and candies, my gentle sir, I pray;
We have peppermints and bolivars and luscious jujube bars,
We have lollipops and ginger-nuts and chocolate cigars."

"Oh, Confectionery Lady, you are very, very high,
And you offer me so many goods, I don't know which to buy.
I've a penny and a jackknife and a pair of tangled strings,
And I'm sure I wish to purchase a variety of things."

THE GAME OF ADJECTIVES.

BY G. B. BARTLETT.

One person is sent out of the room, while the remainder of the players select some adjective. Upon his return he asks in turn of each player some question, in reply to which the person addressed must designate the adjective chosen, without mentioning it. This reply must answer the question definitely, and at the same time fully express the nature of the adjective. The adjective chosen must, of course, be of a strongly descriptive character, and the game gives an opportunity for much ingenuity and skill in the answers, which are very amusing, especially when the question happens to be in direct opposition to the usual tone of the adjective. The person who gives the answer by which this adjective is detected is obliged to go out of the room in his turn, while the other players select another for him to guess. When ready, they call him in, and he begins by asking first the player who sat next the last guesser, and thus each one replies in turn, and all have an equal chance.

* * * * *

Wolves in Europe.--There are two kinds of wolves in Europe, the common wolf and the black wolf. The former is found in the wilder parts of France, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Norway, and Italy, but becomes every year more scarce. In almost every Department of France where wolves are found there is a society which offers a reward for every animal killed, varying in the amount according to the age and sex of the creature. Long ago the common wolf infested Great Britain. In the times of the Saxon Kings they were a terrible plague. King Edgar, about the year 972, used to pardon criminals who had committed certain crimes, on condition of their producing a specified number of wolves' tongues. Many of you have read the story of the Welsh Prince Llewellyn and his faithful dog Gelert. Prince Llewellyn had missed his child, and while looking for him, found Gelert covered with blood. He imagined that Gelert had killed the child, and in a moment of wild frenzy killed the dog. Afterward he found the child safe asleep, and a gaunt wolf lying by his side, dead. The faithful hound had killed it to save the child. The remorse of the Prince lasted all his life, and the lovely spot in Wales where Gelert was buried is still called Beddgelert, which means "the grave of Gelert."

End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Young People, April 19, 1881, by Various