Chapter VI: From a Portrait by Colonel Trumbull (2)

NEW YORK, _April 28, 1880_.

_Messrs. Harper & Brothers_:

GENTLEMEN,--When you announced your intention of making a paper
for the young, I must own I felt a little sorry. I had always
believed, and believe still, that HARPER'S MONTHLY was the best
magazine in the English language, and HARPER'S WEEKLY the best of
all illustrated papers; but it is so hard to make a periodical for
the young--the number of people capable of editing such a
periodical being extremely small--I felt it must be a failure, and
so for a good while I gave it very little attention. I have a boy
of seven, and another of five--bright boys, of course--and I have
read every line (almost) of three late consecutive numbers of
HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE; and I must say, if these are specimens--and
I have no doubt they are--it is as complete a success in its own
way as the MAGAZINE and the WEEKLY. I am not sure whether the boys
or their papa were most interested. The only fault I see in it is
that it increases the difficulty of getting the children off early
to bed.

I congratulate you on having a paper that will do as much good as
any paper or periodical published in the world.

* * * * *

GRAHAMVILLE, FLORIDA.

I live on the Oklawaha River. The Silver Spring is six miles from
this place. We live at the edge of the hummock, and see many kinds
of birds and flowers. A little bird has built its nest in one of
our hen's nests. I have one brother. His name is Philip. I will be
seven years old in May. We cut down a palmetto-tree yesterday. The
cabbage, which is the tender part at the end of the tree, is good
to eat. The bud I brought home, and am curing it to braid for a
hat. It makes a pretty hat that looks like straw. Some people here
use the palmetto leaves for fans or brooms. They are very large,
and have long stems. The small leaves make nice fly-brushes.

E. PEARL L.

* * * * *

BRAZORIA, TEXAS.

We take YOUNG PEOPLE, and like it very much. I read the papers
until I know them almost by heart, and I thought it would be nice
to write a letter for the Post-office Box. I am a little boy nine
years old, and I live on the Brazos River, in Texas. I and my
little brother have never been to school, but papa and mamma teach
us at home. We have beautiful redbirds, bluebirds, and woodpeckers
here, and a pair of mocking-birds have built their nest in a
rose-bush near our window. We have two pet chickens, named Poll
and Nelly, that have never been with a hen since they were
hatched. When I call, "Cluck! cluck!" they come running to me, but
they are afraid of a hen. Every night they cry to be put to bed.

WALTER H. S.

* * * * *

REFUGIO, TEXAS.

I want to tell you about some minnows I had. I got them out of a
mud hole, and put them in a large candy jar in some fresh
rain-water. I kept them about two months. I fed them on flies and
bread-crumbs, and when I dropped their food in the water, they
would swim to the surface as fast as they could and swallow it. I
put some shells and a calla lily in the jar, and the little fish
would dart around after each other, and hide behind the shells.
They were very amusing.

LULA B.

* * * * *

FLINT, MICHIGAN.

I had YOUNG PEOPLE for a Christmas present, and I like it very
much. I have a puppy. I call him Champion, after that brave dog in
the story I read in YOUNG PEOPLE No. 20. He is two months old, and
my papa thinks he will be big enough next winter to draw me on my
sled.

JOSIE A. U.

* * * * *

DUNCANSBY, MISSISSIPPI.

I am a little girl ten years old, and I have a brother eight. I
live in the country, two miles from the Mississippi River, where
there is nothing to see but big fields of cotton and corn. Papa is
a planter. I wait patiently every week for YOUNG PEOPLE. I was
born in Louisiana, but my grandpa was born in New York State. I
have never been to school. I am taught at home.

CALLIE R. H.

* * * * *

WINDSOR, CONNECTICUT.

I send you the names of all the flowers I have found in the month
of April. I bring them in from the fields, and mamma tells me the
names, and I write them down in a book. I think I can find more
flowers in May, as I live too far north to find many in April.
Here is the list: Round-lobed hepatica (_Hepatica triloba_),
trailing arbutus (_Epigoea repens_), yellow adder-tongue violets
(_Erythronium americanum_), bloodroot (_Sanguinaria canadensis_),
cinque-foil (_Potentilla canadensis_), sweet white violet (_Viola
blanda_), common blue violets (_Viola cucullata_), wood-anemone
(_Anemone nemorosa_), rue-anemone (_Thalictrum anemonoides_), wild
strawberry (_Fragaria vesca_), shepherd's-purse (_Capsella
bursa_), leather-leaf (_Cassandra calyculata_), dandelion
(_Taraxacum dens-leonis_), bluets (_Oldenlandia cerulia_).

HARRY H. M.

* * * * *

FAIR HAVEN, VERMONT.

I have watched the reports of willow "pussies" coming out in
different parts of the country with a good deal of interest, and I
thought I would write and tell you that on April 25, when riding
to church, I saw some cowslips in bloom. I think that is doing
pretty well for our New England spring. My little brother and I
found two handfuls of arbutus to-day, but it has been in bloom for
some time. We have a black and white shepherd dog. He can climb an
apple-tree that leans a little to one side a good deal quicker
than my little brother, who is eight years old.

SADIE H.

* * * * *

MOORTOWN, CALIFORNIA.

I am a little boy nine years old. I was born in the Sierra Nevada
Mountains. It storms fearfully here. Last winter was an awful hard
one--the coldest ever known. It has been snowing here to-day
(April 13), although the wild flowers are just in bloom. I have a
pet fox and a squirrel. They are very tame.

DANIE R.

* * * * *

MARLBOROUGH-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK.

I am seven years old. I live in Brooklyn, but I am visiting my
grandpa and grandma now. I have a little uncle not much older than
myself. We play archery sometimes, and we like to hunt eggs for
grandma. There are two cats here--a big yellow one we call
Solomon, because he looks so wise; and another real pretty one we
call Harriet, because Harriet gave it to us. We have lots of fun
here--swinging, playing croquet, riding, and rolling in the
hammocks.

MAY T.

* * * * *

LAWRENCE, KANSAS.

I am twelve years old. Papa takes YOUNG PEOPLE for my brother and
me, and we like it very much. I have two pets--a cat and a canary.
I let my canary out of its cage almost every day. If I do not, it
seems to think itself very badly treated. Violets were in blossom
here about the 1st of April.

ANTOINETTE R.

* * * * *

PRINCESS ANNE COUNTY, VIRGINIA.

I am a little boy. My sister takes your paper, and we take so much
pleasure in reading it that I thought I would like to write to
you. We live on the sea-shore, and have seines hauled for fish.
Sometimes we catch sword-fish, sharks, and saw-fish. The other day
we caught a sea-spider. It was like a common spider, but larger,
and had a hard shell like a crab. Its fore-feet were something
like a crab's claws.

R. D. G.

* * * * *

ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA.

I live on the shore of Presque Isle Bay, where "Mad" Anthony Wayne
was buried. There is a monument erected over his grave. They are
now rebuilding the old block-house, which was burned a few years
ago. The flag-ship _Lawrence_, which Perry commanded when he
gained the victory over the British on Lake Erie, used to lie
buried in our bay, but in 1876 some enterprising young man raised
it out of the water, and took it to the Centennial. I think we
have the nicest place in the United States for rowing, fishing,
camping out, and having lots of fun. I am eight years old.

MAMIE H.

* * * * *

I like to read the letters in YOUNG PEOPLE, and I thought I would
tell you about a wild-cat. On the evening of April 28, about five
o'clock, I had just finished my music lesson, when I saw a large
crowd standing near our house. I ran out, and I heard some one
saying, "It is a wild-cat." I thought at first it was a
prairie-wolf. It was two feet in height, and two feet and a half
long. It had a cat's head, but its claws were as big as a dog's.
It was dead, and a boy had a string round its neck. It came into
the city from the country in a load of trees; and when the men
took the trees out of the car, it sprang out, and jumped over our
fence into our yard. It ran through the yard and back again, when
a gentleman shot it. The boy dragged it away, and I did not see it
any more. We live in the heart of the city of Chicago. I would
like to exchange pressed flowers with "Wee Tot," and will send her
some pressed jasmine.

ANNIE D. MULLALLY,
285 West Sixteenth Street, Chicago, Illinois.

* * * * *

I would like to exchange pressed flowers or shells, or any pretty
curiosity, with readers of YOUNG PEOPLE in other localities, but
especially in the Southern and far Western States and Territories.
I liked the letters from Gertrude Balch and Charles W. S. very
much, and wish they would write again. I tried to make a tombola,
and succeeded admirably. Do you know who was the inventor of the
15-13-14 puzzle?

LAURA BINGHAM, Lansing, Michigan.

The famous puzzle is said to have been invented by a poor deaf and dumb man living in a small country town in New England, but we can not substantiate the statement.

* * * * *

I have been in the woods to a picnic to-day, and have been reading
the letters in YOUNG PEOPLE'S Post-office Box this evening. I have
no pets, as most little girls. I had a redbird, but it died. I
would like to exchange pressed leaves with little girls in other
localities.

MARY WRIGHT,
Elk City, Kansas.

* * * * *

If "Genevieve," of California, will send me her address, I will
press her some flowers that grow here, and send them to her. I
live in a little village not far from Chicago.

ANNIE DE PFUHL,
Humboldt Park, Cook County, Illinois.

* * * * *

In HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE No. 22 "Genevieve," of California, asks
some little girl to press some specimens of Eastern flowers, and
exchange with her. I will be happy to do so.

CARRIE HARD,
Pittsford, Monroe County, New York.

* * * * *

ST. JOHNSBURY, VERMONT.

My little sister takes YOUNG PEOPLE, and I read it, and like it
very much. I have tried Nellie H.'s rule for candy, and it is
splendid. I go to school, and have a good teacher. I had two pet
rabbits last summer. I am nine years old.

KATY L. H.

* * * * *

I am a constant reader of the charming little paper, YOUNG PEOPLE,
and think it is a splendid journal for boys and girls. I like "A
Boy's First Voyage" very much indeed. In answer to one of the
correspondents, I would say that I have a cabinet of curiosities,
and have a good many queer specimens, such as idols, gourds from
Brazil made by the natives, and other things. I also collect
birds' eggs and coins. I would like to exchange with any
correspondents who collect eggs, if they have any specimens to
spare.

I. QUACKENBOSS,
306 Carleton Avenue, Brooklyn, New York.

* * * * *

I am a little girl nine years old. I live in the country, where
there are lots of pretty wild flowers, and I would like very much
to exchange pressed flowers with "Genevieve," of Galt, California,
if she will send me her address.

AGGIE MEYER,
Georgetown, D. C.

* * * * *

If "Wee Tot" Brainard will wait until summer, I will be very glad
to exchange some of our pressed flowers for hers, and I will send
her a nice bouquet.

JULIA R. WALKER,
Frostburg, Allegany County, Maryland.

* * * * *

I have been making a collection of birds' eggs, iron ores, and
stones, and if any one would like to exchange eggs or minerals
with me, I will be very glad to do so.

SAMUEL P. HIGGINS,
Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

* * * * *

EDDIE A. L.--Africa is not an island, but a continent. It is much larger than Australia, which has always been known as a continent, as it contains a greater area than the largest island. The only real distinction between a continent and an island is the difference of size.

* * * * *

LITTLE FALLS, NEW YORK.

I would like to ask Bertie Brown and M. R. L. if the Indians in
their vicinity make dolls. I have two very curious ones made by
the Nez Percés in the guard-house at Fort Vancouver, Washington
Territory. On the heads of the squaws are long braids of real
hair. Will you please tell me what a guard-house is, and also why
barbers' signs are painted in stripes?

SUSIE C. B.

The guard-house is that portion of a fort where prisoners are confined and kept under guard.--In former times the barber's craft was dignified with the title of a profession, being conjoined with the art of surgery. In France, the barber-surgeons were separated from the hair-dressers, and incorporated as a distinct body in the reign of Louis the Fourteenth. In England, barbers first received incorporation from Edward the Fourth in 1461. In the reign of Henry the Eighth they were united with the Company of Surgeons, it being enacted that the barbers should confine themselves to the minor operations of blood-letting and drawing teeth. In 1745, barbers and surgeons were separated in England into distinct corporations. The barber's sign consisted in ancient times, as now, of a striped pole, from which a basin was formerly suspended. The fillet round the pole indicated the ribbon used for bandaging the arm in bleeding and the basin the vessel to receive the blood.

* * * * *

F. HAYNES.--Many thanks for your kindness and trouble in copying the poem. You have done it very neatly. It is, however, much too long to be printed in YOUNG PEOPLE.

* * * * *

W. ATKINSON.--A water-mark is any device stamped in the substance of a sheet of paper while it is in a damp or pulpy condition. The practice dates back to the early part of the sixteenth century, and came into vogue soon after the invention of printing. The mark is produced by pressure as the paper passes over a wire-gauze net, or under a roller, in its progress from the vat, the raised lines of the design making the paper thinner at the points of contact.

* * * * *

LOUIE B.--We shall soon begin the publication of "The Story of the American Navy," by Benson J. Lossing.

* * * * *

B. H. SMITH.--Your idea of our "Wiggle" is entirely original, and very good. We are very sorry it arrived too late to be engraved among other answers.

* * * * *

PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.

No. 1.

HIDDEN CITIES.

[Two cities are hidden in each sentence.]

1. I oft have looked at royal apparel, but a regal vest on the Prince was the finest I have seen. 2. If you went with a carriage, how did you make that rent on your dress? 3. The mob I led so well I made keep in very good order. 4. I know I am not wanted, but I came, for I am a constable. 5. Is a lemon good with salt on it?

F. B.

* * * * *

No. 2.

ENIGMA.

My first is in mist, but not in fog.
My second is in cat, but not in dog.
My third is in cart, but not in wagon.
My fourth is in beast, but not in dragon.
My fifth is in wheat, but not in corn.
My sixth is in birth, but not in born.
My seventh is in hurt, but not in sting.
My whole was an ancient Scottish king.

K. K.

* * * * *

No. 3.

WOOD SQUARE.

First, a musical instrument. Second, a boy's name. Third, darkness. Fourth, solitary. Fifth, titles.

FLORENCE.

* * * * *

No. 4.

NUMERICAL CHARADE.

I am composed of 20 letters.
My 8, 5. 4, 20 is very small.
My 13, 3, 11 is found in every farm-yard.
My 14, 10, 6, 1 is a coin.
My 16, 5, 11, 7 is a number.
My 18, 19, 6 is a vase.
My 12, 15, 9, 17, 2 give a great deal of pain and
trouble, and yet no one likes to part with them.
My whole has witnessed many remarkable events.

EDDIE.

* * * * *

[The two following geographical puzzles are sent by Sadie in answer to Maud T. K.'s request in Post-office Box No. 24.]

No. 5.

DIAMOND.

A symbol of one of the points of the compass. A river in Switzerland. A country in Europe. A tributary of the Mississippi River. A symbol of one of the points of the compass.

* * * * *

No. 6.

DOUBLE ACROSTIC.

A city in China. One of the United States. A city in China. A town in New York State. One of the grand divisions of land. An island in the Grecian Archipelago. Answer--Two cities in Europe.

* * * * *

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN NO. 26.

No. 1.

Robert Bruce.

No. 2.

Remember me.

No. 3.

Robin Redbreast.

No. 4.

P I N E
N E A R
T R O T
L E O N

No. 5.

1. Approbation. 2. Sweetheart. 3. Instruction. 4. Operator. 5. Gasometer. 6. Congratulate.

No. 6.

Algebra.

* * * * *

Aunt Flora, a Broken Rhyme, on page 360:

Scold, cold, old.
Scant, cant, ant.
Charm, harm, arm.
Stone, tone, one.

* * * * *

Favors are acknowledged from George A. W., Harry Starr K., Mary L. Hannam, Leslie Ray, Jamie C. Edgerton, Ruth Marshall, Horace Barlow, J. R. Gleason, Oliver Arden, Bertha Thompson, C. R. F., Grace W. Watson, Willie Dorrance, Jessie E. Watt, Cloyd D. Brown.

* * * * *

Correct answers to puzzles are received from J. Hartley Merrick, Grace Storey, James C. Smith, Edward L. Hunt, Edith H. Jones, Alice and Mamie Grady, Alexander Maxwell, Charles B. Miller, Robert Davidson, George S. Vail, H. G. B., Marion Norcross, Lula Barlow, A. H. Ellard, George Varker, Beryl Abbott, Julia R. Walker, Ruth Thompson, Rebecca Hedges, Marshall Haywood, George Stevenson, M. Parkinson, Stanley King.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE.

HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE will be issued every Tuesday, and may be had at the following rates--_payable in advance, postage free_:

SINGLE COPIES $0.04
ONE SUBSCRIPTION, _one year_ 1.50
FIVE SUBSCRIPTIONS, _one year_ 7.00

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 order.

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

ADVERTISING.

The extent and character of the circulation of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE will render it a first-class medium for advertising. A limited number of approved advertisements will be inserted on two inside pages at 75 cents per line.

Address
HARPER & BROTHERS,
Franklin Square, N. Y.

OUR CHILDREN'S SONGS.

* * * * *

Our Children's Songs. Illustrated. 8vo, Ornamental Cover, $1.00.

* * * * *

It contains some of the most beautiful thoughts for children that ever found vent in poesy, and beautiful "pictures to match."--_Chicago Evening Journal._

The best compilation of songs for the children that we have ever seen.--_New Bedford Mercury._

This is a large collection of songs for the nursery, for childhood, for boys and for girls, and sacred songs for all. The range of subjects is a wide one, and the book is handsomely illustrated.--_Philadelphia Ledger._

* * * * *

Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.

HARPER & BROTHERS _will send the above work by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, on receipt of the price_.

FISHING OUTFITS.

CATALOGUE FREE.

R. SIMPSON, 132 Nassau Street, N. Y.

The Child's Book of Nature.

* * * * *

The Child's Book of Nature, for the Use of Families and Schools: intended to aid Mothers and Teachers in Training Children in the Observation of Nature. In Three Parts. Part I. Plants. Part II. Animals.