Chapter II: Part 2

Ten minutes more, and then, with a big pull and a great shout, out came the unlucky sheep. It had been an unsettled question in the minds of the boys, until that instant, whether his horns, or his neck, or the rope might not give way, and as for themselves, a redder-faced lot had not been seen in the whole valley since school closed.

"Now, boys," shouted Charley, "the rope. Hitch it strong."

Charley's weakness was for climbing, and he would have scorned the idea of not being able to master so simple a situation as that.

"Here comes the other sheep," shouted Put. "Charley, are your feet wet? Look at your friend."

He was worth looking at, for he was himself looking at the well mouth as if he was studying, under his much-pulled horns, how on earth he ever got out of that thing.

"Ba-a-a-a-a! ba-a!"

"I'll take the rope off, and then we'll cut."

Abe was saying that in the very act of loosening the rope with his jackknife; but he should not have stood right in front of the ram to do it, for the very second the prize brute felt himself free, Abe felt something bump against him just above his waist. It was not very vigorous butting, and was only done from force of habit, but Abe went down.

"Run, boys, run! He'll go for you next."

"Deserves to have been left in the well," exclaimed Jim Chandler, "the ungrateful beast!"

There was no need of any running, however, for the ram had no heart, perhaps no very serviceable legs, to follow them. Abe Larrabee was the only fellow who really hurried much.

It was just as they all got to the other side of the old bridge on the road to the village that Put Boswell suddenly broke out with:

"Look a-here, boys, wasn't we a-wondering this morning what we'd do with this here last day of vacation?"

"That was just the trouble," said Charley Farrington, "and we've put it in a-helping an old sheep out of Chittenden's well."

"Don't care for that," stoutly responded Put. "Didn't I say last night I'd find something to do? I say it's the best day we've had. We know just what to do with an old well now. It's been real interesting."

"Yes," drawled Abe Larrabee, "so it has. Interesting to the old ram too. Worst of it is, we daren't tell anybody."

That was too bad, but they could all go back to school more cheerfully for it the next day.

THE UNGRATEFUL WOOD-CUTTER.

Once on a time there lived in a village a wood-cutter so poor, that he had only his hatchet with which to gain bread for his wife and children.

"What am I to do?" said he, one day. "I am worn out with fatigue, my wife and children have nothing to eat, and I have no longer strength to hold my hatchet to earn even bitter black bread for my family. Ah! it is very bad luck for the poor when they are brought into this world."

While he was lamenting in this way, a voice called to him in a compassionate tone, "What are you complaining of?"

"Am I not likely to complain, when I have no food?" said he.

"Go home," said the voice, "dig up the earth in the corner of your garden, and you will find under a dead branch a treasure."

When the wood-cutter heard this he threw himself on his knees, and cried out, "Master, how do you call yourself? who are you with so kind a heart?"

"My name is Merlin," said the voice.

"Ah, master, God will bless you if you will come to my aid, and save a poor family from destitution."

"Go quickly," said the voice, "and in a year's time come back here, and give me an account of what you have done with the money you will find in the corner of the garden."

"Master, I will come in a year's time, or every day if you command me."

So he went home, dug the earth in the corner pointed out to him, and there found the promised treasure.

At the end of the year he went, according to agreement, to the forest. The voice cried,

"So you have come!"

"Yes, master."

"And how have you fared?"

"Well, master; my family have good food and clothing, and we have reason to thank you every day."

"You are well off, then, now; but tell me is there anything else you long for?"

"Ah, yes, master, I should like to be made Mayor."

"All right; in forty days you shall be named Mayor."

"Oh, a thousand thanks, my dear protector."

The second year the rich wood-cutter came to the forest in fine new clothes, and wearing tied round his waist the scarf of Mayor.

"Mr. Merlin," called he, "come and speak to me."

"Here I am," said the voice. "What do you wish?"

"Our Bishop died yesterday, and my son, with your aid, would like to replace him. A fresh favor, then, I ask of your kindness."

"In forty days it shall be done," said Merlin.

Accordingly, in forty days the son became a Bishop, and yet they were not contented.

At the end of the third year the wood-cutter sought his protector, and in a low voice called,

"Merlin, will you do me another favor?"

"What is it?" said the voice.

"My daughter wishes to be the wife of a Director."

"So let it be," replied Merlin. "In forty days the marriage shall take place."

And so it all came to pass.

Then the wood-cutter spoke in this wise to his wife,

"Why should I go again into the forest to speak to a creature whom I have never seen? I am wealthy enough now, I have plenty of friends, and my name is respected."

"Go once more," said she. "You ought to wish him good-day, and thank him for all his benefits."

So the wood-cutter mounted his horse, and, followed by two servants, entered the wood, and began to shout, "Merlot! Merlot! I have no more need of you, for I am sufficiently rich now."

Merlin replied: "It seems that you have forgotten the time when you had not enough to eat, possessed only your hatchet, and could scarcely earn sixpence a day. The first service I rendered you, you went on your knees, and called me 'Master'; after the second, a little less polite, you said 'Mister'; after the third, only plain 'Merlin'; and now you have the impudence to address me as 'Merlot.' You think that you have made your account well, and have no longer need of me. We'll see to that. You have always been heartless and stupid; continue to be stupid, and remain poor as you were when I took you up."

The rich man laughed, shrugged his shoulders, and did not believe a word that had been said to him.

He went back to his home. Soon his son, the Bishop, died. His daughter, the Director's wife, also had a bad illness, and she died too. To crown his misfortunes, a war broke out, and the soldiers of each army entered his cellars, consumed his wine and his granaries of corn, and burned his maize in the field. His house also they set fire to, so he remained penniless and uncared for.

LITTLE JACK'S DREAM.

Little Jack Jones considered himself the happiest boy in Jonesborough when his father gave him a gun. The fact that it was a weapon with which to shoot peas, and had a spring that did away with the necessity for powder, did not make it any less dangerous in Jack's eyes, and he felt very warlike with it in his hands.

He was positive he could kill birds, and even animals for that matter, provided his aim was true, and the peas could be sent with sufficient force. That the woods in the rear of his house were alive with all kinds of animals he had no doubt, even though he had never seen any, and his father had said rabbits were the largest game to be found there. He felt certain his father was mistaken, for what were woods made for if not to shelter every species of the brute creation?

For a long time Jack had been anxious to go out for a day, and shoot about as many animals as would be necessary to start a large menagerie; but until this gun was given him he could not satisfy his desires. Now, however, all was changed, and he began the most warlike preparations.

He found an old powder-horn which would serve to hold his stock of peas, and make him look like a hunter, and the obliging tinman cut him out one of the most ferocious-looking tin knives that can well be imagined.

That night his gun, carefully loaded, stood by the head of his bed, while his knife and powder-horn of peas were tucked snugly away under the pillow, where he could reach them at a moment's notice.

It was a long time before he fell asleep that night, and as the last idea in his mind when the sand-man closed his eyes was of his hunting expedition, when he thought he awakened he was not surprised at finding himself already in the woods.

His gun was in his hands, his terrible knife in his belt, and his pea-horn slung over his shoulder in the proper manner. He laughed to himself at the thought that he was in the woods without remembering anything about the disagreeable morning task of combing his hair or going for the milk; but he took good care to peep cautiously behind every bush or rock lest an elephant should pop out and trample on him before he had time to kill him.

With his gun ready for instant use, he walked on, but saw nothing, not even a bird, that was anxious to be killed, until he heard a gruff voice just behind him shout,

"Here, young fellow, what are you trying to do?"

Jack turned very quickly, for he had not supposed any one was near, and his surprise was great at seeing an enormous gorilla, armed with a large club, and wearing two feathers on his head, and an apron of leaves, coming directly toward him.

"I wasn't tryin' to do nothin'," said Jack, in greatest alarm, and doing his best to keep his knees from shaking. "I was only walkin' round."

"That's a story," said the old fellow, sternly, as he called up five chimpanzees, all of whom wore aprons and carried clubs, and ordered them to lead Jack away to the court-house.

Frightened as Jack was, he thought how strange it was that animals should have a court-house, and then as he looked at his captors more closely, he fancied they acted something after the manner of policemen.

How frightened he was then, and how he wished he had never seen a pea-gun or a tin knife!

The policemen did not speak to him, but marched him along, the gorilla leading the way in the most dignified manner possible.

The distance was very long and Jack was tired; but he would willingly have walked during the entire day if by such means he could escape going to that court, where he felt certain some terrible punishment awaited him. There was no such good fortune for him, however, for when they reached what it seemed must be the very centre of the woods, they entered a cleared space, which marked the end of the journey.

Jack knew he stood in the animals' court-room, for there, on a high bank on which moss had been spread for a carpet, sat a very ferocious-looking and very old lion, wearing an enormous pair of eyeglasses, while just behind him his wife looked over his shoulder curiously at the prisoner. Just below the lion a tiger sat on his haunches as if he was the clerk of the court; at one side stood a giraffe as crier, and on a swinging vine overhead perched an old crow, who, as the shade over his eyes plainly told, was the court reporter.

It was a terrible moment for poor Jack as he stood there before the savage-looking judge, and he resolved from that instant that there was not half so much fun in the so-called sport of hunting as some people seemed to think.

"What's your name?" asked the tiger, with a growl, and Jack's teeth chattered so that he could hardly answer,

"Jack Jones."

"What is the charge against the prisoner, Captain Gorilla?" asked the judge, as he stroked his whiskers and adjusted his eyeglasses.

"Carrying dangerous weapons," answered the old fellow, as he pointed to the pea-shooter, and then he motioned one of the chimpanzees to tell the story, he standing ready to corroborate what his lieutenant should say in case Jack attempted to deny his guilt.

The chimpanzee told the judge that he had been out with Captain Gorilla and his four comrades since six o'clock that morning, looking for some suspicious-acting animals who had been reported as being in that ward; they had discovered the prisoner, who was armed as his honor could see; he was, at the time of his arrest, looking around him in a singularly cautious manner, and was, to the best of his (the officer's) belief, a dangerous person to be at liberty.

The old crow looked down at Jack as if he was about to write a description of him for the next number of the _Forest Herald_, and the judge wiped his eyeglasses with his tail, as he asked, "Is his gun loaded?"

Captain Gorilla stepped forward, and was about to examine the weapon, when the giraffe put his hoofs in his ears, and insisted that if it was absolutely necessary to go into such slight details, the captain should go at least a mile from the court, since he was very nervous, and afraid of a noise.

The judge thought that perhaps it made no difference whether the charge was actually in the gun or not, since the prisoner had the ammunition in his possession, and then paused as if to consider what the sentence should be.

Jack, who was more frightened than ever before, had had no chance to speak since his trial began, but now he commenced to cry and plead his cause at the same time.

"Dear, kind, good Mr. Lion, if you'll only let me go home, I'll bend the knife all up, an' I won't ever shoot a single pea, except at the side of our barn, where they can't hurt anybody. _Do_ let me go, 'cause I'm afraid I didn't get the milk for mother before I came here."

"If you neglected to do the errands for your mother, your punishment must be all the more severe," said the judge, and his wife nodded her head as if to say she thought that decision exactly correct.

"I'll never come out here again, an' I'll always do everything mother wants me to," pleaded Jack, but all in vain.

The judge considered the case in silence for some moments; the clerk licked his chops hungrily, as if he expected to be called upon to eat the prisoner; the captain of police brandished his club savagely; the crow made preparations for writing down the prisoner's last words; and Jack's hair would have stood straight up, because of his fright, if he had combed the snarls out so it could.

"Tie him up to the tallest tree by the hair, so he may act as scarecrow to other boys who come out pea-shooting in the morning before they have done the chores," said the judge, with a roar, and no sooner had he spoken than the gorilla and the chimpanzees caught Jack up, climbing the tree with him in their arms without the slightest difficulty.

It hurt terribly to hang there by the hair, but the pain was still greater when the branch broke, and he fell to the--floor, now thoroughly awakened, because he had tumbled out of bed.

It was some moments before he could understand that it was all a dream; but it had frightened him so that he bent the tin knife double and threw it out of the window before he crawled back to bed.

The next morning his mother was pleasantly surprised by seeing him do his work without being reminded of it, and that forenoon, when some of the boys asked him why he was not in the woods shooting lions, he simply told them that it was because he was obliged to take care of the baby.

THE LAST FROLIC.

Three little children at grandpa's--Archie, Kitty, and May--
After a summer of sunshine have the last frolic to-day.
High in the old farm wagon--never was carriage so grand--
Three little children are ready for a drive to fairy-land.

The ponies are off in the pasture, the black horse stands in the stall,
But make-believe steeds are harnessed and there at the children's call;
They'll race over hill and valley, they'll dash through village and
town,
And surely they'll find the fairies before the sun goes down.

Three little children at grandpa's have tossed the fragrant hay,
Followed the cows to the meadow, and weeded the garden for play,
Hunted for Tops and Speckle in every cranny and nook,
Carried the eggs home gayly, and fished with pins in the brook.

They are going home to-morrow, this frolic will be the last;
So trot away bravely, horses--no danger of going too fast.
Aloft in the old farm wagon, dimpled and freckled and tanned,
Hurrah for the dear little children, driving to fairy-land.

HACKENSACK, NEW JERSEY.

I would like to tell the readers of YOUNG PEOPLE how nice it is to
go all through Harper's establishment. Papa took me there the other
day, and got a permit to go through it, and we saw so many
interesting things that I don't know where to begin to tell about
them. We went into the rooms where all the machinery and presses
are. I saw them printing _Harper's Monthly Magazine_ and a whole
lot of things. I think it is very nice to look at the man
spattering different-colored paints on the water to make the
marbling on the edges of books. I liked to watch the women who were
spreading gold-leaf on the covers of books. After this is done they
are placed in a press, and the letters and pictures are stamped on
the cover, and the gold-leaf that is not needed is brushed off. We
visited the room of the Editor of YOUNG PEOPLE, and had a very
pleasant time there. He showed us an Easter-egg which one of the
young people had sent him. A great many people think that the
letters in Our Post-office Box are not genuine, but I know they
are, for the Editor showed me a pile of them which he had just
received. He said he expected to get as many as that twice a day,
and that they came from all parts of the United States, and even
from Canada and Europe. If they printed all the letters which come
from the children, they would have no room for anything else in the
paper. I think HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE is delightful, and I mean to
take it until I am a woman. I am eight years old now.

EMMA S.

Emma's papa assures us that this letter, in spelling, composition, and writing is entirely Emma's own work, without any assistance. It is a very well-written letter in every sense for a little girl of eight.

* * * * *

MOLINE, ILLINOIS.

I think that a short account of the Artesian well which is being
bored here will interest the members of the Young People's Natural
History Society. The well is being bored near the Moline Paper-Mill
for the purpose of procuring pure water to be used in the
manufacture of paper. It is not bored with an auger like an
ordinary well, but is drilled with a drill which works up and down
in the well in the same way that a man drills a hole in rock to
blast it, only of course this drill is larger, and is worked by a
steam-engine and a walking-beam like those on steamboats. The drill
is fastened to one end of the walking-beam by long wooden rods. It
grinds the rock quite fine, like sand, and some of it is ground to
a fine powder. They drill several hours or more, according to the
hardness of the rock, and then pull up the drill, and let down a
hollow iron tube with a valve in the bottom, into which the
pulverized rock, which is mixed with water, runs, and where it is
prevented from coming out by the valve. They have at present
drilled to the depth of 700 feet, and expect to find water at 800
feet.

STILLMAN G.

* * * * *

LYONS FALLS, NEW YORK.

I am eleven years old. I picked up potatoes last fall, and earned
the money with which I bought YOUNG PEOPLE. Papa gave me one cent a
bushel. I like to read the letters in the Post-office Box, and also
"Tim and Tip." I took YOUNG PEOPLE to school, and we read "The
Cruise of the 'Ghost'" there. I have a Newfoundland dog, whose name
is Chuck. His color is old gold. We bought him to help us churn,
but our milk now goes to the factory. I get up early in the morning
and help milk. There is a little creek back of our house, and I
skate there in the winter when it is frozen over. I have lots of
fun. I fall down sometimes, but it don't hurt me much.

CLINTON H. J.

* * * * *

CLARKE COUNTY, VIRGINIA.

Since school closed I've had a splendid time in the country,
fishing in the Shenandoah, and doing other charming things. I am
now going home with papa, and shall take my baby brother a great
red apple. I mean to study very hard, and do everything I can to
please papa, for his kindness in having sent me to the country.

W. H. T.

* * * * *

I don't care about letting you all know where I live; but here I
am, shut up in this great Noah's ark of a parlor, alone, just
because the teacher came here last night and told Aunt Quillet that
I had refused to write my composition. So aunt sent me here, where
I could be quiet, and think without being disturbed. What is there
to think about, I wonder? There's only a crack between the shutters
to let in light, and the furniture is done up in linen bags, and
the pieces peek and stare at me as if every chair were a mummy. Why
can't folks buy things that don't need bagging, or else use the
pretty things while they're pretty, and bag them after they've
grown shabby? They make me think of that ship which Ike Walton
dived into, where the men were all sitting round just as they had
been doing when it went down. I hate parlors anyway. I hate things
with Ulsters on.

Auntie opened the door just now, and inquired how I was succeeding.
I told her I was writing to YOUNG PEOPLE. She said that
letter-writing was a very fine variety of composition. I did not
know that before, and have always thought it easy enough to write
letters. If the teacher were of the same opinion, I would not be
marked deficient so often in this study.

Aunt Quillet is spending a month here. Mother has gone to
grandpa's. Aunt is very stylish, and spends most of her time in
making edging. The time she spends in knitting she might employ
better, I think. The other day I asked her about Moses--I was
studying my Sunday-school lesson at the moment. She said. "Oh yes,
Daniel, I'll help you. Slip one, knit two, pass, slip over, thread
forward. I haven't had time--narrow three times--to read much
lately--knit back plain. Things were very--make fagoting, thread
forward, knit three--different then." So I had to depend on myself,
for aunt could not stop her lace-work to pay attention to me.

DAN J.

* * * * *

MUSKOGEE, INDIAN TERRITORY.

I have a little jet-black pony with a frizzly mane. Its name is
Princess Ethelfrida--rather long, perhaps, but romantic and
beautiful. My home is five miles back of Brushy Mountain. I enjoy
reading Our Post-office Box.

ANNIE K.

* * * * *

MONTICELLO, NEW YORK.

The other day a lady came in to see me, and our talk happened to be
about apples. She had been in her garden, and picked up a few
apples to take in to her children. One which she gave to her little
girl had a large worm-hole in it. The little girl bit quite near
the hole, and out fell the worm; but there still remained in the
cavity something which appeared to be a thread. On examination it
proved to be eight inches long, and when put under the magnifying
glass it was found to have several legs and feet, little black
eyes, and a tongue that hung out of its mouth. The lady dropped it
into a tumbler of water, and it rolled itself up like a little ball
of thread, then unrolled again, and stuck its head out of the
water. It still lives in the tumbler. People should be very careful
about eating apples in the dark.

I have been spending my vacation here, and have had many delightful
adventures. I have a few stones, some pressed flowers, and
curiosities, to exchange for ores. My city address is 771 Park
Avenue, New York city.

FLORENCE H. BRADY.

* * * * *

GREENVILLE, NEW JERSEY.

I have seen so many letters in the Post-office Box about pets that
were named Toby Tyler that I thought I would write you about mine.
We had two beautiful kittens. I named mine Toby, because he was
always hungry. My brother named his Ella, he thought it was so
pretty and cunning. They both died last Sunday. Mamma thinks they
must have eaten something poisonous. They used to catch and eat
bugs when they ran in the grass. Toby and Ella were loved more than
any other pets we ever had. We had a kitten named Mr. Stubbs. I
gave him to a little girl, and he is living yet. I like _all_ of
YOUNG PEOPLE the _best_, and can make no choice.

DOT H.

* * * * *

FREEPORT, ILLINOIS.

I am a little boy seven years old. I have had a dear little sister,
who has always read me the paper every week, and we were so happy,
and enjoyed it so much together, but in June Jesus took her to
heaven, and I am very lonely without her, for we loved each other
very dearly. She was thirteen years old. Papa and mamma read to me
now, but I am going to work hard when school commences, so that I
may soon read to myself.

I dreamed last night that sister Ida came back. I went out to the
gate to meet her, and talked with her, and the talk was pleasant. I
asked her if she was not hungry, and wanted her to come into the
house and get something to eat, but she said she was never hungry
now; and then she was gone again away from me, and I woke up.

I have five pets this summer--a mocking-bird, a canary, a bunting
(or Mexican canary), a parrot, and a white rabbit. The parrot talks
a great deal--calls "Papa," "Albert," "Kitty," says "Good-by,"
whistles, and does a good many other things. The rabbit gets into
her cage, and helps eat up her dinner, and Polly does not care a
bit, for they are very good friends.

Mamma has done the writing for me, for it is such hard work for me,
and takes so long. I like the new story of "Tim and Tip" very much.

ALBERT W. B.

* * * * *

HOLLY SPRINGS, MISSISSIPPI.

My uncle is editor of _The South_, and takes your paper, which we
all enjoy reading. I saw C. H. Williamson's idea of a Natural
History Society, and liked it so much that I made up a club. When
we had our first meeting, July 27, 1881, Mary Burton was elected
President, and I was elected Secretary. We took the katydid for our
first subject, and were much interested in the little creature. One
of our members asked if the katydid is found in all parts of the
world, and none of us could tell. Can Mr. Williamson give us any
information? There are only five members in our society, but we
very much enjoy our meeting once in every two weeks.

I read all the stories in YOUNG PEOPLE, and like "Toby Tyler" best
of all, and next Jimmy Brown's stories. I wish he would write
oftener. Our whole household was interested in "Toby Tyler." I have
a little sister who has been playing on the piano ever since she
was three years old. One lady called her a second Mozart. I love to
live in Holly Springs, though it is a small place. It is called the
"City of Flowers," but the weather has been so warm and dry there
are not many flowers this summer. Not to make my letter too long, I
will close.

MAMIE CLARK.

President Williamson will please notice the inquiry addressed to him, and reply in our Post-office Box.

* * * * *

OTTERBEIN, INDIANA.

Last winter we wanted so badly to take YOUNG PEOPLE that we wrote a
letter to Santa Claus about it. We sent it on Tuesday, and on
Saturday the paper came. We are much interested in "Tim and Tip." I
think Mr. Otis is just as good as he can be. We have five birds;
their names are Tony, Fluffy, Nobby, Daisy, and Beauty, and our
dog, who is a little mischief, is called Tricks.

RAY AND RENA D.

* * * * *

AYLMER, QUEBEC.

I am a little boy ten years old, and have a little sister and
brother. My brother can just talk, and my sister is eight years
old. We live in Aylmer for the summer. We have a lake, on which
boats go back and forth. Their names are the _Chaudière_, the
_Monitor_, the _Castor_, the _Jessie Cassels_, the _Aylmer_, the
_Lottie_, and the _Ida_. And we have a catamaran. I have been
across the lake once in the latter. I have been to several picnics
and two entertainments this summer. We have a dog whose name is
Puzzle.

DON W.

* * * * *

BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

I have just returned from my summer vacation, which I spent at
Auburn, New York. While I was there I went to Owasco Lake, and saw
a new style of row-boat which Mr. Staat was trying on the water.
There is an iron wheel in the centre of the boat, with double
handles on each side. Two men can manage it easily, and one of them
while working can steer by putting his feet in chains attached to
the boat. In this way the boat goes twice as quickly as it does
when rowed by oars. The men carry a paddle with them, so that if
the wheel should break they could paddle to shore. I think the
stories of "The Moral Pirates," "The Cruise of the 'Ghost,'" "Susie
Kingman's Decision," and "Aunt Ruth's Temptation" are very nice,
and I like "Tim and Tip" and "Penelope" so far. I am collecting
picture cards, and have over four hundred. If any little girl or
boy who is collecting them would like to exchange with me, please
address

H. MAUD SISSON, 183 Maryland St.

* * * * *

CLINTON, LOUISIANA.

My little kitten is dead. I have a pony, and every evening my
sister and I go riding together. One day lately we saw a gray bird
poise itself on the branch of a tree. It uttered a cluck just like
a person. Our horses were startled, and began to run. Sister
thought I made the queer sound, and I thought she had made it.

DIMPLE K.

* * * * *

CLEVELAND, OHIO.

My little brother has four pet rabbits and two pet chickens. I go
to school, and am in the grammar department. There were two robins
that built their nest in an apple-tree at the side of our house
this summer, and they had four young ones. My cousin and I are
making a collection of advertisement cards.

ALBERTA D. G.

I am Alberta's cousin, and she kindly lets me read her paper. My
papa is an army officer in Texas, and I have just come from there
to visit Alberta. I brought with me a black quail which a Mexican
had trapped, but soon after arriving here it was lost. I have three
sisters and one brother, whom papa calls Prince Ronald.

MARGIE Y.

* * * * *

ROCKY COMFORT, ARKANSAS.

I am a little girl eight years old. I have never gone to school,
but mamma teaches me at home. I study geography, writing, and music
on the piano. I have a black-and-tan terrier named Toto. How he
does love to catch mice and rats! He'll stand up on his hind-legs
and beg me to open the store-room door when he hears a rat inside.
I've taken YOUNG PEOPLE ever since I was seven. On my last birthday
papa gave me a pony and a bridle, and mamma gave me a saddle. I
have no brother, and only one sister, who is married, and has a
home of her own, and the cutest little baby boy. I lived with them
over two months while mamma was at Hot Springs. She is at home now,
and quite well.

KATE KNOX H.

* * * * *

JONESVILLE, MICHIGAN.

I am sometimes very lonely, and would not know what to do without
my dear paper. I have neither brother nor sister. My pet is a
little kitten named Tinker. My papa is a doctor, and I like to go
with him around the country. I was eight years old in May. I have
lots of flowers, and pick a bouquet nearly every day. I go to
school, and have a number of studies.

GRACIE E. S.

* * * * *

BELOIT, WISCONSIN.

I have a pet dog named Fido. He stands up in a corner on his
hind-legs and shakes hands. My sister and I also have two pet
squirrels, who play many tricks. Their names are Bunnie and Jack.
This is the first letter that I ever wrote to YOUNG PEOPLE. I think
Jimmy Brown's stories are very funny. I am nine years old. My
brother, sister, and myself take YOUNG PEOPLE together.

S. BELLE C.

* * * * *

The following exchanges are offered by correspondents:

Foreign stamps, for minerals.

L. WEBSTER,
East Walnut Lane and Hancock St.,
Germantown, Philadelphia, Penn.

* * * * *

Japanese and Chinese coins or postmarks, for other coins.

MIRIAM HILL,
Lock Box 79, Middletown, Conn.

* * * * *

A good spy-glass and four packages or colored inks, for a
printing-press with type.

W. C. ROSENBERGER, Tiffin, Seneca Co., Ohio.

* * * * *

Foreign stamps, three for three.

BANKS H. BOUTON,
New Rochelle, Westchester Co., N. Y.

* * * * *

I am making a collection of woods, and would like to get pieces of
such as do not grow in this part of the country. Other woods or
curious stones given in exchange, and postage repaid. Send pieces
large enough to make, when planed, blocks one and a half inches in
length and three-quarters of an inch square.

ALDA M. MICHAEL,
Congress, Wayne Co., Ohio.

* * * * *

Two perfect locusts, for two foreign stamps, a small piece of
petrified wood, or a rare butterfly.

A. F. WOOD, care of Box 287, Jacksonville, Fla.

* * * * *

Rare foreign stamps, stones, shells, mosses, and curiosities, for
Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 26 of YOUNG PEOPLE, in good condition.

BESSIE H. LITTLE,
Care of A. Pidgin, Lewiston, Me.

* * * * *

Toad-stone, found in only one locality in America, for Indian
curiosities.

GEORGIANA R. and HATTIE D. PERKINS,
Newburyport, Mass.

* * * * *

Indian arrow or tobacco pouch, for fifty foreign stamps (no
duplicates).

WILLIAM E. DEEDS,
1312 East Franklin St., Evansville, Ind.

* * * * *

Stamps, minerals, ores, and coins, for orange, olive, pomegranate,
red cedar, and eucalyptus woods, ores, and curiosities.

A. M. C.,
447 West Twenty-second St., New York City.

* * * * *

Foreign stamps, for picture cards. A good book, for a chick of good
breed.

JESSE D. BURNS,
1123 Christian St., Philadelphia, Penn.

* * * * *

Boxes containing 200 small assorted West Indian shells, bright
colors, specimens of coral, two sea-beans, five eye-stones, and
twenty black-eyed Susans for exchange.

CLARENCE PAYNE,
162 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y.

* * * * *

Ten postmarks, for five advertising cards for a collection; or a
specimen of iron ore, for ten cards.

NELLIE C. S.,
Box 5, Dunnings, Lackawanna Co., Penn.

* * * * *

Rock from Long Island, for wood from any other than New York State.

H. BACHMAN,
193 Scholes St., Brooklyn, E. D., N. Y.

* * * * *

Five Indian arrow-heads, for eighty foreign stamps.

EDDIE MENTZ, Woodsonville, Ky.

* * * * *

Forty foreign stamps and twenty postmarks, for a half-cent of 1831,
'36, '40, '42, '43, '47, '48, '49, and '52, or a 2-cent piece of
1873, or a cent of 1804.

FRED CONNETT, 209 Mulberry St., Newark, N. J.

* * * * *

Stamps, for stones and minerals.

WALTER SNYDER,
Dunnings, Lackawanna Co., Penn.

* * * * *

Foreign stamps, stones, and minerals, a base-ball belt, and
curiosities, for copper cents of 1799, 1804, 1805, 1806, or 1810,
sand from remote places, and Indian relics.

REDWOOD,
147 Benefit St., Providence, R. I.

* * * * *

Coins, and a collection of unique and valuable curiosities, for
Liberty heads bearing date from 1793 to 1817 inclusive.

W. A. GRANT,
Lock Box 152, Ingersoll, Ontario, Can.

* * * * *

Two stamps from Bavaria, Hungary, France, or German Empire, for one
from Turkey or Africa.

E. D. KELLOGG, care M. C. Kellogg,
Mount Vernon, Westchester Co., N. Y.

* * * * *

Fossils, for pink or mushroom coral, asbestos, gold or silver ore,
star-fish, and other curiosities.

T. P. MORGAN, Garnett, Kansas.

* * * * *

A collection of shells, forty-five foreign stamps, and a stone from
the Atlantic coast, for an Indian bow and arrow or a printing-press
and type.

W. SHEPPARD, 180 Macomb St., Brooklyn, N. Y.

* * * * *

A five-foot bow or a seven-inch foot-ball, for a collection of 400
or 500 stamps (no duplicates).

PAUL Q. FORD, 97 Clark St., Brooklyn, N. Y.

* * * * *

Seven postmarks, for one foreign stamp.

HARLEY STEVENSON, Hartwell, Ohio.

* * * * *

Five postmarks, for two foreign stamps. English stamps not desired.

N. G. HILLS, Hartwell, Ohio.

* * * * *

Minerals and botanical specimens for exchange.

STEPHEN H. BROWN,
Gilbert's Lane, St. John, N. B.

* * * * *

A boy's book entitled _Stories of Courage and Perseverance_, by
William H. G. Kingston, 323 pages, bound in cloth, and in good
condition, for a postage-stamp album moderately filled.

ALBERT SHULTZ, Box 175, Staunton, Va.

* * * * *

A 10-cent War Department stamp, for a German, French, Swedish,
Chinese, or Spanish.

ROSCOE N. DOYAL, Frankfort, Clinton Co., Ind.

* * * * *

Stuffed birds, Indian relics, fossils, and minerals, for other
curiosities.

C. L. RAYMOND,
Garrettsville, Portage Co., Ohio.

* * * * *

Ores and minerals, for Indian curiosities.

J. W. LIVINGSTON, Dodgeville, Wis.

* * * * *

Newspapers from Alabama, for the same from any other State. Cotton
from the field, for curiosities.

EDDIE MALONE, Troy, Ala.

* * * * *

Pressed leaves and ferns, soil and stone, postmarks, and
crystallized grasses, for Indian relics, sea-mosses, Florida
sea-beans, and other curiosities.

Box 1001, Canton, Ohio.

* * * * *

Peruvian stamps of different varieties, and other rare foreign
stamps, for foreign and U. S. Executive and Agricultural Department
stamps.

EARL F. PEARCE, 28 Ridge St., Fall River, Mass.

* * * * *

A magic lantern which cost $5.50, and is in good condition, with
three chromotypes and twenty-six views, for Will Carleton's _Farm
Festivals_, and _The Tramp Abroad_, by Mark Twain. The books must
be in good condition.

WALTER J. WELLS, Oswayo, Potter Co., Penn.

* * * * *

Rocks, soil, sand, postmarks, leaves, and newspapers from Missouri,
for papers, stamps, or minerals.

JAMES LEWIS, Nevada, Vernon Co., Mo.

* * * * *

Rare U. S. stamps from 1851 to 1869, a petrified horn from the
Rocky Mountains, petrified moss, and pine, and other curiosities,
for coins, spear-heads, stone axes, and other Indian relics.

WILLIAM MCELHOSE, 22 Brill St., Newark, N. J.

* * * * *

A stamp from Russia, for a stamp from Cape of Good Hope, Mexico,
Persia, Iceland, Norway, Turkey, or Bermuda.

GEORGE S. NICHOLAS, JUN., Babylon, L. I.

* * * * *

Ocean curiosities, quartz, mica schist, and pretty stones, for
quartz crystals, iron pyrites, bark from California redwood-tree,
and other curiosities.

L. J., Box 529, South Berwick, Me.

* * * * *

English, French, German, and Russian stamps, for foreign coins.

J. BURRIDGE BUTLER,
Care of Rev. T. D. Butler,
112 Spruce St., Akron, Ohio.

* * * * *

Twenty postmarks, for an Indian arrow-head; and five postmarks, for
a stamp from Peru or Brazil, or a Spanish stamp.

ALBERT RARESHIDE,
740 St. Charles St., New Orleans, La.

* * * * *

A three-wheeled iron-mounted velocipede in good condition, for a
complete steam-engine.

LOUIS FLITZ,
2 West Thirteenth St., New York City.

* * * * *

Five and ten cent Mexican and five-cent Cuban, for other rare
stamps.

AL. EASTON,
233 South Second St., Brooklyn, E. D., N. Y.

* * * * *

Postmarks and curiosities, for sea-shells or star-fish.

E. C. WHEELER,
Grant's Pass, Jackson Co., Oregon.

* * * * *

Stamps and lava, for stamps and curiosities, especially
arrow-heads.

ALEX. ROBERTSON,
Honolulu, Sandwich Islands.

* * * * *

Soil or minerals from this, for curiosities or stamps from any
other State.

WILLIE B. HEATH,
Hastings, Dakota Co., Minn.

* * * * *

The _Swiss Family Robinson_, in paper form, _Our Year_, bound in
black cloth, and with gilt edges, and by the author of _John
Halifax, Gentleman_, a base-ball, and an Indian canoe 14 inches
long, for a good printing-press.

A. W.,
Box 15, Theresa, Jefferson Co., N. Y.

* * * * *

Ocean curiosities, coins, fossils, and foreign stamps, for Indian
relics.

WILLIAM A. WHITE,
Sag Harbor, Long Island, N. Y.

* * * * *

Lava, fossils, petrifactions, and shells, for amethyst, red and
mushroom corals, and minerals.

LULU CRAFT, Bergen Point, N. J.

* * * * *

U. S. stamps of many denominations, for rare foreign stamps;
three-cornered Cape of Good Hope and South American stamps desired.

ANNA G. HESSE,
236 South Second St., Brooklyn, N. Y.

* * * * *

Fossil shells, crystallized gypsum, talc, and other minerals, for
minerals and sea-shells.

JAMES D. KEYES,
926 Ninth St., Des Moines, Iowa.

* * * * *

A stamp from Venezuela, South America, for one from Japan, Cape of
Good Hope, or Russia.

W. M. VAN DER WEYDE,
236 Duffield St., near Fulton, Brooklyn, L. I.

* * * * *

Department stamps, for coins, butterflies, cocoons, moths, and
chrysalides.

WILLIAM B. KEARFOTT,
Tenth and Market Sts., Wilmington, Del.

* * * * *

Pieces of the "Old Elm" of Boston, for curiosities. Stamps not
desired.

MIRIAM AUDLEY, Chestnut Hill, Mass.

[_For other exchanges, see third page of cover._]

* * * * *

E. H. Stallcup, Julia F. Squires, and Florence Pope withdraw from our exchange list.

Fred Crossett will please send his exchange again.

* * * * *

Correct answers to puzzles have been received from "Will O. Tree," Eva Jane Ward, "_Castor and Pollux_," Jessie Newton, "A. U. Gusta," "Dandy," "North Star," "Prudy," J. C. Tomes, "_Aerolite_," F. Nichols, _Bessie Linn_.

* * * * *

PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.

No. 1.

TWO DIAMONDS.

1.--1. A letter. 2. An article of furniture, 3. Fastened. 4. Relating to the base. 5. Destroying the tenth. 6. Retarded. 7. Tropical fruits. 8. A color. 9. A letter.

2.--1. A letter. 2. To injure. 3. Ghosts. 4. Lacerates. 5. Mortifies. 6. Sets free. 7. Feeling. 8. To perceive. 9. A letter.

AEROLITE.

* * * * *

No. 2.

WORD SQUARE.

1. A wild animal. 2. A river of Europe. 3. Having power. 4. A water plant.

MONSIEUR.

* * * * *

No. 3.

NUMERICAL ENIGMA.

I am composed of 24 letters, and am a familiar adage:
My 12, 6, 3, 9 is a heavenly body.
My 1, 7, 19, 8, 2 is an animal.
My 21, 5, 4, 14, 11 was a King of the Jews.
My 18, 10, 17 is the reverse of cold.
My 13, 3, 22, 16 is a vessel for water.
My 20, 7, 15, 23, 24 is a young person.

J. C. T.

* * * * *

No. 4.

A HIDDEN CITY.

My first is in Berlin, but not in York.
My second is in Paris, but not in Cork.
My third is in Belfast, but not in Cologne.
My fourth is in Lyons, but not in Boulogne.
My fifth is in Naples, but not in Geneva.
My sixth is in Florence, but not in Messina.
My seventh is in Lisbon, but not in Rome.
My whole, without an attempt, at mystery,
Was a famous city of ancient history.

R. T.

* * * * *

No. 5.

DROP-LETTER PUZZLE.

1. e--e--e-- A city of the United States.
2. e--e--e-- A gulf which enters China.
3. e--e--e-- A huge sea in the Old World.
4. e--e--e-- A bay in the United States.
5. e--e--e-- An island in the Pacific.

DANDY.

* * * * *

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN No. 96.

No. 1.

L
L A W
S A T E D
R E C E D E S

No. 2.

Gladstone.

No. 3.

S A N A
A D E N
N E V A
A N A M

No. 4.

Portulaca.

SENTENCE-MAKING.

BY J. R. SEVER.

Harry Penwright came home from school one day grumbling, and with a frown on his brow.

"Another composition," he said, crossly. "I wish we never had any compositions at all to write. I don't see what good they are, anyway."

Harry grumbled himself out of temper at first; but finding at length that grumbling was not likely to help him do his task, he took the better course of seeking his father's advice on the matter. His father explained to him the necessity of training boys and girls to express their ideas in simple, well-chosen language, and to write with ease and entertainingly on all topics. Then he explained an exercise called "sentence-making" which he used to have at school when a boy, and which he said might help Harry to write compositions more readily, while it would at the same time afford him a pleasant pastime.

Harry was eager to begin the new exercise, and he got the big dictionary from the library table and brought it to his father.

The latter, pleased at his awakened interest, said: "I will select some words at random from the dictionary, and you must try and combine them into sentences. Now if you are ready, we will have our first exercise in sentence-making."

While his father turned over the pages, Harry copied down the following words: Intrusts, Idle, Account, Merits, Follow, Strict, Cultivate, Excel.

"There," said he, "that will do for the present. When you have written your sentences, come and show them to me."

Harry, after thinking a long while, and scratching out a great deal he had written, finally finished his work to his satisfaction, and copied it out neatly on a clean sheet of nice white paper, as follows: "Boys at school should never _idle_ away their time when at work at tasks their teacher _intrusts_ to them, and for the proper performance of which they are rightly held to _account_. They should rather _follow_ the example of those whose _strict_ attention to their studies _merits_ praise, and strive to _cultivate_ an ambition to _excel_ in all their work."

Harry's father said the sentences were very creditable, and commended the sentiment expressed in them. Harry himself soon became very fond of the new work, and sometimes, on rainy evenings, when at a loss for employment, he and his sisters amused themselves for hours together in making sentences from words their father selected.

One night not long ago, however, their father gave them some words which puzzled them greatly to combine into sentences. Here they are: Abdicate, Bequeathe, Planned, Design, Encroach, Foresee, Glory, Hero, Impassioned, Jeopardy, King, Laurel.

How many of the readers of YOUNG PEOPLE can make them up in good sentences? Let them try, and we promise to tell which we consider the best, and to show them the sentences Harry's father made from the words.

"Oh, _don't_ make faces at him, Effie! It might _frighten_ him, you know."]