"We didn't need any second invitation of that kind. We all dipped our oars, but it was too late. Suddenly two great dark walls seemed to shoot up out of the ocean, one on each side of the boat. The boat itself was lifted bodily out of the water, bending and straining as if it was made of straw. Looking over the sides, our blood just stood still at the sight. The whale had come up under us straight up and down, as if he was a-standing on his tail. He had opened his terrible cave of a mouth, and had snatched the boat in it, and now he was holding the little vessel and us in it a good fifteen feet above the water, while he sort of rocked back and forward like a child playing with a doll.
"'Give him an iron in his beastly snout!' yelled one of the men.
"Too late; and it wouldn't have done any good anyhow. He moved his jaw a little, and the sides of the boat bent in and creaked like paper. With wild yells we all threw ourselves out of the boat, for in another minute some of us would have been in his throat. He snapped his jaws together, crunching the boat into kindling-wood. Then he threw himself end over end, going down head first, and lashing out with his great flukes. Poor Bill Johnson got a crack that broke one of his legs, and if it hadn't been for Bacon, he'd have drowned. The other boats came dashing down to our rescue, the boat of the first mate of the Two Cousins leading the way. She was nearest to us, and the mate was shouting words of encouragement, when all of a sudden his cries changed to shouts of fear. The next instant we saw the waters split wide open, and the whale came up, back first, with a crash right under the boat. Boys, I hope I may never see South Street again if he didn't drive the harpoon that was still sticking in his back right through the bottom of her. There she was pinned fast to his back.
"'Give him your lance'!' yells Bacon, who was swimming and holding up Bill Johnson.
"'What! And be killed in his flurry?' shouted the mate. 'Not much!'
"With that he grabs the spars of his boat, throws them overboard, and jumps after them, followed by all his crew. At the same instant the whale lashed out with his flukes again and went down, taking the boat on his back. This time, as good luck would have it, he didn't hit any one. But we were all thoroughly terrified, for we knew now that the brute was in a temper, and that he knew what he was doing. Meanwhile the ship was bearing down on us, and we had hopes of being saved. The third boat, too, was pulling up, but we had not much hopes of her, for we expected to see the whale attack her. And, sure enough, he came up a few yards away, without the mate's boat on his back, and waited for her. When she was close to us he seemed to utter a snort as he plunged down and made for her. The steerer of the boat was a cool hand, and he swung the boat off with a powerful stroke just as the whale came up and tried to smash her with his flukes. Curiously enough, the brute seemed to think he'd done for her, for instead of coming back to take another shot, he sounded, and we never saw anything more of him. Five minutes later we were all safe in the third boat, and soon afterward we were aboard the ship. But, I tell you, I don't care to have any more dealings with a whale that's bent on revenge and seems to know just who it was that hit him."
If the weather is fair next Saturday there ought to be some records broken in the Interscholastic games, both at the Berkeley Oval and at Eastern Park. The Oval's straightaway track is one of the fastest in the country, and with the conditions in his favor Washburn should win the 100 in 10-2/5. Hall could take the event if he would train, but he seems disinclined to put forth his greatest exertions, and so will probably dispute second place with Moore. In the Juniors for the same distance Wilson will pretty surely score five points for Barnard. Syme's injury to his foot may prevent him from competing in any of the many events for which he is entered, but if he recovers and gets into condition again before Saturday he will doubtless be heard from in the 220 and the low hurdles. He ought certainly to win the latter, with Harris behind him. In the 220 Vom Baur will push his schoolmate, if he runs; but I should not be surprised if Vom Baur staid out and reserved his strength for other work. Wilson ought to win the Junior 220, if his first heat and the two 100 heats don't tire him. Stratton will have a place. The quarter-mile seems to be an easier riddle than most of the other events on the card. Irwin-Martin will undoubtedly take first place, Syme second (if he has recovered from the effects of his spiking), and Meehan third. Another reasonable certainty is the high jump. Baltazzi is sure to take the event for Harvard School, while Pell and Wenman will struggle for second place, both being of about equal skill, with possibly a slight advantage in favor of Pell. Irwin-Martin could win the half-mile if he ran, but I do not think he will answer the call in this event. I understand he will only enter the 440 and the hammer, and consequently Pier may pretty safely be counted on to win, with Inman and Vom Baur in the places.
Tappen and Blair will have a chance to decide, in the presence of competent judges, which one of them can run the fastest mile; and although Blair deserved the prize at the Sachs games, I think Tappen will lead in the interscholastics. The mile walk, in all probability, will rest between Ware and Hackett; and if Powell can keep his seat in the bicycle-race, the order in that event should be Powell, Ehrich, Mortimer. But Powell may reasonably be counted on to slip or trip or break something, and so Harvard School stands a chance of getting five points there instead of three. Cowperthwait did 20 feet 4 in the broad jump at the Trinity games, and ought to win the event Saturday; but Beers will doubtless cover 20 feet; and I expect to see Batterman do better than 19, with Pier close behind him. Between Batterman and Irwin-Martin for the hammer it is hard to decide, but I am inclined to give the preference to the former. He will have to do better than 106 feet to win, but I doubt if Irwin-Martin can throw 105. Ayers should take third place, and he will doubtless get second in the shot, with Bigelow ahead of him, and Batterman behind. The remaining events on the programme are the pole-vault, which lies between Hurlbert and Simpson, and throwing the baseball, which will be taken by Ayers. He will have to better his last year's record of 325 feet, however, for Zizinia threw 330 feet in practice last week, and Elmer's arm is in good condition. It looks now as if four schools were certain of scoring twenty points or more each. These are Barnard, Berkeley, Harvard, and Cutler. Barnard's chances of success will greatly depend on Syme's condition, for he is their chief point-winner; and if he fails, then Berkeley will make a strong bid for the championship.
At Eastern Park the performances will not be so good as at Berkeley Oval, but several of the Long Island records will no doubt be considerably bettered. The most promising candidates for the 100 are Underhill and Stevenson. Litchfield is good at that distance, but he will doubtless be reserved for the hurdles and the broad jump. In that case Stevenson may be counted on to win. Stevenson will contest the 220 with Underhill and Jewell, and will probably take the 440. It will be a hot struggle for the places among Goetting, Jewell, Foster, and Grace. As the new rule shuts Bacchus out of the half-mile, Campbell, Bowden, and Goldsborough will make a close race. If Bedford does not save himself for the mile, he ought to be heard from; and he will undoubtedly take the long-distance event, Romer and Beasly in the places. If Berger, who won last year, is allowed to compete, he is a pretty sure winner for the bicycle, and he will be followed closely by Roehr. Fomey ought to be prominent in the pole vault, and if in condition, should win. Jewell and Streeter will push him. Barker and Gunnison have been doing good work in the high jump, but the event will probably go to Watt or Duval. I expect to see Munson take the shot, with Badger and Milne in the places. Herrick and Litchfield are the best men for the hurdles, and the latter should easily win the broad jump. Munson and Bishop ought to rank second and third. The Junior 100 will be decided among Richards, Rionda, Robinson, and Liebman. These men are a good deal of an unknown quantity. As the mile walk is a new event, no safe or just prediction can be made.
Some objection may be made by President Sykes, of the N.Y.I.S.A.A., to Ehrich's riding in the bicycle-race Saturday, but Ehrich has just as good a right to compete as any of the rest. If any protest is made it will be based on the fact that Ehrich attended the College of the City of New York last year, and as a member of the sub-Freshman class competed in the Intercollegiate games last spring. But Section 2 of Article X. of the constitution of the N.Y.I.S.A.A. expressly provides that any boy having been a member of the sub-Freshman class at C.C.N.Y. is not debarred from competing in games of the association provided he is under age and a member of some school. This year Ehrich is at the Harvard School. By riding in the Intercollegiates Ehrich classed himself with college men, possibly without having any right to do so. That was a question for the I.C.A.A. to settle last year. At the present time, however, Ehrich is a bona fide student at the Harvard school, he is within the age limit required by the I.S.A.A., he has never "attended any college," in the sense conveyed by the rules of the I.S.A.A., and he has never been in business. It seems therefore that he should be allowed to ride without protest, so long as there is no direct legislation affecting the case.
Baseball is in a much more nourishing state of activity in New England than it is in New York, although the N.Y.I.S.B.B. League games have been under way here for two weeks or more. The championship season began in Boston on April 25th, and will close on June 7th, when the Cambridge High and Latin nine meets the English High-school team. The C.H. and L. has held a leading position in the league ever since the organization was started seven years ago, and the team has never finished lower than in third place, and in four of the six seasons has taken the pennant. This year the work of the players is well up to the standard set by their predecessors, except that the batting is weak. The team work is fair, and Stearns has good control of the ball, but little speed. The English High-school also came into the league at the start, and has played a close second to C.H. and L. ever since. Ward, who has been a member of every football and baseball team since he entered school in 1891, has made an efficient Captain since the resignation of Dakin, and will play in the box. He has speed and good curves, but he is liable to lose control of the ball when touched up for consecutive hits. The strength of the Roxbury Latin nine lies in Morse, the pitcher; but as Captain Ewer is the only player left from last year, he will have all he can do to mould his material for effective team work. Just at present the Hopkinson team is weak. There is plenty of good material at hand, however, and as Joe Upton, the old Harvard player, is coaching the boys, it is possible that at the end of the season unexpected strength will be developed. The Somerville High nine is somewhat of an unknown quantity too. That school has always been unfortunate in interscholastic athletics, never having finished higher than fourth place in baseball. Last year every one expected to see S.H-S. win the series, after they had defeated the Harvard Freshmen by a large score, but at the end of the season Hopkinson was the only team in the league that had failed to defeat them. As to the Boston Latin, there is a noticeable improvement over the standard of former seasons, and if the students will only show interest in baseball work, and support those who are striving to win glory for them, such encouragement cannot fail to result in higher achievements.
On the whole, the members and supporters of the N.E.I.S. Association should feel well satisfied with the league's attainments. It has certainly succeeded in the purpose for which it was formed—that is, to train players for the Harvard 'Varsity nine. This year no less than seven of the Crimson's players, including Captain Whittemore, are graduates from the interscholastic ranks. Whittemore was a B.L.S. player in 1891, and led the league in batting. On the several Harvard class teams there is an aggregate of twenty-five or thirty men who got their early experience in the league. To encourage sharp work in interscholastic baseball the Boston A.A. has this year offered a silver cup as a trophy to be played for during a term of five years.
Yale is just as much interested in interscholastic baseball in her neighborhood as Harvard is in Boston and Cambridge, and in 1891 offered to the Connecticut Interscholastic League a cup which was to stand for three years, and which has now become the property of the Hartford Public High-school by virtue of its successes in 1891, 1892, and 1894. The Connecticut I.S. League has sent many prominent athletes to Yale, some of the best known of whom are Corbin, who captained the '89 eleven; Williams, who made the 15-4/5 seconds high-hurdle record at the Berkeley Oval in '91; Cady, who is a star in the same event, but who failed to come up to Yale's expectations in the international games with Oxford in London last summer; and Gallaudet, who stroked the victorious crew at New London in 1893. The field meeting of the Conn. High-school A.A. on the Charter Oak track at Hartford next month promises to be one of the most interesting contests of the interscholastic season.
In Brooklyn there is considerable dissatisfaction in certain quarters over the recent ruling of the I.I.S.A.A., which debars from competition in Saturday's games any student who ever attended collegiate exercises at the Polytechnic Institute. Hitherto the law has always been against any one who might have entered college and returned to school; but the prohibition was never exercised against students of Poly. Prep., who, from the nature of their preparatory work, took certain courses in the collegiate department of the Institute. The new amendment specifies that boys who do not spend twelve hours a week in school recitations, or who have been in business or at college and have returned to school, shall not be allowed to compete in scholastic events. Poly. Prep., the Latin School, and Bryant & Strattons vigorously opposed the adoption of this rule, because each one of them has candidates for interscholastic honors who are affected by the new legislation. A moment's thought will show that the question at issue is a very simple and a very clear one. A boy is either at school or he is not. That is one of the elementary propositions of logic. If he is at school, he should enjoy all privileges in interscholastic athletics. If, on the other hand, he takes certain courses at school and others at college, the determination of his standing should rest on whether or not he enjoys, in other respects, the privileges and advantages of a college man. If he is catalogued as a collegian and is otherwise admitted to collegiate functions or performances, he should be strictly excluded from everything scholastic. Furthermore, if a boy has left school for business or for college, he should not be allowed to compete in scholastic sports if he fails in his attempts or ambitions and returns, whether to the original school or to another. The new law will put a stop to this inducing of athletes to attend certain institutions—a practice we hear a great deal about, but the proof of which is difficult to obtain. Still, where there is so much smoke there must be some fire, and, on the whole, I am inclined to believe that the new rule will tend toward the purification of interscholastic sport.
The severe rain-storm of April 13th served greatly to mar the success of the first outdoor meeting of the season, held under the auspices of the Columbia College Union. By the time the final heat in the bicycle was due, the track was only lit for a boat-race, and consequently this event was postponed. The field events were contested under difficulties, the earth being so wet and soggy that creditable performances in the jumps were of course impossible. I was surprised to see Simpson drop to third in the pole-vault, but this weakness was undoubtedly due to the bad weather. The feature of the Sachs School games on the 15th was the inexperience of the judges. There being no referee it did not take long for things to get pretty well muddled up. When the mile run was adjudged to Tappen of Cutler's, there was plenty of loud talking. Tappen led to the last lap, when he was passed by Blair of Barnard, whom he fouled. Blair, nevertheless, beat him out, but the judges awarded the race to Tappen. This decision caused a great deal of dissatisfaction, and no end of disputing and protesting. The judges showed a certain amount of indecision and lack of firmness, and the matter ended altogether unsatisfactorily. The games, on the whole, were a perfect example of bad management.
The Berkeley School games on the 20th offered no particularly notable feature except in the matter of timing the winners. There was a strong sentiment shown on the part of the officials to record the smallest figures possible. Moeran was put down for 16-1/5, in the high hurdles. I know he did not cover the distance in any such time, because I stood at the finish line, and held my watch on him, and caught him at 16-3/5. In most of the school games there is too much of a desire exhibited for record-making, and the cry of "run for time!" is constantly heard. My efficiency as a timer may be inferior, but it is certainly impartial. It remains to be seen whether Powell can ride in 2 m. 32-2/5 sec. as he is said to have done at the Cutler games on the 24th. His former record was 2 m. 36-4/5 secs.
The baseball championship series of the N.Y.I.S.B.B.A. began two weeks ago, but I regret to chronicle a lack of general interest on the part of the schools in the games thus far. It is too early yet to judge of the relative strength of the various nines, but it looks as if the strongest teams had been placed in the first section, and so the winner of that series may safely be looked upon as the probable holder of the championship for 1895. In Brooklyn there seems to be more enthusiasm in baseball matters, and good work is being done. Poly. Prep. will undoubtedly develop a strong team, and, under the captaincy of Stevenson, ought to earn the privilege of representing the Long Island League at Eastern Park, on June 8th, unless they succumb to St. Paul's, Garden City. In Hall, the latter have a strong pitcher, and the fielding of the entire team is good. St. Paul's, however, has no excuse for not making a strong bid for first place.
It looks again this year, as if Exeter and Andover would allow their childish differences to interfere with the annual baseball game which used to be considered one of the most important events of New England scholastic sport. Both schools may have had very good reason, at the time the breach between them occurred, to sever temporarily all relations. I don't care to enter into the merits of the controversy at present. But to allow the squabbles of one generation of school-boys to be handed down and cherished by succeeding classes—like a Kentucky feud—is unmanly, and decidedly unsportsmanlike.
The Graduate.
are loved by everybody. Those raised on the Gail Borden Eagle Brand Condensed Milk are comparatively free from sickness. Infant Health is a valuable pamphlet for mothers. Send your address for a copy to New York Condensed Milk Co., N. Y.—[Adv.]
"don't make a spring." Neither will one bottle of Scott's Emulsion cure a well established case of Consumption, but it will ease the Cough, relieve the irritation and arrest the progress of the disease, and if persistently used, with the observance of the laws of health, will surely restore the patient in the early stages and give great comfort and prolong life in the latter stages.
It is simply Cod-liver Oil properly emulsified, combined with Hypophosphites and Glycerine. It is a tissue-builder.
Don't be persuaded to accept a substitute!
More fun than a barrel of monkeys. A complete set of these Grotesque little people with everlasting Ink pads. With them a boy can make a circus in a minute. To introduce our big Catalogue of 1000 new articles, we send the Brownies postpaid for 10c.
For Infants, Misses, and Ladies.
For Misses and Children.
TRADE-MARK.
Five Styles. Weights, 18 to 25 Pounds.
AWARD: "For excellence of steel used in their manufacture, it being fine grained and elastic; superior workmanship, especially shown by the careful grinding which leaves the pens free from defects. The tempering is excellent and the action of the finished pens perfect."
| (Signed) | FRANZ VOGT, Individual Judge. |
| Approved: | { H. I. KIMBALL, Pres't Departmental Committee. |
| { JOHN BOYD THACHER, Chairman Exec. Com. on Awards. |
THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE LEVANT.
Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey through Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, Greece, and Turkey, with Visits to the Islands of Rhodes and Cyprus, and the Site of Ancient Troy. By Thomas W. Knox. Profusely Illustrated. Square 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $3.00.
TWILIGHT LAND.
Written and Illustrated by Howard Pyle, Author of "The Wonder Clock," "Pepper and Salt," "Men of Iron," etc. 8vo, Half Leather, Ornamental, $2.50.
THE STORY OF BABETTE.
A Little Creole Girl. By Ruth McEnery Stuart, Author of "Carlotta's Intended," "A Golden Wedding," etc. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.50.
THE FUR-SEAL'S TOOTH.
A Story of Alaskan Adventure. By Kirk Munroe. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.
SEA YARNS FOR BOYS.
Spun by an Old Salt. By W. J. Henderson. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.
☞ The above works are for sale by all booksellers, or will be sent by the publishers, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, Canada, or Mexico, on receipt of the price.
This Department is conducted in the interest of Bicyclers, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the subject, besides inquiries regarding the League of American Wheelmen, so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor Bicycling Department.
The map this week is a road map from New York city to Tarrytown, and return. The reader will notice at the bottom of the Tarrytown route map that the route begins at 155th Street and the Boulevard.
The best route now open to a wheelman is to turn, as described last week, from Broadway into 181st Street, and go over a bad bit of road until he reaches Washington Bridge (2). On crossing the bridge turn sharply to the left and go down Featherbed Lane, which is anything but a featherbed road. There is a short winding hill as the road turns eastward into Macombs Dam road. The latter is in a somewhat better condition than Featherbed Lane, but it is irregular, narrow, and hilly. It is short, however, and the rider should turn into Fordham Landing road sharp to the left, going down an incline until he reaches Sedgwick Avenue. Here he turns to the right northward, follows Sedgwick Avenue for a few hundred yards, and then takes the left-hand fork where Sedgwick Avenue turns to the right. The left-hand fork is Bailey Avenue, and a somewhat long hill may tempt him to coast. On the whole, it is wiser not to do so, however, as there is an extremely bad piece of road at the bottom, where it is wiser to dismount and walk two or three hundred yards.
After this the wheelman takes the first important turn to the left, goes down a sharp incline and across two railway tracks. This is a bad place, and should be taken slowly and with great care. Immediately after crossing the track he comes into the Kingsbridge road, which is the turnpike road to Albany. This is macadamized and in excellent condition, and the run from there into Yonkers is a delightful one. As he passes Van Cortlandt Park there are three or four long slight ascents, which, though they do not look in the distance to be very difficult, are so long that I would advise him to take them slowly. He will know when he is approaching Yonkers by striking the asphalt pavement, which runs into the middle of the town. The road through Yonkers is direct, passing by the main square of the town, where the Getty House is the best place to stop, and where bicycles are repaired, though Yonkers is not by any means half the Tarrytown trip. Nevertheless, a short stop may be made at Yonkers and another at Dobbs Ferry, which roughly divides the journey into three parts.
The road from Yonkers to Hastings is almost straight, and in capital condition, as, indeed, is most of the road up to Tarrytown. About a mile from the Getty House the wheelman passes through Glenwood. Two and a half miles out of Glenwood he should turn to the left at the fork in the road, and keep on one mile to Hastings. There is a piece of hilly road before running into Hastings. On leaving Hastings he should keep to the left and run into Dobbs Ferry, a half-mile distant. If the wheelman will take the time and turn to the left as he enters the town, he will be shown upon inquiry the house of Judge Beach (3), which is the same old manor-house in which Washington signed the treaty of peace with Great Britain in 1783.
Returning from Judge Beach's house to the main road again, the wheelman passes north out of Dobbs Ferry, and after travelling a half-mile, turns to the right, runs a quarter of a mile further and turns to the left, and the road is then direct to Irvington. It will well pay him to take the road following the valley down towards the Hudson westward, and stop a moment to see "Sunnyside" (4), the home of Washington Irving. Pulling back to the main road, again up a hill, the wheelman will find the road from here to Tarrytown, about two miles in length, well supplied with hills.
On running into Tarrytown and inquiring for the road to the station, which runs westward downhill, a rider can put up at the Mott House near the river. Three courses are then open to him. He may either take the train back, if the ride has been sufficiently long already, or he may return by the same road, or on going up to the turnpike-road again, turning left northward, he will come after a few hundred yards to the André monument (5), which every bicycle rider who reaches Tarrytown should not fail to see. Turning back again southward, he may take the alternative road back to Yonkers. He may then take the main turnpike, which he passed over early in the day, or, following the alternative road marked on the chart, may come down through Riverdale and the villages along the bank of the Hudson, meeting the Kingsbridge road at Kingsbridge again.
Note.—Already published. Map of New York city, No. 809.
This Department is conducted in the interest of Girls and Young Women, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the subject so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor.
"Tell you what books I read when I was a little girl?" Molly E—— asks the question. Why, I am delighted to answer you, Molly. I am very fond of the little girl I used to be a long time ago. I can see her now, merrily going to school, day after day, along a river road bordered by tall willow-trees, crossing a bridge, and reaching a pretty little school-house, with windows giving on the pleasant life of a river, which all the year round was beautiful in the children's eyes, and which is very dear in their memories.
In those days an enchanter, whose name was Jacob Abbott, was writing wonderful books for young people. None of you will ever have greater enjoyment in the books written for you now than we girls of that period had in the Rollo Books, in which Rollo and Lucy, and a pearl of a hired man named Jonas, and Rollo's father and Rollo's mother, played important parts. We ate and slept and travelled with Rollo, we breathed his mountain air, we studied with him, and learned a great deal about both nature and morals, without suspecting that we were being taught. Abbott's histories, Charlemagne, Napoleon, Charles I., Josephine, ever so many of them were on my bookshelf, where I had, a little later, the Waverley Novels; nor shall I ever forget the breathless pace at which I raced through Macaulay's History of England.
When I was fifteen somebody gave me Leatherstocking and The Last of the Mohicans, and these introduced me to Cooper, whose stories I found entertaining and full of a feeling of outdoor life. But for sheer pleasure in a book there never was anything so lovely as the experience I had, when about ten, in reading Mrs. Sherwood's stories. You girls do not know much about them, but there were The Fairchild Family, and Little Henry and his Bearer, and a thrilling tale, the name of which I have forgotten, all about a very naughty girl who went to live with an aunt, who spoiled her to such an extent that when she came home she couldn't live in peace with her brothers and sisters, and led the whole family, including her papa and mamma, a perfectly dreadful life. I remember this story with a great deal of affection, and I think the heroine's name was Caroline, but I am not sure. Anna Ross was a book of this period, and it was followed by The Wide, Wide World, a dear story, which I hope many of you will read, for it is probably in all your Sunday-school libraries. It was the work of Miss Susan Warner, who wrote Queechy and other equally excellent books for girls, after Ellen Montgomery, her heroine in the first, had stolen our hearts.
I trust none of you will ever be so impolite as I was when I went to visit my girl friends. I blush to think of it now, after so many years; but, do you know, if they had a new book, I simply seized upon it, and never stopped till I read it through, so that as a guest I was of no use, never waking from my trance until I had finished the last page of the treasure. Finally one of my friends, Jenny V. G., devised this plan, and carried it out successfully: When she expected me to visit her for a week, she living in the country and I in town, she simply hid all the books which she knew I had not read, and never brought them out till I had gone home again.
You see, my dears, I was not a pattern for you to imitate. There was not a paper in existence in my childhood worthy of being compared with the Round Table; but at our school we wrote a weekly paper, contributed to it ourselves, and made a half-dozen copies to pass around. I began being an editor quite early in life.
MOST PERFECT MADE.
A pure Grape Cream-of-Tartar Powder. Free from Ammonia, Alum, or any other adulterant.
40 YEARS THE STANDARD.
Avoid substitutes; accept genuine only with buff wrapper and yellow label.
The price has nothing to do with the
For ALL of Dr. Warner's Corsets are fitted to living models.
Prices from one to six dollars each.
STAMPS! 300 fine mixed Victoria, Cape of G. H., India, Japan, etc., with fine Stamp Album, only 10c. New 80 p. Price-list free. Agents wanted at 50% commission. STANDARD STAMP CO., 4 Nicholson Place, St. Louis, Mo. Old U.S. and Confederate Stamps bought.
160 VARIETIES, many rare. 25c.; 500 Mixed Foreign, 16c.; 50 varieties United States, 27c.; 6 Peru, 8c.; 8 Brazil, 10c.; 9 Chili, 10c.; 3 Samoa, 8c.; 6 Servia, 10c.; 6 Egypt, 8c.; 6 Persia, 20c.; 10 Greece, 10c.; 7 Turkey, 10c.
100 all dif. Venezuela, Costa Rica, etc., only 10c.; 200 all dif. Hayti, Hawaii, etc., only 50c. Ag'ts wanted at 50 per ct. com. List FREE!
50 var., all dif., 5c.; 12 var. Heligoland, 15c.; 6 var. Italy, 1858 to 1862, 5c.; 3 var. Hanover, 6c.; 35 var. C. American, 50c. Agents wanted.
$3 worth of stamps for $1. All perfect specimens selected from collection; cannot be bought for twice our price. Satisfaction guaranteed or money refunded. Send $1 bill. Old Colony Stamp Co., Plainville, Mass.
FREE! 8 Handsome Japan Postage Stamps for 2c.; 100 all different, 10c.; 100 mixed, 5c.
POSTAGE DUES.—50c. and 30c., at 70c. each; the pair for $1.25. Diamond Stamp Co., Germantown, Pa.
I live on a farm twenty-four miles from New York city, but am fond, as you may see from my letter, of reaching out beyond the farm and farm life and making inquiries about other things. I collect stamps, and have some old coins, one, a 1720 piece, which I found in the field one day while cultivating corn. I am sixteen years old. Could you tell me how to make an induction coil for taking shocks? Could you also tell me how to make a blow-pipe? I am thinking of making an electric telegraph. Could you give me some points on it? I have the Morse telegraph alphabet, but don't understand it or know how to use it.
Here is a game to be played when there are many to play it. Each one is provided with a slip of paper and a pencil. There are three persons who are in the secret—a confederate, the clairvoyant, and medium. Each one writes a word or short sentence on the paper. The clairvoyant seats herself before the writers, and the medium rubs her forehead with a handkerchief to put her in a trance. Then the medium collects the papers, takes any one of them (except the blank one, which must be left till last), and puts it on the clairvoyant's forehead. She makes up a sentence, which sentence must be claimed by the confederate, who really wrote nothing. Then the clairvoyant takes it from her forehead to see if she was right. Of course she reads it, and when the next paper is put on her forehead relates what she read on the preceding slip, greatly to the amusement and often the surprise of the writer.
Do you want some riddles?
H. A. Kretchmar.
West Nyack.
You cannot make an induction coil save at considerable expense, and even then it is not as good as the one you may buy for less money. Apply to any dealer in electrical supplies.
A blow-pipe is simply a small pipe or tube a few inches long and bent at a right angle very near one end. Insert one end in your mouth, the bent end in a gas or even lamp flame, and blow gently. The effect is a flame many times hotter than the still flame.
You can make a telegraph key. Make a walnut or oak base four by eight inches. Erect two uprights in the centre, one inch apart and two inches high. Put between them a wood lever six inches long. In one end of the lever insert a common screw, and from the base raise a metal contact—a common nail will do—about two inches back of the uprights. Any metal surface, as two brass buttons, will do for the screw and nail to "click" against, a hand-pin may be made from the end of a common spool. This key, of a good pattern, may be bought for $2, in brass. You can get along without a "sounder." Get some practical operator to show you about the alphabet. Do not try to learn it from instruction books. If you do you will be sure to learn at the same time many faults. We want good riddles—new, not old ones.
Costa Rica, or, translated into English, "rich coast," is the most progressive of the Central American republics. The people are very home-staying, that is, they do not like to travel, as do the English and Americans. They all seem to like their country, and rightly too, for there are few prettier lands or more delightful climates. It is very mountainous, but not many very high peaks. All the way from the port at Limon to San José, the capital, there is grand scenery. Passing along on the train up a steep grade one looks back and wonders how the road-builders ever got up. In some places along on the mountain-sides, as the train passes, you can pick ferns out of one window and out of the other can see the valley far below, with little houses that look as if built for dolls. In some of these places it is very dangerous, and the train has to go very slowly.
Arriving in San José and just leaving the station you can see the city lying below you. A little to the left, and at about the middle, you can see the large round dome of the cathedral, and a little way back the large red roof of the new theatre. To the right lie the new school building and the Plaza de Toros. Entering more into the city one is surprised and pleased at the numerous pretty parks that are scattered all through it. San José is called the "Little Paris," as here you can see the Spanish beauties dressed in the latest Parisian styles. Sunday afternoon is the time when the señoritas take a promenade in the Parque Central, where the music is playing and all is gay.
Let us leave the city life and people and look at the poor folks of the country, who toil that all these city people may be comfortable. The average country people can neither read nor write, because until quite a recent date schools have not been general. Although they cannot read or write, most of them have very intelligent faces, and are well informed about their position. The houses of these people are very mean structures, built of only rough boards lapped over and nailed. The roof is of sugar-cane leaves, or, at the best, tiles made out of mud and clay baked. Inside the houses there are rarely more than two rooms, neither of them having other floor than the bare ground. The cooking range is only a platform covered with sand. There are three stones to set the kettles on. The smoke wanders off through the roof or door, for as a rule there are no windows. The furniture is not very extensive, and consists of a table and one or two "taburetes" (chairs covered with the skin of an ox).
In every house you enter you will find some corner or shelf whereon is placed some image or saint. The picture of their patron saint is hung on the wall. The house is as free to the chickens, pigs, and dogs as to the people themselves. The pigs run around, picking up what can be found to eat on the floor, and then crawl away under the bed or table and sleep the sleep of the—pig.
The people are generally strong and healthy. Their food consists, year in and year out, of rice and frijoles (black beans), and the great Costa Rican bread called tortilla. A tortilla is dried hulled corn ground on a stone and made into a sort of pancake, which is laid amongst the ashes and baked. When one has learned to eat it, it is very good. The people are not such thieves as they have been represented to be by many. To be sure, they will steal food, eggs, vegetables, and firewood, but nothing more. I have known a mill to be open for over three months, with valuable tools lying around, but never a one missing. The people are very polite, and when passing one in the road they always say adios (good-by), or buenos dias (good-day). The men all carry a large knife suspended at the belt, but it is for such use as we make of a pen or pocket knife.
Sir L. E. Tower.
San José, Costa Rica.
A friend of the Table and of the School Fund wrote recently to Jules Verne, telling him about Good Will Farm, and asking him for a letter to be sold to that American admirer who would bid highest for it. The great novelist readily responded, and the letter, wholly in Mr. Verne's own hand, is now in our possession. Of course it is in French, but here is a translation of it:
March 27, 1895.