This Department is conducted in the interest of stamp and coin collectors, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on these subjects so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor Stamp Department.
In the Round Table for December 10, 1895, the stamps issued by the general government of the Confederate States were illustrated in reduced form. This week I give the first instalment of the "Confederate Locals," all of which are either scarce or rare. Counterfeits abound, however, and the wise collector will take expert advice before parting with his money. As a rule, collectors prefer to buy these stamps on the original envelope, and the prices given below are those asked by dealers for copies in good condition:
Athens, Ga., $35 to $100.
Baton Rouge, La., large size, $50 to $70; small size, $100. (The 2c. and 10c. stamps are not generally accepted as genuine.)
Charleston, S.C., $10 to $15. Envelope stamps, four varieties, $10 to $15.
Columbia, S.C., $15 to $20. This is an envelope only.
Fredericksburg, Va., $7.50 to $20. (10c. stamp, $20 to $30.)
Knoxville, Tenn., $20 to $25. The embossed envelope is worth from $50 to $100.
Nashville, Tenn., 3c., $3.50 to $20; 5c., $15 to $30; 10c., $50 to $100.
Mobile, Ala., 2c., $25 to $35; 5c., $3 to $6.
New Orleans, La., 2c. blue on white, $2 to $5; 2c. red on white, $2 to $6; 5c. brown on white or blue, $1 to $5; 5c. brilliant red on blue or white paper, $250 to $400. The so-called reprints of the New Orleans stamps are simply counterfeits.
Philatus.
There is a "comfortable feeling" that comes after a bath with Ivory Soap.
And other styles to suit all hands.
will pay cash for collections or scarce stamps.
The FINEST SAMPLE BOOK of Gold Beveled Edge, Hidden Name, Silk Fringe, Envelope and Calling Cards ever offered for a 2 cent stamp. These are GENUINE CARDS, NOT TRASH.
Comic return envelopes. Sleight of Hand exposed. List of 500 gifts. Album of cards. Send 2c stamp for postage. Address Banner Card Co., Cadiz, Ohio.
sells recitations and PLAYS
23 Winter St., Boston
Volume XVI. With 1096 Pages, and about 750 Illustrations. 4to, Cloth, Ornamental, $3.50.
There is nothing, we imagine, that the young reader would be likely to prize more.—N. Y. Sun.
A truly royal volume for the youthful reading appetite.—Boston Courier.
In Questions and Answers. By Mary Hastings Foote. With Map. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.
The Rev. Dr. David H. Greer writes:
"I believe it to be one of the most satisfactory manuals of that character which I have ever seen. It meets a need both in the family and the Sunday-school, and I am sure that its merits will be very quickly and widely appreciated. It is not often that I can give an indorsement so cordially and unreservedly as in this case."
A Story for Girls. By Ellen Douglas Deland. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.
The story is told in a simple and direct manner that enlists the sympathy and attention of the reader.—Saturday Evening Gazette, Boston.
A story for girls, charmingly written, and illustrated throughout with pictures dainty enough to please the most fastidious damsel.... The incidents are full of life, the characters are very natural, and the conversations well sustained, so that the story is full of intense interest from beginning to end.—Chicago Inter-Ocean.
Snow-Shoes and Sledges, a Sequel to "The Fur-Seal's Tooth." Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.
Will hold the interest of its readers from beginning to end.—N. Y. Evening Post.
We confess to have read every word of the journal with as much interest as we once read "Robinson Crusoe" or the "Swiss Family Robinson."-Christian Intelligencer, N. Y.
The Fur-Seal's Tooth.—Raftmates.—Canoemates.—Campmates.—Dorymates. Each one volume. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, $1.25.
Wakulla.—The Flamingo Feather.—Derrick Sterling.—Chrystal, Jack & Co., and Delta Bixby. Illustrated. Square 16mo, Cloth, $1.00 each.
Little Knights and Ladies. Verses for Young People. By Margaret E. Sangster, Author of "On the Road Home," etc. Illustrated. 16mo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.
These verses for young people are brimful of sweetness and tenderness; they will find generous welcome.... All through the little volume runs a graceful current of personal influence, sunny and gentle and sympathetic.—Independent, N. Y.
Afloat with the Flag. By W. J. Henderson, Author of "Sea Yarns for Boys," etc. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.
Mr. W. J. Henderson's latest sea-story for boys is one of the best we have seen.... The story has been read with eager interest by thousands of Round Table readers, and it will have an additional charm to them and others in its present book form.—Boston Advertiser.
Jack Tot is as big as a baby's thumb,
And his belly can hold but a drop and a crumb,
And a wee little sailor is he.
Heigh ho!
A very fine sailor is he.
He made his boat of a cocoanut shell;
He sails her at night, and he steers her well
With the wing of a bumblebee.
Heigh ho!
The wing of a bumblebee.
She is rigged with the hair of a lady's curl,
And her lantern is made of a gleaming pearl,
And it never goes out in a gale.
Heigh ho!
It never goes out in a gale.
Her mast is made of a very long thorn;
She's a bell for the fog, and a cricket's horn,
And a spider spun her sail.
Heigh ho!
A spider he spun her sail.
She carries a cargo of baby souls,
And she crosses the terrible Nightmare Shoals,
On her way to the Isles of Rest,
Heigh ho!
The beautiful Isles of Rest.
The Slumber Sea is the sea she sails,
While the skipper tells his incredible tales
With many a merry jest.
Ho! ho!
He's fond of a merry jest.
When the little folks yawn they're ready to go,
And the skipper is lifting his sail—he ho!
In the swell how the little folks nod!
Ha! ha!
Just see how the little folks nod!
And some have sailed off when the sky was all black.
And the poor little sailors have never come back,
But have steered for the City of God.
Heigh ho!
The beautiful City of God.
Sam was a light-skinned darky of middle age, with an ever bright and ready reply for all. He was employed in the street department of the town of D——. One day a gentleman finding him at work tearing up some cobblestones from the street, and desiring to hear one of his witty replies, asked him what he was doing. Sam replied,
"Why, sah, I's er-pullin' up de street; by-and-by I's goin' to pull up de riber."
"Pull up the river! Why, Sam, that's a gigantic job. You'll have to pump and haul many a year before you can accomplish that."
"If youse want ter see me do it, I's willin'."
"Well, Sam, I would like to see how you would go about it; and if you can prove to me that you can finish such a job even within a year, I will treat you to a suit of Sunday clothes."
"Yah, yah, yah!" laughed Sam. "Come 'long, sah, I's'll prove dat shuah!"
And off he started for the river with the gentleman and several other people who had gathered around during the conversation. Reaching the river, Sam piloted the gentleman and the crowd to an old skiff. Jumping into it, he seized the oars and started rowing, shouting as he did so, "Dere, sah! I's er-pullin' up de riber now!"
The gentleman gave in, and Sam got his clothes.
Papa. "Why, Dick! Jack! how you quarrel, and all for a little penny!"
Dick. "Yes, papa; but you said the less we quarrel about the better."
A good story is told of Isaac Newton. It seems that one day, feeling chilly, he ordered his servant to build a good roaring fire in the grate, and when his orders had been obeyed be drew his chair up and enjoyed the cheerful warmth. In a short while he dropped into deep thought, and became unmindful of the heat of the fire until it grew so intense that he was compelled to notice it. He rang the bell violently for the servant, and when he came, ordered him to move the grate. The servant scratched his head in puzzled silence, and Newton, becoming thoroughly exasperated with the heat and the servant's disobedience, shouted, "Will you move that grate?"
The servant jumped this way and that in terror, and finally coming to his senses, said, "Would it not be better, sir, for you to move your chair?"
"Well! well! well!" said Newton. "Upon my word, I never thought of that."
Teacher. "George, what excuse have you for being late?"
George. "Only a far-fetched one."
Teacher. "What do you mean?"
George. "The conductor of the car carried me several blocks past the school."
Papa. "I wonder why it is that when we drop a slice of bread it usually falls with the buttered side down?"
His little Boy. "I guess it's for the same reason that when we fall in winter we wonder why the ice freezes with the slippery side up."
[1] Begun in Harper's Round Table No. 845.