Various

“ So after supper, Alaric, who was beginning to have a lively appreciation of the value of money, as well as of fathers, cautiously invested four cents in a sheet of paper, an envelope, and a stamp, all of which he was able to procure from the proprietor of the restaurant. The boy smiled, as he carefully pocketed his one cent of change, to think on what a different scale he would have made a similar purchase less than a month before. Then he would have ordered a box of note-paper, another of envelopes, and a whole sheet of stamps. ”

“ With many parting injunctions to Alaric, and a polite bonne nuit to both lads, M. Filbert was driven back to the hotel, leaving his newly engaged assistants to their own devices for the time being.
"Now," said Bonny, "if you haven't forgotten how to talk United States, perhaps you will explain what all this means—what we are engaged to do, what our wages are to be, and where we are bound? Are we to turn gold-hunters or Indian-fighters, or is it something in the exploring line?" ”

“ Supposing that we use exactly the same effort of muscle for one swing that we do for another, but that the club head at one time swings back to our shoulder, and at another time only half-way. Evidently in the shorter swing it will be travelling at a lower rate of speed when it strikes the ball, and consequently with less power, and consequently again the ball will not go so far. Well, this is about as close as we can get to the secret of how to measure distance. The shorter the swing the shorter the carry, provided always that our grip is the same. ”

“ The eyes of potatoes are true buds, and each one can make a new plant. Have you ever seen the potatoes sprouting in the cellar? Back of the eye is a scale, which is a sort of leaf. The place for buds is just within the old leaf—that is, in the axil, or space between the leaf and stem on the upper side. So that potato buds are axillary. When our cooks pare potatoes for boiling they have to dig these buds out with a sharp-pointed knife. But they are a boon to the farmer. If he had to plant seed of potatoes he would wait two years for his crop. ”

“ During the whole afternoon M. Filbert talked incessantly with his new-found interpreter, and Alaric seemed almost as excited as he. At length the former, casting a dubious glance at the lads, asked, with an apologetic manner, if they were well provided with clothing.
"Only what you see, monsieur," answered Alaric. "Everything else we have lost." ”

“ Always play for the hole itself the instant that it comes within practical range of any club, and you will save many a put.
The "stymie" demands just a word. In a match, or hole, game the one farthest from the hole must always play first, and this rule holds good on the putting green. If the balls are in line with the hole and within six inches of each other, the nearer ones may be lifted, to be replaced after the shot; but if more than six inches separate them, the ball farthest away must be lofted over if it is to have any chance for the hole. ”

“ One's mother is a girl's natural adviser and her safest intimate friend. A nice sense of honor will hinder all prying into other people's affairs, and will lead one to turn a deaf ear to the gossip of the idle and malicious. ”

“ Tayloe asked your daughter, who had been kept in for insubordination and impertinence, to bring him a drink of water from the spring. I met Mrs. Fogg going to the school-house as I was riding by at the same hour, but thought no more of the circumstance until Mr. Tayloe came home last night and told me a shocking story. He was sitting at his desk writing, his watch and chain laid upon his silk handkerchief on the desk beside him, when your daughter, coming up behind him, dashed pail, water and all, over him, and ran away as fast as she could go to the woods. ”

“ A big ruler always lay on his desk, and they were very much afraid of that; so that when one morning at recess, in a game of ball, Charley B—— had the misfortune to break a window in the school-house, it required no little courage in the eight-year-old boy to march straight into the room, up to the desk, and confess that he had been careless and had done the mischief. ”

“ He picked up something from the ground, and showed it first to Captain Phil and then to Jack. The latter nodded, took it, and stowed it away in his pocket. A few words in undertone followed, and then the football Captain laughed and held out his hand to Jack.
"I wish you fellows would come up to the college and have some tea," he said, heartily. "Sure you haven't the time? Well, then, remember that I'll expect you over for the first baseball game of the season next Saturday—and your friends too."
"You're sure that you're all right again?" inquired Jack. ”

“ Up to this point all of our hitting has been free, and our one object has been to drive the ball the longest possible distance. But now, with the hole within the reach of practical politics, the problem takes on a new feature, and it is the right distance that becomes the important thing. If we know by practice that we can drive on an average 110 yards with the brassy, and the putting green is about that distance away, we will of course take that club and do our best. ”

“ The great tendency is not to be up with the hole—i.e., you are so afraid of going too far past that your ball stops that much short. It is an old St. Andrews maxim that the hole will not come to you. Harden your heart, therefore, and play for the back of the hole rather than attempt a dribble just over the edge. In other words, use enough strength to run your ball at least a foot and a half beyond the hole in case it fails to drop in. ”

“ Some time since, as you recollect, you voted to try to raise $3000 with which to erect a brick structure at Good Will Farm to be known as the Round Table Industrial School. Although in Maine, Good Will Farm takes poor and homeless boys from every part of the country, so far as it has accommodation, gives them a Christian home, an education, and a start in the world. ”

“ A new leaf is sent up every year from the tip end of the root-stock, and the old, dropping off, leaves a sear, which is the "seal." Buds formed on these underground stems are protected from too great changes of temperature by a few inches of soil. Those buds that lie on the surface must be protected by the dead leaves which fall in autumn. They, the buds, are the real "babes in the wood," you see.
Our baby bud, just like children, must have nourishment as well as protection in order to grow in spring. This is provided by the thick leaves that cover, or by the stem, or in some other way. ”

“ A guest in a home cannot be too careful to guard the good name of those under its roof, for it is an honor to be a guest, in the first place, and honor is demanded in return.
Again, a nice sense of honor in matters connected with money is very important. Polly is treasurer of a society, and has the care of the funds. She must never for an instant, or in an emergency, lend these funds to other people, or borrow them for her own use. ”

“ Jones, at short-stop, is a short, lively fellow, who develops slowly, but surely and steadily. When not pitching, Cadwalader fills third base well. In the out-field all the men are quite sure on the high flies, though not at all reliable on the running catches, and are slow in fielding in line drives.
As a whole the men may realize that success in a game is due to hard work and determination and everlasting perseverance, but they surely do not show it by their actions. They show little judgment in batting, being puzzled continually by the pitchers ”

“ The real reason why it's fenced in I guess is that the French people aren't triumphing as much as they were when they had a man like Napoleon at the hellum. France isn't any Yale College nowadays and hasn't won anything for a long time, and I don't see how she can expect to with the funny looking soldiers she has. Pop says they're all fuss and red pants, but Aunt Sarah thinks they're fine because there isn't any pomp about them, they're content to be plain soldiers of the Republic and wear what the government thinks is good for 'em. ”

“ Tayloe jerked in the question, his horse-shoe smile sinking the roots of his nose into his face. "Would there be law or equity in such a course?"
"Pooh, pooh!" retorted the Major, impatiently. "We don't put the law upon babies in this part of the world. Mr. Grigsby, if you will ride along with us as far as my office, we will make out the necessary papers, and also send for a couple of constables. Dan Fogg is an ugly customer to handle." ”

“ But when we are inside of a full stroke with the lofter or iron, we must devise some method of making a shorter shot than the full swing, for the ground is probably too rough for the putter, or there may be a bunker just in front of the green. ”

“ Generous men have built new cottages as homes for more boys, and money has been given for the support of girls, so that the place is soon to be not alone Good Will Farm for boys, but Good Will Farm for girls as well. One citizen of New York has bought a tract of land across the Kennebec River from the farm, and in the grove on this land is to be held the summer school and annual July gathering. ”

“ One is wise, the other foolish. Our Mother Nature, as she is sometimes called, belongs to the wise class. She constantly and most wonderfully provides for the future. Plants are her children, and foreseeing the winter, she does what she can to preserve them from the severe cold, so that they may revive in spring. She has several ways of doing this. In summer, to provide for new growth of branches and leaves, the next season's buds are formed under the bark. You can only find them by cutting into the bark.
Buds are the beginnings of leaves, branches, or flowers. ”

“ Putting is divided into approach puts and holing out. In the first-named the distance is the important thing. Of course you will play directly for the hole in the hope that you may go out in one; but failing in that, your ball must remain in such a position that the next stroke shall be a dead certainty. ”

“ If you cast a glance at the promised land the fraction of an instant before the ball is struck, you will be sure to put off the line. Remember also that the precept of always being up with the hole applies with equal force to your approach-shots to the green. ”

“ Grigsby picked it up by the corners and emptied it upon the floor. At the very bottom were the missing lace and handkerchiefs, and, rolled up carefully in a white silk handkerchief, Mr. Tayloe's watch and chain. A roll of pillow-cases and towels was near by. Beyond was a stout sack of oznaburg containing four hams. A roll of homespun flannel, a box half full of candles, a bag of corn and one of oats, with articles of lesser value, were piled in the corners of the cabin. The haunted house was the cleverly chosen hiding-place of the booty collected during several weeks, perhaps for months. ”

“ Jack laughed, and with another hearty shake of the Captain's hand, he sprang into his saddle, and the Arrow was quickly speeding towards Fairacre again.
"He ought to make a rattling quarter-back," said Captain Phil, reflectively, to Tom Jones. "A fellow with his nerve is just the man we want to fill Robinson's shoes." ”

“ You will notice that the ball is comparatively near the right foot, and that the right arm is lightly steadied on the hip. Let the stroke itself be as near to a push as you can manage it without actually committing that offence, and it will aid you in controlling your distance if the club head is allowed to "sclaff" along the turf or scrape it lightly. Remember, too, that after getting your direction you must look at the ball and not at the hole. ”

“ That the money now in hand be turned over to the trustees of Good Will Farm, to be invested by them according to their best judgment, the same to be known as the "Round Table Fund," and the income of it to be used to help educate at Good Will any boy or girl, or boys and girls, as the supervisor or trustee, or both, decide to be most worthy of such help. ”

“ In our American parks all you can do is walk where you're let, but here you can do anything you please in the parks and no one's any the worse off. What's more the folks that enjoy parks go to 'em and get all the fun out of 'em there is to be had, here. You see Frenchmen pushing two baby-carriages at once and smiling all over even if it isn't easy work, and you can't ride a mile without seeing a half a dozen picnics going on right square on the grass, any day of the week; only a French picnic isn't a bit like an American one. ”

“ In the coziest manner possible the next year's buds are tucked away under gummy and thick scaly leaves. Frost and icy wind cannot injure them. Many forest trees protect their buds with scales. A locust and buttonwood form their new buds under the hollow stem base of the old leaf. Dr. Gray likens the old leaf to a "candle-extinguisher." You have only to pull off a locust leaf any day in summer to see next year's bud. It grows under the old leaf till it has strength to take care of itself when the leaf falls in autumn. ”

“ A few players approach off the left leg, but the great majority stand half-facing the hole, with the right leg very much nearer the line of fire than the left one; in fact, the position is just the opposite of the one advised for the full driving swing. Moreover, the arms are drawn closer in, and in the case of a very short stroke the right arm should be lightly pressed against the body to insure steadiness. Get the general position right, and the rest will follow in due course.
Two strokes may be specially considered—the high lofting [Pg 706] shot, and running the ball up with the iron. ”

“ It can only be said in general that on leaving the hotel in Danbury bear to the left—that is, the northeastward—and having crossed the Norwalk railroad, keep to the right at the fork just beyond it. Do not cross the New York and New England Railroad until you are running into Hawleyville, but keep straight on after reaching the fork for about two miles over a pretty stiff hill, and thence some four miles further to Hawleyville. From Hawleyville to Newtown is a short three-mile run, and the rider is advised to put up at one of the hotels there for the night. ”

“ I've learned more history over here in a week from what I've seen, than I could learn home in forty years from books, which is all we Americans can learn from except the newspapers which don't even agree and leave us worse off after we've read 'em than we were before. ”

“ The books on golf go into the subject of approach-shots in a most elaborate fashion, and we are told that the three-quarter, the half, and the quarter shot must now be brought into play, and the different positions for making these strokes are described in a most minute and yet confusing and contradictory manner. ”