Various

“ But nobody ever saw a cat so admired and well treated as Bobbin was after that. Nothing in the Dyer house was too good for him; and when, that same winter, he was chased by a dog of the tin peddler's, and fell into the well, from which he was fished out next day dead and dripping, Polypod's heart was broken. It was small comfort that Jinky dug a neat little grave under the Bell pear-tree, and put up a shingle head-stone, with the tender inscription:
"Here lies Bobbin,
Pretty as a robin,
Smart as a whip. ”

“ She compromised for a black bow on the child's hood, on the ground that nobody in meeting was acquainted with Bobbin, and if the bow was noticed it might be thought that some distant relative of the family was dead. Polypod could only sob, "W-well, I don't c-care so vely much. I fe-feel real b-black inside."
Dear Polypod! may she live to grow up in the faith that it is better and truer than any depth of outward mourning to rend the heart, not the garments—in her own quaint phrase, to "feel real black inside!" ”

“ Nobody cried much: grandpa was too old to cry for; they all knew—all the grown-up people—that he must be glad not to ache any more, and he had been pretty cross, poor old man. The day of the funeral Polypod noticed her mother putting some black ribbon on Nelly's felt hat, and trying on to her own head a new black bonnet.
"What is you putting that ugly black bow on to Norken's bonnet for, muvver?" she asked.
"It's mourning, Polypod; people wear black when their folks die." ”

“ Stay here, Toby, my son, and help to support this poor old body as it goes down into the dark valley of the shadow of death, and then, in the bright light of that glorious future, Uncle Daniel will wait to go with you into the presence of Him who is ever a father to the fatherless. ”

“ At last he could see the spire of the little church on the hill, and when the steamer rounded the point, affording a full view of the town, and sounded her whistle as a signal for those on the shore to come to the pier, Toby could hardly restrain himself from jumping up and down, and shouting in his delight. ”

“ Now the Turkish government took a very cunning and cruel way to increase the strength of its own army, and weaken the people they were conquering. It took from the Christian people every year one thousand of their brightest boys to train them for the Turkish army. This is called in history "the tribute of children." Some historians say that all the boys over seven years of age "who promised any excellence in mind or body" were captured by the Turks ”

“ Arthur thanked the owl warmly, assuring her of his deep gratitude. To which the owl replied: "You have done me quite as good service, and my thanks are quite as due to you. I return to my empty nest a desolate mother, but never shall I forget your generous sympathy. Possibly I may find consolation, but should I ever raise another brood, it could never equal the beauty of my lost darlings. Alas! we feathered creatures have great trials: we toil diligently for our families, build nests at great cost of time and effort, often to see them swept away by the winds ”

“ We wish to tell the readers of Young People about a pet we have in our house, and they must guess what it is. Our pet is quite large. It has four legs, but it can not walk. It affords us a great deal of pleasure, and occupies a great deal of our time, although it sometimes gets badly out of order—so bad that we have to send for a man, who only attends to such patients as our pet, to come and put it right again. ”

“ We have two pet calves. Their names are Rose and Graceful. They are very gentle. Rose always comes to the door to wait for her milk, and if she does not get enough, she will go around to another door, and wait until she gets more. We have only to take a pan in our hands, and she will trot after us all over the place.
I think Young People is delightful, and it is very pleasant to think that from the Atlantic to the Pacific thousands of little readers are delighted with the same stories, and welcome the coming of this little paper with the same eagerness.
Ella G. R. ”

“ Three of us children can read "Toby Tyler," and when we saw the picture of him running away with his monkey, we all gave a shout. We hope Mr. Otis will keep on writing about Toby Tyler until he gets to be a man, so we will know all about him. I am glad he got away, because he is not a bad boy; but he might grow up to be one if he staid with the circus.
Mary P.
I will exchange some madrone berries, a piece of manzanita wood and bark, and a few sugar-pine nuts, for ocean curiosities. ”

“ Sheik Kassim was a true believer, and consequently held to the literal interpretation of the above-mentioned passage of the Koran, asserting repeatedly that whatever God had destined for him, He would send him, without any care or exertion on his own part.
Sheik Ahmed, though a sincere Moslem, had a somewhat different opinion, and believed that although whenever God created a human being, He also created for him a special inheritance, yet at the same time God intended the human being to make some exertions to obtain possession of said inheritance. ”

“ As we have no Kings or Queens in this country, you might modify the festival, and when your father takes you and the other little girls out for your May-day picnic, you can leave out the Queen. Some of the boys in your party can easily raise a May-pole in some green spot, and you can decorate it with wreaths and flowers, just as the boys and girls of England did in the olden time. ”

“ MAKING THE STURGEON USEFUL.
So soundly had he slept that the owl and kingfisher, having completed their arrangements for the removal of the sea-weed, had removed Arthur also, and he woke to find himself on the back of an enormous sturgeon, with sea-weed under him, over him, and about him. Tightly about the sturgeon was bound an old rope, which the kingfisher had procured from the remains of a wreck on the rocks, and in which he had entangled the sturgeon ”

“ The Turks brought with them a religion, a costume, and a government different from any the people in Europe had been accustomed to. They were Mohammedans, while the people of the conquered countries were Christians. You can easily believe that the Christian people did not love the race that had robbed them of their country and their freedom, nor did they submit very willingly to their fate. ”

“ This very easy and effective trick may be of use in showing the young how easy it is for seeming impossibilities to be performed, and thus to put them on their guard against being too easily deceived by the evidence of their own senses, or trusting too much to the skill of pretenders who promise to foretell future events, of which neither they nor their hearers can have the least knowledge. ”

“ They scent a dead mouse or any small animal from afar, and at once proceed to secure the prize. If the ground where it lies is rocky, and too hard for their little feet to work in, an army of them fasten on the body, and drag it to a softer place. Then they work underneath, as you saw them do, until they sink their prey, and can cover it away from the air and sun, which would soon dry it, and make it unfit for their food. The sexton beetles lay their eggs in the little dead body they have buried, so that when the tiny grubs are hatched, their food is all ready for them. ”

“ Buzzard, I never seed any gold eyes in my life. Won't you jes' put your eyes up to de hollow so I kin see 'em?'
"Den de buzzard he got up and put his eyes to de hollow, and de rabbit throwed a whole lot of fish bones and trash in his eyes, and fill his eyes full of trash and fish bones. So de buzzard had to fly down to de ground and set down wid his back to de tree to pick de trash and fish bones out of his eyes. Den Mr. Rabbit he jumped down, and away he was gone through de woods long 'fore de fox come back wid de fire. ”

“ Half an hour after, as she was talking very busily, Bobbin came running into the room and began to walk round her, pull at her dress with his paw, go to the door, come back, rub against her, look up at her with great asking eyes, and at last mewed so impatiently that the neighbor said, "What upon earth ails that cretur? Seems as though he wanted suthin real bad."
"Oh! I guess he wants to get up into Polypod's room," said Nelly; "he sets by her dreadfully; but I was real sure I left him on to the foot of her bed, and I know I shet the door." ”

“ Up a creek not far from our house a cannon full of gold coin (so tradition says) was sunk by Burgoyne's army when they went from Skenesboro' (now Whitehall) to Fort Edward, and almost every summer people come to drag for it. Once they hooked on to something very heavy, which, as they had but one horse, they could not pull up. Many people thought it was the cannon. There was a battle fought at Port Ann, four miles south of Comstock's, in the French and Indian war, and even now people sometimes find old coins there under the stones.
George C. B. ”

“ Sympathy, therefore, we appreciate; it helps us to bear our sorrows with becoming fortitude. Never shall I forget your gallantry, my friend; the thought of it will cheer many a solitary hour when all the world is asleep. I bid you farewell." So saying, the owl flapped her wings, and was gone.
Arthur hopped away from the chestnut-tree to the place where he had lost himself. It was early morning, but he was wearied, and slept in spite of all his anxiety. When he awoke he was no longer a frog, but a very hungry boy. The noonday sun was shining, and at his side hopped a little brown bird. ”

“ On such occasions a herald passes through the different departments of the prison, proclaiming, "Ho! all ye poor of the earth that hunger and thirst, come and partake of the bounty and the inheritance from God!" The prisoners are then expected to gather in the prison yard, where the supplies are doled out to them.
Sheik Ahmed, on hearing the invitation, prepared to proceed to the yard, offering to lead Sheik Kassim, who sat reciting passages from the Koran and prayers in a corner of his cell, to the same place, to receive a share of the good things provided by the grateful merchant. ”

“ He insisted on paying for his ticket on the steamboat, although Toby did all he could to prevent him, and he even accompanied Toby to the next town, where he was to take the steamer.
He had not only paid for Toby's ticket, but he had paid for a state-room for him; and when the boy said that he could sleep anywhere, and that there was no need of such expense, the man replied: "Those men who were hunting for you have gone down the river, and will be very likely to search the boat when they discover that they started on the wrong scent. ”

“ I have a little niece with blue eyes. She is seventeen months old. When she comes to our house, she says "Dood-day" to everybody. She always wants to see the pictures in Young People, but she is too little to read. This is my fourth letter to Our Post-office Box. All the others must have gone to the "waste-basket." I do hope this will not go there too.
Amy L. O. ”

“ Then came another struggle to induce him to bury his pet, and finally Toby, after realizing the fact that he could not carry a dead monkey anywhere with him, agreed to it; but he would not allow the young man to help him in any way, or even to touch the monkey's body. ”

“ The common carrion beetles have strong teeth, and can eat almost any animal substance, no matter if it is very hard and dry, but the sexton beetles can only eat very soft things, and their little grubs would die had not Nature, who cares for the least of her children, endowed them with this wonderful instinct to provide suitable food and protection for their young. ”

“ And it was these Christian boys who constituted the celebrated Janissaries, and won such great victories for the Turkish nation for three hundred years, that its influence and power was felt and dreaded throughout the civilized world.
It was the first instance of a "standing army" in Europe. Charles VII. of France is usually considered the originator of the "standing army," perhaps because the Turks were not considered a European nation; but the Janissaries were in existence a century before Charles's time. ”

“ The price varies according to the finish of the skate, but none of them are expensive. They can only be used on a smooth surface like city pavements, or a well-made floor.
Lise B.—There is no prettier way of celebrating the festival of May-day than the old-fashioned English custom of raising a May-pole covered with wreaths of flowers and green sprays, and choosing a Queen for the day. In ancient times every village in England observed the May-day pageant. ”

“ It is the custom for the Orientals, at a time of sickness or any other trouble, in view of some business speculation, also when undertaking a journey, to make a vow that if they are delivered from the trouble, meet with success in the transaction, or accomplish the journey in safety, to provide the prisoners with a certain quantity of food, and often for a stated period of time. ”

“ Those who proved greatly superior in mind were fitted for places of trust in the government—some were made pages in the Sultan's palace—but those who were strong and large of stature were trained for war. ”

“ Do please be more careful. You're too rough, I fear.
[Begun in No. 58 of Harper's Young People, December 7.] TOBY TYLER; OR, TEN WEEKS WITH A CIRCUS. BY JAMES OTIS. Chapter XX. HOME AND UNCLE DANIEL.
Meanwhile the author of all this misery had come upon the scene. He was a young man, whose rifle and well-filled game bag showed that he had been hunting, and his face expressed the liveliest sorrow for what he had so unwittingly done.
"I didn't know I was firing at your pet," he said to Toby, as he laid his hand on his shoulder, and endeavored to make him look up. ”