Various

“ The fragrance of the wet pine woods was very sweet, and the coolness was delightful, but the clouds looked strangely yellow, and as if a great deal of rain would pour out of them presently, while there were flashes of lightning every now and then, and distant thunder began to growl among the mountains.
"It will be here in a few minutes," said Jack, looking at his sister anxiously. "I'm awfully sorry, Alice." And they both hurried; as if by walking fast they could get away from the rain. "And our clothes have all gone to North Conway! how shall we ever get dry?" ”

“ He was the ferryman at Waterview—a boy, and yet a man in all that was needed to fit him for his calling, being strong, courageous, and faithful. To be sure, "the ferry" was nothing more than a skiff of one-boy power, but it called upon Jim to get up at all hours of the night, and face the wettest kind of storms and the roughest kind of people, and these elements would have taken all the picnic flavor out of the business for you. ”

“ I want to know how the baby elephant learned to crack his pea-nuts. Instinct? Well, that is a good word with which to pretend that we explain things that we do not understand, but it will scarcely answer in this case. In their wild state elephants have no boys to give them pea-nuts, and as a matter of fact they have no instinct about pea-nuts. The baby elephant did not learn this from the grown-up elephants, for they do not crack their nuts. I wonder if he imitated some boy whom he saw cracking a nut with his heel. ”

“ Each merchant spreads out his array of goods on his table in as tempting a manner as possible, and over each table is arranged a little shed to protect the goods in case of rain.
At these fêtes in the country one meets all the world. There are the doctors, the lawyers, and all the grand people, as much amused and pleased as the laborer in his blue blouse. Besides the tables of goods, there are many funny things to make people laugh. ”

“ If they have only a tiny garden no larger than some of our grass-plots in America, they buy an iron table, chairs enough for the family, and perhaps two or three others for relatives or friends who may come to take a meal with them, and then they eat out-of-doors, enjoying themselves around these little tables in the garden more than they would staying in the house.
They are easily pleased, these French people, in the country. In the summer they have many charming fêtes. Every little town or village in France has, at some time during the warm weather, a fête. ”

“ Among his household goods was an old bass-viol—one of those very, very big fiddles you have seen in orchestras, that keeps a man bobbing up and down over its giant body like a washer-woman doing her best to rub the wrinkles out of a wash-board. ”

“ It is a great mistake to think that swimming is a sport solely for men and boys; for not only do those girls who learn to swim enjoy doing so, but it is quite as important for girls to know how to swim as for boys. Nearly every large city is provided with swimming-baths, private and public, where every facility is afforded for swimming and learning to swim. In New York city there are seventeen of these baths, nine of them private, to which a small admission fee is charged, and eight of them public. ”

“ There are five churches here, and three of the Sunday-schools have an annual picnic.
I have no pets, except a dear little cunning baby sister, who sings and dances very prettily. I look forward to Young People's arrival every week, for it is very good company. I have a brother, with whom I have great fun boating, and two sisters. We get lovely pond-lilies in the season. They smell so sweet! Summer is the best part of the year. ”

“ A FREE SWIMMING-BATH—WOMEN'S DAY—Drawn by Jessie Shepherd.
TEACHING THE LITTLE ONES TO SWIM.
You will read in the newspapers from time to time of persons who have risked their lives to stop runaway horses, or to rescue helpless persons from an awful death in a burning house; but the heroes who have distinguished themselves by saving life in the water far outnumber those; for among a travelling people such as ours, danger by water is much more frequent than fires, or any other situations where the act of a single person may save life. ”

“ There are balloons sent up in the air—not great balls shaped like immense pears, but made to represent men, women, and little boys and girls. These are colored to show their faces and hair, their bright waists, skirts, or trousers, and then they are inflated with gas and sent off in the air. They look very funny as they float away higher than the houses and trees, like great fat men, women, and children. I have been at fêtes with my mamma, and have seen gentlemen and ladies laughing as merrily as the peasants at these droll balloons. ”

“ My grandpa in America has taken Harper's Young People for me since the first number, and my mamma reads many of the stories to us. I have asked mamma to write and tell you some of the sights of every-day life in France. I can neither read nor write myself, but I will tell mamma what to write about, and she will express it better than I could. The French people enjoy living out-of-doors. ”

“ Leaning gradually forward, extend your arms, keeping your hands together sideways, the thumbs close together, and the palms slightly turned from you; and just as your chin touches the surface of the water, draw a long breath, at the same time bringing your hands round toward your sides. If you do this steadily and regularly, you will find your feet leave the bottom, and that you have succeeded in supporting yourself. ”

“ I enjoy fishing and boat-riding. I built myself a little skiff, and called her Little Eva, and in this I sail out of the Brandywine into the broad waters of the Delaware, and am often gone for hours. I have lots of fun, although I never took a step in my life. I am always jolly. I have served papers for three years, and make from three to four dollars a week. I did not lose a day last winter; no matter how cold or snowy, my customers would always know that Johnny and his well-known team would be faithful. ”

“ With a gravity befitting the occasion and the amount of wealth he was about to squander, Tim asked to be allowed to see the goods he proposed to buy, in order to make sure they were of the proper length.
Old Mr. Coburn rubbed his glasses carefully, wiped his face as a sort of preface to his task, and set about making this last sale of the day with the air of a man who knows he is called upon to deal with very exacting customers. ”

“ Never to have taken a step in one's life seems like a great hardship, but instead of moping about it, you have resolved to be as busy, useful, and happy as you can. No wonder your customers wait until you are ready to come along to serve the papers. We are glad you can go for a sail in the skiff, and that you have so many pleasures and resources. ”

“ Salt-water is the best to swim in on account of its greater buoyancy, but it is very difficult to learn in the surf. If you bathe in still or running water, be careful to choose a place free from weeds, and with a hard bottom, sloping gradually down to deep water. Be cautious about holes which would take you over your head, especially when bathing in an unknown place. Never venture out into deep water trusting to corks or life-belts to keep you afloat. Such help will never teach you to swim, and may lead you into danger. ”

“ The leaves are evergreen, and the flowers and fruit are often seen upon it at the same time, as, like the fig, it bears several crops during the year. The fruit looks like a cherry, is red or dark purple, sweet, and good to eat. The seeds of the fruit, gathered and dried, produce our coffee beans. Coffee has been used by Oriental nations for ages, but it was introduced into Europe about three hundred years ago. The first coffee-house was opened in London in 1652. A French gentleman, Captain Desclieux, brought the first coffee-plants to America, about one hundred and fifty years ago. ”

“ I read "Studying Wasps," from Young People, to my class, and they were very much amused. I have had very good teachers, and love them dearly. I have joined the Trinity M. E. Church, and go to Sunday-school. My pastor is the Rev. W. N. Searles, formerly of New York. I have an excellent Sunday-school teacher, and I try to remember what I am taught.
Albert J. B.
AN IMPORTANT COMMUNICATION.
I accept the office of President of The Young People's Natural History Society, and will do all in my power to make it a success. ”

“ But the greatest speed while swimming on your back is to be attained by stretching both hands as far as possible out of the water behind your head, and bringing them with a rapid sweep edgewise into the water again, opposing your palms to the water, so as to get as great a pressure as possible. You can, of course, at the same time use your legs, though you can progress by the use of your arms alone, but with nothing like the same speed. ”

“ The action of the legs in swimming is most important. The strokes should come from the knees, not from the hips, the feet spreading wide apart, and striking backward and downward, in order to obtain the greatest amount of resistance from the water, and the ankle-joints firm.
When you have learned the stroke with the arms and that with the legs, you are able to swim. Always make your strokes with steadiness, and not too rapidly, taking a fresh breath every time you strike out. ”

“ On many of the apple stands in the city of New York may be seen a dark purple-colored substance for sale; this is a sea-weed imported from the coast of Ireland, and is called sloake, or lava. By many it is considered as great a delicacy as pea-nuts. When mounted, it makes a very handsome specimen. The best paper for mounting the sea-weeds is ordinary drawing-paper, cut to a uniform size. ”

“ Swimming is natural to most land animals, and a man could swim as readily as they but that he lacks confidence. It is very easily learned, however, and when learned, how delightful and healthy an accomplishment it is! ”

“ One thing, he said, must always be remembered: the graft must be placed, not in the centre of the cleft, but toward one side, so as to cause the inner layers of bark to meet in a line, at least in one place. The reason of this is very plain; for when the sap begins to ascend into the new graft, it will follow this inner bark, and so, in a like manner, the descending sap will soon flow downward to form new wood, and unite firmly with its main stalk. Instead of sending down roots into the ground, as cuttings do, it strikes its forming wood into the stock itself, and soon becomes a part. ”

“ The natives of hot countries dry the root, and make good wholesome bread out of it. It is only the juice which is poisonous or disagreeable in taste. But the juice itself contains a kind of starch, and when the liquid parts of it are evaporated, there remains—what do you think? Why, the tapioca of which your mother makes puddings.
But why isn't tapioca poisonous? Why is Brazilian arrowroot—which is only the manioc root dried and powdered—harmless and nutritive? What becomes of the poison, and how can we be sure that none of it remains in the tapioca or the arrowroot? ”

“ She delights to surprise her school-mates with little gifts, and often Mattie finds a bunch of violets on her desk, which have come from Ethel's conservatory, or a great golden orange is added to Sadie's luncheon, and it is sure to have been brought from Florida by Ethel's Uncle Tom. Ethel is full of kind thoughts, and is as liberal and generous as possible with things that cost her nothing. ”

“ In swimming you often want to rest yourself, and this is done by change of action. It is surprising the amount of relief a tired swimmer finds by merely changing the manner of progression; the different sets of muscles it brings into play afford ease to those he had hitherto been using; in fact, in long distances this is one way in which a swimmer has moments of rest.
The greatest change is naturally that from vigorous exertion to perfect repose, that is, floating. In order to float, keep your head well back, and straighten your legs, which will naturally drop a little downward ”

“ It was only a ten minutes' walk to Sam's home, and when the cow had been led to her stall Tim proposed that Sam should ask permission for him to sleep in the barn.
"There's time enough for that when we come back," was Sam's reply, the thought of the candy he was to have in case they reached the store before it was closed for the night driving all else from his mind. "Come on; we'll catch Mr. Coburn if we hurry." ”

“ There's one old hen—old Graywhack we call her, because she's gray and whacks all the other chickens—and she's so cross that all the rest are afraid of her, and run away, cocks and all, when she comes up to them. But Brownie doesn't; he bustles up and makes almost as much fuss as she does, and this always, though he gets a whack now and then. ”

“ They sub-let small portions of the land just large enough for each merchant to erect a table upon, like our tables at fairs in America. The merchants bring their families with them, for the fête lasts several days. They sleep in the large wagons in which they bring their articles for sale, and they set up little stoves, each with a long pipe attached, and there the women cook their meals. The "draught" out-doors is sometimes very troublesome, and the poor women have hard times to prepare their dinners. ”