Various

“ The coach-dog which is such a favorite with the elephants is named Denver, and the huge animals take the entire charge of him. A gentleman saw the keeper put a piece of meat before one of the elephants near him, and the great creature seized it in his trunk, and gave the "mother-call" for Denver. This mother-call is the sound they make in calling their young ones. Denver understood in a moment, and rushed toward them; the elephant gently laid the meat on the ground before the dog, and watched him with great interest while he devoured it. ”

“ Fill your mind with live human figures, people of like passions with yourselves; see how they lived and worked in the time and place in which God put them.' Believe me that when you have thus made a friend of the dead, and brought them to life again, and let them teach you to see with their eyes and feel with their hearts, you will begin to understand more of their generation and their circumstances than all the mere history books of the period would teach you. ”

“ Certainly the one that roams so confidently about the inclosure is the most hideous creature I ever saw. A great clumsy body, long legs, thick bare neck, and bare, ragged head make up a sum total of amazing ugliness. The adjutant's beak is the most remarkable feature about him, being nearly a yard long, and thick in proportion. This huge beak is strong enough to kill a man with one blow. As you see in our illustration, the keeper when feeding these birds is obliged to carry the dish of food upon his head; if held in his hands, those enormous beaks would make short work of dish, meat, and all. ”

“ We stop along by the way, and some prefer to spend the summer in one place and some in another, so you see that by the time we get here we are pretty well scattered. When we get here we go to housekeeping. But," he added, deftly snapping up a fish in his long bill, and tossing it to Mr. Thompson, "just eat that, and I'll show you the rest."
Mr. Thompson swallowed the fish without thinking. In a moment he began to experience the most peculiar sensations. His neck began to stretch, his nose to elongate, his hands and arms became covered with feathers. ”

“ One of three men in a line can not be pounded, provided there are any others on the board.
As the game is really divided into three distinct phases of playing, it may be well to illustrate each phase, taking the work of placing the men first, and allowing Black to open the game:
By this play White has the best of the game, and then the moving begins, which consists in moving a man from one intersection to another which is not occupied, never passing over a man or out of the direct lines. ”

“ Presently the old woman said, with a shiver: "It's growing cold; there's snow in the air. Put some more sticks on, Peggy."
The child arose and made a pretense of adding to the fire, for there was no more wood, and she had not the heart to say so. Then taking off a little shawl from her shoulders, she put it about those of her granny.
But the old woman had that keenness of perception which is so often a merciful compensation to the blind.
"Child," she said, "you are robbing yourself. The warmth of your own little heart is in this shawl. Is there no more wood?" ”

“ He had been lying on the bank for some time, and was just beginning to feel cold, when he saw two queer-looking lights bobbing along the shore, and moving toward him.
"Somebody trying to steal Farmer Brown's oysters," he murmured, and prepared to give the intruders a good scare. But the lights came so slowly that his mind wandered off, and he was only aroused from his musings when he heard a peculiar voice near the shore remark:
"It's a man, but he's asleep, and he hasn't any gun." ”

“ It is one of the few things it is right to be very selfish about. You must be ever so careful not to give any of it away, you know, and that's why you have to stay at home from school. One comfort is that next winter your mamma will say, "I am not afraid of whooping-cough any more, for my boys have had it." ”

“ If it is, it is mean fun, and I don't like that kind. For besides making a fellow feel cheap, there's almost always something not so nice to top off with.
"Boys will be boys, Susan." That's what grandfather says to mother time and again.
"Well, they needn't be wild Indians," says mother. But she doesn't tell father that time. You see, my grandfather was a boy once himself, and he knows we can't keep bottled up all the time. We have to "let nature caper"—that's what grandfather calls it—once in a while, or we would burst, Hal and I, and go off like two rockets maybe. ”

“ Before reducing your adversary to three men, and thus giving him an opportunity to jump, try to arrange your men so that you will be able to form your lines in successive moves. For example: Black has eight men, at 2, 11, 13, 15, 16, 19, 21, and 24; White has four, at 3, 9, 12, and 22. Black moves 24 to 23; White, 22 to 10. If Black made a line at 14 or 20, White, being reduced to three men, could jump either to 20 or 14, whichever was vacant, and thus prevent the second line from being made ”

“ White moves 2 to 3, and pounds 20, selecting that one because 6, 14, or 20 must be removed, or a line could be made by Black, who would have pounded 7, and had the advantage. Black then moves 14 to 21; White, 15 to 14; Black, 21 to 20; White, 3 to 2—White now being able to make a line at 3, 15, or 24 whenever he chooses, despite Black. Black now moves 20 to 21. At this point it would be possible for White to block the game by moving 17 to 20; but in the hope of winning, even though he gives his adversary an advantage, he moves 2 to 3; then—
Black has now but three men ”

“ For history is the history of men and women, nothing else; and she who knows men and women thoroughly will best understand the past work of the world, and be best able to take a share in its work now.... ”

“ Two Knives believed that by keeping to the right he should make a circuit and surprise the Apache camp, while the miners would be sure to meet any outlying force by riding toward it in a straight line.
Captain Skinner's one idea was to get as far as possible from the Lipans, he hardly cared in what direction. To the "left" was also to the southward; and so he was better off than he had hoped for.
"Go slow, boys," he said to his men. "We must go right across every stream we come to. The more water we can put behind us, the better." ”

“ The Bridgeport boys are very careful about their behavior to Denver, for if a howl of pain or annoyance is heard from him on the outside of the building, the elephants inside become so enraged that there is danger of their breaking their chains and avenging their favorite. ”

“ These scrap-books are sources of enjoyment to children who have been ill and are getting stronger—who are what we call convalescent—and some of us know crippled children, or even grown people, who are shut in from busy life by weakness or disease. We ought to try to brighten their lives if we can. Gather together all the illustrated newspapers and books with pictures that you can command. Black and white pictures are as good as colored, and the two look well together. ”

“ Then each player places alternately a man on any one of the intersections, which on the plan are numbered from 1 to 24 simply for the purpose of better explaining the game. The first point is for one of the players to get three men in a line; that is to say, have them on three direct stations, as 16, 17, 18, or 10, 11, 12, but not on the angles, as at 1, 4, 7. If either player succeed in so placing his men, he can remove one of his adversary's men from the board ”

“ He is not a monkey of good character, and has actually been known to get intoxicated. Mr. Hodges, the keeper, is very fond of Napper, who seems to return affection. He will sit for hours upon his friend's knee before the fire, turning himself from side to side that he may receive the full benefit of the welcome heat. The monkeys suffer dreadfully from cold draughts, and are very apt to die of consumption.
Mr. Hodges assured me that most if not all of the cageful of monkeys would be dead before spring, and seemed much affected by the loss of his pets. ”

“ This time I am able to talk to you a little, as well as draw you some pictures.
Suppose we take a look at this party of cranes and pelicans and other queer birds. In spite of his long legs and clumsy bill, the pelican has more or less beauty to recommend him. The prevailing color of his feathers is a lovely rose shading off to white, while his breast wears an orange tinge. The cranes are also really handsome birds, in spite of their long thin legs. They have soft gray plumage, with snow-white crests, and two gracefully flowing plumes besides on the head. ”

“ Give White seven men, on stations 3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 17, and 18, and Black three men, at 7, 12, and 15. White moves from 6 to 14; Black, 7 to 13; White, 17 to 20; Black, 15 to 7. By this last move of Black's he can jump to 16, make a line, and pound. White moves 3 to 15; Black, 13 to 16, and pounds 14.
When Black is reduced to two men he loses the game, and this would have occurred had he pounded any other man but 14, as otherwise White could have made a line by the next move. ”

“ This zebra's name is Sheik, and is often seen in the streets of the city, with some of the ladies belonging to the circus driving him. Sheik is gentle, swift, and has as much endurance as a mule. Zebras are generally supposed to be untamable, and Sheik's keeper deserves great credit for the wonderful manner in which he has succeeded in training this wild creature. Sheik is not, however, a "true zebra," but one of the species called asinus Burchelii. A "true zebra" has never been brought to this country. Bridgeport boys think Sheik driven in the jaunting-car a fine show. ”

“ She is a real sweet little thing. She is ever so fat. And she can smile, too. I heard that the Editor wants all the little girls to tell about their pets and dolls. I have no pets except two cats, a mother cat and a kitten. The mother's name is Mollie, and the kitten's name is Dot. I have a beautiful doll that I got on Christmas. She has lovely golden curls, and little pink socks, and everything to complete a baby's toilet. We haven't very good coasting, for the snow is so deep. We have in front of our house a great big snow-drift that is higher than a man.
Isabella T. N. ”

“ My papa is in the army, and we travel about a good deal. We have no schools out here, but I study with papa. I have a big sister, who rides on horseback. There are lots of Indians about these mountains. The soldiers had a battle with them last August. I suppose you read about it in the papers. General Carr was in command. My papa was wounded, but he is well now. I take Young People, and love it very much. My sister takes St. Nicholas. We have only one mail a week; the mail-day is Wednesday. There are not any girls here, or even boys. ”

“ This portion of the game calls for the most skillful playing, since White can also jump when he has but three men left; and as his men stand now, he could complete a line in one or two moves despite Black, provided he could jump. Black must therefore play to gain the advantage of position rather than to pound:
Now if Black should make his line by jumping from 21 to 23, and pound one of White's men, White could make a line in two moves by jumping to 6, 11, or 12, and thus win the game ”

“ He is my grandfather now—Charley Otis is—and he told my brother Hal and me this story. He's a regular fine old gentleman, is my grandfather Otis. There isn't a bit of old fogy about him, and he likes to see us boys have any amount of fun. He isn't hard on a fellow either, when he gets into trouble through some of his mischief ”

“ You might have told us how you amuse yourself without any little companions. How glad you must be that your papa's wound is healed!
Monroe, Iowa.
My name is Johnny. I am eight years old. I have a little brother, Joe, six years old. We both have the whooping-cough badly. I have to stay [Pg 287] at home from school, and don't like it a bit. I have a big cat that looks just like a tiger. She has no name yet. What shall I call her? I can set type just a little for papa's paper.
Johnny V.
We are very sorry that you and Joe have the whooping-cough. ”

“ They ate as much as they could, then crammed their cheeks full, and grasping as much as their hands would hold, retired to a corner to finish at their leisure. The smaller monkeys now modestly proceeded to dine in the same fashion. They follow the example set them by their elders, and all is done in the most orderly manner. ”

“ The miners were all mounted, and nobody would have guessed how much extra weight they were carrying. They were drawn up now in a close rank in front of their little camp, in which they had not left a single guard.
Two Knives asked about that.
"What for?" replied Skinner. "What good to leave men? If the Lipans want to rob wagon, they kill the men we leave. Suppose Lipans do as they agree, camp safe, then. Better take all the men we've got to fight the Apaches." ”

“ Early one Twenty-second of February, more than fifty years ago, my grandfather and my two great-uncles, Stephen and Samuel, were out looking for something to have fun with. "Trouble was," says grandfather, "there was ice enough, but we hadn't a pair of skates to our feet." Pretty soon, while they were standing around on the door-step, a man came along leading a horse and sleigh, and hitched it to the fence. ”

“ At one of these, which lay altogether out of the track of ships, the pirate touched for water, and the long-boat was sent ashore with casks to get a supply. Low had sworn that Ashton "should never set foot on shore again," but that chieftain was not on board at the time, and the cooper, who was in charge of the boat, granted his request to go with the party. As to running away, there was nowhere, as he reflected, for the man to run to. ”