Various

“ The moment Charley saw the compass, he cried out: "Boys, the wind has changed, and is very nearly southeast. What do you say to sailing the brig into New York, and getting a pile of salvage money?"
"Will she sail?" asked Tom.
"Can we sail her?" asked Harry.
"She's awfully wet," remarked Joe.
"I think we can sail her into port if the wind holds, and her steering gear is all right, as it looks to be. I say let's try it. We can tow the Ghost, and she will always be ready for us if we want to abandon the brig." ”

“ I wish I had a grandma, or an aunt, or somebody like that!"
"What for, Charlie? I am sure nobody could be half so good as mamma."
"I like grandmas and aunts. Eddie Bates has a grandmamma, and she always gets him out of scrapes; and Tom Taylor has an aunt that does lots of things for him. People ought not to get married if they don't have mothers and sisters to make grandmas and aunts for fellows who are always getting blamed for nothing at all."
"But, Charlie, you did break the glass."
"No, I didn't either; the fire-crackers broke it. Oh, dear! dear! ”

“ My hearing has gradually been becoming weaker for three years past. I pass a wretched existence. For the last two years I have almost entirely shunned society, because it is impossible to tell people I am deaf. ”

“ A kind Providence befriended them, and during the long minute—which seemed at least five minutes to the anxious boys—while the Ghost was in the trough of the sea, hardly a drop of water came aboard her. The danger was over when the boat's bow was presented to the gale, and Charley, ceasing his efforts with the oar, exclaimed, in a reverent tone, "Thank God!" and then called the boys to come into the cockpit and make themselves comfortable.
"As long as the cable holds, and the drag doesn't break up, we are as safe as if we were ashore," said he, gayly. ”

“ I have been thinking that some of the readers of Young People would like to hear about Uncle Pete, and perhaps to help my sister M—— and myself in the little school which we began with Pete's eight children for the first pupils. Four years ago we moved back to the old farm which had been my father's. The place is now worked by tenants. One of them is a colored man, who was once our slave, and has never left us a single day. He used to be a good servant, and in the years since he has been free he is still the same honest, faithful man. ”

“ But the morning would certainly find the Ghost far out of sight of land, without a compass, and with only a small supply of food and water. If the sky should be clear, he could judge of the points of the compass by the sun; but it would be impossible to get the gaff on board again, and without it the boat would hardly be able to beat to windward in case the direction of the wind should not change. There was, however, a good chance that some vessel bound to New York would pick the boys up, and perhaps tow in the Ghost. ”

“ Although you appear to have anticipated our Young People's Natural History Society, we will be pleased to have you become a branch of it, if you wish to do so. Your rule with regard to girls seems to us rather arbitrary. Girls make good working members of such societies, and their presence adds much animation to the meetings.
It may perhaps be interesting for your readers to know with how much pleasure Harper's Young People is welcomed in far-away countries such as Holland, and how even a Dutch girl is interested in its pretty stories and engravings. ”

“ Before the idea was mentioned in Young People a society had been started in New York to collect all sorts of things, such as preserved sea-weed, dried grass, iron, gold, and other ores—in fact, everything except postage stamps. We hold meetings in the fall, at which all the collections are placed in the society's cabinet, to be lent for a while. I am the secretary, and will be happy to give full particulars to any one who may write to me inclosing a three-cent stamp. No girls are admitted, nor any persons residing out of New York State for over three months at a time. ”

“ Tom pumped for ten or twelve minutes, and freed the Ghost of water; but before breakfast was over, the water again made its appearance.
"She's sprung a leak sure enough," said Harry.
"The pump throws the water out faster than it comes in," replied Charley, "and that kind of a leak will never sink her. She has strained a little in this sea, but I don't think she will leak any worse than she is leaking now."
But the leak was a more serious matter than the boys supposed that it was. It increased slowly but surely, and by ten o'clock it became necessary to pump the boat out every half-hour. ”

“ The 16th of last December was the one-hundred-and-tenth anniversary of my birth, and though I have been dead more than fifty years, I think I am as much talked of now, if not more, than I was while living, and my works, instead of losing their hold on the attention of the public, seem to gain in favor. I was a born musician, and one whom now musicians delight to honor. ”

“ If we keep on scudding, we are certain to be swamped; but if she doesn't ship any heavy sea while the drag is bringing her up, we shall be pretty safe."
"Then we'll do it," said Tom; "and I suppose the sooner we do it, the better."
"All right," returned Charley. "Take the halyards, and take a turn around your waists, so that you won't get washed overboard. Now, when I give the word, heave the drag overboard, and stand clear of the cable, for it may catch you by the legs. Are you all ready?"
"Ready," answered Tom and Harry. ”

“ In 1553 Edward died, at sixteen. Mary, his elder sister, became Queen, and at one moment wished to put Elizabeth to death. She was carried to the Tower, passed through the Traitor's Gate, and was a prisoner for many months. At last Mary relented, and set her free. Mary died in 1558, and Elizabeth became Queen of England.
Her life can scarcely be called a happy one, for she was in constant danger of assassination, and her enemies on all sides threatened to deprive her of her crown. Her chief rival and foe was her second cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. ”

“ Still, the leak was not a pleasant thing, and Charley was not quite so careless about it as he seemed to be.
Both the wind and sea had now gone down very decidedly, and the boys were hoping that before long they would be able to set the mainsail. It is true that they had no gaff, but by hooking the throat halyards into the corner of the sail, it could be converted into a rude leg-of-mutton sail, with the peak dangling and flapping in the air. Toward noon a two-masted vessel came in sight, directly to leeward of them, though too far off for them to make out her rig. ”

“ The holes must be bored with a brad-awl, and the nails driven very carefully, or they will run out at either side. The joints between the boards must be planed very neatly, as the boat is not to be calked. When all are nailed on, the bottom is planed over. A skag, m, Fig. 7, is then put on, and nailed from the inside, and a piece of oak nailed down the stern and its after-end to stiffen it. Turn the boat over once more, and screw in a cleat on each side, ten inches long, seven inches above the bottom, and just forward of the mould; fit the seat on it, and nail fast, and then remove the mould. ”

“ Very likely we can get her Captain to lend us a compass, or perhaps he can give us something that will do for a gaff."
"And have we got to abandon our own gaff, and the cannon, and the rubber blanket?" inquired Harry.
"There is too much sea for us to run the risk of trying to get them on board again," answered Charley. "I'm sorry to lose the cannon, for it did us good service in Hempstead Bay; but we shall never see it again. Run up the jib, Joe, and, Tom, you get hold of the cable and walk aft with it, so as to give the boat a sheer to port. ”

“ We have no doubt that many of you will look about the house to see what school-books and cards you have finished using, and what story-books and Testaments you can send to these ladies, who are trying to make the little dark-eyed children on the farm happier and better. Very likely some of you will deny yourselves a treat of some kind, or save money from candies or toys, that you may lend a hand to Uncle Pete in building a little school-house. ”

“ I have two sisters, Isabel and Constance, and I have three cousins here, so that we have great fun when we play together. We have drives very often out on the lovely green prairies. Mamma reads us the stories in Young People, and we are so delighted with them all. We were very sorry when Mr. Stubbs died, and my sister and I hope Toby got some other pet in his place. I go to school every day. ”

“ The great black cliffs rising straight up out of the sea for two or three hundred feet, with thousands of sea-birds fluttering and screaming around them; and the wide, bleak, gray moorlands, without a single tree to relieve their grimness—for on most of these Northern islands no trees will grow ”

“ My brothers and sisters and I like to read Young People. I think Jimmy Brown's monkey must have been a remarkable one.
Robert C. W.
Chicago, Illinois.
My sister and I take Young People, and we like it very much. At school one Friday two girls, my sister and myself, read "Susie Kingman's Decision," and our teacher thought it very good. We began Young People with No. 31, but as my cousin had all the numbers from the first, I read the stories in them. We have made out many of the puzzles, but have never sent any. I enjoy the letters in the Post-office Box.
E. and L. B.
Springfield, Missouri. ”

“ The building of a round-bottomed boat requires more skill in using tools than most boys possess, and some experience besides, but a very serviceable bateau, or flat-bottomed skiff, is easily built by any one who can use a saw, plane, and hammer. ”

“ To draw the curves at top and bottom, a piece of straight-grained wood half an inch square and thirteen feet long is needed. Such a piece is called a batten, and is used in ship and boat building when it is desired to draw any curve other than small circles, as when bent it will take of itself an even, regular curve, with no flat spots or breaks. One end of the batten is tacked at e, and the centre at f, and the other end is bent up to c. A few nails may be driven at intermediate points until it coincides with the line from e to f, and thence curves gently up to c. ”

“ The canvas cabin was laid across the cockpit; the boards were placed over the edges of the canvas and nailed down to the deck. An opening was left close to the tiller, so that any one could creep into the cockpit, but with the aid of a cord even this small opening could be closed.
"Now, boys," said Charley, when this work was done, "I want Tom and Harry to go below and go to sleep. We are in no danger just at present, but we may have hard work before us, and we can't afford to have everybody fagged out at the same time. Joe will stay here with me, in case I want him to help me. ”

“ Two pieces of oak, with notches, forming a rack, are nailed to the edges of the bottom piece, and a strip of oak an inch square is laid across to form a brace for the feet. The oars are of spruce, seven feet long, and the blades five inches wide; leather is tacked around them where they rest in the rowlocks, and a strip of copper protects each end. After punching in all the nails, the boat may be planed off where it needs it, and then sand-papered all over. ”

“ Well, about five years ago, a dozen school-girls put their wise young heads together for a grave consultation. I will not tell you what solemn things were said on this occasion, but they decided that it was the duty of every girl to know how to cook, especially such things as éclairs, puffs, tarts, and jellies, so necessary to the happiness of every well-ordered household ”

“ Mary was Queen of Scotland, and claimed to be Queen of England. She said Elizabeth had no right to the throne. Mary was suspected of murdering her husband Darnley, was driven from Scotland by the people, and became Elizabeth's prisoner for nineteen years. She was always plotting against her cousin; sometimes she planned the assassination of the Queen with the discontented English, and sometimes she called upon the Kings of France and Spain to invade England, and place her on its throne. Mary's long captivity and various misfortunes have made her an object of lasting interest. ”

“ Even if it does, the weight of the cannon will keep the gaff perpendicular, and there will be enough of the drag left to keep us head to the sea. The cable is strong, and I don't believe we are pulling hard enough on it to snap it. I think we can feel perfectly easy, and I'm going to turn in and have a good sleep. Tom, will you keep your head out of the cabin, and keep your eyes open for the next two hours, and then call Harry to relieve you? We must have somebody on the look-out."
"Don't we need a light too?" asked Tom. ”

“ We want to be quick about it, and Joe must have the hatchet ready to cut the cable the moment the jib fills."
The manœuvre was successfully accomplished, and the Ghost ran down toward the strange vessel. As she neared the stranger, the latter proved to be a deserted brig. Her sails were all furled except the maintopsail, which had blown out of the bolt-ropes, and she was evidently water-logged, for she was very low in the water, and occasionally a wave seemed to wash clear over her, as she rolled in the trough of the sea.
"We've wasted our time," cried Tom. "She's worse off than we are." ”