Various

“ I remember the accident well enough, though it happened nearly forty years ago.
There is no doubt about it, every genuine school-boy takes a keen delight in the Fourth of July. There is an inherent love of squibs and crackers, wheels and blue-lights, among lads, while a good flare-up of a bonfire is looked upon as almost indispensable.
When I was a boy I had a strong liking for cannon. ”

“ Hadn't Cadmus heard that even an old and experienced "hand" dislikes nothing worse than walking through a tunnel—had rather even do a regular job of repairing in it? Did not everybody know that the Rippler's Junction Tunnel was uncommonly narrow, close, and continually shot by freight, coal, or passenger trains? To meet such in quarters so dark and dangerous requires, indeed, a very cool head and steady nerves. There comes to every man or boy a time in his life when he does a foolish or a rash thing. This was such a moment for Cadmus Petry. ”

“ That cannon was never again fired by me. The hair-breadth escape of that small boy haunts me even now. I have never fired a gun in my life; but for experimental purposes I have handled the strongest explosives, including the notorious dynamite; yet never in my life has such a thrill passed through me as did when I realized the almost miraculous escape of my playmate, when the doubled-up projectile was picked up on our parlor floor.
Boys, let an old one beg of you to be careful in handling explosives. ”

“ In the excitement of the moment the poker was left in the cannon!
A heap of soil at the end of the garden was chosen as the "earthwork," on which our big gun was fixed, pointing upward, though unnoticed by us, point-blank at the parlor windows. A small heap of shavings was put around the weapon, and one was appointed to light it. "To cover!" at once was the order, and each one rushed to a safe place. I tremble at this moment when I remember that, a second before the explosion, the inevitable small boy rushed from one cover to another right in front of the cannon's mouth. ”

“ They would not think it was Independence-night if they could not burn a "toro," the Spanish word for bull. The bull is made on a frame covered with thick leather, and pin-wheels and stars are fastened all over it. A light frame-work is built on the bull's back as a support for spiral fire-works and Roman candles. A young Indian takes this bull on his head, the projecting leather sides protecting him from any danger from falling sparks. A pin-wheel is ignited, which soon extends its fire over the bull's whole body. ”

“ His eyes grow dim, and he is a very forlorn bull. The young Indian who has had the honor of carrying him in his glory and strength emerges from the blackened frame, and the crowd goes home to bed declaring that there never was such a fierce and magnificent bull. ”

“ Every one, man and woman, with the usual exception of Cheap, had to take his share of them; Byron had, besides, to carry for the Captain some putrid seal in canvas. "The way being through thick woods and quagmires, and stumps of trees in the water which obstructed their progress," the poor midshipman was left behind exhausted. ”

“ Ancient as is the city, yet they regard this noble hero with the freshness of yesterday. Well may they be proud of a man capable of such grand achievements, the conception of which was regal in its grandeur. ”

“ It was awfully tiresome waiting for those people to get through dinner. It seemed as if they could never eat enough, and when they were not eating, they were all talking at once. It taught me a lesson against gluttony, and nobody will ever find me sitting for hours and hours at the dinner table. Finally I made up my mind that I must have some amusement, and as Mr. Martin's cork leg was close by me, I thought I would have some fun with that.
There was a big darning-needle in my pocket, that I kept there in case I should want to use it for anything. ”

“ As each one of you boys who are well enough to go about is sure to set off a certain number of "paper caps" before night comes on this Fourth of July, 1882, I want to call your attention to a little toy that is not only most novel and comical, but which will insure you against all dangers from these explosives. It consists of a clown's head with a movable jaw. At the top of the head a long string is fastened. A paper cap is placed in the clown's mouth, and by means of the string the head is caused to strike the pavement, the concussion causing the cap to explode. ”

“ Mexicans to rise against their tyrannical Spanish rulers. The people were not well organized; and although their desire for liberty was very strong, it took many years of hard fighting to drive the Spaniards out of the country. It was not until 1821 that Mexico gained her freedom. Hidalgo and other early leaders of the revolutionary movement had been killed by the Spaniards, and the people were not as yet wise enough to make good use of their liberty. They had been oppressed so many years that they did not know how to form a true republic. ”

“ The first thing they did was to proclaim a man named Iturbide Emperor of Mexico. The people owed much to Iturbide, for it was by his skill and good generalship that they gained their freedom; but they should not have made him an Emperor. He oppressed the people so much that they soon had to rise again and drive him from the country.
It took the Mexicans many years to learn how to live under a republican government. They had many revolutions and much trouble, but they loved liberty, and went to work bravely to learn how to use it wisely. ”

“ Of course, the fact that a tent had been put up by the side of Uncle Daniel's barn was soon known to every boy in the village, and the rush of visitors that afternoon was so great that Joe was obliged to begin his duties as door-keeper in advance, in order to keep back the crowd.
The number of questions asked by each boy who arrived kept Joe so busy answering them that, after every one in town knew exactly what was going on, Reddy hit upon the happy plan of getting a large piece of paper, and painting on it an announcement of their exhibition. ”

“ Where is the little girl who is not glad when it arrives? We hope you will all have a splendid time on the happy holiday, meet with no accidents, and when night comes, go to bed, to enjoy pleasant dreams. ”

“ Each player, as soon as he has cast his duck, watches for an opportunity of carrying it back to the offing, so as to cast again. If the player whose duck is on the stone can touch another after he has taken up his stone, and before he reaches the offing, provided his own duck remain on the large stone, then the player so touched is out, and changes places with the player at the stone. It sometimes happens that three or four of the players' ducks lie so close together that the player whose duck is on the stone can stand in a situation to be within reach of all of them ”

“ I am ten years old, and my little sister will be six years old in July. We live in a nice valley a little way from the Wisconsin River; it is called the Patterson Valley. We often climb on the bluffs and pick flowers. We have to walk a mile and a half to school. We have a very nice lady teacher. I am in the Fourth Reader. I study reading, writing, arithmetic, and geography. I also take music-lessons. We like Young People very much. Two kind friends in New York made us a present of it at Christmas for this year. We send one dollar for Young People's Cot. ”

“ Aunt Olive even said that Toby had better not go into the sick-room, for fear of disturbing the invalid.
"Go on with your play by yourself, Toby boy, and that will be a great deal better than trying to have Abner join you until he is much better," said Uncle Daniel, kindly.
"But ain't he goin' to have a ride this mornin'?"
"No; he is not well enough to get up. You go on building your tent, and you will be so near the house that you can be called at any moment, if Abner asks for you." ”

“ I am eleven years old, and have a little sister Mollie, who is a very quaint child. We love to read about all the little girls' pets, especially the cats and kittens, for we have two; the mother we call Dud, and her kitten Gipsy we nickname Gip. They are very knowing and cunning. Dud follows us when we go out, and sometimes, when she has gone very far, waits an hour in one place until we come back, delighted when she sees us, and runs along perfectly contented. ”

“ The first might, after father had fixed everything nicely for the robbers, he went to bed, and then mother told him that she had forgotten to lock the back door. So father he said, "Why can't women sometimes remember something," and he got up and started to go down-stairs in the dark. He forgot all about the string, and fell over it with an awful crash, and then began to fall down-stairs. When he got half-way down, he met the coal-scuttle, and that went down the rest of the way with him, and you never in your life heard anything like the noise the two of them made. ”

“ Mansfield's flag covered the one end completely, and all the boys thought it gave a better appearance to the whole than if they had made it wholly of canvas.
The ring, which Reddy marked out almost before the tent was up, occupied nearly the whole of the interior; but since they did not intend to have any seats for their audience, it was thought there would be plenty of room for all who would come to see them. The main point was to have the ring, and to have it as nearly like that of a regular circus as possible, while the audience could be trusted to take care of itself. ”

“ A gentleman has made us a present of him—an English fox terrier. We have never been to school, but are taught at home, and I have read quite a number of letters from little girls in Young People that have lessons at home also. We get along, because we study, and enjoy our books. I read music quite well, so can Moll; we practice an hour a day. We have each a baby doll that we are very fond of ”

“ Mother is really ill herself. She has nursed me night and day, and tried to finish that crayon too—it is an order; but she is worn out—poor mother!"
Winnie moved about uneasily, thinking of lilacs and roses and syringas and the boat, but after a while she tore a slip from a copy-book and wrote a little note to her grandmother, telling the good old lady where she was. Then she turned to poor pale little Joan, bathed her, smoothed her pillows, and gave her the medicine which was to be taken.
Slowly the hours went by; no going to Staten Island this time. ”

“ It seems to me to be something that they will always think of with real pleasure; it will be a little warm spot in their hearts that will do them good, and help to make them think more of those that are not so well off as themselves. ”

“ Among the many ingenious devices of the Chinese and Japanese in the way of Hirayama, or day fire-works, is a huge bomb, which, when fired off, ascends to a great height and explodes, at the same time releasing hundreds of highly colored paper figures of both patriotic and comic designs. ”

“ From Castro the English officers were taken to Santiago, the capital of Chili, where a Spanish officer generously cashed their drafts on the English consul at Lisbon. They received the sum of six hundred dollars, with which sum they purchased suitable equipments. They remained at Castro two years on parole, and eventually reached France, and thence escaped to England, after a series of hardships and adventures such as have rarely been equalled, and which were "protracted above five years."
The adventures of the eighty men who had left Wager Island in the long-boat were little less terrible. ”

“ The seasons there are far in advance of ours, and at this present time the climate is intensely hot. Genoa has many beautiful buildings. The people are so proud of their favorite that they name their hotels after him, and also very many minor places of trade. ”

“ Finding it impossible to double the cape, which had been the object of their journey, the rest returned to Mount Misery and Wager Island. Here they found some Indians, the chief of whom, on promise of the barge being given him, promised to guide them to the Spanish settlements.
Upon this voyage their sufferings, notwithstanding what they had already undergone, may be said to have commenced. Mr. Byron at first steered the barge, but one of the men dropping dead from fatigue and exhaustion, he had to take his oar. ”

“ A friend of mine writes that there you can not go up town in the sense that we do here, for so steep is the incline that all carriages have to be furnished with brakes, lest, after having once gone up town, one should not be able to get down town again. ”