Various

“ The carcass floated lightly on the waves, its feathers forming a support for the exhausted man, who had so narrowly escaped a lingering death.
But another danger awaited him. He was not much of a swimmer, and the excitement of the extraordinary conflict began to tell upon him. He was faint and grew giddy. But with one arm around the albatross's body under the wings, and a hand clutching the bird's feet, the sailor awaited his chance of rescue. Presently he heard his comrades shout from the boat, and in a few minutes more was safe on board the bark, though a good deal shaken and exhausted. ”

“ The lamb, which was purchased by a farmer in England from a passing shepherd, was very wild, and grieved at being separated from the flock. It was an odd, sturdy-looking creature with a black face. The farmer put it in a meadow in company with a cow and a little white pony. The lamb took no notice of the cow; but the pony seemed to captivate its heart at once. Wherever the one went, the other followed. If people gathered, as was natural, to look at the companions, the lamb would slip under the pony and pop out its head between his fore or hind legs with an air of perfect security. ”

“ When young Master Dreamer came out of the store, three radiant faces almost paid him for his self-denial.
"Oh, Nellie!" whispered Bill, trembling with delight.
"God bless him!" said Nellie.
"What shall we buy?" said Bill. "This will buy heaps."
"Billy," said Nell, "don't let us buy candies. They would soon be gone. Let us buy something to amuse Bab when we are away at school."
Poor Billy sighed. It was hard to leave the tempting window. But he was not selfish.
"Shall we buy a dog?" said he.
"No. Mother says they eat too much. Besides, it would run away." ”

“ Not only the fishermen, but owners of boats and ship-builders, and sometimes rich merchants, go to the sea-side to court the favor of grim old Neptune. Every person carries a gift of cocoa-nuts. Wading out into the surf as far as possible, he flings the rough brown fruit into the waves. After the cocoa-nut has been received by the billows, the devout finish by offering a crown of flowers. ”

“ When the doctor came, he confirmed her fears. Bab had the fever. Oh, the agony of the next few days! The once merry voice rang out full of trouble. Constantly one weary cry came from the dark, cracked lips:
"Why won't you let Bab in to gaver f'owers? Why are the great gates always shut? My daisies! my daisies!"
"Nellie," said Bill, one evening, "wouldn't it make Bab better if we should go to the square and ask him and the little lady to gather some daisies, and kiss them, and give them to us for Bab?" ”

“ The grass in this garden was often quite white with daisies, and the poor children used to stretch through and try to gather a few, but they were almost always just out of their reach.
One very hot afternoon they were coming home through the square rather tired. There seemed to be something wrong with Bab. She was cross and languid. She cried when Nellie's hand could not reach the daisies.
"Hush, hush, dear; the little master will hear you," whispered Nellie, while Bill stretched in his arm, and succeeded at last in getting one of the coveted flowers. The little master had heard and seen. ”

“ The arrival of a new boy was a great event in Ridgeville, and his new neighbors were as eager to make his acquaintance as they had been shy about coming too near the house while the furniture was unloading and being carried in.
Johnny Craddock and two others were pretending to play jackstones in the grass near the big gate when Pete Burrows at last came out through the lane from the barn, with Lightning, at the end of a halter, behind him.
"Ain't he a big one?"
"He's blind of one eye." ”

“ The army who defend the fort plant their banner near the centre in front, while the attacking party station themselves about thirty feet away, with their banner fastened securely in the ground. Then, at a signal from the leaders, the fight begins in earnest, and the rubber balls fly through the air in all directions. Whoever catches a ball in his hand retains it as captured ammunition, and can return fire with it; but if any soldier is so clumsy as to allow himself to be hit, he is considered dead, and must immediately leave the ranks. ”

“ Brozer came.
"Is she very ill?" he asked.
"Yes," said poor Bill, "she's near dead, and we thought perhaps if you would gather some flowers and kiss them, and wish Bab better, perhaps she would get better. For she does love you so!"
Suddenly Baby dropped the daisies on the grass, clasped her hands, and said, in a loud clear voice,
"O Dod! dear Dod! make Bab better, p'ease." And then with a satisfied nod, as if to say. "That's settled," she set to work again.
Dreamer gathered busily, and said never a word. ”

“ The partners were amazed at this interruption, and Bob continued to sound the note he was wrestling with when he first saw the pony coming toward him, until it ended almost in a shriek.
"Who is it?" cried Joe, as the pony dashed across the pasture, urged to full speed by its rider, and in an instant more all saw a long curling tail, which showed unmistakably who the culprit was.
"It's Mr. Stubbs's brother!" cried Toby, in alarm, "and how shall we catch him?" ”

“ Let us see if we can not plan something that will be better and pleasanter than setting off fire-crackers, firing pistols, guns, and toy cannons. All these things make a hideous racket, which annoys sick and delicate persons, to say nothing of the serious accidents that have so often turned the great national holiday into a day of pain and sorrow for many a boy who started out in the morning to have a good time, and ended before night with bandaged hands and aching heads. ”

“ When spring came, and the days grew warm, the window was always left open, only a little bit, lest Bab should fall out, but still enough to let the pigeon hop in and out at its own sweet will.
When summer came, though it was much nicer than winter, the close air of the court made poor Bab feel quite ill in the hot mornings. In the afternoons her brother and sister would take her far away on a long walk to the sweet grassy meadows outside the old city walls. They had found out now where their "little gentry" lived ”

“ Little does the ocean care for the flowers and the fruit which are poured into its depths. But the festival makes the grave men and women as eager and happy as children, and when they go home, at the end of the second day, they carry with them memories which will make them joyful as long as they think of "the full moon of cocoa-nuts." ”

“ The next minute Bab was down in the soft, sweet grass, gathering the daisies with both little hands.
"Master Dreamer" did not seem very comfortable, however, and watched his play-fellows cautiously. All at once two of them stopped their game, and came running up.
"Go out! go out!" cried Dreamer, eagerly, "or they'll hurt you."
But already the rude boys were upon them.
"Turn them out! turn them out!" they shouted, and one of them caught Bill by the shoulder, while the others began roughly to hustle Nellie and poor, wondering Bab. This our little gentleman could not stand. ”

“ One old horse had carried the boys to the island, but it took a boat and a mother and a grandmother and three aunts and a second cousin to bring them away from it.
When Pete Burrows came at last, and his mother gave him the end of the halter, she said to him:
"Pete, did you let any of those Ridgeville boys know how scared you was?"
"No, ma'am, I wasn't scared."
"That's right, Pete. I wasn't, either, and all those women were. I'll settle with you when we get to the house. Go right along now. Not one of 'em shall say a word to you. Put Lightning in the stable, and come to me." ”

“ It was indeed the monkey, and during the next ten minutes it seemed to the boys that they ran over every square foot of that pasture, scaring the cows, and tiring themselves, until the frightened little horse was penned up in one corner, and his disagreeable rider was taken from him. ”

“ When sending off a fire-balloon at night, the hook must be shortened up close to the mouth of the balloon, so that the entire body of the balloon is illuminated; for daylight effect the hook is made longer, as shown in the picture. The best material for making the fire-ball is cotton batting saturated with a solution of two-thirds alcohol and one-third turpentine. It is a good plan to attach a postal card on which your address is written, and a request to the finder of the balloon that he will mail the card back to you with a memorandum on it where and at what time the balloon arrived. ”

“ Freemack having bought our tickets for us and put us on the cars, we set out in high spirits, for that same kind lady had just made each of us a present of a toy sword, with belt and scabbard complete, and as the train moved off, leaving us with the first-class compartment to ourselves, we foresaw a splendid opportunity of practicing the manly art of fencing then and there. ”

“ The three square sides of pasteboard when brought together form a triangle equal to that of the bottom piece, B. Fine wire or coarse thread is then passed through the holes, C, C, C, C, C, and tied. The result is a very light and showy lantern of triangular form, which can be suspended by fine wire or thread. The advantage of this lantern over others is that after using it it can be untied, folded together, and packed away until the next Fourth arrives. The can lantern can also be used for many years by re-covering it with tissue-paper when necessary, thus saving expense and trouble. ”

“ The weapon is a soft rubber ball, each soldier being provided with one or more. These balls are very soft indeed, and will not hurt even when thrown with great force. They cost very little when bought by the quantity. When the armies are equipped, the two leaders draw lots to see which side shall man the fort. Now in this country a good fort might be made in the open field of logs and bushes. In Havana it is generally a platform built in the court-yard of the school-house, as nearly all large buildings in that city are built with an open square in the centre. ”

“ This was Reddy's opportunity to act the part of ring-master, and he seized his long whip, standing in the centre of the ring in what he believed to be the proper attitude.
"Run around with him till I tell you to let go," said Toby, as he tied the reins together to form a bridle, and then stood on the pony's back as Mr. Castle had taught him to do.
There was so great a difference between the motion of this horse and that of the one owned by Mr. Douglass that Toby began to understand it might be quite as necessary to train the animal as its rider. ”

“ What do you say to a bird?"
"The very thing!" cried Bill. "Let's go to the bird man's, and see what we can get."
Off they started, Bab trotting along bravely.
An hour later, as night was falling, up the dark stair of Nellie's home came three pairs of eager feet. Mother came to the door to meet the children.
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"How late you are, dears!" she said. "I was beginning to be anxious about you."
"Mother! mother!—look! look!" was all the answer she received; and a poor rumpled pigeon was pressed so close to her face that she could hardly see it. ”

“ But the Wager was not a good ship, to begin with, and was now laden and encumbered with every description of military stores. Moreover, her crew consisted chiefly of "pressed men"—men who, having just returned from long voyages on their own account, had been seized, perhaps just as they reached their native land, and made men-of-war's men against their will, as was then the custom.
In England and America we should think the system employed by other nations of compelling men to become soldiers, their lot being decided by a number drawn from an urn, most intolerable ”

“ Little folks who love to play with the skipping-rope should not try to jump too long at a time. "Keeping up" to fifty, sixty, or a hundred without resting is violent exercise, and dangerous to health.
We would call the attention of the C. Y. P. R. U. this week to Part I. of Mr. James Payn's description of the terrible scenes that followed the wreck of the English ship Wager, told under the head of "Peril and Privation." The story of "A Little Duke," by Mrs. Elizabeth Abercrombie, gives an interesting picture of the life of a royal child in the seventeenth century. ”

“ An hour must have passed, and Nellie was the only watcher, for Bill too fell asleep. At last Bab stirred a little. Slowly her wee hands moved until they touched the daisies.
"Who sent 'em?" she whispered.
"The little master," said Nellie, "and the baby, and they asked God to let you stay and get well, and He said yes."
"'Es," said Bab, "Dod said 'es."
From that hour she began to grow stronger. Every day Nellie and Bill went to the garden again, and Dreamer and his sister gathered daisies and sent them to Bab. ”

“ In making designs for lanterns always have them bold and strong. The effects will then be satisfactory, whereas fine and finicky work on a lantern is all lost when viewed from a short distance.
Fig. 4.
What bothered me most in my lantern venture was to obtain holders for the candles that would not take fire when the candles burned down, and thus endanger the wood-work round about. At last I hit upon three styles of home-made fire-proof candle-holders. The first is shown in Fig. 4. It consists of a raw potato cut into square slices three-quarters of an inch thick. ”