Various

“ My boy, you weren't made King just to do as you like, and to amuse yourself. You have to think of your people, and try to make them happy; and if you want to be a really great King, such as your father was, that's what you must do. ”

“ I only wish we had sunk their boat."
"That wouldn't have done us any good," said Charley. "If they don't come back again, I shall be entirely satisfied."
"What a bang the old cannon made!" exclaimed Joe. "I wonder if we really hit anybody?"
"If we had, we would have known it," replied Charley. "I think we've frightened them away. They know that every yacht generally carries a gun, and they won't suspect that we hadn't anything but marbles to fire at them. ”

“ So saying, the men resumed their oars, and rowed toward the Ghost.
"Keep off," cried Charley. "If you come near us, we will fire into you. I give you fair warning."
The men who were rowing stopped for a moment, but the man in the stern, ordering them to row on, fired a pistol, the bullet of which whistled over Tom's head, and made him "duck" in the most polite manner. On came the row-boat, but Charley, who had hastily pointed the gun, scratched a match, and stood sheltering the flame with his hand, and waiting for the sulphur to burn out, as coolly as if he were in his own room. ”

“ While living in the country of Bihé—a part of Africa near the sources of the river Coanza—Major Pinto was visited by a magician, who wanted to sell him anointment that would make it impossible for a rifle-bullet to hit him. The magician insisted that if any man were to rub a little of this precious ointment on his body, he would be perfectly safe, no matter how often his enemies might fire at him. As a proof of the power of this ointment, the magician said that the earthen vase which held it had been fired at thousands of times, but that no man could possibly hit it. ”

“ The toothless old woman, who had just made up her mind to take her tea clear, was as pleased as she was surprised at the milk pussy brought her, but forgot all about the pea-nuts, until Kitty patted them with her paw. "Oh! Do you want pea-nuts? You shall have them; help yourself to a good handful. You deserve them for being such a smart little cat, and bringing me just what I wanted."
Away went Kitty with her mouth and paws full of nuts, at receiving which the monkey chattered like a whole flock of magpies, and gave her the brightest penny he had in his pocket. ”

“ Lawn tennis is a game that requires a quick hand and eye, lively movement, and a good temper. There are two things which spoil the game, even among good players. These are lack of interest in the game, so that a player does not play his best all the time, and a show of bad temper. Angry words and solemn sulks are nowhere more out of place than on the tennis lawn. ”

“ When the server makes two "faults" in succession. (A "fault" is the failure of the server to send the ball into the proper court.)
2. When a player does not return the ball over the net.
3. When a player sends the ball so far that it falls outside the court.
4. When a player allows the ball to strike the ground more than once before he returns it.
When one side has made four points, a new game is begun, but the same side must not "serve" two games in succession, for there is some advantage in the "service," and it would not be fair for one side to have it oftener than the other. ”

“ Those of my readers who live in or near large cities will probably know that it is an out-door game played with a racquet and a ball, but for the benefit of those who do not know it, I will give a few hints as to the laying out of the court, and the implements necessary for the game.
First of all, you must have a lawn; not necessarily a perfectly level piece of turf as smooth as a parlor carpet, but a fairly level plot of grass, which a scythe or a mowing-machine can soon put into order. ”

“ And if, after three weeks or a month among those grand old forests, and green upland pastures, and shining water-falls, and huge black precipices—sleeping in your plaid under the lee of a big rock, and sharing some charcoal man's fried potatoes beside a pine-log fire—you do not come back with health and strength enough for a dozen, and good old stories enough for a library, it will certainly be your own fault. ”

“ Clinton glanced up, and to his surprise saw that the lordly old tree had grown into a ragged pair of stairs, and the round robin nodded to him as if it said as plainly as possible, "Come up." So he began climbing up; but as fast as he climbed, it hopped on above him, and the stairs began to grow and grow. ”

“ The natives, who had always believed in the power of the ointment, set up a shout when they saw what had happened, and the magician, knowing that his trade in ointment was ruined, slunk away, and never came back to demand payment for his broken vase.
Like all African travellers, Major Pinto had a great deal of trouble with his men, who were all native Africans. They were constantly stealing his property, getting drunk, and running away. He had, however, one faithful man, who was brave, honest, and devoted to his master. ”

“ The one who strikes the ball first (and this is decided by agreement) is called the "server." Standing with one foot outside the line at the end of the right-hand court, and the other foot inside the court (position marked A in diagram) , the server strikes the ball so that it falls in the court diagonally opposite him, just over the net at B, where a player on the other side will be waiting to receive it. After the ball has bounced once, the player must strike it over the net, and it must be returned from one side of the net to the other until some one fails to do so properly. ”

“ The Ghost moved much more rapidly now that her mainsail was drawing, but the oars were evidently coming nearer. Before long a pistol-shot was fired, which was evidently meant for the Ghost, although the bullet flew wide of the mark. Charley sailed the boat without feeling the least alarm, for he knew that the chance of his being hit by a pistol-bullet from a boat that was too far off to be in sight was extremely small. But the thieves were steadily gaining on the yacht, and when they finally came in sight, it was plain that they were rowing their very hardest. ”

“ He sat down after a while to rest, and refresh himself with an apple, and then Kitty stole up, and begged:
"Please, Mr. Jack, give me one of your pennies to buy a marrow-bone for Ratty Terrier, and then he will kill the wicked old rat for me, and I shall get back the medal I won at the cat show."
"Chatter, chatter, chatter," said the monkey. "Most of these belong to my master; but I will give you one of mine if you will get me a handful of pea-nuts from yonder stand. I am very fond of them, and they sell very few for a cent." ”

“ If any one of the party knows how to make a net with a two-inch mesh, so much the better; but most of my readers will prefer to buy one, I think. The net is twenty-four feet long and four feet wide, and is fastened to posts, about five feet high, at each side of the court. The posts are supported on the outer side by "guy-ropes" fastened to stakes driven into the ground, while the strain of the net between the posts supports them on the inner side. And now that the court is marked out, and the net pitched, we have everything ready except the bats and balls. ”

“ A CURE FOR RHEUMATISM.
The only means of crossing this river was a little worn-out canoe which was so leaky that the natives had to thrust moss into the cracks to keep the water from fairly rushing into it. In the bottom of this canoe, which was only large enough to hold two men, Major Pinto was carefully laid, and then a stout negro undertook to paddle it across the river. The rain had swollen the river so that it was full of whirlpools, that caught the canoe, and whirled it round and round. ”

“ McCoy says the people are always very glad to hear about the Queen, who has been so kind to them, and an organ which her Majesty presented to them is an object of much veneration. As far as regards food, the islanders are well off, but the supply of clothing is very deficient, particularly in the case of the female inhabitants. It is only from passing vessels that they obtain supplies of clothes, and the apparel thus given them is chiefly for the use of the men. Very few of the people have shoes, and those who have them use them only on Sundays. ”

“ Major Pinto said that if he were to shoot at the vase, he rather thought he could hit it, and the magician told him that he might try his very best, but that the powerful ointment would turn his bullet aside. Now the magician did not know that the Major could shoot any better than the natives, and when he placed the vase eighty yards away, he felt certain that the white man could not hit it. ”

“ Now the King used jokingly to call this lion his brother, because whenever he flew into a rage (as he very often did) , Count Thorn would say, gravely, "My boy, an angry man is no better than a wild beast; and if you choose to be just the same as that lion yonder, we may as well make him King instead of you." ”

“ The old man nodded sagaciously, and then addressed his sovereign in a low, clear voice: "Your grace will pardon the rashness of an aged man if I say you have acted somewhat hastily. The advice I give you is to think slowly, coolly, deliberately, and wisely, and then act—kindly." ”

“ The side which wins six games first wins the "set," and then the players may rest awhile, or choose fresh sides.
All the principal rules of the game are included in the description of the game given above, but if you buy a full tennis set, a little book containing the rules will be included in it.
As I have said, everything but the bats and balls can be made at home, since nothing is required but two posts, five feet high and an inch and three-quarters in thickness, four tent-pegs to fasten the guy-ropes to, and a net. ”

“ Nearly every correspondent sends me 1, 2, and 3 cent cancelled United States stamps, and wishes woods in return, and I do not think it is fair.
John L. Hanna, 219 East Madison Street,
Fort, Wayne, Allen Co., Ind.
It certainly is not fair to send these common United States stamps, which every boy and girl can obtain by the hundred, and expect anything of value in return. Stamps which are so very common, and are so very easily obtained by every one, can not be considered of any value for exchange. ”

“ She is now about ninety years of age, and was the second child born on the island.
"McCoy states that it is an error to suppose that Adams was the leader of the mutineers, that position being always occupied by Fletcher Christian. The islanders, he states, at present have sheep, goats, pigs, and fowls, with which they were supplied chiefly by passing vessels. The produce grown consists of yams, sweet-potatoes, bananas, arrowroot, English potatoes, maize, melons, and all kinds of ordinary vegetables. There is no money, the people exchanging one with another, anything they may have. ”

“ He was utterly alone, far from all help, and before him was no longer his tame, affectionate favorite, but a raging beast of prey.
But the young King was as brave a man as ever lived, and even when so suddenly brought face to face with this awful danger, he never flinched. ”

“ Young People must go to all parts of the world, as the answers to my offer of exchange testify.
Madgie B. Rauch.
My old issues of United States stamps are all gone, but I will exchange some green 2-cent revenue stamps, and foreign postage stamps, for 7, 12, 24, 30, or 90 cent stamps of any issue, for coins, stamps from Africa, China, or South or Central America, or for any department stamps except 1, 3, and 6 cent Treasury. ”

“ When a player fails to return the ball properly, it counts one for the other side, and the server begins again from his old position, except that he must serve from the left-hand court this time if he served from the right-hand court last. ”

“ A good tennis set, consisting of four bats, four balls, a net, two posts, guy-ropes, four stakes, and a mallet for driving these last into the ground, can be bought for fifteen dollars. The bats alone of this set would cost eight dollars, and the net two dollars. The poles are rather expensive, as they are made each in two pieces so as to pack into a box, the pieces fitting together in a brass socket. Poles without a joint in the middle can easily be made, thus saving four dollars in the cost of the outfit. ”

“ One partner plays in the inner court and the other in the outer one, and after the "service" and the first return, either of the players may return the ball to any part of their opponents' court, according as it pitches nearer to one than to the other. ”

“ Many African travellers have heard from the natives stories of a tribe of white Africans, but no one fully believed those stories until Major Pinto actually came into the region where the white Africans live, and saw, as he tells us, quite a number of them. ”

“ The bat, or racquet, is a very pretty piece of workmanship, and I dare not venture to hope that the cleverest of my readers could make one, so we will assume that, even if everything else is home-made, the racquet must be bought. ”

“ I would like to exchange fifty foreign stamps, for a star-fish one foot nine inches in circumference. Or one hundred foreign stamps, for fifteen perfect arrow-heads, twelve perfect spear-heads, or two good-sized stone hatchets. Also one hundred and twenty-eight foreign stamps, for a genuine Indian bow and two good arrows. There are no duplicates among my stamps, and some of them are unused. I will also exchange stamps for other Indian relics besides those named above. Correspondents will please give the locality where each curiosity was found. ”