Various

“ Ni-ha-be and Rita were near enough to hear, and the latter at once darted into the lodge for her treasures. She was gone but a moment, and her whole body seemed to glow and tremble with excitement as she held out the three magazines to Murray.
"Take one, Steve. You haven't forgotten your reading, have you?"
"Send Warning hear leaves," said Many Bears, anxiously. "The Knotted Cord is young."
"He is white. He can hear. The great chief will listen."
"There, Murray," said Steve, "the chief was right. There's a picture of cavalry. All the others he spoke of are here. ”

“ He beats Wagner all to pieces."
The mock dialogue went briskly on; and Merry's eyes sparkled as his demand for his cat grew more and more eager, and Jack's refusal grew more and more decided, and the cat added her voice to the general tumult, and the whole small audience got upon its feet with a rustling, excited murmur, and at last—
"You're a coward," cried Merry, with a great deal of make-believe anger. ”

“ Colley's hat; and follow the eggs with feathers enough for a bed; and send Mr. Quipp's watch into Deacon Wilson's pocket, to the great discomfiture of the Deacon, and the great enjoyment of everybody else; and perform all manner of impossible feats with the ease of a veritable magician! And to cap the climax of his delight, Merry heard again the small voice which had spoken to him from the portmanteau—only now it was the very gruff voice of a very sleepy landlord whom the Professor was vainly trying to arouse. ”

“ As the world grows older, and people learn wisdom and common-sense, they discover so many better and more reasonable ways of enjoying themselves that such ridiculous practices are given up by common consent.
A very old legend of an instance in which folly served a good purpose is that of the "wise fools of Gotham," though it will hardly do to place too much confidence in its truth. Gotham was a village in England that fell under the displeasure of King John, who sent messengers to inquire into their conduct in preventing him from passing that way. ”

“ Well, Harry taught us how to play Hare and Hounds.
"An Irish game, I suppose," says Charley Bennet. "It sounds very like something I've heard our gardener say, and he's just over from the 'gem of the sea.'"
"No gem of the sea about it," says Hunter. "It belongs to merry old England."
Hare and Hounds is the correct thing. S'pose most of you fellows know it, but I'll explain if there's any that don't. You see we take pieces of rather thick paper—tearing up old copy-books and compositions is the best, 'cause thin paper would fly too much. That's for the scent. ”

“ About three years ago, a rather large dog of the fox-terrier variety entered the guard's carriage of a train that was just starting from Brighton, England, for Horsham station. He had no ticket, and did not explain his business; but the guard seeing that he was a respectable dog decided to let him ride free.
From that day to this the dog, who is now well known all over England by the name of "Railway Jack," has constantly travelled on railway trains. For the first year or two he confined himself strictly to the trains of the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway. ”

“ Then the hare stuffs his pockets, or a little bag he carries slung over his left shoulder, and away he starts, dropping a handful here and a handful there, and the rest of the boys—the hounds, you know—follow him by the scent, and catch him if they can. They're bound to follow wherever he leads, and he darts behind trees, and doubles, and does all sorts of things to put them off his track. If they don't catch him, he wins, and the hounds all sit down in a row and bark mournfully. ”

“ No matter whether it is one of their own kind or of some other species, the titmice set upon it and kill it with sharp blows from their strong little beaks. When it is dead, they pick open its skull and eat its brains.
In France titmice are often captured in snares, but unless the specimen is very young, it will make a savage attack on the hands of the hunter who takes it from the net. It is not difficult to tame them. They make very wise and amusing pets, and if allowed to fly about will quickly clear a room of flies and mosquitoes. ”

“ Helen S. Conant describes the characteristic habits and ways of these merry and saucy little inhabitants of the bird world. Then you must read about Prince Bismarck. Fancy one of the greatest statesmen the world has ever known having been born on April-fools' Day! We wonder how many of the boys will undertake to construct a magic lantern from the directions given? To those that do we would say that they must not get out of patience if they have trouble in making the soldering-iron work effectively at first. A little patience will overcome all difficulties. ”

“ My papa gave Young People to me for a birthday present when I was ten years old, and now I am eleven, and he has sent for it again, for we all think that we could not do without it. I have one sister named Virginia, after mamma's native State, and we call her Virgie. She is nine years old.
I have lots of pets. Our pigeons are so tame that they will eat out of my hand or lap. We have two cats, named Tom and Dick, and they are real cunning, but I can not tell all their tricks. It would take too much space. Our dog Shep will beg for apples and melons to eat. ”

“ They are ravenous little creatures, and always hunting from morning till night, and as they are very sociable, they go in large flocks, twittering and chirping gleefully as they spy a swarm of fat flies, or discover among old stone heaps or in the bark of trees the hiding-places where tiny worms are lying asleep in a chrysalis shroud. ”

“ We have a little brother only a week old, and we all love him very much. We were all vaccinated a little while ago, and as there are nine of us children, we had a good many sore arms. I know Ina J. P., who wrote a letter to Young People for January 10; she lives next door to us. We have got a very nice cat; she catches a good many rats. ”

“ He is very young to be an orphan, and we are glad that he and all the other children whose parents are dead are living in so pleasant a home as you describe. The secret of happiness, after all, is in being unselfish. ”

“ By this time the Duke and Duchess were quite out of reach, and a great many men had made fools of themselves in their anxiety not to let any one else do it for them.
The April-fool is not confined to any one land or any one language. In Scotland he is called the "April-gowk," and in France the "Poisson d'Avril" (April-fish) . ”

“ In the course of time Punchinello made the acquaintance of Judy, and married her. She has been a great help to him in his performances, as you will all allow. If you are puzzled as to how he manages to be in so many countries and at so many different places at the same time, it is because he still retains the rope made of the cat's tail, which carries him anywhere at a moment's notice. ”

“ In the United States ten varieties of titmice have been found, and there are no doubt more. The most familiar among them is the chickadee, which may be heard any sunny day during our long northern winter trilling its merry chickadee-dee-dee in the fields and woods. It is one of the few birds that remain with us during the entire year, and is always the same lively, blithe little creature.
HARE AND HOUNDS. NED MORNINGSTAR'S STORY. BY M. EYTINGE.
This ain't much of a story, only you fellows say I've got to tell something, and I can't think of anything else. ”

“ There is a very large pond out here, and we have so much fun on it! Sometimes we chase each other all over. By-and-by we take off our skates, and run around and play. We enjoy ourselves ever so much. They are all very kind to me here. We have not had any snow this winter. When snow is on the ground they take us out sleighing in a big sleigh. Some of us have little sleds, and we coast down hill on them. In summer we play house out-of-doors, and we go out riding too in a big wagon with a seat all round it. ”

“ He made many improvements in the form of the opera, varying its monotony in very original ways.
Another famous Italian of the same period was Stradella, whose church music we hear now much more than formerly. Poor Stradella's life was a terribly sad one. He was a gentleman of great refinement, but he was not of the highest rank, so that when he fell in love with one of his pupils, whose rank was above his, there was a great deal of excitement over it in Venice. Stradella married his fair pupil, and for some years led a life of terror, as assassins pursued him. ”

“ What would dear old Master Vecchio, who wrote it, have said had he looked ahead nearly three hundred years, and seen the great Bayreuth Festival, where Wagner's operas were produced with such a wealth of orchestra and voices?
I think it safe to say that the first true Italian opera, on which all others have been founded, was Euridice, by Peri, and this was produced in 1600, when Henry IV. married Mary of Medicis. Several noblemen performed in it. Behind the scenes they had a sort of orchestra: a harpsichord, a chitarone, [1] a sort of viol, and a large lute. ”

“ Thus any subjects—landscapes, figures, or animals—become enlarged, according to the distance the lantern is removed from the sheet, and the size and quality of the lens.
Now for the slides. These require some artistic talent, but not a vast amount. If a youth has a vein of comic talent, it will add to the fun, or he may easily procure prints from which to copy. Some, however, prefer scenery, natural objects, etc., all of which, if well painted, show well in the magic lantern. ”

“ But in their houses they still have the heirlooms which belonged to their savage ancestors, and which the older ones have themselves fought with when they were young. The missionaries have never tried to induce them to abandon their graceful national games, and so they still practice these beautiful dances, and they are a great feature at the missionary meetings, to which the islanders throng, each bringing his offering with him to present when the contributions are asked for. ”

“ He will, however, be able to do his work, and will undoubtedly be more careful in avoiding danger than he was before the accident. His photograph—the one from which the picture in this number of Young People was taken—is considered to be an excellent one, and though it can not be called a beautiful picture, it is the portrait of an upright, faithful, and universally respected dog.
PEOPLE WE HEAR ABOUT. BISMARCK.
The first day of April—"All-Fools' Day"—is the birthday of one who has done more to change the map of Europe than any man now living. ”

“ The bitterest disgrace of To-la-go-to-de and his warriors had been their failure to carry off the bodies of their friends who had fallen.
At least twenty of the Apaches had been more or less wounded, and every man of them was as proud of it as a school-boy who has been "promoted." A scar received in battle is a badge of honor to an Indian warrior, and he is apt to make a show of it on every fair opportunity. ”

“ Nobody come into lodge. Take a little time. Then tell what hear."
It was an unusual request, but there could be no objection, in view of the fact that there was "great medicine" to be looked into. An Indian conjurer always required the absence of all observers for the performance of his most important jugglery. It was at once decided that Send Warning should have his way. Rita listened, pale and serious, while Ni-ha-be looked on in jealous amazement.
"I am an Apache girl. Why can he not teach me to hear the Talking Leaves?" ”

“ My cat is a large blue Maltese, and his name is Ted. He is not quite two years old, and weighs ten and a half pounds. We have scales with a top just large enough for him to sit on, and he sits very still while he is getting weighed. He sits at the table in a high chair, and has a little piece of oil-cloth on which he rests his paws, and waits patiently until we give him something to eat. If we give him anything he does not like, he jumps right down. ”

“ English boys call these birds tomtits, and consider them the most impertinent of all the feathered inhabitants of the country; for small and graceful as they are, there are few birds which possess such a violent temper or such cruel instincts. They will fight furiously with each other for the possession of a plump insect or some other dainty morsel, and—sad to relate—they show no mercy toward a poor wounded or sick bird. ”

“ The only idea these Italian gentlemen had of it was from the Greek lyrical dramas. You know that in ancient Athens there was a famous theatre where plays were given, accompanied by an orchestra of lyres and flutes. The chorus of the Agamemnon was sung, and some of the dialogue was given in a sort of recitative. Then, in early English times, music, or recitatives was introduced into the simple plays usually performed in the public streets. People in various countries had been gifted with some perception of the beauty of music and dialogue, but a regular opera, as I have said, was unknown. ”

“ After the lens has once been procured, which may be purchased from any optician, the price ranging from fifty cents upward, according to the size and quality of the glass, a magic lantern may be constructed out of a few simple materials by an ingenious boy. ”

“ Titmice are very useful inhabitants of gardens and orchards, as they wage continual war on all kinds of saw-flies and other small insects, which do much injury to fruit-bearing trees and shrubs, and a wise gardener will allow the saucy tomtit full liberty to hop and jump about in search of a breakfast for himself and his numerous family. ”

“ He has a round basket in which he curls up and goes to sleep. He had his picture taken the other day, and he sat very still. There is a large rocking-chair in the parlor which he seems to think is his, and if it is occupied, he will walk around it, and if the person does not get up, he will jump in his or her lap. Good-by.
Alice C.
Newark, New Jersey.
I am a little girl seven years old. I do not go to school, as my mamma teaches me at home. I can read, spell, and cipher nicely. My brother Waldo takes Harper's Young People, and my papa has taken Harper's Magazine for years. ”