Various

“ I sat down on my box, and Gertie on hers, and there we sat, as happy as two enthroned queens, with serfs and vassals standing near. How every girl in school idolized us last night!
"George has driven Madame over to town, and won't be back till late," said Enid, coming from her expedition to the basement in search of George. (George is the man-servant who "does the chores" and "plays hero" for the school.)
"How can we ever get these up stairs?" asks Gertie.
"Carry them ourselves," cried a brawny girl; "we'll all help."
So, with a girl at each corner of each box, we struggled up stairs. ”

“ But in whatever region we find them—in the fishing villages of the northernmost coast of Norway or Lapland, and even in Greenland—they fondly believe their country to be the best and most favored part of the world. We must beg leave to differ with them. We love our changing seasons, that gradually come and go, the sweet succession of day and night, the joyous life that fills our fields and woods, and the comforts, luxuries, and all the advantages of civilization. ”

“ And away they went, dragging poor Lady Harriet, begging and imploring to be set free, with them.
"Did you ever see any fellow so scared in all your life?" whispered Charley Bennet to Hen Rowe, as their victim began to cry and scream.
"Never," said Rowe. "I begin to feel sorry for him. But what a baby he is! Why don't he break and run? He can make good time with those long legs when he's a mind to."
"Halt!" cried the captain, when they reached the cedar woods. ”

“ We want no cowards among us. Boy, you are—" And the mouths of his followers simultaneously opened for a tremendous shout, when—
"I perfectly agree with you," interrupted the prisoner, quickly, wresting himself at the same time with a dexterous movement from the grasp of the two boys who had held him; and then he went on in his usual soft voice and slow way: "I mean this joke's gone quite far enough. You came half an hour or so before I expected you, but I think we've all acted our parts first-rate. Good-evening, Captain Morningstar. Good-evening, desperadoes. Farewell, April-fools." ”

“ There was an instant rush to the life-boat; but it was barely half way to the water when a huge sea dashed it against the ship's side, crushing it like an egg-shell. This was the last chance. An arm tossing wildly through the foam of a distant wave, a faint cry borne past on the wind, and poor Allen was gone forever.
Then, amid the dismal silence, was heard, clear and strong, the firm voice of the captain:
OILING THE OUTBOARD BEARINGS.
"Lads, I won't order any of you to run such a risk; but this job must be done somehow, or we shall all go to the bottom together. ”

“ Our next picture shows the pleasanter side of arctic life, when the sun is above the horizon most of the time, and disappears from sight for short periods only. Many travellers have gone as far as the famous North Cape, in Norway, for the sake of seeing the sun at midnight. Among them is Du Chaillu, whom many of our readers know through his interesting books about Africa. He stood on the very edge of the cape one July midnight—that is, it was midnight by the clock—and saw the sun descend nearly to the horizon, and then begin to rise again. ”

“ Frank, now restored to his place at the mess table, and high in favor with the crew (who henceforth reserved for Monkey the cuffs and jeers formerly bestowed upon our hero) , was beginning to feel quite at home in his new life, when it was suddenly broken by a very startling adventure.
One evening about dusk the machinery slackened suddenly, and an unusual bustle was heard on deck. A man running past thrust an oil-can into Frank's hand, and bade him carry it to one of the engineers upon the starboard (right-hand) paddle-box. ”

“ She had to get a baby's nursing-bottle to raise the lamb with, and it is just too funny to see her feed it. It sucks away at the bottle as hard as ever it can, and wags its little tail ever so fast. We have learned nearly all we know from Harper's Magazine and the Bazar and Weekly, for papa and mamma have taken them all our lives. We could not do without the pictures. I wish you could see our stacks and heaps of the Monthly and the papers. When we want a good old time, we get them all out, and they are as good as new. We think there never was such a splendid paper as Young People. ”

“ I wonder if the readers of Young People know how delightful the climate and surroundings of Chattanooga are. Near the base of Lookout Mountain, which has grown historical since the war, the views in all directions are magnificent, that from the point on the mountain being the grandest, where one can see places in seven different States. Chattanooga is an Indian word, meaning eagle's nest.
Paul Dwight Moross.
Traverse City, Michigan.
I live in a lonesome country, but it is very beautiful in the summer. We have nice lakes and woods, and all kinds of birds. ”

“ Father wants me to tell you that he made me a telescope of sheet-iron as you described in the first number of Young People, and although my object-glass is only one and one-quarter inches in diameter, we can plainly see Jupiter's four moons. Jupiter itself appears as big as a nickel five-cent piece. We can also see the rings of Saturn. But when we look at anything on the earth, it is turned upside down. ”

“ In fact, that one deed of promptitude and courage had raised him from the last to one of the first among the whole crew. So true is it that they who succeed best are not always the bravest, or the wisest, or the strongest, but simply those who keep their wits about them, and never miss a chance of doing something. ”

“ He was never weary of admiring the huge machine which did with one smooth and regular movement the work of hundreds of strong men, obeying the slightest turn of a tiny wheel, yet capable of tearing the whole ship to pieces should its irresistible strength ever break loose. ”

“ The bird is blackish color, with a round white spot in the middle of each wing. There is a bird here called grosbeak. It is very handsome, and a splendid singer. You can hear its clear note in the morning above all the rest. My sister Julia found a nest, and took out a male bird. It had hardly any feathers. She brought it up on bread and milk, and it was so tame it would sit on her finger; but one morning it flew away, and never came back. Perhaps some of the readers of Young People have tamed the little yellow-birds. ”

“ The pale cold moon sheds a chilling light at times over the snow and ice, and the aurora borealis flashes its splendors through the heavens. The cold is so great that old chroniclers, writing about the arctic regions, pretended that when the inhabitants tried to speak, their very words froze in coming out of their mouths, and did not thaw out till spring. ”

“ I live on the prairie between the Arkansas and Smoky Hill rivers. My nearest playmate is a mile and a half away, and I am very glad when Young People comes. Can you tell me who has been considered the most famous man in the world?
Lulu A. G.
There have been so many "famous men," that it would be difficult to place any one among them at the head of the list.
I am ten years old, and I live in Dickinson County, Kansas. We have three dogs—Queen, Cetchum, and Custer—and we have use for them all. ”

“ A DELUSION AND A SNARE. "APRIL-FOOL!" BY MARGARET EYTINGE.
There was one boy in the Merrit Academy who never joined in any of the games; never went skating; never went swimming; never made a snow man or threw snow-balls; never came to the meetings of the debating society, where such questions as, "If a fellow ask a fellow for a bite of a fellow's apple, which is the politer way to give it to a fellow—to bite off a piece yourself, or let a fellow bite for himself?" were debated with much mock gravity and real fun. ”

“ Indeed, their nobility often obliges kings who lose their wives to be married again very soon.
It is of Queen Mercedes I wish to tell you. When she was about thirteen or fourteen years old she was sent to school to a convent in France. The convent was full of lovely and noble ladies, who had gone there because they had met with misfortunes of one kind or another. These ladies taught the young girls under their care very gently; still, there were certain light punishments for those who were careless or idle. ”

“ When a diamond is brought to them, it is immediately handed to the eldest boy, who is tacitly acknowledged as the head of this little band. By him it is carefully examined, and then passed to his next neighbor, who, having also inspected it, gives it to the next boy. The diamond is thus passed from hand to hand, amidst unbroken silence, until it returns to that of the eldest, who then asks the price, and makes the bargain. If the eldest boy is thought by his comrades to have given too high a price, he must keep the stone on his own account. ”

“ I live on the border of a large lake in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Though so far north, our winters are often mild and pleasant. Father says it is because we are not far from the sea. I have been ill with acute rheumatism for six months past, and the weekly visits of Young People are a great comfort and pleasure to me, as I am mostly confined to the house. ”

“ This study leads the steps away from the busy town to the quiet woods and hills, giving a charm to every stroll, and making for each young student hosts of friends whose sweet faces will greet him through life with unaltering truth and beauty. ”

“ They say he was a gentle, affectionate, noble-spirited boy, and it seems as if he thought others would suppose he was weak unless he did some deed of daring. His nobility obliged him to be foremost in the most desperate places; and so he died, and the world mourned for him.
I think, as you read history more and more, you will believe, as I do, that men, and even children, of high birth, are surer to be brave and courageous than those in more obscure station. ”

“ The mammoth, and other animals that require a warm climate, roamed in multitudes through those regions. Their bones, found in great abundance when the banks of the lakes and rivers thaw out and crumble away in the spring, form an important article of traffic.
The people who live in the dreary regions of the far North are, generally speaking, industrious, sober, simple-minded, and contented. They have few pleasures, and their lives are toilsome. ”

“ Pa uses Queen to hunt prairie-chickens with, and Queen and Cetchum hunt rabbits by themselves. We have gray rabbits and jack rabbits. The jack rabbits are very large, and have long ears. Pa says they are very much like the English hare. We have a great many peaches and grapes and water-melons, and there are bad men and boys that sometimes steal them. In the summer I tie Queen in the peach orchard every night. If she hears anything, she barks very loud, and then Custer runs to help her. If any man is there, he is sure to be bitten. Custer is an English bull-dog, and a great fighter. ”

“ I have a chicken grave-yard, and we have funerals. The red and blue birds, wrens, jays, and woodpeckers, staid with us all winter. I found a nest of hatched partridge eggs, and the large ends were all picked round even, and opened like box-tops. We live in the woods, and I see many pretty things. ”

“ I had seen the Great Falls of the Fish River more than once, and the bare thought of being carried over those tremendous precipices made my very blood run cold. Yet being devoured by a lion would hardly be much of an improvement ”

“ Buchanan and his friends reasoned that though it was quite true that James could never learn Latin unless some one was whipped, it would be a dreadful thing to strike a boy of the blood royal, and so they arranged that another boy should live at court, who should be whipped every time James failed in his declensions and conjugations.
This seems to have been a very satisfactory arrangement, and you see, in this case, "nobility obliged" somebody else to be punished when the "nobility" had done wrong. ”

“ A very pretty sight is that presented every morning by the children of the master-miners and of other inhabitants of the district. The boys—the eldest of whom is not yet over sixteen, or the youngest under ten years of age—assemble, and sit under a large tree in the public square of the village. Each has his diamond weight in a bag, hung on one side of his girdle, and on the other a purse, containing sometimes as much as five or six hundred pagodas. ”

“ Squirrels eat all kinds of berries, the tender twigs and bark of certain trees, and grain. Corn fields are feasting grounds for them, as the fresh tender stalks are as delicious food as the fully formed kernels.
Clarksville, Nebraska.
I want to tell you about a ride I had the other day with papa and mamma. We drove out about four miles from here, to a prairie-dog town, where we saw hundreds of these little animals playing about in the sunshine. The prairie-dogs are very curious little creatures. They dig their holes, throwing out the earth so as to make quite a mound. ”

“ When he misses me, he hunts till he finds me. When we are eating dinner, if the door is open, I often hear a pat-pat on the step, and in comes Philip, nodding his head from side to side, and lights on my shoulder, for me to give him his dinner. ”

“ In Saratoga lived a man named Walter Myers, who knew Schuyler well. He had eaten at his table in Albany, and knew the character of his house and its surroundings. Myers had joined the Tory Rangers of Colonel Robert Rodgers—a famous partisan on the northern frontier. The British authorities in Canada employed Myers, who had become a captain under Rodgers, to seize General Schuyler, Governor Clinton, and other prominent patriots in the region of the Hudson River, as far down as Poughkeepsie. ”

“ A few more hammer strokes and he is safe. Already the anxious crew are beginning to breathe more freely, and even to greet their hero with encouraging shouts, when suddenly a mountain wave is seen coming right down upon him. ”