Various

“ Half-way between the summit of this mountain and the pretty village at its foot stood a miner's settlement—a pitiful collection of log-huts so rudely put together that they kept out neither snow nor rain. In these huts lived the families of the men who toiled night and day in the mine underneath the hill. It was these half-starved, hard-worked men that made the money that enabled the Mountain Dwarf to live like a Mountain King. ”

“ They discussed the afternoon's fun until there seemed nothing more to say about it, and after a little silence one of them revealed the subject of his thoughts by the grumbling remark:
"I hope Aunt Sue will manage to have some cake for supper. It is an age since we had any."
"She is getting awfully stingy with it, anyhow," said Bob. "The piece I had last night was hardly big enough to taste."
"I never get more than a taste except at Christmas," said John.
"See here, boys," cried Tom Fleming, "I have thought of something. Let's have a party, and bake the cake ourselves." ”

“ There was a look of calm satisfaction on the skeleton's face as the odor of roast lamb mingled itself with Uncle Daniel's welcome when he descended from the wagon; and as the company were ushered into the "fore-room," the air of which was pungent with the odors of herbs used to keep the moths from carpet and furniture, a restful feeling came over them such as only those whose lives are dreary rounds of travelling can feel. ”

“ It pleased this curious little man to build himself a glass castle. He liked that men should watch him dine from golden plates, and drink rare wine from diamond goblets. Admiration was to him the breath of life, and he was most happy when his neighbors were most envious. ”

“ Of course Dick returned fire, and the action soon became so lively that the forgotten eggs suffered considerable damage.
"Here I am, boys!" he shouted, as he dashed into Tom Fleming's room; "and here are the eggs."
Dick dived his hand into his pocket, and withdrew it in dismay. "I do believe every one of the old things is broken." ”

“ Aunt Sue instituted a new state of affairs. They must learn to eat vegetables for the sake of their health.
Now don't suppose that they never had cake, or that Aunt Sue was at all unreasonable. But when boys make no distinction between cake and bread except to give the former the preference, it is difficult to fill their orders.
It is remarkable how boys always know when cake-baking is going on. They seem to scent it in the air. At first Aunt Sue tried to escape by springing baking day at odd times. ”

“ The Mountain Dwarf, stunned and bruised and bleeding, raised himself in his bed.
"Who is it?" he moaned feebly.
"The miners," came back in a terrible shout.
"Ah me!" he gasped. "Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones." ”

“ We take Harper's Young People, and read the stories in it every week. We are much interested in "Mr. Stubbs's Brother." We like the letters very much, and like to read about every one's pets. I will tell you about a cat I once had; his name was Nimpo Ganges. He was a very large gray and white cat. One day my sister had a little kitten given to her. At the sight of a strange kitten Nimpo was very indignant, and left his comfortable home here for another! One day I went to see my aunt, who lives a few doors above us, and she told me of such a beautiful cat that had come to live with her. ”

“ All three have a grave, preoccupied look, the elder girl especially. Instead of prattling merrily, laughing, shouting, and pointing out passing objects to each other, as children usually do on a railway journey, they sit close together in a corner, and talk in whispers. ”

“ The one who plays first throws his marble against something, like a wall, so that it bounds back again; then the other boy follows him, and if the marble falls near enough to the first one to span the difference, or distance between the two, both marbles are his; if he can not span the distance, each boy keeps his own marble, and they reverse the order in which they played before.
I am a little boy ten years old, and have taken Young People almost two years. I liked "Toby Tyler" very much, also almost all of the other stories, but I think Jimmy Brown's letters are best of all ”

“ The laborers who search for them have to be closely watched, as they will secrete valuable ones in the most ingenious ways, even swallowing them, and one miner hid a stone of two carats in the corner of his eye.
This traveller describes a group of boy traders who assembled every morning under a large tree in the middle of a village near the mines to wait for people with diamonds to sell. The boys were from ten to sixteen years old, and each one had his diamond weight in a bag on one side of his girdle, and a purse with considerable money in it on the other. ”

“ Hard-boiled eggs, potted meats, thin slices of ham or tongue, cold chicken, and plenty of good bread and sweet butter, are among the must-haves. Picnic appetites are famous, and you need plenty of the "substantial." Jelly in little glasses, fruit, cake, and, if mother says so, a few of her delicious pickles or an apple-pie do not prove as indigestible when eaten out-doors as they do under other circumstances. ”

“ Up here on these warm dreary hill-sides, far from the busy world below, no one ever seems to be in a hurry, to get angry, or to excite himself in any way. The heavy wagons that creep along the broad white dusty road seem to go or not as they please, their "drivers" being usually fast asleep inside them. ”

“ These four or five sallow, bearded, low-browed peasants in gray frocks and high boots, who are munching their black bread and garlic in the shade of yonder tree, instead of chattering and laughing like their Italian neighbors of the valley, are silent as statues. ”

“ In a recent number of Harper's Young People there was an article on "Marbles," and this week I am going to write about them. Almost every boy knows how to play marbles by making a trench about an inch deep and a foot long. The distance for the marble to roll should be nine or ten feet. As many boys as choose to can play at this game, and the one whose marble goes in the trench, or the nearest to it, takes the others' marbles. ”

“ Bottles of milk wrapped in cabbage leaves or set into a pan of ice for coolness are not to be overlooked.
Be sure there is a spring near your picnic ground, or an old well on some kind man's farm. If it have a long sweep and a deep moss-grown bucket, so much the better.
Do not trespass on anybody's private grounds. Always send a committee to the house to ask permission to help yourselves to water from the well, or to pass through fields and lanes not open to the public.
The girls must remember that so far as possible all picnic preparations should be made the day before. ”

“ Poor papa! it's so horrid to see a great strong man like him led about just like a baby, and not able to read any stories, or watch his flowers coming up so nicely, after taking all that trouble with them! ”

“ When a diamond is offered, it is handed to the eldest boy, who examines it carefully, and passes it to his neighbor, who does the same, and hands it to the next, and so on through the group. It then returns to the head of the little band, who makes the bargain for it. If the others think he has given too much for it, he has to keep the stone on his own account. ”

“ A picnic without a dinner would be very dull.
Two or three days before the event, the boys and girls who wish to spend some long bright summer hours together in the woods or park should ask their parents' advice about a good place.
A place to be good should be safe, beautiful, and not too far from home. If not within walking distance, it is well to know whether it can be easily reached by boat or cars, or by stage or carriage. ”

“ The faint tinkle of a bell makes me look up to see a herd of goats feeding high above my head, while the next moment I catch sight of a little red-tiled cottage tucked away in the cleft of a rock as if playing hide-and-seek.
At length our train struggles up to the summit of the mountain with a shrill whistle of triumph. We thrust our heads out of the window to see where we have got to, when, lo! ”

“ One is to decide in advance what each shall bring as his or her contribution, so that there may not be too large a quantity of one article, and too little of another. John may be told to bring lemons, Janie may furnish pound-cake, Alice biscuits and butter, Louis sugar, and Mabel sandwiches. Or each of the company may provide a nice basket of food, and when the time comes for the meal everything may be shared, and the table spread for the general feast. ”

“ For pets we have a dog, a cat, and three little kittens, which are now trying to get out of the basket and run around. I am collecting picture cards, and have over nine hundred. If any little boy or girl would like to exchange with me, please address,
Helen M. Sisson,
183 Maryland St., Buffalo, N. Y.
Helen has so much more time than the editor of Young People, that the better way will be for her to send her German letter, and let us see how well she can write in that language, which we are very glad she is studying. ”

“ I fear Peter is, in truth, no model for the other monkeys in the Gardens. He steals; he bites; he loves to tear up anything he can once fasten his fingers upon. All this is very sad to learn. Possibly Mr. Barnum will see that he ought to be taught to be a good and happy monkey, and feel bound to buy him for America next year. Travel is so improving to the manners.
Peter has recently had a curious experience. Did any of you ever hear of a monkey who had the toothache, and who took chloroform to get rid of it? ”

“ What a number of lessons our little nine, ten, and eleven year old friends have to learn, to be sure! And the queerest thing about it, dears, is that, no matter how old we may grow, we shall still have lessons to learn, and some of them harder than those you find in your Third Readers and language lessons. ”

“ There will be a large number of bright minds among the readers of Young People, however, whose exploits on examination days will make it an easy matter for them to transpose the "pi" into the right word every time. ”

“ Somebody once said, "There is no royal road to knowledge." We will admit the fact as a general proposition, but now and then affairs can be so arranged that a bit of information can be fixed in the mind, and a fair amount of fun be had through the same means. ”

“ There are a good many mocking-birds that sing around our house, and imitate all kinds of sounds. One time we thought one of our dogs had taken our play reins, and was shaking them about, making the bells ring. ”

“ The boys expected a first-class scolding after this, but they were agreeably surprised. Edward solemnly told the Stanleys that their aunt Sue had sent for them, and the boys slunk away to bed. But they spent all their play-time for the next week in cleaning up Tom's room and their own clothes, and in getting things to rights again.
"I never knew before how much trouble it is to make cake," said Bob. "It must be pretty hard on Aunt Sue and the girls to bake so much for us."
"Yes," said Dick, "and we are getting too big, anyhow, to care for such things." ”

“ The islands were beautifully illuminated. I went to the Indian camp, and saw them make canoes and baskets. I have two canary-birds, and a dog named Fritz. I have a large [Pg 479] garden, with all kinds of flowers. I liked "Toby Tyler" and "Tim and Tip," and am glad Mr. Otis is going to write another story. I have been to New York twice, and like to ride on the elevated railroad.
L. W. M.
I do not wonder you enjoy riding on the elevated railroad. ”

“ The cold was still as great as that which they had previously encountered, and it made itself more intensely felt now that the men were confined within the limits of small boats, and deprived of the active exercise which alone had kept the warmth in their bodies. ”

“ In the evening the diamonds bought during the day are classed according to their size and purity, and the prices affixed which they are thought to be worth; the children return with them to their masters, and receive a good share of the profits, the head boy getting one-fourth more than the others. ”

“ But if we engage to get the milk and eggs, don't you think you fellows might scare up the flour and molasses?"
The Stanleys thought they could; and the time was set for the next night but one, to allow ample time for preparation.
"I tell you what, Dick," said Bob, suddenly sitting up in bed that night, "if I could only get a chance to speak to the milkman, I could order an extra lot of milk."
"Well, get up in time to take the milk to-morrow. It won't be any colder than sitting up in bed now, and there is no use in cooling us both off." ”

“ We have a dog which is very smart. He will turn a somersault backward, and stand on his head. We also have a little donkey three feet high, which we ride; but she will not let anybody else ride her, as she will stand up on her behind legs and jump, really. We have a pigeon that will eat meat and sweet-potatoes, and can sing. Don't you think that is queer?
I am seven years old, and I wrote this all by my own self. Please put it in the letter-box.
Your loving little reader,
Hic H. T.
You write so plainly and make such beautiful capital letters that you deserve ten good marks, dear. ”

“ The boys, too, should have their fishing-tackle in readiness overnight. If swings are to be put up, a man should be engaged to see about them, or at least the oldest and most trustworthy boys of the party should see that the ropes are firm, and the tree branches stout. Nothing is more terrible in its consequences than a fall from a swing. ”

“ American boys and girls whose delight in looking at Jumbo and his celebrated legs may have been clouded by remembering how many of the little English cousins across the sea were lamenting the tall old elephant's absence will be glad to know that a new pet has already been found to take Jumbo's place. ”