Various

“ As for Freddie Box and the two Eds, they would never have known whether it was men or kangaroos that were parading if a brilliant idea had not suddenly presented itself to the ever-active brain of Master Fred. This he made haste to confide to his young hosts, whereupon they all three hurried off down stairs, and presently came staggering back with a tall step-ladder, which they proceeded to set up behind the crowd at the window in stealthy triumph. ”

“ Smilley's tall and narrow boarding-house, the window of which looked out on the most fashionable street in the city. The two Eds slept in a trundle-bed that in the daytime could be pushed out of sight underneath the big bedstead. So everything was very neat and compact.
It was the year of a Presidential election, and one morning at breakfast Mr. Rovering looked up from his paper to remark, "My dear, I see there's to be a torch-light procession to-night, and—"
"Oh my! what fun!" cried Edward, dropping his fork into his coffee-cup, and stirring vigorously in his excitement. "It'll go past here." ”

“ Sam's first fox was a triumph; it repaid him well for a cold and anxious day's work; and as he helped Peter nail the handsome skin against the shed it seemed to him an easy task that lay before him, but he did not find it so. The evergreen business was far more successful: the beautiful and graceful decorations found a rapid market; orders flowed in; Mrs. Putnam and Mary Ann got up early and sat up late to fill them; Sam drew the boards from the saw-mill, sawed them into lengths himself, and nailed the slight boxes together ”

“ It appeared on examination that the only reason the two Eds had not been smothered outright was that the mattress in the trundle was a very thin one, having, in fact, been expressly manufactured for a boarding-house, and thus there was room for enough air to come in over the sides to keep breath in the boys' bodies until Freddie Box woke them up.
But now everybody's attention was turned to the street again, for torches were waving wildly, boys shouting, men cheering, and the crowd pushing in a way that everybody loves to watch. ”

“ Now you see you have the advantage of me, for you are not shy, you are fond of little girls and boys, and then, too, you have your dogs and your pony. Now I was so afraid of a dog that the sight of one, as far off as I could see him, filled me with such terror that I instinctively drew up my small legs, and then took to my heels. I was so afraid of a worm that I have gone a whole block out of the way to avoid passing one. I am afraid, Pussie, that I was a born coward, but nothing was so absolutely awful to me as the dark. ”

“ It was harder for her, because both she and Sam did not wish to have the Doctor know anything about it till the success came—if ever it did.
"But, Sam dear," said Mrs. Putnam, "have you ever thought how you shall get it made? Even if you get the skins, it will take a good deal of money to pay for lining and making and all."
Sam's face fell. "I never thought of that, mammy dear; but I am sure there'll be some way. You know what father's always saying—'God helps those that help themselves'; and I'll help myself as hard as I can, and you'll see if there doesn't come a way." ”

“ Sam knew him very well; he had gone up to the shanty many a time with medicine from his father when Pete lay sick with a fever, and he had carried gruel and custard and beef tea from his mother as the old man grew better. It was from him Sam had learned all his tricks of woodcraft, and he remembered now how many fox-skins he had seen nailed against the outside of the little shed—skins that Pete sold at Sabatis when he was out of a coal job, and thereby provided himself with many a bag of meal and kit of salt pork. ”

“ Our mamma and papa take Harper's Weekly for themselves, and Young People for us. We like it very much, but we like the "Jimmy Brown" stories the best of all.
We see a great many Indians here, but they never hurt us. We saw lots of blanket Indians go by when we were at Sunday-school this morning. Their faces were all painted red and yellow.
We go to school, and study algebra, arithmetic, English history, grammar, geography, Fifth Reader, and spelling. There are lots of tamed little Indians go to the school. ”

“ Benny was no longer afraid. Paul, he was sure, could protect him against at least six desperate criminals if necessary, even without the help of a deputy-sheriff with a pistol. "Mister," gasped Benny, as he overtook the officer, who walked a little in the rear of the others, "did—Paul—oh, my!—did Paul—catch the—the prisoner?" ”

“ This evening, however, the wolves were so much more noisy than usual that the attention of the men, who sat smoking their pipes about the roaring camp fire, [Pg 36] was attracted to them, and "Alice" thought it a good time to put in his plea for some wolf-skins. His friend, old George Waite, a giant of a man, who acted as carpenter and blacksmith to the party, listened patiently to him, and told him that if he could get some arsenic from the doctor he thought they could manage to get hold of some wolf-skins before long. ”

“ He planned first an expedition against the wealthy commercial cities of the English coast, in which he was to command the land-forces, and John Paul Jones, the gallant American sailor who was to be so famous, was to command the fleet. When this fell through, on account of the timidity of the French ministers, Lafayette proposed an attack upon Canada, but this also was a failure. Then, with characteristic independence and courage, he staked all his hopes on getting money, a fleet, and an army for the United States. ”

“ I have a few English birds' eggs, and would like to exchange with some correspondent of Young People for Western or foreign eggs.
Charles Hopper, West Walnut Lane,
Germantown, Pennsylvania.
I should like to exchange minerals with the readers of Young People. My brother and I have a cabinet. It is not large, but we hope to increase it. We have only about thirty specimens, but some are rare, such as lava from Mount Vesuvius. We have also some pressed flowers. We are making a scrap-book of natural history pictures. I am thirteen years old. ”

“ We have now reached the fourth year of the Revolution. The British were getting ready to leave Philadelphia. Should the Americans allow them to march across New Jersey unharmed, or should they be followed, and, if possible, be beaten? Lafayette strongly urged that they should be closely chased, and that, if any chance offered, a battle should be fought. General Lee, a very able man, who was next to Washington in rank, opposed this idea. Washington sided with Lafayette, and sent him, with a strong body of men, to follow the British, and take the first opportunity to give them battle. ”

“ Each of the two boy cousins was blindfolded, and had an apron tied around his neck like a bib; then each was provided with a long wooden spoon and a bowl of bran, and they were placed opposite each other, as represented in our picture, and told to feed each other with the bran, encouraged by the promise that if they each succeeded in getting a mouthful of the bran, they should receive a very large piece of cake by way of reward. The struggles of these two boys were funny to the last degree. We all laughed and laughed till our sides ached again. ”

“ He and old George could hardly believe their eyes, for Indians rarely travel after night-fall, and there had certainly been none there the evening before.
"ALICE" SPRANG FROM HIS CONCEALMENT.
But there they were—a dozen men crouching over two very small fires that they nearly hid with their blankets, and two squaws preparing breakfast. "They are Navajoes," said old George, who had lived long in the Indian country, "and they are at peace with the whites now; but I don't think it would be very safe for us to go unarmed into their camp." ”

“ Although there was no snow on the ground in the valley, it had already reached more than half way down the mountain-sides, and the wild animals that lived up them had been driven down, so that in the valleys wolves were more plentiful than usual, and they began to howl around the little camp almost before the tents were up. "Alice" had often wished, as he lay at night shivering under his thin blankets, and listening to the howlings of the wolves, that he had two or three of their thick warm skins to roll himself up in ”

“ I dearly love to read Young People. Papa says he thinks it is just the best little paper for girls and boys he ever read, and so do I. I want very much to know if Bessie Maynard went to Europe and carried her doll Clytie. ”

“ Cora E.—We fear you could not exchange living birds, especially in the winter season, as these delicate household pets are very sensitive to changes of temperature. If you can propose any safe way of effecting the exchange, we will gladly publish your request, provided you send us your full address, which this time you neglected to do.
Anna and Thomas.—By great patience and persistency you may succeed in teaching your pet crow to speak a few words, but the experiment is not often successful with the common American bird. The English raven is more easily taught to imitate the human voice. ”

“ Paul, Minnesota.
I have two little eight-year-old sisters, named Lucy and Eleanor, but we call them Dove and Bly. And I have a little brother of six years. When Young People comes, it is given first to the one who has behaved the best during the past week.
Can you tell me how the Black Prince died? I have looked in several histories, but none of them state the manner of his death.
C. C. B. H.
There was nothing remarkable about the death of the Black Prince. ”

“ She gave her idea to Sam in a private interview, and he was greatly pleased with it; then they took Mary Ann into their counsels, and the matter worked so nicely among the three that by the time Sam had killed his first fox there were set away in the cellar two large rough board boxes filled with wreaths, crosses, and coiled lengths of garland beautifully tied by Mrs. Putnam, who had a natural taste for such things. Some were all of the soft coral pine, rich and velvety; some of the lighter ground-pine, darkened with clusters of the white-veined pipsissewa at even distances ”

“ We have a rabbit and a duck and three chickens for pets. The chickens are very tame. They were hatched by artificial heat. So was duckie. I had a pretty white kid last year, but it grew too big for me to keep. I was born on St. Valentine's Day.
Caroline V. K.
Bay City, Michigan.
I have a little sister two years old, and I think there could be no nicer pet. I have a bird named Dick, and three kitties; but they have no names, because two of them are so much alike that I can not tell them apart.
I live near the mouth of the Saginaw River. I am twelve years old.
Jessie M.
Atlanta, Georgia. ”

“ Most of our men were killed before they knew what hurt 'em, and the rest of us fought our way down to the river, with the ladies in the centre, and got on board one o' them big rice boats that they have out there. ”

“ Benny obeyed, though rather fearfully, for the prisoner, with his face rather dirty, and bleeding besides, was not an assuring object to be so close to.
"Benny," said Paul, "don't you go to telling the boys that I had any share in catching—in catching this man. You know how such stories get about if there's the slightest excuse for them."
"I won't," said Benny; "but I can tell that you helped bring him in, can't I? because you're doing it, you know."
"Don't say that either," Paul replied. "I'm not helping at all—not to bring him in, that is. The man is very tired ”

“ The plate is then cleaned, and the wax coating melted off, when impressions may be taken, as from any other engraving. If the action of the acid has been imperfect, the plate may be finished by using what is termed the "dry point," a sharp-pointed steel instrument capable of making the most delicate lines on the surface of the plate. Pen-and-ink drawings are sometimes called etchings, simply because they resemble that peculiar style of engraving.
Georgie V. R.—See answer to Mark M. in Post-office Box of Young People No. 53. ”

“ I have eggs of the cat-bird, bobolink, goldfinch, Savannah bunting, and others. I am anxious to obtain eggs of the scarlet tanager, cardinal-grosbeak, brown thrush, fish-hawk, and woodcock. Correspondents, when answering, will please send a list of eggs they wish to exchange. ”

“ Then he put it on, and turning round and round, surveyed himself, and looked up with a smile.
"I can't be cold in this," he said, with a sort of thrill in his voice; "but there's something about it more warming than the fox-skins."
"ALICE" AND THE WOLVES.
Nearly fifteen years ago, when the far West was much more wild and unsettled than it is now, a little party of seventeen men were travelling through the almost unknown Territory of Arizona. They were the remnant of a government exploring party that had originally numbered fifty members ”

“ PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS. No. 1. RHOMBOID.
Across.—An admirer. Pertaining to the government of the seas. Pleasanter. A mechanical help. What every street has.
Down.—A letter from Gil Blas. A preposition. A wagon. Calamity. Breeds. A man's name. A color. A prefix. Another letter from Gil Blas.
Bolus.
No. 2. DIAMONDS.
1. In Harper's Young People. A useful plant. A river in France. An insect. In Harper's Young People.
Aristotle.
2. In table. A fluid. A bird. Cunning. In table.
Cass (10 years) .
No. 3. DOUBLE ACROSTIC.
A flowering shrub. A voracious bird. A color. Unvaried. ”