Various

“ But as a matter of fact there is no such thing as really taming a tiger or a lion. A man may have some influence over it, but he is never quite safe with it. No wild beast has ever been actually tamed. A lion will tear you merely out of bad temper occasionally; but a tiger is more vicious, and will attack you from sheer love of blood."
It was now time for the exhibition, and I wished the showman and Señor Delmonio good-day. ”

“ The street, as has been said, was a quiet one, especially so at that time of day, and thus no one saw and wondered at the sight of Dick Winworth, only son of the prominent lawyer, driving a "bobtail" car. As for Dick himself, he had never imagined so much enjoyment could be had by such simple means. The tinkle of the bell and the grating of the wheels on the track were as music in his ears, while the task of keeping the vehicle from running on to the horse's heels at down grades furnished most enchanting occupation for hand and eye. ”

“ When the showman came to our town, he told the audience a great many things as he passed from cage to cage in his combined circus and menagerie. He told them of the great wangdoodle, two of which were brought from South Africa in three ships, and he told them other stories, which made the very little people open their eyes and mouths wide, but which the intelligent boys and girls only smiled at. ”

“ As soon as it was light the canoeists made haste to get breakfast and to paddle out into the stream. The mosquitoes let them depart without attempting to follow them; and the boys, anchoring the canoes by making the ballast bags fast to the painters, enjoyed an unmolested bath. As they were careful to anchor where the water was not four feet deep, they had no difficulty in climbing into the canoes after the bath. Joe's mishap on Lake Memphremagog had taught them that getting into a canoe in deep water was easier in theory than in practice. ”

“ The lions are the smartest. You can train a lion to do the ordinary tricks, such as jumping through hoops and over gates, in about five weeks, and a lioness in about six weeks. The leopard is next in intelligence to the lion, and learns almost as readily. A tiger would take eight weeks to learn what the leopard learns in six, and a tigress would take nine weeks for the same work. The hyena is the stupidest, and you can't do anything with him in less than four months. The most difficult thing of all is to teach a wild beast to let you lie on it without eating you. ”

“ Look here, boy, if you'll drive this car for me down to Clayton Street, I'll give you a crisp, new one-dollar bill, and a great many thanks besides. A friend of mine, whom I haven't seen since she was a little girl, is going to be married at three o'clock, and I've always promised I'd come to her wedding, even if I were three thousand miles away, and here I am, less than three, and likely to miss it after all! ”

“ At ten o'clock the train rolled into the Sherbrooke station. To the great disappointment of the boys, no express car was attached to it, the only place for express packages being a small compartment twelve feet long at one end of the smoking-car. It was obvious that canoes fourteen feet long could not go into a space only twelve feet long, and it seemed as if it would be necessary to wait twelve hours for the night train, to which a large express car was always attached. But the conductor of the train was a man who could sympathize with boys, and who had ideas of his own. ”

“ When she had gained the road, the two burglars, captured and tied, were being guarded by the constables, while Mr. Allen was investigating the contents of the wagon, and making sure as far as he could in the darkness that all was right. At Jennie's approach he looked up.
"Ah!" he said. "Are you the toll-gate keeper's daughter? Just ask your father to step out here, won't you?"
Jennie smiled. "Father isn't at home, sir," she said. ”

“ I felt so pleased that she gained the prize, and I am sure the other girls who tried were glad to see her sweet face under her pretty hat at Sunday-school next Sunday. The boy who started off without his breakfast made a mistake. When you have hard work to do, or a journey to go upon, or a tough problem to solve, always take a good breakfast if you can. Excitement will not take the place of food. Finally, dears, I think the boys who honestly tried, and failed, were worthy of a great deal of credit. It is no disgrace to be beaten after you have done the very best you can. ”

“ The risk is so great that a monkey which can be bought for five cents in Africa is worth twenty dollars in New York, and the increase in the value of large animals is proportionate. You can buy a very good lion in Africa for the price that you would give for a monkey here."
The showman gossiped on in this way for some time, and had begun to be something of a bore, when a little man entered from a side door—to speak properly from one of the canvas folds of the tent, in the middle of which the showman and I were seated before a brazier of glowing coals. ”

“ Geese are not remarkable for bravery or for thoughtful care of the interests of their owners, yet the Romans firmly believed that geese once saved their Capitol from capture.
The Gauls, a savage people coming from the North, once captured the city of Rome, and burned it. Some of the Romans fled to Veii, a town not very far distant, and others shut themselves up in the Capitol, which was a strong building on the top of a steep and rocky hill. The Gauls encamped at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, and resolved to wait until the Roman garrison should be forced to surrender through hunger. ”

“ Though most persons like to see flowers in a room, comparatively few know exactly how to manage them so as to keep them healthy and fresh. Nothing is so delightful as to see plants in a window, and yet how common it is to discover them in a drooping and sickly condition, and all for the want of a little knowledge and care!
Where the plants grow from a single stem—as in fuchsias, geraniums, etc.—it is a good plan to cover the mould with fresh green moss, which will hold a good quantity of moisture without injuring the plants. Never water the plants except when they really require it. ”

“ Thompson remarked, "I notice that your feathers are not like other birds', but a sort of soft furry down."
"That is in order that we should make as little noise as possible when flying, so that we can come upon our game unaware of our presence," said the owl, climbing out of the nest. Mr. Thompson followed, and seated again on the limb, he seemed for a moment to be lost in thought.
Presently the owl remarked, reflectively: "It seems strange that every one should hate us as they do. If I fly near the house in the evening, the farmer shouts, 'Shoot the owl! ”

“ But we do pay big prices for good curiosities, and no mistake, though our posters and show-bills do tell some pretty big stories. I once paid twenty-five thousand dollars for a baby hippopotamus, and if I could get another one to-day, I'd pay just as much, or more. A full-grown hippopotamus is pretty expensive too. That one over there cost us four thousand dollars. Elephants, as a rule, are not dear, and you can usually buy a fine specimen for about two thousand dollars. A giraffe costs all the way up from one thousand to five thousand; a tiger or a lion, about five hundred ”

“ Expeditions go out into Africa and South America to hunt and capture the wild beasts of those continents, and there is one man whose last camp included ninety-two servants, seventy-two camels, twelve mules, twenty-seven horses, and three donkeys.
"This dealer is a Maltese, who, when a boy, used to knock about the docks, and seeing the strange animals on board some of the ships, promised himself that he would make wild-beast-hunting his trade when he became a man. He has lost more than one fortune, and is probably poor now. It's a wonder that he's alive ”

“ Francis Joseph Haydn, born in 1732, died in his seventy-eighth year.
As I told you, his great work was to reform and partially reconstruct instrumental music. He followed in the wake of Bach. To him we owe the symphony as we have it to-day, and with this little sketch of the dear master I want to tell you what a symphony is.
Properly speaking, a symphony is a long and elaborate composition for a full orchestra. It contains various movements, [1] and any number of instruments may be employed in its execution. Voices are also occasionally added. ”

“ The natives expect animal buyers, and nearly always have a stock to sell. 'Buy my little lion,' they will say, 'and I will throw into the bargain a young boy or girl.' The lions are carried in cages slung between two camels, and until the camels have become used to the growling of their burden they give the greatest trouble. Sometimes the natives are not friendly, and between their attacks and the ravages of fever, the expedition loses many of its men.
"The cost of such an expedition is not less than thirty thousand dollars, and while the buyer may double this sum in selling, he may lose all. ”

“ Another conversation followed, which Jennie this time overheard; the speakers were no doubt nearer the telephone.
"Why do you want to let them get into Barrington at all?" one voice asked. "Why not stop them at the toll-gate?"
"To be sure!" said another. "If they get past the gate, like as not they'll turn down the Riverton road, and throw Allen off the track. They can't turn off before they get to the gate; we're sure of them as far as that." ”

“ The little fellows who tried wood-sawing, simply to get the prize, for two or three weeks, were distanced by a lad who had made wood-sawing his business. He had helped his widowed mother by working in a manly way, and so he had a great deal more strength than if he had taken up the work for mere amusement. ”

“ Thompson.
"Well, you see, everybody don't know how," replied the owl, "but Frank Buckland, the great English naturalist, gives the best way. You see, our two weapons of defense are our beaks and our claws, so if we can't get the better of an enemy with our beaks we turn over on our backs and clutch it in our claws, and we don't let go in a hurry either. ”

“ Many of the hardier kinds of flowers will bloom well on the outer sill of the window from May to November. In sultry weather you must shade your choicest flowers from the direct rays of the sun, or they will get parched, and their blossoms will fall off. ”

“ If you find that the roots run in irregular circles over the surface of the mould, it is a sign that the pot is too small, and your flower must be shifted to a larger one.
It will be well occasionally to sprinkle a little water over the foliage of your plants, which should always be kept fresh and clean. Some of the larger leaves of geraniums and other plants will want now and then to be cleansed of the dust, which will accumulate about them, with a sponge or soft flannel ”

“ The movements of a symphony are the allegro, the andante or adagio, minuet or scherzo, and the allegro or presto. To the first movement are two themes or subjects (we might say ideas) , and these are given in two different keys. The andante movement is usually in some key related to the original key. When you study thorough-bass, you will find what beautiful effects this arrangement can produce. ”

“ After making all these preparations it was rather disappointing to find no rapids whatever between St. John and Chambly, or rather the Chambly railway bridge.
"It just proves what I said yesterday," remarked Charley, turning round in his canoe to speak to his comrades, who were a boat's-length behind him. "People who live on the banks of a river never know anything about it. ”

“ Thompson settled himself on the branch, and fluffed up his feathers as naturally as if he had been used to it all his life.
"So you have had field mice for dinner," he said, after a few moments' hesitation.
"Yes," answered the owl, "and very good eating they are, too. Do you know," he continued, reflectively, "I can't see why the farmers are so opposed to us. We eat up lots of mice and grubs of different kinds."
"And young chickens sometimes," ventured Mr. Thompson.
"Barely," replied the owl; "not when we can get anything else. But come down-stairs and see the family;" ”

“ This solution, when cold, is to be put in a stoppered bottle, and added to the water you use for your plants in the proportion of a tea-spoonful to a gallon. Generally, however, ordinary rain-water, not too cold, will suffice to keep in-door plants in good condition. If you notice that blossoms fall off before they are fully developed, it is a sure mark that the plant is sickly, and needs removal to a larger pot, or into the open air ”

“ The temperature of the room in which you place your plants should be as regular as possible, all extremes of heat and cold being destructive to good flowers. Let the plants stand near the window on mild sunny days, but in cold cloudy weather remove them to the middle of the room. When the day is warm, open the window, so as to give the plants the benefit of the fresh air, or remove them into the garden. ”

“ The canoes, with blankets under them to protect the backs of the seats, rode safely, and when, late in the afternoon, Rouse's Point was reached, they were taken out of the car without a scratch.
There was just time enough before sunset to paddle a short distance below the fort, where a camping ground was found that would have been very pleasant had there been fewer mosquitoes. They were the first Canadian mosquitoes that had made the acquaintance of the young canoeists, and they seemed to be delighted. ”

“ Many of the women and little girls are very pretty indeed. They are fond of gay colors, and while a few wear hats, most prefer a scarf or a bright shawl, one end of which is thrown over the head, and forms a wrap for the neck and shoulders. ”