Various

“ Our teacher takes The Great Round World and reads to us whenever the time will permit. The reading makes an interesting part of the exercises of the day. We are all anxious to hear about the war between Cuba and Spain, and we hope Cuba will soon be free. Can you tell us about how many people pass over Brooklyn Bridge in a day? I think it is wonderful how buttons and such articles are made out of milk. Do they have schools in Freeville? I think we should all be grateful for the interesting news that is printed for us in your paper each week. ”

“ It is said that German officers have been teaching the Turkish soldiers the modern methods of war.
The Turks, however, are the weaker in two important points: their means of providing food for their soldiers, and in facilities for carrying them quickly from one point to another.
An army that is weak in these two very important points loses a good deal of its usefulness.
As we have seen in Cuba, men cannot fight well when they are hungry. It is also a fatal thing to have no good roads or railroads, along which large bodies of men may be sent when they are needed. ”

“ This news is that the Albanians have risen against their masters the Turks, and joined with the Greeks.
Albania was at one time a part of Greece, but that was in the early history of the Empire. It at last secured its freedom and became an independent country.
In 1478 the Turks conquered Albania, and it has been under Turkish rule ever since. The Albanians have no love for the Turks, and though they are supposed to be obedient to the Sultan's wishes, he does not dare to appoint any but native Albanians to govern them. The people have always contrived to give him all the trouble possible. ”

“ A cañon is, as you doubtless know, a deep gorge or ravine, formed by the river that flows through it, and which little by little has worn away its bed until it has cut deep down into the heart of the land, hundreds of feet below its original level. ”

“ In the days when the poor unfortunates had to make the journey on foot it took ninety days of steady marching to reach the journey's end, and women and children as well as men took their places in the long, sad procession that wound its way across the dreary steppes of Russia. ”

“ We are glad that you like The Great Round World. Why don't you try and get it for yourself by becoming one of our agents? You can get your own paper free of charge for two subscriptions, and it would be very nice to own it yourself, and be able to read it whenever you wanted to. ”

“ It must be remembered that the weak points of the Turkish army in regard to provisions and transportation are as well known to the Greeks as to us. The farther the Turks can be enticed away from the place where they keep their stores, the weaker they grow. The Greeks may have planned to lure them over the border, and away from their supplies, and then fight them when they have them at a disadvantage. ”

“ The Japanese have been emigrating to Hawaii in such vast numbers that, unless something is done to stop them, there will soon be more Japanese than natives in the islands.
The Government of Hawaii, awakening to the danger that threatened, has made fresh advances to the United States, asking once more to be annexed to this country. ”

“ Baby seals have nearly white fur when they are born, and, strange to say, until this coat falls off and the dark one comes, their mothers never attempt to take them to the water.
The seals are not the gentle things they appear to be, with their soft brown eyes and their sleek coats. On the contrary, they are very fierce and warlike if any attempt is made to interfere with their families.
When the fathers first reach the beach, and set about making the home ready for their families, they will not allow any of the young bachelor seals to land near the rookeries. ”

“ The roots of these long hairs grow much deeper into the skin than those of the short, thick fur, and so the pelts can be laid face downward, and pared away very carefully at the back until the roots of the long hairs are cut through. The long hairs are then pulled out of the skin, and the beautiful soft fur is left.
It is to be hoped that, in the discussion of this matter between England and the United States, the proper rules for killing the seals may be very strictly laid down, that they may be enforced. It will be too bad if this splendid fur is lost through ignorance and carelessness. ”

“ There is a very strong wish in the hearts of many Brazilians for the return of the monarchy, and numbers of influential people are joining Conselhiero, who is gaining ground every day.
The revolution has indeed gained such a strong hold in Brazil that it will be a very difficult task to put it down. ”

“ When first the fire drill was introduced into the school, the boys were not obliged to take the study unless they wanted to; but it has become so popular that they are eager and anxious to take it, and now is part of the regular course of the school for all boys who are strong enough to stand the hard work it necessitates. ”

“ The proper rules are that no mother seals, baby seals, or father seals shall be killed, but that the hunters shall watch until the badly behaved bachelor seals have got tired with fighting, and gone up above the rookeries to rest. The hunters ought then to creep in between the seals and the water, and making a noise to frighten them drive them inland.
Every hunter should be armed with a wooden club, and when he has chosen a seal that seems to be about two or three years old, he should strike it with this club and kill it. ”

“ The manner of killing that the United States complains of is that the hunters creep into the rookeries and kill the mother seals, leaving the poor little pups to die by thousands for want of their mothers' care.
Because of this wholesale killing of the seals, there are few young seals left to grow up in the place of those that have been taken away, and so after a time there will be no more flocks at all.
The sealskin which we use is made out of the under fur of the animal. ”

“ A wooden building forty feet high, and provided with doors and windows exactly like a three-story house, is put up in the schoolyard, and it is with this building that the lessons are given.
Every Thursday afternoon an imaginary fire takes place in it. The hose is run out, the ladders are raised, and the lads go to work with a will, saving imaginary lives, and fighting imaginary flames. ”

“ The Government says that the habits of the seals must be studied and understood, so that they may be protected, in order that all the fur necessary for market may be obtained, without interfering with the growth of the herds.
Every year the seals arrive in flocks hundreds of thousands strong, and seek a sandy beach, or some nice sunny rocks, where they can spend the summer. In these places they establish rookeries, or villages, as they are sometimes called. ”

“ It is a curious thing about these little seal pups that though they are going to spend their lives in the water, they don't like the idea of it at all, and have to be forced into the water by their mothers, and taught to swim just as though they were little boys and girls. ”

“ The Government does not know what to make of this, but has become so thoroughly alarmed that it is seeking the protection of the United States.
A prominent lawyer from Honolulu has come over here to assist the officials who are already in Washington laying their case before our Government.
The Japanese treat the matter very lightly, and pretend that it is a foolish scare that amounts to nothing. They insist, however, that the Japanese immigrants shall not be turned back from Hawaii but allowed to land, as they have a right to do, according to the treaty existing between Hawaii and Japan. ”

“ The Portable Fire-Escape is an invention that should recommend itself to every one. It is small enough to be easily carried, and is so arranged that the person using it to let himself down from a burning building can control the rate of speed at which he descends, and avoid all danger of a sudden fall. ”

“ The engineers said that one hundred and fifty thousand tons of rock had been moved, and to their great pride they found that it had fallen exactly according to their plans, and had bridged the cañon and formed the bulwark for the support of the dam.
The past week has been one of great anxiety for Greece and the Greek cause.
The Turks have been steadily gaining ground in the East; they have swarmed through the pass of Milouna into the plains of Thessaly. ”

“ At last when it was found that Conselhiero was preaching the return of the monarchy to the people, and that peasants and soldiers were alike flocking to his standard, in the hope of seeing a prince on the throne of Brazil, they began to see that this man was by no means crazy, but that he was a very serious enemy who must be seriously treated. ”

“ San Salvador and Guatemala, though by their new ties they are bound to assist their sister republic, have declined to interfere, and it looks as if the life of the Greater Republic of Central America would not be nearly as long as its name. ”

“ Each week some new complication is supposed to take place, and some extra machine has to be brought into use, until by the end of the school term they can handle every machine and ladder with the greatest ease. ”

“ So steadily does the fighting continue that the old seals have no time to eat, and during the three or four months they stay with their families on the beaches they never take a mouthful of food. At the end of the time, when they leave the rookeries, they are thin and miserable, and covered with battle scars. ”

“ They attend more lectures in which they learn how to handle the various ladders and machines which firemen use. They have to learn how a fire engine is put together, what are the uses of every wheel and valve, and how to clean and care for each separate part of the engine; and when they are quite familiar with the various things used by firemen they pass on to the last stage of training. ”