THE GRAMMAR COURT.
And here the stairs stopped, and he saw the round robin go in with a crowd of gay and festive people; so, when he came up to the top of the stairs, he went in too. And he found himself in a lofty chamber of clouds, and away up at one end under a great rainbow sat a haughty-looking King, and the gay and festive people ranged themselves on either side of him. By-and-by the King called out in a loud voice:
"Where is little Article, our page?"
Immediately a small boy, in a pair of mighty slippers, who looked like a very little article indeed, stood trembling before the King.
"Come," roared the King, "don't stand loafing about, but run as fast as you can to the royal presence of Queen Noun, and tell her we request her attendance." Whereat the little Article, trembling a great deal, skipped backward to the door, and then ran off as fast as he could. "For how," said the King, trying to get off a poor joke, as kings are apt to—"how could King Verb be merry if the object of his thoughts and the subject of his affections be absent from the throne?"
And this seemed to tickle all the gay and festive people immensely, for they giggled a great deal, and were much annoyed because Clinton did not giggle too, though he could not for the world tell what they were having such fun about. One of them even would have spoken to him, had not his Majesty just then called out lustily to the man at the door, "Admit them instantly, Sir Preposition." And obediently Sir Preposition drew back the curtain, and led forward a lady enveloped in a long thick veil. The King hopped down from his throne, he was in such a hurry, exclaiming, as he went, in a very hoarse voice, "Allow thy lord to rend the midnight cloud, and behold the moon in all her glory." At the same time he lifted up the cloud, as he called it, and disclosed, not the slightest hint of a beauty, but the withered face of a hideous old woman.
Then the King, I am ashamed to say, turned round and shook his fist in the timid little Article's face. "How dare you, minion," shrieked he, "point out this ugly old Aunt Pronoun, placing her instead of the fairest princess living—Soldiers! soldiers!"—here he turned almost blue in the face, and pointed to the puny little Article as if he were a very lion—"soldiers, seize the traitor!" he hissed.
The soldiers were about to obey him, when a piercing scream rung out through the apartment. Everybody looked round to see what had happened; and sure enough, almost next to where Clinton stood, a very spare court lady had fallen into hysterics. "Oh! alas!" cried she, gasping all the while like any fish; "ah me! alack! fiddle-dee-dee! How—can—he—be—so—cruel!" Here she flung herself into somebody's arms, and was dragged from the room.
"Ho! ho!" said the King; "who's that?"
"Lady Interjection," squeaked the little Article, nervously touching his hat.
"Lady Interjection, is it? Well, she'd better stop this kind of business, as it is growing rather dreary. However, that won't hinder our making short work of Aunt Pronoun. Soldiers!"
Again the soldiers marched up in a most decorous way, when a handsome young courtier rushed forward, and threw himself at the feet of the King. "My dear brother-in-law—I mean your Majesty," he exclaimed—"can't you make up your royal mind to spare this dear old party, remembering her infirmities? Oh, do make up your mind to do so, and to spare also my sister, Queen Noun! Call to mind her many pleasing qualities. She is beautiful, charming, graceful, witty, loving, gentle—"
"Stop! stop! Adjective," shouted the King; "you'll drive me mad. Get up and listen to my Lord Adverb, and don't kneel there chattering like a magpie."
Immediately an aged and venerable man approached King Verb. As Adjective departed, he heard him whisper in the Prime Minister's ear, "Do your best to modify him."
The old man nodded sagaciously, and then addressed his sovereign in a low, clear voice: "Your grace will pardon the rashness of an aged man if I say you have acted somewhat hastily. The advice I give you is to think slowly, coolly, deliberately, and wisely, and then act—kindly."
"Excellent!" said the testy monarch, for he had cooled down a great deal. "Let us hear what Aunt Pronoun can say for herself."
The old lady seemed very cross at the way she had been abused. She drew herself up, and made the King wince, she looked at him so hard. "I have nothing, sire, to say for myself," she said, "save that the Queen, on receiving your message, bid me come to you with the news that you have a young prince born to you."
How the people did shout for joy at this announcement, and how the King did smile, you can not imagine. At any rate Clinton couldn't.
"We thank you for this glorious news, Madam Pronoun," said King Verb, "and we beg you to pardon our sudden displeasure. In recompense, we will have to make you the Prince's godmother. Come, what shall his name be?"
Ladies of Pronoun's age are not so easy to make up with; so she looked very injured at first, but by-and-by began smiling. "King Verb," said she, "I was much grieved at your anger, for it was entirely unmerited; but I rejoice at your kindness, and in token of your having taken the Queen and myself again into court favor and your friendship, I will name the young Prince—Conjunction."
"Hurrah!" cried Clinton, he was so mightily pleased; "I see it all now."
"I am glad you do," said his teacher's voice, close beside him; "but you'd better get up now, else you'll take cold. It's pretty near sunset, and you've been sleeping on this grass nearly two hours."
Clinton sat up, rubbed his eyes, and looked about him. There he was in the woods, as natural as life. Could it have been a dream? Ha! what was that? He happens to spy the round robin looking over his nest, and—yes—winking at him. He got up and meekly followed his teacher, never speaking a word. But from that day to this he firmly believes that what he saw was true, and from that day to this I don't believe he ever missed a grammar lesson.
[HOW THE PRIZE KITTEN WON HER MEDAL.]
BY AGNES CARR.
Pretty little Kitty Kimo was sent by her mistress to the cat show, where her silky fur, bright eyes like great yellow daisies, and pink sea-shell-like ears, soon won her a prize, and she came home with a beautiful silver medal hung round her neck by a blue ribbon, and just the proudest little kit in all catdom.
Oh, how Miss Alice petted her, and fed her on chicken and cream for a week afterward! and how all the poor black, white, and gray cats who had not been to the show watched her with envy as she promenaded up and down the fence with the pretty medal glittering on her neck, and turning her vain little head right and left that every one might see it.
"She puts on as many airs as though she had killed a dozen rats," said Tabby Tortoiseshell, a scraggy-looking old cat, who was blind in one eye.
"When she couldn't catch even a mouse to save her life," said Tommy Scratchclaw, a famous hunter and mouser.
"She hissed and spat at me this morning, when I met her in the violet bed," said Pussy Clover, "and then scampered off up the elm-tree to show her tin locket to Dandy Maltese, who presented her with the neck of a sparrow he had just killed on the spot."
"Silly kitten!" sniffed old Granny Grimalkin, taking a pinch of catnip snuff. "Beauty isn't everything. I once won a brass button on a cord by turning door handles and jumping over a cane; but she hasn't done a thing except look as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth."
"Let us take her medal away, and make her win it back," suggested Sancho Squaller, a powerful black cat, with eyes like buttercups.
"Hurrah! so we will," shouted Tommy Scratchclaw; and all the cats and kits purred a glad assent, and all set up such a mewing and caterwauling, as they discussed how it should be done, that the cook at the corner came rushing out with a broom to drive "those plaguey cats" off the fence.
Kitty Kimo meanwhile, quite unconscious of the plans of her enemies, had enjoyed her sparrow neck exceedingly, and then curled herself up in the shade of a rose-bush for a noon-day nap, and slept so soundly that she never even opened one eye when tiny Topsy Titmouse crept slyly up on her velvety paws, and with her little white teeth gnawed the blue ribbon, and bore off the medal in triumph. Fancy Kitty Kimo's dismay, when she awoke, to see her precious medal shining on the breast of ugly Tabby Tortoiseshell, while all the other cats sat round in a circle, twirling their whiskers and chuckling at the success of their trick.
"Me-ow! me-ow! me-ow!" she wailed. "Oh, give me back my medal, my beautiful medal!"
"Not until you have earned it," replied black Sancho Squaller, with the sternness of a judge.
"What must I do?" she cried.
"Bring us the head of the wicked old rat who steals our meat and milk," said Tommy Scratchclaw, "and you shall have your prize."
And all the cats laughed a scornful "Ha! ha! ha!" for they well knew little Miss Kimo would stand no chance against his ratship, who was as strong as he was bad, and had fought and conquered the most renowned warriors in the block.
So at these words poor Kitty Kimo wailed louder than ever, and gave up her prize for lost, until Dandy Maltese, who sympathized with her, suggested that she should engage, the services of Ratty Terrier, a smart little dog that lived next door.
Now Kitty was rather afraid of Ratty, but she felt that she must make every effort to regain her lost trinket; so taking a wish-bone with her as a peace-offering, she that afternoon ventured to call on Mr. Terrier.
Not being very fond of cats, he showed his teeth at sight of her, and looked rather savage, but she quickly laid the chicken bone before him, and it so gratified him that he listened quite pleasantly to her petition.
"So you want me to kill Mr. Gray Rat for you?" he said. "He is a plucky old fellow, and has given me many a good laugh at the way he snips bits out of the cats' ears; but I think you have been badly treated, and if you will bring me a nice marrow-bone, I'll see what I can do for you."
Kitty looked very doleful at this, but as Ratty turned away, and began snapping at flies, she murmured, "I'll try," and tripped off round the corner to where a fat jolly butcher was chopping up meat.
"Mew, mew, mew," said Kitty, rubbing against his foot.
"Why, little cat, what do you want?" asked the butcher.
"Mew, mew, mew," cried Kitty again; but the butcher did not understand cat language, so she took hold of a big bone that lay on the counter, with her teeth, when he said,
"Oh no, Miss Kitty, you can't have that unless you pay me a penny for it."
This made Kitty very sad. "For where can I get a penny?" she thought, as she walked slowly out of the shop. But just outside she met a monkey who was dancing gayly to the sound of a hand-organ, and for doing so people gave him a great many pennies, which he slipped into his coat pocket. He sat down after a while to rest, and refresh himself with an apple, and then Kitty stole up, and begged:
"Please, Mr. Jack, give me one of your pennies to buy a marrow-bone for Ratty Terrier, and then he will kill the wicked old rat for me, and I shall get back the medal I won at the cat show."
"Chatter, chatter, chatter," said the monkey. "Most of these belong to my master; but I will give you one of mine if you will get me a handful of pea-nuts from yonder stand. I am very fond of them, and they sell very few for a cent."
This stand was kept by a toothless old woman, and Kitty knew it was useless to try and make her understand kitten talk; but she ran across the way, and heard the old lady mumbling to herself, "I'd give a lot of pea-nuts for a few drops of fresh milk to put in my tea."
At these words Kitty purred for joy, and fairly skipped over the ground, for she was acquainted with a goat, who, she thought, would be sure to give her some milk. But when she came to the pasture where the goat was feeding, she found Nanny as selfish as the rest of the world, and not a drop of milk would she give, unless Kitty brought her a head of green lettuce for her supper.
Poor Kitty felt terribly discouraged; but she thought, "I might as well keep on now," and pattered away once more on her tired little paws to a farm on the border of the town, where lay a beautiful field of young lettuce, watched over by a funny old scarecrow in a red waistcoat and shabby hat, who stood there to frighten away the birds that destroyed the delicate leaves.
"He looks rather cross," thought Kitty, as she approached this figure, and her heart went pitapat as she stopped, and began, "Mew! mew!"
"Hey! hey!" cried the scarecrow, whirling round, for he thought it was a cat-bird.
"Please, Mr. Crow, don't scare me," stammered Kitty; "for I am only a kitten; and, oh, do please give me a head of your nice lettuce for Nanny the goat."
"And what will she give you for it?" asked the scarecrow.
"Some milk for the pea-nut woman to put in her tea."
"And what will the pea-nut woman give you?"
"A handful of pea-nuts for Jack the monkey."
"And what will Master Jack give you?"
"A penny to buy a marrow-bone for Ratty Terrier."
"Who will probably bite off your head for your pains."
"Oh no, indeed. He has promised to kill the wicked rat that steals our food for me; and then Tabby and Sancho will give me back the beautiful medal I won at the cat show."
"You are winning it twice, I think; but can you frighten birds?"
"Oh yes, indeed."
"Well, then, just scare away that old crow over there, who has no respect for me, and feasts in the field here under my very eyes, and I will give you a head of lettuce."
"That I will, right gladly," said Kitty; and she rushed the crow with such vigor that he almost choked to death in his fright, and flew away so far that he could never find his way back again.
"Thank you very much," said the scarecrow, when Kitty came back quite breathless from the race, and with her nose as red as a rose-bud. "I can manage all the other birds myself. Now help yourself to a head of lettuce."
Kitty did as she was told; and bidding the old scarecrow, who was so much kinder than he looked, "good-night," hurried away to Nanny the goat, who shook her horns with delight at sight of the fresh young leaves, and gave the kitten some milk in an egg-shell, and also a drink for herself.
The toothless old woman, who had just made up her mind to take her tea clear, was as pleased as she was surprised at the milk pussy brought her, but forgot all about the pea-nuts, until Kitty patted them with her paw. "Oh! Do you want pea-nuts? You shall have them; help yourself to a good handful. You deserve them for being such a smart little cat, and bringing me just what I wanted."
Away went Kitty with her mouth and paws full of nuts, at receiving which the monkey chattered like a whole flock of magpies, and gave her the brightest penny he had in his pocket.
"So you've brought the penny!" exclaimed the butcher, in open-mouthed astonishment, as Kitty laid it in front of him, and seizing the marrow-bone, made off before he could say so much as "Scat!"
"Bow-wow-wow! you deserve a medal, and that's a fact," said Ratty Terrier, wagging his tail at sight of the bone which fairly made his mouth water. And after he had devoured half of it, and hidden the rest in his under-ground store-house, he set out on the promised rat-hunt.
And oh! a fierce battle took place that night, for the old thief fought bravely, and the terrier received many a deep scratch on his saucy little nose, but he came off victor at last, and the rat's head, carefully wrapped in a large leaf, was sent next morning to little Kitty Kimo, who gayly delivered it to the other cats, all of whom rejoiced over the death of their enemy.
"You have well earned your prize at last," said Granny Grimalkin, after Kitty had related her adventures, "for you are as persevering as you are pretty." And Tabby Tortoiseshell herself tied the blue ribbon round Kitty Kimo's neck, while Mademoiselle Catalina Squallita led off in a gay chorus in which all joined, the principal burden of which was, "Me-ow, me-ow-ow, me-ow-ow-ow."
Kitty Kimo was never known to put on airs again, but was always willing to lend her medal to Pussy Clover or Topsy Titmouse to wear to balls or serenades, and she was known far and wide as the Prize Kitten, and the brightest and prettiest cat of the square.
Dedham, Massachusetts.
I am a grandmother, eighty-four years old, and I wish to tell the dear readers of Young People of an episode in the life of my three little grandchildren.
The youngest, a boy, when two years old, had a canary given him. He and two sisters older than he delighted in watching and feeding the little pet, seeing him plunge into his bowl of water to wash, and then sitting on his perch to brush his bright plumage and give them a sweet morning song.
One hot morning his cage was hung out under the portico. The bees, attracted by his sweet food, flew into the cage for some honey to fill the curious cells they had made. The birdie looked upon them as intruders, and probably pecked at them, but the little busy bees, claiming their right to gather honey anywhere in God's wide domain, covered him with stings. Hearing a loud buzzing, we went out to see what had happened. The bird was covered with bees, and before we could rescue it, they had poisoned it so badly that it gasped a few minutes, and died.
When the children found their pet was dead, after gazing very sorrowfully for a while, they got a spade, and without saying a word, took the dead bird and marched slowly to the garden. The sisters dug a grave, and the little boy laid his pet in its last resting-place, and silently covered it with earth.
S. H.
Richmond, Staten Island.
This is the first letter I ever wrote to any paper. I am only seven years old.
Papa has one of the funniest crows you ever saw. He tries to talk. We had to cut his wing, because he used to fly away.
My little sister Lucy, who is almost four years old, sends Young People a picture she drew. It has four kisses on it. We love the Post-office Box best of all.
Hallett S.
I have a garden of my own. I fixed it all myself, and I planted seeds in it. They are coming up nicely.
I went eeling with my little brother Hallett, and we caught enough for dinner.
Willie S.
New Castle, Kentucky.
I live out in the country four miles. I read all the letters in the Post-office Box, and I am so much interested in them! I am reading Robinson Crusoe now, and I like it so much!
We had a very long winter. It snowed fifty or sixty times. We have such nice times in the summer. Sometimes we all go down to Drennon Creek, and take our dinners, and stay all day.
I wrote a composition on Toby Tyler.
Charlie S.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
I live here with my aunt, and I go to school. I have not seen my mother or father for two years, but mother is coming soon. My father is Captain of Company H, Eleventh United States Infantry. He is in Montana Territory, at Fort Custer, not far from the place where General Custer was killed by Sitting Bull and his tribe. The fort is on a hill between the Little and Big Horn rivers. Bismarck is the nearest railroad station, but a railroad is going to be built nearer. Then the station will be Big Horn City or Terry's Landing. Big Horn City is a small place, with only one store and a few houses. Terry's Landing is a kind of fort. It has breastworks and a stockade. It is a landing-place for boats, and one company is stationed there. It is near Fort Custer, and every year the company there is changed.
I have the skin of a wild-cat that was killed out in the Big Horn Mountains. It is a great deal bigger than that of an ordinary cat. It measures three feet three inches from head to tail, and fourteen inches round. It has claws like a cat.
William S. G.
Woodbury, New Jersey.
I have two cunning little gray squirrels, named Frisky and Fluff. They are not tame enough to be let out of their cage. The other day somebody left the cage door open, and the window in the room was wide open. When mamma came up stairs, there sat Mr. Frisky on the door-sill, looking very much as if he meant to run away. When he saw mamma, he scampered into his bed, and she locked the cage door pretty quickly. I am only six years old, and my hand is tired writing.
Florence R. H.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
I wish to notify correspondents that I have no more stamps to exchange. I have had over one hundred letters to answer, and each day brings more. Several have sent stamps, but no address, so that I can not return them.
Young People must go to all parts of the world, as the answers to my offer of exchange testify.
Madgie B. Rauch.
My old issues of United States stamps are all gone, but I will exchange some green 2-cent revenue stamps, and foreign postage stamps, for 7, 12, 24, 30, or 90 cent stamps of any issue, for coins, stamps from Africa, China, or South or Central America, or for any department stamps except 1, 3, and 6 cent Treasury.
Charles W. Tallman,
P. O. Drawer 5, Hillsdale, Mich.
I have had so many applications for my Sandwich Island stamps that my stock is exhausted.
I will now exchange stamps from Porto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, Barbadoes, Hong-Kong, Japan, Cape of Good Hope, Egypt, India, Bavaria, and "Thurn und Taxis," for other rare stamps and for coins; South American and African stamps particularly desired. I will also give twenty-five foreign stamps for two good arrow-heads.
Sheppard G. Schermerhorn,
46 West Nineteenth Street, New York City.
I wish to notify correspondents that I have no more postmarks left.
I have a number of Jules Verne's stories in pamphlet form which I would like to exchange. I will give one for a United States cent, date 1840 or 1846, or for a half-cent of any date but 1851. I will send the complete story of A Voyage Around the World for the cents between 1833 and 1837.
Roland Godfrey,
Gardner, Centre P. O., Worcester Co., Mass.
My stock of foreign stamps is exhausted. I will now give ten United States postmarks for five from any foreign country, or from Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, or Washington Territory. I will exchange even for postmarks from other States.
Lawrence B. Jones,
P. O. Box 1036, Wilkesbarre, Penn.
The following correspondents withdraw their names from our exchange list, their stock of shells, ores, stamps, and other things being exhausted: E. P. Snivelly, Columbus, Ohio; Charles R. Crowther, Bridgeport, Conn.; Ned Robinson, Fairfield, Ill.; Walter C. Freeland, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Charles H. Purdy, Jersey City Heights, N. J.; and G. Vasa Edwards, Plattsburgh, N. Y. Exchangers will please take notice.
I would like to exchange fifty foreign stamps, for a star-fish one foot nine inches in circumference. Or one hundred foreign stamps, for fifteen perfect arrow-heads, twelve perfect spear-heads, or two good-sized stone hatchets. Also one hundred and twenty-eight foreign stamps, for a genuine Indian bow and two good arrows. There are no duplicates among my stamps, and some of them are unused. I will also exchange stamps for other Indian relics besides those named above. Correspondents will please give the locality where each curiosity was found.
D. O. L., care of E. A. Moore,
741 Cherry Street, Kansas City, Missouri.
I have just received a large supply of gold ore, and of rock from the Mammoth Cave, which I will exchange for curiosities. I will also exchange petrifactions. I especially desire to obtain the claw of a grizzly bear.
Dellie H. Porter,
Russellville, Logan Co., Ky.
Isaac S. Yerks, Brooklyn, New York, wishes the address of the correspondent who sent him a specimen of gypsum in a parlor-match box.
Paul L. Ford, Brooklyn, New York, wishes the address of the correspondent who sent a stone from Natural Bridge.
Bertha A. Brumagim, Summerdale, New York, has received three unused foreign stamps, and will return used foreign stamps if the correspondent will send address, and the number of stamps wished for.
Any more correspondents wishing to exchange foreign stamps for those from Hong-Kong or Japan, will please address me at Lake Mahopac, Putnam County, New York, instead of 27 East Twenty-second Street, as heretofore. I should like to ask those correspondents who are owing me stamps to send them to my new address as soon as possible.
Harriette B. Woodruff.
I will exchange woods and ores for curiosities, but I do not wish to exchange for stamps any longer. Nearly every correspondent sends me 1, 2, and 3 cent cancelled United States stamps, and wishes woods in return, and I do not think it is fair.
John L. Hanna, 219 East Madison Street,
Fort, Wayne, Allen Co., Ind.
It certainly is not fair to send these common United States stamps, which every boy and girl can obtain by the hundred, and expect anything of value in return. Stamps which are so very common, and are so very easily obtained by every one, can not be considered of any value for exchange. We refer only to the stamps of low denominations in use at the present time. Certain old issues of 1, 2, and 3 cent United States stamps are much more difficult to obtain than many kinds of foreign stamps.
The following exchanges are offered by correspondents:
Amethyst, onyx, carnelian, topaz, moss-agate, blood-stone, sard, garnet, and malachite, for stamps from Buenos Ayres, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador, United States of Colombia, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Hanover, Modena, Philippine Islands, and Azores; or for a genuine Indian bow and arrow, stone hatchet, spear-heads, or arrow-heads.
Willie Brown,
15 South Thirteenth Street, Newark, N. J.
Rock from the Hoosac Tunnel, for Indian relics, shells, minerals, or foreign stamps. Correspondents will please label specimens.
Arthur C. Bouchard,
51 Eagle Street, North Adams, Mass.
Unpolished specimens of pear, cherry, pine, black or white oak, maple, willow, silver-poplar, or horse-chestnut, or a bottle of sand or water from Lake Michigan, for a bottle of water from any river, or soil from any State except Illinois, or tin, silver, copper, or iron ore. Please label specimens.
Max Baird, care of Baird & Bradley,
90 La Salle Street, Chicago, Ill.
Coins, minerals, stamps, fossils, relics of Indians or Mound-Builders, shells, ocean curiosities, pressed flowers, etc, for other specimens.
W. E. Brehmer,
P. O. Box 747, Penn Yan, Yates Co., N. Y.
Varieties of iron ore, for other minerals or curiosities.
Eddie C. Brown, care of E. J. Farnum,
Wellsville, Allegany Co., N. Y.
A Seltz's American Boy's Theatre, with nine different plays, wires for working, in perfect order, cost eight dollars, for a printing-press and type. Please send postal to arrange for exchange before sending package.
C. H. B., Jun.,
34 Clifford Street, Boston, Mass.
Pressed flowers, for Indian arrow-heads.
A. A. Beebe, Falmouth, Barnstable Co., Mass.
Stones from five different States, for minerals, ores, or curiosities of any kind except stamps.
A. L. Clarke,
133 South Shaffer Street, Springfield, Ohio.
A sea-shell, a curious stone, or a piece of forest moss, for five stamps from Asia, or South America or adjacent islands.
J. F. C.,
West Yarmouth, Mass.
Florida moss, silk cocoons, stones from Georgia or North Carolina, and specimens of wood, for gold or silver ore, fossils, or any other curiosity.
Anson Cutts, Eden, Effingham Co., Ga.
Forty-two postmarks or three foreign stamps, for ocean curiosities.
George O. Dawson,
133 East Eleventh Street, Leadville, Col.
Stamps from Jamaica, Cuba, Danish West Indies, France, Australia, and past and present issues of Canada, for stamps from Mexico, Turkey, Persia, Portugal, Newfoundland, and other countries.
T. C. Des Barres, Jun.,
93 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Ten postmarks from Ohio (no duplicates), for the same number from Texas, California, Oregon, or Louisiana.
Frankie J. Dick,
P. O. Box 866, Ashtabula, Ohio.
Lava, shells from nearly all parts of the world, and foreign postage stamps, for Indian relics, curious birds' wings; or stuffed birds or animals. Please send list of things you wish to exchange before sending any article.
C. N. Daly,
Bergen Point, N. J.
Minerals, for Indian arrow-heads. United States stamps, for any curiosity.
Walter and H. C. Dickinson,
1004 Madison Avenue, New York City.
Twenty-five foreign stamps (no duplicates), for five coins.
George H. Elder,
99 Broadway, Brooklyn, E. D., N. Y.
Carnelians from Lake Pepin, Minnesota, and stones from the Pacific coast, for Florida moss.
Julia F. Ehrman,
205 East Ohio Street, Chicago, Ill.
Sandwich Island and other rare postage stamps and revenue stamps, for stamps. A 90-cent United States postage stamp, a 30 and 50 cent due stamp, and 7, 10, 24, and 90 cent Treasury stamps especially desired.
Fred W. Flatten,
215 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y.
A piece of bark of a California tree, a small piece of Scotch pearl, a stone, sand, and soil of Pennsylvania, and three foreign stamps, for a piece of zinc ore and any five foreign stamps except Canadian, Russian, and English.
Alvin M. Evans,
Care of J. H. Evans, Oil City, Venango Co., Pa.
An ounce of soil from Manitoba, or Canadian postage stamps, for Indian arrow-heads, ores, coins, or rattlesnake rattles.
A. Fergusson,
Drawer 36, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Rare stamps, for stamps, coins, Indian relics, or any curiosity except postmarks and minerals.
Hulda Faglon,
25 Columbia Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Dried willow pussies and pressed violets, for Texas, California, or Florida moss.
Bessie Gleason, West Medford, Mass.
Five-pfennige German stamps, violet issue of 1875, for French stamps issued between 1853 and 1869.
Charles S. Greene,
Rockview Street, Jamaica Plains, Mass.
An illustrated life of Zachariah Chandler, Michigan Senator, for an autograph letter written by any eminent person.
Nellie G.,
P. O. Box 750, Saranac, Ionia Co., Mich.
A piece of coral from Australia, shells from the Mississippi River, petrified wood and bark, gold ore from California, silver ore, minerals, and Indian relics, for a genuine Indian bow or a scroll-saw.
Emil Hartmann,
1818 South Seventh Street, St. Louis, Mo.
Postmarks, for stamps; six varieties of stamps, for one foreign coin; or stamps, for stamps and curiosities.
Jamie D. Heard,
105 Market Street, Pittsburgh, Penn.
Soil from Delaware, for the same from any other State except New York.
Willis H. Hazard,
Delaware College, Newark, Del.
A Brazilian stamp, for a 12 and 15 cent United States; a 3-penny English stamp, for a 30-cent United States.
Albert H. Hopkins, Annapolis, Md.
Six foreign postage stamps, for soil from any Territory.
Hugh H. Pitcairn,
206 West State Street, Harrisburg, Penn.
Ninety-five postage stamps, mostly foreign, and very few duplicates, for a genuine Indian bow and arrow.
Edwin M. Post,
5 East Thirty-third Street, New York City.
A scroll-saw, with directions to use it, for a piece of zinc and tin ore.
Thomas Porter,
Russellville, Logan Co., Ky.
Stamps, for anything suitable for a museum, or for postmarks.
E. Lee Roake,
399 Quincy Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Stones and soil of Illinois, postmarks, and United States due stamps, for foreign stamps and United States department stamps.
Frank Riggs,
Watseka, Iroquois Co., Ill.
Ten rare stamps, for two coins.
Russell Richards,
114 Washington Street, Atlanta, Ga.
Fifteen stamps or twenty-five postmarks (no duplicates), for every coin dated prior to 1800.
S. Frank Rupert,
P. O. Box 103, Easthampton, Mass.
Postmarks from Ohio, for postmarks from any other State.
Walter Sherwood,
P. O. Box 639, Wauseon, Ohio.
Pressed flowers, for the same, or for mosses, sea-shells, a bow and arrow, or curiosities of any kind. Curiosities from Germany, China, Scotland, or Florida especially desired.
Dotty Seaman,
Richmond P. O., Staten Island, N. Y.
A specimen of rock from Weyer's Cave, Virginia, for an Indian arrow-head.
Robert E. Southwick, Northampton, Mass.
French, German, English, and some rare United States postage and revenue stamps, for rare foreign and United States coins.
William F. Sealy,
811 Second Avenue, New York City.
Iron ore, stamps, stones, wood, soil, or any curiosity from Massachusetts, for Indian relics, coins, or anything suitable for a museum.
Willie S. Townsend,
Quinsigamond Village, Worcester, Mass.
Stamps, butterflies, or moss, for sea-shells.
James Thompson,
Middlefield, Geauga Co., Ohio.
A collection of four hundred and fifty stamps in a new album, worth, according to catalogue, eleven dollars and fifty cents, and a two-wheeled velocipede in good order, for a second-hand bicycle.
Harry, Lock Box 16, Urbana, Ill.
Thirty foreign stamps and eighteen postmarks, for an Indian arrow-head, two pieces of pottery, and any other Indian relic.
Harry F. Thompson,
290 East South Street, Indianapolis, Ind.
Ten foreign postage stamps, for minerals, ores, fossils, or Indian relics.
F. Tooque,
276 Washington Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Newspapers and postmarks, for newspapers and curiosities.
Frank M. Turrill,
Pleasant Ridge, Hamilton Co., Ohio.
Coral, small shells, and a few other curiosities, for curiosities.
S. Elliott Uhler,
Mechanicsburg, Cumberland Co., Penn.
Granite and marble from the New York State Capitol, and marble from Tennessee, for gold ore, minerals, Florida moss, or any curiosities.
Adele Winchester,
327 Hudson Avenue, Albany, N. Y.
Ten foreign stamps (no duplicates), for a perfect nickel cent of 1856.
Karl C. Wells,
Waterbury, Washington Co., Vt.
Three alligator's teeth, and ocean curiosities, for rare stamps. Please send postal before sending stamps.
Julius H. Zeiner,
138 Wyckoff Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
John R. G.—For the answer to your question as to the antiquity of glass, see answer to Henry C. D., in Young People No. 63.
The Crinoidea, from two Greek words meaning "lily" and "appearance," are an order of radiated animals of the class Echinodermata, the highest animals of the subkingdom Radiata. As fossils they are sometimes called stone-lilies, having a lily-shaped disk supported on a jointed stem. The recent species of the Crinoidea are very few; but in remote ages they were so numerous that their fossils constitute the greater part of extensive strata of limestone. The Burlington limestone contains a great variety of beautiful crinoids.
"Count No Account."—See answer to Edmund H. B., in the Post-office Box of No. 65.
Fred B. P. and Willie F.—The information you wish for has not yet been given in Young People, but a paper of that character is now in preparation.
"Douglas" and many others.—Your puzzles are very good, but they are not available, as puzzles with the same solution have already appeared in Young People.
"Student."—Prester John, or "Priest John," is the name given to a personage who was supposed to hold the position of priest-king over a Christian tribe somewhere in the interior of Asia. Prester John is often mentioned in the literature of the Middle Ages, but historians consider him a mythical character, as no record of his existence has ever been discovered. So strong was the belief in him, however, that about the middle of the thirteenth century St. Louis, King of France, sent an embassy in search of him and his isolated Christian people. The embassy met with no success, but it was still believed that Prester John dwelt securely in some remote region. The legend of his existence is supposed to have arisen from the fact that, during the eleventh and twelfth centuries parties of Nestorian missionaries visited the interior of Toorkistan, and converted a powerful Khan to Christianity. Their glowing accounts of the magnificence of his court, and of the sincere piety of him and his people, made so strong an impression as to give color to all the legends of that period. The Khan was overthrown and killed in 1202, and Christianity in his dominion ceased, but the existence of Prester John was still believed in, and for several centuries devout monarchs continued to send embassies in search of him and his Christian brotherhood.
C. B. H.—The only thing for you to do is to write to your delinquent correspondent, and demand the return of your stamps. It is not right for any one to keep stamps or any curiosity and send no equivalent.
Sadie V.—If you will send your full address, we will gladly print your exchange of japonica seeds.
Lulah M. P., George. H., and Eddie T.—Your stories are very pretty, and it has been good practice for you to write them, but we can not print them in Young People. If you will send your address, the manuscripts will be returned to you.
Correct answers to puzzles have been received from "Ajax," Jemima Beeston, J. D. Brown, E. A. Cartereau, Maggie Dutro, Benjamin Goldenberg, Alice C. Hammond, William B. Hadley, Walter P. Hiles, Charles E. Lloyd, M. Mann, Percy L. McDermott, N. J. McMillan, "Oliver Twist," Charles S. Petrasch, "Pepper," "Queen Bess," Bessie G. Read, Howard Rathbone, Alice Southworth, "Starry Flag," G. P. Salters, Wilmot, Bertha, and Edmund Sheppard, Howard J. Van Doren, R. H. Washburne, Willie F. Woolard, "Will A. Mette," Edward F. Weeks, Wyette W.