A CHINESE ADVENTURE.
BY PALMER COX.
Three heathen men set out one day
To cross the China sea—
Ah Hong Wun Ho, Gui Tong Pi Lo,
And daring Hup Si Lee.
But there was not, of all the lot,
A single one who knew
The proper way in which to sail
Upon the ocean blue.
The first was captain of the ship,
He kept an eye ahead;
The second played the part of mate,
He steered and heaved the lead;
The third was boatswain, cook, and crew,
Which kept him on the go;
He had to spread the sail aloft,
And make the tea below.
The winds began, the billows ran,
The ship went up and down;
At times she pointed out to sea,
As often back to town.
The seasick captain left the bow,
Between the decks to lie;
The boatswain, busy making tea,
Let all the canvas fly.
And, oh! the mate, the silly mate,
The worst of all was he;
To find how deep the water lay,
He leaped into the sea.
Then mate and crew, and captain too,
Began to yell and roar;
So people threw them out a line,
And hauled the ship ashore.
We have received the following letter from the little colored girl whose appeal for school-books was printed in Young People No. 76. It is gratifying to see that our young friends have responded so heartily to her petition for help. And they will all be happy when they read her grateful words of thanks.
Lincolnton, North Carolina.
My kind Friends,—Your books, papers, and cards are very nice. I did not expect to get so many. You are all so kind, I do not know how to thank you for them.
My writing is so bad, but I hope it will get to the Young People.
I get letters and books every day from the Post-office, and some books by express. One little girl sent me a dollar. I will divide with my brothers and sisters, and I will give some of the books to the colored children who come to the Sunday-school. The ladies told me to do this, and I think I ought to, because they have none. Yours, with many thanks,
Hannah McDaniel.
Accompanying Hannah's letter was also one from one of the ladies who have taught her to read and write. It will be of interest to those who have bestowed kindness on this poor little girl.
Through the kindness of Young People in publishing little Hannah's letter, she has received many favors, for which her mother's family feel deeply grateful. It is charity well bestowed. May God bless the donors!
Hannah's father died last October. Her mother is a good, worthy woman, brought up in my mother's household with the care of one of her own children. Both were our trusty faithful servants and friends for more than thirty years.
We try to do what we can in the way of teaching the colored children around us, thus following the example of our father, who died before the war, while a missionary to the colored people in South Carolina, but our greatest obstacle has been a lack of books, which we were not able to provide.
I write this letter at the request of Hannah's mother.
Miss M. R. McDaniel.
Phœnix, Arizona.
I get Young People every week, but it has to come a long way to find me. Arizona is so far off from the great cities that one might think we would be deprived of good schools, Sunday-schools, and other things we left at home, but we have them all, of the very best, too. Our school has over two hundred scholars, and our Sunday-school over one hundred, and we have a fine library and an organ.
We have lived in Arizona nearly ten years, and are delighted with it. We came four thousand miles to reach here, and on the way crossed the Rocky Mountains, and ever so many great rivers and hot deserts.
We live in the beautiful valley of Salt River, which is a branch of the Gila. The population here is made up largely of Indians and Mexicans, with a great many Chinese and some negroes. We find this a good place to study Spanish, as there are so many people here who speak that language.
I wish I could tell my little fellow-readers of the many strange reptiles and other things here, and I wish they could see the valley scenery. It is so beautiful, covered with the green grain, which is now nearly ready for harvest. I know they would like to see the little donkeys the Mexicans use to pack wood on. They call the donkeys burros. And there are so many funny little Indian babies here that they call pappooses. My letter is long enough. Adios.
Lindley B. O.
Norway, Maine.
I am going to school, and I have to board away from home. I have taken Young People ever since it was published, and I was keeping my papers as nice as I possibly could, to have them bound, when our house burned down, and all of our furniture and everything in the house was lost. I lost all my books and playthings and all my nice little papers. I had ever so many playthings, and I had one wax doll and two nice china dolls. I was making a collection of postage stamps, and I had nearly two hundred. I felt very badly to lose all my things, yet I was so thankful that my papa and mamma escaped from the house alive! It was a very dark night, and they did not wake up until the fire was almost to their room. I was away from home at school. I send my love to all the little girls that take Young People. I am ten years old.
Maud A. R.
Brooklyn, New York.
Last Saturday I sent seventeen letters full of stamps. I am beginning to feel a little better now, as I only get three or four letters a week.
The pea-nut owl in Young People No. 73 made me laugh so that mamma let me buy a quart of pea-nuts, and showed me how to make one. I have a nice branch with lots of little branches, and I make owls of all sizes, and fasten them on. They look so comical, they make everybody laugh who sees them. Instead of tissue-paper for wings, I take light wrapping paper just the color of the pea-nut, and ink it a little, and it looks splendid.
Percy L. McD.
Agawam, Massachusetts.
I would like to tell the boy in Ohio that my brother Lewis had some chickens hatched on the 20th of March, but I guess the little things thought it was pretty cold weather.
My grandma says that a ten-quart pail full of sap from large old maple-trees will make a pound of sugar.
Jennie P.
Nauvoo, Illinois.
I live near the Mississippi River. There are mounds near here. My uncle dug into one of them, and between two layers of flat stones he found some Indian bones.
Annabel E. S.
Portland, Connecticut.
Mamma reads to me the stories about kitties and dogs that belong to other little girls who write to Young People, and some of them are as well educated as my Fritzie. When I speak to Fritzie, he understands all I say to him; I am sure of it. When I feed him, he waits patiently until I hand him the food. I have the meat cut up very fine, and then I sit down in my little rocking-chair with the plate in my lap, and pass the food to Fritzie with a silver fork. Everybody is pleased to see him eat. He never snaps at the meat, but takes it very gently from the fork, and eats it like a gentleman. He will sit up in a chair and have a napkin pinned round his neck before he eats; that is to keep his vest clean. I saw a picture in a book of an ill-mannered dog that had eaten up a little child's dinner. I feel sorry there are such wicked dogs in the world. Fritzie would scorn such an action. He would protect the little girl, like the "Faithful Sentinel" in Young People No. 71. Fritzie looks just like that picture. He is as brave as a lion. He catches rats, and every night he goes with the night-watchman to the factory to help him. So he works very hard too. He is getting old, but if he lives until summer, mamma says she will have his photograph taken.
Neva E. A.
Des Moines, Iowa.
Will some correspondent please tell me what a Florida sea-bean is?
L. M. G.
If some of our Southern readers will write a description of the Florida sea-bean, its size, color, and how and where it grows, we will gladly print it.
The following letter is from a very little boy who is just learning to write English:
San Francisco, California.
I receive Harper's Young People every week. I am so contented with it that you can not imagine about it. I love those little engines to make, and those tricks, and I hope that they will be more.
Virgil Giacobbi.
I will give seventy-five rare stamps for the 30-cent and 90-cent United States stamps of the issue of 1869. The 30-cent is red and blue, with the device of an eagle mounted on a shield surrounded by flags at base, and the 90-cent is carmine and black, and has Lincoln's head. I will give forty-five stamps for the 90-cent, and thirty for the 30-cent. These two stamps will complete my whole set of United States stamps. I have two hundred and thirty—no local or revenue stamps counted.
E. Gudeman,
112 River Street, Hoboken, N. J.
I will exchange a miniature yacht for a printing-press, type, and general printing outfit. The yacht is twenty inches long, five and three-quarter inches wide, four inches depth of hold, mast sixteen and one-quarter inches in height from deck. It is sloop-rigged, and finished up in a very handsome manner with paint, varnish, etc. It is a first-class sailer, and as good as new. It was built in a most substantial manner by an Eastern boat-builder. The boat will be securely boxed and sent by express.
Please write describing press and outfit before sending any package.
W. J. Doughty,
684 Communipaw Avenue, Jersey City, N. J.
I have twenty varieties of the cactus family, to which I wish to add as many more as possible. I will gladly exchange cuttings with any one.
Gussie E. Peebles, Cobden, Ill.
I would like to tell the readers of Young People a nice way to preserve the color of autumn or forest leaves. First sprinkle the leaf with a little resin, and rub a warm iron lightly over it. Then dissolve some red aniline in water, and brush over the surface of the leaf with a feather. Hold the leaf near the fire a few moments, and it will assume the most brilliant colors—green, bronze, etc.
I have several old newspapers printed in 1804 and 1805. One is dated July 13, 1804, and contains the first news that reached Philadelphia of the duel between General Hamilton and Aaron Burr. I will exchange one of these for ten stamps from Mexico or Central or South America.
I will also exchange three stamps—the United States blue three-cent, issue of 1869; the red three-cent, issue of 1861; and one from either New Zealand or the East Indies, for one three-cornered Cape of Good Hope stamp; or one from New Brunswick or Newfoundland, issue of 1857 or 1860.
Maurice A. McMillan,
Washington C. H., Fayette Co., Ohio.
R. Carpenter, Chicago, Illinois, desires to notify correspondents that he received so many applications for his stamps and postmarks that his small stock was exhausted in less than a week after his offer of exchange was printed. He will answer every letter as soon as possible, and either return the stamps he has received, or give an equivalent.
The address of Irvin P. Knipe and brother, whose offer of exchange appeared in the Post-office Box of Young People No. 78, should read Norristown instead of Morristown.
Harry Robinson, Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, wishes the address of the correspondent who sent him a specimen of lead ore in a Tiffany & Co. box.
Arthur Davenport, Chicago, Illinois, notifies correspondents that he has no more crystallized quartz to exchange.
Annie Wheeler, Danville, Virginia, requests the address of the young lady who sent her a lot of West India flower seeds.
Eddie Gordon, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, desires to notify correspondents that his stock of Indian arrow-heads and pottery is exhausted.
The following exchanges are offered by correspondents:
Indian arrow-heads, for foreign coins. A petrifaction of a fish's head, for old United States coins.
Martin J. Britting, West Covington, Ky.
Ten postmarks, for two South American stamps.
S. M. Bussell,
106 East Thirty-first Street, New York City.
Carnelians, or specimens of oak, birch, poplar, cherry, and sumac, for specimens of foreign woods.
Ray S. Baker,
Saint Croix Falls, Polk Co., Wis.
A few Indian relics, an ounce of soil from Indiana, and some other curiosities, for coins from any foreign country except England.
F. T. Cole, Economy, Wayne Co., Ind.
Pieces of lava, a fossilized fern, lead ore, and other minerals, for gold or copper ore, or Indian arrow-heads. Please write before sending specimens.
Harry C., Bergen Point, Hudson Co., N. J.
One-cent and three-cent Canadian stamps, for Canadian stamps of a higher denomination. Two three-cent for one six-cent.
Robert L. Carroll,
84 Carver Street, Boston, Mass.
Rocks and earth from Indiana, with five kinds of foreign stamps, for rocks and earth from any other State; or stamps from Brazil, Sandwich Islands, British Guinea, Hong-Kong, Japan, Finland, and other countries, for stamps of equal value.
Dan L. Dorsey,
25 West Georgia Street, Indianapolis, Ind.
Twenty foreign postage stamps for Indian relics.
A. J. Dent, care of J. E. Dent,
P. O. Box 200, Columbia, S. C.
Curiosities of all kinds.
R. P. C. and R. H. D., P. O. Box 144,
Riverside, San Bernardino Co., Cal.
A new, good-toned violin, bow, and instruction-book, for a good self-inking printing-press and outfit. A collection of stamps from Barbadoes, Brazil, Cuba, and other countries, for the set of Nicaragua stamps, a Malta stamp, and two Bermuda, the lilac sixpence, and the green one shilling.
Edwin Garcia, Jun.,
342 West Ninety-sixth Street, New York City.
Crystallized quartz, flint, and iron pyrites, for foreign coins of every country except Canada, minerals, or anything good for a collection.
Aaron Goldman,
2933 Prairie Avenue, Chicago, Ill.
Ten foreign stamps, gold ore, nickel salts, and a Florida sea-bean, for an Indian stone tomahawk.
Frank Harris,
114 St. James Place, Brooklyn. N. Y.
Nineteen foreign stamps and two due stamps, for an Indian bow and arrow.
Frank Goodale,
633 Greene Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Thirty-six postmarks, nine stamps (no duplicates), a star-fish, a Florida bean, and a small piece of flint, for Indian relics or specimens from the Mammoth Cave. Correspondents will please send postal before sending specimens, and if not answered, they will know the stock is exhausted.
Nelson Gardner,
213 Halsey Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
United States War Department stamps, and sea-beans, for curiosities of all kinds, or anything suitable for a museum.
Campbell T. Hamilton,
McPherson Barracks, Atlanta, Ga.
Stamps from the Eastern hemisphere, for stamps from the Western hemisphere.
Fleta M. Holman,
Corner Wells and Twenty-seventh Streets,
Milwaukee, Wis.
A stone from Arkansas, for one from any other State except Missouri.
L. W. Haskell,
Pastoria, Jefferson Co., Ark.
Newspaper stamps, and Canadian and some other foreign stamps, for rare foreign, old United Slates, and department stamps. Please send lists. Also postmarks from all parts of the Northwest, for stamps. Ten postmarks, for any desirable stamp.
C. L. H. and T. C. H.,
72 Grant Place, Chicago, Ill.
Foreign and United States postage stamps, some rare, for Indian arrow-heads or other rare stamps.
F. Howland,
52 West Nineteenth Street, New York City.
Stamps.
Henry H. Johnson,
131 East Seventieth Street, New York City.
Ten foreign stamps, for twenty-five postmarks.
Lawrence B. Jones,
P. O. Box 1036, Wilkesbarre, Penn.
Hamburg local stamps and postmarks, for stamps, postmarks, Indian relics, and entomological specimens.
E. G. Johns,
Flemington, Hunterdon Co., N. J.
Postmarks, for postmarks; or postmarks for stamps.
Mabel Lancaster, care of C. B. Lancaster,
P. O. Box 339, Newton, Mass.
Rare Indian pottery, for Chinese or Japanese stamps, or for silver or gold ore.
Charles W. Lansing,
Plattsburg, Clinton Co., N. Y.
Fossils and minerals, for sea-weeds and shells.
Docia Lowry, Elizabethtown, Hardin Co., Ill.
Twenty postmarks (no duplicates) of Pennsylvania, for twenty of any other State except Iowa.
William A. Lewis,
P. O. Box 108, Lewisburg, Union Co., Penn.
Five German and three other European stamps, for one Cashmere stamp.
Frank L. Long,
720 North Sixth Street, Philadelphia, Penn.
Shells from the Bahama Islands, for pressed flowers from California.
E. Lulu Leslie,
434 Prospect Street, Cleveland, Ohio.
Foreign postage and United States revenue stamps, for foreign postage stamps.
Edward Mayo, P. O. Box 291, Bristol, R. I.
Twenty postmarks, for five foreign stamps. A foot-power scroll-saw, six saw blades, impression paper, designs, and directions, sent carefully by express or freight, for eight hundred foreign and United States stamps (no duplicates), or a self-inking printing-press.
Maynard A. Murphy,
179 Charlotte Avenue, Detroit, Mich.
Postmarks, stamps, and minerals, for minerals.
Alice G. Root, Clinton, Oneida Co., N. Y.
Ten foreign stamps, for one foreign coin.
Howard C. Rouzer,
Mechanicstown, Frederick Co., Md.
Soil or newspapers of New York, for the same from any other State.
Fred I. Smith,
144 Sands Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
A stone from Illinois, for one from any other State or Territory. A piece of lead ore for five foreign stamps. A petrified shell or a piece of mica for two foreign stamps. An Indian arrow-head, for thirteen foreign stamps.
Ned Robinson, Fairfield, Ill.
Ten postmarks, for one foreign stamp.
Ellison Snyder, P. O. Box 564, Scranton, Penn.
Stamps.
M. Stiefel,
36 East Sixtieth Street, New York City.
Canadian, English, United States, or West Indian postage stamps, for foreign stamps. Six stamps from any of these countries, for an Indian arrow-head, or any curiosity suitable for a museum.
Robert W. Sherdton,
9 North Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Postmarks, for postmarks. Soil of New York, for the same from any other State. Twenty foreign postage stamps, for sea-shells and curiosities from the Pennsylvania coast.
Henry F. Steele,
Babylon, Long Island, N. Y.
Stamps, ores, coins, and minerals, for ores, minerals, curiosities, and fossils. Coal fossils especially desired.
E. K. Scheftel,
18 East Fifty-seventh Street, New York City.
Foreign and United States stamps, United States department stamps, and hand-painted shells, for postage stamps, coins, minerals, Indian arrow-heads, and other relics, or any curiosity.
John B. Tyrrell,
412 Second Street N. E., Washington, D. C.
Stamps and postmarks. Or an ounce of sand from Michigan, for the same from any other State.
Willie J. Trott, St. Charles, Saginaw Co., Mich.
Twenty foreign postage stamps, for Indian relics or arrow-heads.
H. Tuttle,
145 Ellison Street, Paterson, N. J.
Stamps from Sweden, Germany, Italy, France, and the United States, for Indian relics, shells, or minerals. Correspondents will please write before sending package, stating what stamps they wish, and what curiosity they have to exchange.
Albert Woolley, care of Richard Woolley,
P. O. Box 1391, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Postmarks, United States revenue and foreign postage stamps, for flower and garden seeds.
Willie M. Whitheld,
235 West Thirty-fourth Street, New York City.
A stamp from France, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Bavaria, and Hungary, for five South American, African, or United States Treasury or Interior Department stamps.
Willie F. Williams,
Plainfield, Union Co., N. J.
About one thousand rare postage stamps in an Oppens stamp album, to exchange entire or in sets, for rare coins.
F. A. Ware,
138 West Thirty-sixth Street, New York City.
Stamps from Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and other foreign countries, for stamps, minerals, and curiosities.
L. E. Walker,
Lock Box 316, Lansing, Mich.
An ounce of soil or a stone from California, for a foreign postage stamp and five postmarks, or an Indian relic.
Clement C. Young,
Biggs, Butte Co., Cal.
Foreign and United States stamps. Liberian and Asiatic stamps especially desired.
C. A. Van Rensselaer, Orange, N. J.
Soil from Pennsylvania and foreign postage stamps, for Indian curiosities.
F. A. Tifft,
326 South Sixteenth Street, Philadelphia, Penn.
[For other exchanges, see third page of cover.]
Ethel B.—Your Wiggle is so pretty and so very neatly drawn that we regret its late arrival.
Young Gardener.—Asparagus is a native of Southern Europe and Africa, and was brought to America by the Europeans. It was a favorite dish with the ancient Romans, but was unknown in England until about the beginning of the seventeenth century.
Ernest C.—The magot is a little tailless monkey not much larger than a cat. Great numbers of magots live in the forests of Northern Africa. This monkey is as nimble as a squirrel. It is easily tamed, and makes an affectionate and amusing pet. It is also found on the Rock of Gibraltar.
John N. W.—We can supply no more bound copies of the first volume of Young People.
G. E. P.—It is against the law to send either living or stuffed birds, animals, or reptiles by mail.
J. B. S. and Willie S. S.—We do not know of any good elementary works; but if you read carefully, you will be able to understand Hitchcock's Geology and Dana's Mineralogy, and will find them very useful books.
W. H. B.—Any old stamps are good for purposes of exchange.—A United States cent of 1799 is always worth something, as it is the most rare issue; but as its value depends entirely on condition, you would better show your specimen to some collector or dealer, who will prize it for you. The paragraph to S. S. in the Post-office Box of No. 69 will show you the variation in the value of this coin.
Archery Club, Kansas.—We shall be glad to have a report of your archery meeting, a description of your bows and arrows, and a record of the best shots.
Correct answers to puzzles have been received from "Ajax," Jemima Beeston, Ray B., Josie Chesley, C. H. Cole, De Forest W. Chase, "Dollars and Cents," Harry E. Dixon, Horace F. Fuller, W. K. Grithens, B. Goldenberg, Nellie P. Hazard, C. W. Hanner, Eddie Hequembourg, William Hadley, Willie C. Jones, Lucy C. Kellerhouse, Bessie Linn, "Lodestar," Fannie and Katie Metzgar, "Pepper," Carrie C. Pelham, "Pickwick," Torrance Parker, Augusta L. Parke, "Queen Bess," Effie R., "Sir Tinly," Robert G. Steel, S. Ware Sheppard, G. P. Salters, Bell T. Smart, Addie and Arthur S., Marion I. Wright, "Will A. Mette," Frank B. Westwood, Frank S. Willock.