SKIPPING.
Airily, airily, skip away:
Set to work, all of you, trip away!
Over your head, and under your toes,
That's the way the merry rope goes!
Aprons flap in the breezy air;
Fly away, lessons, this holiday fair!
New York City.
I have a little girl who has derived a great deal of pleasure from Young People. She has had every number since the beginning, and when through with them she sends them to children who are too poor to buy papers.
Perhaps some of the readers of this paper could amuse themselves by trying to form a word—said to be the only one possible in the English language—from the following combination of letters: H E C S T Y.
S.
Dresden, Germany.
My dear companion-readers of Young People, let me tell you something about Dresden, the capital of Saxony, in which city I now live. Dresden is situated on the Elbe—a river of about one-seventh the size of the Hudson. The city is sometimes called Elb-Florence, as it contains picture-galleries, museums, nice architectural buildings, squares, theatres, and handsomely built churches. The Prager See and the Schloss Strasse are the most crowded streets, and as I am living on the first one, I enjoy seeing all the passers-by from my lofty stone balcony. Many good concerts are given here, and in the summer season the open-air concerts are visited by all the best people of Dresden.
The city has many lovely promenades and parks. The Zoological Garden is a gem, and wild and tame animals of all kinds may be seen there. Very often queer people, such as Esquimaux, Indians, Nubians, and Hindoos, come to Dresden, and have an exhibition, and many strangers may be seen in the streets. To-day the Chevalier Blondin, the celebrated tight-rope walker, created a great sensation, and many people attended his daring performance, rewarding his dangerous and difficult feats with enthusiastic applause.
I like Young People very much. The new serial, "Who was Paul Grayson?" by Mr. Habberton, is excellent. Many of the incidents remind me of some I myself have witnessed. I remember the school-boy fights, and the teasing of new scholars. The other stories are also very interesting, and the jokes are sometimes capital. I like the cuts very much, and I hope both those and Young People—may it flourish for a long time!—will always remain as nice as now.
Louis G. E.
Baltimore, Maryland.
I wish to tell the boys and girls that take this beautiful little paper about our sesquicentennial, or the one-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of Baltimore. On Monday, October 11, the procession illustrated the history of Baltimore. In one wagon was an Indian scene, to represent Indian life. In another wagon was a large vessel with men in it in early Spanish costume, to represent Christopher Columbus and his crew. The Corn Exchange had several wagons, two of which were very amusing—one had a large bull in it, and the other a great ugly bear, which walked restlessly around the pole to which it was chained. A florist was represented by a beautiful garden, with trees, flowers, and grass, and right under the tree a funny little monkey was tied. It jumped all about, and looked very cunning, for it was very small.
Among the tableaux was a representation of Neptune drawn in a shell by two dragons in the water. Of course it was not real water, but it looked exactly like waves. At the other end of this wagon was a mermaid, half out of water. It was a very beautiful scene. Every trade was on parade, and some were working in their wagons. The butchers were making sausages, and throwing them to the people, and the bakers threw cakes and biscuit. The procession was ten miles long, and it was five hours passing a given point.
On Tuesday all the different societies, and the public and private school children, were on parade. All the houses and stores and public buildings were decorated with black and orange—the colors of Maryland—and with the American flag. The city looked very bright and beautiful. I am very proud of being a Baltimore girl. I am thirteen years old.
Jessie H. L.
Coopersburg, Kansas.
The first thing I read when my little paper comes is the Post-office Box. I live on a big prairie. I have a pet kitty, and lots of chickens and turkeys.
Adella T.
Bay City, Michigan.
I wish some little girl would give me a good recipe for johnny-cake. My father has offered a prize to my sister and myself for the best johnny-cake.
Mary G.
Council Bluffs, Iowa.
I have taken Young People since my seventh birthday, which was the 15th of March. I like it very much, and I want papa to take it another year. I like the "Story of George Washington."
I have two little brothers, Fred and Walter. Fred is four years old, and goes to a Kindergarten. Walter and I go to the public school. We have a velocipede and a rocking-horse, but no live pets.
Louis Edwin E.
Granville, Wisconsin.
I take Young People, and I like it very much indeed.
My brother Allie and I are raising two calves. Their names are Rosa and Jim, and now when we call them they will come running.
The other day I found some very pretty stones. I carried them in the house and put them in a tumbler filled with water, and set them in the sun. If any little girl wishes to do this, a large-mouthed bottle will answer as well as a tumbler; and if the stones have bright, pretty colors, and there are some arrow flints scattered among them, the effect when the sun shines on them is very beautiful.
Rose C.
New York City.
Mamma, Georgie, and Frank went fishing down to the Point yesterday, and Georgie caught two smelts and a crab. Frank also caught two smelts, but while they were in the basket a crow came along, and took them both off.
Jakie T.
Lake View, Illinois.
I am a little girl nine years old, and I enjoy Young People very much.
I have a great many dolls, and I have a pet parrot that is very fond of me. He can not talk very much, but he will learn. I had a pet cat, but it got lost.
Grace D. C.
Collamer, New York.
I am taking Young People, and I am delighted with it.
I have two pet cats, and I have some house plants. This summer there were some small insects at work on their roots. I wish some one could tell me what they were.
I am taking music lessons, and like to practice very much.
I have quite a large collection of birds' eggs.
Bertha G. M.
Preakness, New Jersey.
I have three old rabbits and two young ones. I used to have twenty-six, but I sold some and lost some. Rabbits have very interesting habits. Sometimes they sit up on their hind-feet and wash their faces with their fore-feet.
I am trying to make a fresh-water aquarium. I had a fresh-water lobster, two lizards, and some minnows, but they all died. Can you tell me how to take better care of them?
Judson S. T.
We can not give you any fuller directions than are contained in the papers on aquaria in Young People, Nos. 42 and 43.
Mayersville, Mississippi.
I have never written to the Post-office before, but now I wish to say how very much I like this valuable little paper. I only commenced taking it myself with No. 41, but before that I borrowed it from a friend. I can not tell you how much I enjoy it. I believe I liked the story called "Moonshiners" best of all.
I live on the Mississippi River in a very pretty little town.
Gertrude P.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
I am so much obliged to Young People for all the stories and poems.
I wish all the children could see my parrot. She is the wonder of the age. Every one that comes to our house is convulsed with laughter at her laughing, crying, singing, and talking. She is very impudent; and after imitating any one, which she does capitally, she will roar with laughter, and cry out, "Oh, Polly, how funny!" Sometimes she swears. Then she laughs again, and cries, "Oh, you bad Polly!"
Will you tell me of some books of fairy tales for older children? I think the story of "Photogen and Nycteris" was lovely.
May.
There are a great many books of fairy tales which even grown-up children enjoy very much. The Rose and the Ring, by Thackeray, is delightful. Miss Johnson's Catskill Fairies, relating how they amused a little boy who was blocked in by a snow-storm, is a very fascinating book. Then there are the fairy-books of Laboulaye and Macé, Puss-Cat Mew, Queer Folks, Tales at Tea-Time, and other books by Knatchbull-Hugessen. Alice in Wonderland is also very entertaining; for although it is the most absurd nonsense ever written, we pity the person too old to enjoy it. The Snow-Queen, and other fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen, are charming books for readers of any age.
Accord, New York.
The Post-office is a mile and a half away from where I live, but I get Young People every Tuesday, and I can hardly wait for it. I learn ever so much from it.
I have a little brother Henry, four years old, and a little sister Eleanor, who is ten months. She is a great pet. My papa has two mills here, and he is very busy, but he devotes a great deal of time to our comfort and enjoyment.
Molly C. D.
New York City.
I have seen so very many letters about pets in the Post-office Box that I thought I would write the story of a poor, lone, forlorn chicken a friend of mine had.
This chicken was orphaned and thrown upon the tender mercies of this world at the tender age of two days. Jet discovered it, and brought it into the house. She fed it, and every night wrapped it up in a flannel rag, and put it into a snug corner near the stove, and took it out again in the morning. At last it grew so large Jet considered it in the way, so one night she took it out to roost with the other fowls on the grape-vine trellis. The next day Jet found her Majesty waiting to be fed as usual, and every night she had to lift her up on to the trellis. This continued about a month, when Jet's patience gave way, and the poor chicken was beheaded.
I enjoy Young People very much indeed. The stories I have liked the most are "Photogen and Nycteris," the series by "Jimmy Brown," Bessie Maynard's long-worded letters to her doll, and "Who was Paul Grayson?"
Bersia.
I have a collection of twelve hundred and fifty postage and revenue stamps, and I would like to exchange with readers of Young People residing in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, or in any part of Canada. Correspondents will please give the number of stamps in their collection.
H. A. Blakesley,
54 West Eighth Street, Topeka, Kansas.
I have no pets, but I have the dearest little brother that ever lived, and I am going to have a present of a kitty. I like "The Moral Pirates" and "Who was Paul Grayson?" very much.
I will gladly exchange flower seeds with Grace Denton, as I live very far West.
Laura C. Marshall, Greeley, Colorado.
We have been pressing a great many autumn leaves and ferns, and would be glad to exchange them for flower seeds with any of the readers of Young People. Correspondents will please mark the name plainly on each package of seed.
Bessie G. and Eliza B. Bartlett,
Greensburg, Green County, Kentucky.
I have a collection of postage stamps, and would like to exchange with Harry Gustin, Eddie De Lima, Horace C. Foote, or with any other readers of Young People. Correspondents will please send a list of stamps they have to exchange, and of those they would like in return.
E. M. Devoe, P. O. Box 159, Mount Vernon,
Westchester County, New York.
Will "Wee Tot," or some other subscriber to Young People, send me some sea-shells in exchange for feathers of the white crane and of some other wild birds? I have also a petrified buffalo's tooth which I will exchange for shells or quartz.
Theodore Patchen,
Herman, Grant County, Minnesota.
I am collecting stamps, postmarks, and shells. I have to exchange a good many Greek stamps and some shells.
Andrew Gunari,
Care of P. Gunari, New Rochelle, New York.
I enjoy knitting lace very much, but I would like some new patterns. I have two that are wide, the oak-leaf and Normandy, and one that is narrow and very easy. I will be glad to exchange any of these for something new.
A class of the pupils in this school have just listened to "The Moral Pirates," and enjoyed it very much.
Alice C. Little,
Institution for the Blind, Janesville, Wisconsin.
I would like to exchange postage stamps with any of the readers of this interesting paper. I have some very rare stamps to exchange.
Frank F. Rice,
109 East Seventy-ninth Street, New York City.
I like to read the letters in Harper's Young People.
I have three kittens, and a canary which is very tame. I go to school, and am taking drawing lessons.
I will exchange postage stamps with any of the correspondents of Young People. I am ten years old.
Arline M. Skiff,
37 College Street, New Haven, Connecticut.
I would like to exchange eggs, copper ore, postmarks, and stamps for coins or Indian relics.
S. B. Foster, Knowlton, P. Q., Canada.
Henry R. H.—Yale College was chartered in 1701, and in the autumn of that same year the school was opened in Saybrook, Connecticut. It was removed to New Haven in 1716. In the first years of its existence it was known as "The Collegiate School of Connecticut," but in 1718 the name was changed to Yale College, as a recognition of gifts of valuable books and considerable sums of money from Elihu Yale, who was a native of New Haven, but who left his birth-place when a boy, and resided all his life in either London or India. He amassed great wealth, and was for some time Governor of the East India Company. He died in London in 1721.
Lewis D.—In early numbers of the Post-office Box, especially in No. 5, are directions for the care of a pet tortoise. And in Young People No. 27, in the article entitled "A Letter from a Land Turtle," you will find interesting facts about the habits of these creatures.
Robert G. S.—Rabbits, as a rule, obtain all the moisture they require from the leaves of lettuce, cabbage, and other succulent plants upon which they feed. They like bread or cracker soaked in milk, and we have known rabbits that would drink water, but it is not supposed to be required by the little beasts when they are in a healthy state.
Minnie W.—Vancouver Island was named from Captain George Vancouver, a British naval officer, who accompanied Captain Cook in his first and second voyages round the world. In 1790 he was put in command of a small squadron, and sent to take possession of the Nootka region, then in the hands of the Spaniards. The island which now bears his name was surrendered to him by the Spanish commandant Quadra in 1792. Vancouver was instructed by the English government to institute a search for a northern water connection between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans after taking possession of Nootka, but he was unable to discover what many navigators before and after him sought for in vain. It was not until 1850 that the Northwest Passage was finally discovered by Sir Robert McClure. Captain Vancouver died in England in 1798.
Jennie C. A.—The cover for Young People is strong, and very prettily ornamented. It is not self-binding, but any book-binder will put it on for you for a small charge. See answer to C. B. M. in Post-office Box of Young People No. 53.
Dudley.—The standard value of the foreign coins about which you inquire is subject to slight variation in the United States, but as used in the computation of customs duties on January 1, 1880, it was as follows: Chilian peso, or dollar, ninety-one cents; Peruvian dollar, eighty-three cents; Norwegian crown, twenty-six cents; India rupee of sixteen annas, thirty-nine cents; Brazilian milreis of one thousand reis, fifty-four cents; Austrian florin, forty-one cents; German mark, twenty-three cents; Turkish piaster, four cents; Italian lira, nineteen cents; Russian ruble of one hundred copecks, sixty-six cents. We have not given the fractions of a cent, which in business transactions are added to the above amounts, for as you are simply a coin collector, we do not think you will require them.—The Spanish silver "quarter," the "elevenpence," worth twelve and a half cents, and the "fi'penny-bit," worth six and a quarter cents, were in general circulation in the United States, especially in the West, about forty years ago. These coins were marked by the two pillars of the Spanish coat of arms, between them the two castles and two lions rampant of Castile in a shield surmounted by a crown.
"Young Sailor."—The first light-house of which there is any record in history was built by Ptolemy Philadelphus about 300 b.c. It was a tower on which wood fires were kept blazing at night. It was built on Pharos, a small island in the bay of Alexandria, and was one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is an interesting fact that the modern French and Spanish names for light-house—the one being phare, the other faro—still preserve the memory of the island where the first attempt at sea-coast illumination was located. The ruined tower in Dover Castle, England, erected about a.d. 44, is claimed by some authorities to have been built for a light-house, upon which an enormous wood fire was kept burning.
The light-house on the southern end of the island of Conanicut, at the mouth of Narragansett Bay, is said to be the oldest in the United States. The present structure is comparatively modern, but the first one was erected in 1750, and for nearly one hundred years previous a watch-tower with a beacon fire had existed at the same point.
This light-house bears the odd name of Beaver Tail. The southern portion of Conanicut Island is shaped something like a beaver, with its tail pointing southward, and in early times it was known by that name, the two extremities being called head and tail.
Previous to 1789 the few light-houses existing in the United States were maintained by the States in which they were situated, but from that date the expense was assumed by the general government, and in 1791 the first light-house under the new law was erected at Cape Henry. There are now nearly six hundred and fifty light-houses, lighted beacons, and light-ships on the coast and waters of the United States.
Jack Nemo.—If you paid a year's subscription to Young People, you will receive your paper until January, 1881. Subscriptions may begin with any number, and the paper will be sent the length of time for which the subscription is taken, without reference to the beginning or close of a volume.
Favors are acknowledged from Frank L. L., Joseph Henry C., S. V. B., A. R. Reeves, Lloyd Elliot, "Bo-Peep," Mary Burns, Hattie Venable, Bertha M. Hubbard, Nellie M. S., Amy L. O.
Correct answers to puzzles are received from Nellie Brainard, Jennie C. Ridgway, "Jupiter," G. Dudley Kyte, A. H. Ellard, Alfred C. P. Opdyke, George M. Finckel, G. Volckhausen.
ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN NO. 51.
No. 1.
| C-hestnut. |
| E-lm. |
| D-ogwood. |
| A-sh. |
| R-ose-wood. |