C. Y. P. R. U.

Many of the boys and girls who read this column have derived a great deal of pleasure and profit too from the stories and histories of Jacob Abbott. His "Rollo Books" and "Franconia Stories" contain a great deal of information about every-day things, and his graver works are as entertaining as stories, so that any C. Y. who wishes to be both amused and instructed is always perfectly safe in choosing from the library a volume by Jacob Abbott.

I wanted, however, to tell you of something else about this good man which may give you a helpful hint this autumn, when you have play to manage as well as work. Even in the best-behaved and happiest group of young people, little quarrels arise if each wants his or her own way, and if there is no rule by which to decide questions of whose right or whose turn it is. Mr. Abbott loved children so dearly that he took a great deal of trouble to give them a really good time when they were visiting him. His biographer says: "His summers were enlivened always by the visits of the families of one or more of his sons, the grandchildren filling the house with their welcome noise, and his heart and life with the pleasure of doing more good than ever."

He took an interest in everything they did, and in all their plays. In one room there was a large boat-swing, and that there might never be any contention with regard to its use, he wrote in a bold hand on a large sheet of paper and posted up the following:

General Order.

This rocking-boat was made for girls; girls, accordingly, have preference over boys in the use of it. Whenever, therefore, any girls come into the swing-room, any boys that may be in the boat must leave it at once, to give the girls the opportunity to occupy it. If they do not occupy it, the boys may return; if, on the other hand, they do occupy it, no boy must get into it or touch it, except by invitation from the oldest girl in the boat, who is the queen; and while they remain in the boat, or by the side of it, they must be entirely under the direction of the queen or her delegates. It is supposed that every gentlemanly boy will readily and cordially comply with this rule; but should there be any infraction of it, the case is to be immediately reported at headquarters.

The later years of Mr. Abbott's life were spent at Farmington, Maine. Here, at his pleasant home called Fewacres, many things were arranged for the enjoyment of the young. His tools for gardening were always kept in complete order, and he made a number of curious little play-wagons to lighten the labor of bringing in wood. When these were not in use they were lent to the village children, who were made quite welcome to the pretty grounds.

The walks and avenues at Fewacres had names given them by their owner in memory of happy days spent there by himself and friends. "The Great Terrace," "The Zigzag," "The Long Level," "The Coos Road," "Little Mite o' Blue," "The Fan Elm," "Willie's Seat," "The Picnic Ground," and "The Barberry Hedge" were some of these.

When Mr. Abbott had finished reading his weekly illustrated papers, they were carefully stitched into strong brown paper covers, and passed from hand to hand among his humbler neighbors or the men who worked for him. His principle through life was to make everybody near him as happy as he possibly could.

We would call the attention of the C. Y. P. R. U. to "The Story of a Great Mammoth," as told by Elizabeth Abercrombie, and to Mr. Arthur Lindsley's account of the ways and habits of that charming little inhabitant of the bird-world so fancifully called "El Bucle de Esmeralda y Oro."

PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.

No. 1.

ENIGMA.

My first is in Thames, but not in Rhine.
My second in Po, but not in Tyne.
My third is in Hebrew, but not in Greek.
My fourth is in river, but not in creek.
My fifth is in think, but not in thought.
My sixth is in expect, but not in sought.
My whole is a puzzle most profound;
In fable and story quite renowned.

Walter W.