JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT.

Poets have a great deal to answer for, and they should be careful what they say, for they've no idea what an influence they have. Now, I'm told that about one hundred and fifty years ago, one by the name of Thomson (Thomson without a p) sang:

"Hail, gentle Spring! Ethereal mildness, hail!"

and made no end of trouble, of course. March being the first spring month, was the first to hear the command, and so, ever since, she has been trying her best to hail. Failing in this, as she nearly always does, her only recourse is to blow; and blow she does, with a will. So don't blame her, my chicks, if she deals roughly with you this year, blows your hair into your eyes, and nearly takes you off your feet. It's all the fault of that poet Thomson.

I suppose if he had sung to our great American cataract, he would have told it to trickle, or drip, or something of that sort; and then what would have become of all the wedding tours? Mrs. Sigourney, my birds tell me, was a poet of the right sort. She sang, "Roll on, Niagara!"—and it has rolled on ever since.

Talking of fluids, here's a letter telling

HOW CHERRY PLAYED WITH WATER.

A good friend sends Jack this true horse-story:

At my summer home, the very coolest and pleasantest spot to be found on a hot day is a grassy knoll, shaded by a great tree. Close by is the horse-trough, which is supplied with water from the well a few rods off. One sultry day, my little boy and I went to play under the shade of this tree. The trough was full of clean, sparkling water, and I lingered there even after the two horses, "Cherry" and "Dash," had been brought out and tied to the tree; for they, too, had found their house uncomfortable, and had begged with their expressive eyes to be taken out-of-doors.

Now, the water in the trough looked very tempting, and soon my boy Willy put his little hand in, and then rolling up his sleeve, plunged in his arm and began to splash the water, throwing it around, wetting us all, horses included. We left the tree, and were going into the house, when we heard a loud thumping, and splashing; turning round, we saw Cherry, with his fore-leg in the trough, knocking his great iron shoe against the side of it, sending the water flying in all directions, and making the water in the trough all black and muddy. Now, these horses had drunk from this trough three times a day for two months, and spent many a morning under that very tree, and it had never occurred to either of them to play such a trick until they had seen Willy do it.

Willy was so much pleased that he gave Cherry several lumps of sugar to reward him for his naughtiness; but James, the coachman, took a different view, and gave him a sound scolding, and I am afraid whipped him; although I protested that Willy was more to blame than poor Cherry, who had only imitated his little master.

C.C.B.

THREE SPIDERS.

Another enemy to my friends the birds! This time it's a spider. He lives near the Amazon River, they tell me, builds a strong web across a deep hole in a tree, and waits at the back of the hole until a bird or a lizard is caught in the meshes. Then out he pounces, and kills his prey by poison. And yet this dreadful creature has a body only an inch and a half in length!

Then there's a spider named Kara-Kurt, who lives in Turkestan; and, though he is no bigger than a finger-nail, he can jump several feet. He hides in the grass, and his bite is poisonous; but I'm glad to say he doesn't kill birds.

In the same country is a long-legged spider, who has long hair and a body as big as a hen's egg. When he walks he seems as large as a man's double fists. What a fellow to meet on a narrow pathway! I think most people would be polite enough to let him have the whole of the walk. Little Miss Muffett would have been scared out of her senses if such a huge spider had "sat down beside her."

SPECIAL DISPATCH.

The Little Schoolma'am says Thomson didn't say "Hail, gentle Spring!" He said, "Come, gentle Spring!" Dear, dear! I beg his pardon. But, like as not, some other poet said it, if Thomson didn't. Or perhaps they've sung so much about Spring that March, taking it all to herself, thinks she may as well blow her own trumpet, too.

Poor March! In old times she used to be the first month of the year,—and now she is only the third. May be, that is what troubles her. Nobody likes to be put back in that way.

ABOUT PARROTS.

Deacon Green was talking about parrots the other day. He said he once knew a parrot that was not as polite as "Pippity," the one mentioned in a story called "Tower-Mountain." The parrot that he knew would swear whenever he opened his bill. It had been taught by the sailors on board the ship in which it had come from South America. When the deacon knew it, it belonged to the widow of a very strict minister. It had been brought to her by her nephew, a midshipman, as a Christmas present. It was lucky for him, just then, that the old lady was stone deaf. She was very cross with the neighbors when they told her what wicked words the bird used. It was a great pet, and she would not believe anything bad about it. But at last it swore at a visitor who was a bishop, and soon after, it was no more.

Since the Deacon told that story I have had a paragram about another parrot; one that lived in Edinburgh, Scotland, five years ago. This one could laugh, weep, sing songs, make a noise like "smacking the lips," and talk. His talking was not merely by rote; he would speak at the right times, and say what was just right to be said then and there. He spoke the words plainly, bowed, nodded, shook his head, winked, rolled from side to side, or made other motions suited to the sense of what he was saying. His voice was full and clear, and he could pitch it high or low, and make it seem joyful or sad. Many curious tales, are told of him, but the most remarkable thing about him is that he actually lived and really did the things named.

That's what the paragram says. Stop—let me think a moment. May be that parrot himself sent it? But no; he wasn't smart enough for that; I remember, now, the signature was "Chambers."

THE WRITING OF THE PULSE.

Did you ever hear of a sphygmograph? Of course not. Well, in its present improved state, it is something new and very wonderful. It takes its name from two Greek words, sphugmos, the pulse, and grapho, I describe. It is an implement to be used by physicians, and forces the patient's pulse to tell its own story, or, in other words, make a full confession of all its ups and downs and irregularities. Not only make a confession, my beloveds, but actually write it down in plain black and white!

So you see that a man's pulse in Maine may write a letter to a physician in Mexico, telling him just what it's about, and precisely in what manner its owner's heart beats—how fast or slow, and, in fact, ever so much more.

Now, isn't that queer? Should you like to see some specimens of pulse-writing? Here they are:

1.

2.

3.

4.

No. 1, according to the doctors, writes that he is the pulse of a strong, healthy boy, and that his owner is getting on admirably. No. 2 writes that his proprietor has trouble with his heart. No. 3 tells a sad story of typhoid fever; and No. 4 says that his owner is dying.

I am only a Jack-in-the-Pulpit, you know, quite dependent upon what the birds and other bipeds tell me, so you cannot expect a full description and explanation of the sphygmograph here. Ask your papas and friends about it.

There's a great deal going on in the world that you and I know very little about; but such things as the sphygmograph give us a hint of the achievements of science in its efforts to help God's children out of their many ills and pains.

The deacon says that, wonderful as the sphygmograph is, the pulse itself is more wonderful still—a fact which no good ST. NICHOLAS child will deny.

A PERUVIAN BONANZA.

You've heard, I suppose, that they expect soon to open up a new and wonderfully rich deposit of silver in the mines of Peru? No! Well, then, it's high time you were warned about it. Take your Jack's advice, my youngsters, and be very careful about things. Why, if they go on finding big bonanzas in this reckless way, silver will be too cheap for use as money! And then what will they do? They'll have to use something in place of it, of course; but there's no telling what it will be. Only think, they might choose double-almonds, or something of that kind!

But don't allow yourselves to be cast down about it, my dears. Try to keep up your spirits, and remember that, if the worst comes to the worst, good children will never be so plenty that people will cease to appreciate a good child. That's a bit of solid comfort for you, any way.

LUMBER AND TIMBER.

Which of you can state the exact distinction, if there is any, between lumber and timber, without consulting the dictionary?

QUEER NAMES FOR TOWNS.

Now, what am I to do with this? If the Little Schoolma'am sees it, she may want to give the boys and girls of the Red School-house a new sort of geography lesson, or perhaps a spelling task to her dictation. That would be a little hard on them: so perhaps I'd better turn over the letter to you just as it is, my chicks.

Washington, D.C.

DEAR JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT: Here are the names of some towns in the United States. They are so funny that I send them to you, and I hope you will like it. Do you think the Little Schoolma'am would know where all these places are?

Toby Guzzle, Ouray, Kickapoo, T.B., Ono, O.Z., Doe Gully Run, Omio, Nippenose, Eau Gallie, Need More, Kandiyohi, Nobob, Cob Moo Sa, We Wo Ka, Ty Ty, Osakis, Why Not, Happy Jack, U Bet, Choptack, Fussville, Good Thunder's Ford, Apopka, Burnt Ordinary, Crum Elbow, Busti, Cheektowaga, Yuba Dam, Dycusburgh, Chuckatuck, Ni Wot, Buck Snort, What Cheer, Forks of Little Sandy, Towash, Sopchoppy, Thiry Daems, Vicar's Switch, Omph Ghent, Peculiar.

I have found a great many more, but these are the queerest I could pick out.—Yours truly,

WILLIAM B.

ANSWERS TO RIDDLES.

Here are two answers, out of the three, to the riddles I gave you last month: TOBACCO, and CARES (Caress). The archbishop's puzzle has been too much for you, I'm afraid, my dears. I'll give you until next month. Then we'll see.

[THE LETTER-BOX.]

Washington, D.C.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Not long ago I read in your delightful magazine a poem, entitled "Red Riding Hood," by John G. Whittier. It recalled to me some visits which I made to the great and good poet, my friend of many years.

My acquaintance with him began when I was a school-girl in Salem. Then he lived in Amesbury, on the "shining Merrimack," as he calls it, with his sister, a most beautiful and lovable person.

I remember distinctly my first visit to them. The little white house, with green blinds, on Friend street, looked very quiet and home-like, and when I received the warm welcome of the poet and his sister I felt that peace dwelt there. At one side of the house there was a little vine-wreathed porch, upon which opened the glass-door of the "garden room," the poet's favorite sitting room, the windows of which looked out upon a pleasant, old-fashioned garden. Against the walls were books and some pictures, among which were "Whittier's Birthplace in Haverhill," and "The Barefoot Boy," the latter illustrating the sweet little poem of that name.

In the parlor hung a picture of the loved and cherished mother, who had died some years before, a lovely, aged face, full of strength and sweet repose. In a case were some specimens of the bird referred to in "The Cry of a Lost Soul," a poem which so pleased the Emperor of Brazil that he sent these birds to the poet.

At the head of the staircase hung a pictured cluster of pansies, painted by a lady, a friend of the poet. He called my attention to their wonderful resemblance to human faces. In the chamber assigned to me hung a large portrait of Whittier, painted in his youth. It was just as I had heard him described in my childhood. There were the clustering curls, the smooth brow, the brilliant dark eyes, the firm, resolute mouth.

We spent a very pleasant evening in the little garden room, in quiet, cheerful conversation. The poet and his sister talked of their life on the old farm, which Whittier has described in "Snow Bound," and he showed me a quaint old book written by Thomas Elwood, a friend of Milton. It was the only book of poetry that Whittier had been able to get to read when a boy.

Like all distinguished writers, Whittier has a large number of letters from persons whom he does not know, and many strangers go to see him. Miss Whittier said that one evening the bell rang, and Whittier went to the door. A young man in officer's uniform stood there. "Is this Mr. Whittier?" he asked. "Yes," was the answer. "I only wanted to shake hands with you, sir," and grasping the poet's hand he shook it warmly, and hastened away.

Some years after my first visit a great sorrow befell Whittier in the loss of his sister. After that, a niece kept house for him. She is now married, and he spends most of his time with some cousins at "Oak Knoll," a delightful place near Danvers. It was there that I last had the pleasure of seeing him, one golden day in October. The house is situated on an eminence, surrounded by fine trees, which were then clad in their richest robes of crimson and bronze and gold. Through the glowing leaves we caught glimpses of the deep blue sky and the distant hills. We had a pleasant walk through the orchard, in which lay heaps of rosy apples, and across fields and meadows, where we gathered grasses and wild flowers. And we saw the pigs and cows and horses, and had the company of three splendid dogs, great favorites of the host. We had also for a companion a dear, bright little girl, a cousin of the poet. She is the "little lass," the "Red Riding Hood" of his poem.

After a most enjoyable day I came away reluctantly, but happy at leaving my friend in such a pleasant home, and among the charming and refreshing country scenes that he loves so well.—Yours truly,

C.L.F.

AGNES'S MOTHER, whose letter was printed in the "Letter-Box" for January last, will oblige the Editors by sending them Agnes's address.

Uxbridge, Mass.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Last summer, we stayed a week on Prudence Island, in Narragansett Bay, where the blackberries sprinkle thickly the ground, and mosquitoes, in some parts of the island, sprinkle thickly the air. Prudence, Patience, Hope, and Despair are four islands near together; they were named by the owner after his daughters. Prudence has some twelve or fifteen houses; but in Revolutionary times there were, it is said, seventy families on the island. The British set fire to everything, and the island was devastated. One old hornbeam-tree is pointed out as the only tree that escaped destruction. The wood of this kind of tree is so hard that it does not burn easily. This tree is sometimes called "iron wood," and "lever wood," as the wood is used to make levers. This old tree has all its branches at the top, umbrella-wise, as if the lower branches had been destroyed in some way, for it is not the nature of the tree to grow in this fashion. I could barely reach one little twig of pale, discolored leaves, to bring home as a memento. Prudence is the largest of the four islands, Patience, next in size, lies a little north of it. Hope, on the west side, is a picturesque mass of rock; and Despair lies just north of Hope, a solid rock, nearly or quite covered at high tide.

ADDY L. FARNUM.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have a question to ask you, and if you will answer it you will greatly oblige me. This is the question: May leaves be of any size to make a folio or quarto?—Yours truly, K.

A sheet of paper of any size, folded in two equal parts, makes two leaves of folio size; folded evenly once more, four leaves of quarto size. But book-publishers use these words arbitrarily. With them a sheet about 19 by 24 inches is supposed to be the proper size, unless otherwise specified. A folio leaf is, consequently, about 12 by 19 inches; a quarto leaf, about 9 by 12 inches: an octavo leaf, about 6 by 9 inches.

Fordham, N. Y.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have a Polish rooster, I wonder if you have ever seen one? If not, I will describe it. It has a very large top-knot, very much larger than a duck's, although it is not at all like it.

WILLIE A. RICHARDSON.

Here is a letter that was sent to Santa Claus, last Christmas:

MR. SANTA CLAUSES,
NEW YORK CITY.

I don't know your number, but I gest you will get it.

MY DEAR OLD SANTA CLAUSES: I know you are awful poor for Mama sed so but I do want so Many things and when I Commence to Writting to you I feel like crying. Cause you know my papa is dead and mama is auful poor to but I do want a Dolly so bad not like they give of the Christmas tree but a real Dolly that open and shut it eyes but O I want so many other things but I wont ask for them for you will Think I am auful selfage and want to Take evythink from others little Girls but when you ben all around if you have one picture Book left pleas send it to me. Dear Santa Clauses plese don't forget me because I live in Perth Amboy.

From
GRACE L.T.

New York City.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am reading a history of the late Civil War, and often come across names of different parts of an army. I would like to ask you two questions:

1. How many men usually are there in a corps, division, brigade, and company?

2. How many guns are there in a field-battery?

If you will answer these, you will greatly oblige your friend and reader,

GRANT SQUIRES.

In the United States service, the "company," in time of war, contains 98 non-commissioned officers and privates, and 3 officers; total, 101. The regiment consists of ten companies. A brigade usually consists of four regiments, and, if the ranks are full, should contain about 4,000 men. It sometimes happens that five or six regiments may be comprised in one brigade. A division contains usually three, sometimes four, brigades, and with full ranks would number from 12,000 to 15,000 men. A corps contains three divisions, and should number, say, 45,000 men. In actual conflict, these figures will, of course, widely vary; regiments being reduced by losses to, perhaps, an average of 300 men each, and the brigades, divisions, etc., to numbers correspondingly smaller. A field-battery has either four or six guns, in the United States service usually the latter number, and from 150 to 250 men. The English and French Armies are not very dissimilar from our own in the matter of organization; but in the German army the company contains 250 men, and the regiment 3,000, and they have but two regiments in a brigade.

Pittsburg, Pa.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I want to tell you What a nice time I had on vacation. I enjoyed the holidays so much that it makes me happy to tell everybody. Our Sunday-school gave a treat on Christmas night, and the church was very handsomely decorated. Above the center, in amongst the evergreen wreaths, was a shining star made by jets of gas. The pastor, Mr. Vincent, said this was to represent the Star of Bethlehem. Then the large Christmas-tree was loaded with gifts, and when lighted up I pretty near thought I was going to see Aladdin's wonderful lamp and Cinderella from fairy-land. I am sure every one felt happy, and we sang the Christmas carols louder than ever, so loudly that the church trembled. But may be it was the organ made it tremble.

LILLIE S.

MR. EDWIN HODDER, the author of the new serial, "Drifted into Port," which begins in this number, is an English gentleman, and he wrote this story, not only to tell the adventures of his heroes and his heroines, but to give American boys and girls an idea of life at an English school. We think that the doings of Howard, Digby, Madelaine, and the rest, will be greatly interesting to our readers, especially as these young people leave the school after a while, and have adventures of a novel kind in some romantic, sea-girt islands.

BESSIE G.—Your letter is not such a one as we are apt to answer in the "Letter-Box." But the best possible message we can send you, and one that you will understand, and apply to your own case, is a beautiful little poem which will interest all readers. We shall give it to you entire. We take it from a treasured old newspaper slip, and regret that we do not know the author's name.

THE SINGING-LESSON.

A nightingale made a mistake;

She sang a few notes out of tune,

Her heart was ready to break,

And she hid from the moon.

She wrung her claws, poor thing,

But was far too proud to speak.

She tucked her head under her wing,

And pretended to be asleep.

A lark, arm-in-arm with a thrush,

Came sauntering up to the place;

The nightingale felt herself blush,

Though feathers hid her face.

She knew they had heard her song,

She FELT them snicker and sneer,

She thought this life was too long,

And wished she could skip a year.

"O nightingale!" cooed a dove,

"O nightingale, what's the use,

You bird of beauty and love,

Why behave like a goose?

Don't skulk away from our sight,

Like a common, contemptible fowl:

You bird of joy and delight,

Why behave like an owl?

"Only think of all you have done;

Only think of all you can do;

A false note is really fun,

From such a bird as you!

Lift up your proud little crest;

Open your musical beak;

Other birds have to do their best,

You need only SPEAK."

The nightingale shyly took

Her head from under her wing,

And, giving the dove a look,

Straightway began to sing.

There was never a bird could pass;

The night was divinely calm;

And the people stood on the grass

To hear that wonderful psalm!

The nightingale did not care,

She only sang to the skies;

Her song ascended there,

And there she fixed her eyes.

The people that stood below

She knew but little about;

And this story's a moral, I know,

If you'll try to find it out!

Northern Vermont.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: "Little Joanna" is only three years and a half old, but her father and mother take the ST. NICHOLAS for her; and although she is so very young, she enjoys it as much as the older ones. She liked the little poem called "Cricket on the Hearth," and has learned to repeat some of it. In the December number she liked the poem about the tea-kettle; she cries every time she hears about poor "Little Tweet," and laughs at the "Magician and his Bee," and at Polly's stopping the horses with the big green umbrella. But she laughs the hardest at the picture of the little girl who was so afraid of the turtle, and Edna, the kitchen-girl, told her if the turtle should get hold of the little girl's toe, he wouldn't let go till it thundered. After "Little Joanna" has seen the pictures and heard the stories she can understand, her mamma sends the ST. NICHOLAS to some little cousins in Massachusetts, who in their turn forward it to some more cousins in far away Iowa. So we all feel the ST. NICHOLAS merits the heartiest welcome of any magazine.—Yours,

"LITTLE JOANNA'S" AUNTIE.

Dayton, O.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I like your "Letter-Box" so much, and I always read it first. My brother and I fight which shall read ST. NICHOLAS first. He always speaks for it the month before. Then sister reads it out loud to keep us quiet. I wish we had had more of the Pattikins. I liked them real well.

The biggest thing in Dayton is the Soldiers' Home, three miles from town. It is the largest of all the Homes, though they have a small one at Milwaukee, Wis., and several others. They have three thousand disabled soldiers here, and a big hospital, a church built of stone, barracks, stores, dining-room, library, and everything just like a little town. Then lovely lawns, gardens, lakes, fountains, rustic bridges, etc. Lots of people say it is much prettier than Central Park, and I think so, too. The soldiers have most all of them lost their legs or arms, and some both. Lots of blind ones lost their sight in battle, from the powder. They get tipsy, too,—I guess because they get tired and feel sick. Nobody cares, only they get locked up and fined. Papa says he don't believe blue ribbon will keep them sober. Everybody wears blue ribbon here, but I don't, because I don't want to get tipsy anyhow.

General Butler is the big boss of the Home. He comes every fall, and walks around. They always have an arch for him. Colonel Brown is Governor. He only has one arm, and was in Libby Prison. I wish the boys and girls could all come and spend the day here. They have a big deer-park, and lots of animals of all kinds, as good as a show, and a splendid band that gives concerts, and they have dress parades by the Brown Guards. I asked Papa how much it cost to run it a year, and he wrote down for me, so I would not forget, $360,740.81, last year. Hope you will find room to publish this. Harry says you wont. Harry is my brother.—Your friend,

CLARENCE SNYDER.

Trenton, N.J.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have read a great many letters in your ST. NICHOLAS, and I always like to read them, for they are so funny. So I thought I would write you a letter and tell you about my poor little cat. It was given me when two weeks old, and I only had it a month before it died—and, do you believe, I saw it die! It was taken sick, and I cried awful. I don't know what was the matter with it, but I think it had the colic, for it lay as quiet as a mouse; and then it died. Oh, how sorry I was! My friend got a little box and buried it right under my window, so I could often think of it. So I hope you will all wish me better luck with my cats. Be sure and give my love to Jack.—From your little friend,

JENNIE H.

San Francisco, Cal.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have often read in the "Letter-Box" some other little stories which boys and girls have written.

I will now write about the wire-cable railroads of this city. The first one constructed was on Clay street, between Kearney street and Leavenworth street. The road has now been continued out to Van Ness avenue.

The second was constructed by the Sutter Street R.R. Company from Sansom street to Larkin street, a distance of one mile.

The best of all the railroads in the city is on California street, between Kearney and Fillmore streets, a distance of two miles. It is considered the best built wire-cable road in the United States, and is owned by the great railroad king of California, Leland Stanford.

I have a little railroad track seven and a half feet long, with fifteen feet of string, which I call a cable. The invention of the gripping attachment is my own.

R.H. BASFORD.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Will you please, for a few moments, imagine yourself blind, deaf and dumb, so that you may have a fair idea of the boy about whom I want to tell you?

His name is James Caton. He is fifteen years old and lives in the Deaf Mute Institution, on the Hudson River, near New York. He was born deaf and dumb, and two years ago a severe sickness left him blind. Before this he had learned to read and write, and talk with his fingers. He uses a pencil and his fingers to ask for what he wants, and tell you how he feels. People can talk to him by spelling words with their fingers against the palm of his hand, and he is so bright and quick that they cannot spell too fast for him. He is fond of his lessons, but sometimes, in adding a long column of figures, he makes mistakes that vex him sadly. Only think how hard it must be to add twenty or thirty large numbers that you cannot see! But when James finds his temper rising he puts it right down, calls back his patience, and goes to work more strenuously than ever. One day, his teacher, a lady, told him the Bible story of Cain, who killed his brother and became a wanderer. Some time after, she asked him "Who was Cain?" and he answered, "Cain was a tramp!" She takes pains to tell him about the great events of the day, such as the dreadful war between Russia and Turkey, and he understands this so well that he can describe it with wonderful effect. He stands out on the floor like an orator, and with the most graceful, animated and expressive signs and gestures, gives the positions of the armies, their meeting, the beating of the drums, the waving of the flags, and the firing of the cannon. Watching him, one can see the battle-field and all its pomp and horror.

James was in the country during the summer, and there he lay on the soft grass, smelled the sweet flowers, and tried to remember their forms and colors. He leaned against the strong tree trunks and measured them with his arms, and the sweet, cool breezes from the river came to refresh and strengthen him.

James has a chum, Charles McCormick, who is almost as badly off as himself—perhaps you will think him worse off. He was born deaf and dumb, and when three years old he fell on the railroad track and the cars cut off both his arms! These two boys love each other dearly. They go into the woods together to gather flowers. Charles goes first because he has the eyes, and when he finds the flowers he stoops down and touches them with the stump of his arm, while James passes his hand down his friend's shoulder and picks them! So they do together what neither could do alone, and both are as happy as birds!—Your friend,

E.S. MILLER.

Hampstead, England.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am eleven years old, and this is the first time I have ever written to you, so I am going to tell you about my dear little squirrel, "Bob." He is beautifully soft, and his back and head are gray, but his legs and tail are red; he has four long teeth, and he bites very much, if we vex him. He eats nuts and fruit, and he is very fond of bread and milk. When we had him first, he used to run up the curtains and bite them all into holes. Every Sunday he would be brought downstairs while we were at dinner, and papa would give him nuts; but he got so cross that papa would not let him come down again. In the summer, we brought out his cage into the garden; but one Sunday papa opened the cage door, and out jumped Bob. He ran to the wall (which was all covered with ivy), and began to climb it; but papa caught him by his hind-leg and stopped him, and he gave papa such a bite on his hand. So I would not let him go out again. Last summer, mamma took us all down to Wales; but it was too far to take Bob, so we left him to my governess, who took him home with her. But one unlucky day she let him out in the conservatory, and did not shut the window; so he got a chance and ran away out into the road, and he did not come back. She offered a reward, and two days afterward he was found outside the window of an empty house. Soon after that we all came home, and I was very glad to see Bob again, naughty as he was. There is a very funny thing which I ought to have told about first; it is that my Bob was brought up by a cat, and not in the woods at all. I do not think there is anything more to tell you about him.—I am your little reader,

LAURA B. LEWIS.

HOW TO MAKE A FAIRY FOREST.

In the first place, you must live in the country, where you can find that early spring flower, the blood-root or sanguinaria. Wherever it grows it generally is seen in great abundance—flowering in the Middle States about the first of April. The roots are tuberous, resembling Madeira vines, and they do not penetrate very deeply into the earth. Therefore, when the ground is not frozen on its surface, these tubers can be quite easily procured. In the latter part of March, after removing a layer of dead leaves, or a light covering of leaf mold, the plants may be found, and, at that time will have large brown or greenish brown buds in great abundance, all very neatly wrapped up in conical rolls. A basket should be carefully filled with these tubers, without shaking all the earth from them, and some of the flakiest and greenest pieces of moss that can be found adhering to the rocks must also be put into the basket.

When you reach home, take a large dish or pan and dispose these tubers upon it, first having sprinkled it ever so lightly with the earth found in the bottom of the basket. Place the roots quite close together, taking care to keep the large, pointed, live-looking buds on the top, pack them closely; side by side, until the dish is full, then lay your bits of moss daintily over them, or between them when the beds are large, set them in the sweet spring sunshine, in a south or east window, sprinkle them daily with slightly tepid water, and on some fine morning you will find a little bed of pure white flowers, that will tell you a tale of the woods which will charm your young souls.

Sanguinaria treated in this way will generally so far anticipate its natural time of flowering as to present you the smiling, perfumed faces of its blossoms while the fields may yet be covered with snow.

But this is not the end. After these snowy blossoms have performed their mission of beauty, they will drop off upon the carpet of moss, and, in a short time, will be succeeded by the leaves of the plant, which are large and irregular, but very beautiful, and each leaf is supported by a stem which comes directly from the ground, giving the impression of a miniature tree. A large dish of these little trees springing from the moss makes the Fairy Forest, and an imaginative girl, or possibly boy, well steeped in fairy lore, may imagine many wonderful things to happen herein.

If you have little friends; or relatives who live in the city and cannot go into the woods to look for the sanguinaria, you can easily pack a pasteboard box full of the roots and moss, and send it to them by express, or, if it is not too heavy, by mail.

GRANDMOTHER GREY.

[THE RIDDLE-BOX.]

A COMMON ADAGE.

LITERARY ENIGMA.

1. My 26 39 66 55 40 48 44 11 12 is a poet of ancient Greece.

2. My 25 24 33 8 42 is a poet of ancient Italy.

3. My 69 36 14 50 18 3 41 is a poet of England.

4. My 22 58 65 37 9 by 59 21 53 23 47 28 is a German poem.

5. My 47 62 64 38 is a historian of England.

6. My 30 46 54 48 15 32 is a popular American writer.

7. My 34 7 46 57 41 50 70 is a Scottish writer.

8. My 6 13 67 16 1 17 68 63 5 52 is an English poet.

9. My 47 24 2 23 10 68 63 43 4 is an American writer of fiction.

10. My 49 41 19 56 35 is an eminent geologist.

11. My 16 24 27 41 is a scientist of England.

12. My 45 61 60 67 37 13 31 is one of America's living writers.

13. My 61 7 20 29 is another American writer.

The whole is an extract of two lines (seventy letters) from a noted English poem.

F.H.R.

TRANSPOSITIONS.

In each of the following sentences fill the blank or blanks in the first part with words whose letters, when transposed, will suitably fill the remaining blank or blanks.

1. —— —— —— words with a man in a ——.

2. Did you see the tiger —— on me with his —— eyes?

3. McDonald said: "—— —— ragged —— remind you of Scotland."

4. The knots may be —— more easily than ——.

5. —— —— told me an —— which amused all in his tent.

6. I hung the —— on the —— round of the rack.

7. The witness is of small value if he can —— —— information that is more —— than this.

8. The —— —— as they look over the precipices in their steep ——.

EASY REVERSALS.

1. Reverse a color, and give a poet. 2. Reverse a musical pipe, and give an animal. 3. Reverse an entrance, and give a measure of surface. 4. Reverse an inclosure, and give a vehicle. 5. Reverse part of a ship, and give an edible plant. 6. Reverse a noose, and give a small pond. 7. Reverse a kind of rail, and give a place of public sale. 8. Reverse sentence passed, and give temper of mind. 9. Reverse a portion, and give an igneous rock. 10. Reverse an apartment, and give an upland.

ISOLA.

DOUBLE DIAMOND.

The first and ninth words, together, make vegetables that grow in the second upon the third in the fourth; the eighth, a girl, after performing the fifth upon the first and ninth in the fourth, pulling the second the while, did the sixth to get them into the house; here the eighth soon had them upon the seventh, cooking for dinner.

Perpendicular, heavy; horizontal, picking.

G.L.C.

CURTAILMENTS AND BEHEADINGS.

To the name of a gifted man,

Affix a letter, if you can,

And find his avocation.

Curtail a piece of work he did,

You'll find a word that now is hid,—

A madman's occupation.

Behead another, you will find

Measures of a certain kind

Used by the English nation.

G.L.C.

EASY NUMERICAL ENIGMA.

The whole, composed of fourteen letters, names the hero of a well-known book. The 1 7 3 4 8 is a singing-bird of America. The 9 10 2 6 12 is a religious emblem. The 13 11 5 9 14 is an Oriental animal.

ISOLA.

PICTORIAL ANAGRAM PROVERB-PUZZLE.

The answer is a proverb of five words. Each numeral beneath the pictures represents a letter in the word of the proverb indicated by that numeral,—4 showing that the letter it designates belongs to the fourth word of the proverb, 3 to the third word, and so on.

Find a word that describes each picture and contains as many letters as there are numerals beneath the picture itself. This is the first process.

Then put down, some distance apart, the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, to correspond with the words of the proverb. Group beneath figure 4 all the letters designated by the numeral 4 in the numbering beneath the pictures (since, as already stated, all the letters there designated by the numeral 4 belong to the fourth word of the proverb). You will thus have in a group all the letters that the fourth word contains, and you then will have only to transpose those letters in order to form the word itself. Follow the same process of grouping and transposition in forming each of the remaining words of the proverb. Of course, the transposition need not be begun until all the letters are set apart in their proper groups.

J.B.

AN OLD MAXIM.
BEHEADED AND CURTAILED.

—IGH— —are— —pea—. —rea— —ne— —r— —um—.

C.D.

EASY UNIONS.

1. Join ease and an ornament, by a vowel, and make recovering—thus: rest-o-ring (restoring). 2. Join pleasant to the taste to a boy's nickname, by a vowel, and make honeyed. 3. Join to bury to a bite of an insect, by a vowel, and make what pleasant stories are.

C.D.

RHOMBOID PUZZLE.

ACROSS: 1. Portion of an ode. 2. A musical drama. 3. Soon. 4. Marked. 5. Flowers.

DOWN: 1. In a cave. 2. A river. 3. To unclose. 4. The second dignitary of a diocese. 5. A mistake. 6. High. 7. An affirmative. 8. A prefix. 9. In a shop.

CYRIL DEANE.

DOUBLE CROSS-WORD ACROSTIC.

THE WHOLE.

Brothers are we, alike in form and mien,
Sometimes apart, but oft together seen.
One labors on, and toils beneath his load;
The other idly follows on the road.
One parts the sleeping infant's rosy lips;
The other veils the sun in dark eclipse.
One rises on the breath of morn, with scent
Of leaf and flower in fragrant incense blent;
The other's wavering aspiration dies
And falls where still the murky shadow lies.
At hospitable boards my first attends,
And greets well pleased the social group of friends;
But if my second his grim face shall show,
How dire the maledictions sent below!
Yet there are those who deem his presence blest,
A fitting joy to crown the social feast,
And make for him a quiet, calm retreat,
Where friends with friends in loving concourse meet.

CROSS-WORDS.

1. Two brothers ever keeping side by side,
The closer they are pressed the more do they divide

2. Brothers again unite their ponderous strength,
Toiling all day throughout its tedious length.

3. I never met my sister; while she flies
I can but follow, calling out replies.

4. A casket fair, whose closely covered lid
A mother's hope, a nation's promise, hid.

5. A plant once used to drive sharp pain away,
Not valued greatly in this later day,
Except by those who fly when they are ill
To test the virtues of a patent pill.

S.A.B.

EASY DIAMOND PUZZLE.

In fruit, but not in flower; a period of time, a fresh-water fish; a sea-bird; in strength, but not in power.

ISOLA.

MALTESE-CROSS PUZZLE.

*****
* *** *
** * **
*** E ***
** * **
* *** *
*****

The middle letter, E, is given in the diagram. The centrals form two words, and are read from top to bottom and from side to side, including the middle letter. The words that form the limbs of the cross are read from the outside toward the center, those forming the top and bottom limbs being read horizontally, and those that form the arms, downward.

CENTRAL PERPENDICULAR: Perfume.

CENTRAL HORIZONTAL: Strained.

TOP LIMB: 1. New. 2. A boy's name. 3. A consonant.

BOTTOM LIMB: 1. Plain. 2. A deed. 3. A consonant.

LEFT ARM: 1. Existence. 2. A tavern. 3. A consonant.

RIGHT ARM: 1. Unready. 2. A tree. 3. A consonant.

A.C. CRETT.

POETICAL REBUS.

The answer is a couplet in Sir Walter Scott's poem "Marmion."

NUMERICAL ENIGMA.

The whole, eleven letters, is a songster. The 1 2 3 4 is adjacent. The 5 6 7 is a metal. The 8 9 10 11 is a current of air.

ISOLA.

DOUBLE ACROSTIC.

1. What wood is sometimes called. 2. A character in "Hamlet." 3. Customary. 4. An underling of Satan's. 5. A common shrub. 6. A boy's name meaning "manly." 7. An animal. 8. A place of security. 9. A body of water. 10. A large bird of the vulture family. 11. The home of the gods in Greek mythology. 12. A preposition. 13. A spelled number.

The initials name a female author, and the finals a male author.

S.M.P.

WORD SYNCOPATIONS.

1. Take a bird from a saint's name, and leave something ladies wear. 2. Take the present from understanding, and leave a chief. 3. Take part of a fish from explained, and leave a will. 4. Take a forfeit from cultivated, and leave a color. 5. Take an insect from needed, and leave joined. 6. Take a vessel from to supply, and leave to angle.

CYRIL DEANE.

CHARADE.

My first may be made of my last,

And carries mechanical force.

My last both lives and dyes for man,

May often be seen as a horse,

And serves him by day and by night

In ways very widely apart.

My whole is the name, well renowned,

Of a chief in the potter's art.

L.W.H.

ABBREVIATIONS.

1. Syncopate and curtail a greenish mineral, and leave a Turkish officer. 2. Syncopate and curtail a royal ornament, and leave a domestic animal. 3. Syncopate and curtail a fabled spirit, and leave a coniferous tree. 4. Syncopate and curtail a small fruit, and leave an opening. 5. Syncopate and curtail a motive power, and leave a body of water. 6. Syncopate and curtail colorless, and leave a humorous man. 7. Syncopate and curtail stops, and leave a head-covering. 8. Syncopate and curtail a sweet substance, and leave an agricultural implement. 9. Syncopate and curtail a carpenter's tool, and leave an insect. 10. Syncopate and curtail coins, and leave an inclosure.

I.

[ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN FEBRUARY NUMBER.]

EASY DOUBLE CROSS-WORD ACROSTIC.—Initials, Birch; finals, Maple; horizontals, BeaM, IdA, RomP, CorraL, HousE.

SQUARE-WORD.—Ruler, Unite, Lithe, Ethel, Reels.

NUMERICAL PUZZLE.—Vivid.

HIDDEN ACROSTIC.—Minnehaha.

EASY DECAPITATIONS.—1. Foil, oil. 2. Spear, pear. 3. Feel, eel. 4. Sledge, ledge. 5. Stag, tag. 6. Mace, ace. 7. Goats, oats. 8. Draw, raw. 9. Galley, alley.

TRANSPOSITIONS.—1. Subtle, bustle. 2. Shah, hash. 3. Shearer, hearers. 4. Sharper, harpers. 5. Resorted, restored. 6. Negus, genus.

CHARADE.—Manhattan (Man-hat-tan).

GEOGRAPHICAL PUZZLE.—Queen Charlotte (1) went to Cork (2) to attend a ball. She there met Three Sisters (3), named as follows; Alexandria (4), Augusta (5), and Adelaide (6), in whom she was much interested. Her dress was Cashmere (7), and though elegantly trimmed with Brussels (8), it was, unfortunately, Toulon and Toulouse [too long and too loose] (9). As she felt chilly [Chili] (10), she wore around her shoulders a Paisley (11) shawl. Her jewelry was exclusively a Diamond (12). Her shoes were of Morocco (13), and her handkerchief was perfumed with Cologne (14). Being a Superior (15) dancer, she had distinguished partners, whose names were Washington (16), Columbus (17), Madison (18), Montgomery (19), Jackson (20), and Raleigh (21). Having boldly said that she was hungry [Hungary] (22), she was escorted by La Fayette (23) to a Table (24), where she freely partook of Salmon (25), some Sandwich[es] (26), Orange (27), Champagne (28), and some Madeira (29). After passing a Pleasant (30) evening, she bade Farewell (31) to her hostess and was escorted home by Prince Edward (32).

NUMERICAL ENIGMA.—Chinamen (chin-amen).

ILLUSTRATED PUZZLE.—1. Hare (hair). 2. Beholder (bee-holder, the hive). 3. Ear. 4. Clause (claws). 5. Wings. 6. Comb (honeycomb on the ground). 7. Branch. 8. Leaves. 9 and 10. B I (bee-eye). 11. Tongue. 12. Pause (paws).

CURTAILMENTS.—1. Teasel, tease, teas. 2. Planet, plane, plan. 3. Marsh, Mars, mar, ma. 4. Panel, pane, pan, pa.

COMPLETE DIAGONAL.—Diagonals from left to right downward: 1. L. 2. Ed. 3. Sir. 4. Aver, 5. Eager. 6. Dale. 7. Law. 8. Po.

9. L. Horizontals:EASEL
DAVID
LAGER
PALER
LOWER

EASY NUMERICAL ENIGMA.—Helen's Babies.

SQUARE-WORD.—Czar, Zero, Arms, Rose.

ANAGRAM DOUBLE-DIAMOND AND CONCEALED DOUBLE-SQUARE.

Double Diamond: S
ATE
SPARE
ERA
E
Concealed Square: ATE
PAR
ERA

PICTORIAL PROVERB PUZZLE.—"Let Hercules himself do what he may, The cat will mew, the dog will have his day."

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES in the January number were received, before January 18, from Jas. J. Ormsbee, Fred M. Pease, Morris H. Turk, Susie Hermance, M.W. Collet, Eddie Vultee, A.B.C., "M'sieur B.M.", Alice and Mamie Taylor, Constance Grandpierre and Sadie Duffield, Winnie Brookline, Charlie and Carrie Moyses, O.A.D., Baron P. Smith, F.U., Mary B. Smith, Milly E. Adams and Perry Adams, W.H.C, Anita O. Ball, "Bessie and her Cousin," Georgie Law, K.L. McD., Mary Wharton Wadsworth, Nessie E. Stevens, Inez Okey, Nellie Baker, E. Farnham Todd, Daisy Breaux, Lillie B. Dear, Mary C. Warren, Georgietta N. Congdon, "King Wompster," Nellie Emerson; 255 Indiana street, Chicago; Bessie Cary, Henry D. Todd, Jr., Finda Lippen, Jennie Beach, Mary Todd, Anna E. Mathewson, Nellie Kellogg, Lucy E. Johnson, Charles Behrens, Clara H. Hollis, Nellie Dennis, E.S.P., Bessie and Houghton Gilman, May C. Woodruff, George Herbert White, H. Howell, Lizzie B. Clark; Bessie T.B. Benedict, of Ventnor, Isle of Wight, England; B.M., and Jennie Wilson.

"Oriole" answered all the puzzles in the January number.