—"Here, I bought this compass of you, t'other day, but it's no good. It points north, east, south or west, just as it happens."
"Ah, but you don't understand. You see the needle points this way. Now turn the compass around this way—see?—there you are. That's north."
"Yes, but if I know where north is, what in time do I want a compass for?"
—Sunday-school teacher: "And when the wicked children continued mocking the good prophet, two she bears came out of the mountain and ate up over forty of the wicked children. Now, boys, what lesson does this teach us?"
Jimpsy Primrose: "I know."
Teacher: "Well, Jimpsy?"
Jimpsy Primrose: "It teaches us how many children a she bear can hold."
—Cousin Nell (inculcating generosity): "Supposing your chicken should lay a nice egg, Tommy; would you give it to me?"
Tommy: "No; I'd sell it to a dime museum. That chick's a rooster."
—A corn dodger—The careful dancer.
—"Had I better make a list of the prize cows and pigs?" asked the secretary of an agricultural fair.
"Yes," replied the president. "Cattle hog them."
[OUR LETTER BOX.]
Tanite.—The flag signals used by the U. S. Signal Service to designate the state of the weather were fully explained in No. 11 of the volume just ended. They do not vary in the different cities, the code holding good for every portion of this country.
Qui Vive.—Bowditch is the standard authority on navigation, and all the theoretical knowledge necessary can be gained by a close and persistent study of his work on that subject. The best way for a boy to learn it practically is to enlist as a naval apprentice on one of the United States training ships.