The postal laws requite all manuscripts to be prepaid at letter rates—two cents for each ounce or fraction thereof—and manuscripts, sent in rolls or open wrappers, are not exempt from this provision. The large number of manuscripts reaching this office every day, on which postage is due, compels us in future to allow such matter to remain in the post office, unclaimed.
Declined.—October—A Talk With Santa Claus—Nina—A Hallowe’en Night—Sleep On—Who?—Blue-Eyed Nell—Mama, Sew the Pieces In.
Bert E.—Postage-stamp mucilage is prepared as follows: Gum dextrine, 2 parts; acetic acid, 1 part; water, 5 parts. Dissolve in a water-bath and add 1 part of alcohol.
Alan Heathcote.—A. A. Zimmerman made a mile on a Safety bicycle in 2 min. 6 4-5 secs. at Springfield, Mass., September 9, 1892. W. Windle, on September 29, 1892, at the same place, made 3 miles in 7 min. 4 3-5 secs; 4 miles in 9 min. 26 3-5 secs., and 5 miles in 11 min. 41 secs.
Camden.—1. His Royal Highness Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, is alive and hearty, at the age of fifty-one. 2. A silver dollar of 1827 has no premium value. 3. See “The Average Boy,” No. 50, Vol. 12, Golden Days. 4. There are a number of dealers in printers’ supplies in Philadelphia, and your best plan would be to go to them for a list of prices.
A. W. Ouldbe.—1. See answer to “Doc,” No. 41, Vol. 13. 2. The salary of an electrical engineer varies with his knowledge, position and scope of his duties. There are always positions for experts, but, as in every other profession, the beginner must commence at the foot and work his way up. Colleges do not secure situations for their graduates; they must do that for themselves.
A. G. M. and Others.—Golden Days is pleased to receive letters of commendation of the excellent serials which are a feature of the paper, but for obvious reasons we cannot remove the disguises which the authors choose to throw around their characters. It frequently happens that living characters are portrayed, who, though they do not object to having their adventures described, might not like the publication of their real names, residence or other personal particulars.
A. T. Reynolds.—The largest bell in the world is the “Czar Kolokol,” or King of Bells, cast in Moscow in 1734, during the reign of the Empress Anna. It is 21 feet high and the same in diameter, and weighs 193 tons. During a fire in 1737 it fell to the ground, a large piece being broken out in the fall and remained sunk in the earth until 1837. In that year it was raised and now forms the dome of a small chapel made by excavating the space below it. The worshipers enter through the opening where the bell was broken by the fall. It is very unlikely that any attempt will ever be made to restore it to its former use.
H. O. A.—In light oak graining, the ground coat is yellow ochre and the graining coat raw umber. House painters are not thoroughly agreed on graining for oak and walnut, so that they do not always mix the same shades; in fact, since there is no school of house painting, it is largely a matter of individual taste and skill.