Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
Will Miss Lena W., of Tuckernuck, Pennsylvania, who writes to the Young People, as printed in the number for October 11, 1881, that she has a three-legged cat, kindly send her full name to Professor B. G. Wilder, Ithaca, New York, who has hitherto supposed himself to be the only possessor of a feline tripod?
M. J. L.—The piece of music called "Tam o' Shanter" can be purchased at any large music store in New York, and you can procure it through the book-seller in your village, or by writing directly to one of the dealers whose addresses are given on your sheet music. You will have to explain your other question more fully if you wish a reply. It is rather indefinite.
C. Y. P. R. U.
Which question shall I answer first? It needs a very wise Postmistress indeed to decide which has done the most for the world, peace or war; and to answer the question decidedly, we would have to be familiar with all the histories that have ever been written, and all the systems of political economy which have governed different nations and countries in ancient and modern times. It carries our thoughts back to the days of knight-errantry, to the Middle Ages, to the period of Rome's glory, to Alexander the Great, to Babylon and Nineveh, and to Egypt and the Pharaohs. A young friend was talking with me the other day on this very subject, and he said, "I think there is a great deal more told in history about war than about peace." So there is. Wars are like storms or fierce tornadoes. They do an immense amount of damage. They devastate vast regions, and they cause many broken hearts. There is nothing more terrible than war. Still, wars are sometimes necessary. They clear the moral atmosphere; they settle questions which can be settled only by the sword, which decides which party is the stronger; and they prepare the way for peace. Some great wars have sent scholars and artisans into exile, and thus learning and useful arts have been carried to new lands, and mankind has been benefited in the end. Peace gives time for the growth of that which is best in the life of nations. Science, literature, and industry flourish in an era of peace, and home happiness and good morals prevail. More and more, as the world becomes highly civilized, and the religion of Christ is spreading from land to land, peace obtains victories, and war goes out of fashion. Nations resort to arbitration about disputed matters, and rulers learn that they can not be allowed to plunge thousands of people into distress and poverty to satisfy their personal ambition. But the thunder makes itself heard, while the dew is distilled silently, and the wheat which makes the world's bread grows without any sound, and there, after all, is the difference between war and peace.
Oakland, California.