School - room Cogitations, 
 
 BV / 
 
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 ® J^iFped ® (], ® ^Li^hletoQ, ® 
 
 (Age lo Years.) 
 
 A PUPIL OF NORTH SEVENTH STREET SCHOOL. 
 
 f? SGHOOL-BOY'S TflLiE, 51HE 
 
 -Byron . 
 
 
 Newark, N. J.: 
 1887. 
 
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 ^u 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^, 
 
 Copyrighted, 1887. 
 

 To my 
 
 Dear Mother, 
 
 This hook is, with earnest love, 
 
 Dedicated. 
 
W. H. Shurts, Printer and Binder, 
 
 No. 876 Broad Street, 
 
 Newark, N. J. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 HORACE AND HIS DOG, .----. 9 
 
 DAN'S ADVENTURE, - - n 
 
 ERIC'S HEROIC ACT, ------- 18 
 
 LILIAN, --.-....-- 21 
 
 GRANDFATHER'S STORY, . _ . . . 23 
 
 JACK'S ADVENTURE, 27 
 
 TWO WOLVES' SKINS, ------ 31 
 
 THE SIOUX INDIANS, - - 33 
 
 DISOBEDIENT HANS, - - 35 
 
 THE FIRE, - - - 40 
 
 NEWARK, - - - - 42 
 
 PLANTS- AND PEOPLE, 44 
 
 OUR WALK, - - 46 
 
 THE BOYS OF IVY VILLA, - 47 
 
 THE LIFE OF THE OCEAN HERO, - - . 50 
 
 NEW JERSEY, --------- 51 
 
 AGNES AND HILDEGARDE, 53 
 
 SELF-DENIAL, - 57 
 
THB BABY TREASURE SEEKER, - - - - 59 
 
 MINER'S NEWARK THEATRE, - - - - - 6i 
 
 ELIOT FRAZEE'S CAREER, ----- 63 
 
 A LETTER TO MRS. CLEVELAND, - - - - 76 
 
 ONLY A WITHERED LEAF, ----- 78 
 
 TOBOGGAN SLIDES, -,------ 80 
 
 ROSALIE'S DOLLS, ------- ,81 
 
 CHRISTMAS PREPARATION, ----- 83 
 
 DON'T BE TOO READY, ------ 85 
 
 THE PARADE, -------- 86 
 
 THE STORY, -------- 88 
 
 A NOTE, ---------- 90 
 
 MY BALL, --------- 91 
 
 VEGETATION, --------- 93 
 
 QUEEN VICTORIA, ------- 96 
 
 TOMMY AND THE WEASEL, ----- 97 
 
 PRACTICE VERSUS THEORY, - - - - 100 
 
 CAMPING OUT, -------- loi 
 
 OUR COUNTRY, -------- 102 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In introducing this little volume to the public, it may be 
 well to give a few facts. 
 
 About one- third of this work was written before Master 
 Thistleton reached his tenth birthday (May 6, 1886,) and 
 the manuscript was not completed until June, 1887 ; conse- 
 quently it has taken about one and a-half years for the 
 whole work. 
 
 It has all been composed in the school-room, corrected 
 in the presence of the author and copied upon paper by 
 other pupils. 
 
 In no case has the phraseology been destroyed, except 
 in a few instances, where the meaning has not been clearly 
 expressed, and then the boy has changed the few lines 
 himself. 
 
The last article, "Our country," partakes more of an 
 abstract. The boy referred to Quackenbos' Elementary 
 History for dates, order of Presidents and events of import- 
 ance. The expressions, however, are his own. 
 
 I wish to say in conclusion, that we are publishing the 
 work partly for the glory, and partly to procure money for a 
 school library. If a few of our friends speak well of the 
 book, we shall have the glory ; if we sell all the copies, we 
 shall have the library. 
 
 A. E. T.'s Teacher. 
 
 V 
 
HORACE AND HIS DOG. 
 
 + 
 
 GRACE WELLINGTON wished very much to have 
 a dog. Horace was a hearty, red-cheeked little 
 fellow about nine years of age. He lived in the 
 country where there were a great many large farms 
 
 Horace one morning awoke when the sun was shining; 
 brightly, the dew was lying on the grass, and the roosters- 
 were crowing for their breakfast. He hurried on his pants,, 
 never thinking that that very morning he should be seen 
 picking potatoes in a field. But nevertheless, he was there 
 at work before ten o'clock that very morning. 
 
 The breakfast bell rang, and Horace went down the 
 garret stairs pell-mell. He ate his breakfast and went out 
 to feed the hens. As he was going down to the cellar again 
 he saw a black dog coming along. "That reminds me,'* 
 said he, and he dropped the measure, he had been holding. 
 
lO 
 
 into the corn barrel, and ran over to farmer Georger's for a 
 job at picking potatoes with good wages. 
 
 Horace worked hard and saved his money until he had 
 enough to buy a dog. 
 
DAN'S ADVENTURE. 
 
 ON'T stay long, Dan," said Mrs. Harrison, as her boy 
 started off with a basket on his arm in the direction 
 of the mountain, which could be seen from his house 
 Dan was a hearty, strong boy, living in the southern 
 part of Idaho Territory. His uncle — he had no father — 
 was a thrifty ranchman who owned a little cottage with a 
 small patch of ground at the back. The cottage stood about 
 a quarter of a mile from the Rocky Mountains. 
 
 Dan was born in Massachusetts ; but at his father's 
 
 death, which occurred while Dan was a mere baby, his mother 
 
 went West to live with her brother-in-law, who was a bachelor. 
 
 This morning Dan was going upon the mountain top 
 
 in search of chestnuts, which were very bountiful that year. 
 
 A few minutes' walk brought Dan to the mountain, and 
 
12 
 
 he began to clamber up its steep sides. After he had gone 
 a little distance he stopped under a chestnut tree, and setting 
 his basket down, climbed the tree. 
 
 Dan crawled out on a branch and was busily pulling the 
 burs off of the twigs, when he was frightened at hearing a 
 noise, which sounded as if someone were snoring. 
 
 To be sure he was frightened ; but his curiosity over- 
 came his fright. 
 
 Getting down out of the tree, he crept softly toward the 
 place from which the sound came. The noise led Dan up 
 the mountain a short distance farther, — then round a pro- 
 jecting rock, and there from a hole in the side of the rock 
 distinctly came the noise. 
 
 Dan stooped down and looked through the hole. He 
 could see nothing. 
 
 " It's a bear," said Dan to himself, " I'll jest wait till 
 my birthday, an then I'll get Will. Jordan, an Ed. Bennett, 
 an Tom Lane, an Jack Carter, an I'll jest get uncle Jim's 
 gun. The rest of the fellers kin carry clubs, an we'll all set 
 out together fur an adventure." 
 
13 
 
 At this, Dan went down to the tree where he had left 
 his basket, picked it (the basket) up and proceeded on his 
 homeward course. 
 
 When he got home he put the chestnuts into a large tub 
 and went about his evening jobs, viz : milking the cow and 
 cleaning the horse, and feeding them both. 
 
 All that night Dan lay thinking about what would 
 happen on his birthday, which was on the second of January. 
 It was then the twenty-ninth of December. 
 
 Gradually the three days passed away, and on the 
 morning of January the second, all the boys, whom Dan had 
 invited, appeared with heavy clubs at nine o'clock, as he had 
 requested. 
 
 They brought lunches, also. Dan got a box of matches 
 and several candles. Thus provided, they all set out. 
 
 Climbing the mountain, Dan showed his friends where 
 the hole was. They looked in ; but could see nothing. One 
 of the boys threw a stone into it ; but no noise could be 
 heard, except two or three squeals. 
 
 One of the candles was lighted and held inside of the 
 mouth of the cave. 
 
14 
 
 What they saw was a roomy cavern ; and at one side 
 was another hole, like a doorway, leading they knew not 
 where. 
 
 After they had each taken a survey of the cavern, they 
 hammered a couple of stakes into the ground just outside of 
 the mouth of the cave ; then took a rope and tied an end to 
 each one of the stakes, allowing the rope to hang like a 
 swing down into the cave, upon which the boys might safely 
 descend and ascend. 
 
 One by one they came down into the cave, bringing 
 down their arms, the candles, their luncheons, the matches, 
 and other necessary articles. 
 
 Holding the candle in front, Dan walked with his little 
 army through the hole in the side of the rock down a wind- 
 ing path, which was made of stone. It looked like pomice- 
 stone. 
 
 Water was oozing through the crevices of the rock. The 
 rock formed a high, irregular arch. As the boys advanced, 
 they saw in a corner, five baby bears, all curled up. 
 
 "Oh, aren't they cunnin!" said Dan, as he espied the 
 
15 
 
 little black creatures, all huddled up together, "an there's 
 jest five of 'em. One fur each of us. This one's mine," as 
 he patted him — the cub — on the head. 
 
 "What's that ?" asked Tom Lane at hearing a rustling 
 sound. "I jest believe it's the old un." 
 
 The old bear, at hearing the sound of voices coming 
 from her home, set in a low growl. 
 
 "Ready with your clubs," said Dan, setting the candle 
 on a rock and picking up his gun. 
 
 As the old bear leaped down upon the cave floor, two 
 bullets, in immediate succession, sank deep into her brain 
 and the blows of four heavy pine clubs killed her instantane- 
 ously. 
 
 Dan, the captain of the party, had every thing to say^ 
 Therefore, all they got in the cave was Dan's ; but instead 
 of taking the bear's skin and doing what he would like ta 
 have done, he agreed to sell the skin and divide the money^ 
 as they had all killed the bear together. The boys put the 
 dead bear in a corner and went through the hole again to 
 explore the cave farther. 
 
i6 
 
 The pathway led them along for some distance, till at 
 length it brought them to the edge of a great pit. 
 
 They could see nothing in the pit, so Dan threw a stone 
 down. They could not hear it fall. 
 
 They could not go any farther, so they all went back. 
 They threw the dead bear up out of the cave, and after giv- 
 ing the remains of their luncheons to the baby bears, they 
 took them and went out of the cave and down the mountain, 
 to their homes, determined to come again the next day with 
 a long rope, on which it was agreed that Ed. Bennett should 
 
 descend into the hole. 
 
 The next morning the boys met again. This time each 
 
 ^with a long piece of thick rope. 
 
 All the pieces of rope were tied together, and with this 
 
 and several other things, viz : candles, luncheons, matches, 
 
 a short rope, and the clubs, which they had left at Dan's 
 
 house the night before, they set out to learn more about their 
 
 newly found cavern. 
 
 Ed. was tied to the rope and allowed to go slowly down 
 the dark pit, held by the rest. He took with him some 
 stones, some matches, and a candle. 
 
17 
 
 When he got down a short way he took out a match and 
 lighted the candle. Water was oozing out from between the 
 rocks and running down the side of the pit. 
 
 When all of the rope was let out, Ed. let a stone fall and 
 heard the splash, though not without straining his ears. 
 
 He let a piece of burning paper fall and saw the water 
 glitter as the blazing paper touched its surface. 
 
 Often after, Dan told this story to his children, grand- 
 children and friends. 
 
ERICS HEROIC ACT. 
 
 {From a Picture in PupiVs Companion.) 
 
 ^F you had chanced to pass a small burying ground in a 
 
 certain part of Denmark, you might have seen two 
 
 Danish children standing beside a coach. 
 
 If you had gone a little further, you would have seen 
 
 that some relative of the children had died and was being 
 buried, and that the children were crying bitterly. 
 
 It was the funeral of their grandmother, who had taken 
 care of the children ever since their mother's death, which 
 had occured when the children were very young. 
 
 When the burial was over, the children walked home 
 and gathered up what was left in the cupboard. They put 
 it into a handkerchief, locked the door of the house that had 
 afforded them shelter for so many years, and set out to battle 
 with the wide world. 
 
19 
 
 They walked along till the close of the day, when Eric, 
 for that was the boy's name, said, addressing his sister : 
 
 " Louisa, we might sleep in that barn to-night." Louisa 
 gave hearty aquiescence to this idea, and so they walked in 
 at the barn door and said to a strapping big peasant, who 
 was feeding the horses : 
 
 "May we sleep here to-night?" 
 
 The peasant, after a moment's hestitation, gave his con- 
 sent and led the way up a large ladder into a hayloft, 
 which was scented with the new mown hay. 
 
 Here the children took a slice of bread apiece and lay 
 down to rest. 
 
 Louisa was soon asleep, but Eric lay meditating, when 
 he heard the sound of footsteps on the ladder, and soon two 
 tramps made their appearance. 
 
 The taller man said to his comrade : " We better raid 
 old man Brenner's house before four o'clock, 'cause that's 
 the time he milks his cows. My head aches, so I'm going to 
 take a short nap. Wake me in a few minutes." 
 
 Then he went to sleep and the other went out to get 
 some water. 
 
20 
 
 Eric took advantage of this act, and waking Louisa, he 
 let down a rope that was used to haul oats and hay up into 
 the barn. 
 
 The rope was fastened to a pully, and with Louisa's 
 lielp, Eric got safely down to the ground, and Louisa 
 followed his example. Like mice they crept along toward 
 the house and gave the alarm. 
 
 An officer was called in and the tramps were arrested. 
 Eric gave his name and told his story, and the owner of the 
 barn adopted Eric and his sister. 
 
 If you had passed that way several years afterward you, 
 probably, would have heard of a thrifty farmer named Eric 
 Van Dam. 
 
LILIAN. 
 
 ILIAN, when she was a little girl, lived in New York, 
 Her father owned a summer house in western Cali- 
 fornia, and every summer they went there to spend 
 the hot months. 
 
 Often Lilian, with her nurse, would take long walks over 
 the mountains, peeping every now and then over the pro- 
 jecting cliffs to watch the fishermen as they hauled their 
 boats upon the sand. 
 
 Lilian's father was a wine merchant. He had chosen 
 that business because the grapes in that part of the country 
 are very plentiful. Money fast filled the safe that stood in 
 a corner of his office. 
 
 As Mrs. Henson, Lilian's mother, would look upon the 
 form of her sleeping child, her heart would throb high with 
 
22 
 
 hope, as she thought of the possible future of LiHan's life. 
 After some time Lilian married a wealthy tea dealer and 
 settled down in a little village. 
 
GRANDFATHER'S STORY. 
 
 
 ILL you tell me a story, grandpa?" asked Eddie 
 
 ^^;:^^,5^ Williams one day, as grandpa Edison sat in his 
 
 large arm chair on the piazza. 
 
 Grandpa Edison had been a sailor in his younger days, 
 
 and could tell a great many stories. " Yes," said grandpa, 
 
 taking Eddie upon his knee, " I will." 
 
 "When I was a little boy, like you, I used to think i 
 was very strong. Any one who heard me boast, would have 
 thought I was able to kill Ajax with one blow." 
 " Who was Ajax ?" asked Eddie. 
 
 "Ajax, Eddie, was a man possessing herculean strength ; 
 able to wrestle with any man." 
 
 "But what does herculean mean?" asked Eddie. 
 
 " Well, Hercules was in mythology a very strong man 
 
24 
 
 and so when any one is very strong, people say he possesses 
 herculean strength. Mythology is like a lot of fairy tales 
 which were believed by a people called Greeks. 
 
 Well, when I was sixteen, I was put aboard a man-of- 
 war." 
 
 ''What is a man-of-war?" asked Eddie. 
 " Oh, a man-of-war is a great large ship with cannon point- 
 ing through holes in its sides, with many men on board, who 
 go to sea to fight with other ships which are in the service of 
 some other country." 
 
 "But, what does service mean? " 
 
 "Well," explained grandpa, "if I asked you to go and 
 get me a drink of water and you ran and got it, you would 
 be in my service. When I got on board of the vessel I wasn't 
 a very good martinet. I once told the second mate to shut 
 up." 
 
 " But, what does martinet mean ? " inquired Eddie. 
 
 " Martinet here means a man who minds the rules of the 
 vessel" 
 
 "And what is a second mate ?" 
 
2S 
 
 **Well, a second mate is an officer. The captain is 
 highest in rank ; after him come the first, second and third 
 mate." 
 
 "What's an officer?" 
 
 *' Oh, he's one of the head men who give orders to the 
 sailors, as the captain does." 
 
 "And what does rank mean ?" asked Eddie. 
 
 "Well, for instance: George Washington was com- 
 mander of the American army. It was wholly under his 
 care ; none were so great as he. He held the highest rank 
 in the American army." 
 
 " But what does frinstance mean ? " 
 
 " For instance means — instance, rather, is that which is 
 taken for an illustration." 
 
 " What's an illustration ? " asked Eddie. 
 
 "An illustration," said grandpa, "is a real picture or 
 sometimes a picture in the mind. 
 
 " Well, when I told the second mate to shut up he 
 ordered the sailors to take me below and lock me up. So I 
 was taken below, kicking and screaming — screaming ; I was 
 
26 
 
 shouting like a mad man. I was kept below for three days, 
 and when I was allowed to come out, I was so full of revenge, 
 I told the second mate that he'd better not send me below 
 again, for if he did he would hear from me. 
 
 " For this I got down again, held tightly in the arms of 
 two sailors, and when I was taken out the second time, I was, 
 as the sailors say, ' nigh onter dead.' " 
 
 " What does nigh mean ? " asked Eddie. 
 
 " Oh, that is the sailor way of saying near. Well, being 
 carried like an infant below deck, somewhat lowered the 
 estimation I had of myself in regard to my supposed superior 
 strength. Always after that, I was respectful and kind to old 
 folks. I hope 7^^^ will always be so." 
 
JACK'S ADVENTURE. 
 
 {From a Picture itt '■''Pupils' Companion.''^) 
 
 ITTLE Jack Morton was praised by his relatives 
 and friends because he could read very nicely. 
 Although but seven, he had already read twelve 
 books ; and was, at the time my story began, deeply interest- 
 ed in a book by the name of "Boys' Book of Adventures." 
 Jack was smart enough to know that all rivers would at 
 some time enter the ocean. He did not know of any wood 
 with bears in it, so he thought he would have an adventure 
 at sea. 
 
 The village in which Jack lived was a favorite summer 
 resort. There was a boat house on the pond, which could 
 be seen from the house. The mimic wharf, to which the 
 boats were tied, was merely a few boards rudely knocked 
 
28 
 
 together and nailed to a couple of what looked like railroad 
 ties hammered into the sand. 
 
 One night, when all were asleep with the exception of 
 himself, Jack arose, dressed himself, clambered out the win- 
 dow and leaped into a pile of weeds the gardener had left 
 there the day before. "Ah ! so much accomplished," he 
 said, with a sigh of relief. He rested a few moments, then, 
 like a cat preparing to pounce upon her prey, he crept along 
 the garden walk, opened the garden gate and stole noise- 
 lessly along the road, and around the shore of the pond, 
 hitherto referred to. Stepping boldly out on the mimic 
 wharf, he knocked out the nails that held it to the railroad 
 ties, and getting down upon his knees, he paddled with his 
 hands until the raft was in the centre of the creek that was 
 the outlet of the pond. Once there, it went of its own ac- 
 cord, or rather that of the creek's. 
 
 In order to get his usual night's sleep, Jack tied himself 
 securely to the raft, and was soon in deep slumber, dream- 
 ing that he was in a cave with a bear, and the bear was mak- 
 ing ready to devour him. 
 
29 
 
 Suddenly he awoke with a shriek ; he imagined the 
 bear had him. But before he had time to find out whether 
 it was so or not, a great wave dashed over him and made 
 his surprise very great. He arose and looked around him- 
 self. Great waves stood on either side so that he could not 
 see any land if there was any to be seen. Suddenly, it all 
 came to him ; he was on the ocean — the great, wide ocean, 
 under which he had been told were innumerable riches. 
 Jack, childlike, peered through the boiling surges to see for 
 himself the treasures of the deep. 
 
 It seemed that success did not accompany Jack on this 
 voyage. He looked toward heaven and offered up a short 
 prayer, asking the Lord to preserve him from all danger. He 
 then pulled at a piece of pine wood, which was nailed to his 
 raft, until it came off, throwing him into the water. But 
 after a fierce struggle with the waves he regained his raft. 
 Taking a silk kerchief from his neck he fastened it on the 
 end of the piece of wood he had pulled off of his raft and 
 waved it high in the air. 
 
 That night he again slept as before. When he awoke 
 
30 
 
 he continued to wave his signal. After some time a thought 
 struck him ; it was this : — He would tie the pole to the raft 
 with a rope he had taken from one of the boats. This he 
 did ; and fatigued with waving the signal, he lay down to 
 rest. 
 
 He had scarcely lain five minutes ere a hissing sound 
 came to his ear. Looking up, Jack];^beheld, not more than a 
 hundred rods away, a vessel in full sail, her course being 
 toward his raft. As the vessel neared Jack's raft, he was 
 overjoyed to find it was the Mohawk, which his father com- 
 manded. Not less overjoyed was the captain to find that 
 Jack was his son. 
 
TWO WOLVES' SKINS. 
 
 DGAR EVERITTS spent his vacation at grandpa's. 
 Now, down at grandpa's there are two fur robes 
 one before the great open fire-place in grandpa's par- 
 lor, and another before the fire-place in the dining-room. 
 
 Well, when Edgar was down at grandpa's, he wanted to 
 know where grandpa got the furs. 
 
 Grandpa took Edgar on his knee and told him about 
 
 them. 
 
 The following was what grandfather said : 
 " When I was a boy of eighteen, I went to a neighbor- 
 ing town to get employment. When I reached the place, I 
 put an advertisement in the newspaper and was answered 
 immediately. A man came to the door, rang the bell of the 
 hotel where I was boarding and asked to be shown to room 
 twenty-eight. 
 
32 
 
 "A waiter showed him to my room, and after the gentle- 
 man took a seat, he told me he was looking for a bright, young 
 fellow to act as book-keeper for him. 
 
 " I took the situation and worked diligently at it. 
 
 " Mr. Jerrill, that was my employer's name, soon became 
 very friendly to me, inviting me to tea and showing how he 
 liked me in many other ways. 
 
 " One Thanksgiving morning he asked me to go 
 hunting. 
 
 " Well, while I was hunting, I killed two wolves, the furs 
 of which I have kept till this day, and that is one of them," 
 said grandpa, pointing to the fur before the fire-place. " The 
 other one is in the parlor." 
 
 Edgar jumped down from grandpa's knee and running 
 out of the house, he joined a set of boys who were playing 
 ball. 
 
THE SIOUX INDIANS. 
 
 OME years ago in the Western States, there was a 
 furious tribe of Indians known throughout the coun- 
 try, as the Sioux Indians. 
 
 These Indians went about doing much damage, such as 
 setting houses on fire, killing people, burning the prairies 
 and doing various other cruel acts. 
 
 Mounted on swift horses, they leaped over the prairies 
 at midnight and caught and took away with them many val- 
 uable horses and ponies. 
 
 This is how they got them. The western cowboys do 
 not feed their horses ; but at the close of the day turn them 
 out to eat grass. Then the boys wrap themselves up in 
 blankets and lie down to rest. 
 
 When the cowboys are asleep, up come the redmen and 
 catch the horses and take them away. 
 
34 
 
 Is not that easily done ? Sometimes an Indian will be- 
 come infuriated because his comrade says something that he 
 does not like. From this they commence to quarrel and 
 flourish tomahawks in the most ferocious mannei:, and utter 
 warwhoops that would go clean through one. These quar- 
 rels will generally end in murder. 
 
DISOBEDIENT HANS. 
 
 NCE on a time, there lived a boy by the name of 
 
 Hans, who had been told never to go into a forest 
 
 which was 'near where he lived. 
 
 One day he was walking near the edge of the forest, 
 
 when he noticed some hogs feeding on the acorns which 
 
 were very plentiful. 
 
 ^ "I'd like to chase those hogs," thought he, "but I dare 
 not go into the forest," So he walked away. 
 
 Some time afterward, while strolling along the edge of 
 the forest again, he saw some pretty flowers among the trees 
 and very much wished to have them. 
 
 " I wonder why I'm told not to go into the forest," said 
 he to himself ; " it surely cannot do any harm if I only pick 
 a few flowers." 
 
36 
 
 He went in among the trees and at once the ground 
 opened precipitating him into a large cave, lighted up by a 
 great fire, around which sat a lot of little men,, who immedi- 
 ately seized Hans, and pushed hira through an open door- 
 w^ay. 
 
 Every here and there were trees with leaves of gold 
 and silver fruit hanging from their boughs, little people sat 
 quietly reposing under the trees and little children were 
 seen flying on butterflies and moths. 
 
 For a sun, what do you think they had? A round 
 plate of gold, not shining of its own lights but from the light 
 of a large lamp, which was suspended in the air through 
 the magic power of these goblins. 
 
 As Hans was being pushed along, a little man appeared 
 with a large book, which he opened and began to read : 
 
 This boy was brought here for disobedience. His punish- 
 fnent is to be ten months of i??iprison7fient in fairyland. During 
 his imprisonment in this country^ he must have lots of trials to 
 encounter.'' 
 
 The little men hustled Hans off down a shady lane till 
 
37 
 
 they came to a little grove, in the centre of which stood a 
 blacksmith's forge, so small that Hans' head came within an 
 inch of the roof. 
 
 " Here," said one of the goblins to Hans, " is our forge. 
 Our blacksmith is very tired, having served us now for nine 
 years, and in order to give him a rest, we shall let you take 
 his place as blacksmith." 
 
 Here all the little men vanished. Hans was ready to 
 cry. "What shall I do ?" said he to himself ; "I don't know 
 how to make iron things." 
 
 But something in him told him to try. So he took up 
 the hammer, and, to his surprise and amazement, before 
 long, by the guidance of the little spirit within him, he had 
 made a pair of horseshoes. 
 
 That night the little goblins came again with their arms 
 full of coarse bread and straw and told him he must use 
 them, and if he complained, he would be beaten, but the 
 straw tickled Hans' ears and he began to get angry and cry 
 and moan till at last he heard the foot-steps of the goblins 
 outside the door. 
 
38 
 
 In another moment in rushed the little men, the fore- 
 most one carrying a whip. A few minutes later found Hans 
 screeching with pain. The unfortunate fellow pleaded for 
 mercy. The little men stopped beating him and vanished. 
 Hans lay down, but he could not sleep. There he lay 
 cramped up all night. 
 
 In the morning one of the goblins came to the forge 
 with a breakfast consisting of some stale bread and a cupful 
 of dirty water. " This bread you must eat ; if you throw it 
 away you will be beaten." Hans tried to eat what was given 
 him, but in vain, He threw his breakfast away and went to 
 work. Soon he heard the goblins approaching. In another 
 moment, in they rushed and went through the same ceremony 
 as before and vanished. 
 
 After Hans had been there in fairyland a week or so, he 
 began to think it was better to eat his dinners and suppers 
 and lie on a straw bed than be thrashed. So, by degrees he 
 became reconciled to his lot. Hans knew he had to bear 
 this for some time yet ; so, in order to make the time fly 
 faster, he worked as hard as he could. 
 
39 
 
 At length the day; arrived on which he should see home 
 again. 
 
 Hans was so glad that he went dancing around the forge 
 on one foot till at length he fell down almost exhausted. 
 Soon he got rested and went to work. 
 
 Along about three o'clock in the afternoon, to Hans' sur- 
 prise the hammer fell from his hands, as if pulled by some 
 one, the roof opened, and he went flying upward toward the 
 sky. The clouds parted and closed as Hans went through 
 them. He found himself in the forest where he had picked 
 wild flowers. He walked home and told his mother all that 
 had happened. 
 
 Never again did Hans disobey his parents. 
 
THE FIRE. 
 
 {From a picture in '■'■Pupils' Companion.^'') 
 
 % LIVER JENKINS was a boarder in the little city 
 of C . 
 
 One evening Oliver was sitting in his room, which was 
 in the upper part of the house, when he smelt something 
 burning and heard considerable noise. 
 
 Looking out of the window, Oliver was greeted by a 
 volume of smoke, which almost blinded him. He made out 
 at once what the cause of all the shouting was. The build- 
 ing was on fire. A spark from one of the engines, belonging 
 to a company whose tracks ran along beside the house, had 
 set fire to a bundle of straw. This is how it all came about. 
 
 The whole lower part of the building, except the ex- 
 treme back part, was in flames, and all the chance Oliver 
 
41 
 
 had of saving himself was to get upon the roof, walk to the 
 extension and jump off. 
 
 He got up on the top of the house, ran along the edge 
 of the roof and leaped into a cherry tree, which stood at the 
 back of the house. Upon it he descended to the ground. 
 
 When Oliver got married and had a house of his own — 
 although he did live near a railroad — he never left anything 
 around his yard which would, if it were lighted, burn readily. 
 
NEWARK. 
 
 EWARK is the metropolis of New Jersey. It is 
 situated on the Passaic river, and manufactures mis- 
 cellaneous articles. 
 Two public buildings are the Court House and the City 
 Hall. Newark has thirty-one public schools. The reservoirs 
 are supplied with water from the Passaic river, which is 
 objected to by many. 
 
 The Newark papers are : The Evening News, The 
 Newark Daily Journal, The Newark Daily Advertiser, The 
 Press, and The Newark Sunday Call. 
 
 As Newark is in the vicinity of New York, papers from 
 that city can easily and cheaply be obtained. 
 
 At the dock yards can be seen many minor boats for the 
 purpose of carrying lumber, brick and other materials. 
 
43 
 
 Newark is a railroad centre. The names of the rail- 
 roads are : The Morris and Essex Division of the Delaware, 
 Lackawanna and Western R. R., The New Jersey Central 
 and the Greenwood Lake. 
 
 Newark has a library of several thousand books. 
 
 The only fine theatre within Newark's boundaries is 
 Miner's Newark Theatre ; still there are several small thea- 
 tres and halls. 
 
 Roseville is a beautiful suburb of Newark. There is 
 a large and well-known race course owned by the New 
 Jersey Cycling and Athletic Association here ; also Conger's 
 Roseville Riding Academy. 
 
 Newark has a number of horse car lines. 
 
 Newark has about one hundred and fifty thousand 
 inhabitants. 
 
PLANTS AND PEOPLE. 
 
 ^f J. OW much the grass resembles man. 
 ^H^j The weeds are like wicked men. 
 
 The tall, wavy grasses are like some rich men, well 
 known to everybody, doing no one any harm and doing good 
 to very few. 
 
 The clover, hidden from view by the tall grasses, is 
 like men who are all the time doing good deeds that arc 
 scarcely ever seen. 
 
 When the clover is growing it is like good boys. 
 
 When the grass is taken from the lots, planted, watered 
 and had everything done to it to make it grow, and it grows 
 luxuriantly, it is like some poor street boy being adopted 
 by some wealthy gentleman and then growing up, starting in 
 business and living handsomely. 
 
45 
 
 If the earth from which the grass was taken was poor 
 and the grass was continually trodden down, then the rich 
 earth and the care given the grass might be called the 
 wealthy gentleman who cared for the destitute boy. 
 
 The flowers are like sweet ladies and their fragrance 
 like the good they do. 
 
 There are very pretty flowers that have no fragrance. 
 These are like some very pretty ladies who do no one any 
 good. 
 
 Then again there are common flowers that have no 
 equal for fragrance. These are like ladies doing a great 
 deal of good. 
 
OUR WALK. 
 
 ^^y HIS morning, as the streams were swollen with yester- 
 ^^y* day's rain, our teacher, with myself and all my room- 
 
 T 
 
 mates, went out for a geographical walk. 
 
 Before we started we wrote on our slates*all the names 
 of the natural divisions of land and water. 
 
 As we went along and saw all these divisions, one by 
 one, we put a cross at the end of the word. 
 
 There are two lakes on Fifth avenue, which we call 
 "baby oceans." 
 
 In the smaller of these lakes is an island, which our 
 school has named "North Seventh Street Isle," after our 
 school. This morning North Seventh Street Isle was covered 
 with water. 
 
 We saw all the natural divisions in a small way. 
 
 Such teaching will or should make an impression on the 
 children's minds. 
 
THE BOYS OF IVY VILLA. 
 
 WR. GRAYSON, an aged gentleman of Willow Cliffe, 
 
 ^^J 
 
 was principal of Ivy Villa, a well-known college. 
 
 ..vy Villa was an ancient castle, which age had laid in 
 ruins. Historians around Willow Cliffe said that a widowed 
 Earl without a successor had died suddenly of heart disease, 
 leaving no will. The government thereupon took the prop- 
 erty. 
 
 After a great number of years Mr. Grayson bought it 
 and had Ivy Villa built on the old foundations. 
 
 Ivy Villa was covered with ivy, whence it received its 
 name. 
 
 At two o'clock on Friday afternoon — a rainy afternoon 
 — Donald McEntry, a Scottish lad, stood in the stable of 
 Ivy Villa currying his pony, Ida. At his side stood James 
 Willobe looking on. 
 
48 
 
 Tames was an orphan and the strongest bo}- in the 
 school. 
 
 Donald's father was wealthy. Pistols and their use 
 were forbidden in Ivy Villa, still in secret they were used. 
 
 The contestants in a pistol match were to be these two 
 boys. At four p. m., Saturday, the spectators and contestants 
 were to meet in a shady part of Willow Grove, where it was 
 said years ago the captain of a privateer had hidden his 
 booty. 
 
 At four p. m. all was ready for the pistol match. The 
 signal to shoot was to be a pistol report. Bang ! went the 
 report. Bang I bang 1 blang ! went one of the slugs as it 
 sank into the earth. 
 
 James' shot proved a wild one and sank deep into the 
 soft soil with a clanging sound. " 
 
 The audience rushed forward in curious expectation of 
 finding what they did find — a cask of the privateer leader's 
 hidden treasures. 
 
 James took the cask, and in a cowardly manner, fearing 
 detection with the cask in his possession, made his way on 
 
49 
 
 foot to London, whence he left for Canada unbeknown to 
 his tutor and companions. 
 
THE LIFE OF THE OCEAN HERO. 
 
 SAILOR'S life is not one of ease, but one of great 
 %/ hardships. It is also one of great toil and danger. 
 
 Springing from rope to rope, like an orang-outang, and 
 climbing the slippery mast, the hail, rain and wind blowing 
 into his face, are instances of the danger to which he is 
 unavoidably exposed. 
 
 The officers of a ship are not usually kind. 
 
 Mamma says bullies are cowards ; but it doesn't come 
 true in the case I represent, as the captain and_^ mates, 
 though they have a rough way of "breaking in," are as brave 
 as the king of Bengal's ravines and jungles. 
 
NEW JERSEY. 
 
 EW JERSEY IS among the smallest States of the 
 
 Union. 
 
 New Jersey is a peninsula. It is sometimes called the 
 "red mud state," because the soil is red. 
 
 The length of New Jersey is about one hundred and 
 sixty-eight miles and the breadth is from thirty to sixty 
 miles. 
 
 The area is over eight thousand square miles. 
 
 There are over two thousand miles of railroad. 
 
 Copper ore, flag-stone and roofing slate are found in 
 New Jersey. 
 
 The Governor's name is Leon Abbett. The capital is 
 Trenton. The metropolis is Newark. The name of the 
 Mayor of Newark is Joseph E. Haynes. The population of 
 Newark is about one hundred and fifty thousand. 
 
52 
 
 In the southern part of New Jersey, strawberries and 
 peaches are raised. 
 
 The southern part of New Jersey is visited every year 
 by consumptive people, because of the smell of the pine 
 trees, which is healing. 
 
 The important manufactures are carriages, boots, shoes, 
 flour, leather, glass, india rubber goods and pottery. 
 
 The colleges are as follows, viz.: Princeton, Rutgers, 
 Burlington colleges and Stevens Institute. 
 
 There is a hall in South Orange which is used as a, 
 school. Its name is Seton Hall. 
 
 There are twenty-one counties in New Jersey. 
 
 Oysters are abundant along the eastern coast. 
 
AGNES AND HILDEGARDE. 
 
 ^'ATHER ELSWORTH was an old English settler. 
 He was among the early settlers of Minnesota. He 
 lived near the head of the St. Croix river. He had a wife 
 and two children. The children were named Agnes and 
 Hildegarde, aged seven and eight. Mrs. Elsworth used to 
 be visited by a number of straggling Indians, to whom she 
 gave Sunday-school lessons. 
 
 One evening two little forms clad in white crept silently 
 up the rickety staircase to their little room. It was a usual 
 occurrence ; but this was the last time. 
 
 That night the tomahawk, which had been buried 
 "forever," was put into use again. The warwhoop sounded 
 on the still midnight air. Among the massacred strewn 
 about the door might have been seen the bleeding forms of 
 Mrs. and Mr. Elsworth. 
 
54 
 
 At this crisis Agnes and Hildegarde prayed for portec- 
 tion from the upraised tomahawk and the glittering knives of 
 the blood-thirsty savages. 
 
 The prayer was heard. A kindly Indian, a father per- 
 haps, took them in his arms and bounded down the stair- 
 case, out of the door and off through the dreary wood which 
 surrounded the house. On and on they went, mile after 
 mile, till at last they entered the door of a wigwam and were 
 allowed to sit down on a log by the fire. On this log were 
 seated an Indian^boy and two Indian girls. 
 
 That night, while folded in a rough blanket, Hildegarde 
 dreamt that she and Agnes were teaching the little Indians 
 a certain text which their mother had taught them. 
 
 The next morning the report of a shotgun rang in the 
 ears of Agnes and Hildegarde and awakened them from a 
 refreshing sleep. A warm breakfast of Indian corn and 
 deer steak awaited our heroines. It was soon demolished. 
 
 At the door was a scene for a professional artist. Sport- 
 ing about were three or four tame squirrels. At a short 
 distance stood Womochau, the young chief, aiming at a large 
 
55 
 
 eagle, whose sharp eyes scanned the country far and wide, 
 and whose slate-colored breast rested on the branch of a 
 tree. 
 
 Oh ! noble emblem of our country. Those keen eyes 
 that gray breast, that long yellow bill and shapely forehead 
 all denote the great cause-^ — the cause for which so many 
 patriots shouldered muskets and crossed the threshold of 
 their homes for the last time. That cause was freedom. 
 What bird that flies in the open air can present so majestic a 
 form on mountain peak or on restless wing ; or what bird 
 better deserves that honor than you the king of birds and 
 the lord of the Rocky's precipitous craigs, unexplored, snow- 
 capped peaks and wide-mouthed chasm. 
 
 At a fire were two squaws with papooses in boxes, like 
 coffins, strapped to their backs. Sitting on a log, smoking his 
 pipe and singing his war song, was the chief surrounded by 
 his warriors. Over the fire hung a reed mat, on which some 
 Indian corn was being parched ; while at another fire from 
 two crotched stakes, with a pole across the crotches, two 
 plump prairie hens were suspended. 
 
56 
 
 After a satisfactory breakfast the chief took Hildegarde 
 on his knee, when the following conversation ensued : 
 
 '' What pale face name ? " 
 
 "Hildegarde." 
 
 "You stay, marry Womochau, play a Running Stream, 
 a Forest Bird?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 While the chief Chaucaman and his warriors were 
 engaged in the chase the captives managed to gain the ear 
 of Womochau, his son. 
 
 In a few weeks Hildegarde and Agnes made a Christian 
 of Womochau. 
 
 He had not been converted long when he tried to make 
 a Christian of Chaucaman and his warriors. He succeeded. 
 
 The sisters lived for some time with the Indians and 
 were treated kindly by their red brethren. The chief wanted 
 to keep Hildegarde to marry his son, but she did not like 
 this proposal, and by stealth, with her sister made her way to 
 St. Louis, where they were cared for by a kindly old couple. 
 
SELF-DENIAL. 
 
 HO ! we're going to the ice cream saloon for some 
 f ice cream, aren't we, Eddie?" said Little May 
 - to her brother Edward, as they went trotting down 
 
 the street toward Philips' ice cream saloon. 
 
 The fact was that Eddie had found a ten-cent piece in 
 front of the house. 
 
 " O, say, Eddie, wouldn't it make that poor boy happy 
 if he could have our ten cents ? he could buy two loaves of 
 bread. He looks hungry." 
 
 ''AH right, I will," said Eddie. 
 
 So the two went up and Eddie gave the boy the dime. 
 
 A smile covered the face of the boy as he said " Thank 
 
 5) 
 
 yer. 
 
 When the children presented their gift their hearts were 
 
58 
 
 filled with a contented feeling. This was one reward, but 
 -another was at hand. 
 
 A gentleman with brightly polished shoes went along on 
 the opposite side of the street and saw it all. He was the 
 father of the children. That noon he gave the children ten 
 cents and they had their ice cream. 
 
THE BABY TREASURE SEEKER. 
 
 {From a Picture.) 
 
 BBIE had been telling four-year-old Tim about Cap- 
 i %/ tain Kidd, his treasures, and a few of the famous but 
 vain attempts made to secure the booty of the renowned 
 pirate. 
 
 Tim set his childish mind on digging for the treasure. He 
 went to the garden house and got his spade and set to work 
 in a secluded part of the yard, behind a clump of tall black- 
 berry bushes. He was geting on rapidly and had dug about 
 two feet deep when his spade turned up a lump of rich turf, in 
 the midst of which was a large copper penny. 
 
 That was the only recompense Tim received for his 
 trouble, and he dearly payed for it with five large water- 
 blisters on his chubby dimpled hands ; but the two sticks of 
 
6o 
 
 candy which he bought with the copper penny was a tem- 
 porary consolation. 
 
 Thus ended Tim's first and last attempt at treasure 
 seeking. 
 
 y| 
 
IVHNER'S NEWARK THEATRE. 
 
 lalNER'S NEWARK THEATRE is a handsome 
 edince. From the door to the ticket office is a 
 short hall, the ceiling of which is richly painted in lively 
 colors. Extending around the wall, about three feet from 
 the floor, is a bright, gilt band. The floor is made of blocks 
 of polished marble. Turning to either side you climb a 
 winding staircase covered with a rich, red, heavy carpet. 
 The walls and ceilings are richly decorated. All around 
 behind the seats are heavy plush curtains, the edges of 
 which have a thick rope of silk cord entwined around them. 
 The box seats have three large pieces of heavy, red 
 plush hanging from their tops. The middle one has a bunch 
 of primroses worked in it. Artistic brass ornaments of a 
 triangular shape are also fastened to the box seats. Most 
 all the fancy wood work is in polished red-wood. 
 
62 
 
 From the main ceiling is suspended a bright, brass gas- 
 aUer, on which is a number of electric lights. 
 
 Back of the balcony seats is a large sitting-room. The 
 furniture is upholstered in red plush. At the side of the 
 room is a fire-place, formed of large, polished stone blocks, 
 with pictures from Shakespearean plays printed on the sides. 
 In the fire-place is a heap of shavings ; beneath this are a 
 few electric lights, in pink glass tubes, which give it the 
 appearance of a fire without any flame. 
 
 Above the stage is painted, in bronze, the bust of Shakes- 
 peare with the picture of a goddess and three cupids, 
 representing Music. On the other side another goddess and 
 three more cupids, representing Drama. The curtains of the 
 stage are rich in color. 
 
 The theatre is superintended wholly by H. C. Miner. 
 
ELIOT FRAZEE'S CAREER. 
 
 ITHOUT, on a chilly morning in December, all was: 
 bright. The brilliant rays that the rising sun sent 
 forth as heralds to proclaim his coming made the crisp white 
 surface of the snow glitter like the riches in the temple of 
 Diana. 
 
 But within the crumbling walls of a rickety, old tene- 
 ment-house in the English town of G , all was not bright. 
 
 A little, trembling form in the extreme end of the room, 
 was not happy. 
 
 Eliot Frazee was the wretched, little piece of mortal 
 humanity to whom I refer. He was eleven years old. His^ 
 mother had died when he was a child of three. 
 
 His intoxicated father sat on the floor taking occasional 
 sips from a bottle of alcohol. 
 
64 , 
 
 Eliot, thus seeing the horrors of the life his father was 
 leading, resolved to lead a different one. 
 
 He declared that no liquor merchant should be bene- 
 fited by his earnings. 
 
 As he sat nursing his temper he resolved to endure his 
 hardships no longer. 
 
 He was about to take his departure in silence, when — 
 liark ! footsteps sounded in his ear. He peeped around the 
 corner of the door and saw two officers in uniform, climbing 
 the staircase which shook beneath their feet. The foremost 
 stepped into the room and caught Mr. Frazee raging under 
 the influence of the fiercest demon on earth. 
 
 Eliot followed the officers into the street, then started 
 down to the city dock to get a position on board one of the 
 numerous ships which left port each day. 
 
 Happily there was a vessel at the dock whose captain 
 immediately offered to give him a position as cabin-boy. He, 
 instead of giving Eliot gold coin, clothed him in neat apparel 
 
 made of strong, blue cloth, for which the boy was to pay by his 
 work on the voyage. The vessel was bound for Portugal. 
 
^5 
 
 The next day, bright and early, Eliot was awakened by 
 shouts of ''Haul in the anchor! all hands set sail! " Eliot 
 dressed, went on deck, watched and followed the example of 
 a hardily built midshipman. He ran after the boy and 
 helped him at whatever he saw him doing, and they soon 
 became intimate. Eliot found that the boy was Louis De 
 Leaux, a French lad. 
 
 Louis told Eliot that he had joined the ship at Portugal. 
 His father and mother had died when he was very young. 
 He had made his way across country to Portugal, from Paris, 
 and joined the ship. 
 
 Louis told Eliot that the ship's rules required that every 
 man and boy should be on deck very early and the officers' 
 orders should be promptly obeyed. He also told Eliot to 
 follow and help him at whatever he saw him doing. Eliot 
 did as he was bidden and kept on doing so. 
 
 One day the captain saw clouds scudding over the blue 
 sky and immediately dispatched sailors to various parts of 
 the ship to haul in the different sails. This done, all hands 
 caught hold of the bulwarks and other articles securely fast- 
 
66 
 
 ened to the ship. Louis, however, had that presence of mind 
 which the other hands did not. He, with Eliot's help, made a 
 raft sufficiently large to hold himself and Eliot. This com- 
 pleted, the two midshipmen tied themselves on to the raft 
 and sat there — two midshipmen in a squall in reality, but 
 like two prisoners in a cell. As it rent the skies with a ter- 
 rible roar the squall struck the ship and made her careen. 
 As she did so the raft slid off the deck of " The Belle of the 
 Season." The boys kept their place well as the raft sank 
 beneath the roaring waves of the Atlantic. 
 
 The raft arose again and bore its burden through the 
 boiling waters. 
 
 Eliot and Louis stayed on the raft several days. One 
 night, our heroes were lying down to enter the land of 
 "Sweet Repose," when the sound of the water roaring amid 
 the breakers made them rise. A few seconds later the raft 
 struck on the shore of an island. They sought the refuge of 
 a huge, over-hanging cliff, which afforded a resting-place for 
 the night. 
 
 They soon greeted the " Land of Nod." 
 
 
6? 
 
 The next morning, as the sun rose over the hills of the 
 island, (one of the Canary's) the cries of forest birds made 
 Louis return from the fair "Land of Nod" to the dreaded 
 land of reality. 
 
 When he awoke he, immediately comprehending the 
 situation, called Eliot, whose barque was rather slow return- 
 ing, and set to work with him to build a hut, in the construction 
 of which an axe, which Louis had stolen and secreted 
 between the precious boards of the raft, was used. 
 
 Eliot broke the raft and brought therefrom the treasure 
 of which I hitherto made mention. 
 
 After incessant toil for several days, during which our 
 hero and his companion left themselves to the mercy of the 
 winds and animals, a rude house was constructed on a pretty 
 site chosen by Eliot. 
 
 Two large palmetto trees shaded it It was situated on 
 a promontory. 
 
 A natural grass plot with some pretty flowers springing 
 from amongst the tufts was growing in front of the site. 
 
 Turtles and their eggs were plentiful along the shore. 
 Large fish were abundant in the waters near by. 
 
6S 
 
 In the construction of the house the trunk of a forest 
 monarch was split in four. The pieces were used as joist 
 for the frame work. The raft made an excellent roof. The 
 side of the rough residence was covered with long strips of 
 bark, far more easily obtainable than the thick, hard-to-cut 
 wood of the native trees. 
 
 The chinks they neatly filled up with clay, which they 
 found but a few feet beneath the surface of the fertile soil 
 of the tropical island. A large cot was constructed on which 
 the pioneers made their voyage to the beautiful " Land of 
 Nod." It was formed of two huge, rollers made by the in- 
 genious hand of Louis, from one to the other of which a 
 few branches were laid. Over this they strew some long, 
 dry grass, which they found in a swamp in the vicinity of 
 their rude abode. 
 
 This done, Eliot proposed a walk into the interior of 
 their island. The proposal was warmly accepted ; and on a 
 beautiful morn, beneath a cloudless firmament, the two set 
 out for a long walk. They walked along the sea-shore until 
 the blue outline of a distant promontory made its appear- 
 
69 
 
 ance. Eliot and Louis discovered, as they walked along, 
 luscious grapes, of which our heroes partook with gusto. 
 
 They reached the promontory about dusk, and slept on 
 the ground till the dazzling heralds of '* Old Sol " shone 
 into the eyes of our heroes. 
 
 Climbing down the perpendicular side of the promon- 
 tory, they noticed under an overhanging cliff, a large, dark 
 cavern All around, in even rows, were shelves on which 
 were many articles of value, viz. : Rice seed, cutlery, dry 
 goods, rubber goods, rope, matches, books of value, and a 
 large amount of miscellaneous, household articles. 
 
 This was a smuggler's den. The things were all neatly 
 arranged at such a height above the shore that they could 
 not be easily reached by the roaring waters beneath. 
 
 Louis and Eliot took advantage of the opportunity to 
 load themselves with the valuable articles the den contained. 
 They took all the articles needed to write with, matches, 
 rope, and some books to read in their lonely abode. Among 
 others, they took " Swiss Family Robinson " and " Robinson 
 Crusoe." The latter was of great service, as they read the 
 
70 
 
 way in which Crusoe maintained himself years before on a 
 deserted isle in the Carribean Sea. They made some earthen 
 pots, dried some grapes, thus making raisins, and planted 
 some seeds, of which they found plenty at the smuggler's 
 den. 
 
 Louis, after much toil, built a stove of stone and clay. 
 
 Another walk was taken. 
 
 The next day, with a good lunch the boys set out 
 through the woods in the rear of the house. As they 
 stepped briskly along, they at length heard a noise in the 
 trees near them. Looking up, they discerned in the thick 
 foliage of a tree, a large orang-outang. By means of a pointed 
 stone, Louis sent him floundering to the ground. He then, 
 seeing that the monkey intended to defend himself, thrust a 
 glittering stiletto into the breast of the "brute man." 
 
 They then, knowing the revenge which would doubtless 
 be inflicted on them should they be found out, took the 
 monkey by the ears and started off through the woods as 
 fast as they could. 
 
 Arrived safe at their home, Louis cut a long strip of 
 
71 
 
 skin from the back of the monkey and buried the remains. 
 The strip he fastened to a thin branch of wood from one of 
 the native trees, thus making a bow. He made arrows out 
 of large twigs. In this way he was enabled to have a parrot 
 or other tropical birds for dinner, supper or breakfast. 
 
 One day, Louis and Eliot thought they would like some 
 cocoanuts ; so with axe and hatchet, they set to work to 
 bring to the ground a tree which seemed to be very full of 
 the delicious fruit. After a long time, with a crash the tree 
 fell thundering to the ground. The fruit was soon plucked 
 and stored away for the rainy season. 
 
 The Winter in these latitudes is merely a season -which 
 is noted for its numerous rainy days. 
 
 The grapes which they had suspended from the cave of 
 the house were now turned into raisins. Carrots, which the 
 boys had raised from the seeds, were eaten with relish. 
 
 The rainy season at last arrived. Eliot and Louis read 
 the books and ate of the store they laid up for these rainy 
 months. To employ the time, our friends made a flat bottom 
 boat and whittled out a pair of rude oars. 
 
72 
 
 The last oar was nearly finished, the boat was standing 
 at the door, if so it might be called, when the boom of a 
 cannon rang in the ears of Louis and Elliot. 
 
 The boat and oars were soon dragged down to the 
 shore and Eliot, being the least tired, set off. 
 
 After reconnoitering in the dark for a few minutes, he 
 heard faint shouts of " Help ! help ! " but a short distance 
 away ; and, after looking for some time, dimly discerned the 
 hull of a vessel. 
 
 He immediately rowed in the direction in which he had 
 seen the vessel. 
 
 ^ -St ^ ^ tV 
 
 In an hour or so Eliot ran the prow of his little craft 
 high upon the sandy strand, with no smaller encumbrance 
 than a captain, captain's mate, steward, cook, five sailors, 
 two midshipmen, a cabin boy, a big bloodhound hailing 
 from Siberia, and the captain's wife and daughter. 
 
 The following day all hands set to work to build huts, 
 and the setting sun saw several small ones, all clustering 
 around that of Louis and Eliot. 
 
73 
 
 The next morning, as the sun rose over the hills at the 
 east of the island, Eliot, Louis, and the other men in the 
 party set off on rough rafts, each man bound on making his 
 home brighter and better by the use of many articles which 
 were on board the man-of-war Ariel. 
 
 Our hero and his companion made good use of their 
 boat in this expedition. They secured from the wreck, 
 which was lying but a few feet below the surface, an axe, 
 some clothes, a violin, a large coil of rope, a barrel of butter, 
 a bag of seed rice, some coffee, and a small state-room stove. 
 The latter they put up in one corner of their room. Eliot 
 found in a little basket floating on the water's surface, three 
 small blood-hound pups. These he deposited carefully in 
 his dress-coat bosom. He gave one to Louis and kept one 
 himself. The third he took to its mother. 
 
 The followers of Eliot immediately elected him Gover- 
 nor of the island in preference to Louis. 
 
 He set them to work making rice fields and orange 
 groves, to cut down the native trees, and to cultivate the 
 cocoanut trees and grape vines. 
 
74 
 
 After traveling several days into the interior, natives 
 were seen, and soon Englishman and red man were on 
 friendly terms. 
 
 For an axe and some trinkets the Indians gave several 
 ostriches trained for the plow. These were taken home, 
 fastened to some patent plows brought from the Ariel, and 
 soon a large plot of the marsh was plowed up. They sowed 
 the lot with rice seed, and soon the fruits of their labor blos- 
 somed forth. 
 
 As the colony urged it, a fort was made to protect them. 
 The cannon which sent forth death through the port holes 
 were mounted on logs so that they could breath forth fire 
 through separate little windows of the fort. 
 
 It was found, by the aid of a chart which the captain 
 had, that the Madeira Isles were but a few days' journey 
 from their island. 
 
 These islands were inhabited by Englishmen. The 
 colony determined to reach these if possible, get aid and 
 proceed homeward. 
 
 Accordingly the Ariel was drawn up out of the water. 
 
repaired and pulled up to the dock which the rescued 
 and the rescuers had built. 
 
 After stocking the hold with cocoanuts and grapes and 
 provisions, they set out on the home voyage. 
 
 After sailing several days on a rough sea, they at last 
 reached the Madeira Isles. They tarried for some time 
 and then set sail for Lisbon, Spain. 
 
 They were much delayed by contrary winds ; but at 
 last, amid shouting and cheering, the mouth of the Tagus 
 was sighted and land was even more heartily cheered. 
 
 The cargo, together with. a lot of stolen goods from the 
 smugglers' den, sold for nearly six thousand dollars. 
 
 Eliot and Louis had one thousand dollars a piece. The 
 
 friends parted, Louis starting for France, and Eliot for the 
 
 Holy-Land to help the Englishmen fight the barbarians. 
 ***** 
 
 Eliot gradually rose from water boy to General, and for 
 some heroic act was knighted by King George. 
 
 He was soon after taken with a serious cold, which he 
 caught while riding in the midnight air. Thus died the 
 honored and esteemed Sir Eliot Frazee. 
 
A LETTER TO MRS. CLEVELAND. 
 
 Newark, N. /., Jan. 6, 1887. 
 Mrs. Grover Cleveland^ 
 Dear Lady : — 
 
 UR teacher told us all she knew about your Marmoset 
 monkey. She drew a picture of what she thought 
 he must be like. 
 I had a " Merry Christmas " and a " Happy New Year." 
 I hope you enjoyed these festive days also. 
 
 Our school is pleasantly situated on the outskirts of a 
 shady grove. Thither on half holidays the pupils, who wish, 
 retire and have picnics. 
 
 Our school, in a round-number estimation, contains only 
 a hundred and fifty pupils ; thus it is that the pupils can 
 enjoy great sport. 
 
77 
 
 A ^ : :t ; t ; i : greatly to the fun. Our teacher 
 , = .:: _t. :-: ;,: : c girls, and a foot ball for the 
 
 T r. t : . t : i: f. t i_^ : 1 1 :i.e pupils to bring their skates 
 
 Tmly yours, 
 
 A. Z . T :-: : : 7 lzto^. 
 
 ~r 
 
ONLY A WITHERED LEAF. 
 
 4v 
 
 ES, withered and brown, worm-eaten and torn, it lay on 
 
 the ground ; but it had a history. 
 
 Many months before, it had been cuddled up in 
 a little dark,, red cradle, which hung on a tiny twig on the 
 largest bough of a maple tree which sheltered the Squire's 
 kitchen from the terrible west wind in Winter, and the fear- 
 ful heat of "Old Sol " in Summer. 
 
 When the warm weather set in, the tiny, red cradle 
 broke and fell down upon the door-step, where a -greedy 
 chicken gobbled it down, thinking it was one of the delicious 
 wheaten grains thrown out to him and his companions every 
 morning. 
 
 The little leaf, after being wet through by April showers 
 several times, thought it best to show itself. 
 
 This it did. 
 
 It spread itself out and showed its pretty dress. 
 
79 
 
 One day a robin came to the tree and sat on a branch 
 underneath it. The leaf felt very proud when it saw that 
 the shade it made fell on the robin's neck. 
 
 In the long Summer evenings it used to float lightly on 
 the breeze and listen to what the wooer said to " Miss 
 Amelia," the "Squire's" young and pretty daughter, as he 
 and she quietly sipped their tea and ate their cake on the 
 lawn beneath. 
 
 Later on, the west wind "called it,'* and it went with a 
 large gust across the meadow and dropped at my feet. It 
 had served its purpose, and resigned its position on the twig 
 on the largest branch of the maple that sheltered the 
 Squire's kitchen the whole year round. 
 
TOBOGGAN SLIDES. 
 
 •^ ii 
 
 ^g^HE longest toboggan slide in the United States is at 
 Tuxedo Park. It is a grand slide of great length. 
 The custom is, as I believe, a French one. The craze 
 is a dangerous one, and better for many had it never com- 
 menced. 
 
 There are toboggan slides in many places ; but Mon- 
 treal, Tuxedo, Albany, and St. Cloud slides excel in length. 
 
 The sensation is said by a beginner to be as follows : 
 when you go down the steep place at the beginning of the 
 slide, you feel afraid ; then, as you get farther on, you feel 
 as if you want to have some more, and at the end you 
 decide to buy another ticket. 
 
ROSALIE'S DOLLS. 
 
 OSALIE EDWARDS' largest doll was [named Jack. 
 He was a "blue coat " and had lost one arm while 
 fighting with the bull terrier. 
 
 " He is so dumb," Rosalie used to say, "he can't read 
 nor he can't talk ; in fact, all he can do is to lie around and 
 get in everybody's way." 
 
 Rosalie's next " child " was a big, blue-eyed girl; but 
 her woes were, indeed, many. One day our Rosalie had her 
 up-stairs playing housekeeping, when baby Carl, who was 
 out in the hall, caught her up and threw her over the 
 balustrade. 
 
 The poor doll broke her leg and cracked her head ; but 
 Nanny, the nurse, soon put on a cloth leg, which did quite 
 as well as the wax one. 
 
 Brother Tom took the doll into his work-room, and 
 
82 
 
 there, with the aid of gkie, soon put together the fractions 
 of the poor doll's head. 
 
 Later on, while walking in the park with Rosalie, by 
 some accident she fell into the fountain and got several hard 
 bumps against the iron sides of the great basin, which quite 
 disfigured her face and body. Rover, the dog, soon rescued 
 her ; but she was so mangled by falls and bumps that she 
 retired from service and spent the rest of her days in a pile 
 of clothes in Mrs. Edwards' garret. 
 
CHRISTMAS PREPARATION. 
 
 {From a Picture.) 
 
 ^^pHE December winds were blowing. Sleigh bells were 
 ringing. Christmas was near at hand. Around the 
 fire-places in the large, old-fashioned homes at Lei- 
 cestershire, England, were grouped mother, brothers, and 
 sisters, all preparing Christmas gifts for friends and relatives. 
 At Farmer Oliver's, Nat and Max and little Jennie were pre- 
 paring for a grand dinner. 
 
 The farmer was going to have several of his friends at 
 the house. Mrs. Oliver had invited the "Arlington Sewing 
 Circle." The cousins of the Oliver children, Bill and 
 Hessie, were coming, too. 
 
 Nat thought it would be nice to get some greens and 
 trim the room in which the dinner was to be eaten. As 
 Max liked the idea, a stout willow basket was procured 
 
84 
 
 from Anne, the fat cook. The boys wrapped themselves up 
 well, and, with Jennie by their side, they started out for the 
 woods, whose towering oaks, green pines, and gray beeches 
 could plainly be discerned through a quarter of a mile of 
 frosty atmosphere. They went quite a way into the woods 
 and got their baskets partly filled with holly, hemlock, and 
 myrtle sprigs. They had not kept to the road, however, and 
 consequently lost their way. They wandered on ; but the 
 further they wandered, the more bewildered they grew. 
 
 At last they met a sportsman, who kindly led them to 
 the road. Here, as Jennie was tired, the boys lifted her into 
 the empty part of the basket. Then, firmly grasping its 
 handles, the boys started off at a rapid pace over the crisp 
 white snow, and arrived at home in safety. 
 
DON'T BE TOO READY. 
 
 RTHUR JONES and a school-fellow sat on a branch 
 of an old cherry tree, pulHng off its luxuriant 
 bounty, when the sisters of the two boys came along 
 and asked for some of the juicy, yellow fruit. The boys, 
 not accustomed to answering the girls in the negative, gave 
 them a large share. The girls thanked the boys for their 
 kindness and ran quickly away, eating their cherries as they 
 went. 
 
 Soon the girls returned and asked for some cherries 
 which hung in a cluster on the end of a limb. Both of the 
 boys went for them ; but the limb broke, letting both of the 
 boys to the ground. Arthur's knee-pan was broken and his 
 friend's arm dislocated. 
 
 After that, neither of the boys were over-willing. 
 
THE PARADE. 
 
 NE fine, June day, Tommy Jackson and Johnny Ellis 
 had a parade. Tommy's mother kept a boarding- 
 house, where the rest of the children boarded. 
 Tommy was to be captain and Johnny to be the captain's 
 aide-de-camp. 
 
 Belle and Eddie, Rover and Snow-ball, and the coach- 
 man's pug were to be volunteers. 
 
 Away they marched — flags flying, tin pans beating, and 
 voices shouting. They marched across the bridge which 
 spanned Trout creek and down the banks into the cool 
 shade of Eaton Grove. 
 
 Suddenly a garter-snake wriggled across the path, and 
 the army, excluding the animals, was thrown into confusion. 
 
 All the children jumped for stones, and soon the snake 
 lay dead at their feet. 
 
87 
 
 Just then torrents of rain commenced to fall from the 
 black clouds which had gathered all the while. 
 
 Then the army set off at full speed for home. The 
 path seemed longer than it ever had before. 
 
 By the time the children got home, they were soaked to 
 the skin ; and, after a drink of the hottest ginger tea, they 
 went early to bed. 
 
 The dogs cuddled up in their kennels and went to sleep. 
 
 Snow-ball got into her basket in the chimney corner and 
 was soon lost in profound slumbers. 
 
THE STORY. 
 
 ['Tow for a story," shouted Jack Benton, and his 
 clear, boyish voice rang out on the September 
 breeze. "Come, Bell, Tom, Fred, and Frank," 
 he shouted, after a pause. 
 
 So they were all assembled. 
 
 After clearing his voice, Mr. Benton began : 
 
 "Well, when I was a minor I went on board a ship as 
 midshipman. One day the clouds came over the sky. The 
 eagles and other storm birds left their cozy nests away up 
 on the mountain peaks. By this, the sailors knew a storm 
 was coming. The sails were furled and everything made 
 ready for the storm which was predicted by the birds and 
 clouds. 
 
 " The sailors grasped the masts and other fixed objects 
 about the vessel. The strong blast came and almost blew 
 
89 
 
 the sailors off their feet. The water dashed down on the 
 deck of the vessel in great torrents. In a few moments the 
 vessel was dashed on a rock, and all of the people on board 
 took to the rock except one, who went below, where he saved 
 a large cask of powder and an old double-barrel gun. He 
 secured a rope and hoisted the cask on deck. Here it was 
 transferred to the rock, and from thence taken to the island 
 which had been found near the rock. A raft was made and 
 we paddled to the mainland, where we were rescued by the 
 ship ' Hoploe.' " 
 
A NOTE. 
 
 Newark, N'. /., Feb. lo, 1887. 
 
 Mr. Smith, 
 Dear Sir 
 
 LEASE send by mail, using the enclosed stamps, my 
 rubbers. The walking is rather slushy, and I stand 
 in serious need of them. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 Alfred E. Thistleton. 
 
MY BALL. 
 
 r HAVE at home, a small cord ball. 
 [^ Its origin was in the fibrous bark of the hemp. After 
 the fibres of the hemp bark had been extracted, they 
 were made into cord. This cord was rolled up into balls 
 and sold to retail merchants. 
 
 When these merchants had bundles to send to our 
 house, they tied them up with cord. These bundles and 
 cord had a ride in a wagon or under an arm from the mer- 
 chants' stores to our door. 
 
 As many of these cords as I could, I saved and wound 
 about a ball of paper. When I had got the ball to a suf- 
 ficient size, I knit the cords round and under one another 
 till I was satisfied that they would not unravel. 
 
 Shortly after this I missed it. But it happened that 
 
92 
 
 while I was raking one Spring day I came across it. It had 
 lain among the lilies in front of our house all Winter. 
 I have had much fun with it often since. 
 
VEGETATION. 
 
 PRING has come. Winter has gone. 
 j^9 Vegetation is springing forth. The seeds of 
 
 flowers and weeds, that have been concealed under 
 the snow, now spring up. The verdure on the hillsides and 
 o'er the broad meadows looks like a bright, green carpet. 
 
 The bare branches of the trees are now covered with 
 little, red cradles. Many of these little, red cradles, which 
 have enclosed the new leaves, have fallen to the ground. 
 The elm is adorned with yellow blossoms and the willow 
 with its silvery catkins. 
 
 Do you know of what use trees are ? They are of great 
 use. The elm for the shade it spreads round about, the 
 cherry, oak, ash, walnut, mahogany, bamboo and other 
 woods for furniture, the pine for building purposes, the 
 
94 
 
 cedar for cigar boxes, tubs and pails and various other 
 articles of necessity and ornament. 
 
 And so I might name many species of wood and many 
 of their purposes ; but there are too niany woods and too 
 many of their purposes to name them all. 
 
 There is one great purpose to which we should attribute 
 existence. 
 
 The trees strike their roots deep into the soil. The 
 roots are porous, and through their pores they suck the 
 moisture up into the trunks and branches of the trees. Now, 
 in consequence of this constant suction, the water in the 
 ground is drawn near to the roots, and in this way keeps the 
 ground thereabouts moist and fertile. Owing to the fertility 
 of the ground, grass soon springs up around the trees, and 
 of this grass animals partake, and of certain species of these 
 animals, mankind partakes. 
 
 Hence, if there were no trees, this earth would doubtless 
 be an arid, burning desert, where man could not exist. 
 
 On sultry Summer days, it is pleasant to retire into the 
 
95 
 
 cool recesses of the woods, and listen to the songs of the 
 little feathered musicians who flit about on the swaying 
 boughs. 
 
 )\\i//. 
 
QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 i^ICTORIA GUELPH, the niece of William IV, is the 
 present ruler of England. She is about sixty-eight 
 years of age, and has already reigned fifty years. 
 Her father, the Duke of Kent, was the third son of 
 George the Third. 
 
 At small dinners she wears gloves, which are discarded 
 or given to some one when the occasion is over. At large 
 dinners she does not wear gloves. 
 
 At receptions she stands while her visitors come up, 
 courtesy lowly, and pass on. After this they go through the 
 different apartments in the palace and look at the pictures. 
 They then go into the court-yard, get into their coaches, and 
 roll away. 
 
TOMMY AND THE WEASEL. 
 
 ::^OMMY WILLIAMS had a choice set of chickens— 
 
 I 
 
 four bantams, two Shanghais, three leghorns, and a 
 pair of Plymouth-rocks. He took a great deal of 
 care of them, too. 
 
 One morning he heard a great flutter in the hen-yard ; 
 so he dressed himself quickly, picked up his ball bat, and 
 ran into the hen-yard. Tiny footprints could be seen all 
 about the yard. The earth was all beaten up, and on the 
 top of a small mound of dirt lay one of his favorite bantams, 
 for which Billy Edwards had offered him fifty cents the day 
 previous. 
 
 The bantam lay in a way suggestive of a struggle with 
 its murderer. 
 
 Tommy could not desist from crying, because the fowl 
 had taken the poultry prize at the country fair ; and now it 
 lay dead before him. 
 
98 
 
 Fanny, the brown bantam who was sitting on half a 
 dozen tiny eggs, was hopping about on one foot, while the 
 blood was oozing from the other one, which was half hidden 
 in her feathers. Her back was covered with blood. Tommy 
 tore his handkerchief and bound Fanny's wounds. 
 
 Thinking from the size of the footprints that the thief 
 was a rat, Tommy resolved to capture him ; but how was 
 this to be done? There wasn't a trap about the house. He 
 was an ingenious boy, however, and equalled the occasion. 
 Taking a spade he dug a deep, narrow ditch across the 
 entrance into the hen-yard and overlaid it with a piece of 
 newspaper. He next wrote on a paper the words, ^''Beware 
 of the pitfall under the newspaper^'' and placed it on the gate 
 post. This done, he locked the hens in the coop and trotted 
 away to school. 
 
 After school, he went into the hen-yard. The paper 
 was not over the hole, but in the bottom of it, and so was 
 the murderer — a fat, black-eyed weasel. 
 
 Tommy killed the weasel and sold it to Billy Edwards 
 for seventy-five cents. That individual skinned it, sold its 
 fur, and ate its flesh. 
 
99 
 
 But what was most consoling to Tommy was the fact 
 that one of Fanny's babies replaced the murdered bantam. 
 
PRACTICE VERSUS THEORY. 
 
 T'^"^ 1 Teacher had an experience while a high school girl 
 /scl. i:T . ir- her reens, which she never forgot. 
 
 One day the class was asked to find the num- 
 ber of bricks it would take to build a prison. It was a hard 
 example : but she worked it, and as the teacher pronounced 
 it correct, and as nobody else worked it correctly, she felt 
 rather proud and boasted not a little. 
 
 Soon after, in conrersation with a boss mason, she 
 began to talk about the mathematical triumph over which 
 she felt so elated. After explaining it to him, he declared 
 that it had been worked wrongly. Taking the arithmetic 
 for authority, she declared in favor of herself, when he ex- 
 plained that she had made no allowance for mortar. 
 
CAMPING OUT. 
 
 {Part of Language Examination^ June^ 1887.) 
 
 OHN MERIDEN went to spend the Winter at a log- 
 ging camp in Maine. His uncle, James Wilson, was 
 secretary of a company organized for the purpose of 
 cutting timber on the banks of a mountain stream which 
 flowed through a wooded region and entered Moosehead 
 Lake. 
 
 John stayed several months, during which he enjoyed 
 himself. He skated, fished, hunted, went sleigh-riding, and 
 rode on the loads of timber. In February he came home. 
 
OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 ^HE United States of America is the leading Republic 
 of the world. 
 
 It was principally settled by Dutch and English, 
 and sects fleeing from religious persecution in the Old 
 World. Among these were the Huguenots, a sect composed 
 of French Protestants, who settled in the southern part of 
 Georgia ; also the Puritans, who settled in Massachusetts, 
 and the Quakers. Besides these were several clans of Scotch 
 and Irish. 
 
 The native inhabitants were a barbarous race, supposed 
 to have come from Asia, across Behring Strait. They lived 
 on what they trapped and killed. They did their cooking 
 by an open fire. Their warriors were generally on the war- 
 path. They traveled on foot until white men invaded their 
 territories and taught them the art of riding on the back of 
 
I03 
 
 a horse. Before that they thought that man and beast were 
 one being, which they called a centaur. 
 
 The life of the warrior had few restraints. His squaw 
 provided for his wants and raised his crops of corn or maize. 
 
 Gradually the white men began to spread round about. 
 
 They soon changed the scenery of the country. They 
 hewed down the trees, built their little cottages, and soon 
 produced fields of wheat and vegetables, the fruit of many 
 hours of patient labor. 
 
 The principal features of their cottages were the cup- 
 board ; the large open fire-place with a fire in it, whose genial 
 warmth gave the room a more home-like appearance ; a large 
 settee ; a table, with rounds like a chair and enormous 
 wooden legs, and a spinning wheel. 
 
 Entering one of these cots at twiHght, we would prob- 
 ably find an elderly matron sitting at the spinning wheel, 
 having upon her head what one would take at first sight for 
 a nightcap ; a tired out farmer with a stern face, sitting in 
 one corner of the settee, gazing at the flames as they danced 
 up the great, red chimney and caused the brightly polished 
 
I04 
 
 andirons to glisten like a prism shaken in the sunlight ; a 
 fairy-like maiden with auburn hair, brown eyes and rosy 
 cheeks, now sweeping, now polishing pans, and now setting 
 the table, and, perhaps, a fair-haired child lying in a cradle. 
 
 They cooked the food in one large pot, and their bill of 
 fare seldom changed. It usually was beans, peas, onions, 
 carrots, potatoes, corn and other garden products, together 
 with a large piece of pork. 
 
 As the fire-light danced around the room, one could see 
 a bible on a stand, a large old-fashioned clock in a corner 
 probably seven feet high, and perhaps two or more guns in 
 racks on the walls. 
 
 Such were the lives our fore-fathers led. 
 
 After some time, the colonies grew and were thriving 
 splendidly, when the country was shaken by a troublesome 
 war with the French and Indians. 
 
 Hardly was this war over with, than the Revolution 
 commenced — the Revolution which shook the continent of 
 North America and England. 
 
 This war, beginning with the battle of Lexington, kept 
 
I05 
 
 racking the young colonies until, in 1781, the American and 
 French armies joined in Virginia and besieged Cornwallis, 
 who was lying intrenched at a place called Yorktown. Corn- 
 wallis waited for aid ; but, as none came, he surrendered 
 seven thousand soldiers, together with all his stores, cannon, 
 and ammunition. 
 
 Shortly after, by order of Parliament, the British army 
 evacuated New York. Then it was that the United States 
 became a RepubHc, and then it was that George Washington 
 was declared President of the United Colonies of America. 
 
 Standing before the Sub-Treasury in New York City, 
 on Wall Street, is a bronze statue representing the first 
 President of the United States and "father" of this country 
 as he dehvered his inaugural address, ninety-eight years ago. 
 
 Many dangers menaced the United States ; but during 
 two wise administrations given by Washington, the country 
 soon got rid of a great deal of its debt. Finding that 
 Washington would not serve a third term, John Adams, of 
 Massachusetts, was elected President of the United States. 
 Adams served one term ; and, in 1801, Thomas Jefferson, a 
 Virginian, succeeded to the Presidency. 
 
io6 
 
 During his term the Tripolitan war broke out. It was 
 a short war, but the American cause came out at the head. 
 
 In 1805, Jefferson was again declared President by the 
 common vote ot the people. During this term the precedent 
 of the great steamers of modern times, Clairmont by name, 
 made the trip from Albany to New York in thirty-six hours. 
 Robert Fulton was the inventor ; he it was who first applied 
 steam to boats. 
 
 James Madison, another Virginian, occupied the Presi- 
 dential chair after Jefferson's two terms had expired. 
 
 It was in Madison's term that the war of 1812 broke 
 out. This war was disastrous to both nations, and never 
 ended till the stars and stripes waved triumphantly over New 
 Orleans, when peace was declared by both countries. 
 
 In Andrew Jackson's term the people began to spread 
 out beyond the Appalachian system and settle in the Missis- 
 sippi Valley. Then it was that the people in the United 
 Colonies began to see some good in what they at first took 
 for a wilderness. They saw that it had fine commercial 
 facilities, viz. : broad, navigable rivers and rich and level 
 
I07 
 
 soil. They found fortunes in the mountains. They saw 
 that excellent cotton could be raised in Georgia, Alabama, 
 and Mississippi ; that sugar could be found in abundance in 
 Louisiana, and that tobacco grew well in Tennessee and 
 Kentucky. 
 
 Of course, the Indians on the frontier were hostile, and 
 the United States had much trouble with them ; but, despite 
 all these, the young Republic thrived and soon took the lead 
 among the free countries of the world. 
 
 The people continued to spread, and soon came to the 
 region where the precipitous peaks and jutting crags of the 
 Rockies rise against the skies in solemn grandeur ; where 
 the phenomenal wonders of the world lie ; where the geysers 
 rise out of the earth ; where the mineral springs are located, 
 and where one would find the great canon of the Rio 
 Colorado river. 
 
 Spreading westward, gold was found in California, and 
 people flocked rapidly to the "Golden State." 
 
 As it became a more thickly settled state, and also an 
 important one, it began to be a question of importance 
 whether slavery should be allowed or not. ^^ 
 
io8 
 
 As the greater part of the state was in the South, the 
 southern people said that it should be a slave state. The 
 northern people said it should not. This matter was, how- 
 ever, settled by means of a compromise bill. 
 
 Later on, Kansas and Missouri became important states. 
 
 It was the argument between the North and South as 
 to whether slavery should be allowed or not in these states 
 which brought on the War of the Rebellion. 
 
 It was a long war, but the cause of the loyal states beat. 
 
 Since then, the country has thriven. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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