•C'' ■^■r‘- ../•■•;. 'Sv a> y' „-.'* . 'i''; y\- V'« '.-...-.rv.-. > T- 2 .^ ‘ r? ,of *",\ ^w^.r'' „,. ■ ;;i' '■ •ti W _»v" \ ,A- ^ Jint.--: -. .•>*< vrv Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/happyhoursathomeOOpete LIBRARY ■ OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS Happy Hours AT HOME, With thh Childrhn; THi: EVER TOLD To Amuse and Instruct the Little Ones, THE BEST }VB ITERS OF AMERICA AXE EURO RE. PROFUSEI.Y IL1.USTKATED. f;DITED BY REV. MADISON C. PETERS, PASTOR OF BLOOMINGDALE REFORMED CHURCH, NEW YORK. AUTHOR OF “THE PATH OF GLORY,” “POPULAR SINS,” “EMPTY PEWS,” “HOT SHOT,’* “ BRIGHTEST AND BEST.” PHILADELPHIA : S. I. BELL & CO. Copyright. 1887, by John Blakely. INTRODUCTION. V So^. '('• ?^A • i G O ■ ^ U; ,APPY are the parents who are happy in their children, and happy are the children who are happy in their parents. Many parents are not wise. They reserve all their charms for strangers, are dull at home, forbid their children to go into the nicely furnished rooms, make home as irksome as possible, forget that they were young, deny their children every amusement and pleasure. Many sons of the most pious parents turn out badly, because they are surfeited with severe religion, not the religion of Christ, who was himself reproved by the prototypes of such severe men. Let innocent joy reign in every home. How sweet ’tis to sit ’neath a fond father’s smile. And the cares of a mother to soothe and beguile — Let others delighc ’mid new pleasures to roam, But give me, oh ! give me the pleasures of home.” Children are the incarnations of God’s smiles. We should live in and for them. Home is not home without them. Parents, do not have moods with your family; cultivate by strict discipline, in the midst of worries and pressing business, a disengaging temper that will always enable you to join in your children’s playfulness. Be boys and girls in the presence of your children. The treasures contained in this volume show that the brightest minds of every age have devoted their best talents to entertain and to teach the little ones. Fathers, however busy you are, find a few moments at least every day in which to romp with your boys. The father who is too dignified to carry his boy pick-back, or, like Luther, sing and dance with his children, or, like Chal- mers, trundle the hoop, lacks not only one of the finest elements of greatness, but fails in one of his plainest duties to his children. One of the inalienable ( 3 ) 1 006982 4 INTRODUCTION, rights of your children is happiness at your hands. Remember that the children belong as much to you as to your wife, and it is only just to her that the little time you are in the house you should relieve her of those cares that are her daily portion. You cannot afford to let your boy grow up without weaving yourself into the memory of his golden days. Norman McLeod exclaims: “O, sunshine of youth, let it shine on ! Let love flow out fresh and full, unchecked by any rule but what love creates, and pour itself down without stint into the young heart. Make the days of boyhood happy, for other days of labor and sorrow must come, when the blessing of those dear eyes and clasping hands and sweet caresses will, next to the love of God, from whence they flow, save the man from losing faith in the human heart, help to deliver him from the curse of selfishness, and be an Eden in the evening when he is driven forth into the wilderness of life.” “ The richest heritage that parents can give is a happy childhood, with tender memories of father and mother. This shall brighten the coming days when the children have gone out from the sheltering home, will be a safeguard in times of temptation, and a conscious help amid the stern realities of life.” Don’t turn your boys out to spend the night — you don’t know where. It is better to instruct children at home and make them happy, than to charm strangers or amuse friends. From a dull home children will escape if they can. You have no right to bring up your children without books. They are a necessity, not a luxury. Wherever you economize do not cut off the supply of household literature. The culture of the taste for reading keeps the children quietly at home. The best society in the world is that which lives in books. The publishers offer this book to thousands of parents, in the hope and belief that it will gladden the hearts of the little ones around them. They send forth just such stories as delight children. May they cause many smiles to dance blithely over their young faces, in “The Happy Hours at Home.” September, 1889. MADISON C. PETERS. CONTENTS. A Vount^ dill’s Adventure witli a Tlear. , An Adventure with I’anlhers Adventures of Robinson Crusoe About Sliells A (^ueer l''ish A Sea Yarn A 6x9 Rhyme A Little Stranger A 'rale of the Greenland Seas About Oysters A Lresh-laid Egg A Wonderful Sparrow A Sea Fowling Adventure About Chinese Ducks Aaron’s Rod Changed to a Serpent A Clever Cat Aladdin, or the Wonderful Lamp. .. ... A Brave Youth Adventures with Pirates A Cyclone, or Whirlwind An Intelligent Swallow An Indian Story A Lie Sticks A Young Hero A Fearless Heroine A Night on the Picket Line A Thanksgiving Dinner Abraham Lincoln A Noble Nurse Bessie’s Party Barbara Frietchie Clever Monkeys Crabs Combat Between a Shark and a Sawfish Christmas Decorations Conceited Carrie California Life Chinese Locomotion Capturing his own Father Dragon Flies Danger of Negligence Druids Offering a Sacrifice David Livingstone Eggs Everybody’s Pet ICvangcline 180 I'arly Life of Queen Victoria 276 Fannie and her Doll 126 I'ingal’s Cave 188 Gathering .Shells 46 General Grant 263 Happy Hours at Home 7 How to Catch Monkeys 24 How Dollie Deane .Spoiled her Christmas 34 How Harry and I Studied Astronomy 284 History of the Steam Engine 286 Indians 213 Indian Medicine Men 214 Jelly Fish 53 Jonah’s Di.sobedience 1 1 1 Jesus Crucified 1 14 Joan of Arc 290 Little Fritz 91 Life and Metamorphoses of the Dragon Fly 104 Locusts 107 Looking at the Pictures 121 Lottie’s Thanksgiving Dinner 136 Little Sunshine 177 Learning to be a Soldier. ... 235 Little Eddie, the Drummer Boy 249 Mary and her Pets 23 Musical Mountains 184 Mrs. Mary A. Livermore 248 Murder of Thos. A. Becket 274 Mary Queen of Scots 282 Nero 28 Napoleon Bonaparte 294 Ostrich Feathers 103 Old Spectacles 250 Pretty Doggie 15 Pearls ^ 51 Playing on the Beach 56 Pride Goes Before a Fall 93 Peronella 144 Poor Dick 182 Paper and Printing 183 Penn’s Treaty with the Indians 203 Pizarro 204 Putnam’s Leap 234 Peter the Great 292 ■AOU 12 i() 34 45 49 59 64 65 66 72 90 92 94 102 1 10 117 163 171 172 187 196 210 233 244 251 254 257 259 262 148 245 22 55 63 115 129 174 199 252 105 136 268 288 89 124 ( 5 ) 6 CONTENTS. Somelliing about Frogs and Toads Si)inning tlie Yarn Swiss Family Robinson Story of a Bat Strange Birds Spiders Story of Little Joe Susie’s Dead Doll Snowballing Story of Susan Cooper Sand Whirlwinds Stories of Rivers of America South American Indians Story of Benjamin Franklin Sketch of Daniel Webster The Lion The Playful Kitten The Porcupine The Dying Deer The Puma The Village Blacksmith The Horse The Hippopotamus The Pets The Wild Boar The Cat and the Fox The Zebra The Boy and the Heifers The Hyena The Ant-Eater The Seaside The Little Fishers The Little Sailors The Dog and the Crab The Sea-Horse The Diving Bell The Hammerheaded Shark The White Ray The Turbot The Vikings The Trunk Pdsh The Fate of Vanity The Bee . The Whale The Vampire Bat The Pet Geese The Miller’s Geese The Condor The Deluge The Christmas Tree The Early Life of Jesus The Princess Wonderful The Revolving Palace PAGE The Selfish Boy 119 The Doll’s Christmas Party 120 The Generous Child 122 The Ungrateful Son 122 The Young Artist 123 The Force of Habit 125 The Little Patient 128 The Bad Boy 137 The Talking Doll ... 138 The Sledge 150 The Toboggan Slide 151 The Little Tease 153 The Three Wishes 154 The Disobedient Girl 157 The Pet Lamb . . 158 The Faithful Shepherd Boy 159 The Frost 160 The Robber and the Queen 176 The Shepherd’s Bride 179 The Sea Plant 190 The Flower Girl 192 The River Nile 193 The Temples of India 194 The Sagacity of a Gull 196 The Native Australians 197 The Japanese 200 The Alama 206 The Lazy Maiden 207 The Early Settlers of Kentucky 208 I The Burning of Deerfield 215 The War of the Revolution 21 The Ride of Paul Revere 219 The Capitol at Washington 221 The Boyhood of George Washington 223 The Declaration of Independence 226 Thomas Jefferson 228 The P'ounding of Rome 239 Tired of Reading 239 The Battle of the Wilderness 242 The Women of Gettysburg 245 The Siege of Vicksburg 246 The Little Fleet 256 The Rulers of England 267 The Druids 269 The Crusades 270 The Mandarin 278 The Burning of Moscow 279 The Fox and the Horse 281 The Battle of Waterloo 298 What are the Wild Waves Saying? 73 When the Cat’s Away the Mice Will Play 131 What the Sunbeams Saw 132 Where Sugar Comes From 220 PAGE 30 58 78 97 100 106 140 146 162 178 186 191 198 230 231 8 10 13 14 14 . 18 19 20 21 22 25 26 32 ■ 33 i 33' 47 50 52 54 55 57 62 64 , 65 • 70 ■ 76 • 76 , 76 • 77 , 96 . 98 • 99 . lOI . 108 . 112 • ”3 . 116 . 118 HAPPY HOURS AT HO MB. TTHEilRESlDE sUs^iif)e }}€d?, f.' ^ M^dfcjs^e ^l)at.u/erc Wl)^ r u/fe' li t tie j ife t Uke )j% 7^^ V ^l),tiltle lip^ yox/lft'i/cl) Vl^e sprAt^^j ©f suleetest sad T'e7^eri))>irlT)g,'\^'^p loApd IjearO] flasl) allaglo^ #1 y(it]j Vdcfdy li^ts. o|. \'i Y ’ ’ 'I' li njy ffreside y "^Yo^i^gestol.d^wl)© circk it>.^ ec< telliT)e w])at did ( 7 ) THE LION. LION has, from the most ancient times, been called the “ King of Beasts,” and his slowness of carriage and dignity will entitle him to the name. Some lions are as long as ten feet, but are gen- erally not over seven feet. The female has no mane, and a smaller head. Lions differ in size according to the country they inhabit. Unless they are ex- ceedingly hungry, they do not hunt during the day; but, when I I twilight appears, he places himself near. a pool of water, and ^ when an animal comes to quench its thirst he springs out, and with one blow of its paw breaks its back. If he misses his aim, he goes back into the bushes to wait for a new victim. When the animal is hungry, or irritated, he shakes his mane and flogs his sides with his tail, and, if a traveller encounters him at this time, he may know he is in great danger. When he is not hungry, he takes flight at the sight of a man or child, and even runs at the sound of human voices. In the spring the lion seeks a mate, and they are themselves most devoted to each other. Until the female has young she follows her lord everywhere. ( 8 ) 'll IK LION. She is very fond of her youn^^ and will j)rot(!Ct them at the risk of her life, d'lu; male has a hahit of (h^voiirin^ tluan, and the lion(!SS tak(!S ^reat pains to conceal them. A lu^w-horn cub is about the* size of a half-^rown cat ; at a year old, it is as lari^e as a Newfoundland do^. d'hey do not walk until they are two months old. 'They are y(;llow, stripc^d with small brown bars, which do not disaj)pear until tlu;y are hilly <.^rown. I'he mane commences to grow on the male when he is three years old. Some years ago, in the menagerie in the d ower of London, there were two young lions, a male and female, d'hey had been obtained in India when only a few days old, and a goat nursed them during the first months, d'hey were so gentle that they ran about the courtyard, and were caressed without fear by visitors. A lioness has been on exhibition in 'England which would allow her keeper to get on her back, and even drag her about by the tail, and place his head between her teeth. A wealthy farmer was one ciay walking over his land, armed with a gun, whensuddenly a lion appeared before him. Feeling sure of killing him, he aimed, but the gun missed fire, and the man, being frightened, scampered off as hard as he could go until he came to a little pile of stones, which he jumped upon and turned round facing the lion, and threatened him with the but-end of his gun. d'he animal stopped, and went back a short distance, and after nearly an hour went slowly away. :o: There was an old woman who lived In a shoe. She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do ; She gave them some broth without any bread, ^ She whipped them all round, and sent them to bed. :o: Sing a song of sixpence, a pocketful of rye; Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. When the pie was opened the birds began to sing ; Was not that a dainty dish to set before the king? The king was In his counting-house counting out his money; The queen was In the parlor eating bread and honey; The maid was in the garden hanging out the clothes: Down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose. ( 9 ) .4 THE PLAYFUL KITTEN. ( 10 ) Tllh: KI'I''I'I^N. T lll^' little ^irl you see in the j)ictiirc is playing with her kitten, which is not always the innocent little animal it aj^pears, hut is sometimes treacluM'ous, and will st(;al anything within its reach. A pretty story is told of the gratitude of a cat to a kind friend who had lu‘lp('d it in distress. One day the cat ate some rat-poison, and its sufferings were so great that it would dip its paws in water to cool them, though cats are not fond of water. At last it went to the lady, and looking up in a pitiful way, seemed to ask for help. The lady bound it up in wet cloths, and gave it metlicine and eruel, and took the best of care of it. One night after the lady had gone upstairs she heard a mew at the window, and as she opened it the cat jumped in with a mouse in her mouth and laid it at the lady’s feet. She did this every day for a long time, and when she after- wards caught mice for her kittens one was laid aside for the lady. If the kittens tried to eat this she gave them a little pat. After a while the lady would take the mouse and then give it to the kittens, the cat seeming much pleased to see them eat it. Cats have a thick soft fur to keep them warm, so that they can run out of doors in cold weather. Their fur all grows one way, and is so thick that when it rains the water runs off, and does not wet their skin unless it rains hard. They like to be stroked, but do not like to be rubbed the wrong way. They have long whiskers on each side of their mouth and nose ; when they come to a hole they spread out their whiskers, and if they can get through without touching they know there is room for their bodies. Their ears are large and stand up straight, so they can hear the slightest nibble of a mouse or the sly tread of a rat. They use their fore-paws like hands. These paws have each five toes, but their hind feet have only four toes each. Some cats have more toes on each foot. Cats do not wag their tails when they are pleased, but wave them from side to side. A lady in New York State has a large cat which has three kittens nearly half-grown. She was noticed feeding them on some perch and sun-fish every day. They watched her, and found she caught them herself in a pond which had been drawn quite low, and the cat would crouch down near the water, and when a fish would come within its reach would spring upon it and rarely miss it. When she came in with a meal she laid it before one of the young ones: the others must wait quietly while the first was eating, and when it had eaten its share she placed it in front of another and then the third. This she re- peated day after day, and was never varied. ( 11 ) A YOUNG GIRL’S ADVENTURE WITH A BEAR. W HEN mother was a young girl she taught school in Illinois. Very few people lived there at that time; the settlements were very far apart. The school- house was built of rough logs, and the chinks were filled with clay and straw. Instead of glass for windows they had oiled paper to admit the light. One night mother stayed late at the school-house to help the girls trim it with evergreen, and it was almost dark when they started for home. She walked very fast, as she felt lonely. Her way lay through a thick wood, and the path was narrow. All at once she saw a big animal. What was it? A calf? No, it was a big black bear. Was she afraid? Of course she was. Wouldn’t you be afraid if you met a big black bear in the woods? She had an umbrella in her hand, and held the point close to the bear’s nose, and opened and shut it as fast as she could. She called him all the pet names she could think of, and he walked away and growled. He was a brave bear, was he not, to be afraid of an umbrella! Mother hurried on, and just as she came to the edge of the woods out he came again; then she opened the umbrella at him again, and shouted as loud as she could, and away he went. Mother was so tired and frightened she almost fainted when she reached home. “ I don’t believe it was a bear ; it must have been neighbor Clapp’s big heifer,” grandma said. But just as she said it they heard a loud squeal. They ran to the door and there was a bear carrying off a pig ; he had jumped In the pen and got it. Aunt Stella seized the dinner-horn and blew a loud blast. That was the way they used to call the .settlement together when anything was the matter. There was a great rush for grandfather’s house, and when the men heard about the bear they said, “We must kill him as quick as possible.” So they had a great hunt for him ; they hunted all that night and the next day, and found him at last upon the stump of a hollow tree, and killed him. ( 12 ) 'VWE I’ORC'IMMNI^:. T he common porcupine is found in Africa, Tartary, Persia, India, and some parts of Europe and Canada. It digs holes in the ground,, and only comes out at night to get food, which consists of vegetables and roots. The quills are very strong, and when in danger he raises them and runs backward against his enemy. The American Indians ‘use the quills of the Canada porcupine .for ornamenting moccasins and different parts of their dress. When the porcupine walks his quills, which are large and hollow, and about fourteen inches long, make a rustling sound. Our readers may remember having seen one in the travelling menagerie attached to the circus. o o o There was a little girl And she had a little curl Right in the middle of her forehead, And when she was good She was very, very good, But when she was bad she was horrid. She went up stairs To say her prayers With no one nigh to hinder. Where she stood on her head On the little trundle bed And was falling out the winder. Her mother heard the noise. She thought it was the boys Playing in the empty attic. So she went up -stairs And caught her unawares. And spanked her most emphatic. ( 13 ) THE DYING DEER. NCE upon a time a deer that lived far from an in- habited country used to go in the winter to some low- lands, where she found grass, and could find shelter among the evergreen trees during storms. When spring came she went to a mountain, where there was a fine stream of water. She had been living this way for a good many years until she commenced to be weak from age, but did not know what was the mat- ter, and thought that, if she could only have some water from the stream in the mountains, she would be well again. So in the early days of spring she started, and, after walking a little way, had to stop to rest. At last she reached the top, and drank from the stream where she had quenched her thirst so many summers ; but it did not taste as it used to, nor refresh her so much. She lay down to rest on some grass, and never rose again. :o: THE PUMA. ^HE puma inhabits the whole of America, and is greatly feared by the na- tives. It is about four feet and a half in length, and has the general appearance of a lioness. Its color is gray. The animal is very sly and quick in all its movements, and can ascend a tree twenty feet at one bound. It is easily tamed, and fond of being petted, and is not considered dangerous when at liberty. It makes fearful ravages among herds of cattle, and always kills its victim before it commences to eat. :o: Why is a liar like a person deeply in How does a boy look if you hurt debt ? — He has great /f-abilities. him ? — It makes him yell. Oh ! (yellow). ( 14 ) PRETTY DOQGIE ( 15 ) AN ADVENTURE WITH PANTHERS. [pjMj^HE occupants of a few log-cabins in the western part of Florida had been annoyed by the disappearance of their sheep and goats, of which the wealth of the early settlers con- sisted ; and they often heard the cry of the panther, which sounded almost human. About this time two hunters came into the set- tlement, and, learning the state of affairs, deter- mined to rid the clearing of the wild animals. The night before they arrived a heifer had been killed quite near a cabin, and dragged about two miles into a swamp. These hunters started without delay, and found the trail, which brought them to the edge of a large swamp covered with trees, cane and grape-vines. It was very dark, but they plunged in for half a mile, where, on an elevated spot, they found the half-eaten body of the heifer; and about twenty- five feet from them they saw, instead of one, an old she-panther and two cubs nearly grown, while over them, on a large gum-tree, crouched the “old he one of all,” lashing his sides with his tail, and spitting like an angry cat, which was imitated by the three below. The hunters found them- selves rather uncomfortably situated. They could neither retreat nor advance ; so they stood for a second, their guns cocked and aimed, Dan drawing a bead on the dam, while Jim did the same on the sire. It was madness to fire. They were not long uncertain, for the old fellow suddenly bounded on Jim with a roar. He fired as he sprang away, and, dropping his rifle, drew his long heavy knife. It was well he did so, for the beast, mortally wounded, alighted on the very spot he had left. He turned and sprang upon him, but Jim avoided the blow of its paw, and grappled with him. He rolled on the turf, and wound his right arm tight around his neck ; while he dealt rapid blows with his knife. The contest was soon decided, the knife passing through the heart of the brute. In the meantime Dan had put a. ball through the head of the dam, and was battling with the two cubs. His clothes were nearly torn from him, and the blood was streaming from numberless scratches. ( 16 ) AN ADVIONTUKK Wnil I’ANTHI:F