CHAPTER I.

t took a long time for Tommy Toddles to recover from the exquisite sensation of surprise and wonder which clung to him after his strange adventures with the Sheep and the ex-Pirate. He used to talk to his Uncle Dick continually of what he had seen and done during that famous afternoon, and many and many a time the two went out into the woods together and searched through the bushes and the trees for the haunt of the Loon, and for the lake by the side of which had stood the Poor-house. But they never found anything; and Tommy was consequently forced to sit at home and content himself with recollections and reminiscences--"which are decidedly unsatisfactory substitutes," thought he.

So it frequently happened that the little boy sat all alone in the big room at the top of the house, and went over and over again in his mind those peculiar incidents in which so many strange creatures had figured, and in which so many odd things had been said and done. But one rainy day he seemed to be more affected by those reminiscences than he had ever been before, and so he settled back on the window-seat, and gave himself up entirely to thoughts of the-ex-Pirate, the Sheep, the Reformed Burglar, and to all the quaint creatures of his acquaintance. He was smiling quietly to himself at some of the funny things Thingumbob had said on the beach, when all of a sudden he thought he heard somebody knocking on the door. Nobody ever knocked before coming into Tommy's play-room, and so the little boy looked up in a curious way, wondering who it could be, and wishing that no one would come in to disturb his reverie. The door was ajar, but he could see that there was some person standing out in the hall. Presently there was another knock. Tommy straightened up on the window-seat, and called out,

"Come in!"

The door swung slowly inward, and who should be standing there looking straight at Tommy but his old friend the ex-Pirate! It was the same old ex-Pirate of days and days ago, with his fierce mustaches and long hair, and his big pistols sticking out of his sash. He looked at Tommy for a moment, just as if he wanted to make sure that he was calling on the right little boy, and then a pleasant smile spread all over his face, and he walked rapidly across the room. Tommy jumped from the window-seat and hastened to meet him.

"Why, I'm awfully glad to see you!" he exclaimed. "How do you do, Mr. ex-Pirate? And how did you get up here?"

The ex-Pirate laughed, and shook hands with Tommy, and then he said: "Oh, I just came. Things come and go, you know; and I just came. Wasn't it nice?"

"Awfully nice," said Tommy, enthusiastically. "I've been thinking a lot about you. I was beginning to think you were not real."

"Oh yes, I'm real," asserted the ex-Pirate. "Just as real as you are."

"Perhaps _I'm_ not real," suggested Tommy; and then, becoming alarmed at the thought, he felt in his pockets, and pulled at his hair to see if he was all there. Reassured on that point he added, "Where is the Sheep?"

"I guess he's running yet," answered the ex-Pirate, laughing. "Poor fellow; I left him 'way behind. But I never saw anybody run like _you_ in all my life. You ran faster than Time, and Time runs pretty fast now, I tell you! He can go pretty near as fast as Money--and you know how fast Money goes."

Tommy did not know how fast money went, because he had never seen very much of it, but he thought that, from the nature of his past business, the ex-Pirate must have had wide experience in those matters. So he said, "I suppose so."

"That's right," continued the ex-Pirate. "That's perfectly right. But I ran as fast as I could, and I've only just arrived."

"You must be tired," remarked the little boy.

"Not at all. I never get tired. I'm ready to keep right on, if you want to."

"Keep right on?" queried Tommy.

"Yes."

"On what?"

"Why, looking for the animals," replied the ex-Pirate.

"But I found them," said Tommy.

"You did?" exclaimed the ex-Pirate, in surprise.

"Certainly. They were right here."

"Where?"

"Right in this room."

"Well, where are they now?"

Tommy Toddles would have given his word, fifteen minutes before the ex-Pirate asked him this question, that his Noah's Ark with the animals in it was on the floor near the table; but when he went to look for it to show it to his friend he could not find it anywhere.

"It's gone," he said finally, after several minutes of vain searching under tables and sofas. "It's gone, and all the animals too."

"They've gone?" repeated the ex-Pirate.

"Yes," said Tommy, dejectedly, "they've gone away again. Not only the animals, but the Ark."

"The Ark!" exclaimed the ex-Pirate.

"Certainly," said Tommy. "My animals belonged in the Ark. There were two of each."

"In Noah's Ark?" said the ex-Pirate.

"Yes; did you never see one?"

"Why, what nonsense!" laughed the ex-Pirate. "That was hundreds and hundreds of years ago."

"I know it was," said Tommy, with dignity. "But my animals were imitations."

The ex-Pirate was gazing absent-mindedly out of the window over toward the ocean. "Your animals had invitations?" he said presently, recovering himself. "Of course. They all did. The Ark was no promiscuous affair. There was admission by card only. All those that had invitations got in; the others got drowned."

Tommy saw that the ex-Pirate did not quite understand what he had said to him, so he thought it would be wiser to branch out on some other topic, but before he could do so his visitor remarked,

"They had lots of fun in the Ark," and he chuckled to himself.

"How do you know?" asked the little boy.

"The Sheep told me. He was one of the Few Hundred. I should like to have been on board too."

"So should I," assented Tommy, eagerly, "especially if they were all as nice as the animals we met the other day."

"It _would_ have been fun to take that trip," continued the ex-Pirate, musingly. "I don't know but that we can, even now, fix it to go on board."

"On board the Ark?" cried Tommy.

"Exactly. We would have to go a long way back through the Ages; but perhaps we can fix that up with old Father Time. He might take us back and let us go aboard."

Tommy stared vacantly at his peculiar companion, and wondered silently if he had gone mad. Pretty soon the ex-Pirate said,

"Let's go."

"Where?"

"On board the Ark."

"How shall we do it?" asked Tommy, who felt that it could do no harm to humor his caller.

"We will find Father Time, and see if he will go backwards for us. Where is the clock?"

"In the hall down stairs," answered the little boy.

The two went out into the corridor and down the stairs to where the old Dutch clock stood under the staircase, ticking loudly through the silent house. It was much taller than either Tommy or the ex-Pirate, and as they approached the little boy was amazed to see the clock's face brighten up and smile, and wave its hands in greeting to the ex-Pirate. The latter returned the courteous salute, and knocked on the door below. The door immediately opened, and old Father Time, with his scythe and his hour-glass, stepped out into the hallway, and nodded cheerfully to the ex-Pirate.

"How do you do?" said he.

"Sixty seconds to the minute as usual," answered Father Time, genially. "What can I do for you?"

"Can you go back a little?" asked the ex-Pirate, inquiringly.

"What for?" asked Father Time.

And then the ex-Pirate started in to explain what he wanted. His argument was most involved, and Tommy Toddles could not follow it at all; but the latter kept on talking as fast and as impressively as he could, and occasionally he pulled out his pistols and shook them vigorously in the air over his head. Father Time listened attentively, and shook his head negatively for a long time, but finally he appeared to yield to the ex-Pirate's persuasive arguments, and when he spoke he said he would do what was wanted.

"Will you go?" said the ex-Pirate, turning quickly to Tommy. The little boy hesitated a moment, because he did not know exactly where the ex-Pirate wanted him to go, or how long he would be gone if he went; he hesitated, but it was only for a moment, because he soon noticed that Father Time was growing impatient, and the ex-Pirate looked slightly displeased at the delay.

"Oh yes, I'll go," he said, impulsively.

He had hardly spoken these words when Father Time slung his scythe and his hour-glass over his shoulders, grabbed the ex-Pirate with one hand and seized Tommy with the other. Then the old Dutch clock began burring and whizzing, as if all the wheels were revolving as fast as they could turn; and they must have been, for when Tommy glanced at the face of the clock to see what the hour was the hands were racing around so fast that he could hardly see them--and they were turning in the opposite direction from the way clock hands usually travel. There was no time to notice this slight peculiarity, however, for the little boy felt himself rudely jerked off his feet, held firmly by the tight grasp of Father Time, and before he could exclaim or object or expostulate, he saw himself flying through space at what seemed to be the rate of many hundreds of miles a minute. Father Time was vigorously working his wings, and was speeding backwards, his long gray beard flowing in the wind between Tommy and the ex-Pirate, who were sticking out straight behind, and neither of whom had breath enough left to be able to say anything.

[TO BE CONTINUED.]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] "On Board the Ark" is a sequel to "The Strange Adventures of Tommy Toddles," which began in No. 790.

Although it may have been a surprise to many to see Whitman play his way through to the finals at the Longwood Tournament last week, his success was hardly unexpected by those who have been watching his work since his defeat by Ware on Jarvis Field in May. Ware earned the championship of the Boston schools on that occasion, and he had to play hard to do it, defeating Whitman 6-4, 6-3, 7-5, but since that time his game seems to have fallen off slightly, whereas Whitman's has vastly improved. He let the champion take the first set of their match, 6-3, but in the three that followed, Ware only pulled out five games.

It cannot be said, however, that Ware played poor tennis, for that was by no means the case. He played well--he certainly had to play well to reach the semi-finals--but Whitman played better. Again and again, especially during the first part of the match, Ware passed his opponent at the net, which is Whitman's strong position. That kind of play won him the first set; but Whitman braced after that, and closed up, and although Ware got the balls over the net, he could not pass him. Ware lacked head-work in placing. He seemed to lose much of his coolness as soon as Whitman came up to him, and instead of lobbing, as he ought to have done, or of going up to the net himself, he placed the balls frequently to his opponent's advantage and to his own discomfiture. I had expected to see Ware put up a strong offensive game, but his play was mostly defensive. He had evidently not expected to encounter such a change in his rival's methods. Whitman certainly showed greater confidence in himself than he did on Jarvis Field, and was much more at home at the net.

It may be that some of Ware's weakness was due to his lack of practice, as he injured his wrist in June and did not touch a racquet for four weeks; but I doubt if he could have defeated Whitman at Longwood, even if he had been in the form that made him champion at the Interscholastics. He will have to do some hard work between now and the date of the Newport Tournament if he wishes to hold his own there. He must pull himself together and keep from falling into that listless style of play which proved so disastrous to him in the last two sets against Whitman. The latter now stands a good chance of carrying off the honors of the year, if present form may be depended upon to be prophetic. He has beaten at Longwood men who were considered his superiors, and he only met defeat at the hands of a man who is rated as the fourth player in the United States.

The Hovey-Whitman match was one of the most interesting of the week, in spite of the fact that it was evident from the start that the school player was outclassed. This fact might not have been so patent if Whitman had kept his nerve better, but he seemed to be afraid of his antagonist from the very outset, and did not put up anywhere near so good a game as he did against Ware. Hovey apparently realized this weakness, and kept close up to the net. Whitman made his greatest mistake in falling back, for Hovey's net game is hard to beat. This also gave the champion an opportunity to do some sharp volleying with a stiff wrist and forearm--strokes that the younger player was unable to return. Occasionally Whitman made some brilliant plays, but he was overshadowed by the veteran.

Hovey took the first four games largely on his opponent's nervousness, but in the fifth he drove out of court twice, and Whitman got in a first-rate side-line place. Thus with the score 40-15 in his favor he ought to have taken the game, but he let Hovey pull it up to deuce, and then he drove out, giving Hovey vantage, which was followed by a hot rally, ending in a sharp stroke that Whitman was unable to reach. In this set Whitman made but ten points to Hovey's twenty-six, and not until the third game of the second set did the Interscholastic player secure a game. Even this was somewhat of a gift, for Hovey started in with a double fault and then drove into the net. The fifth game showed some pretty rocky playing on both sides, but Whitman finally secured his vantage on a clever side-line place, and made game on Hovey's wild drive out of court. The sixth game of this set was also deuce--for Whitman was doing his best work at this juncture--but it went to Hovey, who, having coaxed his opponent into back court, dropped a teaser just over the net. The set score was 38-28, the closest of the match.

In the last set Whitman began to lose some of the timidity which had characterized his play up to this point, and in the third game, when Hovey had him 40-0, he worked it up to deuce, but unfortunately eventually lost on drives out of court. He kept his nerve, nevertheless, and earned the fourth game with steady, and at times, brilliant work. Hovey could not connect on the young man's serve and drove out. Whitman then ran up to the net and scored a beautiful side place, making it 40-0. I cannot help feeling that if he had done more of this work he would have kept Hovey playing an hour longer for his win. The score then went from 40-0 to 40-30, but Hovey followed with a drive out, and it was Whitman's game. This was the end of the latter's good work. Hovey took a brace and had it all his own way until the end, giving Whitman only two points in the next three games, closing the set with the score 27-13. Whitman is only seventeen years old, and goes to Harvard in the fall. His school in Boston was Hopkinson's, although for five years previous to this last he attended the Roxbury Latin School. Ware is a Roxbury Latin player, and also enters Harvard with the class of '99.

Besides Whitman and Ware another scholastic player at Longwood was W. M. Scudder, of St. Paul's. He has the making of a good player, but only got as far as the first round, when he met Paret, and was defeated, 1-6, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. Scudder played a good game in this match, in spite of his ill-success, volleying and smashing with a degree of proficiency that would have done credit to many an older player. Paret won by better head-work, but I am confident Scudder will be heard from later on.

The reference to New England football made in these columns two weeks ago has aroused the interest of a number of readers in that section, and several questions have been asked about the origin of the present association. The subject is of enough general interest to receive a little more space than it was possible to devote to it last time. It is of enough general interest, because this football league, with the possible exception of the New York Interscholastic track-athletic organization, was the first interscholastic association formed in this country. It came about in a very natural way in the fall of 1888. Harvard football men had for several years been deploring the necessity of devoting two or three weeks at the beginning of each fall term to the weeding out and selection of new football material, and the idea finally suggested itself that if the schools could be used for this purpose the university would gain much by such an arrangement. It then became clear that the way to use the schools would be to get up some sort of a football league that would train players who would eventually enter Harvard, and furnish material for the university eleven.

This idea of organizing an interscholastic league emanated from the fertile brain of R. Seaver Hale, then in college. He consulted with Captain Sears, of the 'Varsity football team, with F. C. Woodman, C. A. Porter, and A. P. Butler, members of the eleven, and with Fred Fisk, who took a living interest in the athletic welfare of the college. These six men discussed Hale's idea, and then decided to put in $25 apiece and to offer a cup which should be contested for by football teams from the Boston schools.

When the question was submitted to the school football players it was looked upon favorably at once by them, and the interscholastic association was formed. The schools to come in were the Cambridge High and Latin, the Roxbury Latin, the Boston Latin, Chauncy Hall, Hopkinson's, Nobles, and Hale's, Nichol's, and Stone's combined. The six Harvard men then got together again, and drew up rules and regulations which should govern the playing for the cup. Hale was the Thomas Jefferson of the crowd, and turned out a code of laws that suited the schools perfectly.

The formation of the league created a great boom in football in the schools. Up to that time playing had been of a desultory nature, and games had been arranged from week to week as the captains chose. There had never been any training or system. Now all this changed. Schedules were prepared and adhered to, and the players all made it a point to keep in as good training as possible. Each school had its eye on the cup. The Harvard men were much pleased at the success of their scheme, and the 'Varsity Captain looked hopefully toward the development of good material for the next year. The donors of the cup acted as a sort of advisory committee, and kept a general supervision over the league.

Things progressed fairly on this line for a while, until the sport was so generally taken up all over the country that the college players no longer felt the necessity for taking that parental interest in the schools which had prompted the offering of a cup. Succeeding 'Varsity Captains, who had not gone through the labors of Sears and his predecessors to get good material, did not quite see the necessity for devoting their time to overseeing scholastic matches, and so the schools gradually took the management of their league into their own hands. The teams belonging to the association increased so in number, that the association had to be divided into two parts, known respectively as the Senior League and the Junior League, the Seniors playing each year for the cup, the Juniors playing for a pennant. The winner of the Junior League entered the Senior League the following year. The latter was kept under the management of the donors of the cup, but the Juniors more or less ran themselves.

This method has now again been changed, as described in the ROUND TABLE two weeks ago. There is henceforth to be only one League playing in two divisions. In the first are six Seniors playing for the cup; in the second, all the rest playing for a pennant. At the end of the season, or at the beginning of the next season, the last team of the first section will play the first team in the second to see whether they change places. This arrangement will serve to keep the first division always made up of six teams.

The management of both divisions rests in one committee composed of three members of the schools, the Captain of the Harvard eleven, two Harvard men, who replace the original cup donors, and one graduate of the schools, who may be a Harvard man, but who at present is a Tufts College man, a graduate of the English High-School. This makes seven in all. It is well that one of the committee should not be a Harvard man, and so the presence of the Tufts man makes the arrangement as just as it should be. Harvard having offered the cup, should, of course, always retain a controlling voice in the councils of the association.

The High-School of Stockton, California, will apply for membership in the Academic Athletic League of the Pacific coast at the opening of the next school term, and as there is no reason to suppose admission will be refused we shall doubtless see some Stocktonians in the front ranks at the next semiannual field-day. Stockton H.-S. has a good record in athletics, and in addition to the regulation sports of the school list they indulge in rowing. The Stockton Athletic Club has for some time allowed the High-School oarsmen to use their barges, and the interest in aquatics has become so lively that a race may soon be arranged with the Oakland High-School. O. H.-S. has not rowed any yet, but there is a movement on foot to get the use of the University of California boats that are kept on Oakland Creek, not far from the school, and as this courtesy will doubtless be granted to the boys by the U.C. Navy, a water contest may not be far distant.

Of the eleven men who carried off the championship of the Connecticut High-School A.A. for the Hartford High-School, Lawrence, Field, Ingraham, and Parkhurst have graduated, and Cady will go to Andover for a year before entering Yale. These departures will greatly weaken the H.H.-S. team, and the Captain must now look to the development of new material, or else those ponies from Lakeville will come down again next spring and this time take the championship back with them to the Hotchkiss School.

Hartford's loss is Andover's gain. At the New England Interscholastics last June, Andover took both the high and the low hurdles with Hine; and in the dual games against Worcester, Andover got the high hurdles with Holt, losing the low race to Worcester through Barker. Both Hine and Holt graduated this year, however, and Andover would have been left without a hurdler if Cady had not decided to spend a year in Massachusetts. Cady did not make a very strong showing at the Connecticut H.-S.A.A. games this year because of a dislocated shoulder. He ran second to Field in the high, and third in the low hurdles. But I feel confident that he has good speed, which careful and systematic training is sure to bring out. He will make a valuable acquisition to Andover's athletic team. Some day he will be as good a man as his brother.

THE GRADUATE.

Any questions in regard to photograph matters will be willingly answered by the editor of this column, and we should be glad to hear from any of our club who can make helpful suggestions.

PAPERS FOR BEGINNERS, NO. 10.

PRINTING PROCESSES: THE BLUE PRINT.

The number of processes used for photography are many. The very simplest is the blue-print paper. This quality is not the only one which recommends it alike to the beginner and the advanced amateur. It is nearly equal to the best silver prints in detail and clearness, and, unlike them, is absolutely permanent. It does not require any manipulation after printing except washing in clear water. It is only half the price of silvered paper, and if prepared at home is still less expensive. Then blue paper is specially adapted to water pictures and to landscapes where there are plenty of clouds in the sky, and to those which have a long perspective with hills or mountains in the distance.

The ready-prepared paper costs twenty cents for a 4 x 5 package containing two dozen sheets. That prepared at home will cost about five cents for the same quantity.

The process of printing with blue paper is as follows: Place the negative in the printing-frame, glass side out, lay a sheet of blue paper on the film side, fasten in the frame and expose to bright sunlight. Blue prints may be made on a cloudy day, but the quicker they are printed the clearer and sharper will be the picture. Print until the shadows are slightly bronzed--that is, have a sort of metallic or shiny look, and are a bluish-green in color.

Take the print from the frame and place it face up in a tray of clear water, and let it stand in the sun for a minute or two, and then wash for fifteen or twenty minutes in running water. If one has not running water, wash the print in a few changes of water till the water ceases to be tinged with the blue color of the print. If the fine details of the picture wash out, the picture has not been printed long enough. If the high or white lights in the picture are tinged with blue, then the picture has been printed too long.

After the print is washed sufficiently, lay it between two clean pieces of white blotting-paper to absorb the moisture, then pin it up by the corner to dry.

It is very easy to sensitize the blue paper. Any unglazed paper will answer, but the Rives paper is the best. The following formula was sent a few days ago by Sir Knight Willis H. Kerr, University of Omaha, Bellevue, Wisconsin:

No. 1.

Citrate of iron and ammonia 1 oz. Water 4 "

No. 2.

Red prussiate of potash 1 " Water 4 "

Keep the bottles in a dark place or wrapped in black paper. Mix equal parts of No. 1 and No. 2, and having first dampened the paper with a brush or sponge put on enough of the solution to tint the paper evenly and apply lightly to avoid streaks. As soon as the paper is dry it is ready for use. The operation of sensitizing the paper must be done by gas or lamp light.

SIR KNIGHT FRANK S. WHITNEY asks how to mount prints made on Omega paper without removing the gloss, and also wishes a good formula for paste, and to know just how mounting of prints is done. Trim the prints ready for mounting before they are toned. Tone them, and squeegee them to the ferrotype plate. When they are thoroughly dry apply paste to the back of the print before removing it from the ferrotype. This will moisten the print just enough to let it be removed from the plate without tearing or sticking, loosening the corner first with the point of a pen-knife. Have the card-mount ready, and lay the picture carefully on it just where it is to be pasted. The prints treated in this way lose little of the gloss made by the ferrotype plate. When first beginning to mount pictures it is best to mark the place on the card where the picture is to be pasted. Lay a piece of tissue-paper over the face of the print, and rub the squeegee over it lightly. Take off the paper, and if any paste has oozed out from the edges of the print, wipe it off carefully. Then lay a fresh piece of paper over the print and rub down smoothly. If one has no squeegee, a smooth glass bottle answers well for small prints. For a formula for good paste see No. 784.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

Highest of all in Leavening Power.--Latest U. S. Gov't Report.

HARPER'S NEW CATALOGUE,

Thoroughly revised, classified, and indexed, will be sent by mail to any address on receipt of ten cents.

This Department is conducted in the interest of Bicyclers, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the subject. Our maps and tours contain much valuable data kindly supplied from the official maps and road-books of the League of American Wheelmen. Recognizing the value of the work being done by the L. A. W., the Editor will be pleased to furnish subscribers with membership blanks and information so far as possible.

One of the prettiest and perhaps the best trip for an afternoon ride in the vicinity of Philadelphia is to run up through Fairmount Park, following the Wissahickon, which is a branch of the Schuylkill, and return to Philadelphia by Bryn-Mawr. The distance altogether is about thirty-three or thirty-four miles, and the road is not only a fine one from a bicyclist's point of view, but is most picturesque, cool, and pleasant. Leaving the public buildings at Broad and Market streets, proceed as described last week, up Broad Street to Spring Garden Street; turning left into this follow it to the bridge, but instead of crossing this turn to the right through East Park, leaving the reservoir on the right, and then keeping to the Schuylkill until Street Lane is crossed. Here the Wissahickon drive begins, and the grade from this point to the end of the drive, while it is not the most level, is not by any means too hilly for pleasant bicycle riding. At the end of the Wissahickon drive turn left into the new road, which has been recently opened, thence turn right up the Ridge Road, and continue on to Barren Hill. Here you should turn sharp to the left again, and run down a hill, keeping to the right at its foot. This road carries you on to Spring Mill, and from here the road again, running along by the Schuylkill, will bring you into Conshohocken, a distance of seventeen miles and a half from the public buildings in Philadelphia. The road along the route is gravel, but it is good bicycling over almost every foot of it. There is no very good stopping-place in Conshohocken, but the wheelman will find a road-house which will serve the purpose of a noonday meal very well.

Leaving Conshohocken, cross the river, going south westward, then continuing southward, follow the route marked on the map to Bryn-Mawr, the road from Conshohocken until Lancaster Avenue is reached being easily followed with the exception of a sharp turn to the right soon after crossing the river, and another turn to the left a few moments later. From Bryn-Mawr through Ardmore, Overbrook, into Market Street at the ferry, is a straight run along Lancaster Avenue, which is paved with Belgian block pavement from the point where it is joined by Fifty-fourth Street to Forty-third Street, but is otherwise a capital bicycle route. A somewhat pleasanter way to return from Conshohocken is to follow the western bank of the Schuylkill until you strike Belmont Avenue. This is in capital condition, and will carry you through Fairmount Park. On reaching Elm Avenue, turn left, and again turn left into Girard Avenue, and from this point either continue, crossing the river and running down Grand Avenue to Grand Street, or turn to the right just before crossing and follow the western bank of the river as far as Spring Garden Street, where another crossing may be made, and the return to the public buildings followed as already described.

As was said last week, Philadelphia is most admirably suited for bicycling, but it would be difficult to find a more picturesque road than that which runs up through Fairmount Park or East Park and out towards the source of the Wissahickon, and this run is one of the best that can be found not only in the vicinity of Philadelphia, but anywhere in the United States.

NOTE.--Map of New York city asphalted streets in No. 809. Map of route from New York to Tarrytown in No. 810. New York to Stamford, Connecticut, in No. 811. New York to Staten Island in No. 812. New Jersey from Hoboken to Pine Brook in No. 813. Brooklyn in No. 814. Brooklyn to Babylon in No. 815. Brooklyn to Northport in No. 816. Tarrytown to Poughkeepsie in No. 817. Poughkeepsie to Hudson in No. 818. Hudson to Albany in No. 819. Tottenville to Trenton in 820. Trenton to Philadelphia in 821. Philadelphia in No. 221.

This Department is conducted in the interest of Girls and Young Women, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the subject so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor.

This Pudding Stick will be a very practical affair. In these summer days, when families are separated, or young people are paying visits to their friends, a great many letters must be written, and it is well to know what sort of stationery to use, what sort of ink is best, and, in brief, to understand the small details which make a letter or note graceful and elegant. The reverse of elegance is caused by lack of attention to what seem to be mere trifles, yet, in a way, nothing is trifling.

Thick white note-paper without lines is the approved style for young ladies, the sheet of note-paper folded once in the middle to fit an envelope which comes with the paper. Little girls may use the pretty Brownie paper, or other note-paper with a dainty device in the corner; but girls over twelve years of age should confine themselves to the clear smooth white paper. If you cannot write without lines to keep your words from a zigzag course, slip in between the folds of your paper a heavily ruled sheet, which will be a guide until practice enables you to control your hand so that you can keep your writing straight and even without an outside help.

Use black ink and a good pen, steel or gold, as you prefer. Keep your pen in perfect order.

At the top of your paper, a little to the right hand, write very plainly your post-office address. If your house has a special name, as, for instance, "Sunnyside," "The Owlery," "The Wren's Nest," "Riverbank," that will be first mentioned, but must be followed by the names of your town, or village, county, and State. It is important to give each of these in full. If you reside in a city, your street and number must be plainly written at the top of your letter. Should your letters be sent to a post-office box, instead of to your house, give the number of the box. Never omit these details. You cannot be sure that the most intimate friend will not be glad to save herself the trouble of looking up your address, and the proper thing is to be methodical and begin a letter with care.

Of course, in corresponding with your parents, sisters, and brothers, or dear schoolmates, you may be very affectionate in your expressions. "Dearest Mother," "Darling Papa," "My Own Dear Mollie," are all appropriate if your heart prompts you to write in this way to your home people. It is well to be less demonstrative with others, and "Dear Susie," or "My Dear John," are in better taste when writing to your cousins at a distance. "Dear" is considered less formal than "My Dear." Should you have occasion to write a letter of business, make clear to your correspondent what you wish to say. Business letters should be straightforward and to the point, and as short as is consistent with telling all that ought to be told. Home letters, and letters of affection, as also letters written when on a journey may be as long as you choose, and as far as possible, should be written as you would talk, a letter being a talk on paper to a friend out of sight.

No part of a letter is of more consequence than the signature. I sometimes receive letters from strangers, and am wholly unable to ascertain the names of the writers, their signature being so hurriedly written that it is what we call blind. Do you not think it worth while to write your name plainly when you remember that the name stands for you wherever you go, that it represents your character, that its lack makes a legal document worthless, and adds worth to whatever it is affixed? Always write your name in full at the end of every letter, preceding it by "Yours sincerely," or "Faithfully yours," or "Your loving daughter," or any other appropriate form or phrase.

* * * * *

LAUGHING BABIES

are loved by everybody. Those raised on the Gail Borden Eagle Brand Condensed Milk are comparatively free from sickness. _Infant Health_ is a valuable pamphlet for mothers. Send your address for a copy to New York Condensed Milk Co., N. Y.--[_Adv._]

ADVERTISEMENTS.

Arnold

Constable & Co.

* * * * *

SPECIAL.

Manufacturer's Sample Pieces

Fine Swiss, Nainsook, and Cambric

EMBROIDERIES

33-1/3% Under Regular Prices.

* * * * *

Broadway & 19th st.

NEW YORK.

=The Cranks= of a =Columbia Bicycle=

differ from all other bicycle cranks. Easy to take off, easy to clean bearings, easy to put back. No nuts or bolts to work loose or catch trousers.

Look like one piece; _are_ one piece mechanically.

=One of the many improvements that maintain Columbia Standard.=

_"1896 Machine in 1895."_

=GET THE NEAREST AGENT TO EXPLAIN.=

* * * * *

POPE MANUFACTURING CO.

GENERAL OFFICE AND FACTORIES, HARTFORD, CONN.

BRANCH STORES:

BOSTON, NEW YORK, CHICAGO, PROVIDENCE, PHILADELPHIA, BUFFALO, BROOKLYN, BALTIMORE, WASHINGTON, SAN FRANCISCO

Postage Stamps, &c.

100 all dif. Venezuela, Costa Rica, etc., only 10c.; 200 all dif. Hayti, Hawaii, etc., only 50c. Ag'ts wanted at 50 per ct. com. List FREE!

=C. A. Stegmann=, 2722 Eads Av., St. Louis, Mo.

=100= all different, China, etc., 10c.; 5 Saxony, 10c.; 40 Spain, 40c.; 6 Tunis, 14c.; 10 U. S. Revenues, 10c. Agts. wtd., 50% com.; '95 list free.

CRITTENDEN & BORGMAN CO., Detroit, Mich.

=BAKER= sells recitations and =PLAYS=

23 Winter St., Boston

CATALOGUES FREE.

Good Music

Franklin Square Song Collection.

GOOD MUSIC arouses a spirit of good-will, creates a harmonious atmosphere, and where harmony and good-will prevail, the disobedient, turbulent, unruly spirit finds no resting-place. Herbert Spencer puts his final test of any plan of culture in the form of a question, "Does it create a pleasurable excitement in the pupils?" Judged by this criterion, Music deserves the first rank, for no work done in the school room is so surely creative of pleasure as singing. Do we not all agree, then, that Vocal Music has power to benefit every side of the child nature? And in these days, when we seek to make our schools the arenas where children may grow into symmetrical, substantial, noble characters, can we afford to neglect so powerful an aid as Music? Let us as rather encourage it in every way possible.

_Nowhere can you find for Home or School a better Selection Of Songs and Hymns than in the Franklin Square Song Collection._

Sold Everywhere. Price, 50 cents; Cloth, $1.00. Full contents of the Several Numbers, with Specimen Pages of favorite Songs and Hymns, Sent by Harper & Brothers, New York, to any address.

A Treat for the Music Rack.

At the close of my former "Anecdotes of Von Buelow," I wrote against the German conservatories in general, and against Stuttgart in particular. Here are a few sentences on the same subject taken from an article by John C. Filmore which appeared in the December issue of _Music_:

"Touch in general is of two kinds, that based upon the blow principle and that based upon the principle of pressure. The former was the kind of touch universally prevalent. It is exemplified in extreme degree in Plaidy's _Technical Studies_, and in Lebhert and Stark. Unmodified by other ideals, it produces a hard, rigid, unelastic touch, and a corresponding dryness and monotony of tone quality such as makes really expressive and artistic piano-playing impossible. This is the reason why the Stuttgart Conservatory, with its hundreds of pupils, yearly turns out no real artists. The pressure principle has found place in the playing of many European pedagogues without being adequately analyzed or explained. Julius Knorr and his pupils employed this kind of touch with beautiful effect; but if any of them even so much as mentioned the distinction between blow and pressure, I have never been able to hear of it.

"The two most valuable means of producing that condition of the nervous and muscular apparatus on which a sympathetic touch, based on the pressure principle, depends, are, so far as I am aware, the two-finger exercise of Dr. William Mason, and the up-arm touch. This latter is very lightly touched upon in the first volume of Mason's _Touch and Technic_; but it is of enormous value, as I have had occasion to know in the experience of the last years, and vastly more can be done with it than most players and teachers are aware."

I also stated in my last that Von Buelow was not a _great_ pianist. But that he was a _popular_ pianist there can be no doubt, though why he was popular it is hard to understand; for, according to Finck, Von Buelow was a pianist in whom the intellectual greatly overbalanced the technical and emotional; and so his playing, while it might be interesting in a certain sense, was really dry from its lack of the emotional quality. Perhaps if Von Buelow had been born half a century later he might have been a greater pianist, for at present the advantages for piano students are much greater than formerly.

I suppose that when Von Buelow was young Stuttgart and similar schools were in the lead, and from those his technic touch and emotional tendencies could not be as fully developed as at the present day--not in Germany, but rather in Paris, or even in the great musical centres of our own country. But the great advantage that the "Home of Music" has over us is in her concerts and opera; not so much quality as quantity, and at _cheaper rates_. We have good concerts, but so few, comparatively, and too high-priced for the average person to attend many. How can a violin or a piano student in this country hear many violinists or pianists? It is in this respect that Germany is far ahead of us; while it is in her system of piano teaching and playing that she is pedantic and behind the age; and the sooner she awakens to a realization of the unfortunate truth, the better it will be for our nevertheless ever dear beloved Germany.

MARIE THERESE BERGE. NEW YORK CITY.

The Helping Hand.

We are glad to announce that the sum for the Willie A. Grant memorial stone has been secured, the contributors being:

A Friend, Maine $1.00 Grant Knauff 1.00 Sallie F. Hodges .25 Grace Pearl Richards .25 James F. Rodgers .25 Fred W. Baxter 1.00 Thomas W. Smythe .50 Helen Hunt Ermentrout .50 Fanny C. McIlvaine .25 James W. Gerard, India 1.00 ----- The amount needed $6.00

These sums are given to place a Grant memorial stone in the School Building, Sir William having contributed to the Fund $2.50. He was a Brooklyn member, and died last year.

The following contributions have reached us since last report:

Robert I. Wilson .10 W. S. M. Silber 1.00 Hubert and James Mitchell, Truman and John Pierce, Samuel Canfield, and Allen Russell 5.20 Miss J. F. Gillespie 1.75 George Pierce 2.00 Kirk Munroe Chapter, of Kingman, Ariz. 1.00 Iswa Finchon, South Africa 2.55 Henry S. Canby 1.00 G. W. Hinckley 1.00 Lancelot Chapter, of Newtonville, Mass. 3.00 Edison Chapter, of Bangor, Me. 2.00 Virgilia M. Porter .50 Edith Cartledge 5.00 S. A. Rulon, Jun. .10 Ruth S. Earle .10 Belvidere Chapter, of Daretown, N. J. 5.00 Cornelius Newman .10 Cornelius S. Lombardi 1.00 Paul E. Good 1.00 Leonard, Florence, and Helen Whittier 1.00 Lois S. Miller 1.00 Esther R Custer 1.00 ----- 36.40

The Order is to raise $3000, if possible, and still needs about $1000. Any sum from anybody is welcome. The Fund is to build an Industrial Schoolhouse for the boys at Good Will Farm. These boys are orphans and known to be deserving.

GOOD WILL MITE

* * * * *

HARPER'S ROUND TABLE

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FUND

_Amount_, $........................

................................. _Contributor_.

_This money is contributed, not because it is asked for, but because I want to give it._

* * * * *

If you use this Good Will Mite, simply pin it to your letter, in order that it may be detached for filing. If the amount is given by more than one contributor, add blanks for their names, but attach the added sheet firmly to the Mite, that it may not become detached and lost. Include a given name in each case, and write plainly, to avoid errors on the Honor Roll.

Kinks.

No. 92.--BEHEADINGS.

The beheaded letters, if rightly guessed, will spell the name of a famous English revolutionist.

1. Behead cowardly, and leave a large black bird.

2. Behead a skating pavilion, and leave a writing-fluid.

3. Behead a fruit, and leave to exist.

4. Behead a red pigment, and leave a serpent.

5. Behead to blow gently, and leave abaft.

6. Behead an occurrence, and leave an opening.

7. Behead to bind, and leave a unit.

8. Behead a den, and leave atmosphere.

* * * * *

No. 93.--COIN OF THE REALM.

Men will fight for sterling silver, And hoard the shining gold; For the dollar is almighty, With uses manifold.

There are various other moneys Not taken in account, That have their special values And uses paramount.

1. There's one that's hard and brittle, Grayish or silvery white; 'Tis used in bells and mirrors To make them clean and bright.

2. One oft purchases an office. Which never should be sold. 3. One's the heritage of children, In goods or lands or gold.

4. This one ushers in another, 5. A union of two lives-- Oft a curious kind of lottery For husbands or for wives.

6. This is paid as compensation To many an injured wife; 7. And this is used as medicine-- Mayhap 'twill save a life.

8. This one curses every miser, 9. And this will bitter be; 10. This is useful confirmation, 11. And this makes all agree.

* * * * *

No. 94.--FIVE WORDS SQUARES.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Upper left-hand square.--1. To exist. 2. A metal. 3. Not good. 4. Extremities.

Upper right-hand square.--1. To make a sound. 2. What heathens worship. 3. A knot. 4. A dale.

Central square.--1. To utter with musical sounds. 2. A stone image. 3. Part of the head. 4. Joy.

Lower left-hand square.--1. To bluster. 2. A notion. 3. Tidy. 4. Outer door.

Lower right-hand square.--1. Snakelike fishes. 2. To publish. 3. An acid fruit. 4. A pace.

Answers to Kinks.

No. 90.--Ben Bolt.

Odo. Mat. Shadrack. Fish. Ord. Count. Sam. Mesheck. Bert. Hook. Key. Banks. Lear. Abe. Abednego. Pasha. Eve. Herod. Olive. Hemans. Ham. Ibsen. Kit. Wayne. Church. Atlas. Will Low. King. Bird. Sargent.

* * * * *

No. 91.

N A M E E D I S S O L O T S E R

Questions and Answers.

Howard Notman, Keene Valley, N. Y., is interested in beetles, and wants to get specimens from Florida, Mexico, Central and South America. In return he will send good American specimens. Barbara A.: The new badges are delayed by the decision about design. We shall, if possible, secure the new gold badges for fifty cents each. Margaret Slosson, Pittsford, Vt., says: "I would like to exchange fresh specimens--that is, ones not pressed--of ferns described in Gray's _Manual_ of the botany of the northern United States. Will those wishing ferns please send list of ferns wanted, and list of ones for exchange?"

In the new form of the ROUND TABLE, the advertisements are to be bound into the complete volume. Not a few people think the advertisements far too interesting to throw away. Florence E. Cowan, who belongs to a Chapter that has been most active in helping the School Fund, suggests that the Order gives to Good Will a library. We like the suggestion, but think the best plan is to first finish the Fund. Rebekah Philips Dixon, 1513 Jackson Street, San Francisco. Cal., wants to hear from anybody interested in college yells and colors, and especially asks "M. T." who started the discussion about yells, to write her.

The Lafayette Chapter, Norman Hart, Easton, Pa., is to begin publication of _Leisure Hours_, and wants original contributions that are short, say 300 words. The Lafayette is an active Chapter, and its paper ought to be a good one.

A Good Trick in Dominoes.

Here is a trick played with dominoes which may be new: Spread out a set of dominoes upon the table, being careful to extract one for your own use. Inform the company that if they will match the dominoes you have laid down, using every domino, you will, after leaving the room, determine the numbers at either end of the match. You then leave the room, and read the numbers on your stolen domino. This will almost infallibly prove to be the end numbers of the match. When the match has been formed and concealed by a handkerchief, you enter the room and announce the end numbers.

VINCENT V. M. BEEDE.

This Department is conducted in the interest of stamp and coin collectors, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on these subjects so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor Stamp Department.

Have you noticed that U. S. stamps are now printed on water-marked paper? The water-mark can be seen quite plainly in the blank margin, but is very indistinct in the stamps themselves. It consists of the letters U S P S in double line capitals 16 mm. high repeated, and the probable intention was to have one of the letters on each stamp. But if so the work has been carelessly done by the paper-makers, as there are only ninety letters to the one hundred stamps, together with the two blank margins on the two sides of each sheet. The arrangement is as follows:

P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S U S P S

Only nine letters horizontally, to each of the ten lines. It is to be hoped that the Postmaster-General will have the paper made in such a way that each and every stamp will have the same water-mark. Why not use the letters U. S. on each stamp? They could be made 4 or 5 mm. high, and be plainly seen. The New South Wales stamps, for instance, are marked "N. S. W.," with a crown above. So far as I have seen, the present water-mark appears on the following stamps: 1c. blue; 2c. red, on all three types of the triangle; 8c. purple, and 10c. dark green.

A. CORT.--The dealers sell quarters of 1819 at 75c., dimes of 1838-39 at 20c. each. Age has nothing to do with the value of a coin. You can buy some coins 2000 years old and over at 25c. each at the dealers.

ALICE CALHOUN.--Impossible to answer your question as value depends on what the stamps are. You can buy a packet of 1000 varieties of stamps from dealers for $15.

M. C. W.--Sold by dealers at 8c.

A. BALL.--The initials D. G. on coins mean "Deo Gratia," that is "By the grace of God." Almost all mottoes and inscriptions on coins are in Latin, and usually with many abbreviations.

H. B. CARING, Rochester, N.Y.--I have a letter for you which has been returned from Rochester.

PHILATUS.

At all grocery stores east of the Rocky Mountains two sizes of Ivory Soap are sold; one that costs five cents a cake, and a larger size. The larger cake is the more convenient and economical for laundry and general household use. If your Grocer is out of it, insist on his getting it for you.

THE PROCTER & GAMBLE CO., CIN'TI.

EARN A TRICYCLE!

We wish to introduce our Teas, Spices, and Baking Powder. Sell 30 lbs. and we will give you a Fairy Tricycle; sell 25 lbs. for a Solid Silver Watch and Chain; 50 lbs for a Gold Watch and Chain; 75 lbs. for a Bicycle; 10 lbs. for a Beautiful Gold Ring. Express prepaid if cash is sent for goods. Write for catalog and order sheet.

W. G. BAKER,

SPRINGFIELD, MASS.

=DEAFNESS & HEAD NOISES CURED= by my =INVISIBLE= Tubular Cushions. Have helped more to good =HEAR=ing than all other devices combined Whispers =HEAR=d. Help ears as glasses do eyes. =F. Hiscox=, 853 B'dway, N.Y. Book of proofs FREE

WONDER CABINET =FREE=. Missing Link Puzzle, Devil's Bottle, Pocket Camera, Latest Wire Puzzle, Spook Photos, Book of Sleight of Hand, Total Value 60c. Sent free with immense catalogue of 1000 Bargains for 10c. for postage.

INGERSOLL & BRO., 65 Cortlandt Street N. Y.

Books Worth Having.

* * * * *

AFLOAT WITH THE FLAG.

By W. J. HENDERSON, Author of "Sea Yarns for Boys," etc. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.

THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE LEVANT.

Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey through Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, Greece, and Turkey, with Visits to the Islands of Rhodes and Cyprus, and the Site of Ancient Troy. By THOMAS W. KNOX. Profusely Illustrated. Square 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $3.00.

THE FUR-SEAL'S TOOTH.

A Story of Alaskan Adventure. By KIRK MUNROE. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.

CADET DAYS.

A Story of West Point. By Captain KING. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.

_OTHER BOOKS BY CAPTAIN KING:_

=CAMPAIGNING WITH CROOK, AND STORIES OF ARMY LIFE.= Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, $1.25.

=A WAR-TIME WOOING.= Illustrated by R. F. ZOGBAUM. Post 8vo, Cloth, $1.00.

=BETWEEN THE LINES.= A Story of the War. Illustrated by GILBERT GAUL. Post 8vo, Cloth, $1.25.

TWILIGHT LAND.

Written and Illustrated by HOWARD PYLE. 8vo, Half Leather, Ornamental, $2.50.

_OTHER BOOKS BY HOWARD PYLE:_

=MEN OF IRON.= 8vo, Cloth, $2.00. =A MODERN ALADDIN.= Post 8vo, Cloth, $1.25. =THE WONDER CLOCK.= Large 8vo, Cloth, $3.00. =PEPPER AND SALT.= 4to, Cloth, $2.00. =THE ROSE OF PARADISE.= Post 8vo, Cloth, $1.25.

* * * * *

Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York

_The above works are for sale by all booksellers, or will be mailed by the publishers, postage prepaid, on receipt of the price._

DOCTOR. "WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN EATING LATELY?"

PATIENT. "WELL, YESTERDAY I ATE ABOUT THREE DOZEN NAILS, TWO TIN PLATES, THREE CHAIR RUNGS, ONE-HALF A RAW POTATO--"

DOCTOR. "THAT'S IT; YOUR STOMACH IS TOO SENSITIVE TO STAND UNCOOKED VEGETABLES."

THE LITTLE GARDENER.

"Why, Wilbur, what are you doing?" asked Wilbur's father, as he saw the boy burying his little engine in the ground.

"I's plantin' this engine," said Wilbur. "I want a lot more of 'em, and I's plantin' zis one so's we'll have an engine-tree."

A WISE CHOICE.

"I'd rather be a policeman than a burglar," said Jack. "Burglars have to work nights."

"So do policemen," said Bob.

"Maybe," said Jack; "but they have uniforms and brass buttons, and burglars haven't."

AN EXCUSE.

"Tommie, your spelling report is very bad," said Mr. Hicks to his boy.

"That's all right, papa," said Tommie. "When I grow up I'm going to dictate all my letters, like you do. It's the type-writer that'll have to know spelling, not me."

Whenever he felt two stitches in his side The little old philosopher cried: "I'm lucky, I think; don't you? If one in time saves nine, as they say, I'd have had eighteen of 'em some day If it wasn't for these two!"

A BAD COMBINATION.

"Far as I can see," observed Jack, after his bicycle accident, "a bicycle's just as skittish as a horse."

"It's worse," said Willie. "My bike not only threw me like a horse, but turned back and gored me with the bar-handles like a bull."

A LITTLE TOMMIE QUESTION.

"Say, mamma," said little Tommie, looking up from his tin soldiers, "do angels put their heads under their wings like turkeys when they go to sleep?"

HIS MEMORY.

JOHNNY. "I can't remember the name of that little girl I met at Newport."

PAPA. "You must improve your memory. That little girl had a very common name. Now guess--what happens before meat?"

JOHNNY. "The sharpening of the knife."

OLLIE'S OPINION.

If the two "z's" in buzzard Are because it buzzes, then I think that in "mosquito" There should be eight or ten.

MAMMA. "Bobby, which rule in school do you find the hardest?"

BOBBY. "The teacher's."

Little Ella, hearing her father speak of putting something aside for a rainy day, broke out with the remark,

"Oh, papa! I've got an umbrella laid aside for that."

JACK. "I think my brother is an awful cross fellow."

MOTHER. "Don't you think you're a little to blame at times, Jack!"

JACK. "No; because he can't help it--it's the W in his name makes the _ill Will_."

JIMMY'S FUTURE.

JIMMY. "When I grow up I'm going to be a school-teacher."

PAPA. "Why do you want to be a school-teacher?"

JIMMY. "'Cos you don't have to know the lessons yourself--you just have to hear them out of a book."

"Ha! ha!" laughed the fish, as it glanced at the bait That hung so temptingly by; "By your silence I see you're intended to be Rather too pointed to try."

THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE CIDER PIGGIN.

A hoppergrass, one sunny day, Turning hand-springs amid the hay, O'erleaped himself, and fell into A piggin of good apple brew.

"Shame on you, thirsty little one," Cried the haymakers in the sun; The hopper took one draught, and then, Ere he flew off, addressed the men:

"Good sirs," quoth he, "although one swallow Does not make summer, it would follow That several swallows were at fault If you had made that summersault."

End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Round Table, August 6, 1895, by Various