Part 6

Wandering through the Italian quarter of New York lately, I came across a copy of Dante's _Inferno_. It was bound in very thick covers, and in looking it over a few days ago, I was much surprised to find a sort of pocket, partially disguised, in the under cover. It contained some sheets of manuscript written in a fine Italian hand. I had the manuscript translated, and found that it was a sort of diary of a young lad whose whole life must have been wrapped up in violins, for the records of his day-book are liberally interspersed with memorandums on that instrument. After reading the pages through, I found a little story among them, and for its curious interest, I give it herewith.

It seems the boy's family was of noble origin, and had grand designs for the future of their son, whose name was Paolo. Paolo, however, was averse to their ideas, as his only desire was violins, either to make them or play them, and ofttimes, in defiance of his father's orders, he would steal into a distant part of the house, and indulge in his love of playing. This had happened so frequently, and Paolo was fast growing to be a manly fellow, that his father rebuked him very strongly one day. He touched the sensitive chords of the musician's soul too much, and Paolo responded with hot words that led to his father's banishing him forever from the house.

Paolo went forth with his valuable violin, his one friend, as he thought, and passed on from town to town, city to city, playing for his living. He changed his name, and as time went by, his father, who sat brooding in sadness over his hasty action, never recognized in the name of a new brilliant maestro his banished son. A violin hung in front of his chair in the large hall, and he was accustomed to sitting there before it and dreaming of Paolo. One day, as the light of the afternoon was fast waning, he sat with eyes wandering over the instrument. Suddenly, almost like fairy music, the low sweet melody of a favorite piece of Paolo's came from the violin. He started back, fearing that he was mad; but no, the music was certainly coming from the violin. What could it mean? He seized it, and the moment he did so the music stopped. He dropped down in his chair again, and waited. Softly the strains came from the strings, and with a cry of grief the father called aloud for his son, only to hear a voice, and, turning, he found Paolo standing before him with outstretched arms. They were reconciled at last.

Paolo accounted for the wonderful music by leading his father to the other end of the hall and pointing to a small alcove behind a pillar, explained that everything spoken or played in that spot would cast the sound directly over to where the violin hung, and that as a boy he had discovered the wonderful echo, and experimented with it more than once. He had driven the nail in the wall years ago, and when he entered the hall upon his return, and saw his father sitting there before the violin, he resolved to try his love by use of that boyish experiment.

It would be hard to credit this story, were it not for the fact that such an echo is one of the show-cards of the guides in the Capitol at Washington, and several others are more or less famous through the world.

HUBERT EARL.

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.

I have been putting in order my top drawer. Do you keep yours in perfect order, girls? I have the greatest respect for you if you do. Mine gives me more trouble than I can begin to tell you about. However, if you could peep into it this morning you would admire it as much as I do, what with the boxes all closed, and the gloves smoothed out and laid lengthwise, and the handkerchiefs in small white piles, and the veils folded, and everything else spick and span, and beautiful to see! It will stay so, too--at least I hope it will--for at least a fortnight, that wonderful upper bureau drawer into which so many things go, and out of which so many things come. I'm afraid, though, that one of these days when I'm hurrying to catch a train, or somebody is waiting to speak to me, I'll dive down among the laces and boxes and gloves and cards and handkerchiefs, upsetting this and overturning that, and woe is me! the top drawer will be in a whirl of confusion once more. When I was a little girl I shared a drawer with my sister, who had a great deal of system and a natural talent for arrangement and compactness which I did not have, and therefore had to cultivate. We divided our territories by a pasteboard fence, and on her side there were always beauty and peace and harmony; a place for everything, and everything in its place. But I would rather not tell you very much about my side. I used to have clearing-up days then, and I have them still.

Now don't imagine for a moment that I began this talk just to let you know that I often have to fight against an inclination to be a little bit disorderly in my arrangement of my various things. I had something else in view. We are many-sided beings, you and I, and our top drawers are not the only parts of our belongings which are now and then the better for being gone over and straightened out and set right. Think about it, girls. Can you not, looking back across the last month, or the last week, or even over this very last hour, see that in something you did or said or thought you were mistaken, you were not quite unselfish, or you had not the fair point of view? Aren't you often sorry, after a hasty word, that you had not waited before you spoke? And, again, are there not times when you did not speak out bravely and strongly in defence of an absent friend? Clearing-up seasons are good for the soul, and one's mind and heart are the better for the taking one's top drawer in hand--one's top drawer where she does not keep ribbons and roses and belts and buckles only, but fancies and resolves and notions and dispositions and prejudices.

Speaking of clearings up, there are moods when we are frank and open with ourselves, and when we confess that we are not so sweet and amiable as we might be. Perhaps we are not so just as we might be. What fusses and frictions are caused by the sort of temper in the top drawer that explodes like a fire-cracker the instant a match of irritation comes within touching distance! What a disagreeable thing a certain sort of smile is, the hateful smile that comes out of the top drawer where vanity and jealousy lurk! When we are about it, we might as well, in our clearing up, burn and get rid of the bad tempers, the crossness, and the suspiciousness which help to make us and others wretched. To be happy ourselves and to make others happy should be our constant aim and effort. Above everything else, do not let us be contrary, like little Miss Mary in Mother Goose. Many people are so, and they make others very unhappy.

There is one little corner of the top drawer which is more important than any other. It ought to be labelled "Conscience." Here we should be careful that we never leave a single thing in confusion. Where we are in doubt whether an action is right or wrong we _must_ settle it by the light of conscience, and our decision will be influenced by our general habits of thinking and doing, and by our every-day habit of asking our Heavenly Father's guidance for each hour of life.

MURIEL.--Your letter interested me very much, and I will soon devote one of these talks to the subject you speak of so sensibly.

ANNE T.--Why worry about your height? It is beautiful to be tall, if you carry yourself gracefully, head up, shoulders back, as a tall girl ought.

LOUISE S. M.--If you are tired of story-books, try biography. Have you read Miss Edgeworth's life, or that of Miss Alcott? Or take up a course of English history.

* * * * *

STARVED TO DEATH

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HARPER'S CATALOGUE

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

A PRIZE MUSIC COMPOSITION.

The ability to compose music is not as common as that to solve puzzles, and so the Table in its Music Contests this year opened competition to amateurs without regard to age. For variety, a song and a hymn setting were asked for, $5 being offered for the best in each class, and packages of visiting-cards, with copper plates, for the second best. First verses of two poems were given. Both were by Mrs. Margaret E. Sangster, in her book _Little Knights and Ladies_.

We publish this week the song setting which won the first prize, and the whole poem, in order that you may have a complete song. The composition is by Miss Mary E. Bigelow, of Berea, O., who is a Round Table Patron. The second prize is awarded to Harry R. Patty, of Los Angeles, Cal., Knight. Others whose compositions are deserving of high praise, mentioned with honor, are: Helen H. Sohst, Alice C. Banning, Penry Jones, Frank Balentine, Minnie Brendel (Weimar, Germany), and E. S. Hosmer. The additional verses of "Our Little Echo" are:

This little echo, soft and sweet, Repeats what others say, And trots about on tireless feet, Up stairs and down, all day.

It makes us very careful not To use a naughty word, Lest in the echo's lisping tones It should again be heard.

Which would be such a dreadful thing, As any one may see, Who has an echo in _his_ house A little over three.

The first-prize hymn, with awards, will be published soon--probably next week.

* * * * *

A Leech Barometer.

Very few books of pastimes are lacking in elaborate descriptions for making so-called "infallible" barometers. Now here is a barometer, not absolutely infallible, however, of an exceedingly simple kind, though, like the aforementioned, you may purchase your outfit entire at the apothecary's--unless, luckily, you are a rural member. Here are the directions:

Buy or catch a leech. Confine it in a jar three-quarters full of rain-water, which must be changed regularly twice a week. Place the jar on a window-frame, facing the north.

Weather indications. _Fair and Frosty._--The leech lies motionless, rolled up in a spiral form, at the bottom of the glass. _Rain or Snow._--The leech creeps up to the top of the glass. If the rain will be heavy and of long duration, it remains a considerable time. If trifling, it quickly descends. If the rain or snow is accompanied by wind, it darts about quickly, and does not cease until there is a hard blow. _Storm of Thunder or Lightning._--The leech is exceedingly agitated, and expresses its feelings in violent, convulsive starts.

VINCENT V. M. BEEDE.

* * * * *

About Some Chapters.

The Table has a flourishing Chapter in Santiago College, Agustinas 150, Santiago, Chile. Its president is Blanca Oliveira, aged fourteen, and she wishes to correspond with American Ladies of her own age. Writing under date of November 25th, the president tells of an entertainment given by the Wide Awake Chapter in the college gymnasium, in which songs, dialogues, recitations, and the like were the attractions. The invitation cards are very neat. The Chapter has forty-one members, who have corresponded with many readers of the Table in this country and Europe, some doing so in French and Spanish as well as in English.

Washington Chapter, of Racine, Wis., was organized on February 22, 1894, and is prospering. It holds semi-monthly meetings, and the dues are five cents per month. Officers are elected every four months. The present officers are: President, Hira E. Tyrrell; Vice-President, Russell Lewis; Secretary, Frank H. Marlott; Treasurer, Arthur Murray. "We think it would be nice to know what some of the many other Chapters are doing," writes Secretary Frank H. Marlott, 1511 Wisconsin Street. "I am sure we are not the only ones who should like to have some suggestions from successful Chapters regarding programmes," etc.

* * * * *

Information Wanted.

Name and address of story "All at Sea," sent in competition for a prize, that manuscript may be returned, and address of Rudolph Raphael, "Tea Picker of Chang Choy," for same purpose.

* * * * *

The Good Will School Fund.

This Fund has grown since last report as follows:

Amount previously acknowledged $1579.16

Little Women Chapter, of New York, $6; Barbara Arbogust, 25 cents; Frank Alfred Stetson, 50 cents; Paul C. Conn, 10 cents; Fred W. and George M. Beal, 50 cents; Walter Goff, 50 cents; The Kirk Munroe Talk at St. Agnes Hall, New York, $10.08; "Euclid Place," $1.30; Sunday-school Class, Stillwater, Minn., 50 cents; Francis S. Winston, $1; Louis O. Brosie, from contributions to his amateur paper, $2; Margaret C. Walter, $1; Carrie M. Walton, 10 cents; John Burroughs Chapter, Winsted, Conn., $15.84; Sophie R. St. Clair, 50 cents; Fred W. Christensen, 10 cents; Bessie Cauffman, $3.50; Franklin Pendleton, 25 cents; Paul A Sensheimer, $1; "Sancho Panza," 25 cents; Mrs. H. E. Banning, 50 cents; Alice May Douglas Chapter, Bath, Me., $3; "Midget," 10 cents; John H. Campbell, Jun., 5 cents; "Bruno Morgan," 50 cents; Laura Gooding, $1; "Antonio," 20 cents; Evarts A. Graham, 30 cents; Dick, Polly, Tom, Harry, etc., $1; George Taylor, 20 cents; Katherine W. Butler, 10 cents; Alice V. B. Foos, $1; Sidney Davis, and each of the following-named, 10 cents: Edward O. Tatnall, Mary Fithian, Adela Harper, Randolph Wilson, Walter P. Hall, Edith and Amy Shattuck, Ethel Van Rennselaer, George H. Hogeman, W. W. Harvey, Edith Moore, and Richard Corcoran; Lindsey D. Holmes, and each of the following-named, 50 cents: Mrs. D. L. Miller, Mary A. Lippincott, S. J. Peters, Lulu Wangelin, L. I. and E. Brown, James F. Rodgers, Grace M. Fay, Grace E. Hall, Stella L. Tutewiler, L. S. Whittaker, Pauline L. Stockton, J. A. Beach, Ethel R. Betts, B. W. Gale, Frankie L. Potts, and W. Stowell Wooster; Ellen B. Laight, $1; John Nixon Brooks, $1; "Santa Claus," 5 cents; J. Howard Beckley, 15 cents; J. F. Hammond and Sophie V. Gray, each 5 cents; Daisy Noyes and Ralph Page, each 25 cents; G. W. Hinckley, $1; Albert Gregory, 16 cents; Whitman Dart, 15 cents; K. K. Forsythe, 25 cents; Eleanor Davis, $1; Harry G. Sprowl, 5 cents; "Hecla," N. Y., $1; Eileen and Robert Weldon, 19 cents; and Robert W. Stockbridge, 16 cents.

Total 69.75

In the formal acknowledgment of a contribution from the Admiral Benham Chapter the sum was given, by mistake, $8.95. It should have been $18.95. Hence we add 10.00

Total of Fund $1658.91

STAMPS.

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. Correspondent should address Editor Stamp Department.

In the ROUND TABLE for January 26, 1896, I illustrated twelve of the rare Confederate locals. I complete the list (with a few exceptions) in this number.

Livingston, Kingston, Greenville, Madison, Ringgold, and Victoria are all great rarities. The stamps are worth from $250 to $750 if on envelope and in good condition.

Goliad (several varieties) are worth from $100 to $500 each. Rheatown and Tellico Plains (same type) are worth over $100 each.

Danville (W. D. Coleman, P.M.) and Pittsylvania (same type) worth $250 each.

Petersburg is worth $15; Pleasant Shade (same type) is worth $150. Lynchburg, worth $25 to $30; Lenoir, from $50 to $75.

Marion (six varieties) is a very rare stamp, but the original plate from which the stamps were printed is in the possession of a New York stamp-dealer. (Not illustrated.)

There are several others not illustrated, such as Spartansburg, Salem, etc., which resemble the ordinary postmark, and several others which are not yet fully accepted as genuine.

Representative Pugh, of Kentucky, has introduced a bill in Congress permitting all cities of 100,000 or more inhabitants to issue stamps of special designs for local use, the designs on such stamps to commemorate the history of the city or the memory of its prominent deceased citizens; but no such stamps shall be made to advertise the business of any individual, firm, corporation, or society. The cost of engraving and printing will be paid by the city issuing the stamps, not by the general government.

PHILATUS.

A well enforced rule of order and Ivory Soap will make the kitchen an attractive and appetizing spot.

Copyright, 1895, by The Procter & Gamble Co., Cin'ti.

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Fascinating Historical Works

ABRAHAM LINCOLN. THE BOYS OF '76. THE STORY OF LIBERTY. OLD TIMES IN THE COLONIES. BUILDING THE NATION.

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Mr. Coffin avoids the formality of historical narrative, and presents his material in the shape of personal anecdotes, memorable incidents, and familiar illustrations. He reproduces events in a vivid, picturesque narrative.--_N. Y. Tribune._

Mr. Coffin writes interestingly; he uses abundance of incident; his style is pictorial and animated, he takes a sound view of the inner factors of national development and progress; and his pages are plentifully sprinkled with illustrations.--_Literary World_, Boston.

* * * * *

Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.

FROM CHUM TO CHUM.

BY GASTON V. DRAKE.

III.--FROM BOB TO JACK.

Dear Jack,--I got your letter the day we came aboard this ship and I was so much interested with what was going on here that I put it in my pocket to read next day. The trouble with the next day was what I might have expected. I wasn't seasick at all but something I had for dinner didn't agree with me and I lay down all day and wished I was ashore. As an old man who stood near me said "they run trolly cars all over the land where you don't want 'em, but out at sea when you'd give ten dollars to be carried ashore in one they don't have 'em." I'd have gone ashore on a shingle if I could have. If you can imagine the Mountain House dancing around like a cork, 'way up in the air one minute and fifty feet lower down the next you'll get some idea about what I've been going through. I'd have enjoyed it though if I hadn't eaten that thing that disagreed with me, for to people that don't get seasick the moviness of the whole business is great.