Volume XVII. With 1276 Pages and about 1200 Illustrations. 4to Cloth,

Ornamental, $3.50.

An ably edited, well-balanced magazine, which presents valuable history, art, and science, so interwoven with the best fiction and sport as to make its pages as valuable as they are attractive and entertaining. The "Round Table" has the correct idea of healthful juvenile literature.--_Chicago Inter-Ocean._

The illustrations are plentiful and in the highest style of the art, and the contributions--stories, poems, sketches, and essays--are, as everybody knows, the best work that can be secured by the leading authors and artists who write for children.--_Hartford Courant._

A volume which comprises within its covers a whole young people's library of history, science, literature, fiction, fun, etc., and a whole gallery of pictures besides.--_Advance_, Chicago.

* * * * *

Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York

A WONDERFUL SAIL.

Forty Dollars in Prizes to Readers Eighteen who can find out most about this Trip.

'Tis said that few winds are so ill that they blow nobody any good, but the wind that blew a recent hunting-party into the middle of the upper Niagara River, and then over the falls, was an exception. It did nobody any good. True, the victims of the tragedy were that Shakespearian character (1) who lived in a group of Mediterranean isles; a Roman satirist (2) who is always mentioned whenever a teacher is; and the Greek philosopher (3) celebrated for wise sayings and just judgments, who lived in a city renowned for its heroic resistance to barbarians.

"One of these never really lived and the other two died long years agone, say you?" "Well, suppose they did. Pray don't spoil a story by speaking at the wrong time."

These three persons went gayly out, undismayed by the warning on the boat-house sign:

BOATS TO LET.

Adssdq Mfbwf Yzw Xlnkzmb Yvsrmw (4)

I nearly forgot to say that there were to have been five in the party, but the Schoolmaster of our Republic (8) and the Mad Yankee (6) read the sign and refused to go. But such a lot of things as were found by the three who went!

First they explored a mysterious excavation (7) contained in a street-sweeper, and a place of trade (8) kept in an insect. They met a wise man (9) in conception, and bought a warm covering (10) contained in a wrinkle; some small cord (11) done up in strengthening medicine; a bedded carriage (12) in sparkling; a covering for the head (13) in an impropriety; a quantity of paper (14) in demand; some food;(15) in a scoffer; a chart (16) in a telegraph; a clamp(17) in useful; a white linen garment (18) in military weapon; a large farm (19) in the gills of fishes, and some certificates of stock (20) in a title.

These filled the boat, though some were eaten, some lounged upon, and others studied. Queer place to shop? Well, never mind if it was so. Let my story go on.

As the three men were trying on what they found in the impropriety which they had purchased, one of them discovered a few things that had probably been left in the boat by a former sailing-party. The first (21) had once been in the fields and brooks, aye, a part of it even in the sky. Then it had been warmed, put through a process that city folk are laughed at by country folk because they cannot manipulate, and finally subjected to great pressure. The second (22) was once a part of a great mountain. Then it helped raise potatoes. Next it was buried in a grave. Again it was heated and then cooled, and became the source of so much comfort that the wonder was its owner left it behind. The third thing (23) is supposed to bring good luck. It is something that, in its natural position, moved rapidly--often with two motions at the same time. There was that about it which masons use. It was a sad loss to its owner, no doubt. The fourth and last thing was a liquor (24) contained in a secretion of the ear. It was not the first time that a drinking-vessel (25) which we find in refreshment brought death in its train. From that moment the men were doomed. They grew reckless, and here are some of the things they thought they saw:

An agricultural implement (26) in a railway employé; a small bed (27) in a writer; a temporary shelter (28) in a native of South Africa; an open land (29) in the bottom of a ship; a small house (30) in a window covering; a stream of water (31) in a dance; a church seat (32) in a cordage manufactory; a man (33) in a lizard; and a small horse (34) in a place of worship.

Finding all these in a place so strange, and making so poor use of them, it is no wonder that that which the sign-board warned them against carried them over the falls, and brought an end to the story. The local paper next morning said the bodies of the three were recovered and taken to "The Bad Lands of the Say It" (35) for burial.

* * * * *

In the foregoing story there are not a few questions in philology. There are also some popular nicknames, an anagram, and some riddles. In sending answers, do not write out the story. Number names as numbered here, write one below another in the proper order, and put your name and address at the top of your first sheet of answers. Mail answers not later than February 6, 1897, to HARPER'S ROUND TABLE, New York--no street number required--and put in the lower left-hand corner of your envelope "Puzzle Answer." Correct answers, with names of winners, will be published in HARPER'S ROUND TABLE as early after the close of the contest as possible, probably within two weeks.

The prizes, which will be awarded by the Messrs. Harper & Brothers, Publishers, New York, are: $40, divided among the ten best solvers according to merit. If one solver stands conspicuously ahead of the rest he or she will be given from $10 to $25, as the comparative excellence of the answer warrants. Persons of any age may help find the answers, but only those who have not passed their 18th birthday, and who are members of households in which this paper is regularly read, may send them in. Merit signifies correctness and neatness, and has no reference to the solution reaching the office of HARPER'S ROUND TABLE first in point of time. Elaborate decoration of answers is not encouraged. Use common stationery, note size, and do not roll. Write on one side of the paper only. Everything comes to those who--try!

* * * * *

Questions and Answers.

H. M. Kimball says he made a battery after the suggestions given in the TABLE, and that it worked well when he put one cell in the circuit. But when he connected two, the battery seemed to give out. He asks for an explanation. The matter is, probably, that he connected the negative to the negative and the positive to the positive poles, in which case one cell nullified the strength of the other. The positive should be connected to the negative pole, and the negative to the positive. That is to say, the zinc to the copper, not the zinc to the zinc. Yes, the Calland cell is dirty and easily upset. In these days of improvements in batteries it is cheaper and cleaner to buy one's cells outright. The only thing lost then is the experience gained in putting them together--and the fun of doing the thing one's self.--Edgar W. Hall asks for a charter for a Chapter, and fails to give the name of the latter. What does he call his society? Tell us what name to fill in, and we will send charter promptly.

James D. Waite says his school battalion went to Washington last year, and is going again this year, and he offers to write a morsel describing the trip. By all means let us have the morsel. You are a member of the Order if you have a Patent in the Camera Club. One Patent admits to all divisions of the Order. Henry T. Smith asks what the new process is by which so much more gold than formerly is now gotten out of quartz and gold ore. Here it is. It is somewhat technical. It was invented in Australia. The machine consists of vertical distributors and mercury baths, placed as follows:--The crashed materials or slum enter a cast-iron trough or distributor, which is from 3 feet to 6 feet long and 5 inches wide; its sectional shape is half round. At the bottom of this distributor, and in a straight line from end to end, is a row of 1-4-inch holes, 5-6 inch from centre to centre. Below this is placed a mercury bath 2-1/8 inches wide by 5/16 inch deep, running the whole length of the distributor, and placed at a distance sufficient to cause the materials passing through the holes to form an indentation in the silver about the size of half a pea. These jets strike the mercury in the centre of the ripple at right angles. By these means the whole of the stuff is brought into forcible contact with the silver without separating it, and flows over its surface into another distributor below; and from there it again passes through another row of holes, and brought into contact with a second bath of silver. This operation is repeated until every particle of tailings has passed over eight mercury baths.

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.

The old-style St. Helena stamps have been displaced by the current issue of the De la Rue type. The immediate advance in prices of the obsolete set prompts the _Weekly Era_ to warn the dealers and speculators that the extreme rise in ordinary stamps, simply because they have become obsolete, will tend to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. In many cases such advances are not only unjustifiable, but foolish also, in view of the fact that large stocks are in existence. Every one except speculators will heartily agree with the _Era_ in trying to abolish an evil which threatens the popularity of stamp-collecting.

Philately is only one of the many forms of "collecting" which are a part of our human nature, but it seems exceptionally conducive to sociability, good-fellowship, and general jollity. The Collectors' Club House in New York was taken in hand by a Christmas entertainment committee, who decorated the house with greens, put up a big Christmas tree, and made the whole house seem homelike. The entertainment was given on the night of the 28th of December, and those members who were unavoidably absent missed a great treat. The Christmas tree was stripped, and almost every one received a present of something he did not want--upon the condition, however, that the parcel should be opened by the recipient in full view of all the audience. The burlesque presents showed both good-humor and wit.

NEW ISSUES.--British Central America.--

1d. black. 2d. black and green. 4d. black and orange. 6d. black and blue.

The above watermarked Crown C A.

2s. 6d. black and violet. 3s. black and yellow. 5s. black and violet. £1 black and orange. £10 black and vermilion. 1s. on £1 blue and red. 2s. on 6d. lilac and red. With black surcharge.

The above watermarked Crown C C.

Congo.--

15c. black and ochre, banana-tree. 40c. black and green, canoe.

Nankin.--

1/2c. gray, two figures. 1c. rose, pagoda. 2c. green, two elephants. 3c. yellow, landscape. 4c. claret, pagoda. 5c. violet, bell.

Salvador.--

The 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 24, 30, 50 centavos and 1 peso of the current series have been issued with "Official" surcharge.

South African Republic.--

4d. olive and green. 6d. mauve and green.

Sweden.--

25 ore, orange. 15 ore, light brown.

J. FETTERIDGE.--The "Officially Sealed" stamps are losing favor rapidly, and probably will be omitted in future catalogues. They are interesting as labels connected with the postal service, but they cannot be called postage-stamps.

F. G. ELLIOTT.--During the first half of this century the mint frequently made use of old dies when making a later issue. For instance, the 1838 1c. die was used for the 1839 issue. The figure 8 was changed to a figure 9 in a bungling manner, with the result that the date looks as if it had been struck 1838, and then restruck 1839.

C. RAWSON.--The 3c. U. S. Revenue "Telegraph" stamp, unperforated, is worth 75c.; perforated, 15c. The 3c. "Playing Cards," unperforated, $15; perforated, $4. The 3c. "Proprietary" and "Foreign Exchange" are not known unperforated; perforated they are worth from 5c. to 10c. each. The other stamps mentioned are worth 1c. each.

OLE C. OLSEN, 2912 Quinn Street, Chicago, would like to exchange stamps, both common and rare, and U. S. adhesive and revenues.

K. H. TRUAX.--The 1882 Nicaragua is worth 2c.; the 1/8 Philippine Islands, 1886, is worth 5c. The dealers named are responsible men.

H. M. ORMISTON.--The 20 para, Turkey, 1865, is yellow, and worth 6c. The 1869 issue is green; worth 3c. The 40 para, pink and black, is a local stamp worth 30c.

J. GORDON.--The English compound envelopes are good for postage, but the fact that they were made for anybody who was willing to pay the cost, on any kind of paper, of almost any size, and almost any combination of stamps, leads collectors to disregard them, as a rule.

A. BULL.--Do not hoard any Columbian stamps. They keep turning up in quantities, and are offered at a discount of five or ten per cent. on values 1c. to 50c.; twenty-five per cent. on values $2, $3, $4, and $5. I know of one lot offered which contained 12,000 6c. Columbians in complete sheets.

C. B. VINER.--I recommend applying to some dealer. There are three 1798 dollars, worth $2, $3, and $6 respectively. See answer to George Jay.

GEORGE JAY.--There are three 1799 dollars--the five star, worth $4; the six star, worth $2; the 1799 over 1798, worth $3. The old German and Spanish coins are worth bullion only.

PHILATUS.

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=STAMPS ON APPROVAL.= Send for sheets. Big com. =T. J. Manning & Co.=, Norwich, N.Y.

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* * * * *

There are not many people who would recognize in the name Samuel Wheeler a person who did valuable service for our country in the war of the Revolution. It was he who made the famous chain that was stretched across the Hudson River to stop the British war-ships from ascending the stream. At the time General Washington was puzzled about defending the river.

"I wish I could get a chain made; but that is impossible," he said; and General Mifflin, overhearing the remark, exclaimed:

"Not so. We have a man in the army, a townsman of mine, one Wheeler, who can make you such a chain."

General Washington had Wheeler brought to him, and said:

"I want a chain to put across the North River to stop the British ships. Can you make it?"

"I can," replied Wheeler, "but I cannot do it here."

"Then," said Washington, "I will cheerfully give you dismission from the army to do so, for badly as we want such men as you, I cannot afford to keep you."

Mr. Wheeler made the chain, and its links were hauled across New Jersey, to be finally strung across the river, where it did good service. By building a fire under one of the links and then using a sledge-hammer and a chisel, it was ultimately cut apart.

* * * * *

The Colonel was a bluff old fellow, and all the officers liked him except for one thing, and that was his jealousy of the commanding officer of a neighboring post. He would grow irritable whenever this officer's name was mentioned, although he invariably brought the name up himself. One evening some of the mess determined to have some fun with the Colonel, and possibly put a stop to his pettishness.

"Colonel," said one of the officers, "it's queer, but you'd think Major D ---- [the neighboring commander] had studied spelling. I got a letter from him to-day, and how do you think he spells 'here'?"

"He doesn't know much," growled the Colonel. "I suppose he spells it, h-e-a-r."

"No."

"Well, h-e-e-r."

"No, that's not it."

"H-i-e-r," ventured the Colonel once more.

"Guess again."

"Well, I'd have to be as stupid as he is to guess any other way of spelling it. Wait a moment. Does he spell it h-u-e-r?"

"No, Colonel."

"Well, then, how does the man spell it, anyhow?"

"Why, h-e-r-e, as it should be."

The Colonel rose with wrath in his eyes, and snapped out:

"Gentlemen, I'm too old for such joking," and then left the room and slammed the door after him.

* * * * *

Doubtless few know that the New York _Journal of Commerce_ originated what is popularly known as a newspaper extra. When this occurred times were troublesome in Europe, and the great revolution of 1830 was approaching. Naturally America was anxious for early news, and all the newspapers of New York equipped small boats that cruised about the harbor, waylaying the large packet vessels arriving from abroad to get the tidings.

The _Journal of Commerce_ conceived the plan of sending out a small schooner to intercept the packets two or three days ahead of their arrival. The originators of the plan were laughed at, and told that it would in the end ruin them. Results proved otherwise, however, and when the semaphoric telegraph announced their schooner in the offing, and later, coming up the bay, the crowd would gather around the office of the paper. They had to wait until the extra evening edition was ready, and then one of the partners would sometimes read the news aloud to hundreds of citizens, while thousands of copies were sold. This schooner was the first American news-boat of any size.

* * * * *

There is a small town in one of the Eastern States, not far from Boston, whose inhabitants take great pride in excelling every other town in their vicinity. They try every new invention, and if it has any sort of merit it is sure to be assigned to duty in some part of the place. Two portly gentlemen, one a sea-captain and the other a lawyer, both retired from active life, were the prime movers in the experiments and adoptions, and, naturally, in the course of time they failed to agree. Extreme jealousy then prevailed, and a bitter animosity sprang up between them.

Unfortunately these two gentlemen lived next door to each other--in fact, so close were their houses that the side walls almost adjoined. One very windy night the lawyer was reading a book in his study when a terrific crash upstairs startled him. Upon investigating he found that an unruly chimney had ruthlessly hurled itself through his roof, doing considerable damage. That in itself was a matter of great annoyance, but when he discovered it was the sea-captain's chimney that was responsible, his wrath knew no bounds. Hastening down to his library, he pulled out his law-books and hunted up similar cases, devising and scheming how he could secure satisfaction from the detestable captain. While thus engaged a note arrived from his enemy that read as follows,

"SIR,--If you don't return those bricks _at once_, I will put the matter in the hands of the law."

End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Round Table, January 19, 1897, by Various