CHAPTER II.

To any one unaccustomed to serving in a shop the duties seem very perplexing. Left alone, Nora sat down behind the counter feeling decidedly confused by the novelty of her position. There was a glare of gas-light in the window above the fancy articles, and Nora watched the faces of the passers-by who peered in, sometimes pausing for a more critical survey, sometimes hurrying on with absent-minded glances, but it seemed to her as if a real customer never would appear. Finally, with a rush of frosty air, a small boy appeared who wanted some needles; then a bevy of girls who had wools to match, and drove Nora wild with their questions. These were followed by a cross old gentleman, who had evidently been induced by his wife to match some silk, and who vented his ill-humor on poor little Nora, scolding her about the silk, and the change she made, and everything she tried to do for him. To his visit succeeded an interval of solitude, and then the pleasant figure of Mrs. Bruce came hurrying in, her face glowing from the night air, and a tempting parcel of Cambridge sausages in her hands.

"Now, my dear," said Mrs. Bruce, "what do you say to stopping another 'arf an hour, and then trying a bit of supper? Why, wot's on your mind?"

For Nora's face had suddenly colored.

"Dear Mrs. Bruce," she exclaimed, "I have such a favor to ask of you. You sell fancy articles, and I know we have one or two things that might fetch something. Oh, _could_ I put them in your window?"

"Why, of course," said Mrs. Bruce, cheerily; "why not? Here, run and get them. I'll wait a minute."

Nora flew up stairs, but on reaching the upper room found her mother sleeping so peacefully she had not the heart to disturb her. But she felt sure her purpose could not be disapproved, and so she opened a small trunk, searching among their few possessions for the articles she had referred to. There was a sandal-wood box which Nora knew from childhood, in it were a few of Mrs. Mayne's girlish treasures, and opening this Nora drew out a pretty, old-fashioned hand screen, just such as fashion, tired of novelty, is bringing back to use. The faded colors, the delicate scent, the decoration, all would have made it valuable to the bric-à-brac collector of to-day. And there, painted fancifully across the back, was the name

Nora held the little screen carefully in her hands, puzzling over the name, unknown in her family she was sure, yet bringing back to her mind the wintry morning when she had seen the Deanery gate open, and that pretty, unknown "Penelope" come out in the clear crisp sunshine of the morning. "Oh, if she were only here to buy it!" thought Nora, hastening down stairs with her treasure. Mrs. Bruce approved highly of it.

"You see, people are buying the old things now," said the good woman. "So put it in the window, and we'll see what it will do."

Nora tremblingly chose a place for the little screen. She tried to be very conscientious, and interfere with none of Mrs. Brace's wares, but she contrived to hang the screen so that the name "Penelope" shone in the glare of the gas. Then she sat down, feeling as if she were awaiting a Fate. People came and went; a few customers who were more troublesome than profitable; some of the hurrying glances were bestowed upon Nora's screen, but no one asked to examine it. The savory odors from Mrs. Bruce's kitchen were finding their way into the shop, making poor Nora hungrier than ever, when she noticed a tall young man in passing look critically at the screen, and then turn back, and finally open the door.

Nora's heart throbbed.

"Will you let me see that screen, miss, if you please?" he said, politely.

Nora unfastened it from the line with rather nervous fingers. The young gentleman held it up in the light, f examining it carefully. It was a moment of suspense that to Nora seemed an hour. Then she heard him say, half under his breath, "Penelope--queer--"

"Yes, sir," said Nora, earnestly; "it _is_ an odd name. I don't know how it came there; it--" Then she stopped short, remembering there was no necessity for explanation to this stranger.

The young man seemed, however, scarcely to have heard what she had said. He continued his inspection of the quaint little screen, finally lifting his eyes with a look of amusement or pleasure in them, as he said:

"How much is this?--it is wonderfully good."

Nora hesitated.

"What do you think it is worth?" she asked, timidly.

The customer looked surprised.

"Is there no fixed price?" he asked.

"Oh, sir," exclaimed Nora, "it is mine, you see. Mrs. Bruce let me put it in the window. I--we--my mother--"

Her cheeks were crimson. She stopped, not knowing how to continue the explanation. The young man looked at her very kindly. Something in the care-worn little face, the pathetic eagerness of the eyes, told Nora's story.

"I think," said her customer--"I think it is worth about two pounds."[1]

[1] Ten dollars.

Nora's eyes glistened. Two pounds! She could scarcely believe her senses. Was it possible!

"Oh!" she whispered. "Is it _really_--do you want it so much?"

The young man laughed good-naturedly.

"I want it very much," he answered. "I have a cousin named Penelope."

And almost before the young girl could realize her good fortune her customer was gone, the evidence that she was not dreaming being the two gold pieces shining in her hand.

Mrs. Bruce was delighted; but when Nora wished her to accept the money in payment for the room--the rent of which was long overdue--she stoutly refused. "Give me ten shillings," she said, busily making the change. "There, now. I've a cozy bit of supper ready for your mother, if you'll carry it up to her." A nice plate of mashed potatoes and steaming brown sausages was ready in the little parlor. Nora could hardly express her appreciation of the good woman's kindness. She carried the little tray up stairs with a grateful heart. Her mother was awake, and, putting down the supper, Nora hastened to tell her story; but to her surprise her mother listened in dismay.

"Oh, Nora!" exclaimed Mrs. Mayne. "What have you done, my darling? I would rather have parted with _anything_, before that little screen. It was my one relic of the past!"

Poor Nora! her heart swelled with grief. She was tired and worn with anxiety, and looking at her mother piteously she burst into a flood of tears.

* * * * *

The Deanery at Nunsford is a large old house full of beautiful rooms, each, it seems to me, setting the charms of the next at defiance. There is a wide long hall leading to the dining-room, with deep windows fronting the garden, and in winter-time their seats are always full of flowers: roses clambering against the old lattice-work panes; hyacinths filling the air with odors; and pots of yellow primroses, which so early star the borders of every Devonshire garden.

On a certain January morning one of these bright windows was made brighter still by the figure of a tall, brown-haired young lady who had stopped to open a parcel on her way to breakfast.

"Penelope--Penny!" called half a dozen voices further up the hall, where the Dean's children were grouped about the fire. "Do come; we won't go in to breakfast without you."

"I _am_ coming," said Penelope, slowly. "I've got a birthday present from Lionel," she added. "Poor boy! he is far enough away now." And still looking at her gift, Penelope Harleford, the Dean's niece, made her way toward the eager little group just as the Dean himself appeared in the dining-room door.

"Lion has sent Penelope a present," said Joe, the youngest boy. "Look, papa; it is a funny old fan."

"No," said Penelope; "it is a hand screen, and it is so quaint and pretty."

And the little screen, which at that moment Nora Mayne would have given a great deal to possess again, was put into the Dean's hands.

"Mayn't I show it to Aunt Letitia before breakfast?" pleaded Penny, with a coaxing air. "I know she would be so interested in it; she dearly likes old things."

"As you like, dear," said the Dean, giving her blooming cheek a pinch. "Hurry back, though; we don't see so much of you, now that Aunt Letty is back again."

Pretty Miss Penny laughed and ran away, holding her treasure tightly, stopping half a minute in a bend of the old staircase to look at it again, and to whisper, "Poor dear Lion--poor Lion!" and then hurrying on to a door, before which she paused, knocking lightly.

The "Come in" was in a sweet low voice. Penelope opened the door leading into a beautiful room rich in color and arrangement. A crippled lady, the same Nora Mayne had seen carried to the Bath-chair, was seated near the window.

"Well, my love, have you breakfasted already?" said the lady, holding out a thin white hand.

"No, aunt," said Penelope, kneeling beside the invalid's chair; "but I want you to see Lion's birthday present to me. Poor boy! He put it up the night before he sailed for India. Isn't it charming?"

Miss Harleford, Penelope's aunt, took the screen rather carelessly in her hands, then she uttered a quick, sharp little cry.

"Penny," she exclaimed, "where did Lion get this? I have not seen it in over twenty years, but I remember it perfectly."

[TO BE CONTINUED.]

FLORRY'S HOOPLE.

Isn't it dreadfully horrid, Caught in this hoople again? Here with the sun on my forehead, Ever so far down the lane. Caught in this hoople again; Nurse didn't know I was skipping Ever so far down the lane, Hope I'm not in for a whipping.

Where is my bonnet, I wonder? I think I have dirtied my dress; Just like a hoop-skirt, ain't it? Makes me look grown up, I guess. Yes, I _have_ dirtied my dress; Pity to vex mamma so; Yet if I get in a mess She will forgive me, I know.

Pity to vex mamma so; Think I'll go home and be sorry; She will forgive me, I know. And call me her dear little Florry. And it is dreadfully horrid, Here all alone in the lane, With the hot sun on my forehead, Caught in my hoople again.

CHICORICA PARK, BATON, NEW MEXICO.

I am going to tell HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE about a flood which we had here July 27. It was caused by the breaking of a water-spout, and nearly drowned mamma's gray pony Sally, which was picketed near the creek. It happened in the afternoon. Mamma was reading to us. We could hear the sound of the water coming, but thought it was the rain on the hills. Sarah, our nurse, went out for something, and we followed her and when we got to the door, we saw Sally in trouble, and Sarah ran to see what was the matter. There was Sally in about eight feet of water; she had run down in a gully when she saw the water coming, but she broke her rope and got out, without being hurt much, though the force of the water rolled her over several times. Mamma and Pleasance went further down, and saw the wave coming, and mamma said it was like a great column of muddy water. The flood lasted about twenty minutes, but it did not do us any harm. It took a tub and a hen-coop away, and moved a great many large stones, besides destroying a bridge.

MARIAN BEATRICE M.

* * * * *

EBENSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

I live in Alleghany City, Pennsylvania, but we came up here in the mountains for the summer. It is very cool and pleasant here, and I like it very much. I have been an invalid for two years, and have to walk on crutches. I can not walk far at a time. I have a chair on wheels in which I ride when I am tired of walking. My brother and I have a pony that we call Daisy. I have a phaeton to drive out in.

I like "The Cruise of the Ghost'" best of all the stories so far. I like the Wiggles very much; mine have appeared in three numbers. I can draw quite well, and I am learning to paint in oil colors. When in the country I try to sketch a little.

WILFRED H.

* * * * *

SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS.

As so many little boys and girls have told about their pets, I thought I would tell about mine. I have a white mouse named Pippo; he is very tame, and I have taught him to jump through a ring. I have a cat named William A. Bolus, and a dog named Dottie Dimple, besides numerous hens and chickens, and a few pigeons. I have a goldfinch named Bright Eyes. Having no brothers or sisters, I think a great deal of my pets.

LILIAN C.

* * * * *

CLARKSTON, MICHIGAN.

I live on a farm, am twelve years old, and have lots of chickens and turkeys, a pet deer, and a pet lamb. We have thirteen cows, and sell cream. The pasture is a distance from the house, so I sometimes go after the cows on horseback. Once, lately, my horse stuck fast in the mire, and another time the horse and I rode straight into a bees' nest. Sometimes I have great trouble in driving home the cows.

JOHNNIE E. B.

* * * * *

QUINCY, ILLINOIS.

I am twelve years old. I am a little cripple, and have not been out of bed for six months, with the hip-disease. I can not move except as others move me. Will some of the young people who read your paper send me something to read, as that is the only amusement I have? We used to live in Chicago, where my father got me books from the public library, but there is no public library here, so I have nothing to read. I shall be very much obliged if some of the little boys and girls who can run about will send me something to amuse me. I have no mother, and my sister takes care of me.

ALFRED JUDD.

* * * * *

CENTRE DALE, RHODE ISLAND.

I read all of "Toby Tyler," and am very glad Mr. Otis is writing another story. I liked "The Cruise of the 'Ghost,'" and it reminded me of a boat my brothers and I made last summer. We built a raft seventeen feet long and four feet wide. We made oars, and went rowing after pond-lilies; and when we reached a place in the river where we could dive, we would jump into the water, and have a good swim. I am ten years old, and am learning to ride. I like to read the letters in the YOUNG PEOPLE, and so thought that perhaps some little boys would like to read what I have written.

J. C. B., JUN.

Your brother Walter's letter came safely with yours, but we could not give space to both.

* * * * *

BARABOO, WISCONSIN.

Having seen a letter from Blanche P. in No. 92, I thought that I too would send a letter from our town.

I went yesterday to the Devil's Lake, which is about three miles from here. It is surrounded by bluffs. On one side of the lake there is a large hotel called the Cliff House, where a hundred guests from all parts of the country are being entertained. But the other side is generally chosen by picnickers. It is called Kirkland, because it is owned by a man whose name is Kirk.

Arriving at 7 o'clock A.M. at Kirkland, we went over to Sandy Beach, a place famous for bathing. From there we strolled to Alaska Grotto, which is a kind of little cavern in the rocks, where it is as cold as ice. In the afternoon we went in bathing, and had a ride on the lake in a row-boat to a little log-cabin owned by a club of gentlemen.

At Kirkland there are four cottages, and a large house called the Pavilion, all of which are furnished with dishes, cot beds, etc., and rented to persons who wish them at so much a week.

SADIE H.

* * * * *

CORTLAND, NEW YORK.

We live a mile from the village. We have a great black curly Newfoundland dog named Bruno, who is very nice, but runs off to the village whenever he can get a chance. We have two canary-birds, two cats, two horses, and a colt.

ALLIE B.

* * * * *

HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA.

I have wanted to write a letter to YOUNG PEOPLE ever since I first subscribed to it, but mamma thought I wrote too badly. I am very glad that another story is to be published by the author of "Toby Tyler," as that is my favorite story. My little brother has the smallest pony I ever saw. It is so gentle that he can easily catch and ride it, though he is only seven years old. I am nine, and have never yet been to school.

ELLEN W. W.

* * * * *

LUZERNE, SWITZERLAND.

A hard trip we had across the English Channel from Southampton to Havre, and then we had a half-hour trip in a steamboat over to Trouville. We staid a week there, till we found a pretty chalet in Villers-sur-Mer, called "Chalet des Bosquets," where we kept house for three weeks, and went to the beautiful beach every day, and found shells and petrified things. The Normandy peasants were great fishers; even the women were out in deep water catching shrimps and crabs. The summer weather coming on, we hurried through Paris to Switzerland, spending one night in Bâle. We are in Luzerne for five weeks, and have been all over the place, have seen the old walls, the bridge of the "Dance of Death," Thorwaldsen's "Lion," in memory of the brave Swiss guards slain in defending Louis XVI. in 1792. We read Schiller's "William Tell," and have seen his chapel on the lake, as we visited Seelisberg, high up on a high hill, with beautiful pine forests, and a lovely view.

HARRY G.

* * * * *

GRAHAMVILLE, FLORIDA.

Every winter flocks of paroquets fly about, and last year we had one for a pet. We fed him on cockle-burrs and sugar-cane, and cold mornings he would sit under the stove with the cats. Sometimes he would slip away, and once he staid out all night. In the morning we heard him calling, went out, and brought him in. We have had ripe figs this summer. They are very nice when eaten fresh from the tree. I was eight years old last May.

E. PEARL F.

* * * * *

NEW YORK CITY.

I am eleven years old, and my brother is seven years. I had a sweet little baby brother, and he was so pretty and cunning that every one loved him. He had golden curls, and could say everything, although he was not yet two years old. He died on the 19th of July last, and we all miss him. I think "Tim and Tip" promises to be splendid.

JOHN H. B.

* * * * *

LYNN, PENNSYLVANIA.

I think I ought to write something for HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE, because I look just like Toby Tyler. My hair is red, my face is freckled, and I have an Uncle Dan'l, only I don't live with him. I have a black cat; its name is Tish, and it has two little kittens.

I have three big brothers. One of them has been to Colorado. He came home last winter, and brought nearly a trunkful of specimens.

I liked "Toby Tyler" the best of any of the stories, but I think Jimmy Brown is cute, and I was sorry he made such "A Terrible Mistake." My sister writes this for me, because I'm too small to do it.

DANNIE D.

* * * * *

HILLSBORO, MISSOURI.

My sister and I take YOUNG PEOPLE, and love it dearly. We always look for it on Thursday. We enjoy reading the letters in the Post-office Box. My sister is twelve, and I am nine years old. We have three brothers younger than ourselves. I saw a letter in one of our papers written by a little boy who signed his name Frankie Thomas, which is the very same name as that of our youngest brother. We have talked a great deal about it, and we wonder if he is as sweet and pretty as our dear little Frankie is.

ESSIE T.

* * * * *

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

I am a little girl six years old. I can not read very much yet, so my mamma reads YOUNG PEOPLE to me. I have a little brother Arthur; he is in the country now. _I_ would rather stay with my mamma. Before we moved to the city we had a black dog named Prince, who would play "hide-and-seek" with us, and would always find us. I had a dear little pussy named Flossie, but she died. She used to curl herself up in my hat and go to sleep. I have four dolls, and lots of _treasures_. When I am old enough I will write a letter myself.

GERTRUDE.

* * * * *

In the little letter which accompanied the stanzas which follow the writer said:

My mamma has written some verses for my little brother and sister and myself, and I think they are very sweet. Mamma has been very sick, and not able to read or write for eight years, and she had to write these verses by FEELING, as she can not look over and write them. I am eight years old, and my home is in Eatonton, Georgia. My name is

MARRIBEL E.

RICHARD'S DISAPPOINTMENT.

I drove them down to the meadow, Dolly and Dilly and Kate, And my steps like theirs grew quicker As we neared the pasture gate;

For beneath the shade of a cedar, Where no clover ever grew, I had built a MASTER bird-trap, And set the trigger true.

I knew a little redbird Whose feathers every one Were as bright as the juice of a berry, Or the stain of the setting sun.

My heart went patter, patter, As I thrust my fingers through The trap that held a captive Where the gnarled old cedar grew.

My heart beat like the rain-drops, And (the redbird in my thought) I felt a fluttering winglet, And cried, "You're caught! you're caught!"

But alas for the dreams of childhood! The bird was only gray; And with angry frown and feature I tossed it far away.

That night beside my mother I told my grief with tears, And I've not forgot her answer Through all these weary years.

She said: "Oh, little Richard, The bird with the homely coat Has all the sweetest music Of the forest in its throat!

"And never forget, my darling, As life you travel through, That some of its sweetest blessings May gray-coated come to you."

* * * * *

LITTLE COMPTON, POINT SEACONNET, RHODE ISLAND.

I wanted my mamma to write to you when I was in Troy, but I had not any pets to write about, and my mamma told me to wait till I got to the sea-shore.

Now we are here. The ocean is all around us except on one side. We are on the lowest part of Rhode Island, on a point reaching away out into the ocean. I am almost the only little girl, as there is only one other here. She is May Kempton, and she lives here always.

May has five kittens. One kitten has double paws, and three kittens have two to three toes more than they ought to have, and one kitten is like all other kittens. There are a great many interesting things about here, but my mamma says I must not tell about too many at a time. Captain Williams is the lobster man, and once in a while he takes us out sailing in his vessel. It will hold about twelve people. His arms are all tattooed, and he tells very nice stories about shipwrecks. I am trying to learn the names of all the sails, and to "box the compass." I am going to a Rhode Island clam-bake. In my next letter I will tell you about some real live decoy-ducks.

NETTIE SPENCER A.

* * * * *

We wish the little folks who read the letter which Mrs. Richardson has sent to this number of Our Post-office Box would begin to think how nice it would be to save a little _money_ to send her, so that the school-house which she so much wants could be built. As she will give the land and the timber, and Pete and the other men will perform most of the labor, it will take but a small amount of money. Who will do without a pretty ribbon or a pound of candy, and help to raise this little school-house under the grand old pines at Woodside?

DEAR LITTLE FRIENDS,--It is with very much pleasure that I now acknowledge the little packages that I have had from you since I wrote before. We still keep hoping that we will get the school-house in time, and in the mean while we keep on with the Sunday afternoon school in the dining-room. How much I would like you all to be here and help us teach them! When they get very sleepy, my sister wakes them up by letting them sing. Since I wrote I have had packages from Miss Nellie J. Parker, 748 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Willie Olmstead, Cleveland. Ohio; Mrs. Nettie Birkitt, Winnebago, Ill.; Frank Butzow, Martha Butzow, Mary Butzow, Emma Butzow, Watseka, Ill.; Gracie Macomber, Grand Isle, Vt.; Nellie and Samuel Willets, Old Westbury, Long Island; Georgie Hitchcock, Champlain, N. Y.; Mrs. C. B. Keese, Asa Keese, David Keese, Ed. Bukan, Turner's Junction, Ill.; Carroll P. Wilson, Troy, Tennessee; David Shipman, 29 Clinton St., Brooklyn; Miss Mary O'Neil, Rochester, N. Y.; Hubert D. Richardson, Box 492, Nashua, N. H.; Glenn Woolfenden, Neosho, Newton Co., Mo.; Alberta Ulman, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.; Fanny Stains, Adrian, Mich.; Martin C. Longstreth, 500 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, Pa.; Grace and Louisa Todd, Meriden, Conn.; Louise Keney, Salina City, Cal.; Charley Ungen, Eaton, Ohio; Elmer Wallace, Elk Point, Dakota; Nellie Ritz Burns, Lewistown. The State was not written on your postal, my dear Nellie, so I could not write to you, as I wished. With many thanks to you all from myself and family, Uncle Pete, and the whole Sunday-school, I am very truly your grateful friend,

MRS. RICHARDSON.

The members of the Natural History Society will be glad to learn that Mrs. Richardson will organize the Woodside branch, and send reports from time to time. Her own family and her scholars will form the branch, under her charge.

* * * * *

HOLTON, KANSAS.

The Holton branch of the Natural History Society met for the first time on July 26. There were but few members. George S. Linscott was elected president. I am glad the society has been organized, as it will promote an interest in nature among the children of this town. We have a good book that we intend to use at the meetings of the club. There are three or four boys and girls here who take YOUNG PEOPLE, but who are only nine years old. As yet none of our club have discovered any facts worth reporting. We will meet every two weeks, and I will report the doings of this society regularly once a month.

E. S. BECK, Secretary.

* * * * *

The following exchanges are offered by correspondents:

One stamp from each of the following countries, for a triangular Cape of Good Hope stamp and a Straits Settlement stamp: Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, Holland, Brazil, Belgium, Hungary, England, France, Germany, and Bavaria.

CARTER COLQUITT, Walton House, Clayton, N. Y.

* * * * *

Stamps from Germany, England, Canada, Bermuda, island of Cuba, and U. S. Revenue stamps, for stamps from any other nation. Stamps from Mexico especially desirable.

E. E. HIDE, Allegany Co., Belmont, N. Y.

* * * * *

I would like to exchange 2-cent (brown) issue of 1871, and 5, 6, 10, and 30 cent U. S. stamps, and 1 and 2-1/2 penny English stamps.

FERD B. HESSE, 236 South Second St., Brooklyn, E. D.

* * * * *

A newspaper published at Natal with news of the war there, for five specimens of minerals, to weigh about three ounces each.

SAMMIE RISIEN, Groesbeck, Limestone Co., Texas.

* * * * *

E. H. Randolph wishes to be addressed during the summer at 13 and 15 Park Row, New York City.

* * * * *

I live in the country, and two of my cousins are visiting us this summer. Papa takes HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE this year for my brother. I would like to exchange a stone and a little soil from New York, for the same from any other State or Territory; and also some everlasting-flowers that grow here, for pressed leaves, ferns, or flowers from any place in the United States. Correspondents will please label what they send, and be sure to write their address in full so I will know where they come from. Will they please inform me if they receive what I send, and wrap their packages securely?

SARABELLE BAYLES, West Kortright, Delaware Co., N. Y.

* * * * *

Minerals, for minerals, ores, and other curiosities.

M. L. E., 51 Spencer St., Albany, N. Y.

* * * * *

Stones and soil from California, for stamps, coins, or sea-shells.

E. T. WHEELER, Berkeley, Cal.

* * * * *

A card printer wishes a pair of good French fencing foils, for a font of script type.

ARTHUR POOL, Earlville, Ill.

* * * * *

Stamps from Cuba, Belgium, and Barbadoes, and other rare stamps, for a three-cornered Cape of Good Hope; or other foreign stamps, for ore or any kind of curiosities.

GEORGE H. ELDER, 99 Broadway, Brooklyn, E. D.

* * * * *

_Golden Days_, for HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE. Have all the first volume, except between 7, and 23, and 31. Wish HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE between 20 and 40, and 41 and 53; U. S. and other stamps, for curiosities and Cape of Good Hope stamps.

J. H. TODD, Box 225, Oakland, California.

* * * * *

A 2-cent U. S. Internal Revenue stamp, for any foreign stamp, except from Canada. England, Denmark, France, Austria, Italy, and Germany. Five U. S. postmarks, for any foreign stamp, except from the above-named countries. Will receive offers for a New York State coin of 1863, and for an eagle cent of 1857.

ROSIE BALL, 7 Sycamore St., Buffalo, N. Y.

* * * * *

Rare U. S. stamps, newspaper stamps of Austria, a South German state stamp, and rare stamps of Italy, Spain, and Brazil, also an Agricultural Department stamp, for stamps from Spain, which are an earlier issue than 1870, or 1-penny Bahamas 1859, or 10, 12, 15, 30 cent Post-office Department, U. S.

CHARLES WARREN, Box 54, Plymouth, Mass.

* * * * *

A fret-saw, designs, saws, and all complete, for a printing-press and materials, autographs of eminent persons, or a microscope. Stones from Madagascar, U. S., and foreign postmarks, for books, coins, minerals, stamps, ocean curiosities, or Indian relics.

ALBERT E. DWELLE, McPherson, Kan.

* * * * *

A piece of oak cut by a soldier friend from the prow of the iron-clad _Merrimac_; a piece of olive-wood from Jerusalem, and a piece of asbestos, for a genuine Indian bow and arrows. Please write to arrange exchange.

F. W. GLASIER, Adams, Mass.

* * * * *

White coral, curious rocks from Crève-Coeur Lake, shells from the Pacific Ocean, quartz crystals, for books of all kinds on mineralogy.

"MINERALOGIST," 903 Cardinal Avenue, West St. Louis Station, Mo.

* * * * *

Sea-shells and other ocean curiosities, for Indian curiosities.

C. PERCY RUSSELL, Deal Beach, N. J.

* * * * *

Postmarks and rare stamps, for curiosities.

MISS FRANKIE PRATT, Keokuk, Iowa.

* * * * *

Hard stamps and postmarks, etc., for department stamps of all kinds, stamps from Africa, Asia, Canada, South and Central America, Cape of Good Hope triangular especially desired, or curiosities of any kind, wood from historic trees, etc.

F. S. MILLER, Westfield, N. J.

* * * * *

Five foreign stamps, for one from Asia or Africa (no duplicates given or taken).

E. BIDWELL, Box 584, Saratoga Springs, N. Y.

* * * * *

Specimens of red granite, antimony as it comes from the mine, Spanish fivepenny and eleven pence values, old English pennies and halfpennies, and other coins, for foreign coins or old American cents coined before 1815, or nickel cent with small eagle 1856, or two-cent pieces 1872 and 1873 if in good condition, or U. S. half-dimes 1794-1805. Please write before sending any coins and arrange exchange.

ABNER H. GRAHAM, P. O. Box 22, Milltown, Charlotte Co., New Brunswick.

* * * * *

Ten postmarks (no duplicates), four U. S. postage stamps, all different, and one German postage stamp, for one triangular Cape of Good Hope stamp.

RAY EDMISTON, Minier, Tazewell Co., Ill.

* * * * *

Five or six pounds of good type, leads, and copper cuts to exchange for Indian relics, minerals, fossils, skulls, curiosities, shells, and old coin.

FLETCHER M. NOE, 130 E. N. York St., Indianapolis, Ind.

* * * * *

A stamp of Hong-Kong, Brazil, and Mexico, for one three-cornered stamp of the Cape of Good Hope; twenty foreign stamps (no duplicates), for a stamp of Egypt, Japan, Peru, and Iceland.

JAMES H. ROBINSON, 431 Clinton Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y.

* * * * *

Stamps, for stamps. Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Hong-Kong especially desired.

JAMES HUGH, 1710 Geary St., San Francisco, Cal.

* * * * *

Indian arrow-heads picked up near the spot where General G. A. Custer fell; also some of the bayonets from the guns used in the battle of Bull Run, for anything suitable for a museum. Please write before sending.

H. E. RALD, Care of Mr. Collin, Rye Beach Hotel, Rye, N. Y.

* * * * *

Three-dollar printing-press with type, for a scroll-saw or something useful.

WALTER J. LEE, 357 East Fifty-third St., New York City.

* * * * *

A good microscope, for any of the following U. S. coins: Half-cents of 1796, 1831, '36, '40 to '49, inclusive, cents of 1799 and 1804, or a quarter-dollar of 1823 or 1827. Exchangers will please write before sending coins.

VANCE S. SHOBER, Cumberland, Md.

* * * * *

[_For other exchanges, see third page of cover._]

* * * * *

GEORGE L. D.--A drop of camphor or of chloroform will kill a moth or butterfly painlessly, and you can then fasten it to a card; to preserve them from dust, it is best to keep your specimens in a glass case.

* * * * *

R. L. H.--The worm you send was so crushed in the mail that it could not be identified, but it is not a parasite which usually infests rabbits. To free your rabbits from vermin, wash them with a strong infusion of carbolic soap.

* * * * *

HALLIE J. PERKINS, LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA.--In forming your Natural History Society you may include any friends you choose. Whether or not they are subscribers to YOUNG PEOPLE makes no difference. You will find it a good plan to read the correspondence in YOUNG PEOPLE at your meetings. Be sure to send your reports.

* * * * *

H. F. L.--To have beautiful autumn leaves you must take pains to gather perfect ones, of rich colors and pretty shapes. You may preserve them by passing over the freshly gathered leaves a warm iron, on which you have rubbed bees-wax, or you may press the leaves between the pages of an old book, and when dry, coat them with very thin varnish, put on with a soft camel's-hair brush. The secret of pressing flowers and ferns successfully is in laying them immediately in a dark place under a weight, and changing the papers over them as these become moist.

* * * * *

Fred Gutyalin, 3 East Forty-seventh Street, New York City, withdraws from exchange list.

* * * * *

Daisy Rollins's address is Post-office Box 186, Columbia, Missouri, not Columbus, as published. Write to her until September 13.

* * * * *

Some of our correspondents have sent such silly _noms de plume_ in answer to puzzles that we have really felt ashamed to print them. In two instances the names sent were inadmissible. Please select sensible fictitious names when you do not desire your own to appear.

* * * * *

Correct answers to puzzles have been received from "Paxton," "Will O. Tree." "_Unknown_," E. Pearl Lisk, John H. Busch, H. Elkena, "Comet," A. A. Beebe, Alice M. Walther, Annetta Jackson, Lee Marks, "School-Boy," Willie J. Baldwin, Eva J. Ward, H. N. Pleis, Jemima Beeston.

* * * * *

PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.

No. 1.

THREE EASY WORD SQUARES.

1.--1. Appertaining to kings. 2. To cut off. 3. Donated. 4. A skilled person. 5. Slow time in music.

2.--1. To stop. 2. An artist's picture rest. 3. Out of the true course. 4. An old-fashioned vehicle. 5. A girl's name.

H. D.

3.--1. Sour. 2. A collection of laws. 3. Unemployed. 4. Far below the surface.

F. A. H.

* * * * *

No. 2.

ACROSTIC--(_To Cal I. Forney_).

Place the names of four animals in such order that their initial and final letters read downward will spell the names of two others.

* * * * *

No. 3.

BEHEADINGS.

Behead to discourse, and have a movement of the arm; again, and have either of two.

Behead a fraud, and have warmth; again, and have to take food.

COUNT NO ACCOUNT.

* * * * *

No. 4.

ENIGMA.

My first is in forest, but not in field. My second's in breastplate, not in shield. My third is in English, not in Dutch. My fourth is in little, not in much. My fifth is in inn, not in hotel. My sixth is in scream, and not in yell. My seventh's in blacksmith, not in miller. My whole is a massive pointed pillar.

MAURICE E. W.

* * * * *

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN No. 92.

No. 1.

Dandelion.

No. 2.

L C A N C A N E D L A N T E R N N E E D Y D R Y N

No. 3.

1. Bowl. 2. Tart.

No. 4.

1. Pot. 2. Spar. 3. Are. 4. Brag.

No. 5.

1. Birds of a feather flock together.

2. A watched pot never boils.

No. 6.

1. A soap-bubble. 2. A walnut.

No. 7.

A peach.

WIGGLES.

Although "Wiggles" have formed a feature of YOUNG PEOPLE from the beginning, and have excited a very general interest amongst our youthful artists, many of our correspondents write that they do not understand them. For the benefit of these we will explain that Wiggles, sometimes called "recondite forms," are lines forming portions of the outlines of pictures. New Wiggle No. 21 is one of these lines, and it forms part of the outline of a picture already drawn by "our artist." The object of those who attempt to solve the Wiggle problem should be to draw a picture containing this line. In looking over the Wiggles on this page you will see that Bessie R. Hull had very nearly the same idea of a picture that our artist had when he drew Wiggle No. 20. We have room to publish only a few of the hundreds of ideas of each Wiggle that are sent to us, and there is no regular time fixed for their publication; but those that are drawn with the greatest care, and sent in the earliest, stand the best chance of being published. Will Bessie R. Hull please send us her full address?

End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Young People, August 23, 1881, by Various