Part 4

When next I go to one of our Saturday afternoon concerts in Prospect Park, I will think of you, dear, and wonder whether the bands are playing the same airs in Brooklyn and Honolulu.

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I send you some poetry my father wrote on my birthday. I live in Mount Vernon, a few miles from New York. We have a large martin box, and this spring, before the martins came, a lot of sparrows built their nests in it. When the martins arrived and found the sparrows in their house, they gave them notice to leave; but the sparrows fought for their place like little warriors, and the battle lasted a week before the brave sparrows were beaten off. I like YOUNG PEOPLE ever so much!

HARRY L.

TO MY LITTLE SON.

Darling little Harry, Only eight years old, Healthy as a sparrow On the tree-top bold; Cheeks as red as roses By a lily laid, Little form as perfect As was ever made.

Cunning little package Of brain and nerves and things, Wrapped up in the whitest And pinkiest of skins, Labelled "Papa's Treasure," Worth its weight in gold; Miser-like I hug it, To my heart enfold.

Would that I could keep you Ever young as now, So innocent and loving, With unclouded brow; But days speed on so fast, That in a few years more My little boy will be a man, That I can hug no more.

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MOUNTAIN HOUSE, SIERRA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

When I opened YOUNG PEOPLE yesterday, the first thing I saw was the picture of Toby Tyler, looking as natural as ever. If I knew Toby, I would tell him about my black cat, which he could have in his circus. It was born with hardly any tail, and what there is of it is crooked at the end. His hind-feet are much higher than his fore-feet, and he growls like a bear when we touch him; so we have named him Bruin. I also have a dog that Toby would like to have, as he can ride on the velocipede, with my sister. He can ride sitting in my brother's cart, with a hat on his head and a pipe in his mouth. His name is Tiger, and he is quite large. I should think that Toby had had enough of a circus, without wanting to be the manager of one. I hope this letter will be put in print, for I would like Bob Simpson to see that my cat would do as well in the circus as his three-legged cat with four kittens.

IDA C.

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TRINIDAD, COLORADO.

I have been a constant reader of your paper for nearly two years, and like it very much. The Post-office Box has a great many interesting letters in it, and I have often thought I should like to write one myself for it. I am nearly twelve years old. I was born in Madura, Southern India, where my father was a medical missionary. Eight years ago we left India on account of father's health, and a short time after our arrival in America we came to Colorado. We have been living in Trinidad nearly four years. It is an old Spanish town, I don't know how old. The word Trinidad means the Trinity. The population of this place is made up of Americans and Mexicans. There are a great many things I would like to tell you about the Mexicans and their mode of living, but it would make my letter too long.

LELA P.

No, dear, it would not have made your letter too long, and so I shall expect another from you before a great while, telling all that is interesting about your Mexican neighbors.

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ST. JOSEPH, TENSAS PARISH, LOUISIANA.

I hope you will want to hear from a little over-flowed girl. I will try to tell you some of the trouble we have been in. The water came over our yard on the 15th of March. In a few days we had to move out of our kitchen and lower floor, and go upstairs. The next week there were three families who had to move out of their houses and come here. My aunty's house was seven feet from the ground, and she had to come here.

They had to make platforms on their galleries and put cows on them, and their stable started to float off. They had to bring their horses into the dining-room. The gin was full of colored people, and the barn full of mules. I can't tell you how much we have lost. All our hogs were drowned; we lost many chickens; the fences and bridges are all gone.

This house is like a bee-hive. There are twenty-three people in it. We had to put cloth around one end of the gallery for some colored people to live in, as our gin and barn were full.

There has been much suffering among the old colored folks. They had to leave their comfortable homes, and go to the gins, without fires. My old black mammy came into the house with us.

I have a fine dog named Roswell. He stands on the steps, and catches all the minnows that go by. I have also one of the smartest black-and-tans I ever saw. His name is Rover. I have a nice little boat that belongs to me alone, and I am learning to row. I would like to tell you how much my little cousins and I like this dear paper. How happy we are when Saturday comes--for that is the day we receive it--and that night mamma reads to us. But I must say good-by. I forgot to say how deep the water was here in our yard. It was six feet deep in our front yard, and eight in the back yard.

SADIE N.

The girls and boys who have not been over-flowed as you have will enjoy reading your description of the exciting time you have passed through. I am afraid some of them will think it was fun to have had water so high that Roswell could stand on the steps and catch minnows. But the people who had to live through so much fright and danger will hope that no such flood may ever come again.

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PUSS AND PINCHER.

Here is a pretty story about a cat and a dog who were great friends.

Puss and Pincher ate from the same plate, and slept on the same rug. Puss at one time had a little family of kittens, whom she kept in the attic at the top of the house.

One morning there was a terrific thunder-storm. Pincher was taking his ease in the parlor, and Puss was looking after her children in the garret.

Pincher was rather afraid of the lightning, and creeping close to his mistress, hid himself under her skirts. Presently somebody opened the parlor door, and in came Puss, mewing very pitifully.

She came up to Pincher, rubbed her face against his cheek, touched him gently with her paw, and then walked to the door, all of which said as plainly as words could have done, "Come, Pincher, come and help me."

But Pincher would not go, and Puss, after trying a little longer, went away herself.

A lady visiting at the house followed her upstairs, and found that she had brought one kitten down and tucked it under a wardrobe. She had probably wanted Pincher to stay with this child while she went after the others. She brought it in her mouth to the lady, who took it in her arms, went to the attic with Puss, where she moved the whole family away from the window, and then sat down by them till the storm was over.

The next morning, when the kind lady opened her door to go to breakfast, there sat Puss, who rubbed against her, purred, and showed the greatest pleasure in seeing her. This was her way of showing her gratitude.

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TOOGANA, KANSAS.

I thought perhaps the Postmistress would like to hear from a boy who lives in the far West. My brother Wroy and I earned by herding the money that brings to us the weekly visits of YOUNG PEOPLE, and we hail it with joy. Only some weeks it does not come, and then we wonder what can be the matter, and go home very sad. "Talking Leaves" is the best story I ever read. I will be sorry when it is done.

Wroy and I have been practicing "spring and fall styles for boys," springing from the millet stack, and falling on the millet that is spread out to be threshed. It is fun, and threshes the millet too. Papa has been away all winter, so we take care of mamma and sister Zella, feed and herd forty head of cattle, yoke up old Ben and Sam and haul wood and chips, and do whatever mamma tells us.

Zella and I have sixteen turkeys. We want to raise two hundred this year. Wroy has ten Pekin ducks; they are pure white, and look very handsome as they swim around over our Home Lake.

But I must close, and if this letter is published, I may write more of our frontier life another time.

WALTER WILLIAM C.

Something wrong, we fear, about the mails in your neighborhood, Walter, when you fail to receive your paper. We hope it seldom happens. You and your brother are leading a very manly life, with plenty to do, to think of, and to enjoy, and we will be pleased to hear from you again.

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MADISON, WISCONSIN.

I thought I would write you, and tell you about my pets. I have a bob-tailed kitten; it was born without a tail. They are called Manx cats. I have a dog named Gip; he is so fat that mamma is ashamed to take him up town with her. I have six large dolls. One of them is a boy doll named Fred, after my uncle in Dakota. I had all my HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE bound this winter, and they make a lovely book. I attend a private school, and the school-room is fitted up beautifully, with a Brussels carpet and lace curtains.

HELEN JULIA K.

Since you have so pleasant a school-room, I suppose you find it very easy to study, and so make great progress. I wish a number of the little correspondents would write about their school-rooms. I had charming times at one to which I was sent when about eight years old. There was no carpet. Instead of curtains, there were faded shades of green paper. The school-master sat at a battered desk at the head of the room. On one side were the boys, and on the other the girls. The girls used to play at noon under a mighty oak-tree. We had picnics there nearly every day, with oak-leaf plates and a tin dipper for a goblet. Do any of my little friends have such picnic parties now?

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I thought I would write and tell you about a pet I had; it was a canary-bird. It would sit on my finger when I would put it in the cage. Its name was Dicky. It was only a young bird, and could not sing very well. I am thirteen years old. I would like to exchange with any little girl or boy a 5-cent piece dated 1775 and a fifth of a Chinese penny, for the best offer.

NETTIE AMELUNG, 865 Lincoln Place, Brooklyn, N. Y.

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I wouldn't cry about it, dear. Though things are going wrong; 'Tis much the better way, my dear, To sing a little song.

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LIMA, OHIO.

I am six years old to-day. I never have been to school, but can read some of the stories in my YOUNG PEOPLE. My mamma is giving me music lessons. I can sing and play a number of tunes. I like my paper very much.

NETTIE N.

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CAHTO, MENDOCINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

I am a little girl living in Long Valley, Mendocino County, California. My brother is trapping. The eagles have been killing father's lambs. Brother took a lamb which they had killed, set his trap with it, and caught the eagle. That time the lamb caught the eagle. I go with him sometimes to his traps to see the foxes, 'coons, and wild-cats try to get out.

My little brother, four years old, went with father to feed the hogs. Father said so much rubbish would kill them. "Well," said he, "papa, you won't have to shoot them so many times."

I go to school. My mother tells me that my school days are pleasant days for me. I would agree with her if I had not so far to go--two miles over hills; and everything looks so cheerful when I start to school!

ALLIE R.

Perhaps you think you would rather stay at home than take that long walk; but your mother is right. School days are very happy ones, and your little feet skip over the two miles quickly, do they not? Have you any little friends who go with you to school?

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Fred M. Dille, Greeley, Colorado, desires the name of a boy living in Cincinnati who sent him a match-box containing fossils, shells, and minerals, that he may send specimens in return.

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C. Y. P. R. U.

A BOY'S GRIEVANCE.--A boy of fourteen complains to us that his mother treats him as if he were a baby. He says she forbids his going to a certain safe and pleasant lake, to bathe or swim, and that she will not consent to his taking trips into the country with two friends of his own age, who are splendid fellows.

No doubt it seems to this lad that his mother is a little bit unreasonable. But she may have a strong feeling of terror about the deep waters of the lake which he thinks so safe, and if, as I judge from his note, he is really a kind and manly boy, he would prefer to go without the pleasure of swimming rather than make his mother anxious or uneasy about him.

Ladies are sometimes more timid than there is any need to be about places and things which boys and men consider entirely free from danger. Yet a gentleman always prefers to yield his own wishes rather than to let his mother or sister suffer from alarm.

As for the out-of-town trips, the mother's objection might be removed if the boys would get some older friend to go with them. It is always well to take the advice of mothers with regard to friends. Boys think they can choose wisely for themselves, but they are not able, as older persons are, to see just what companions are best for them. I do not think you would complain of home restraints if you remembered how much the dear mother has done for you all your life. No love is so unselfish as a mother's, and we can not prize it too highly.

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GLENS FALLS, NEW YORK.

We live only nine miles from Lake George, where we go in the summer. There are many places of historical interest there. French Point, where we went last summer, used to be the camping-place of the French and Indians. I have an arrow-head from there, and a friend a spear-head. Opposite French Point, is Black Mountain, the highest mountain on the lake. Farther down is Sabbath-day Point, and Rogers's Slide, where the Rogers's Rock Hotel is. There you can take a carriage and go to Fort Ticonderoga. I have seen the oven and under-ground passage. Mamma has an old-fashioned cup with the fort on it. Recently, while digging for the foundation of a paper mill in the village, they found a cannon-ball and several other things. I almost feel acquainted with the Postmistress and the children that write to YOUNG PEOPLE.

JESSIE L.

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WEST HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

I enjoy reading your nice stories very much indeed, especially the stories written by Mr. Otis. My sister Bessie and I have five hens and one rooster. Dora is my hen. Year before last I was sick a little while. That same year Dora had some little chickens. Specky killed some, the other hens killed one, and the cats killed all the rest except two. One day papa carried me out to see them; only two came out. I supposed the others were in the coop. The first time I went to feed them I was taking out their usual amount of food, when my sister asked me what I was getting so much for. I did not know until then that there were only two left. I was nine years old last 22d of February. I have never written before, so please print this.

MARY E. C.

You poor darling! It was too bad so many chicks were killed.

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ST. MARYS, ONTARIO, CANADA.

I am a little boy seven years old. I do not go to school, but study at home. I can write a little, and read very well, and I read all about Jumbo, and I want to tell the little people a funny story about him. My auntie was in England, and when in the Zoological Gardens one day she saw Jumbo carrying many happy children about on his back. After a time she sat down on a bench with a lady, and had a biscuit in her hand. They had their faces close down over a book, to learn all about where to go. Presently it grew dark before them, and my auntie felt something strange touching her hand, and looking up, there stood Jumbo helping himself to the biscuit in her hand without any ceremony. My auntie says Jumbo had the bench all to himself without any delay. I like HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE so much! and watch for it every week.

REGGIE R.

That was very "cute" in Jumbo.

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BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

I am a little girl nine years old. I have taken HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE since last January. I like it very much, and always look forward to Tuesday with pleasure, for that is the day I receive it. Most little girls tell about their pets, but I have none, because I have lived all my life in hotels. I am more fond of my books than anything else. I have one that I should think many little girls would like to have; it is _The History of the Bible Made Simple for Children_, with three hundred beautiful pictures, and I like it ever so much.

MADELEINE W.

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LOUISVILLE, OHIO.

I am an Ohio boy fourteen years of age. On my last birthday my parents gave me a dollar and a half, and told me to make good use of it. I did so by subscribing for HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE. I find now that I could not have made a better use of it. My father is a physician, and I intend to be one also. I go to school every day, and in a few years expect to go to college.

I will now tell you of some of my pets. First of all are my dogs, of which I have two. The one I call Dash is a water-spaniel, brown in color, with a white breast, which I call his shirt bosom. The other one is a Gordon setter, whose name is Duke. He is two and a half feet high, and from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail he measures four and a half feet. He is my pony in the winter season, and enjoys hauling me as well as I enjoy being hauled. I often take both dogs to the creek. They are very good swimmers. I have one brother ten years old, and a sister eight. My brother says he will be a druggist. I the doctor, and he the druggist; won't that be nice? My father has a drug store, and I act as clerk for him during vacation. When we ask sister what she will be, she says she will be a mamma. I have a great many other pets besides my dogs, but will not write about them this time.

J. C. E. S.

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We would call the attention of the C. Y. P. R. U. this week to the article on the "Steam-Engine," and to an interesting account by Eesung Eyliss of some little inhabitants of the feathered world, given under the title "Do Birds Know Their Old Homes?" Then Sherwood Ryse has some good advice to give the boys on the treatment of "Rabbits as Pets."

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PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.

No. 1.

FOUR WORD SQUARES.

1.--1. Pertaining to the moon. 2. Custom. 3. Pertaining to the nose. 4. A precious stone. 5. To lease again.

EMPIRE CITY.

2.--1. To scratch. 2. The top. 3. A kind of fungus. 4. Things which children like.

3.--1. A fruit. 2. To frost. 3. To obtain.

4.--1. The front. 2. A unit. 3. Clear profit.

MUSEUM.

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No. 2.

DOUBLE ACROSTIC.

1. A fuel. 2. A compound of iodine and a metal. 3. An angel. 4. An island. 5. Fright. 6. Conclusion. 7. To idle. Primals and finals name a mountain range of Germany.

I. SCYCLE.

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No. 3.

SIX DIAMONDS.

1.--1. In dish. 2. Right. 3. Birds. 4. To supply. 5. In sap.

2.--1. A letter. 2. What skaters like. 3. Thoughts. 4. A doubter. 5. A corrosive. 6. A title. 7. A letter.

3.--1. A letter. 2. A science. 3. To wither. 4. Part of the body. 5. A letter.

BENNY FISHEL.

4.--1. A letter. 2. An end. 3. An animal. 4. To fondle. 5. A letter.

C. B. K. and MARY S.

5.--1. A letter. 2. A drink. 3. A girl's name. 4. A reptile. 5. A letter.

6.--1. A vowel. 2. Finis. 3. To enrich. 4. A girl's nickname. 5. A vowel.

BLANCHE F.

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No. 4.

ENIGMA.

My first is in river, but not in bay. My second is in vex, but not in annoy. My third is in corn, but not in hay. My fourth is in gem, but not in toy. My fifth is in lady, but not in girl. My sixth is in screw, but not in nail. My seventh is in hair, but not in curl. My eighth is in strong, but not in frail. My ninth is in cripple, but not in lame. My whole is a poem well known to fame.

EUREKA.

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ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN No. 130.

No. 1.

P F O A R A L E P A P A W F L I N T R A T E N D W T

C E R E C R O W D E W E D

No. 2.

Eagle. Daisy.

No. 3.

D efense W hirlwind A ttack E yelet N ight-fall B ee-hive I slands S ongster E choes T omtit L odge E ngine R idge-pole

Daniel Webster.

No. 4.

Priesthood. Piece-meal. Whitewashed Lambskin.

No. 5.

1. P-earl-s. 2. S-haw-l. 3. S-hoot-s. 4. B-arrack-s. 5. L-edge-r. 6. T-run-k. 7 A-gate-s. 8. C-hor-d. 9. W-all-s. 10. T-angle-s.

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Correct answers to puzzles have been received from "I. Scycle," C. B. Kunkel, Mary Snyder, "Rose-bud," "Prince Charming," Olivia T., Benny Rickarts, Mary Snell, Jonathan S. R., Charlie Cox, Emily R. Bennett, Madeline Whittier, Nettie Simpson, Janet Carruthers, John Carnes, Sammie Brown, "A Reader," "Bluebell," Maud M. Chambers, Eloise, "A. B. C.," Lena and Lutie, Allie E. Cressingham, Arthur B. Sinclair, "Silver Fox," Susan Talbot, Mamie Meeks, Amy Grace, John Robertson, Alf Sinclair, George P. Taggart, Florence, Mabel, and Annie Knight, and Florence H. Chambers.

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[_For Exchanges, see 2d and 3d pages of cover._]

IN-DOOR AMUSEMENTS.

BY FRANK BELLEW.

PHIZO.

We have a new game, or drawing exercise, at our home nowadays, which we call Phizo, and a good deal of amusement it causes us. We also find it excellent practice and discipline in drawing and the study of character. It is desirable that those engaging in this game should have some little skill in drawing.

The way we came to try what we call Phizo was in this wise: A party of us were sitting cosily around the library table, and papa was talking to a literary friend about the difficulty of conveying any correct idea of form by mere words, and consequently the almost utter impossibility of an artist representing pictorially an author's idea by merely reading his work. The literary gentleman seemed rather inclined to dispute this statement, when papa said:

"Well, if I can't convince you, suppose that we try a few practical experiments. I will draw a simple profile of a head of marked character, and you shall describe it to those present--we can all draw more or less--and each shall draw a face from your description without seeing the original, and then we will compare them, and see how nearly they approach that original."

Papa then drew the accompanying head, which the literary gentleman--whom I may as well call Mr. Stylus--described as follows: