Part 4

NEW YORK CITY.

I wrote to HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE once last summer, but that was while I was in Europe, so I thought I would write from my own home.

My grandpa and grandma had their golden wedding a short time ago, and I expected to have a great deal of fun, but I was sick, so I could not go to it, after all.

We are going to have a fair at our school soon, and so we are all hard at work making fancy-work for it.

JESSIE C. S.

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EAST NORWICH, NEW YORK.

I am not a girl; I am a boy, nine years old. My name is Uel. It is a name which you can find in the Bible--Ezra, x. 34. If you want to know how to pronounce it rightly, you may know by its rhyme with jewel, fuel, and cruel. My father is a minister. I have three sisters. I have a cat named Tommy. I have a velocipede and a sled. I like HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE very much; I hope you will print my letter in it.

UEL G.

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"Little robin singing From the cherry-tree, Won't you leave your bower, Come and play with me?"

"No, no, no," the little robin said; "I must sing, and you must work." And so the May day sped.

"Little streamlet dancing Onward to the sea, Won't you stop your leaping, Come and play with me?"

"No, no, no," the merry brooklet said; "I must play, and you must work, You pretty curly-head."

"Little flower growing Oh, so wild and free, Won't you leave the meadow, Come and play with me?"

"No, no, no," the sweet spring beauty said; "I must grow, and so must you." And thus the May day fled.

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BELLEVILLE, ILLINOIS.

I am a little girl twelve years old. I read HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE, and enjoy it very much. We all read it in school. Our teacher gets it for us. Is he not kind? I have been sick ever since Christmas. But I have taken my medicine patiently, and hope soon to be well. My brother and I have a little pet rabbit; it eats blue grass and drinks milk very readily. I have a pet calf; her name is Daisy; and a cow whose name is Lily. I have three sisters and two brothers. We had nice times on Easter. We live in the country, and everything is so beautiful now. I love the Post-office Box very much, and read it first every time.

This is my first letter to HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE. Please put it in the Post-office Box.

MARY A. K.

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UTICA, NEW YORK.

When we came from England, about two years ago, we brought our Persian cat with us. Her name was Sooty, because her fur was so dark. We taught her to carry meat to a paper on the floor, so as not to soil the carpet. We lost her about a year after, so we kept her kitten, and named her Pansy. She carries her food to the paper, and we have also taught her to ring the bell for her meals. We turn the large dinner-bell on its side, and then she knocks the tongue about with her paw. She was very good-tempered until this summer, when mamma brought another little Persian kitten from England, and then she became so jealous that it spoiled her temper completely. The kitten's name is Gypsy, and she is such a little pet! She was born in Scotland, then went to England, and was "highly commended" at an exhibition of cats there, and at last she crossed the Atlantic to America; so she has seen a good deal of the world, has she not? We have taken HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE a long time now. I do like to read some of the letters, and I hope this one will add to the pleasure of some other reader.

JANIE P. G.

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MAYFIELD, OHIO.

I am a little girl, and I live on a farm with my grandpa and grandma. I went to school six months last winter. I had two miles and a quarter to go. I went to a graded school, and there were thirty scholars in my room. I have no brother nor sister to play with. I have two pet lambs and ten chickens. I also have a piano. I took nineteen lessons last summer, and I am going to take more this summer. I liked the story of "Talking Leaves" very much. Good-night.

M. G.

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ELDER SISTER.--Certainly the younger children should mind what you say when your father and mother are away from home. They will do this more pleasantly if you ask than if you order them, however. Try the plan of speaking gently without raising your voice.

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MARY P.--The best time to answer a letter is, if possible, the day on which you receive it. Just after reading your friend's words you feel as if you had been brought very near to her, and there is a freshness and glow in answering her at once which will be gone by the next week. Still, some friends prefer to be kept waiting a little while. If Carrie D. is of that opinion, and prefers not to be answered for a few days or weeks, you might write her a journal letter. Every evening you might set down some of the incidents of your home life, tell her whom you have seen, what books you are reading, what new receipts you have tried, and what flowers are in bloom in the woods and garden. Such a letter would be very much better worth your sending than a hasty scrawl dashed off without care or pains. Above all, my dear, never apologize for a careless letter. If it needs an excuse, it should not be sent.

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ROBERT.--The battle of Lutzen was fought on the 6th of November, 1632. It was in this battle that the great Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden was killed. Gustavus was a leader of wonderful courage and many resources. Dressed in gray with a green plume, he would always be seen in the thickest of the fight, and often before a battle began he would be seen to kneel down and pray in the presence of the soldiers. I am very glad that you find history so captivating.

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THE CARE OF PETS.--Children who are unwilling to care for their pets should not keep them. A little bird in its cage can not provide its own seed and water, nor fill its bath, and if its mistress neglects to give it food and drink regularly, it will suffer, and very likely die. In taking care of pet animals it is very necessary to attend to their wants at a regular time every day, and their houses, boxes, and cages should be kept very clean.

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JULIET L. T.--The Postmistress will return your graceful little sketch, if you send her word that you would like her to do so. In exchanging, you need simply to state what you have to offer and what you wish to receive. Do this as briefly as possible. Your living abroad does not at all interfere with your being a very welcome exchanger.

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C. Y. P. R. U.

We think our readers will enjoy this pretty and poetical legend from the Russian:

THE SUN AND THE MOON.

It was late, late, one evening, and little Oscar had not yet gone to sleep. His mamma stood beside his tiny white bed, and told him ever so many stories, but still Oscar would not go to sleep. He looked and looked toward the window, at which a lovely moonbeam was entering, and which, gliding along the carpet, mounted up to his tiny bed.

"Mamma," said he, after having listened to the wonders of the "Little Golden Fish" and the "White Fairy," "tell me why the moon shines at night."

Mamma thought a little, and then replied:

"One day, thousands of years ago, the sun was tired after his long walk, and unable to go any further, so the Lord said to him, 'Go now, lie down and sleep; and when thou sleepest all things shall sleep with thee--men and birds and beasts.' And the sun was going away to sleep when he met the moon. 'O lovely golden moon,' he said, 'sweet sister mine, will you do me a favor? Light your lantern, and while I sleep, go softly and with noiseless steps all over the earth. Peep in at every window, and see if the children within are good and say their prayers, or if they cry and keep others from sleeping, but, above all, if they are quiet, and go to sleep betimes. Then come to me to-morrow morning, and tell me everything.' And so every evening, when the sun goes to sleep, the moon walks about, and looks in at the windows everywhere with wide-open eyes. Then when day is about to dawn, she goes and knocks at the gates of the sun: 'Tap! tap! tap! Open, dear brother mine; the cranes are flying through the air, the cocks are crowing, and the bells down below are ringing in the morning.' Then the sun gets up quickly, and says to the moon, 'Dear sister, tell me all that has been happening during the night.' Then the moon tells him everything she has seen in her travels. If all has been quiet, if no one has been weeping, and especially if the little children have gone quietly to sleep, the sun will come gayly out of his palace, all shining with gold and precious stones. But if they have not been good, he will wrap himself in clouds and mist, make a cold wind blow, and send down great showers of rain and sleet, and then the nurses can not take the children out into the gardens to chase the butterflies."

"Ah," said Oscar, who was a good little boy; and then he closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

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THE SPANISH NOBLEMAN.

The days are very soon coming when boys and girls will scorn fireside amusements, and think no game worth playing that does not take them out among the green fields and flower-strewn hedges. But in the mean time, May is sure to bring us many raw, unpleasant days and rainy evenings to be disposed of somehow. Here is a game called "The Spanish Nobleman," that may help pass a leisure hour.

The company arrange themselves in a long straight line at one end of the room, excepting one person, who is to be the nobleman, and he must take his place at the other end of the room. Advancing to his friends, the nobleman must then sing the following lines:

"I am a nobleman from Spain, Coming to court your daughter Jane."

To which the rest reply:

"Our daughter Jane is yet too young. She has not learned her mother's tongue."

The nobleman replies:

"Be she young or be she old, For her beauty she must be sold; So fare you well, my ladies gay. I'll call again another day."

The company then advance, singing:

"Turn back, turn back, you noble lord, And brush your boots and spurs so bright."

Whereupon the Spanish nobleman replies, with something of rebuke in his tone:

"My boots and spurs gave you no thought, For in this land they were not bought, Neither for silver nor for gold. So fare you well, my ladies gay, I'll call again another day."

All then advance, saying:

"Turn back, turn back, you noble lord, And choose the fairest in your sight."

The nobleman, fixing upon--supposing we say Kitty--then says:

"The fairest one that I can see Is pretty Kitty: come to me."

The couple go back hand in hand rejoicing. The whole performance is then recommenced; but the second time, instead of only one nobleman, two noblemen advance, and the rhyme is gone through again, ending at last in another companion being induced to join the little band of noblemen. Thus the game is carried on, until in the end all have gradually been won over to the opposite side.

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SISTER.--A girl of fifteen might make many pretty things for a boy of seventeen. A band for the inside of his hat, embroidered with his initials, a pair of worked suspenders, a pincushion for his pocket, a little case for his letters, or a watch case shaped like a horseshoe, to hang over his bureau, would each or all please him, we are sure.

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We would call the attention of the C. Y. P. R. U. this week to "The Pyramids of Egypt" and to "The Canoe Fight." Then, for the benefit of the boys, there is an article on "Trout-Fishing," in which they will find full directions as to the best methods of capturing the speckled beauties that inhabit our babbling brooks and shady forest streams.

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YOUNG PEOPLE'S COT.

Contributions received for Young People's Cot, in Holy Innocent's Ward, St. Mary's Free Hospital for Children, 407 West Thirty-fourth Street:

Ethel Franklin, Chicago, $1; Carla E. D., Stuttgart, Germany, $1; Robin Hood Archery Club, Yorkville, $25; Florence Edith Belcher, Shawangunk, N. Y., 20c.; Annie M. Miller, Charleston, S. C., $1; Herbert Boyer, Delaware, Ohio, $1.50; Mary L. Deeming, Lockport, Ill., $1; Sarah Phelp's Easter Offering, 18c.; "From one whose boy has gone home," $1; Willie T. Lent's Easter Offering, Jersey City, 50c.; Anna M. and Mary L. Smith, Columbus, Ohio, $1; Easter Offering from a Friend, $1; Easter Offering from Flory and Earle Stone, earned by them during Lent, Earlville, N. Y., 35c.; Easter Offering earned by Allen P. Gilbert, Detroit, Mich., $1; Anonymous, Philadelphia, $1; Earned by Jessie Thomas, N. Y., $2; Dora and Janet Gilmour, Stanbridge, Can., 50c.; Easter Offering, S. G. C., East Orange, $2; Easter Offering from Burial Guild ($3.50), Sewing-School ($3), and Girls' Friendly Society ($1) of Transfiguration Chapel, New York, $7.50: "Cheerful Givers," from Sunday-school of Church of the Transfiguration, New York, $3.10; John Peterson, Frank Jackson, Charlie Weeks, Vincent Peterson, Willie Napoleon, Edward Johnson, and Willie Thomas, New York (savings through Lent), $7; Mattie M. Heartt, Wahjamega, Mich., $1; Easter Offering from Bessie Winans, Brooklyn, $1.10; Easter Offering from the Sunday-school of the Church of the Transfiguration, New York--Miss Lena Fanshawe's, Miss Agnes Kain's, Miss Dod's, Miss Struthers's, Miss Whitlock's, Miss M. R. Chauncey's, Miss E. G. Shreve's, Miss M. S. Shreeves's, Mrs. Elton's, and Mrs. Martin's classes--$48.39; total, $109.32. Previously reported, $297.52; April 15, grand total, $406.84.

E. AUGUSTA FANSHAWE, Treasurer, 43 New St.

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COLUMBUS, OHIO.

We saved our pennies and put them in our little bank, and now we send $1 for the Cot. We are glad the poor little sick children have such nice little beds to lie on when they are sick, and we wish we had lots of dollars to send to them.

We are little girls. I am 'most six, and Mary is four, and mamma is writing this for us.

ANNA MABEL SMITH. MARY L. SMITH.

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DELAWARE, OHIO.

I am a little boy seven years old. Mamma has read to me about the Young People's Cot. Last winter I was very sick, but God made me well. I send a thank-offering for the Cot, $1.50; I earned it myself.

HERBERT B.

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CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA.

I inclose in this letter $1 that I have saved out of my spending money for the Young People's Cot in St. Mary's Hospital. I hope that it won't be very long before the cot is really _ours_, and some dear little child made well and happy in it. I am only nine years old, but I hope that you will let me help you all I can.

ANNIE MAXWELL MILLER.

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NEW YORK CITY.

We had a fair at our church last month, and mamma taught me how to make some flag pen-wipers for the Sunday-school table. They were sold for 25 cents each. I wanted to send some money to Young People's Cot, and mamma said I might send what I could earn; then it would be truly mine. I made five more pen-wipers and sold them, and one gentleman gave me 50 cents for his, which made $1.50. Then I sold some papers, and grandma gave me some money for hanging up my cloak when I came in from school, as I was in the habit of throwing it on the lounge. These altogether made $2. I have two little brothers who are going to try and earn something soon. I am eight years old, and go to a Kindergarten.

H. JESSIE THOMAS.

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PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.

No. 1.

TWO HOUR-GLASS PUZZLES.

1.--1. A city in Germany. 2. A part of the Russian Empire. 3. A town in Massachusetts. 4. A river in the Russian Empire. 5. A letter. 6. A river in Russia. 7. Small islands in the Atlantic. 8. A river in North Carolina. 9. One of the United States. Centrals read downward--A city in Australia.

2.--1. A portion of the Negro River in South America. 2. A city in Hadramant, Asia. 3. A river in Ireland. 4. A letter. 5. A river in Scotland. 6. A river in Lower Guinea. 7. A city in South America. Centrals read downward--An island in the far North.

A. E. F.

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No. 2.

THREE ENIGMAS.

1.

My first is in bird, but not in hen. My second in owl, but not in wren. My third in snipe, but not in quail. My fourth in boat, but not in sail. My fifth in olive, but not in fig. My sixth in branch, but not in twig. My whole is a city famed far and wide, Whose shores are washed by the Atlantic tide.

ROGER DERBY.

2.

First in rap, but not in knock. Second in wharf, but not in dock. Third in hot, but not in warm. Fourth in road, but not in path. Fifth in hour, but not in time. Sixth in needle, not in pin. Seventh in flower, not in plant. Eighth in snow, but not in hail. Ninth in deed, but not in act. Tenth in dream, but not in fact. Eleventh in otter, not in seal. Twelfth in zinc, but not in steel. My whole a lovely blushing flower Which makes the grove a splendid bower.

MARY E. D. W.

3.

First in knot, but not in rope. Second in fight, but not in cope. Third in gong, but not in bell. Fourth in height, but not in dell. Fifth in shout, but not in sigh. Sixth in thirsty, not in dry. Seventh in ant, but not in bee. Eighth in mortgage, not in fee. Ninth in gale, but not in wind. Tenth in Bundelkund, not in Scinde. Eleventh in oyster, not in clam. A bird of rarest charms I am.

J. W. (aged 9).

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No. 3.

TWO DIAMONDS.

1.--1. In cowslip. 2. Skill. 3. Something very nice. 4. A sailor. 5. In mouse-trap.

BENNY FISHEL.

2.--1. A letter. 2. A month. 3. A city officer. 4. A pronoun. 5. A letter.

MILTON W.

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ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN No. 128.

No. 1.

M O R A L R O Y A L B A C O N H E R A T D E P O T

No. 2.

M E T A L A L T E R E V E R Y L E A V E T E N O R T A K E N A R O S E E V E N T L Y R E S R E N T S

No. 3.

C aricature S A lt O P ne L T orri D A lta I I r E N ea R

No. 4.

H A R P E R S A L E R T A N T N M A M B E N C H M A T T I N G

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Correct answers to puzzles have been received from Lulu Kirtland, Gracie Norris, Walter Morill, Minnie E. Rosenfeld, Anne J. Thomas, Benny Fisher, "Icicle," Cora Crutchers, B. I., J. Combs, Robba Miller, R. B. B., Elsie O., H. R. G., May Sherman, Samuel Bronson, Arthur Cary, Reginald Bayliss, John Bentley, Amy Hilton, Rosa Snyder, Allie Lamb, "Gus," George Gale, "Robin Hood," John C. Myers, William H. Shine.

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

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KING SIMPLE.

BY AN OLD BOY.

This game is known by so many names that to give them all would occupy a great deal of unnecessary space, while just as much fun can be had from it if only one is given.

A base is marked off at either end of the play-ground, leaving a space in the middle. One of the players is chosen catcher, or "wolf," and takes up his position in the middle, between the two bases; the others run across from base to base while he endeavors to catch and hold them. If he can hold one while he can count ten, it is considered a fair catch, and the prisoner becomes wolf too, and assists in the capture of more, all of whom, as soon as caught, go to swell the number of wolves. Of course each passage across is more dangerous than the preceding one, since there are more wolves to avoid. At the same time a great part of the fun consists in "dodging." The boy that can change his course the quickest and turn and double has the best chance. Sometimes hats and jackets are left in the hands of the wolves, the owners having expertly wriggled out of them, and arrived safe at the base with these articles missing.

When a player has started from his base, he can not turn back, but must continue to the opposite base. The fun, of course, increases as the wolves become more numerous. Sometimes jackets even suffer in the fray. This, however, should not be allowed. A strict rule should forbid too much strength being used by the wolves or their captives. Anything else only produces mischief, and spoils the fun.

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REMARKABLE FEATS BY SPIDERS.

A small-sized spider had made his web on the under side of a table. Early one morning a small grasshopper was noticed on the floor, directly under the web, and on approaching to take it away, it was found that the spider had thrown a line round one of its legs. While the observer was looking at it, the spider came down and lassoed the opposite leg of the grasshopper, and continued for several minutes darting up and down, and fastening lines to different parts of the body of his victim. The struggles of the grasshopper, though a full-grown one, were unavailing to effect his escape.

As his struggles became more and more feeble, the spider threw his lines round him; and when he had become nearly exhausted, his captor proceeded to raise him from the floor. This he did by raising one end at a time. He at first raised the head and part of the body nearly half an inch, then raised the other end, and continued so to work until the grasshopper was elevated five or six inches. Thus hung in chains, the victim was left to die.

The "trap-door spider" is indeed most interesting. Erber tells us in _Life and Her Children_, by A. B. Buckley, that he once sat for hours on a moonlight night watching the doings of these insects. He saw two of the spiders come out each from its hole, and pushing open their doors, fasten them back by fine threads to blades of grass. They then spun a web round the open hole, and went back into their tunnels. By-and-by two beetles were caught, one in each web. In an instant the spiders darted out, and pierced their victims with their poisoned fangs, sucked out their soft flesh, and carried the empty bodies away some distance from their holes. Erber left them; but on returning in the morning, he found the spiders had cleared away all trace of the webs, and were shut down snugly in their hidden homes.

Who among us works more cleverly or with more industry for daily bread than these little spiders? They do it, too, under many difficulties and dangers; for birds and lizards are watching above-ground to make a meal of them, whilst crawling insects creep into their holes to attack them.

Some of these spiders have learned a means of escaping even this danger, for they make a second tunnel branching out of the first, and build a doorway between the two, so that they can retreat into the second passage in case of attack, and, by setting their backs against the door, baffle the intruder.

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HOW TO BIND MUSIC.

Should you wish to bind music, an atlas, or any wide volume which should lie flat on the table when opened, a "flexible" or elastic back should be made, instead of a "spring" or open one.