Chapter 4

I have no father nor mother. I live with my uncle and aunt, who are very good to me. In vacation I work in uncle's printing-office, and when there is school I go.

My uncle takes HARPER'S WEEKLY, and my aunt takes the BAZAR, and I take YOUNG PEOPLE. I think it is one of the best papers published.

I have a pet chicken named Mary. She will walk a rope, and swing in a little swing I made for her.

ALFRED J. H.

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PAXTON, ILLINOIS.

I take YOUNG PEOPLE, and I like to read the letters from the little folks. I am ten years old, and am in the fourth room and "A" class at school.

I had a velocipede, but it is broken. I have a horse and a saddle and bridle, and I ride a good deal.

My little sister is three years old, and I am making a play-house for her. She bit my ear so hard I had to cry. Mamma asked her what made her bite brother's ear. She said, "Brother hurt his ear on my teeth."

RITCHEY M. K.

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ARROW ROCK, MISSOURI.

In the hot weather we keep our doors open at night, and one night a little opossum got in, and in the morning we found it curled up in papa's hat. I kept it for a few days, but once when I went away it ran off. I am seven years old.

RIDLEY MCL.

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

YOUNG PEOPLE comes every week, and I assure you it receives a warm welcome.

We have two little pets. Their names are Roly and Poly. Roly is a little Skye terrier, and Poly is a kitten, which travelled here from "down East." They eat, drink, sleep, and, I am sorry to say, cry together, for they are both very sensitive. They object strongly to being shut up at night, and protest against it loudly.

I am thirteen years old, and I wear spectacles.

J. O.

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WALLA WALLA, WASHINGTON TERRITORY.

I have taken YOUNG PEOPLE ever since the first number, and I find it very interesting. I was born in this Territory, but I have been to San Francisco and down the Pacific coast as far as Santa Barbara, where I remained six months with my mother and brother and sister. Sometimes in warm weather we take a trip to the Blue Mountains, and we have picnics and fishing parties. I am eleven years old.

FANNIE MINNIE B.

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ADAMS, WISCONSIN.

I am ten years old. I live in the country, near a beautiful lake called Lake Pleasant. I often have a boat-ride on it. The hills are quite high around the lake.

I live with my grandpa and grandma, and I go to school in an old yellow school-house that has stood for thirty years. We are going to have a nice new brick school-house soon, but I do not like to have the dear old house torn down, as it is the same one my mamma went to school in.

We have two hundred sheep. I have a pet lamb that will leave the flock when I call it. Its name is Dickie.

NORA P.

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RANDALL, NEW YORK.

I am eleven years old. I have not any pets now, but I had two. One was a little dog named Fanny. It would draw a little sleigh with a milk-pail on it, and pull me on the ice when I had my skates on. The other was a little kitten that would jump and take a piece of meat out of my hand when I held it over my head.

GEORGE W. L.

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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

I am eleven years old. I like YOUNG PEOPLE very much. I often go out to the Spanish fort. There is a band of music there every evening, and every Saturday it is there all day. There are two cannon which have been in the fort ever since 1718. I have two pet kittens that follow me everywhere.

CHARLIE N. W.

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I have a collection of stamps, and would gladly exchange with some of the readers of YOUNG PEOPLE.

EDDIE DE LIMA, care of D. A. de Lima & Co., 68 William St., New York City.

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I would like to exchange postmarks of the United States or Canada with any readers of YOUNG PEOPLE.

A. W. RUSSELL, P. O. Box 109, Brookfield, Madison County, New York.

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I would be glad to exchange postage stamps with any readers of YOUNG PEOPLE.

HARRY GUSTIN, Bay City, Michigan.

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I have a few foreign coins which I should like to exchange for rare postage stamps. They are small French coins, Swiss, English, Prussian, German, and Italian, copper and nickel. Some of them I do not know. They look like silver, but I think they are only German silver.

EUGENE E. PETTEE, 11 Prospect Street, Fall River, Massachusetts.

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I have a collection of shells, minerals, postmarks, coins, and woods. I have also a collection of about eleven hundred and twenty-five stamps, all different kinds, and I would like to exchange stamps with any of the readers of YOUNG PEOPLE.

I am twelve years old. I have a canary, and my brother and I had a pair of squirrels, but one died.

HORACE C. FOOTE, 109 East Fifty-seventh Street, New York City.

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I have a collection of stamps, and would gladly exchange with any correspondents. I have stamps from Colombia, Venezuela, Germany, England, and other countries.

ELIAS DESOLA, 162 East Sixtieth Street, New York City.

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I would like to exchange flower seeds with any little girl in California or Florida. I have verbenas, mixed phlox, four-o'clocks, sweet-williams, balsams, alyssum, salvia, mignonette, and red and white petunias.

ADA BELT, 1099 Wilson Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.

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I have a collection of postmarks, and would like to exchange with any correspondents of this nice paper. I am eleven years old.

"EXCHANGE," 939 Main Street, Buffalo, Erie County, New York.

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If any correspondents will send me a list of the stamps they require, and also of those they have to spare, I will like to exchange with them.

JOHN R. BEDFORD, 5 Spencer Place, Fourth Street, New York City.

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I would like to exchange some revenue stamps for postage stamps. Among those I wish to exchange are two varieties of one-dollar stamps and a forty-cent stamp.

LEONARD T. BEECHER, Wellsville, Alleghany County, New York.

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I take YOUNG PEOPLE, and I think it is splendid.

I have a great many French, Italian, English, and German postage stamps which I would like to exchange for others.

GEORGE B. DONNELLY, P. O. Box 4574, New York City.

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I am collecting postage stamps, and would like to exchange. Correspondents will please state the number of stamps in their collection, and send me their list. I have twelve hundred stamps, and I am thirteen years old. I would like to know the age of my correspondents.

CHARLES S. PETRASCH, 13 West Thirty-second Street, New York City.

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I would like to exchange postmarks with any boy readers of YOUNG PEOPLE in the West. I am twelve years old.

ARTHUR S. MOORE, 40 Third Place, Brooklyn, New York.

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I would like to exchange postage stamps with any correspondent.

R. L. PRESTON, P. O. Box 327, Lynchburg, Virginia.

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LOUISE.--Your question, "Is the mosquito of any use in the great economy of nature?" has often been asked by many older and wiser than you, for it is not generally known that in their larval state mosquitoes form an important branch of nature's army of tiny scavengers. The larvæ live in the water of stagnant pools and marshes, and feed upon particles of decaying matter, and as their number is so very large, the amount they devour is considerable. By thus purifying the water they destroy the miasma which would otherwise arise and pollute the atmosphere to such an extent that no human being could breathe it with safety. The value of the work accomplished in tropical countries by these tiny scavengers is very great. It is estimated that the air of certain marshy regions would be so poisonous that no animal higher than a reptile could breathe it and live, were their purifying influence removed. We do not know that mosquitoes in the winged state have any useful mission beyond that of depositing the eggs which produce the larvæ, but that alone saves them from being "nothing but a nuisance."

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F. A. REILLY.--The subscription price for HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE for 1881 will remain one dollar and fifty cents, the same low figure as for the first volume.

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BRIAN B.--The large green worm that feeds on carrot, caraway, parsley, and some other common garden plants is the caterpillar of the _Papilio asterias_, a large black butterfly which is seen in great numbers at midsummer, hovering about the flowers in gardens. It is especially fond of the sweet-scented phlox. This butterfly is very handsomely marked with rows of yellow spots near the margin of its wings, and on the hind wings, which are tailed, there is also a row of blue spots, and near the lower angle an orange-colored eye with a black dot in the centre. The wings of this handsome insect expand from three to four inches.

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"THISTLE."--It is not easy to say why such great numbers of potato-bugs are found crawling on the sea-beaches. These striped cantharides are so numerous in all parts of the country that they are probably blown seaward by the wind, and naturally sail ashore on the tide.

You will find simple directions for pressing flowers and leaves in the Post-office Boxes of YOUNG PEOPLE Nos. 34 and 46.

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F. B. W.--Write again to your correspondent. There are so many possible reasons why he has not answered you that it would not be fair to him to print your notice. Possibly he has misdirected the letter to you.

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Favors are acknowledged from Fred P. Herron, Albert C. B., Jessie R. Ellerby, E. N., Richard F. Morgan, Willie C. Chapman, S. B., Frank Davis, S. Donald Newton, Gertrude B. Duffee, Frank Haid, John R. Bancroft, H. S. G.

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Correct answers to puzzles are received from Eddie S. Hequembourg, Mary Tiddy, "Chiquot," William H. Dobson, Dana D. Stanton, "Milwaukee," Percy McGeorge, "Nellie Bly," E. D. W. R. Garden, George Volckhausen, James H. Beddow, Howard A. Esterly, "Ivanhoe."

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John H. Bartlett, A. O., and J. C. Locher have sent neat specimens of the five-pointed star, which were received too late for acknowledgment with the others.

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PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.

No. 1.

UNITED DIAMONDS.

1. In strawberry. By way of. A fabulous woman. A unit. In huckleberry. 2. In peach. An article very useful to travellers. A color. A jewel. In plum. Centrals of diamonds read across give the name of a common shrub.

OWLET.

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No. 2.

WORD SQUARES.

1. First, mountains in Switzerland. Second, mountains in Asia. Third, a river in Hungary. Fourth, a town in Piedmont, once an ancient Roman settlement.

JULIA.

2. First, a part of the body. Second, a disease. Third, invalid. Fourth, a hollow.

CHIQUOT.

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No. 3.

CHARADE.

My first is needed to make my second, and should always be in my whole.

BOLUS.

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No. 4.

NUMERICAL CHARADES.

1. A fanciful character in one of Shakspeare's plays composed of 11 letters. My 3, 10, 5, 1 is agony to weary fingers. My 8, 2, 1 is a problem. My 6, 9, 5, 11 is done by every school-boy. My 7, 2, 8, 4 is fine powder.

LONIE.

2. An inhabitant of Africa composed of 10 letters. My 2, 7, 8, 5, 4 is a bird. My 6, 9, 3, 4 is a piece of money. My 1, 5, 10, 7 is a beautiful flower.

FANNIE.

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No. 5.

ENIGMA.

My first is in board, but not in plank. My second is in hoard, but not in bank. My third is in sin, but not in good. My fourth is in tin, but not in wood. My fifth is in sword, but not in arms. My sixth is in town, but not in farms. My whole its forehead proudly rears, Crowned by two hundred and fifty years.

ARTHUR AURIE.

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ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN NO. 47.

No. 1.

B F U R N A R M B R E A D-F R U I T N A G M I X D T

No. 2.

Telephone.

No. 3.

1. Hipparchus. 2. Epicharmus. 3. Herodotus.

No. 4.

F O A M A R G O O H I O R E A P A I M S G A L A M O S S O P A L

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Charade on page 696--Salt-Petre.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

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HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE will be issued every Tuesday, and may be had at the following rates--_payable in advance, postage free_:

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Subscriptions may begin with any Number. When no time is specified, it will be understood that the subscriber desires to commence with the Number issued after the receipt of order.

Remittances should be made by POST-OFFICE MONEY ORDER or DRAFT, to avoid risk of loss.

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The extent and character of the circulation of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE will render it a first-class medium for advertising. A limited number of approved advertisements will be inserted on two inside pages at 75 cents per line.

Address HARPER & BROTHERS, Franklin Square, N. Y.

Harper's New and Enlarged Catalogue,

With a COMPLETE ANALYTICAL INDEX, and A VISITORS' GUIDE TO THEIR ESTABLISHMENT,

Sent by mail on receipt of Nine Cents.

HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE, N. Y.

COLUMBIA BICYCLE.

Bicycle riding is the best as well as the healthiest of out-door sports; is easily learned and never forgotten. Send 3c. stamp for 24-page Illustrated Catalogue, containing Price-Lists and full information.

THE POPE MFG. CO.,

79 Summer St., Boston, Mass.

=COINS AND STAMPS.= My revised catalogue of coins, showing _buying prices_, just out--price 10c. No. 20, of the St. Louis _Philatelist_, the best stamp paper in America, is now ready, and will be mailed free for stamp. E. F. GAMBS, Coin and Stamp Dealer, 621 South 5th St., St. Louis, Mo. Established 1872.

ABSORBING STORY

OF A

BOY'S LIFE AMONG PIRATES.

* * * * *

=THE ADVENTURES OF REUBEN DAVIDGER;= Seventeen Years and Four Months Captive among the Dyaks of Borneo. By JAMES GREENWOOD. 8vo, Cloth, $1.25; 4to, Paper, 15 cents.

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This is a book which will be devoured by youth with much the same engrossing interest that made the perusal of "Robinson Crusoe" so delightful. The author has the power of literally enchaining the attention of the reader, whether of larger or smaller growth.--_Brooklyn Times._

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Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.

HARPER & BROTHERS _will send the above work by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, on receipt of the price_.

CHILDREN'S

PICTURE-BOOKS.

Square 4to, about 300 pages each, beautifully printed on Tinted Paper, embellished with many Illustrations, bound in Cloth, $1.50 per volume.

The Children's Picture-Book of Sagacity of Animals.

With Sixty Illustrations by HARRISON WEIR.

The Children's Bible Picture-Book.

With Eighty Illustrations, from Designs by STEINLE, OVERBECK, VEIT, SCHNORR, &c.

The Children's Picture Fable-Book.

Containing One Hundred and Sixty Fables. With Sixty Illustrations by HARRISON WEIR.

The Children's Picture-Book of Birds.

With Sixty-one Illustrations by W. HARVEY.

The Children's Picture-Book of Quadrupeds and other Mammalia.

With Sixty-one Illustrations by W. HARVEY.

* * * * *

Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.

_Sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, on receipt of the price._

SOLUTION TO MARINER'S PUZZLE.

Divide the piece of plank described in the Mariner's Puzzle, published in No. 47, into five squares, as represented in Fig. 1; then draw a line from A to B, and from B to C. Cut off the two triangular pieces marked X X, and re-arrange them as represented in Fig. 2, and you will have a piece of plank of the shape and size required by the mariner to stop the leak in his ship.

IMITATION SCREW-HEADS.

BY F. BELLEW.

Here is a simple little thing of my own invention, from which I have derived a good deal of fun from time to time, and from which the readers of YOUNG PEOPLE may extract some amusement. It is an imitation of the common screw-head, and is made in this wise: Take a piece of common tin-foil, and mark on it with a pair of compasses or a small thimble a number of circles; then, with a broad pen or small brush and black ink, rule across each a broad line, as represented in Fig. 1. Then, when your ink is dry, cut out the little circular pieces very neatly with a pair of scissors. They resemble so exactly the head of a real screw as to deceive the most acute observer. Once I made a box for conjuring tricks, with a side swung on hinges, and fixed the sides of the box with these screw-heads in such a way as to impress the spectator with the idea that it was a piece of workmanship that could not be trifled with.

On one occasion a much-loved relative of mine had left me alone in her house while she drove over to the station to meet her husband. I did not wish to waste my time while she was away, and having nothing else to do, I cast my eye round for material. At last it lighted on an article of furniture: this was a bureau, highly prized by my much-loved relative. I have attempted, feebly, in the subjoined sketch to convey an idea of it, but am fully conscious that I am far from doing it justice. But this bureau was of solid mahogany, and had belonged to her grandmother--qualities enough to make anything dear to the heart of a true woman. On the side of this solid mahogany bureau I scrawled a ragged line with the sharp corner of a piece of soap, and gummed some of my screw-beads down each side of the mark, as in Fig. 2. Then I waited until my much-loved relative returned.

"Aunt," I said, in solemn tones, "look at the end of your mahogany bureau. It is all my fault, and I am as sorry as I can be. I know how you value it, and realize the extent of the disaster; but I've fixed it up as well as I can, and I guess it won't show much."

My aunt rushed to the bureau, and there she saw the patched and botched wreck.

"Oh dear!" cried she, "to think--just to think--how could you be so-- I knew something would come of swinging those vile clubs. I'd rather have given a hundred dollars. It's too bad. And such a mess! Why didn't you wait till I could send for a proper man--a cabinet-maker or something--to mend it?"

Then she ran into the garden, and called to her husband: "Oh, George, do come here, and see what that boy has been doing! My dear mahogany grandmother's bureau all knocked to pieces, and patched together with big screws. Such a sight!"

As soon as my aunt left the room I seized a wet towel, and quickly removed all the appearance of damage, so that when she returned with her husband, and with averted face, bade him look upon the wreck, the mild old gentleman, after putting on his specs, and making a careful examination, reported that he could see nothing the matter.

"For pity's sake!--the man must be getting blind and foolish," cried my aunt. "It's as plain as Charley Meeker's nose on his face."

A discussion of some length here followed between my aunt and her husband, which was terminated by the lady stepping up to the bureau, with an air of triumph, to point out the broken places. Never before was seen such a perplexed woman. She looked and looked, and felt all over the precious piece of furniture with her finger, and, I believe, would have fairly gone demented had I not broken the spell by a roar of laughter. When I explained the trick I had played, she too laughed heartily, and boxed my ears, saying it was just like me, and that I was always up to some prank or another.

And so ended my first practical joke with the screw-heads.

End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Young People, October 12, 1880, by Various