letter I have ever written to you.

GRACE M. S.

If I were you, I would learn to read music, and then when you have a piano, as I hope you will some day, you will be all ready to begin your study in earnest.

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NEW YORK CITY.

As I see so many little girls and boys writing to YOUNG PEOPLE, I thought I would like to write too, and tell you how I have enjoyed myself in the country this summer. We went to Pine Plains, a place up the Hudson River, about one hundred miles from New York city. Pine Plains is in a beautiful part of Dutchess County; the country is very mountainous, some mountains rising to the height of one thousand feet. There are also some very nice lakes, where we found beautiful pond-lilies growing.

In the village there are four churches, and a free library, which contains a great many interesting books. The library is in the Post-office Building, and close by is the Pine Plains Bank. The main street is about half a mile long, beautifully shaded by large trees, beyond which is a lovely valley, in which was situated the house where we were staying, entirely secluded from the village by trees.

We had a croquet lawn in front of the house, and a short distance back of it was a splendid running brook, where we spent a great deal of our time wading in the water, and amused ourselves by building a dam. In some parts the water was deep enough for us to go in bathing, which we enjoyed very much.

I could write of many other things we did while there, but fear to make my letter too long.

GRACE PASCALL F.

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ELLERSHOUSE, NOVA SCOTIA.

I was writing a letter last March to tell you how much we all liked HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE, but before I had it finished we were taken ill with diphtheria, and one of my little brothers died. His name was Herbert; he was six years old, and he liked HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE too. I had three brothers and a little baby sister. Now I have two brothers. Arthur is eight years old, Cecil is three and a half, and baby is two and a half. I will be ten on the 1st of January. We live in the country, and have a governess. We are saving all the HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLES to have them bound. We had a little pet squirrel, and kept it for a little while, and then let it go, as it did not seem happy.

FRANKIE C.

You did right to set your squirrel free if he seemed to long for liberty. I am sorry to hear that you have lost a dear little brother.

* * * * *

FOND DU LAC, WISCONSIN.

I had two little kittens--one was white and yellow, and the other was white and gray--but I lost them both, for they ran away. I go to school, and am number seven in my class, and I am seven years old. I have a box of tools, and make little boats, and sell them to my playmates for pins. Last Saturday papa took me out in the country, and we gathered some hickory and hazel nuts. We had a fine time. I have taken HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE nearly a year, and I enjoy the stories so much, and the letters also. Mamma is writing this letter for me, as I can not. Please try and print it. Good-by.

HARRY S.

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CAHTO, MENDOCINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

The picture in the Post-office Box of August 1 looks very much like my sister Sophia. In your answer to our letters you said, "Did we ever forget to come to dinner?" Very often. Brother Ed has been out hunting again. You told me to persuade him not to go unless we needed a deer for food. He killed a fat deer. While he was thinking how he could get his deer on the horse to fetch it home, he heard a noise in the tree above him, and looking up, he saw a swarm of bees that had come out of a hollow in the tree.

After that he succeeded in getting his deer on the horse, came home, and told father his luck of finding a bee tree and killing his deer. Father went with him to cut the tree down and get the honey. Only going prepared to get a gallon, when the tree was cut it had over one hundred pounds of honey. Oh dear! nothing to save it in, and five miles from any one else!

ALLIE R.

* * * * *

I live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Aunt Maria, who lives near Buffalo, New York, sends us YOUNG PEOPLE. When it comes we all call out, "HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE for me first!" Ross, my little brother, likes the funny page best. I go for Jimmy Brown's stories, but I like "The Cruise of the Canoe Club" very much. We have two mocking-birds and a kitten. We have a horse too, but we don't pet him much.

ACKLAND J.

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XENIA, OHIO.

I am a little girl eleven years of age. My sister Fanny gave me YOUNG PEOPLE for a New-Year's gift, and you can not imagine what an amount of pleasure I get out of it. My sister Mary takes _St. Nicholas_, and I your paper, and we have such good times reading them. All the boys and girls tell about their pets, and so I thought I would tell you about an old cat that stays here. One morning father met her in the hall, and the minute she saw him she ran upstairs and stood by one of the doors and mewed. Father opened the door, and she ran in. After breakfast my little sister and I went upstairs, and we found two kittens with her--wee little ones. Afterward she hid them, and we could not find them, until just the other day, when we found them in a covered box in a shed. Papa thinks she was afraid of us. I have a beautiful wax doll; her name is Violet. I think of all the stories I like "Mr. Stubbs's Brother" the best.

BESSIE DE M.

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FORT MCKAVETT, TEXAS.

I have been at this post since April, and like it here very much. Papa was on a leave of absence, and we were staying in Philadelphia. When his leave was over he was ordered to Fort McKavett. We had a very pleasant trip out here. We came as far as San Antonio in the cars. When we were in the cars we passed cotton fields and sugar plantations; they were the first I had ever seen. From San Antonio we came by stage. We started at eight o'clock in the morning, and rode until ten at night. The next morning we started at about half past six, and rode until six o'clock the next morning. We were all very tired when we got here, and it took us two or three days to get rested.

I brought my little canary-bird all the way with me, and he stood the stage trip very well. There are lots of funny little horned toads about here, and plenty of prairie-dogs. When we go out riding we see whole towns of them. One day, when my sister and a friend and I were out riding, the driver killed a large rattlesnake. It had eight rattles. We killed two tarantulas in our dining-room one evening.

HATTIE J.

* * * * *

Some of my little friends ask me to tell them of interesting games for the long evenings. Here are two, one of which you will find instructive, and the other amusing. Please try both:

JUDGE AND JURY.

The players elect a judge and three jurors.

Before the game begins, the players, except the judge and jury, take the names of historical personages, as Alfred the Great, Queen Philippa, etc. The judge calls up a player, and asks questions about his or her reign or life.

The player must pay a forfeit for any mistake in answering.

We will suppose a number of children engaged in this play. Edith is the judge. She reads from a paper handed to her:

"I find on my list Sir Philip Sidney, Semiramis, Philippa, Joan of Arc, Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth, and Mary of Scotland. Come before us, Sir Philip Sidney, and tell us in whose reign you lived."

ANTHONY (_as Sir Philip Sidney_). I lived in the reign of the great Queen Elizabeth, and my home was in Kent.

JUDGE. What did you do in your lifetime?

ANTHONY. I wrote books, and I fought and fell at Zutphen.

JUDGE. On which action of your past life can you look back with most pleasure?

ANTHONY. Giving a cup of cold water to a dying soldier on the field of battle.

JUDGE. You may go without a forfeit. Now, Semiramis, what have you to say for yourself?

MARY. I was very ambitious, and have no good to say of myself.

JUDGE. Where did you live?

MARY. In Nineveh and Babylon. I built Babylon chiefly myself.

JUDGE. Relate your story as well as you can.

MARY. I showed King Ninus how to take a city, but he must have been very stupid not to think of such an easy plan himself. He married me. I asked him to let me be Queen for a day, and the first use I made of my power was to cut off his head. I fought a great deal when I became Queen all alone, but at last I was killed.

JUDGE. Your story is quite correct, I believe, but the jury wish to say something.

JURY. We think Mary must pay a forfeit for choosing the name of so bad a Queen. (_Mary pays it._)

JUDGE. Queen Philippa, come forward.

Queen Philippa relates her story, but as she forgot her favorite poet, Chaucer, when she was questioned about him, she had to pay a forfeit.

Joan of Arc forgot the name of the King for whom she fought, and had to pay a forfeit.

Queen Margaret could not repeat the names of her twelve battles, and paid a forfeit.

Elizabeth was correct in all matters, like a wise Queen as she was.

Mary of Scotland forgot where she had been brought up, and also paid a forfeit.

After this the judge and jury may be changed.

It is always a good plan to prepare beforehand for this game, as it is mortifying to little students to make too many mistakes.

ADONIS PUT UP AT AUCTION.

In this game two players--the Auctioneer and the Salesman--agree as to the thing to be offered in exchange for Adonis, but this they keep secret between themselves.

Then as many slips of paper are cut as there are players. On one the name of Adonis is written. They are folded up and put into a bag. The players draw them, and he or she who draws Adonis is seated on a chair in the middle of the circle (the Auctioneer beside him), and is put up for sale by auction.

The Auctioneer says: "Here is Adonis, remarkable for his great beauty and love of hunting. What will you bid for him?"

Each player has five bids alternately, but none must bid money.

FIRST PLAYER. I will give a bunch of roses for Adonis.

AUCTIONEER. A bunch of roses. Who bids for Adonis? Going, going, for a bunch of roses. (_He raises his hammer, which may be a pencil._)

SECOND PLAYER. I will bid a lump of sugar.

AUCTIONEER. A lump of sugar for Adonis. Going, going, for a lump of sugar.

THIRD PLAYER. I will bid an old gray goose.

AUCTIONEER. Going, going, etc., etc.

FOURTH PLAYER. I will bid a postage stamp.

And thus they go on bidding, until one of the players says, "I will bid a looking-glass," which being the thing the auctioneer and seller had this time agreed on, Adonis is knocked down to her, and is bound to do whatever she commands, such as sing a song, tell a story, hop round the room, etc., etc. Should the right price not be given by the time the bidding has gone round five times, the Auctioneer tells what it is, and says, "I have bought Adonis in with a ring," a bouquet, or whatever else has been fixed on between him and the seller. Then all the circle have to pay forfeits to Adonis.

* * * * *

PHILO.--It was not possible to insert your exchange at the time you requested. If you still desire its publication, please send it again, with your new address, and it shall duly appear.

* * * * *

PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.

No. 1.

TWO DOUBLE ACROSTICS.

1.--1. A household utensil. 2. Inactive. 3. Pure. 4. Not distant. 5. Rest. 6. An extremity. Primals compose the name of a land, and finals of a sea-bird.

JUNE BUG.

2.--1. A fruit. 2. A heavenly body. 3. A sort of down. 4. A building. 5. A girl's name. 6. A precious stone. Primals and finals compose the names of two articles in favor with ladies.

* * * * *

No. 2.

TWO WORD SQUARES.

1.--1. Something to burn. 2. A fabled giant. 3. Minerals. 4. A piece of school furniture.

2.--1. Small animals. 2. An image. 3. Something found in mines. 4. A girl's name.

ARTHUR G. B.

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No. 3.

A RIDDLE.

Nobody sees me, I'm everywhere seen; You were never without me, Or peasant or queen. All live by my help, Yet catch me who can, I can outrun the fastest, My dear little man. Now riddle-me-ree, Whoever you be, And tell me my name if you can.

MOTHER BUNCH.

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No. 4.

THREE DIAMONDS.

1.--1. A letter. 2. An enemy. 3. A weight. 4. A stopping-place. 5. A letter.

2.--1. A letter. 2. Part of a verb. 3. Not sadly. 4. Cunning. 5. In parchment.

3.--1. In plush. 2. A covering. 3. Something essential to HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE. 4. A beverage. 5. A letter.

CHRISTINE and GRETCHEN.

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ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN No. 152.

No. 1.

P E R I L L U N E T E B O N Y U N I T E R O V E R N I T E R I N E Y E E T E R N L Y R E S T E R N S

A T O M E D E N T Y N E D O V E O N C E E V E R M E E K N E R O

No. 2.

King-fisher. Looking-glass.

No. 3.

L C F A T C A P F A C E D C A I R O L A C O N I C C A I T I F F T E N S E P R I N T D I E O F T C F

No. 4.

G L A R E L O S E A S K R E E

E V E N T B R I E R V I N E R A C E E N D I C E N E E E T R

* * * * *

Answer to Enigma on page 784.--A share.

* * * * *

Correct answers to puzzles have been sent by Christine and Gretchen, C. P. Sutton, Birdie Bell, Edgar Coe, Tom Duncan, William A. Lewis, R. T. A., Charles St. Clare, Benny Dunn, Fanny Chester, Archie Hughes, Anne C., Daisy Dean, Johnston & Co., Dora Payne, Thomas B., Lawrence Fisher, and Maud Marian Thompson.

* * * * *

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

* * * * *

WHO WAS HE, AND WHAT DID HE INVENT?

BY I. R. OQUOIS.

He was born on the 9th day of June, 1781, in a small village eight miles west of a large town whose name occurs in an old and well-known saying about carrying coals.

His father, who went by the name of "Old Bob," and was fireman of the pumping engine in a colliery, was a hard-working man, and so poor that the floor of the house in which he lived was of clay, and the walls and ceiling unplastered.

He was the next to the eldest in a family of six children.

When he was eight years old his father moved to Dewly Burn. After they went there he soon began earning twopence a day for herding Widow Ainslie's cows. He was anxious to work in the colliery, and before long he obtained a position there. When he was fourteen he was assistant to his father. His wages were a shilling a day, and he was so afraid he would be thought too young for the work that he would hide whenever the owner came to the mines. He was always happy and good-natured about his work, and full of fun. When he was seventeen he had advanced until he was receiving twelve shillings a week, but he was not able to read. He was fond of studying machinery, and had a decided taste for inventing and improving, but he could not do much without books, so he attended night school three nights in the week. At the age of twenty he added to his other earnings by shoe-making.

He was married when he was twenty-one. He devoted all his spare time to the study of mechanics and to inventing, but none of his inventions were successful as yet. He devoted his evenings to mending clocks and watches to get the means to send his only son to school.

Before 1812 he was deeply interested in and at work on the invention which afterward made him famous. His invention was tried in 1814, and proved a failure.

He still worked on, and after various experiments made great improvements in it. In 1825 his invention was declared a success, and in 1829 he received a prize of £500 for it.

Ho soon became wealthy and famous. His invention came into common use, and is seen every day by most of the readers of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE.

He died on the 12th day of August, 1848.

* * * * *

THE TOMB OF AN EMPRESS.

Should you ever visit Agra, in India, you would see one of the most beautiful tombs in the world. It is called the Taj Mahal, and was built by the Emperor Shah Jehan in memory of his beautiful and dearly loved wife.

He began to erect it in 1630, and it was not finished until 1647, though twenty thousand workmen were employed on it during those seventeen years. One hundred and forty thousand cart-loads of pink sandstone and marble were used in this mausoleum, and every province in the empire sent jewels to adorn it.

From the Punjab came jasper, from Broach carnelians, from Thibet turquoises, from Yemen agates, from Ceylon lapis lazuli, from Arabia coral, from Bundelcund garnets, from Punnah diamonds, from Persia onyx, from Malwah rock-crystal, and from Colombo sapphires.

The tomb stands on the bank of the Jumna, its golden crescent rising two hundred and seventy feet above the level of the river. The garden in front of it is surrounded by high walls, with a pavilion at each corner.

At the end of a wide avenue bordered by cypress-trees stands the Taj, a dazzling mountain of white marble, uplifted from a terrace of pink sandstone. In shape it is an irregular octagon, the longest sides of which measure one hundred and twenty feet, with a terraced roof, and a magnificent dome in the centre.

From base to summit the edifice is inlaid with arabesques, inscriptions, and mosaics as dainty and delicate as the finest lace. Bishop Heber said of this tomb that it was "built by Titans and finished by goldsmiths."

Within, the ceiling walls and tombstones are a mass of precious stones representing flowers, fruits, and birds. The windows are rose-tinted.

Through the silence steals now and then a faint and musical echo, caused by the dome, which being closed by the ceiling of the hall, forms a whispering-gallery.

All this magnificence commemorates an Empress whose goodness and loveliness were such that her name is honored throughout the East.

* * * * *

THE MONKEY AND THE SUGAR.

I remember once in India giving a tame monkey a lump of sugar inside a corked bottle. The monkey was of an inquiring mind, and it nearly killed it. Sometimes in an impulse of disgust it would throw the bottle away, out of its own reach, and then be distracted until it was given back to it.

At others it would sit with a countenance of the most intense dejection, contemplating the bottled sugar, and then, as if pulling itself together for another effort at solution, would sternly take up the problem afresh, and gaze into it. It would tilt it up one way and try to drink the sugar out of the neck, and then, suddenly reversing it, try to catch it as it fell out at the bottom.

Under the impression that it could capture it by a surprise, it kept rasping its teeth against the glass in futile bites, and warming to the pursuit of the revolving lump, used to tie itself into regular knots round the bottle. Fits of the most ludicrous melancholy would alternate with spasm of delight as a new idea seemed to suggest itself, followed by a fresh series of experiments.

Nothing availed, however, until one day a light was shed upon the problem by a jar of olives falling from the table with a crash, and the fruit rolling about in all directions. His monkeyship contemplated the catastrophe, and reasoned upon it with the intelligence of a Humboldt. Lifting the bottle high in his claws, he brought it down upon the floor with a tremendous noise, smashing the glass into fragments, after which he calmly transferred the sugar to his mouth and munched it with much satisfaction.

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End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Young People, October 17, 1882, by Various