CHAPTER IV.

Nora never quite understood what prompted her to call out to Penelope in that sudden fashion; it seemed like a dream to her that she found herself walking over the familiar ground to the Deanery garden, Miss Harleford uttering rapid, although but half-intelligible, explanations, and saying, from time to time, "Now don't talk yet, Nora; you are all worn out, I can see."

But how had time passed with her since she and her mother had left Mrs. Bruce's kindly shelter? Nora made no effort to unravel the mystery of her silence until she was seated in the elder Miss Harleford's room.

With her usual impetuosity Penny had gone directly to her aunt, holding Nora by the hand, and introducing her briefly and joyfully as:

"Nora Phillips's daughter. We found each other, aunt," cried Penny, still rather inclined to be tearful.

Then Nora's bonnet and cloak were removed. She was seated in a comfortable chair before the fire, and presently a cozy tea-tray heaped with delicacies was at her side, Penny declaring she was to be feasted on everything good the Deanery larder contained. Neither of her two new friends was surprised to hear that Nora had been violently ill since she bade good-by to Mrs. Bruce. The widow and her daughter had gone to London, trusting to find employment in the large city; but there, in the poor lodging they had found, Nora fell ill, a low fever prostrating her just as her mother most needed her help.

"As soon as I got better," said Nora, "I began to think of seeing Mrs. Bruce--I had a fancy she might give me work in her shop. I was afraid to write, for fear that her hard-hearted son would not let her have the letter, and then--it was queer," added Nora, with a little flickering smile--"I was so sure that screen was bought for you, I made up my mind to try and find you, and perhaps you would let mamma have it again--the loss of it always grieved her--and perhaps you might give her work. Often and often when I was so ill and weak I used to think of the garden here, and fancy I could hear your name, '_Penelope_,' and then everything seemed to be confused, and I fancied you were with me. As soon as I was better I persuaded mamma to let me come here. You know we have had to sell nearly everything we own, and to buy my ticket down here I sat up two nights working for our landlady in London. She is an actor's wife, and I helped her in making some costumes; but you don't know the feeling I had about seeing you. I kept saying to myself over and over, 'Penelope, Penelope--I will find her.' And so I did, for I was just coming from the train when I saw you. Oh, I could not help speaking your name aloud!"

"And how glad I am that you did!" cried Penelope, pressing Nora's hand. "Well, I'm sure it has all turned out beautifully, and all through Lion's thought of me--dear old Lion!"

The Deanery was in a state of pleasurable excitement that evening. First of all, a trusted old servant was dispatched to London to bring Mrs. Mayne back with her. What solid comforts went with old Harriet only she and Penelope knew; but certain it is the actor's family feasted on good things for a week to come. Then Penny established Nora in a pretty room near her own, insisting upon her going to bed, as she was so utterly exhausted. Nora lay still in the soft white bed, thoroughly happy, in spite of the queer sense that she must be dreaming. When Penelope left her alone, she raised herself in bed, gazing around at the pretty chintz-hung room, smiling at the reflection of her own face in the long mirror opposite. Finally she fell into a comfortable sleep, that now familiar name mingling with her dreams. Aunt Letitia, coming in to look at the girl, heard the name on her lips, "Penelope," and she said to herself, "Yes, I know Penny is doing just what her dear father would like."

What Penny was doing just then was to make her uncle feel for once he was the guardian of a very self-willed young lady. During dinner-time Penny discoursed eloquently upon the Maynes, repeating Nora's story with many exclamations of her own, and winding up by asking her uncle to grant her an hour alone in his study.

The Dean consented, wondering what his bright, impulsive Penelope had in her mind to say to him, and he was not surprised when she declared her intention of assuming full charge of the Maynes.

"I have nothing in the world to do," said Penny, making a little grimace as she sat in the lamp-light of her uncle's study; "and just reflect, uncle, what a responsibility a fortune like mine is. Why, it ought to be considered in _trust_, nearly all of it, for other people. I never felt half so interested in any one as I am in Nora Mayne. Now I'll tell you what I propose: I shall ask Nora and her mother to pay me a long visit at Harleford. There I can manage it so that Mrs. Mayne will not feel herself dependent. You know how much there is to do; and I will regularly agree with Nora that she is to be my companion at a fixed salary, don't you see? If it turns out badly, you, are at liberty to send them back to America, if you will manage that they have a sum settled on them which they will never know comes from me. Now, uncle," added Penny, laying her pretty cheek against the Dean's, "you may as well give in first as last."

The Dean had known from the outset that Penelope would have her own way, but I think a few words Miss Letitia spoke to him decided the question in his mind. Something she told him of their elder brother's story. "And _he_ would have cared for her child," said the gentle little lady with a sigh. So Nora Mayne awoke at the Deanery in a new position. She was brought into the breakfast-room by Penelope, who was proud of her new friend, and the Dean welcomed her with gentle courtesy. He was thoroughly pleased, he admitted to Penelope, by the American girl's manner. Evidently her companionship would not be an injury to his beloved niece.

Nora Mayne often speaks of that bewilderingly happy day. By eleven o'clock she and Penelope were in the Deanery carriage on their way to Mrs. Bruce's. The elder girl had made Nora feel thoroughly at ease about the favors lavished upon her.

"You see," she said, in a very matter-of-fact tone, "I was just needing some companion. Here in England we always engage companions for lonely sisterless girls like me" (a firm pressure of Nora's hand followed this), "and yet it is _so_ hard to find just the right person. It has to be"--Penny hastily reviewed what she knew of Nora's capabilities--"it has to be a young girl who is fond of music, and charity visiting, and walking, and driving, and studying a great deal. Perhaps you wouldn't like the place, Nora? Of course you have only to say so, dear. And the salary I meant to give isn't _very_ large--about £250 a year. Perhaps your mother and my aunt will decide about it."

What could Nora do but fling her arms around her new friend's neck and burst into happy tears? And what could she find to say when, an hour later, as they started for Mrs. Bruce's shop, Penelope placed a little purse in her hands, whispering, "I thought, dear, you'd like some of your salary in advance, as you said it worried you so much to owe Mrs. Bruce."

Mary Jane was busily engaged sorting wools when the Deanery carriage appeared and its occupants descended. She gave a little scream that brought her aunt from the back parlor. Through the glass of the door Mrs. Bruce recognized Nora, and flung the door open widely.

"My bonny lamb!" she cried out, and folded Nora in her arms warmly. What an hour that was! To behold Nora as Miss Penelope Harleford's chosen friend was to make her more than ever dear to Mrs. Bruce. The two young people sat down in Mrs. Bruce's parlor, Mary Jane hovering in the background, her broad face fairly shining with smiles. But I think the final triumph was when Mr. James Bruce's swaggering figure appeared in the doorway, his eyes lighting first upon Nora.

"Well, miss," he said, coarsely, "I hope you've come with our money--our honest due." He proceeded no further, for the young lady of the Manor stood up, saying, quietly:

"Miss Mayne has settled with your mother, Mr. Bruce."

His tone changed at once, profuse apologies and the most servile manner only half covering his mortification. He seemed glad to disappear, and Nora and her friend enjoyed a hearty laugh over his discomfiture when they were once more in the carriage. Their next stopping-place was at Searle's, the grocer, where Penelope insisted that Nora should order various delicacies to be sent for Mrs. Mayne to the Deanery. Mr. Searle was all good-humor, and his sharp-faced wife came out of the parlor rubbing her hands, and bowing a dozen times to the heiress of the Manor, who was so evidently the friend of their late unprofitable customer. Penelope took great pains to consult Nora's wishes or opinions on every point, saying, "Nora dear, shall you care for any more grapes?" or, "Nora, didn't we decide upon apricot jam?"

Such judicious remarks impressed Mrs. Searle deeply, and of course she soon learned that the young lady of the Manor was Miss Mayne's dearest friend.

Nora's joy was complete when, on returning to the Deanery, she found her mother established in Miss Harleford's room, the two ladies discussing "old times" with many sighs and pressures of the hand, and many glances at the two girls who seemed to be living over again the happy past. And when, before the spring had fairly set in, the party were fairly settled at Harleford Manor, the Dean himself declared there was nothing to find fault with in the new arrangement. Penelope's restless little brain had found something to think about peacefully. Nora's good sense and American ways made her companionship most desirable. Penelope had no more hours of nothing to do; Nora gave a stimulus to all the two girls shared together, and before a year was over the people about Harleford had learned to acknowledge and respect Miss Mayne almost as completely as they did Miss Penelope.

The great grief of Nora's life--her mother's death--was softened by Penelope's gentle sympathy; and how tenderly were the widow's last days guarded! After that the bond was permanently strengthened between the two girls who visit the Deanery as sisters, who are known everywhere as the "Manor-House young ladies." Even Penelope's marriage, when it occurs, which every one says will be next year, after "Lion's" Indian days are over, will not separate the two girls, for Nora is to remain as "housekeeper and manager" of Harleford. "The consoler-general," Penelope calls her, and Aunt Letty declares she could not live without her "American niece."

Mrs. Bruce is a trusty friend of the Manor House, and it is astonishing how often the young ladies have to buy wools and silks in the little shop, and how often Mrs. Bates, the real housekeeper at the Manor, requires the good woman's company to tea. Mary Jane occupies a position of honor as Miss Harleford's own maid. If ever Nora requires a champion, she will find one in the honest-hearted country girl.

There is one treasure Nora guards always with a loving care. It is the little screen, with its faded colors and pretty lettering, and which her mother's hand held almost in dying. The other day, as I stood in Penelope's sitting-room, she and Nora and I talked over the story I have been telling you. Nora was called away, and Penelope followed her with a loving glance.

"Yes," she said, smiling, "that screen gave me a sister, and taught me what I never knew before--that even trouble, want, and sorrow can perfect our natures, and that there is no deeper satisfaction than in helping one another."

When Penelope had said this, I suddenly realized how my young friend had changed since she was in London two years ago. All the brightness and prettiness remained, but she had gained something higher. That evening dear old Miss Harleford held my hand while the two girls played a duet in the long old-fashioned drawing-room.

"Nora Phillips's daughter!" she whispered. "She has proved my Penelope's blessing."

THE END.

EMBROIDERY FOR GIRLS.

BY SUSAN HAYES WARD.

No. VI.

I am sure the girls who read HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE know better than to ask, as a lady did of me last summer, "Is that worked in the Keniston stitch?" First, the lady blundered, in forgetting--if indeed she had ever known--that the Royal School for Art Needle-Work is at South _Kensington_, England; and secondly, she fell into the mistake--which I want especially to warn my girl readers against--in supposing that there is any one stitch called _the_ Kensington stitch. All good embroidery stitches are or should be South Kensington stitches.

A few years ago, while embroiderers here in America were counting the spaces on pieces of canvas, or carefully pushing needles in and out of the holes in perforated paper, pupils and teachers of the new English school were studying out the many stitches they could find in old embroidery, and were introducing them into their work. The so-called "Kensington" stitch is merely a form of stem stitch, taken always in a manner to fit the leaf or flower to be wrought. Its proper name is "feather stitch," because the threads are made to look as if they lapped over one another, like the feathers of a bird's plume. _Opus plumarium_ was its old Latin name. Besides reviving a number of old stitches and introducing very many choice designs, the Royal School of Art Needle-Work has taken great pains to secure suitable materials to work on, and wools and silks of good quality and color with which to work. For the stitch is not the all-important part of embroidery. No matter how even and true the stitches, if the color or design is poor, the work will look _shoppy_, and not artistic. You wish any one who picks up your work to know at a glance that it is not the handiwork of an ignorant shop-girl, but of a cultivated little lady, and it is by the design and colors you choose that you show whether your eye and taste have had good training.

For a good lesson in color pick out from a bunch of wools the greens that seem to you a suitable leaf-color. Then bring in a few leaves from the lawn or garden and lay them beside your wools, and see if the greens you have chosen are not much too vivid. One of my scholars who made this experiment some time ago chose the green of a Brazilian beetle's wing, a color that is only needed in embroidery to give brilliancy to a bug or to a bird's plumage. The greens of nature are a great deal grayer and duller than those you will be likely to choose at first. As for design: In the shops you will find, perhaps, stamped on a single table-cover daisies, buttercups, cat-tails, clovers, wild roses, and grasses, a confused and irregular mass; leave out all but one, keep your clover, for example, and only the leaf of that. Take a real clover leaf, lay it on a piece of paper, and trace it off, with a closed leaf perhaps crossing the stem; then stamp, according to directions in embroidery article No. II., page 75, Vol. II., a row of these, three or four inches apart, across the ends of a piece of crash or linen for a little stand-cover, and draw lines for a finish above and below, as in Fig. 18. Match the color of the leaf as nearly as possible in crewel, and then work around the outer edge of the leaf, taking a long and then a shorter stitch (see A), so that the stitches will be even on the edge of the leaf, but irregular on the inside, and all point toward the stem; leave the light space, and beginning at the stem, work a few lines of stem stitch radiating from the stem, with a few extra stitches filled in where the lines spread apart. A good way to fill in these extra stitches is to bring the needle back, pointing toward the stem as at B. Afterward fill in the light space by putting the needle in and out, pointing the stitches toward the stem, but taking them irregularly according to the space.

We publish with pleasure the following note from the Rev. G. H. Houghton, D.D., rector of the Church of the Transfiguration:

_To the Editor of Harper's Young People:_

You were kind enough to print in your number of July 26 a letter in which it was proposed that some of your young readers should unite in endowing or supporting a cot in St. Mary's Free Hospital.

Connected with the Church of the Transfiguration, of which I am rector, there is a society known as the Holy Innocents' Guild. This guild has for its object the care of poor sick children, and has furnished within the past year a ward, called the Holy Innocents' Ward, in St. Mary's Hospital, 407 West Thirty-fourth Street, New York, where such children can have the kind nursing care of the good Sisters of St. Mary. It is a cot in this ward that it is proposed that some of your young readers should unite in endowing or supporting. The endowing of a cot, which will provide for the care of a sick child for all time to come, will cost three thousand dollars. The support of a cot for a year will cost two hundred dollars.

This statement, if you will print it, will enable all who may contribute to do so more intelligently.

G. H. HOUGHTON, NEW YORK, _August_ 22, 1881.

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WASHINGTON, D. C.

I have taken YOUNG PEOPLE from the first number, and have found a great deal to interest me in its pages. My favorite pursuit is the study of natural history, and I have made a fair collection of insects, minerals, and shells since coming to this city about three years ago. I began by collecting insects, among which I have the following: a polyphemus moth six inches across the wings, a turnus or tiger swallow-tail butterfly, a large hawk-moth, an Archippus butterfly, Ajax and Asterias butterflies, a hummingbird moth, and several cicadas. I have some specimens of the _Mantis religiosa_, or, as the people here call them, the "rear-horse bug," because they rear like horses when disturbed. This praying mantis is a curious insect, and quite voracious, feeding on flies and other insects. My first collection, which contained a variety of dragon-flies, was destroyed by mites. I now have my second, as well as a collection of spiders.

I have explored the District of Columbia thoroughly for geological specimens. My cabinet now includes rough garnets, petrified wood, fossilized shells imbedded in stone, crystals, and iron pyrites. I have a microscope, which affords me many hours of amusement. I have examined water-fleas, the bell-flower animalculæ, and that miniature octopus the hydra.

I have had an aquarium, in which the fish were so tame that they would eat from my hand. I have raised toads and frogs and catfish from the spawn. I kept a nest of ants for a year in a glass jar, and diligently studied their habits. I once put a quantity of powdered cracker near their jar, and after they had discovered it, and were conveying it home, I placed some sugar near it; but although they observed the sugar, they finished carrying the cracker away before they touched the other, though they love sugar. Ants, as I have read, have their games, beasts of burden, and plans of defense and assault, marching in columns like armies, and they undoubtedly possess intelligence of a very high degree. I once tried to tame a large gray and black spider, but did not succeed. I found a small paper-making wasps' nest, and pinned it up in my room shortly after coming to Washington. One day a small wasp with black wings and red body flew in at the window. No doubt she was out house-hunting, for on perceiving my wasps' nest, she took possession, selected a cell, and deposited an egg in it. After this she flew away, but soon returned, carrying a small gray spider, placed it beside the egg, and sealed up the recess with some yellow mud. She then went in search of another spider, which she also placed in the same cell, but without laying another egg in the second compartment. Then she began on another cell. There were seventy cells in the nest, and it was curious to see a mud-wasp at work in a paper-wasps' nest.

There are many facilities for study in Washington. Here are the Botanical Gardens, the National Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Agricultural Museum and Conservatory. There are several minor museums, and the Congressional Library. Washington is, in fact, an excellent school to an observing person.

JOHN B. T.

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FORT DODGE, IOWA.

Last year I had YOUNG PEOPLE for my birthday present. To-day I am six years old, and have had given me a knife with a whistle attached, and a pretty plate to eat ice-cream from. Mamma says it is pleasant to _give_ things on birthdays as well as to receive them, so I am going to send ten cents for the "Young People's Cot," and when I go to New York again, I hope to visit the hospital, and see the cot. I live on the Des Moines River, but I was born in Connecticut. Mamma reads everything in YOUNG PEOPLE to me, but I hope soon to be able to read it myself.

ALLAN C.

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PARKERSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA.

Parkersburg, our Post-office, is situated at the junction of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers. It is growing rapidly, and contains now about seven thousand inhabitants. We have a pulp factory here, which manufactures the material for making paper. We also have two railroads connecting with the town, and we will have a street railway and two more railroads in a few years. I have been taking YOUNG PEOPLE, ever since the first number, through the newspaper dealer. I have induced two other boys to take it, and we all think it splendid. Mr. Alden, I hope, will favor the readers of the Young People with a story about canoes.

J. F. H.

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BAY RIDGE, LONG ISLAND.

My papa goes to sea. He is first officer of the steam-ship _Colon_, which goes to Aspinwall, and he brings home shells, bananas, and cocoa-nuts. Our Polly has been ill, but is now a great deal better, and laughs and talks as she used to. I can write only with my left hand.

JENNIE B. F.

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CLIFTON, NEW JERSEY.

I live in a beautiful village three miles south of Paterson. I consider Mr. Otis a splendid author. I am nine years of age. I have an excellent book on Natural History, by the Rev. J. G. Wood.

SADIE D.

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RAPIDAN, MINNESOTA.

The Blue Earth River, on which we live, rose twenty feet above low-water mark this spring, and logs and blocks of ice floated away. Among other curious things afloat was a wagon, and a pig-pen with pigs in it. I am eleven. I have three sisters younger than myself. My baby sister Maggie, who is only nineteen months old, cries, "Harp! Harp!" whenever YOUNG PEOPLE comes.

EDITH C.

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NEW YORK CITY.

I would suggest that some of the collectors of postage stamps should turn their attention to butterflies. They cost nothing, and a child who lives on a farm can easily make a splendid collection of them. Rare butterflies, and even common ones, are very beautiful. Butterflies, for sea-weed, would make a good exchange, I think.

JOHN W. S.

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HANOVER, GERMANY.

I thought perhaps some of the boys and girls who read the Post-office Box would like to know what I have been doing this summer. Part of the time I have been travelling with papa and mamma in Switzerland.

We went to a little village named Chamounix. It is at the very foot of Mont Blanc. The people there ride on donkeys when they are going up the mountains, the paths being too steep for horses. The mountains were covered with snow, but down in the valley, where the village is, it was very warm indeed.

We are now tarrying in Germany for a few weeks to study the German language. It is very quiet here, but we have seen the ten horses belonging to the ex-King of Hanover. They are white as driven snow, and very beautiful. There are also to be seen the carriages and harness which he formerly used. These harnesses are dark blue and dark red, with rosettes to match. They were taken from the King by the Prussian government, and will not be restored until he renounces his right to be King of Hanover, which the people say he will never do.

We hope to return in the fall to our home in New York, which is the best place in the world, if a little girl of twelve years may form an opinion.

JESSIE C. S.

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KENSICO, NEW YORK.

I live on a farm in New York State. "The Cruise of the 'Ghost'" was splendid. I am very sorry that our President was shot, and I hope he will get well again. This is the second year I have taken YOUNG PEOPLE, and I hope to take it next year.

FRANK R.

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GADSDEN, ALABAMA.

Mother told me a good while ago that if I could succeed in getting on the Roll of Honor at school, she would give me a dollar, and my brother, who was here at the time, promised me another one. I was successful, and received the money. Mother thought I would better take a paper than do anything else, so I selected this one.

I am only twelve, but am large for my age.

SARAH L. D.

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AUBURN, NEW YORK.

I am a little girl almost eleven years old. I receive YOUNG PEOPLE every week through my grandma's kindness. I like the letters in the Post-office Box very much. I live in Buffalo, but am spending my vacation here. I want to tell you what my little brother did the first Sunday in vacation. My cousin, brother, and I were swinging in the hammock, while the older people were sitting in the grape arbor. Gussie, my little brother, got in the hammock, and I began to swing him, when he turned a somersault right around the hammock. We thought that he would cry, but he did not, and my cousin said that he was very brave. I began to take music lessons a few weeks ago, and am getting along nicely. I think the "Cruise of the 'Ghost,'" the "Moral Pirates," and "Aunt Ruth's Temptation," were splendid stories, and so is "Tim and Tip" thus far.

H. MAUDE S.

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MOUNT WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

We have been taking HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE ever since it has been published, and HARPER'S WEEKLY for twelve years, and like both very much.

I would like to tell the readers of YOUNG PEOPLE how to make a pleasant drink of herbs. Take equal parts of yarrow, plantain, golden-rod, ground-ivy, pennyroyal, and dandelion; cover them with water, boil half an hour, sweeten the liquor with two pounds of sugar or a pint of molasses, add one and a half cakes of yeast, and one tea-spoonful of ginger. When done, add a little cold water, steam, and put in bottles. Allow it to stand overnight.

ANNA C.

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BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

I have no sisters, but have a brother twenty-one years of age. I have no living pets, but have a great many dolls and toys. I have a swing in the yard, and I often treat my dollies to a ride in it.

FLORA L. A.

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LAUZAL, CALIFORNIA.

We live on All-Saints' Bay, a hundred miles from San Diego. The name of the ranch is Lauzal. Our house is a little way from the beach. I am taking YOUNG PEOPLE this year, but do not receive it every week, as our mail goes to San Diego, and we depend on people who are passing to bring it out to us. We sometimes have to wait for it several weeks.

We have goats, sheep, horses, cows, two dogs, and a cat. One of our dogs was wrecked on a schooner, and when she was brought to me was a forlorn little puppy, but she is now a good-sized dog. As I have no sisters nor brothers, I have to depend on my animals for playmates. The nearest neighbors are six miles away. I am twelve years old.

ROBERTO F.

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EDNA, MINNESOTA.

We live away out on the prairies. We are two miles from the Post-office. We have no public schools here, but our sister teaches us at home. I have a little black dog named Jack, who will not lie down without his cushion, and barks and barks until I get it for him. I sometimes ride on horseback, though I have no side-saddle. I am twelve years old.

MARY M.

I am Mary's brother Bertie. I am seven years old. I do not like to go to school. I would rather be out on the farm with the boys. I was out in the wheat field when there were 618 men at work there. I have a cat named Stubbs, and a colt named Toby Tyler. He will shake hands with me, and take off my hat.

BERTIE M.

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TREMPEALEAU, WISCONSIN.

We live in Trempealeau County. This is a beautiful village, situated on the banks of the Mississippi. My brother, with his wife, baby, and myself, and four other persons, with their children, took tents lately, and camped out at a place called Spring Slew. We had a very nice time, but were annoyed by the mosquitoes. We would like to exchange pressed ferns and oak leaves, for the same from any other State. The ferns are to be sent to Lizzie, and the leaves to Dena. Can those who are not subscribers be on the exchange list?

LIZZIE HEUSTON, DENA MCDONALD.

All readers, as we have said before, are entitled to become exchangers. They need not be subscribers to possess this privilege. We find it necessary to ask exchangers to be as brief as possible when writing an exchange. We have been obliged to condense some exchanges into half their original space, and still there are boys and girls who have been waiting their turn to appear for many weeks. When your exchange has been published, do not send another for some time. Let others state their offers first before you try a second or third time. Unless you could see with your own eyes, you would hardly believe what a host of exchanges arrive at the Post-office Box every day, and it would not do to fill YOUNG PEOPLE with them, and crowd all the stories, puzzles, and letters out. In all cases it would be well to have some correspondence by postal cards before sending what you wish to exchange. Then the terms could be clearly arranged, and if any special expense about postage were probable, that could be arranged too. We can not give addresses and assist readers to carry on private correspondences, however, except as they do it in this way.

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The following exchanges are offered by correspondents:

A halfpenny English stamp, for a 6-cent Canadian stamp.

H. H. TOLER, Oxford, Butler Co., Ohio.

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Moss from Texas and flint flakes, for sea-shells, sea-weed, or other ocean curiosities (a star-fish especially desired); three fossil shells, for a Florida sea-bean; petrified moss from Minnesota, for a king-crab or a horseshoe-crab; eight foreign stamps, for a perfect specimen of Indian pottery. Please write before exchanging.

EUGENE FLETCHER, Box 252, Bryan, Ohio.

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Pressed flowers from Missouri, for pressed flowers from any other State.

ORA W. BOYD, Box F, Fayette, Howard Co., Mo.

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Copper and zinc in crystals, for rare stamps; South American stamps especially desired.

HENRY A. GILDERSLEEVE, Ellenville, Ulster Co., N. Y.

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A genuine Indian bow, two arrows, and two arrow-heads, for a pair of ruffle-necks or carrier-pigeons. Please write particulars, and await reply before exchange.

FRANK A. HERBST, Box 688, Moline, Ill.

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A book entitled _Orient Boys_, by Mrs. S. F. Keene, for _The Young Nimrods in North America_. Please write and arrange exchange before sending.

EDW. J. SMITH, Plato Centre, Kane Co., Ill.

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A foreign coin of 1832, for an Indian arrow-head.

F. A. JOHNSON, Shirley Village, Mass.

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Hematite, mica, limonite, pumice-stone, garnets, iron pyrites, and magnetic iron ore, for gold, silver, copper, and zinc ores, graphite, nickel, manganese, agate, pyroxene, tourmaline, and tin ore. Label specimens.

H. S. WARWICK, 205 Palisade Avenue, Jersey City, N. J.

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A handsome paper-knife, for petrifactions, Indian arrow-heads, ores, etc.; twenty-five foreign stamps, for a Lake Superior agate.

C. S. CRANE, 41 West Forty-fifth St., New York City.

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Thirty-four varieties of woods, with the person who offers the largest number of foreign postage stamps, all different.

WILLIAM B. BUSHONG, New Holland, Lancaster Co., Penn.

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A French coin as large as a silver quarter, date 1782, in good condition, for U. S. coins, copper cents of 1801, 1804, 1809, 1811, and an eagle nickel cent of 1856. Write and arrange exchange.

ADD PARKER, Felt's Mills, N. Y.

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A piece of stone from Fort Adams, or a stone from inside the iron-fenced inclosure of the "Old Stone Mill" of Newport, R. I., the oldest structure in America, for Indian relics, curiosities, and fossils; 100 different foreign stamps, for an Indian tomahawk.

GRAHAM LUSK, Guilford, Conn.

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Forty-two postmarks, for fourteen foreign stamps. Please send list of stamps before exchanging. A piece of marble from Illinois, for one from any other State.

HEUSTED YOUNG, Care Edward Young, Joliet, Ill.

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Postmarks and stamps, for stamps; one postmark from Paris, for a War Department stamp; and ten from other cities, for other stamps.

H. B. CAMPBELL, State College, Penn.

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Minerals and monograms, for stamps and postmarks. Write to arrange exchange.

G. WARDLAW, Box 158, New Brighton, Richmond Co., N. Y.

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Postmarks, revenue stamps, and business cards, for rare foreign stamps (no duplicates), five postmarks for one stamp.

F. W. BLODGETT, 282 Greenbush St., Milwaukee, Wis.

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One hundred and twenty-five star-fish and thirty-five saddle shells, for rare stamps, relics, shells, minerals, curiosities of all kinds, coins, etc.

Box 5, Comstocks, Washington Co., N. Y.

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Postmarks, for foreign stamps, five different postmarks for each stamp; Indian arrow-heads, and bullets from Lookout Mountain battle-field, for foreign postage stamps.

W. H. FISHER, 510 Wenzel St., between Market and Main, Louisville, Ky.

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For every Indian arrow-head I will send 25 foreign stamps (no duplicates); for a stone hatchet, 50; for bow and arrows, 100; for a rattlesnake's rattle, 10; for a star-fish, 10. Specimens must be labelled, and place where found stated.

JOHN M., Room 47, 30 Broad St., New York City.

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Stones from Ogeechee River, pine burrs, Spanish moss, and curiosities, for arrow-heads, spear-heads, foreign stamps, or curiosities.

ANSON B. CUTTS, Eden, Effingham Co., Ga.

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A new printing-press, with complete outfit, or a new scroll-saw and outfit, for a collection of 1000 or 1500 postage stamps, all different. Rare duplicates taken.

M. A. CLARK, 519 East 119th St., New York City.

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A piece of pepper-tree wood, which grows only in California, and a piece of eucalyptus wood, which grows only in Australia and California, for postmarks or stamps (postmarks preferred) from Bavaria, Cape of Good Hope, Cabool, Japan, China, Mozambique, Austria, Turkey, France, and Russia.

GRACE BOWERS, San Diego, Cal.

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A volume of _Robinson Crusoe_ and one of Hawthorne's _Wonder-Books_, for four rabbits of any color, three females and one male. Both books are as good as new, and are illustrated. I have also _St. Nicholas_ from 1875 to 1880, and will send two years of that for the rabbits, instead of the books, if preferred. Write before exchanging.

JAMES VAN DUSEN, Jamaica Plain P. O., Mass.

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A pair of young canary-birds, for a male mocking-bird.

CORA EATON, Ellenville, Ulster Co., N. Y.

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I will print the name of any girl or boy on one dozen cards called "Gems of the Sea-Side," or on bevel gilt-edge cards, for foreign and old U. S. stamps, old U. S. cents and half-cents, petrifactions, minerals, ores, medicine stamps, or good curiosities.

CARL C. WHEELOCK, Woonsocket, R. I.

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Woods, sea-shells, and valuable books, for coins, ores, and minerals; a book, for thirty coins. Write before exchanging.

W. L. WEBER, Summerville, S. C.

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Soil from Illinois, for the same from any other State or Territory except New York, Massachusetts, and Ohio; also one stamp, for any five postmarks. Write and tell what stamp is required.

W. G. JERRENS, JUN., 3651 Vincennes Avenue, Chicago, Ill.

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Marble, silver, grape, and iron ores, and quartz crystal, for exchange.

L. S. ROPES, Ishpeming, Mich.

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Fifty postmarks, for any Indian relic.

FRED BROOKS, 128 North State St., Chicago, Ill.

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A printing-press, for a stamp album with about 500 stamps and curiosities. Please write to arrange exchange.

HARRY FARR, 256 Carroll St., Brooklyn, N. Y.

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Rare postmarks, for rare foreign stamps or coins. Stamps, for stamps or curiosities.

D. and E. DEWITT, 837 Sixth Avenue, New York City.

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Stamps, for exchange.

ROYAL CORTISSOZ, 382 Sackett St., Brooklyn, N. Y.

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Foreign stamps, for match and medicine stamps.

G. A. HERTHUM, Box 213, Baton Rouge, La.

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Postage stamps from Uruguay, Guinea, Senegambia, Paraguay, Guiana, Morocco, Persia, for the same number from Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, East India, Cape of Good Hope, Russia, Turkey, and China.

HENRY KOENIG, P. O. Branch C, San Francisco, Cal.

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One $2 and one $3 card album, for coins or stamps.

FRANK PUTNAM, Box 100, Salem, Mass.

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Curiosities and old U. S. and foreign stamps, for minerals, agates, ores, old coins, arrow-heads, sea-shells, stamps from any U. S. department, or a second-hand stamp album.

W. L. DOUGLASS, Princeton, Bureau Co., Ill.

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Eighty-five minerals and curiosities, ten Indian arrow-heads, pieces of Mound-builders' pottery, carbonate of iron, 350 postmarks, 100 mixed stamps, and a Little Gem rubber family font, with ink-holder, etc., for a printing-press not less than 5-1/4 by 8-1/2 inches inside of chase; list of specimens for a 1-cent stamp. Arrange exchange by writing before sending press.

PRINTER, Heckatoo, Lincoln Co., Ark.

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Stamps, for stamps. Send list of those desired and those you have; I will return if I can not exchange.

EDWARD A. CROWNINSHIELD, Lancaster, Mass.

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Buttons with shanks, for silk pieces for a quilt; or silks for silks.

MAUD UNDERHILL, Franklin, Essex Co., N. J.

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

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WILD ROSE.--Your little story, though not good enough for publication, is very well constructed, and is creditable to a girl of fifteen. But you need to pay attention to punctuation, and to the proper use of capital letters, quotation marks, etc. We would advise you to take the advice lately given to Jennie and Julia, and cultivate your mind by reading good books, and becoming familiar with the best authors. Do not read too many stories, and wait until you are a good deal older before you try to write for the papers.

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G. C. M.--The mud-turtle can be obtained in the small, sluggish streams and ditches back of Jamaica, L. I., from ponds in the neighborhood of Flushing, L. I., and also near Springfield, L. I. One of the very best fishing grounds for all sorts of specimens for an aquarium is Rockland Lake, N. Y.

* * * * *

CARRIE M.--PEKIN.--The city of Peking, or Pekin, the northern capital of China, is situated on the river Tunghui, a tributary of the Pei-Ho. It consists of Kin-Ching, the prohibited city, where the Emperor and his immediate suite have their dwellings; of Hwang-Ching, the imperial city, where many court officials reside; and of a Tartar and Chinese city. Each of these cities is surrounded by a wall, and the outer wall has thirteen gates. In Pekin are many magnificent temples and palaces. For many centuries it was closed to the outside world, but in 1860, by the Treaty of Tien-Tsin, the British government succeeded in gaining substantial commercial advantages from the Emperor. In the war which preceded this treaty the splendid summer palace was pillaged and destroyed by the French and English forces.

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ANXIOUS INQUIRER.--You can present your sketch for an illustration on ordinary drawing-paper, with common ink or lead-pencil. If you wish to become a proficient, it will be well for you to acquire the art of drawing on wood. A fine, hard box-wood is preferred for this purpose.

* * * * *

Robert E. Cranson and Harlan C. Clark withdraw from the exchange list.

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Correct answers to puzzles have been received from George Sylvester, "_Paxton_," "_Jer Z. City_," Charlie Burr, Leo Marks, J. W. Slattery, Eddie S. Hequembourg, "Dandy," _Augusta Low Parke_, Frank Davis, C. P. Vogelius, Willie F. Collins, _Agnes F. Fletcher_, "Princess Feather," _Frank Lomas_, Jacob Marks, Lilian Holmes, Almon Hazard.

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PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.

No. 1.

DOUBLE ACROSTIC.

1. A string. 2. A boy's name. 3. At the back. 4. A girl's name. Primals and finals are girls' names.

PHIL I. PENE.

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No. 2.

HOUR-GLASS PUZZLE.

1. A disease. 2. A violent wind. 3. A wild flower. 4. Part of a fence. 5. A crime. 6. A letter found in Thursday. 7. A venomous reptile. 8. A color. 9. A sign of grief. 10. A bird. 11. To oversee. Centrals read downward give the name of a river of North America.

A. B. C.

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No. 3.

DIAMOND.

A thousand. A darling. A memorial coin. A brown tint. Fifty.

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No. 4.

TANGLE.

I am a Swiss river. Change my head, and I become successively an obstruction, a vehicle, a part of the body, distant, to shake, a Roman deity, to deface, a sort of propeller, of equal value, a sailor, and a state of armed enmity.

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No. 5.

RIDDLE.

Why will next year be the same as last year?

M. S. B.

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ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN No. 94.

No. 1.

Abraham Lincoln.

No. 2.

B A R D M A R L A M O O A G U E R O A M R U I N D O M E L E N T

No. 3.

H T O N H U S K S V A C A N C Y T O N I C A N T A

No. 4.

Everlasting. Water-melon. Fox-glove.

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To solve the Geographical Puzzle, published on page 704 of No. 96, substitute the following names in the order given for the portions inclosed within brackets: Snake, Gardiner, Dexter, Fairweather, Bowling Green, Lacrosse, Highgate, Start, Wheeling, Banks, Catastrophe, Clew, Lonely, Black, Snake, Yellow, Gardiner, Little Rock, Snake, False, Flinders, Eureka, Charlotte, Encounter, Save, Clear, Peace, Race, Spires, Reunion, Farewell, Gardiner, Flattery.

THROWING LIGHT: WHAT AM I?

BY C. E. M.

I belong to the animal kingdom, yet am made of both wood and metal. In winter I make my home near a lake or swamp in some warm country, but in summer-time I occasionally take a flying trip to the North. I can not live in a cold climate, yet that is the only one in which I am of use.

I have only one arm, with which I can easily lift weights far too heavy for a man to bear; and although incapable of living without motion, I may remain suspended in air, and motionless, for years, without injury.

I am especially useful in foundries or upon piers, yet if found in either of these places I should inevitably be hunted to death.

My favorite diet is small fish and eels, although I have no powers of digestion, and have never been known to eat even one mouthful.

I belong to no royal line, yet am a crowned head. I utter loud, shrill cries, although I am mute. Though surrounded by fire, I am not consumed.

I am much admired for my beauty of form and color. Poets have sung my praises, and I am extensively used in decorative art, yet I doubt if there ever existed a form more plain and ungainly than mine.

Though innocent of crime, I have been hung; and indeed I can not be said to have accomplished my mission in life until this has been done to me.

I am considered fair sport for hunters, and in olden times pursuit of me was a favorite amusement among the nobility. No one has ever thought of employing me as a police agent, yet once, long ages ago, I indirectly denounced and brought to judgment the murderers of a wealthy merchant of world-wide reputation.

The works produced in my name have gladdened the hearts and delighted the eyes of many children, and grown people as well, both in this country and in foreign lands.

* * * * *

=The Raccoon.=--The home of the raccoon is generally in a hollow tree; the young are brought forth in May, and are from four to six in number.

In captivity this animal makes a very cunning and interesting pet, being easily tamed to follow his master, and when dainties are in view, becomes a most adroit pickpocket. His food is extensive in variety, thus making it quite an easy matter to keep the creature in confinement. He eagerly devours nuts and fruits of all kinds, as well as bread, cake, and potatoes. He manifests no hesitation at a meal of rabbit, rat, squirrel, or bird, and rather likes it for a change, and when he can partake of a dessert of honey or molasses, his enjoyment knows no bounds.

In cold climates the raccoon lies dormant in the winter, only venturing out on occasional mild days; but in the Southern States he is active throughout the year, prowling about by day and by night in search of his food, inserting his little sharp nose into every corner, and feeling with his slender paws between stones for spiders and bugs of all kinds. He spies the innocent frog with his head just out of the water, and pouncing upon him, he dispatches him without a moment's warning. There seems to be no limit to his rapacity, for he is always eating and always hungry. The print of the raccoon's paw in the mud or snow is easily recognized, much resembling the impression made by the foot of a babe.

The best season for trapping the raccoon is late in the fall, winter, and early spring, or in and between the months of October and April. During this time the pelts are in excellent condition. Early in the spring, when the snow is disappearing, the raccoons come out of their hiding-places to start on their foraging tours, and at this time are particularly susceptible to a tempting bait, and they may be successfully trapped in the following manner:

Take a steel-trap and set it on the edge of some pool or stream which the raccoons are known to frequent; let it be an inch or so under the water, and carefully chained to a clog. The bait may consist of a fish, frog, or head of a fowl, scented with oil of anise, and suspended over the trap, about two feet higher, by the aid of a sapling secured in the ground. The object of this is to induce the animal to jump for it, when he will land with his foot in the trap.--From _Camp Life in the Woods_. Harper & Brothers.