CHAPTER V

AT POMEROY OAKS

“This is little Mary Prentiss,” said Miss Pomeroy to Arctura Green, who stood beaming down on Polly.

“Well, I’m glad enough to see you,” said Arctura, heartily, reaching out her long arm and drawing the little girl close to her side; “something young is just what we need here. We’re all growing old, Miss Hetty and Hiram and I, and Daisy and the cows and all hands; we’ve got a couple of kittens, to be sure, but they’re always busy about their own affairs and don’t talk much, so they’re no great company.”

“Why, Arctura, I don’t know when I’ve heard you make such a long speech,” said Miss Pomeroy. “I hope you have something good for dinner, for Mary and I have had a long drive and a great deal of excitement, and we shall be hungry pretty soon.”

“It’s only just turned half-past eleven,” said Arctura, releasing Polly after a good squeeze against her big checked apron, “so there’ll be an hour to wait. Where’s the little girl’s baggage, Miss Hetty?”

“It’s there in the back of the wagon,” said Miss Pomeroy; “a big black bag.”

“If you please, I can carry it, Miss Arctura,” said Polly, stepping forward to take the bag. “I’m real strong.”

“I want to know,” said Arctura, placidly. “Well, considering how many times as big as you are I am, supposing you let me lug it upstairs for you just this once. I shouldn’t know I was hefting more’n a feather’s weight,” and she swung the bag jauntily as she marched into the house after Miss Pomeroy, gently pushing the little girl before her.

Hiram stood looking into the house for a moment. His mouth had fallen open, as was its wont in times of meditation. Hiram had what his sister frankly called a “draughty countenance,” with a large-nostriled nose, big, prominent ears, and bulging eyes, but the same spirit of good-nature that illumined Arctura’s face shone from her brother’s.

“She’s a neat little piece,” remarked Hiram to Daisy, as he headed her for the barn; “a neat little piece, if ever I saw one, but she looks a mite scared, seems’s if. This is a kind of a quiet place for a young one to be set down, no mistake, and there ain’t any passing to speak of. Children like to see things a-going, even if they’re a-going by, seems’s if. She gave me a real pretty smile, say what you’ve a mind to,” he insisted, as if Daisy had expressed violent remonstrance.

The side porch led into a small, square hall; opposite the porch door was one which Arctura opened, and Polly saw that it was at the foot of a flight of stairs. Arctura and the black enamel cloth bag vanished from sight as the door closed. In the hall stood a hat-tree with curved mahogany branches, tipped with shining brass.

“Now, I hang my everyday coat and hat here,” said Miss Pomeroy, suiting the action to the word, “and you’d better do the same. What’s the matter, child?” she asked, at the sight of Polly’s face.

“These--these are not my everyday hat and jacket, Miss Pomeroy, if you please,” said Polly. “My everyday jacket is a shawl, and my everyday hat is a sunbonnet sometimes, and sometimes it isn’t--it hasn’t been anything. These are my Sunday best, and they are used to lying in a drawer on account of the dust--though I don’t believe there’s one speck of dust here,” she added, politely.

“Arctura would be pleased to hear that,” said Miss Pomeroy. “I think we may venture to leave the Sunday hat and coat here until after dinner. When you go upstairs, you will find a drawer in which you can put them, I’m sure.”

Then Miss Hetty led the way through a door at the left of the hall into a big, comfortable room, the walls of which were lined with book-cases. There was a bow window around which ran a cushioned seat; there were lounging chairs and rocking chairs, and a long sofa; a great round mahogany table covered with books and papers; and, best of all, a fireplace with a bright fire burning under the black pot which hung on the iron crane; and, guarding the fire, were two soldierly figures with stern profiles.

“These were my great-great-grandfather’s andirons,” said Miss Pomeroy, as she watched Polly’s eyes. “Suppose you sit down by the fire and get warmed through, for there was a little chill in the air, after all; and you might take a book to amuse yourself. I have to be busy with something for awhile. Would you--I suppose you wouldn’t care to look at the newspaper?” questioned Miss Pomeroy, doubtfully. “The child looks so absurdly young,” she thought, “and yet she talks as if she were fifty.”

“No’m, thank you,” said Polly; “I will just look at the fire and the books;” so Miss Pomeroy opened another door that led into the great front hall, and went out of the room. She left the door open, and Polly could hear a solemn ticking. She tiptoed to the door and, looking out into the hall, saw a tall clock with a great white face, above which there was a silvery moon in her last quarter. Polly looked at the slowly-swinging pendulum with shining eyes.

“That must be Mrs. Ramsdell’s clock,” she said, softly. “I mean her father’s. She described it just that way, and she said its like was never seen in these parts; no, it was those parts,” said Polly, correcting herself, “for it was ’way off in Connecticut. Well, then, there must have been two made alike, and Mrs. Ramsdell never knew it; I guess I won’t tell her, for she might be sorry.”

Polly stood a moment in the doorway; she could hear the sound of Miss Pomeroy’s voice in some distant part of the house. She tiptoed back into the library. The carpet was so thick and soft that Polly knelt down and rubbed it gently with her little hand; then she put her head down and pressed her cheek against the faded roses.

“It feels like Ebenezer’s fur,” said Polly. “I wonder if Ebenezer will miss me.”

Polly sat still for a moment with wistful eyes, and then hastily scrambled to her feet as the door into the side hall opened partway and Arctura stuck her head in.

“Here,” she said, dropping a struggling heap on the floor, “I thought maybe you’d like to see these two little creatures; I call ’em Snip and Snap, and I’ve had a chase to find ’em for you. There’s nothing they can break in the library, so Miss Hetty lets ’em run wild once in a while. I’ll just shut that other door.”

Arctura marched across the floor and shut the door into the front hall; then she marched back toward her own quarters. “If I were in your place,” she said, looking at the kittens instead of Polly, “I wouldn’t make a practice of sitting on the floor. I don’t know as it’s any harm, really, but a chair looks better for little girls.”

“Yes’m,” said Polly, with scarlet cheeks, as Arctura vanished with a good-humored smile. “I expect she thought I was turning somersaults, maybe,” said Polly to the kittens; “oh, dear!”

But the kittens were quite undisturbed by Arctura’s remarks. As Polly stood still for a moment, they began an acrobatic performance which always gave them keen enjoyment. Snip made a clutch for the hem of Polly’s skirt in front at the same instant that Snap sprang upon her from the rear. They secured a good hold on the pink gingham, and clambered up to Polly’s shoulder as fast as they could go. There they met and shifted positions with considerable scratching of their sharp little claws, and descended, Snap in front and Snip at the back, tumbling around Polly’s feet, and then scampering away from each other sidewise with arched backs and distended tails.

“Oh, you little cunnings!” cried Polly, forgetting all her troubles in a minute. To the window seats flew Snip and Snap, and there they swung back and forth on the stout curtain cords, and made dashes at each other; then they were off to the seat of an old leather-covered chair. Snip mounted to the top of the back and patted Snap on the head with a paw whose claws were politely sheathed, as often as he started to spring to his brother’s side. Over and under chairs and tables they went, and Polly, full of delight, followed them, catching up one or the other whenever she could.

At last the kittens grew tired of play, and when Miss Hetty opened the library door they were comfortably seated on Polly’s shoulders, and there was a sound in the room as of two contented little mill wheels.

[TO BE CONTINUED]

APRIL LEAVES

By Julia McNair Wright

Foliage is the most prominent feature of the plant world. Trunks and branches are large and grand, the parti-colored flowers are, at first glance, more beautiful, but the leaf is the most conspicuous part of the vegetation. If flowers and leaves, and wherever is now a leaf we should have a blossom, the eyes would soon tire of the glare of vivid color, and we should long for the soft, restful green of leaves.

Early in April we find the leaf buds unfolding upon the sides of the stems, or pushing up through the ground. Some of these buds are placed opposite to each other upon the stem, others are set alternately, others spirally, so that if you follow with a thread the placing of a certain number of buds you will see that the thread has made a complete circuit of the stem, and then another. Where the leaves are in a spiral placement it is merely a whorl drawn out; where there is a whorl it is merely a compressed spiral.

Let us look at a leaf blade. The woody fibre which makes up the main stem and, bound into a little bundle, composes the foot stalk, spreads out into a light, woody framework for the leaf. This framework is usually in two layers, like the nervures in a butterfly’s wing. The central line of the frame is called the mid-rib, the other parts are styled the veins. Some of these veins are coarser and stronger than others, as, for example, those which expand in the large side lobes of the maple and oak leaves; other veins are as fine as spider’s web. Every student of botany should make studies in venation, by soaking leaves until the green part has decayed, then laying them on black cloth, and brushing the pulp away gently with a fine brush, when perfect specimens of framework will remain. It is this framework which gives the form to the leaf.

Leaves were not created for beauty, but for use. Animals and plants alike are indebted to the shade of foliage for much comfort, and for some further possibilities of life and growth. You suggest, as another use, the supply of food. Yes, the grasses and many herbage plants are greedily browsed by animals; thus we owe to them indirectly our food supply.

Yet we have not reached the most important function of the leaf. To the plant itself the leaf serves as a food purveyor, gathering perhaps the larger portion of plant food from air and moisture by absorption. The leaf is also the main breathing apparatus of the plant; the leaf spreads out to air and sunlight the food received by the entire plant, and thus secures chemical changes in it similar to assimilation and digestion. The leaf makes possible the circulation of the sap. Thus the leaf serves the plant as throat, lungs, and stomach. What the human being would be without such organs the plant would be without the leaf, or some part modified, as in the cactus family, to serve the purposes of the leaf.

So, when in April, we see the trees on all sides bursting forth in verdant foliage, let us remember the manifold purposes of the leaf.

WITH THE EDITOR

The launching of a new magazine can fairly be compared to the opening of a new house. In it there are various rooms--which we call departments--to be opened and furnished.

Our house-warming was well attended. At our fireside were seen the faces of young folks from all parts of the United States, from Canada, England, and even far-off Hawaii. To please such a gathering it is necessary to meet many requirements.

Although gratified by the praise which we have received in good measure, and so encouraged to new ambitions, we, nevertheless, desire the guidance of earnest criticism. In the spirit of mutual helpfulness, then, we ask your opinion upon the departments already begun and your advice as to the opening of others.

* * * * *

Young people starting out with the ambition to accomplish something of importance in the world naturally place great stress upon the element of originality. To them, at first glance, the world’s great discoveries and inventions seem based upon a learning totally new--the sudden flash of genius rather than the natural growth of knowledge. But a closer study of each achievement, even of genius itself, will show that in reality it is but the finishing touch upon work already nearly accomplished.

For example, let us consider Darwin and Wallace. Important as were their services, their greatness does not rest upon the element of originality. The knowledge necessary for the construction of the theory of evolution had been accumulating in the minds of men for centuries. These two did but observe and utilize that knowledge. Others, whose names have been forgotten, have, doubtless, worked just as earnestly and just as intelligently. How many of us have ever heard of Lamarck, or even of Charles Darwin’s grandfather. Yet each of these men, separately, brought the theory of evolution almost to the threshold of public belief. Their lives were spent in building the foundation, while Darwin and Wallace, using their data, finished the work thus made possible. The men whom the world remembers are the ones who recognize these chances and make perfect use of the past.

To-day, we see several minds struggling to interpret the problem of wireless telegraphy. Their experiments are going on before the eyes of the world. It is no sudden stroke of genius. What is in its effect a decided originality, is largely the ability to make practical application of past labor. Our knowledge of electricity has been accumulating. The step is certain. The telegraph, the telephone, and the electric light have long since ripened. Soon we may know who will give wireless telegraphy its finishing touch.

Let us remember, therefore, that the great opportunities of the present lie, not so much in the shaping of new castles of imagination, as in patiently and carefully building upon the foundations already laid.

EVENT AND COMMENT

St. Louis Exposition

An event which stands prominently before us is the Exposition to be held in St. Louis in the summer of 1903. Its double purpose is to portray civilization in its most advanced state and to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase--the historic transaction whereby the United States purchased from France the territory lying between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains.

The ground area of the proposed fair is nearly 1200 acres and the appropriation, raised by the united efforts of the city of St. Louis, the State of Missouri, and the national government, will reach thirty millions of dollars.

The principal departments are Education, Art, Manufacture, Machinery, Liberal Arts, Electricity, Transportation, Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry, Mining and Metallurgy, Fish and Game, Anthropology, and Physical Culture. Each of these is to be represented by a building and the whole group will be arranged in a symmetrical fan-shaped figure.

Through the center of this, extending from what we might term the handle to the outer arc, will be a boulevard six hundred feet in width. Where this intersects the circumference, some sixty feet above the general level of the grounds, will be the Art Palace. It is to be a permanent building and will cost at least one million dollars.

As much as possible the exhibits will show the process of manufacture and development of the articles displayed. Raw materials also will occupy a prominent place. St. Louis is the commercial center of the Mississippi Valley--one of the world’s great areas of production.

The Louisiana Exposition as planned should be most convincing that the United States has well utilized the territory purchased in 1803.

Interior Heat

Professor T. C. Mendenhall has recently suggested that the internal heat of the earth might be used as a source of power. In such an age we are bound to be a little cautious in pronouncing anything impossible. Experiments show that the temperature of the earth, as we descend into its depths, increases one degree for every sixty feet. At this rate it would be necessary to bore ten thousand feet to obtain the temperature necessary to convert water into steam.

Professor William Hallock, of Columbia University, has already a plan in mind. A few feet apart he would sink two parallel pipes into the earth to the distance required. Both of these would terminate in a subterranean reservoir which could be made by the explosion of dynamite cartridges.

Then through one of the pipes a supply of water would be introduced into the reservoir. Here, by the earth’s heat, it would be converted into steam, and in this form conducted, by the other pipe, to the surface, where it would be utilized.

Prince Henry

Although the name Prince Henry has been in our ears for several weeks past, some of us may not know his relation in the royal family.

He is the second son of an emperor and the brother of the present Emperor of the German Empire. He is a descendant of the line of Prussian kings which included one of the world’s greatest generals, Frederick the Great.

On one side his grandfather, William I, of Prussia, was the first emperor of the modern German Empire. On the other, his grandmother was Queen Victoria of England. His wife is the granddaughter of the latter sovereign.

A Change In the Cabinet

On March 10, the Hon. John D. Long, Secretary of the Navy, tendered his resignation from office. Mr. Long has been in the Presidential Cabinet since 1897.

William H. Moody, who, like the former, hails from the State of Massachusetts, has been appointed as his successor.

Mr. Moody is forty-nine years old, a lawyer by profession, and has been a member of Congress for the past seven years. He will take up the duties of his office on May 1.

The New States

Bills are now before the House of Representatives for the admission to Statehood of our remaining Territories--New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Indian Territory.

This movement was favored as far back as 1896.

The chief objection raised at present is, that most of the inhabitants are of Mexican and Indian descent and are unfit for the responsibility of citizenship.

The Irrigation Bill

In the bill on irrigation recently passed in the Senate, provisions were made for what is known as a Reclamation Fund. This is to be formed from the proceeds of the sales of public lands and will be devoted to the irrigation of the arid districts in the United States.

By means of such a movement it is proposed to reclaim and utilize a great area of land which has heretofore been worthless to agriculture.

Methuen’s Defeat.

By a night attack made on March 7, 1902, General Delarey, with a force of fifteen hundred Boers, captured, near Vryburg, several hundred British soldiers, all their supplies and four guns. Among the prisoners was General Methuen, the commander of the British.

Such a demonstration of reserve strength upon the part of the Boers should make the British Government cautious in declaring the war in South Africa to be at an end.

Photography In Colors

Mr. A. H. Verrill, of New Haven, Conn., has discovered a method in photography for reproducing all natural tints and colors. He terms it the autochromatic process. Its success is due to the paper used, which is five times as sensitive to red and yellow light as ordinary paper, and to the sharpness of the lenses. These latter were made under his own direction.

PARLOR MAGIC

By Ellis Stanyon

The first of this series of papers on Magic, commencing with the March number, included directions to the beginner for Palming and the Pass.

Magical Production of a Coin.--Come forward with a coin palmed in the right hand. Draw attention to the left hand, showing it back and front as empty, and, as if in illustration of what you say, give the palm a smart slap with the right hand, leaving the coin behind, and slightly contracting the fingers so as to retain it; now show the right hand empty, pulling up the sleeve with the left, which masks the presence of the coin, then close the left hand and, after one or two passes over it with the right hand, produce the coin.

* * * * *

A New Coin Fold.--Take a piece of paper four inches by five inches, place a coin on it, and fold the top of the paper down over the coin to within one inch of the bottom. Then fold the right-hand side of the paper under the coin, treating the left-hand side in a similar way. You must now fold the one inch of paper at the bottom, under the coin, and you will, apparently, have wrapped it securely in the paper; but really it is in a kind of pocket, and will readily slip out into either hand at pleasure.

Allow several persons in the audience to feel the coin through the paper, then take it from the left hand to the right, letting the coin slip out into the left hand, which picks up a plate from the table. You may burn the paper in the flame of a candle, and, dropping the ashes on the plate, the coin is found to have disappeared.

* * * * *

To Vanish a Marked Coin from a Tumbler and Cause it to Appear in a Small Box Wrapped in Paper in the Centre of a Large Ball of Wool.--For this very surprising trick you will require to make the following preparations:

Procure a tumbler having a slit cut flush with and parallel to the bottom, which should be flat. The opening should be just large enough to allow a half-dollar dropped into the tumbler to slip through into your hand (see Fig. 6).

Obtain a small metal box large enough to take the coin easily, also a flat tin tube just wide enough for the half-dollar to slide through it. Place one end of this tube inside the box and close the lid on it, keeping it in position by passing an elastic band over the box. You now wrap the box in paper and wind a quantity of wool around it until you get a large ball with the end of the tube projecting about one inch. Place the ball thus prepared on the table at the rear of the stage, and you are ready to perform. Show the tumbler, and draw attention to the fact that it is an ordinary one by filling it with water, which can be done by holding the forefinger around the slit. Empty the tumbler and borrow a half-dollar, which has been marked by the owner, allowing him to actually drop it into the glass. Cover the tumbler with a handkerchief, shaking it continually to prove that your coin is still there, and then place it down on your table, securing the coin through the slit as you do so. Going to the back of the stage for the ball of wool, you insert the coin into the tube and withdraw the latter, when the action of the elastic band closes the box. Bring the ball forward in a large glass basin and have the wool unwound, disclosing the box; on this being opened the marked coin will be found within.

* * * * *

Coin, Wine Glass, and Paper Cone.--This very pretty and amusing table trick consists in causing a coin placed under a wine glass, the whole being covered with a paper cone, to disappear and return as often as desired.

The following arrangements are necessary: Take a wine glass and, having placed a little gum all around its edge, turn it over on a sheet of white paper, and when dry cut away the paper close to the glass. Obtain a Japanese tray and on it lay a large sheet of paper similar to that covering the mouth of the glass, and stand the glass, mouth downward, on it. Make a paper cone to fit over the glass, and you are ready to present the illusion.

Borrow a penny and lay it on the large sheet of paper by the side of the wine glass; cover the glass with the paper cone, and place the whole over the coin. Command the penny to disappear, and, on removing the cone, it will seem to have done so, as the paper over the mouth of the glass, being the same color as that on the tray, effectively conceals the coin. To cause it to reappear, you replace the cone and carry away the glass under it. This can be repeated as often as desired.

To make the experiment more effective, use colored paper, which shows up against the coin more than white.

* * * * *

The Pocket Vanish.--Take a coin in the right hand and make believe to place it in the left, really palming it. The left hand is closed as if it contained the coin and held away from the body. The right hand pulls back the sleeve slightly, as if to show that the coin has not been vanished in that direction. This movement brings the right hand over the outside breast pocket, into which the coin is allowed to fall unperceived. The coin is now vanished from the left hand in the orthodox manner, and both hands are shown empty.

Should you desire to regain possession of the coin, have the outside pocket made communicating with an inner one on the same side of the coat; when, having shown the right hand unmistakably empty, you produce the coin thence, in a magical manner.

* * * * *

To Pass a Coin Into an Ordinary Matchbox Held by One of the Spectators.--Prepare a matchbox as follows: Push open the sliding portion about one inch. Then fix between the top of the slide and the back end of the box a coin, the greater part of which is overhanging the box, the whole being out of sight of the casual observer. Arranged thus, give the box to someone to hold, with instructions that when you count three the box is to be closed smartly. This will have the effect of jerking the coin into the box.

You may now take a duplicate coin by means of the “Pocket Vanish,” or any other convenient method, counting “One! two! three!” when, acting according to your instructions, the person will close the box, and the coin will be heard to fall inside.

This department we believe is destined soon to become one of the most popular features of the magazine. Not only shall we spare no pains upon our part, but we also earnestly ask your co-operation in providing puzzles of all shapes and descriptions to bewilder and tangle the most ingenious of intellects. To each of the first three persons who shall correctly solve all the following puzzles, we will give a year’s subscription to Young Folks Magazine, to be sent to any desired address.

* * * * *

The following are the names of the first three persons to solve correctly the puzzles in last month’s number and who are, therefore, each entitled to a year’s subscription to Young Folks Magazine:

Amabel Jenks, Lawrence Park, Bronxville, New York.

Ethel Olive Bogert, 85 West 34th St., Bayonne, N. J.

Flora H. Towne, 178 Francisco St., Chicago, Ill.

Perfect solutions were also received from many other young people and, as we offer the same inducement for this month, we hope to hear from them again.

* * * * *

The correct answers are given below.

1. Feldspar. 2. Independence Hall. 3. Kinglet. Bluejay. Robin. Blackbird. Crow. Woodthrush. 4. Alice in Wonderland. 5. Saratoga. 6. Beaver. Bear. Weasel. Puma. Deer. Otter. Seal. Ferret. Elk. 7. Donkey. Turnkey. Monkey. Whiskey. Lackey. Turkey.

AQUARIUM

In each of the following sentences are three fish. Can you catch them?

With difficulty she found her ring among the array of carpets.

The multitudes harkened: the vesper chimes had sounded.

So, leaving Elba’s shore, they turned the ship’s keel homeward.

--Flora Linwood.

DIAGONAL

When you have guessed correctly the following eight-letter words and placed them one above the other in the order given, the diagonal from upper left to lower right-hand corner will spell the name of one of the very first men to explore America.

An inscription. A kind of force. A system for conveyance. Quiet. Agreeable. A species of monkey. Kinship. A charm.

--Warren Lee.

* * * * *

TWISTED RIVERS

The names of the following rivers do not run as smoothly as they might. Can you straighten them?

Nnmgaahoeol. Nkyou. Zaanom. Heirn. Lodacoor.

--Burt L. Watson.

* * * * *

ENIGMA

I am composed of eighteen letters. My 9-16-2 is that which covers the greater part of the world. My 3-6-8 is an abbreviation and a title. My 15-4-12-18 is something from which water is obtained. My 1-10-15-4-17 is a gem. My 11-7-13-18 is to quiet. My 5-14-12-4 is part of a shoe. My whole is a well known author.

--Edith Irene.

* * * * *

My number, definite and known, Is ten times ten told ten times o’er; One-half of me is one alone, The other exceeds all count and score.

--Selected.

* * * * *

DOUBLE CROSSWORD ENIGMA

In bump not in hurt, In deep not in dirt In alas not in cry In rare not in nigh, A fruit and an animal here you find If to think and to search you are inclined.

--Ruth.

Transcriber’s Notes:

A number of typographical errors have been corrected silently.

Archaic spellings have been retained.

Cover image is in the public domain.

"latter" was changed to "former" in the Wood-folk tale as it was incorrect.