BOOKS FOR BOYS
Reading edition
By THOMAS W. KNOX
The "Boy Travellers" Series
Copiously Illustrated. Square 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $3.00 per volume.
ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS—
IN THE LEVANT.
IN SOUTHERN EUROPE.
IN CENTRAL EUROPE.
IN NORTHERN EUROPE.
IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
IN MEXICO.
IN AUSTRALASIA.
ON THE CONGO.
IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE.
IN SOUTH AMERICA.
IN CENTRAL AFRICA.
IN EGYPT AND PALESTINE.
IN CEYLON AND INDIA.
IN SIAM AND JAVA.
IN JAPAN AND CHINA.
OTHER BOOKS BY COLONEL KNOX:
HUNTING ADVENTURES ON LAND AND SEA
2 vols. Copiously Illustrated. Square 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $2.50 each.
THE YOUNG NIMRODS IN NORTH AMERICA.
THE YOUNG NIMRODS AROUND THE WORLD.
By KIRK MUNROE
Snow-Shoes and Sledges
A Sequel to "The Fur-Seal's Tooth." Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR:
THE FUR-SEAL'S TOOTH.—RAFTMATES.—CANOEMATES.—CAMPMATES.—DORYMATES. Each one volume. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, $1.25.
WAKULLA.—THE FLAMINGO FEATHER.—DERRICK STERLING.—CHRYSTAL, JACK & CO. and DELTA BIXBY: Two Stories. Each one volume. Illustrated. Square 16mo, Cloth, $1.00.
HARPER & BROTHERS, Publishers, New York
MAKING A BRONCHO OF IT.
Oh, Tommy had a Hobby-Horse, its gait was smooth and fair, Till under it he placed some sticks, and made it buck and rair!
THE STRANGE STORY OF A RING.
It is stated upon what appears to be good authority that in one of the parks in the Spanish capital city of Madrid a magnificent ring hangs by a silken cord about the neck of the statue of the Maid of Almodma, the patron saint of Madrid. This ring, though set with diamonds and pearls, is nevertheless entirely unguarded. The police pay no attention to it, nor is there any provision made for watching it by special officers, because it is not believed that any thief, however daring, would venture to appropriate it to his own use; and when the history of the ring is considered, it is hardly to be wondered at that a superstitious people prefer to give it a wide berth. According to the story that is told of it, the ring was made for King Alfonso XII., the father of the present boy King of Spain. Alfonso presented it to his cousin Mercedes on the day of their betrothal. How short her married life was all know; and on her death the King presented the ring to his grandmother, Queen Christina. Shortly afterwards Queen Christina died, and the King gave the ring to his sister, the Infanta del Pilar, who died within the month following. The ring was then given to the youngest daughter of the Duc de Montpensier. In less than three months she died, and Alfonso, by this time fearing that there was some unlucky omen connected with the bauble, put it away in his own treasure-box. In less than a year the King himself died, and it was deemed best to put the ring away from all the living. Hence it was hung about the neck of the bronze effigy of the Maid of Almodma, where it appears to be as safe as though surrounded by a cordon of police.
A CURIOUS REQUEST.
In a Scottish church in Argyleshire the minister one Sunday morning astonished some strangers in the congregation by requesting the young men in the rear pews to smoke, "because the midges were so thick the services could not go on unless they were smoked out." The young men acceded to the request, and soon the obnoxious insects were driven away. It is said that this same clergyman once gave out a notice that upon a certain evening service would be held in the church, "weather and midges permitting."
YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD.
Last year my fam'ly went abroad an' travelled all aroun', An' saw 'most all ther' wuz to see in ev'ry for'n town. They didn' stop much more'n a day or two in any place, But jus' rushed on as if they'd been a-runnin' in a race. They took me 'long, and must ha' made me walk a thousand miles Through gal'ries and palaces of a hundred diff'rent styles. They wouldn' stop at toy-stores, or take me out to see The soldiers drillin' in the park, or th' wild m'nageriee. Ther' wuzn't any fun fer me in all that sort o' thing— 'Cause, what'd I care 'bout lookin' at th' pictures o' the king? There was one place in Switz'rland where I did have some fun (If 't hadn't ben fer ol' Loocern I dunno what I'd done!). The fam'ly'd all gone off ter climb a mountain in a train, An' left me with the hotel man 'til they got back again. I went out in the garden, in the afternoon, to play, An' found another boy out there—been lef' behind, same way. He said he wuz an English boy—an' I said mighty quick, "I'm an American boy, young kid, no English boy can lick!" So then he got to boastin' 'bout the things th't he could do, An' said his school wuz bigger'n mine, which I said wuzn't true. He said he had an uncle was a nobleman—a Duke; I tol' him 's how them fam'ly things was jus' a kind o' fluke. "Well, England's got more soldiers than th' Americans ever had!" "But we can lick 'em ev'ry time!" That made him awful mad. "An' England's got a lot of ships, an' guns, an' cannon-balls...." "But you 'ain't got nothin' half so good as our Niag'ra Falls!" "You don't have 's many holidays," went on the little fool; "On Guy Fawks day American boys all have to go to school." So I ran up an' said, "You red-coat British kid," says I, "There's one day you don't celebrate, an' that's the Fourth of July!" An' by that time I'd got so mad with all his monkey-trickin', I jus' sailed in an' guv that English boy a good sound lickin'. Albert Lee.
ANIMAL AMENITIES.
A Black Bear met a Gray Fox, and to him remarked, "Good-day, It seems to me you're rather young to be so very gray."