Stories of Heroic Deeds for Boys and Girls

by James Johonnot

  SCOTTISH STORIES.

  _XXVIII.--EDINBURGH CASTLE._

  1. While Robert Bruce was gradually getting possession of the country,and driving out the English, Edinburgh, the principal town of Scotland,remained with its strong castle in possession of the invaders. SirThomas Randolph was extremely desirous to gain this important place,but the castle is situated on a very steep and lofty rock, so that itis difficult, or almost impossible even, to get up to the foot of thewalls, much more to climb over them. So, while Randolph was consideringwhat was to be done, there came to him a Scottish gentleman, namedFrancis, who had joined Bruce's standard, and asked to speak with himin private. He then told Randolph that in his youth he had lived in thecastle of Edinburgh, and that his father had then been governor of thefortress.

  2. It happened at that time that Francis was much in love with a ladywho lived in a part of the town beneath the castle, which is called theGrass-Market. Now, as he could not get out of the castle by day to seehis mistress, he had practiced a way of clambering by night down thecastle crag on the steep side, and returning up at his pleasure; whenhe came to the foot of the wall he made use of a ladder to get overit, as it was not very high on that point, those who built it havingtrusted to the steepness of the crag. Francis had gone and come sofrequently in this dangerous manner that, though it was now long ago,he told Randolph he knew the road so well that he would undertake toguide a small party of men by night to the bottom of the wall, and, asthey might bring ladders with them, there would be no difficulty inscaling it. The great risk was that of their being discovered by thewatchmen while in the act of ascending the cliff, in which case everyman of them must perish.

  3. Nevertheless, Randolph did not hesitate to attempt the adventure. Hetook with him only thirty men, and came one dark night to the foot ofthe crag, which they began to ascend under the guidance of Francis, whowent before them, upon his hands and feet, where there was scarce roomto support themselves. All the while these thirty men were obliged tofollow in a line, one after the other, by a path that was fitter for acat than for a man. The noise of a stone falling, or a word spoken fromone to another, would have alarmed the watchmen. They were obliged,therefore, to move with the greatest precaution. When they were far upthe crag, and near the foundation of the wall, they heard the guardsgoing their rounds, to see that all was safe in and about the castle.

  4. Randolph and his party had nothing for it but to lie close andquiet, each man under the crag, as he happened to be placed, and trustthat the guards would pass by without noticing them. And while theywere waiting in breathless alarm, they got a new cause of fright.One of the soldiers of the castle, willing to startle his comrades,suddenly threw a stone from the wall, and cried out, "Aha! I see youwell!" The stone came thundering down over the heads of Randolph andhis men, who naturally thought themselves discovered. If they hadstirred, or made the slightest noise, they would have been destroyed,for the soldiers above might have killed every man of them, merely byrolling down stones. But being courageous and chosen men, they remainedquiet, and the English soldiers, who thought their comrade was merelyplaying them a trick (as indeed he was), passed on, without furtherexamination.

  5. Then Randolph and his men got up and came in haste to the foot ofthe wall, which was not above twice a man's height in that place.They planted the ladders they had brought, and Francis mounted firstto show them the way; Sir Andrew Grey, a brave knight, followed him;and Randolph himself was the third man who got over. Then the restfollowed. When once they were within the walls, there was not so muchto do, for the garrison were asleep, and unarmed, excepting the watch,who were speedily destroyed. Thus was Edinburgh Castle taken, in theyear 1312-'13.

  _XXIX.--SCOTTISH STRATEGY._

  1. There was a strong castle near Linlithgow, where an Englishgovernor, with a powerful garrison, lay in readiness to support theEnglish cause, and used to exercise much severity upon the Scotchin the neighborhood. There lived, at no great distance from thisstronghold, a farmer, a bold and stout man, whose name was Binnock,or, as it is now pronounced, Binning. This man saw with great joy theprogress which the Scotch were making in recovering their country fromthe English, and resolved to do something to help his countrymen, bygetting possession, if it were possible, of the Castle of Linlithgow.But the place was very strong, situated by the side of a lake, defendednot only by gates, which were usually kept shut against strangers,but also by a portcullis. A portcullis is a sort of door formed ofcross-bars of iron, like a gate. It has not hinges like a door, but isdrawn up by pulleys, and let down when any danger approaches. It maybe let go in a moment, and then falls down into the doorway, and, asit has great iron spikes at the bottom, it crushes all that it lightsupon; and in case of a sudden alarm, a portcullis may be let suddenlyfall, to defend the entrance when it is not possible to shut the gates.Binnock knew this very well, but he resolved to be provided againstthis risk also when he attempted to surprise the castle.

  2. So he spoke with some bold, courageous countrymen, and engagedthem in the enterprise, which he accomplished thus: Binnock had beenaccustomed to supply the garrison of Linlithgow with hay, and he hadbeen ordered by the English governor to furnish some cart-loads, ofwhich they were in want. He promised to bring it accordingly; but, inthe night before he drove the hay to the castle, he stationed a partyof his friends, as well armed as possible, near the entrance, wherethey could not be seen by the garrison, and gave them directions thatthey should come to his assistance as soon as they should hear himgive a signal, which was to be, "Call all, call all!" Then he loadedhis cart, and placed eight strong men, well armed, lying flat on theirbreasts, and covered over with hay, so that they could not be seen. Hehimself walked carelessly beside the wagon; and he chose the stoutestand bravest of his servants to be the driver, who carried at his belt astout axe or hatchet.

  3. In this way Binnock approached the castle early in the morning; andthe watchman, who only saw two men, Binnock being one of them, witha cart of hay, which they expected, opened the gates, and raised upthe portcullis to permit them to enter the castle. But as soon as thecart had got under the gateway, Binnock made a sign to his servant,who with his axe suddenly cut asunder the soam (that is, the yoke whichfastens the horses to the cart), and the horses, finding themselvesfree, naturally started forward, the cart remaining behind. At the samemoment Binnock cried, as loud as he could, "Call all, call all!" anddrawing his sword, which he had under his country habit, he killed theporter. The armed men then jumped up from under the hay, where they layconcealed, and rushed on the English guard. The Englishmen tried toshut the gates, but they could not, because the cart of hay remainedin the gateway, and prevented the folding-doors from being closed. Theportcullis was also let fall, but the grating was caught on the cart,and so could not drop to the ground. The men who were in ambush nearthe gate, hearing the cry, "Call all, call all!" ran to assist thosewho had leaped out from among the hay; the castle was taken, and allthe Englishmen killed or made prisoners. King Robert rewarded Binnockby bestowing on him an estate, which his posterity afterward enjoyed.

  _XXX.--CASTLE DANGEROUS._

  1. Roxburgh was then a very large castle, situated near where two finerivers, the Tweed and the Teviot, join each other. Being within fiveor six miles of the border, the English were extremely desirous ofretaining it, and the Scots equally so of obtaining possession of it.

  2. It was upon the night of what is called Shrove-tide, a holiday,which Roman Catholics paid great respect to, and solemnized, with muchgayety and feasting.

  3. Most of the garrison of Roxburgh Castle were feasting and drinking,but still they had set watches on the battlements of the castle, incase of any sudden attack; for, as the Scots had succeeded in somany enterprises of the kind, and as Douglas was known to be in theneighborhood, they thought themselves obliged to keep a very strictguard.

  4. There was also an Englishwoman, the wife of one of the officers, whowas sitting on the battlements with her child in her arms, and, lookingout on the fi
elds below, she saw some black objects, like a herd ofcattle, straggling in near the foot of the wall, and approaching theditch or moat of the castle. She pointed them out to the sentinel, andasked him what they were. "Pooh, pooh!" said the soldier, "it is FarmerSuch-a-man's cattle" (naming a man whose farm lay near to the castle)."The good man is keeping a jolly Shrove-tide, and has forgot to shut uphis bullocks in their yard; but if the Douglas come across them beforemorning, he is likely to rue his negligence."

  5. Now, these creeping objects they saw from the castle were no realcattle, but Douglas himself and his soldiers, who had put black cloaksabove their armor, and were creeping about on their hands and feet,in order, without being observed, to get so near to the foot of thecastle-wall as to be able to set ladders to it. The poor woman, whoknew nothing of this, sat quietly on the wall, and began to sing to herchild. You must know that the name of Douglas was become so terrible tothe English, that the women used to frighten their children with it,and say to them, when they behaved ill, that they would make the BlackDouglas take them. And this soldier's wife was singing to her child:

  "Hush ye, hush ye, little pet ye; Hush ye, hush ye, do not fret ye; The Black Douglas shall not get thee."

  "You are not so sure of that!" said a voice close beside her. She feltat that moment a heavy hand, with an iron glove, laid on her shoulder,and when she looked round, she saw the very Black Douglas, she had beensinging about, standing close beside her, a tall, swarthy, strong man.At the same time another Scotsman was seen ascending the walls near tothe sentinel. The soldier gave the alarm, and rushed at the Scotsman,whose name was Simon Ledehouse, with his lance; but Simon parried theblow, and, closing with the sentinel, struck him a deadly blow with hisdagger.

  6. The rest of the Scots followed to assist Douglas and Ledehouse,and the castle was taken. Many of the soldiers were put to death, butDouglas protected the woman and the child. I dare say she made no moresongs about the Black Douglas.

  _XXXI.--THE BLACK AGNES._

  1. Among the warlike exploits of this period, we must not forget thedefense of the Castle of Dunbar, by the celebrated Countess of March.Her lord had embraced the side of David Bruce, and had taken the fieldwith the regent. The countess, who from her complexion was termedBlack Agnes, by which name she is still familiarly remembered, was ahigh-spirited and courageous woman, the daughter of Thomas Randolph,Earl of Moray, and the heiress of his valor and patriotism. The Castleof Dunbar itself was very strong, being built upon a chain of rocksstretching into the sea, having only one passage to the mainland, whichwas well fortified. It was besieged by Montague, Earl of Salisbury,who employed to destroy its walls great military engines, constructedto throw huge stones, with which machines fortifications were attackedbefore the use of cannon.

  2. Black Agnes set all his attempts at defiance, and showed herselfwith her maids on the walls of the castle, wiping the places where thehuge stones fell with a clean towel, as if they could do no ill to hercastle, save raising a little dust, which a napkin could wipe away. TheEarl of Salisbury then commanded them to bring forward to the assaultan engine of another kind, being a species of wooden shed, or house,rolled forward on wheels, with a roof of peculiar strength, which fromresembling the ridge of a hog's back, occasioned the machine to becalled a sow. This, according to the old mode of warfare, was thrustup to the walls of a besieged castle or city, and served to protectfrom the arrows and stones of the besieged a party of soldiers placedwithin the sow, who were in the mean while to undermine the wall, orbreak an entrance through it with pick-axes and mining-tools. When theCountess of March saw this engine advanced to the walls of the castle,she called out to the Earl of Salisbury in derision, and making a kindof rhyme----

  "Beware, Montagow, For farrow shall thy sow!"

  At the same time she made a signal, and a huge fragment of rock, whichhung prepared for the purpose, was dropped down from the wall upon thesow, whose roof was thus dashed to pieces. As the English soldiers whohad been within it were running away as fast as they could to get outof the way of the arrows and stones from the wall, Black Agnes calledout, "Behold the litters of English pigs!"

  3. The Earl of Salisbury could jest also on such serious occasions.One day he rode near the walls with a knight dressed in armor ofproof, having three folds of mail over an acton, or leathern jacket:notwithstanding which, one William Spens shot an arrow with such forcethat it penetrated all these defenses and reached the heart of thewearer. "That is one of my lady's love-tokens," said the earl, as hesaw the knight fall dead from his horse. "Black Agnes's love-shaftspierce to the heart!"

  4. Upon another occasion, the Countess of March had well-nigh made theEarl of Salisbury her prisoner. She made one of her people enter intoa treaty with the besiegers, pretending to betray the castle. Trustingto this agreement, the earl came at midnight before the gate, whichhe found open, and the portcullis drawn up. As Salisbury was aboutto enter, one John Copland, a squire of Northumberland, pressed onbefore him, and, as soon as he passed the threshold, the portculliswas dropped; and thus the Scots missed their principal prey, and madeprisoner only a person of inferior condition.

  5. At length, the Castle of Dunbar was relieved by Alexander Ramsay,of Dalwolsy, who brought the countess supplies by sea, both of men andprovisions. The Earl of Salisbury, learning this, despaired of success,and raised the siege, which had lasted nineteen weeks. The minstrelsmade songs in praise of the perseverance and courage of Black Agnes.The following lines are nearly the sense of what is preserved:

  6. "She kept a stir in tower and trench, The brawling, boisterous Scottish wench; Came I early, came I late, I found Agnes at the gate."

  MISCELLANEOUS STORIES.

  _XXXII.--A LITTLE MAID._

  1. Away off in the beautiful country of Greece, a long, long time ago,there lived a little maiden, the daughter of a king. Her name wasGorgo--not a very pretty name, perhaps, to us who are used to callinglittle girls Maud and Ethel and Helen, but a strong name, and thereforequite appropriate to the little maid who bore it, as you shall see.In those old times there used to be many wars, and the country ofSparta, the part of Greece where Gorgo lived, was famous for its bravewarriors, who never thought for a moment of their own safety when theircountry was in danger. Sometimes these were not good wars, but wars forspite and revenge, instead of for freedom and for loyalty to beautifulGreece.

  2. Some wicked man would wish to avenge an injury he had received, andin order to do this he would go about among the different kingdoms andpersuade the rulers to join with him and try to overcome his enemy; andthen there would be terrible bloodshed in order to satisfy one wickedman's revenge. Aristagoras was such a man as this. He was dissatisfiedwith his king, and wished to become a king himself instead. One dayhe came to Sparta on this evil errand, and tried to persuade KingCleomenes, the father of little Gorgo, to help his base project. Hetalked with the king a long time. He promised him power and honor andmoney if he would do as he wished; more and more money, and, as theking refused, still more and more money he offered, and at last theking almost consented.

  3. But it had happened that when Aristagoras had come into the presenceof the king, the king's little daughter was standing by his side withher hand in his. Aristagoras wanted Cleomenes to send her away, for heknew very well that it is much harder to induce a man to do somethingwrong when there is a dear little child at his side. But the king hadsaid, "No, say what you have to say in her presence, too." And solittle Gorgo had sat at her father's feet, looking up into his facewith her innocent eyes, and listening intently to all that was said.She felt that something was wrong, and when she saw her father looktroubled and hesitate, and cast down his eyes, she knew the strangevisitor was trying to make him do something he did not quite want todo. She stole her little hand softly into her father's, and said,"Papa, come away--come, or this strange man will make you do wrong."

  4. This made the king feel strong again, and, clasping the littlemaid's hand tightly in
his own, he rose and left the tempter, and wentaway with the child who had saved him and his country from dishonor.Gorgo was only ten years old then, but she was worthy to be a king'sdaughter, because, being good and true herself, she helped her fatherto be good and true also.

  5. When she grew to be a woman she became the wife of a king, andthen she showed herself as noble a queen as she had been a princess.Her husband was that King Leonidas who stood in the narrow pass ofThermopyl? with his small army, and fought back the great hosts of thePersians until he and all his heroic band were killed. But, before thishappened, there was a time when the Grecians did not know that thegreat Persian army was coming to try and destroy them, and a friend oftheirs, who was a prisoner in the country where the great Xerxes lived,wishing to warn the Spartans of the coming of the Persians, so thatthey might prepare, sent a messenger to King Leonidas. But when themessenger arrived, all he had to show for his message was a bare, whitewaxen tablet. The king and all the lords puzzled over this strangetablet a long time, but could make nothing out of it. At last theybegan to think it was done for a jest, and did not mean anything.

  6. But just then the young Queen Gorgo said, "Let me take it," andafter looking it all over she exclaimed, "There must be some writingunderneath the wax!" They scraped away the wax from the tablet, andthere, sure enough, written on the wood beneath, was the message of theGrecian prisoner and his warning to King Leonidas.

  7. Thus Gorgo helped her country a second time; for, if the Spartanshad not known that the army was coming, they could not have warned theother kingdoms, and perhaps the Persians would not have been conquered.But as it was, Leonidas and the other kings called their armiestogether, and, when the Persian host came sweeping over the plains,the Greeks were ready to meet them, and to fight and die for theirbeautiful Greece.

  8. So this one little maid of hundreds of years ago, princess andqueen, helped to save her father from disgrace and her country fromruin. And we may feel sure that she was strong and true to the last,even when her brave husband, Leonidas, lay dead in the fearful pass ofThermopyl?, and she was left to mourn in the royal palace at Sparta.

  _XXXIII.--ALEXANDER SELKIRK._

  1. Nearly two hundred years ago, an Englishman, living in London, namedDaniel Defoe, wrote the story of Robinson Crusoe to interest and amuseboys and girls. Only think of it! Before that time nobody knew anythingabout the lonely island, or about the ship that was wrecked there.Nobody could know that Robinson was washed ashore and saved. Nobodycould see him build his hut, and plan how to live day by day. Nobodycould see his tame goats run out to meet him, or hear his parrot cry,"Poor Robinson Crusoe!" Nobody could form the acquaintance of thefaithful man Friday, whom Robinson saved from the cannibals, and whobecame such a dear friend to him. None of this could any boy or girl atthat time enjoy, because the story had not yet come out of the head ofDefoe.

  2. But, while Robinson Crusoe is a story that never really happened,Daniel Defoe had something to make it out of. In 1704 a Scotch sailor,named Alexander Selkirk, then twenty-eight years old, was left uponJuan Fernandez, an uninhabited island in the Pacific, off the coastof Chili. He had quarreled with the captain of the ship in which hesailed, and the captain sent him ashore to improve his temper. Here helived alone for four years and four months, when, an English vesselappearing, he was carried back to his native country.

  3. About half of what is said to have happened to Robinson Crusoereally happened to Alexander Selkirk. The hut was built; search wasmade for food; fish were drawn from the water, and turtles found uponthe shore. Cabbage-palm grew in the woods, and, from seeds found in thewrecked vessels, turnips, parsnips, and radishes were grown. The goats,too, were a living reality, and, when his powder gave out, the activeyoung Scotchman could run down a young goat, and so secure a dinner.

  4. Here this sailor remained during the long years, busy and lonesome.The poet Cowper has supposed that he was made entirely unhappy byhis longing for society and friends, and has expressed his supposedsentiments in the following poem:

  5. I am monarch of all I survey; My right there is none to dispute: From the center all round to the sea, I am lord of the fowl and the brute. O Solitude! where are the charms That sages have seen in thy face? Better dwell in the midst of alarms, Than reign in this horrible place.

  6. I am out of humanity's reach; I must finish my journey alone; Never hear the sweet music of speech; I start at the sound of my own. The beasts that roam over the plain My form with indifference see; They are so unacquainted with man, Their tameness is shocking to me.

  7. Society, friendship, and love, Divinely bestowed upon man, Oh, had I the wings of a dove, How soon would I taste you again! My sorrows I then might assuage In the ways of religion and truth; Might learn from the wisdom of age, And be cheered by the sallies of youth.

  8. Religion! what treasures untold Reside in that heavenly word! More precious than silver and gold, Or all that the earth can afford. But the sound of the church-going bell These valleys and rocks never heard, Never sighed at the sound of a knell, Or smiled when the Sabbath appeared.

  9. But the sea-fowl has gone to her nest, The beast has laid down in his lair; Even here is a season of rest, And I to my cabin repair. There's mercy in every place; And mercy, encouraging thought, Gives even affliction a grace, And reconciles man to his lot.

  10. Selkirk might sometimes have indulged in thoughts like these, butgenerally he was too busy to give much heed to them. Besides, the lifeitself had its charms, and, after his rough usage upon the ship, hekeenly felt the joy of perfect freedom. Then the animals which he tamedbegan to appear as real friends, and, though no man Friday came tocheer and comfort him, he began to really love his new home and enjoythe life which he led.

  11. This is the account given of the appearance of Selkirk by Rogers,captain of the vessel that finally took Selkirk off from the island:"At night, after we came to anchor, we discovered a bright light uponthe island. In the morning we sent our yawl ashore with six men, allarmed, and, as it was gone some time, we sent our pinnace, with the menarmed, for we were afraid lest the Spaniards were there and had seizedour boat. We put out a signal for the boat, when our pinnace returnedfrom the shore and brought abundance of craw-fish, with a man clothedin goat-skins, who looked wilder than the first owners of them. At hisfirst coming on board us, he had so much forgot his language for wantof use that one could scarcely understand him, for he seemed to speakhis words by halves. We offered him a dram, but he would not touch it,having drunk nothing but water since he came upon the island, and itwas some time before he could relish our victuals.

  12. "He took goats by speed of foot, for his way of living, andcontinual exercise of walking and running, cleared him of all grosshumors, so that he ran with wonderful swiftness through the woods, andup the rocks and hills. We had a bull-dog, which we sent with severalof our nimblest runners, to help him in catching goats, but he tiredboth the dog and men, caught the goats, and brought them back to us.Being forced to shift without shoes, his feet had become so hard thathe ran everywhere without annoyance; and it was some time before hecould wear shoes after we found him; for, not being used to any solong, his feet swelled when he came first to use them again."

  13. Selkirk returned to his native country, married, and settled downto a steady life. He never forgot his lonely isle, and often wishedhimself back among his goats and cats. He learned dram-drinking oncemore, and, as he began to eat and drink as people did around him, helost much of the health and strength which he gained in his solitaryhome. From him we may all learn that the simple, natural way of livingmay be the best for us in giving us health to enjoy life and performour duties.

  _XXXIV.--THE OLD-FASHIONED SCHOOL._

  1. Imagine yourselves in Master Ezekiel Cheever's school-room. It is alarge, dingy room
, with a sanded floor, and is lighted by windows thatturn on hinges, and have little, diamond-shaped panes of glass. Thescholars sit on long benches, with desks before them. At one end ofthe room is a great fireplace, so spacious that there is room enoughfor three or four boys to stand in each of the chimney-corners. Thiswas the good old fashion of fireplaces when there was wood enough inthe forests to keep people warm without their digging into the bowelsof the earth for coal.

  2. It is a winter's day when we take our peep into the school-room.See what logs of wood have been rolled into the fireplace, and what abroad, bright blaze goes leaping up the chimney! And every few momentsa vast cloud of smoke is puffed into the room, which sails slowly overthe heads of the scholars, until it gradually settles upon the wallsand ceiling. They are blackened with the smoke of many years already.

  3. Do you see the venerable schoolmaster, severe in aspect, with ablack skull-cap on his head, like an ancient Puritan, and the snow ofhis white beard drifting down to his very girdle? What boy would dareto play or whisper, or even glance aside from his book, while MasterCheever is on the outlook behind his spectacles? For such offenders, ifany such there be, a rod of birch is hanging over the fireplace, and aheavy ferule lies on the master's desk.

  4. And now school is begun. What a murmur of multitudinous tongues,like the whispering of leaves of a wind-stirred oak, as the scholarscon over their various tasks! Buzz! buzz! buzz! Amid just such a murmurhas Master Cheever spent about sixty years; and long habit has made itas pleasant to him as the hum of a bee-hive when the insects are busyin the sunshine. Now a class in Latin is called to recite. Forth stepsa row of queer-looking little fellows, wearing square-skirted coatsand small-clothes, with buttons at the knee. They look like so manygrandfathers in their second childhood.

  5. These lads are to be sent to Cambridge and educated for thelearned professions. Old Master Cheever has lived so long, and seenso many generations of school-boys grow up to be men, that now hecan almost prophesy what sort of a man each boy will be. One urchinshall hereafter be a doctor, and administer pills and potions, andstalk gravely through life, perfumed with asafoetida. Another shallwrangle at the bar, and fight his way to wealth and honors, and, in hisdeclining age, shall be a worshipful member of his Majesty's Council. Athird shall be a worthy successor to the old Puritan ministers now intheir graves. But as they are merely school-boys now, their business isto construe Virgil.

  6. Next comes a class in arithmetic. These boys are to be themerchants, shopkeepers, and mechanics of a future period. Hithertothey have traded only in marbles and apples. Others will upheave theblacksmith's hammer, or drive the plane over the carpenter's bench, ortake the lapstone and the awl, and learn the trade of shoemaking. Manywill follow the sea, and become bold, rough sea-captains. Wherefore,teach them their multiplication-table, good Master Cheever, and whipthem well when they deserve it; for much of the country's welfaredepends on these boys.

  7. But, alas! Master Cheever's watchful eye has caught two boys atplay. Now we shall see awful times. The malefactors are summonedbefore the master's chair. Master Cheever has taken down that terriblebirch-rod! Short is the trial--the sentence quickly passed--and nowthe judge prepares to execute it in person. Thwack! thwack! thwack! Inthose good old times a schoolmaster's blows were well laid on. And thusthe forenoon passes away. Now it is twelve o'clock. The master looks athis great silver watch, and then, with tiresome deliberation, puts theferule into the desk. "You are dismissed," says Master Cheever.

  8. The boys retire, treading softly until they have passed thethreshold; but fairly out of the school-room lo, what a joyous shout!What a scampering and trampling of feet! What care they for theferule and birch-rod now? Were boys created merely to study Latinand arithmetic? No; the better purposes of their being are to sport,to leap, to run, to shout, to slide upon the ice, to snow-ball. Happyboys! Enjoy your play-time now, and come again to study and to feel thebirch-rod and the ferule to-morrow.

  9. Now the master has set everything to rights, and is ready to go hometo dinner. Yet he goes reluctantly. The old man has spent so much ofhis life in the smoky, noisy, buzzing school-room, that, when he has aholiday, he feels as if his place were lost, and himself a stranger inthe World.

  _Hawthorne._

  _XXXV.--STORY OF FRANKLIN'S KITE._

  1. It was in the spring of 1752 that Franklin thought of tryingthe experiment with a kite; and it was during one of the Junethunder-storms of that year that the immortal kite was flown.

  2. Who does not know the story? How he made his kite of a large silkhandkerchief, and fastened to the top of the perpendicular stick apiece of sharpened iron wire. How he stole away, upon the approach ofa storm, into the common not far from his own house, say about thecorner of Race and Eighth Streets, near a spot where there was an oldcow-shed. How, wishing to avoid the ridicule of possible failure, hetold no one what he was going to do, except his son, who accompaniedhim, and who was then not the small boy he is represented in ahundred pictures, but a braw lad of twenty-two, one of the beaux ofPhiladelphia.

  3. How the kite was raised in time for the coming gust, the stringbeing hempen, except the part held in the hand, which was silk. How, atthe termination of the hempen string, a common key was fastened; and inthe shed was deposited a Leyden bottle, in which to collect from theclouds, if the clouds should contain it, the material requisite for anelectric shock. How father and son stood for some time under the shed,presenting the spectacle, if there had been any one to behold it, oftwo escaped lunatics, flying a kite in the rain; the young gentleman,no doubt, feeling a little foolish. How, at last, when a thunder-cloudappeared to pass directly over the kite, and yet no sign of electricityappeared the hopes of the father, too, began to grow faint. How, whenboth were ready to despair of success, Franklin's heart stood stillas he suddenly observed the fibers of the hempen string to rise,as a boy's hair rises when he stands on the insulating-stool. How,with eager, trembling hand, he applied his knuckle to the key, anddrew therefrom an unmistakable spark, and another and another, and asmany as he chose. How the Leyden vial was charged, and both receivedthe most thrilling shock ever experienced by man; a shock that mighthave been figuratively styled electric, if electric it had not reallybeen. How, the wet kite being drawn in, and the apparatus packed, thephilosopher went home exulting, the happiest philosopher in Christendom.

  4. And this was only the beginning of triumph. The next ships thatarrived from the Old World brought him the news that the sameexperiment, in the mode originally suggested by him, of erecting aniron rod upon an eminence, had been successfully performed in France,so that his name had suddenly become one of the most famous in Europe.

  _XXXVI.--THE CASE OF JOHN HOOK._

  1. Wirt, in his life of Patrick Henry, gives this specimen of theeloquence of the great orator. In Campbell County, Virginia, lived aScotchman, named Hook, who was suspected of being a Tory. The Americanarmy was greatly distressed for food, and a commissary, named Venable,took two of Hook's steers, without his consent, to feed the starvingsoldiers. After the war, a lawyer, named Cowan, advised Hook to sueVenable for trespass. Venable employed Patrick Henry. The case wastried in the old court-house in New London.

  2. Mr. Henry depicted the distress of the American army in the mostgloomy colors, and then asked: "Where was the man with an Americanheart, who would not have thrown open his fields, his barns, hiscellars, the doors of his house, the portals of his breast, to havereceived with open arms the meanest soldier of that little band offamished patriots? Where is the man? There he stands; but whether theheart of an American beats in his bosom, you, gentlemen, are to judge?"He then carried the jury, by the powers of his imagination, to theplains around York, the surrender of which had followed shortly afterthe act complained of.

  3. He depicted the surrender in the most glowing and noble colors ofhis eloquence. The audience saw before their eyes the dejection of theBritish as they marched out of the trenches; they saw the triumph whichlighted up every patriotic face, and hear
d the shouts of victory andthe cry of "Washington and liberty!" as it rang through the Americanranks and echoed back from hill and shore. "But hark! what notes ofdiscord are these which disturb the general joy? They are notes of JohnHook, hoarsely bawling through the American camp, '_Beef! beef! beef!_'"

  4. The whole audience was convulsed. The clerk of the court, unable tocontain himself, and unwilling to disturb the court, rushed out of thecourt-house and threw himself on the grass in the most violent paroxysmof laughter, where he was rolling when Hook, with very differentfeelings, came out into the yard for relief also. "Jemmy Steptoe,"he said to the clerk, "what ails ye, mon?" Mr. Steptoe was only ableto say that he could not help it. "Never mind ye," said Hook; "waittill Billy Cowan gets up; he'll show him the la'!" But Mr. Cowan couldscarcely utter a word. The jury instantly returned a verdict againstHook. The people were highly excited, and Hook was obliged to leave thecounty to avoid a coat of tar and feathers.

  _XXXVII.--THE FIRST STEAMBOAT IN THE WEST._

  1. Many things combined to make the year 1811 the wonderful year ofthe West. During the earlier months, the waters of many of the greatrivers overflowed their banks, so that the whole country was coveredfrom bluff to bluff. Widespread sickness followed, such as had neverbefore been known. A spirit of change and uneasiness seemed to seizethe very inhabitants of the forest. A countless multitude of squirrels,obeying some great and universal impulse, left their joyous, gambolinglife and their ancient retreats in the North, and were seen pressingforward by tens of thousands in a deep and sober phalanx to the South.No obstacles seemed to check this extraordinary and united movement.The word had been given them to go forth, and they obeyed it, thoughmultitudes perished in the broad Ohio, which lay in their path.

  2. The splendid comet of that year long continued to shed its twilightover the forests. As the autumn drew to a close, the whole MississippiValley, from the Missouri to the Gulf, was shaken to its centerby continued earthquakes. It was at this very time, when so manyextraordinary events of Nature combined to spread wonder and awe, thatthe first steamboat was seen descending the great rivers, and theawe-struck Indian on the banks beheld the Pinelore, or "fire-canoe,"flying through the turbid waters.

  3. The banks of the Ohio and its tributaries were covered withinnumerable farms; and rafts, flat-boats, and barges of everydescription, laden with the produce, floated upon its wide surface,toward the general market of the West, New Orleans. Besides the bargesand vessels of heavy burden, which made their long annual voyage to andfrom the city, the river was covered, particularly in time of flood, bythousands of queer machines, for boats they can hardly be called, mostof which soon disappeared. From seventy to eighty days were consumedin thus effecting the long and monotonous voyage from Pittsburg to NewOrleans.

  4. The experiments in steam navigation made on the Hudson River andadjoining waters, previous to the year 1809, were attended withcomplete success. Attention was now paid to the Western rivers, and Mr.Roosevelt, of New York, accompanied by Mr. Fulton, visited these riversto see whether they would admit of steam navigation. At this time twoboats, the North River and the Clermont, were running on the Hudson.Mr. Roosevelt surveyed the rivers from Pittsburg to New Orleans, andmade a favorable report, and it was decided to build a boat at theformer town.

  5. Accordingly, during the year 1811 the first boat was launched on thewaters of the Ohio. It was called the Orleans, and was intended to plybetween Natchez, in the State of Mississippi, and the city whose nameit bore. In October it left Pittsburg for a trial voyage. No freight orpassengers were taken. Mr. Roosevelt with his family; Mr. Baker, theengineer; Andrew Jack, the pilot; and six hands, with a few domestics,formed her whole burden. There were no wood-yards at that time, andconstant delays were unavoidable.

  6. Late at night on the fourth day after quitting Pittsburg, theyarrived safely at Louisville, having been but seventy hours descendingupward of seven hundred miles. The novel appearance of the vessel, andthe fearful rapidity with which it made its passage over the broadreaches of the river, excited both terror and surprise among many ofthe settlers along the banks, whom the rumor of such an invention hadnever reached.

  7. The unexpected arrival of the boat at Louisville, in the course of afine, still, moonlight night, created a great stir. The extraordinarysound which filled the air as the pent-up steam was suffered to escapeon rounding to, produced a general alarm, and multitudes in the townrose from their beds to see what was the matter. It was related that animpression widely prevailed that the comet had fallen into the Ohio.

  8. The low stage of water caused a detention at Louisville until thelast week in November, when the voyage was resumed. When the boatarrived at a point five miles above the Yellow Banks, she was moored totake in wood. While thus engaged, our voyagers were accosted in greatalarm by the squatters of the neighborhood, who inquired if they hadheard strange noises on the river and in the woods on the precedingday, or had seen the shores shake.

  9. Hitherto nothing extraordinary had been perceived. The followingday they pursued their monotonous voyage in those vast solitudes.The air was misty, still, and dull. Though the sun was visible, likea glowing ball of copper, his rays hardly shed more than a mournfultwilight on the surface of the water. Evening drew nigh, and with itsome indications of what was passing around them became evident. And asthey sat on deck, they ever and anon heard a rushing sound and violentsplash, and saw large portions of the shore tearing away from the landand falling into the river.

  10. It was, as my informant said, "an awful day, so still that youcould have heard a pin drop on the deck." They spoke little, for everyone on board appeared thunderstruck. The comet had disappeared aboutthis time, which circumstance was noticed with awe by the crew. Thetrees were seen waving and nodding on the bank without a wind. Towardevening of the second day they found themselves at a loss for a placeof shelter. The pilot said that he was lost; that the channel waseverywhere altered. A large island in mid-channel familiar to the pilotwas sought in vain, having entirely disappeared.

  11. Thus in doubt and terror, they proceeded hour after hour till dark,when they found a small island and rounded-to. Here they lay, keepingwatch on deck during the long autumnal night, and listening to thesound of the roaring waters. Several times in the course of the nightearthquake-shocks were felt. It was a long night, but morning dawnedand showed them that they were near the mouth of the Ohio.

  12. About noon that day they reached the small town of New Madrid, onthe right bank of the Mississippi. Here they found the inhabitants inthe greatest distress and consternation. Part of the population hadfled in terror to the higher grounds; others prayed to be taken onboard, as the earth was opening in fissures on every side, and theirhouses hourly falling around them.

  13. At that time you floated for three or four hundred miles on therivers without seeing a human habitation. Proceeding from New Madrid,after many days of great danger, they reached their destination atNatchez in January, 1812, to the great astonishment of all, the escapeof the boat having been considered an impossibility.

  _XXXVIII.--THE POWER OF KINDNESS._

  1. William Savery was a Quaker, living near Philadelphia, during theRevolutionary War. He was a kindly-disposed man, and many were hischaritable deeds that the public knew nothing about. He was a tanner bytrade, and one night a number of hides were stolen from his yard. Whilehe suspected a neighbor of his, a worthless sort of fellow, he had noproof against him. He said nothing about his loss, but the next daythe following advertisement appeared in the papers:

  2. "Whoever stole a lot of hides on the 5th of the present month, ishereby informed that the owner has a sincere wish to be his friend. Ifpoverty tempted him to this false step, the owner will keep the wholematter secret, and will gladly put him in the way of obtaining a livingby means more likely to bring him peace of mind."

  3. This odd notice attracted a good deal of attention; but the thiefalone knew from whom the kind offer came. When he read it, his heartwas filled with sorrow for
what he had done. A few nights afterward, asthe tanner's family were about going to bed, they heard a timid knock;and, when the door opened, there stood Smith, with the hides on hisshoulder. Without looking up, he said: "I have brought these back, Mr.Savery. Where shall I put them?"

  4. "Wait till I can light a lantern, and I will go to the barn withthee," replied Mr. Savery. "Then, perhaps, thou wilt come in and tellme how this thing happened, and we will see what can be done for thee."

  5. As soon as they were gone out, his wife prepared some hot coffee,and placed pies and meat on the table. When they returned from thebarn, she said, "Neighbor Smith, I thought some hot supper would dothee good." Smith turned his back toward her, and did not speak. Aftera moment, he said in a choked voice: "It is the first time I everstole anything, and I feel very bad about it. I don't know how it is.I am sure I didn't think once that I should ever come to be what I am.But I took to drinking, and then to quarreling. And since I began togo down-hill, everybody gives me a kick. You are the first man, Mr.Savery, that has ever offered me a helping hand. God bless you! I stolethe hides from you, meaning to sell them. But I tell you the truth,when I say it is the first time I was ever a thief."

  6. "Let it be the last time, my friend," replied William Savery. "Thesecret shall be between me and thee. Thou art still young. Promise methat thou will not drink any more liquor for a year, and I will employthee to-morrow at good wages. Perhaps we may find some work for thyfamily also. The little boy can at least pick up stones. But eat a bitnow, and drink some hot coffee, to keep thee from craving anythingstronger. Keep up a brave heart for the sake of thy wife and children.When thou hast need of coffee, tell Mary, and she will always give itto thee."

  7. The poor fellow tried hard to eat and drink, but the food seemed tochoke him. He could not smother his feelings, and he bowed his head onthe table and wept like a child. By-and-by he ate and drank with goodheart; and his host parted with him for the night with this kindlyword, "Try to do well, John, and thou wilt always find a friend in me."

  8. Smith began to work for him the next day, and remained with him manyyears, a sober, honest, and faithful man. The secret of the theft waskept between them; but, after John's death, William Savery told thestory, to show that evil may be overcome with good.

  _XXXIX.--OLD IRONSIDES._

  1. When war was declared between the United States and Great Britain in1812, the British power was dominant upon the ocean. Since the times ofSir Francis Drake and the Spanish Armada, the British navy had retainedthe supremacy then gained. In three hundred years no British fleet hadever surrendered to an enemy. Such continued success made the Britisharrogant, and they looked down with contempt upon the naval power ofany other people. At the beginning of the war, the American navy wassmall and weak. It consisted of about twenty vessels, the largest ofwhich were frigates.

  2. But the few vessels of the American navy were strongly built, andwere manned by officers who had gained their fighting experience inthe war with the Barbary states. Neither the officers nor men were inany fear of the great power of Britain, and they particularly hatedthe British for their habit of impressing American seamen. Thus ithappened that all the American commanders had made up their minds tofight whenever the force against them was any where nearly equal, andto fight for victory.

  3. Among the vessels of our little navy was the frigate Constitution,better known, from the strength of her build, as "Old Ironsides." Atthe breaking out of the war she was commanded by Captain Isaac Hull,one of our most experienced naval officers. In August, 1812, Hullsailed on a cruise, looking for an enemy, and in a short time he fellin with the British frigate Guerriere, a vessel about equal in size tothe Constitution. Both parties advanced eagerly to the conflict, butin thirty minutes the Guerriere was reduced to a mere wreck, and theBritish flag was hauled down.

  4. Captain Hull sailed into Boston Harbor, where the Old Ironsides wasrepaired and made ready for sea. Captain Hull generously resigned, soas to permit others to have a share of glory, and Captain Bainbridgewas appointed to the command of the Constitution.

  5. On December 29th, Captain Bainbridge, while cruising off thecoast of Brazil, encountered the British frigate Java, one of thebest-appointed ships in the British navy. A running battle ensued,which lasted four hours, and so well did Captain Bainbridge managehis ship that he reduced the Java to a wreck, while the damage to theConstitution was so slight that it was ready for another fight the nextday.

  6. Peace between the two countries was arranged at Ghent, betweencommissioners appointed by both powers, in December, 1814, but the newswas not received in this country for several weeks. The Constitution,under the command of Captain Stewart, sailed from Boston on a cruisein December, and, on the 20th of February, 1815, she encountered twoBritish vessels--the Cyane and Levant--the combined force of which wasequal to that of the Constitution, if not greater. The action commencedat six in the evening, and continued for four hours in the moonlightnight. At ten o'clock, both British vessels were prizes to theConstitution, while she was so little damaged that complete repairswere made without making a port.

  7. After the war great improvements were made in ship-building, andsoon the old frigate became too old-fashioned for active service atsea, and for a time she was employed as a receiving-ship. At last itwas proposed to withdraw her entirely from service, and break her up.This proposition roused the indignation of the poet Holmes, then a boy,and his hot wrath broke up the project and saved the ship. She is nowused as a school-ship for the training of seamen. Here follows the poem:

  8. Ay! tear her tattered ensign down! Long has it waved on high; And many an eye has danced to see That banner in the sky. Beneath it rang the battle-shout, And burst the cannon's roar; The meteor of the ocean-air Shall sweep the clouds no more!

  9. Her deck, once red with hero's blood, Where knelt the vanquished foe, When winds were hurrying o'er the flood, And waves were white below, No more shall feel the victor's tread Or know the conquered knee; The harpies of the shore shall pluck The eagle of the sea.

  10. Oh! better that her shattered hulk Should sink beneath the wave; Her home was on the mighty deep, And there should be her grave. Nail to the mast her holy flag, Set every threadbare sail, And give her to the god of storms, The lightning and the gale!

  _XL.--CHICAGO._

  1. It is the evening of October 9, 1871. The great city of the Westis settling down into the quiet of the night. The Sabbath has ended.The churches have closed, and citizens of all ranks and kinds arepeacefully resting in their homes. The guardians of the night are allout, faithful to watch, quick to detect, and prompt to act. Threehundred thousand people throw off the cares of the day, and seek theirneeded repose. No cause of alarm, save the wind, which since noonhas risen from a gentle breeze to a fierce gale at sunset. Even nowit increases, and in the morning papers we may expect a catalogue ofchimneys blown down, and of houses unroofed. Beyond this there isnothing to fear, and all is well.

  View of Chicago from Madison Street Bridge, before theFire.]

  2. A little way out from what is now the heart of the town was asection covered with piles of lumber and rows of wooden tenements readyfor the torch. The lights are flickering through the dark alleys asa poor woman takes a lamp and goes into a hovel to milk the cow. Theblustering wind bids her be careful. An uneasy movement of the cow, andthe lamp is overturned into the straw and litter of the stable. A flameshoots up, and the milker has scarcely time to reach the door whenthe whole building is on fire. She, with her children, rush into thestreet, as the flame comes in through roof, window, and doorway of herdwelling. Then the roar of the wind-swept flame and the appalling cryof fire!

  3. But the city is prepared for these accidents. The fire-bellsring out their alarm. Trained horses take their places by the steamfire-engines, and the heart has scarcely time to beat before they areon a mad gallop down the streets
. In a moment a thousand jets of waterwill subdue the fire, and the city will again sink to quiet rest.

  4. But, swift as the firemen speed to the scene, the flame is swifterstill. Borne on the wings of the wind, it leaps from street to street.It is no longer a wind but a tempest, and a tempest of flame. Thetrack of the devouring element broadens and dives toward the heart ofthe city. Men, women, and children rush frantically to get out of thepath of destruction. Down go miles of stately houses and blocks ofbusiness. The reservoirs of grain, the vast hotels, and the spires ofchurches appear for a moment through the glare, then melt away intoashes. The whole world is in flames!

  5. While hope remains, men are active; but now they stand in sullendespair. They look on helpless and hopeless through the long hours ofthe night. The first rays of the morning reveal a scene of widespreadand total desolation. The heart of the city has been consumed. Twentythousand of its inhabitants are homeless.

  6. One consoling thought is left. The fire-fiend is at last curbed,hemmed in on the east by the lake, on the north by the river whichstretches between it and the homes in which seventy-five thousandpeople are peacefully asleep, all unaware of the devastation that hasbeen raging so near them. Surely the fiery foe will not reach thosehomes. The river is their protection. The comforting thought is butmomentary. Already a livid cloud is sweeping across the narrow stream.Burning brands and glowing embers are borne on the wings of a fiercetornado straight toward those peaceful homes.

  7. The scene that ensues has no parallel in the history of the world.Who shall arouse those sleepers and warn them of their peril? Who,now, when the flames are already at the doors, shall bear away thesick ones, the aged, the little children, the babes, to safety? Alas!whither shall they be borne? The lake on one side; on the other, anarrow pathway leading toward the country to the north, along which theflames are rushing with mad rapidity. Every other way of escape is cutoff.

  8. Many plunge breast-deep into the lake, and there during long hoursstand many hundreds of people, feeble women, some with babes in theirarms, many sick and aged, till the fire subsides and rescue comes.Nearly one hundred thousand souls are fleeing before the mercilessflames. During that fearful Monday this great throng continue theirflight without food, without water, scorched by the hot blast, theirclothes and often their hair on fire; the stronger bearing the weakerin their arms and on their shoulders, they rush on, every momentpursued by the flames. Many sink to the ground to rise no more, howmany never will be known.

  9. Finally they are in the open country. It is a strange, weird placeto pass a night in, a graveyard, but it is a place of safety fromthe foe that all day had pursued them. And there, about ten o'clockat night, as they see the last house on the other side of the citylimits crumble to ashes, they sink down to their dismal bivouac, manypillowing their heads upon the graves among which they lay.

  10. Many were the "heroic deeds" that had been wrought on that fearfulday, heroic deeds of husbands and wives in rescuing each other andtheir children, of children in rescuing parents and brothers andsisters, of many in helping the helpless when sore pressed themselves,and of all in maintaining the brave, heroic fight against such fearfulodds.

  11. And now opens another chapter of the "story of heroic deeds" inthe history of the Chicago fire. It is the story of the heroism ofsympathy, of charity, of generosity, of dauntless energy. How shallthese thousands of homeless ones, with winter impending, be sheltered?How food gotten to the famished crowd in the graveyard, who have nottasted food since Sunday night?

  12. The city stricken is still quick to act. During Monday, while theconflagration is still raging, relief committees are organizing; thehouses of those who are left with houses are being opened to those whohave none; the sound of axe and hammer is heard on every side, erectingbarracks and temporary cabins; men and women are gathering stores offood and clothing; and loaded wagons are making their way around theburning city to reach the encampment in the cemetery and on the openprairie. The telegraph has also been set to telling to other cities thestory of the great calamity. Before and during the night trains of carscome from the whole country for many miles around, loaded with food,clothing, blankets, and even delicacies for the sick. And so on toTuesday morning the half-famished, homeless multitude once more welcometheir morning meal, and before night the whole vast multitude on thestreets have obtained some kind of shelter.

  13. And now the return click is heard at the telegraph-offices. Citiestoo distant to send food send words of cheer and money. As the daywears on, the wires can scarcely carry all the messages of sympathywhich come pouring in. London, Paris, Berlin, all the great cities ofEurope, vie with each other in liberality, and send their substantialofferings through the cable under the sea, and, before the sun sets,messages of organized aid come from distant Calcutta and Melbourne. Thethrill of human sympathy had encircled the earth. Nor did the suppliesfail until the people of the grateful city cried, "Enough!"

  14. In the old Arabian story, the palace of Aladdin is built in asingle night by the aid of magic. But now the wonder wrought by thegenii is surpassed. From the ashes of that terrible night a new citygrows up, marvelous in its freshness, its strength, and its beauty.No need of magic here, or rather the only magic needed is that ofself-reliance and the sympathy of the world so bountifully expressed.

  15. With a full heart the poet Whittier describes the scene, and thelesson to be derived from it:

  Men said at vespers, "All is well!" In one wild night the city fell; Fell shrines of prayer and marts of gain, Before the fiery hurricane.

  16. On threescore spires had sunset shone, Where ghastly sunrise looked on none. Men clasped each other's hands, and said, "The City of the West is dead!"

  17. Brave hearts who fought in slow retreat, The fiends of fire from street to street, Turned powerless to the blinding glare, The dumb defiance of despair.

  18. A sudden impulse thrilled each wire That signaled round that sea of fire; Swift words of cheer, warm heart-throbs came, In tears of pity died the flame.

  19. From East, from West, from South, from North, The messages of hope shot forth, And underneath the severing wave, The world, full-handed, reached to save.

  20. Fair seemed the old; but fairer still The new, the dreary void shall fill With dearer homes than those o'erthrown For love shall lay each corner-stone.

  21. Rise, stricken city! from thee throw The ashen sackcloth of thy woe, And build, as to Amphion's strain, To songs of cheer thy walls again!

  22. How shriveled in thy hot distress The primal sin of selfishness! How instant rose, to take thy part, The angel in the human heart!

  23. Ah! not in vain the flames that tossed Above thy dreadful holocaust; The Christ again has preached through thee The Gospel of Humanity!

  24. Then lift once more thy towers on high, And fret with spires the western sky, To tell that God is yet with us, And love is still miraculous!

  THE END.

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  We also publish several other Histories of the United States for Schools. For full list see Descriptive Section No. 7.

  General History

  =Appletons' School History of the World. New Edition= $1.22 =Barnes's Brief General History of the World= 1.60 =Swinton's Outlines of the World's History= 1.44 =Thalheimer's General History= 1.20

  Our list also includes Histories of England, France, Greece, Rome,etc., besides Ancient, Medi?val, and Modern Histories, and Manuals ofMythology.

  Circulars and Se
ction 7, of our List fully describes these and otherworks on the same subject. They are sent free on request. Special termsfor introduction. Correspondence invited.

  American Book Company NEW YORK * CINCINNATI * CHICAGO * BOSTON * PORTLAND, ORE.

  * * * * *

  Standard School Geographies

  SUPPLEMENTED WITH STATE EDITIONS.

  APPLETONS' Elementary $0.55 Higher 1.25

  BARNES'S Elementary .55 Complete 1.25

  CORNELL'S Primary .42 Intermediate .86

  ECLECTIC Elementary .55 Complete 1.20

  GUYOT'S Elementary .50 New Intermediate 1.00

  HARPER'S Introductory .48 School 1.08

  NILES'S Elementary .44 Advanced 1.00

  SWINTON'S Introductory .55 Grammar School 1.25

  STANDARD PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHIES.

  Appletons' Physical $1.60 Cornell's New Physical 1.12 Eclectic Physical 1.00 Guyot's Physical 1.60 Geikie's Physical .35 Monteith's New Physical 1.00

  GENERAL GEOGRAPHY.

  Geographical Reader and Primer $0.60 Grove's Geography .35 Johonnot's Geographical Reader 1.00 Long's Home Geography .25 Patton's Natural Resources of the United States .35 Ritter's Comparative Geography 1.00 Ritter's Geographical Studies 1.00

  HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY AND ATLASES.

  Eclectic Historical Atlas $1.00 Monteith's Boys' and Girls' Atlas .40 Putz and Arnold's Ancient Geography and History 1.05 Putz and Paul's Medi?val Geography and History 1.05 Tozer's Classical .35

  Send for Geography Section of the Descriptive Catalogue.

  _Copies of any of these books will be sent prepaid to any address, onreceipt of the price, by the Publishers:_

  American Book Company NEW YORK * CINCINNATI * CHICAGO

  * * * * *

  Transcriber's Notes:

  Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal signs=. Obvious printing mistakes have been corrected. Both "flap-doodle" and "flapdoodle" were used in this book. Page 35, illustration caption: "Roger's" changed to "Rogers's." Page 135, closing quotation mark added after "a pin drop on the deck."