answers and money awards in that exciting contest about a queer journey.
the mystery trip story proved a mystery indeed to many, for while the puzzle was rather easy, it scared out not a few contestants by its looks—like the famous animal in the bunyan narrative. and the questions thought by most solvers to be the hardest proved to the successful ones the easiest. for example, the great majority could not find "tidbottom's spectacles," nor guess the riddles. the first-prize winner failed on one of the easy questions—what was the sea of darkness?—but answered everything else. his name is herbert wiswell, and he lives in melrose, mass.; and since he did so much better than any one else he is awarded a big prize—$25 in cash. the next two winners are girls. one is anna whitall james, of riverton, n. j., and the other bessie steele, of chicago. they did almost equally well, but not quite the same. so to the former is given $5 and the latter $3. to the other eight of the best ten—in addition to the first big prize—the offer was to divide $40 among the best ten—$1 each is awarded. their names follow in order: de f. porter rudd, of connecticut; franklin a. johnston, new york; bryant k. hussey, of illinois; j. lawrence hyde, of washington; w. putnam, of new york; fred p. moore, of massachusetts; j. lurie, of new york; and g. edwin taylor, of pennsylvania.
the following are placed on the honor list. all found at least 33 of the 37 questions: freida g. vroom, of new jersey; nannie r. nevins, of new york; maud g. corcoran, of maryland; robert meiklejohn, jr., of ohio; ernest haines, of new york; frank j. and s. n. hallett, of rhode island; robert c. hatfield and william j. culp, of pennsylvania; margaret a. bulkley and rose g. wood, of michigan; and claude s. smith, of new york.
here are the answers to the questions: 1. a travelling-rug that would transport its owner anywhere he wished to go. 2. a golden arrow given him by the gods which rendered him invisible as he rode through the air. 3. vulcan. 4. spectacles that enabled their wearers to see real character beneath an assumed one. (see george wm. curtis's prue and i.) 5. a broom which he put at his ship's mast-head to indicate he intended to sweep all before him. 6. a druid monument near aylesford, in england. 7. don quixote. 8. rosinante. 9. dean swift. 10. john brown's dog "rab." 11. one that could cover an army and yet be carried, when desired, in one's pocket. 12. an offering given to the priest at whitsuntide according to the number of chimneys in his parish. 13. roman coins dug up at silchester, in england. 14. old german coins made to unscrew; inscriptions were placed inside. 15. the gate of dreams. 16. an old name for the atlantic ocean. 17. a ship made by the dwarfs, large enough to hold all the gods, which always commanded a prosperous gale; it could be folded up like a sheet of paper and put into a purse when not in use. 18. the flying island, inhabited by scientific quacks, visited by gulliver in his travels. 19. a mountain which drew all of the nails out of any ship which came within reach of its magnetic influence. 20. scotland. 21. roger bacon. 22. charles ii. 23. garibaldi. 24. robert southey. 25. should have been "budge," not "bridge." the question is therefore ruled out—that is, none who missed it had the error counted against them. the answer is: a company of men dressed in long gowns, lined with budge or lamb's wool, who used to accompany the lord mayor of london on his inauguration. 26. something made of all the scraps in the larder. (see merry wives of windsor.) 27. an imaginary land of plenty, where roast pigs ran about squealing "who'll eat me?" 28. the escurial. 29. caverns in the chalk cliffs of essex, england. 30. an old jail in edinburgh, scotland. 31. a curious stone in mexico cut with figures denoting time. 32. corea. 33. december 13, 1688. 34. simple people in the time of king john who danced about a thorn-bush to keep captive a cuckoo. 35. a badge worn by those who received parish relief in the reign of william iii.; it consisted of the letter p, with the initial of the parish where the owner belonged in red or blue cloth, on the shoulder of the right sleeve. 36. the paper that enclosed the cartridges which were used in the civil war. 37. a bookworm.
boys will be boys.
in the life and letters of dr. samuel butler recently published, it is shown that the saying "boys will be boys" was as true many years ago as it is to-day.
"there was a certain exciseman in shrewsbury who was very trim and neat in his attire, but who had a nose of more than usual size. as he passed through the school-lane the boys used to call him 'nosey,' and this made him so angry that he complained to dr. butler, who sympathized, and sent for the head boy, to whom he gave strict injunctions that the boys should not say 'nosey' any more.
"next day, however, the exciseman reappeared, even more angry than before. it seems that not a boy had said 'nosey,' but that as soon as he was seen the boys ranged themselves in two lines, through which he must pass, and all fixed their eyes intently upon his nose. again dr. butler summoned the head boy, and spoke more sharply. 'you have no business,' said he, 'to annoy a man who is passing through the school on his lawful occasions; don't look at him.' but again the exciseman returned to dr. butler, furious with indignation, for this time, as soon as he was seen, every boy had covered his face with his hand until he had gone by."
signs of coming events.
burning ears indicate, you know, that we are being talked about. when the right ear burns, something to our advantage is being said; when the left ear is troubled, something detrimental is being said. an old darky i knew of had a spell to stop this kind of gossip. she spat on her finger, made the sign of a cross on her ear, and said,
"if yer talkin' good, good betide ye;
talkin' bad, hope de debil ride ye."
"mother goose" is responsible for the following:
"if you sneeze on monday, you sneeze for danger.
sneeze on a tuesday, kiss a stranger.
sneeze on a wednesday, sneeze for a letter.
sneeze on a thursday, something better.
sneeze on a friday, sneeze for sorrow.
sneeze on a saturday, see your sweetheart to-morrow."
eugene ashford.
portland, oregon.
a cat eating grass is a sign of rain.
"evening red and morning gray
lets the traveller on his way.
evening gray and morning red
brings down rain on the traveller's head."
snow lingering on the ground is a sign that the winter will be severe.
stumbling up stairs is a sign of your marriage within the year.
rosa elizabeth hutchinson, r.t.f.
montclair.
knew himself best.
the rev. john watson, who has written several successful books under the nom de plume of "ian maclaren," recently visited this country—his home is in liverpool, england—where he met with wonderful success on a lecture tour. just before departing for his home he met a new york editor who was a class-mate of his at school years ago in edinburgh, scotland. calling him familiarly by his first name, as of old, dr. watson, in response to congratulations, said: "i am glad this success did not come to me when i was young. why, dave, if this had happened when i was twenty-one, it would have turned my head, and i should have thought myself a very great man! but now i know better."
funny incidents with unfamiliar languages.
the late george du maurier, an account of whose early student days has recently been published by messrs. harper & brothers, was once much put out by an englishman who took him for a frenchman. the two conversed for a while in french, the englishman stumbling through the conversation, thinking it necessary to bring into service all the french he knew in order to make himself understood by this greatest of english satirists.
but du maurier was not the only man to have this experience. some years ago a party of four american gentlemen met, in the park at versailles, four american ladies whose acquaintance they had made some months before in germany. desiring to treat them to a carriage ride, one of the gentlemen motioned to a cab that stood near. supposing cabby to be french because he was in france, the eight summoned their best french, and, after a great deal of difficulty, in which cabby seemed dull and the americans unable to give a french pronunciation to their french, succeeded in fixing upon a price for a two-hour ride. as four of the party were about to enter the carriage, one lady objected to the small seat. the cabby desired, so it afterward developed, to tell the lady she could sit on the front seat with him. thinking of an inducement for so doing, he undertook to express it by bending over, shaking his trousers, then his coat tails, next his coat collar, and lastly his mustaches, which he pulled to their greatest length, having first inflated his cheeks to their fullest extent. his performance was so ludicrous that the whole party laughed, and some lady, in true american vernacular, shouted,
"well, i never!"
the man straightened up instantly. "are you folks english?" he ejaculated. assured that they were next thing to english, and that they could not speak french, cabby said, "neither can i."
"but what were you trying to say by those antics just now?"
"that it would be cooler on the high front seat," said cabby.
of course the objection to the seat was waived, and the party, not put out as was du maurier, enjoyed a hearty laugh over their half-hour wasted in trying to make a bargain with cabby in a language that neither they nor he understood.
societies active in good deeds.
i write to tell you of the success of the iris club, of which i told you in the fall. after i wrote, we decided not to give our dues to a "home," but to give a church fair instead. it was a big undertaking for five schoolgirls, busy with lessons and music, but would bravely, making as many articles as possible. i made about one hundred. we got tickets printed free, and the fair was held at our house. several ladies furnished music, and tickets, including ice-cream, were fifteen cents. we sold plants, embroidery, and other things on commission. so, although we took in $65, when everything was paid for we had $53.60 to give to the church. at the fair we had five tables, and then one large cake-table, besides a wheel of fortune and a fortune-teller. we asked all our friends for cakes and articles for sale, and the girls acted as waitresses. it was a great success, and the club justly feels proud of it.
besides the iris, another club, the drumtochty, has been started here, also a benevolent institution, for making clothes for poor children. we meet every week, and we sew our garments. after they are finished we keep them until a poor family is found. instead of reading books, the iris reads "a loyal traitor," in harper's round table, and enjoys it very much. we wish success to any other young society trying to do good.
adelaide l. w. ermentrout, secretary.
"granstein."
national amateur press association.
undoubtedly one of the most interesting and beneficial hobbies of young people is amateur journalism. the chief promoter of this cause in the united states is the national amateur press association, an organization consisting of upward of three hundred members scattered all over the country. conventions are held every year, when new officers are elected and other business transacted. the last one was held at washington, d. c., and was a success in every way. the next convention will be held in san francisco, california. for the nominal sum of $1 any one interested to that amount is admitted to membership. a large number of papers are issued by different amateurs of the association, which are sent to all members, free of charge. mr. allison brocaw, litchfield, minnesota, is at present recruiting chairman, and will supply any one interested with further information.
elmer b. boyd.
