the stout heart of Mickey Free was appalled at the determined and savage rush Bran made against the paling at him. Mickey made his escape into the street to recover his breath, and like the spirited dog he is, returned once more, though it must be owned a little more cautiously. But Bran was furious, and barked more than ever. Mickey got in behind a bush, then made little rushes out into the open ground, darting off once more to a place of safety, and before long, being a hunting-dog himself, he discovered that Bran did not regard him as a dog at all, but some strange beast to be hunted down and killed. If ever a dog laughed, it was Mickey Free that day; you couldn't help seeing he was convulsed with inward laughter, and had not an organ-man stopped and begun to play, no doubt Mickey would have stood longer to enjoy the joke. Poor Mickey's joy, however, was turned into sadness at the first note of the organ, and he had to rush off to his own gate to hide his head, and howl all the time the sound reached his ears. Usually every morning, Mickey Free appeared for weeks to renew the capering and rushing out and in, laughing to himself immensely at the stupidity of such a big dog insisting upon taking him for a city hare. A few days ago Mickey was missed, and though Bran watched for him eagerly, and ran round the wall barking, or yelping rather, as he does when he wants any one to come to him, Mickey never put in an appearance. At the end of a week, however, what was our surprise to see Mickey Free come in at the gate free no longer. On account of the edict issued by the magistrate that all dogs must be chained up or muzzled, there stood Mickey halfway up the walk with his stump of a tail hanging down, his head and his poor old mouth and nose safely shut up inside a dog-muzzle. Even Bran felt for the depressed state of the poor Irish terrier, and gave a yelp to express his sympathy, for Bran remembers that there is one hanging up beside his strap and collar ready to put on his own nose. Mickey turned away with a groan, and a turning up of the whites of his eyes that betrayed too plainly his feelings of wretchedness. But before I close, you will be glad to hear that this very morning Mickey Free rushed panting in at our gate, barking and yelping in such wild delight, that Bran's breath was so taken away that he forgot to make his usual rush on him; and so we were all able to understand that Mickey had fallen upon a capital plan, and that was-to put himself under the protection of the policeman, to follow at his heels as if he belonged to him. They had always been good friends before, being countrymen, and when the policeman was spoken to about Mickey Free, he replied: "Aye, shure, and he wouldn't hurt a fly. He's as sensible a dog as you'll find in the British Isles; we've made a bargain, that if he keeps hisself under me eye he's free he'll be as long as I'm on my rounds; but I've got the muzzle in me pocket." Either the sight of Mickey's muzzled nose has opened Bran's eyes to the fact that the terrier is a dog-a second cousin of his, perhaps or that during the few days Mickey Free was shut up waiting for his muzzle to be made, Bran was very dull without him; anyway, understanding the sound of Bran's yelps, I almost think that if Mickey were to screw up his courage and walk through the bars, Bran would receive him with open paws instead of open mouth. Perhaps in time, as Mickey is a dog of not a little sense, he may yet discover that old Bran wishes to be unneighbourly no longer. THE "LITTLE FOLKS' BLACK OMPETITORS and others who take an interest in the LITTLE FOLKS Painting Book Competitions will, the Editor feels sure, be glad to see the facsimile illustrations from the Prize "Black and White Painting Books" given on pages 304 and 305. In as last month's number the selections given were from the First and Second Prize Books in the Second Competition-" for books illustrated with drawings cut from the frontispiece;" this month they are taken from Prize Books in the First AND WHITE PAINTING BOOKS." Competition-" for books illustrated with original drawings ;" and the names of the successful competitors whose skill is represented are as follow (Joint Winner of First Prize), CONSTANCE G. COPEMAN (aged 16); 2 (Joint Winner of First Prize), HELEN TROUBRIDGE (aged 14); 3 (Winner of Second Prize), VIOLET HEAVEN (aged 12); 4 (Winner of Special Extra Prize), MAY BOWLEY (aged 15); 5 (a Winner of Extra Prize), HARRINGTON MANN (aged 15). The poems in the "LITTLE FOLKS Black and White Painting Book" that are illustrated in the two groups of pictures given in this number are the same as last month, with the omission of "The Tug of War" and the addition of "Rock-a-bye." Dr. Moffat, the well-known missionary, and father-in-law of the great Dr. Livingstone, began his career by preaching amongst the Dutch farmers or Boers of the Cape. One night he called at a Boer's farm, and begged lodging, which was granted to him. The farmer's wife asked him to preach; but he was disappointed to find that his congregation consisted only of his host and hostess and their children, and he requested that the Hottentots employed on the farm might be permitted to join in worship. The Boer remonstrated, exclaiming, "Are you come to preach to Hottentots? Go to the mountains, and preach to the baboons ; or, if you like, I'll fetch my dogs, and you may preach to them." Moffat took no notice of these heated remarks; but gave out his text, "Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table." This he repeated with emphasis, whereupon the Boer begged him to stop, saying he would have no more of it, and that he would bring in all the Hottentots in the place. The barn was soon filled with them, and they listened gladly and eagerly to Moffat's earnest address. At the close the Boer frankly and heartily declared to the missionary that he would never again object to the gospel being preached to the natives. Pigmy Elephants. It is commonly supposed that all elephants are huge creatures, and though, as a rule, they are an enormous size, there is one species which is very small. This kind is found in the Malay peninsula, and some specimens have been procured which are only from twenty-eight to thirty-six inches in height, with a thick coat of bristly hair or wool. Two of these pigmy elephants were recently exhibited in New York. They are described as playful and inoffensive, holding out their tiny trunks for strangers to touch-a practice of which they were particularly fond. They used to keep up a swaying movement, sometimes from side to side, sometimes backwards and forwards. One of them would occasionally take hold of a visitor's hand, gently curl his trunk around it, carry it carefully to his mouth, and then "trumpet" with great glee. A Gallant Apprentice. Admiral Hopson, one of England's famous sailors in the brave days of old, began life as apprentice to a tailor. Not liking the trade, however, he joined the navy, and the ship on which he was employed was, not long afterwards, engaged with several others in a contest with a French squadron. Young Hopson asked one of the men how they would know when the enemy had given in, and was told in reply that when a particular flag was hauled down the ship would be theirs. "Oh! if that's all," says he, "I'll see what I can do." The vessels were now engaged yard-arm to yard-arm, and the boy climbing aloft was hidden by the smoke of the guns. He passed from the yard of his ship to that of the foe, swarmed up the maintop-gallant masthead, and secured the French flag. Before he reached the deck, the British sailors noticed that the flag had disappeared, and shouted "Victory, victory." The French thinking the flag had been struck in obedience to the Admiral's orders, fled from their guns in panic, while the British boarded the vessel, and captured her. Meanwhile, Hopson came down from the shrouds with the flag wrapped around him, to the astonishment of the jolly tars. He was taken at once to the Admiral, who praised him for his bravery, and made him a midshipman. From this point he gradually rose in the service of his country, and ended by becoming an admiral himself. A Chinese Omnibus. The Chinese have always been regarded by us as a highly peculiar people, and it is understood that they return the compliment by considering us as barbarians, a They possess civilisation that was old before the civilisation of Western nations had begun; but in spite of that fact it is singular that they have been in nearly every respect at a complete standstill for centuries. But though they may think they have reached per fection, there is scarcely any of their institutions, from the greatest to the humblest, which might not be vastly improved. Look, for example, at the vehicle which you will find in Pekin, the capital of the empire, doing duty as an omnibus. It resembles what our tradesmen use as a hand-barrow. An open frame surrounds a large wheel, and each side is furnished with a seat that ground. Having marked the spot, he returned with his son after sunset to see if he could find them. He again fell in with them; but now they were accompanied by their mother. As soon as she saw the two gentlemen, she took one of the leverets up in her mouth, as a cat does a kitten, and ran off screaming to a hedge several yards distant, where she placed her little one. Then she A CHINESE OMNIBUS. can accommodate one person. The "carriage" is driven by a man whose post is by no means enviable. Fastening a stout rope to the handles, he then throws it across his shoulders (like our milkmen), and grasping the "omnibus" or wheelbarrow by the shafts, away he trots with his burden of "Celestials," through the funny-looking, crowded streets of Pekin. A Hare and Her Little Ones. A gentleman was once riding in a stubble-field, when he noticed two very young hares on the came back for the other leveret, and carried it off in the same manner. This method of the hare's taking away her young to a place of safety has seldom been observed; but it is a touching instance of maternal affection. Pugnacious So familiar are sparrows in our towns and villages, that one can scarcely wonder that they often develop a large amount of what may be called impudence. The following anecdote will show, however, that they are possessed of some real courage. A gentleman's attention was once attracted by a number of sparrows fluttering in a state of great excitement about the roof of a "Hear, Hear!" If you read in the newspapers the report of a speech by some public man, you will notice that it is occasionally interrupted by the words "Hear, hear!" within brackets. The phrase originally ran "Hear him," and was first used in Parliament to remind members to attend to the discussion. It is now employed, however, in its somewhat altered form, to indicate that those who utter it approve of the sentiments to which they are listening. This is its common signification; but when spoken in a sarcastic or ironical tone it implies, of course, the very reverse of approval. Young Luther's Hardships. When Luther attended school, it was the custom in Germany for the scholars to beg their bread by singing in small bands from door to door. One of his first teachers was a harsh, cruel man, who used to flog him unmercifully, so that what with having to beg his bread, and suffer the frequent blows of his hard master, poor young Luther had a bad time of it. After a year he was taken from this school, and sent to Eisenach, where his parents thought he would do better, as some relations lived there. But they were poor, like his father, who was a miner, and Martin's distress was as sore as ever. He had still to earn his bread by singing in the street, and one day, hungry and unhelped, he felt thoroughly miserable, and thought he would have to return home and work in the mines. As he stood lost in these bitter reflections, a door opened and a lady bade him come in. She had heard him sing in the church choir on Sundays, and had been struck with his sweet voice. Noticing the harsh manner in which he had been driven from house to house, she brought him in, and told him to sit down at her table. So pleased were her husband and herself with Luther's disposition and behaviour that they made him come and live with them. He stayed with them for two years, and never forgot, throughout his remarkable career, either Eisenach or good Madame Cotta. Sagacious Pigeons. To the large number of anecdotes illustrating the intelligence of birds that have already been collected the following story will be an interesting addition. Great numbers of the common blue pigeon find a roosting-place at the Central Prison of Agra, in North India. On their return home every evening they are in the habit of drinking at a tank outside the prison walls. Now this tank is inhabited by some turtles, which exercise their ingenuity by attacking every pigeon that is unfortunate enough to take a sip of water near where they are hiding. Headless pigeons are sometimes found at the tank, proving that they fell victims to the practised cruelty of the turtles. The birds, however, speedily noted their danger, and contrived a method of evading it. When they near the tank, instead of making at once for the water's edge, the pigeons cross the tank about twenty feet above its surface, then return to the side whence they came, seemingly choosing a safe spot on which to alight. This being selected, they alight on the bank about three feet from the water, but are still full of caution, for they quickly run down to the water, take a few rapid gulps, and then fly off to go through the same process at another spot till their thirst is quenched. The Leaf-cutting Ant. The ant has always been a favourite type of industry. Various species employ themselves in different ways, and one kind spends its time in cutting young pine-leaves, with which they build up a honeycomb-like structure in their cells. They carry their burden on the top of their heads, and along their backs, and as the piece of leaf is sometimes twice as long as the ant, it is an amusing sight to watch them marching along, thus encumbered. A row of these ants walking in single file, each bearing a portion of fine needle-like leaf, is highly suggestive of a file of soldiers armed with rifles. Their cup-like cells are generally made in sand, and the leaf-cuttings are worked up into a kind of spongy material arranged in layers which nearly fill the cell, the combs or layers being full of small pockets for the reception of the young ants. A Gentleman Farmer. Lord Kames, a distinguished judge and author of the eighteenth century, took to farming as a hobby. It is related that a visitor found him one day in the fields hard at work, helping to remove the stones from a new enclosure. After a while his friend began to weary, and grew impatient for the summons to dinner. At length the welcome sound of the bell was heard, and the work was stopped. "Well, my lord," said the visitor, "you have truly wrought for your meal; and pray let me ask you how much you think you will gain by that hard labour at the end of the year?" "Why, really, my good sir," was Lord Kames's sensible reply, "I never did calculate the value of my labour; but one thing I will venture to assert, that no man who is capable of asking that question will ever deserve the name of farmer." This practical wisdom applies to other things besides farming. "Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might" has been the constant precept of many a greater man than Lord Kames. |