Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, September 28, 1916, Page 9

Rules for Voung Writers. Wfit. nh.ln!y on one side of the ¥, and number the pages. Un pen and ink, not pencil. l. Short and polnted articles will given preference. not use over ‘words. fi Original stories or letters only be used, 5. Write your name, age and dress plainly at the bnnou of t.he Address all communications to Uncle Jed, Bulletin Office. “Whatever you are—! ‘Whatever you ‘.Knt,— that! true! Faithful and true, My little true blue, Of a silky, wee Dit of a dog: ‘Who joyed in my gaze, Who lived on my praise, Who loved in my shadow to jog. He was measured in height By the cowslip so bright,, Yet dimensions had nothing to do ‘With the small heart so loyal, So valiant, so royal, That beat in this atom so true. He lived little more Than half of a score, But ip that brief span of life He showed his good breeding By faithtully cleaving To the virtues with which he was rife His liquid brown eyes, In which no disguise Bver dwelt to mar hi Were speechful or Or pathetic, or glad, As the mood pictured things to this mite. bright soul, He jogs on no His friendship And T miss hi His velvety muzale, His little, confiding, soft tap. He is under the clover, 4y dot of rover, Who so nobly in life did his part— And under the clover Along with thee, Rover, s quite a large part of my heart. —Evelyn Mulock McGinley. JED'S TALK TO WIDE- AWAKES. UNCLE The sun, when it crossed the equator last week' on Thursday, started spring- time on the other side of the globe and (.2t this side of the earti open to Jack Irost, who will preside over our winter weather for the mext six months, and who will see that it is cold enough and snowy enouzh and icy emough to sat- isfy the rejuirements of nature, al- though mankind thinks he could get along without it. In preparation for winter, the trees spread leaves upon the ground to keepit warm, and the winds will whirl them around the plants to help keep them warm, and finally Jack Frost will cover a blanket of snow over the earth to protect them from his fiercest moods. Winter time for the trees and plants is like our nizht time, a eeason of rest, with which they renew their tissues and strength for next year's work. THE WIDE AWAKE CIRCLE BOYS ANP GIRLS m’mm The sun, which keeps rising and set- ting farther and farther south, makes Christmas in Australia just as sunny and hot and green as our Fourth of July, and it is more than likely that the Australian Santa Claus has no furs, but goes round -in hie shirt- sleeves. You will notice the birds are flying about in flocks and some of them, like the goldfinches, are putting on their winter clothes, while others that not endure the cold are going south to spend the winter, Some of_these birds fly thousands of miles and some of them only move down a few hundred miles to milder latitudes. The hardy birds which win- ter with us spent the summer as far north as Newfoundland and Labrador, ! and those that summered here in Con- necticut will winter in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. When you hear the chickadedee call- Ing you will know Jack Frost will soon take full charge and send his north winds to chill uvs. LETTERS OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT Josephine Borovicke of Norwich; 1 thank you very much for my prize book The Motor Maids' School Days. It is a very nice and interesting book, just like all Uncle Jed's books. Mary E. Murphy of Taftville; Please accept my sincere thanks for the prize book vou sent me entitled The Motor Maids in Fair Japan. Frances Baker, of Norwich; I re- ceived my book and I thank you very much indeed. I have read the first two chapters and found it very in- teresting. THE WINNERS OF PRIZE BOOKS. 1—Arlene Pearl of Augusta, Me., The Girl Aviators and the Phantom Ship. 2—Eleanor Heinrich of Taftville, Madge Morton’s Victory. 3_Esther Shershevsky af Norwich, The Camp Fire Girls in the Maine Woods. 4—Erie Gilbe rt of Danielson, Motor Maids at Sunrise Camp. i—Mary Rybic of Mansfield, The Mo- tor Maids’ School Da 6—Agnes M. Brown of Yantic, Motor | * Maids in Fair Japan. —Blanche Lucier of Taftyile, The Motor Maids by Rose, Shamrock and; Thistle. s—Irene McCarthy of Norwich, The Girl Aviators on Golden Wings. The winners of prize books living in the city may call at The Bulletin busi- ness office for them at any hour after 10 a. m. on Thursday. STORIES WRITTEN AWAKES. The Shape of the Vienna Roll. When Austria was at war with the Turks the enemy lay sicge to the city of Vienna. So closely was %t sur- rounded that nothing eould be brought in, and the people began to fear of starvation. One night as a poor baker was at work in his cellar he heard a rumbling noise. Stopping to listen, he found that it was caused by some marbles rolling upon a drum belonging to his son. Curious to kffow what made the marbies roll, the baker put his ear to the drum, and he heard a sound like BY WIDE- hammering. He listened a; and the eound was like that of a pick, and a thought came to him that perhaps the Turks were digging a mine under the By MRS. PETER. Two little girls sat side by side upon a battered old washboiler, in a dirty and littered back yard. In front of them, fluttering her cainty skirts rest- lessly, stood a third. And _then we are going to Atlantic City. Mother hopes to get rooms at the Marlborough Blenheim,” she was saying. “And, later, we are going to ©0ld Orchard or to the country. If you tould come out, on some excursion day, Ud go round with you,” she added. “We aren't 1o have any outing at all this vear,” sighed Lona. “There is a strike in the shop.” “Nor we efther,” said Susan. father lost his job ‘long and the baby has been can’t afford even to go Eva whirled herself around and her bronze boots glowzd beneath her pretty skirts, “I don't see how you can stand it. So awfully hot and stuffy in the city in the summer. My mother says we have not spent an August in town since T was born.” stand It because we have ts, I muttered Susan crossly, Kick- hecis against the oid’ boiler rang our tunefu “Poor “ary the winter, until . foiks cab't ko to Atlantic City and Old Orchord.” “Is this all the place You have to play?” asked Eva, peering about curi- ously and swinging her echool books it by their strap from one side to the other. She looked rather contemptu- ously at the unatiractive space where the rear of the two houses occupied by the families of T.ona and Susan corner- ed together. Broken bhottles huddled by the ash heap and numerous tin ca:z3 and pails lay near the bcttomlesi old boiler. Bunches of cel clover, springing from some cha e seed, were making a brave struggle with. the weeds. “Well, ir's too bad,” went on Eva, carelessly. “Goodbye, girls. I must get home. The dressmaker is coming to fit my new school.” “l don’t see why it is” broke out Susan, impetuously, “that some girls have everything and others nothing at all, and go everywhere and wear pretty dresses and live in hotels nad the band plays and nobody has to work.” She sadly mixed her English In her excitement. “I have to wash dishes and dust and tend baby every minute, most, when I'm out of school, and my best drafl- is nothing but an eight cent lawn.” ° P “You mustn't talk like that,” gsaid Lona, earnestly. “You have a good fa- ther and mother who are doing all they can for you.' “So has she 4 good father and moth- er who-are doing all they can for her. She doean’t even dust her own room and she’s quick to learn and I have to study hard. - Nothing but good cver happens to her and nothing but bad to me. TFather can’t get work and baby is so fussy and only this morning mother said she was 'frald she was coming down sic—" Susan wept in earnest. In heaping wp her troubles for Lona’s in- spection they grew enormously. ‘It isn't tql:urdin: to Sunday school sto- Hes, MM-M embroidered voile after !_——_—-——_—‘**‘ AN ASH HEAP OUTING ‘ Plipe e sindeppior i i o 3 s i) into the dark earth. A litile dande- lion byd swelled to bursting petals, wa head as 1 trying to hA ssom to make your phx\- vard prettier?” Susan's hasty movements had red the sweet clover and a delici fragrance floated upward. Too bad about that old ash heap. If they moved their 'seat—the old boiler, on its side. a little, they would not see it so plainly. Then only the clover and dandelion would he near. Were there to be more dandelions? Yes—there were several little bud sis- ters fast asleep in their tiny green bed. When they were all in blossem the butterflies wouid come, the clover would grow tall and #riny the bees. Why, they could make believe it was a schoolroom, with two-toned walls and deep blue ceilings. They must not look at the ashes, but see only the green and gold of the clover and dan- delion, other playmates would come— she hummed a little kindergarten song absently, they could make a longer seat with that board lying in the cor- ner—why—why— : “Susan Hartley! Jump up quick! 1 have such a big splendid idea! The thoughts come so fast. I can’t say ‘em quick enough—I'll try to say it aloud, and you remember carefully—no, here, let’s write ’em right down,” and she thrust a corrected lesson paper into the bewildered Susan’s hand. Late in the summer, two whose interest seemed to be in the rear of buildings. came around the corner of Lona’s home and paused, amazed, at the sight of the back yard. A tangle of honeysuckle, scarlet run- ners and morning glory vines climbed riotously over. the shabby old walls. A low fragrant hedge of sweet clover, dotted among its green by brilliant scarlet geraniums, in cloverly hidden tin cans, closed this novel school- room. Occupying a central place in this carefully cleaned vard was the old wash boiler. It was filled with rich earth and glowing nasturtiums over- flowed it, completely hiding its rusty sides. But in one corn¢y, carefully guarded by a circle of dolemn-faced pansies, grew a solitary dandelion plant, and of the once numerous fam- ily, only one ancient stalk waved & lonely and aged & ladies, head. said one of the “My dears, were you working for the prize?” Lona and Susan lifted puzzled faces. “The Civics Club offered a prize for the best kept backyard,” explained the lady. “We are upon inspection and declare you the winners. The prize is to be a two weeks’ outing at a quiet home at the islands. A member the club will call upon your pa.ronts and accompany you as chaperon. Be ready in about two weeks,” uhe smiled, as with a last admiring look about, they moved away. The two girls caught each other b{ the hands and-danced rapturously, silently about the fading dandelion. Then Lona knelt suddenly by the dy- ing_blossom. “Dear, dear little friend,” she whis- pered softly, not to disturb its deli- cate whiteness. “You just looked up 1 told me all about it, when u m | and . Sprinj up, he went and - . llm{mt he was Jaughed at; ‘begged that the matter be look- ed into, and it was found that he was right Then a mine was started to meet that ! 6t the Turks, and the city was saved. r\the war the emperor sent for the baker, thanked him for his service i to the country, and bade him name his reward. The baker was as modest as He wae patriotic. He only asked that he and his family should be allowed to make a bread roll in the shape of a crescent. so that the people might remember how God had saved the city from the Turks. This, of course, he was allowed to do, and to this day the Vlerma. roll is made in the shape of a cresce: BLANCHE LJCII:R Taftville. Paper. The paper which most of us read every morning has probably been han- dled by one hundred men at least. The paper for newspapers and wrapping paper is made of wood pulp. The paper that we write our letters on is made of cotton or linen rags. ‘The paper for printing books is made from rags or wood. ‘When making paper out of rags, they are first put in a machine called the rag cutter. This cuts them in small pieces. They are then passed through a machine that gets all the dust and dirt off the rags. The men then sort the rags, taking the cotton from the linen and the colored cloth from the white. They then boil the rags in soda and lime. This takes ouf the color and grease. This pulp is then put into another machine which is in three parts. First, it bleaches them white; then it washes them; and last of all it beats them into a fine pulp; when this gets hard it is made into paper. ‘When paper is made of straw the straw is cut into smali pieces and made the same as the rags. ERIC GILBERT Age 11. Danielson. A Little Broken Heart. One day my mother sent me tc the drug store, and on my way I met a lit- tle Jame boy. I stopved and thought a moment, how fortunate I was to be able to walk around and enjoy life. So 1 stopped. the littie boy and bid him good morning and inguired how he became a cripple. He replied: “I met with an accident. One day my brother and I went out in the country to steal some grapes, and I fell off the grape arbor and split kneecap and ‘haven't been able to ght since then.” y ave the doctor?” I asked answered. * 1 asked. my motier is a drunka er is dead,” and while sa Dbig tears rolled down his , very sorry for him. When we have good fathers and mothers we don’t apprecinte them sometimes; but if you had my father and mother you would be contented, “Come with me, if you wish," I said. He came limping along slowly. Final- u we reached home. We went in slow for he had a hard time to walk. I it in the dining room, and I ex cused myself and went where mother RS And, of course, 1 told her all about it and she said she would adopt him. T went to him and told him what ehe (said and he was glad. Tears were falling from each of our cheeks. He told us of hi§ mother and what she did while intoxic: Mother told him to write to his d he did the next day, and the answer was Yes to what he wrote. | He was very glad. He is a big boy DBLLA LACHAPELLE, Age 12. How Hermy Lost Five Dollars. When Hermy Burns was four years | is father bought a sh to go with ey went to Grandpa Hoff's to it first, for Mrs. Burns did not he would see her parents him. pay a but nts became very fond metimes his e¥andpa and let him go alone 1o the grocery store mear by to spend Hermy always bought pink gum- t the time came for Mrs. Burns my to go to Flerida. The old andparents felt very sorry to have m leave, and granfpa said he must > o photograph of Hermy to keep. So one day M urns dr Hermy 1 his biack velvet take him to the photographer’ company came just .to start, and she léaving Hermy pl. about ent into the parlor, ving with the dom- es. When she came back he was not to be seen. She called him, but he did not answer. She was just about to go out into € to look for him when he ng >ut from under the bed. a pair of s s in {his hands and he had clipped his hair in_little b: spots all over his head. His mamma almost cried when she saw what he had done. “You can’t have your picture taken now!"” she said. “You look too badly.” Grandpa was very much vexed as well as sorry, ‘I think I would rather have given vou five dollars than had you &0 that, Hermy,” he said. * About an hour later the cook found Hermy crying in the back yard. “Never mind, Hermy,” she said. “Your hair wiii grow out again before long. « not erying about my hair,” sob- bed Hermy. “TI'm crying because I lost five dollars. I could have bought so many gumdrops with it.” How grandpa laughed when he heard of this! He said it almost paid him for losing Hermy's photograph. CATHERINE A. DUNN, Age 10. Norwich. His Last Whipping. In the days when Kimball Price went to school the disobedient scholars were punished by severe whippings. Kim was the rogue of the school and tried the patience of all his teachers. His teacher, Miss Pentecost, whipped nim regularly three times a week. As this did no good, the teacher began to get discouraged. She knew his mother was poor and couldn’t afford to send Kim to school merely to play. One day he had been more trying than usual, and Miss Pentecost sent Bob White to get a remarkably strong birch stick. When Bob returned she said: “Now, Kimball, take off your jacket.” He was so used to doing this he left Ralf the buttons unfastened to save time. Then the teacher’s strong stick was laid on. After school that night she told Kim- ball to remain. She said she had whipped him a good many times for nothing, and now she must be paid for it. She said it lamed her arm ang she must have a quarter for doing so, and a quarter every time afterwards. Kim hated to ask his mother for the quarter, but finally he asked her and she gave him the quarter, saying: ““The gingerbread js 21l gone and I intended to buy molasses with that quarter to make more, but you may bhave it ~ He took the quarter to Miss Pente- cost. When he gave it to her she said: “I haye to whip you so much very | brought me a new dress. To avoid a whipp!n& it was neces- sary to study. 'w a chance tc Mo, you dor’t,” Kim said to him- | trip up a boy and to put a cherry into | a sleeping boy’s mouth, but he resisted these allurements, and 5fty more, and got his lesson so good he went to the | head of the class. He never got another whipping. When he grew to be a man he wanted the quarter, but the teacher woulén't part with it, so he cut it in two and each had a half. You see, studying is as easy as play- ing, and both are a habit. GNES M. BROWN. Yantie. A True Story. One day a little- girl narmed Elsie went to the country to live with her aunt and uncle. She was six years old when she went to live in the country. Elsie's mother had died when she was a little baby. Flsie had a big sister and brother and her father was living. They did not stay together long after Elsis’s mother died, so Elsie went to live with her aunt and uacle. ‘Although Eisie did not live wita her father, brother or sister, she had a good and happy hcme in the country. IOLA M. BUTTON, Age 12. Griswold. An Attack by Wolves We were at a large farm and pre- paring for a ride; e were soon ready and started early in the morning so as_to have a long ride. Farly in the day we stopped to rest the horses-and have our lunch. After we started out a heavy snowstorm arose. Soon we became very lonely and tired. The road track grew fainter and fainter; soon not a track was to be seen. Finally we were lost—lost in the cold snow storm. Night came and we grew tired and sleepy. We were frightened almost to death. Pre- sently the howling of wolves was heard. They came upon us and were all around us. The horses grew tired and would not go at all. We knew we could not get home that night. The wolves became thicker and thicker. I felt just as if I would have to give up. The last mile I thought we would never get home, The horses could hardly walk; but in a shert time we were safe at home once mere, CATHERINE McD. BUCKLEY, Age 19 New London. A Mother’s Love. A little while ago a fox attacked a lamb on one of the farms near Scar- borough and killed it. The lamb's mother was so angry that she turned upon the fox, not only defeating it, but killed it. So fierce was the encounter that the sheep broke off one of her horns in goring the fox. GERALD SULLIVA Norwich. N, Age 10. Columbus. Christopher Columbus was born more than four hundred and fifty s ago in Genoa, a seaport of Italy, s father was a wool-comber. But Columbus wanted to be a sailor. So his father sent him to a school where he could learn all a sailor should know. When he was fourteen he went to_sea. In Columbus’ time the people did not know about America, They believed that the earth was flat. But Colum- bus said that it_was round like a ball and he thousht that by sailing west from Europe he could reach Asia. He wanted to find a way to India which was shorter than the old way so that jewels, spices and drugs could be to FEurope without such a _great expense. He was too poor to ‘Suy ‘ships to carry out his plans. Af- ter he had waited seven long years to get help Queen Isabella of Spain offered to furnish the vessels needed for the voyage! On Aug. 3, 1492, he sailed out of the harbor of Palos, Spain. He sailed to the Canary Islands. After repairing two of bis vessels he set sail across the “Sea of Darkness,” as the Atlantic occan was then called, on Sept. §, 1492. After a very dawn on Oct. 12, exciting _voyage, K 1492, land was sight- ed. It was not as Columbus supposed a part of Asia. It was a country richer than the land he sought; it was America, He landed with his men and they gave thanks to God. He called the copper-colored matives Indians, and they still bear that name. He made three more voyages, but as he didn’t bring back much gold the people were disappointed. He died broken-hearted and in_poverty. ALICE M. GORMA) Versailles. at Benjamin Franklin Boston, 1706. He was the son of a soap boiler and candle-maker. His father was a poor man with a large family. - Benjamin helped his father for a while but he did not like this kind of work; and, as he was fond of books, his father put him in a printing office. When he was seventeen he made up his mind to run away, and g0 to New York. Franklin had some books which he had bought while he worked in the printing office. These were sold and with _the money he paid his passage to New York by a sailing vessel. When he reached New York he could not find worlk so he decided to go on to Philadelphia. _Franklin landed in Philadelphia on Sunday morning. The next day the young man found some work in a printing office. Six months after to see his friends, but he did not stay was born in long. Franklin sopn went back to PhNadelphia. In 1729, he became editor and pro- prietor of the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin was never tired of helping himself to get upward and onward, and never tired of helping others. He started the first public library in Philadelphia, which was the first in America. He helped to build the first academy, now called the Uni- versity of. Pennsylvania and also helped to bhuild the first hospital. Franklin did many other things for the_cit; Franklin invented the lightning rod. He put one on his house in Philadel- phia. His was the first lightning rod in_the world. When the Revolutionary war broke out Franklin did great work for his country. First, he helped write the Declaration of Independence, by which we declared ourselves free from the rule of the king of England; next, he went to France to get aid for us. Franklin lived to see the revolu- tion ended and America free. He died in 1790, and was buried in Christ church Burial Ground, Philadelphia. ALICE F. BURRILL, Age 16. Stafford Springs, Two Errand Boys. Henry and John were errand hovs in a large New York department store running hither and thither, carrying purchases throughout the entire city The _difference between. theme was that ffenry was a bright, hustling sort of a boy, who had been compelled to leave school, and earn a living to sup- port himself and his invalid mother. She had taught him to be honest and truthful. Johfi had an_ entirely different dis- position. He had. never been taught the word “Industrious,” and was in- clined to laugh at Henry’s hustle and business-like air in doing his work. As nobedy paid attention to mere errand boys , and as the salary was he decided to go back to Boston® i lar, “My teeth tread on my tongue if 1|, eat too fast!” small, John going to work for a measley four dol- lars a week. This condition continu- ed for a year. One wintry day a vaeancy appeared|ran races. in the office. attracted by Henry’s industrious ways. and so he was placed in the office. Slowly he climbed the ladder of sus. cess until now he'is at the head SEE bRt anh lentea ithy San the firm. John at present is only eclerk, and still grumbles at his work. SARAH HYMAN, Age 12. Norwich. Scott. Sir Walter Scott, the most famous of historical novelists, was born in Edinburgh In 1771, and died in_1832. He studied at the University of Ed inburgh, read law, and and in 1792 was called to tr, Har. In 1799 he w. appointed shewiff, n 1806 was made clerk of the court of sessions, and in 1520, when he was forty-nine years old, received a barronetcy. His first grand literary success was “The Lay of the Last Minstrel” which appeared in that year and wes received with almost universal praise “Marmion,” “The Lady of the Lake,” “Rokeby,” and other poems, were i cued in quick succession, each con- firming his poetical reputation and spreading his fame. Scott is better known to the world as a novelist than as a poet; and a few words descriptive of his remark- able career in fiction seem to be nec- essary to the completness of this sketeh. Tn 1814 Waverley was issued at Ed- inburgh, and instantly attracted at- tention. No author's name appeared on the title page, and the public was left in a state of painful doubt as ig the source of so brilliant a book. IRENE McCARTHY, Age 12. Norwich. Newgate Prison. How many of the Wide-Awakes have seen Newgate Prlvn which in Granby, Conn.? This prison was at the time of the Revolutionary war to but prisoners in. It was an old cop- per mine, very damp and wet. ‘Wha prisoners at night had o go part of the way down on an iron litter, then through a small space;“the rest of the way being steps cut in the sold rock. In the morning they would *ave 10 come up and work in the prisoa »ard in the shops. making nails which they Fammered all out by hand. Thay were even chained to rings in ! wall by chains leading from shackles on their legs so they could not run awa In one cell there was either enteen or eighteen prisoners. the only way they kept warm. Many of the prisoners died it was so damp and wet. -They were treated very cruelly. After the war it was used by our state for a prison. until the new prison at Wethersfield sov- This is herause was built. The ruins of the prisen are still standing. RAYMOND CHESTER WELDI‘\' ‘Willimantic. Age 16, The opariane Corporal. During the American war, the lead- er of a little band of soldiérs was glving orders to those under him, about a heavy beam that they were endeavoring to raise, to the top of gome military works which they were repairing. The weight was al- most bevond their power to rai and the voice of the superintendea: was often heard shouting: ! "'Heave away! There it goes. Heave, An officer not in military costume, was passing, and asked the superin- tendent why he did not render a Iit- tle aid. The officer astonished, turned around with all the pomp of an emperor, and said, “Sir, I am a corporal.” “I' ask your gardon, Mr. Cor- poral,” answered the stranger, and taking off his hat he bowed, sayins, T was not aware of that.” Upon this he dismounted, and pull- ed till the sweat stood in drops on Lis forehead, and when the heam was raised, turning to the little, great man, he said, “Mr. Corporal. when you have an- other such job, and have eneugh, send chief, and I you.” The corporal was thunder struck, it was George Washington. NOLIA JODOIN, Age 12. Taftville. not men or your commander-in- 1 gladly come and help A bird will often build a nest in fruit bearing shrubs and thickets. - decided that he wasn't|the men wore feathers in their It hung tmm his neck by a blue ribbon. He used to bite it to make his teeth grow. Oné day he broke the ribbon snd down’ fell the dollar. A rooster, thinking it was food pecked it. He jumped into baby’s carriage, tried to swallow it, but it was too big. He knocked it on the ground and lt colled awas Nobody could find it lox' no knew where it had rolled. One day Richie was big enousgh to walk and he found it. He was dig- ging in the sand and dug- it un. lie put it in the bank till he grew 1o be a man as his mother told him to do "BLANCHE LUCIER. ‘l'nnvllle. one SRR The Indians. The Indians lived in North America. Their homes were tents made of ukin or bark, These tents were called wig- wams. There were holes in the tops of the wigwams to let the smoke out and they had holes in the groung for their fires. The Indians had long, straight plack air, high cheekbones and wide, prom- inent noses. They dressed in deerskins and blankets. They wore moccasins made of deerskin on 'their feet, hfll_\fl air. The Indian chiidren played hall, went fishing and hunting and song an ddanced. They also wrestled and The girls had Indian dolls The foreman had been| to play with. The men did all the fishing, hunting and fighting, while the women did the work. Théy wore. blankets, made When the corn was ripe they also harvested it. Whenever the Indians movel the women rried the household foods on their backs. When a woman 4anted to sew she would use small bones for needles and grass for thread. The I ns killed the horses that belonged to any man who died and buried them with him. The women were called squaws and the babiss papooses. 3 -—~UNSIGNED. The Druids. The druids were priests or ministers of a heathen faith. = Their faith celled Druidism, dwelt in- Brittain about 55 B. C. The inhabitants were then a little more clvilized than the American Indians. The druids were long rcbes and were very cruel because they dlin’t know any_better. They celebrated holy days by sacri- ficing animals and even human heings. These they put in wicker inclosures that the natives had made and burned them on the alter. A mistletoe found hanging on an oak tree was considered very sacrel. "The druids witk the peeple folipwing would go to the oak. One of the druids would eut off the mistletoe with a golden knife and.repeat a holy chant. The druids also acted as teachers. Their teachings were not very.acs ate, but were beiter than nothine, be- couse they furnished something to think about. These queer ministers had large temples of stone, some of which wera surrounded hy moats with quicksand in_them. The ruins of a druid_temple may be seen in Stonchenge, England. GRACE GODDARD, Age 13. Willimantic. A Walk in the Woods.: Dear Unels Jed: One heautifnl spring day, my friend and I went to take a stroll through the wocds. The sun was bright and warm. and the ccol breeze made it very pleasant. We saw different kinds of birds, but did not know the names of all of them. We walked on till we came 15 a brook that ran through the wnods. Then we sat on a rock that was on the bank of the brook, watching the water run by. My friend began to tell a story about a haunted brook which made both of us shudder, and we left the place in a hurry. We started for home bringinz with us a few early spring flowers. I think there is nothing more inter- esting than a walk in _the woods on a spring day. MAY RYBIC. Mansfield. Pope. Alexander Pope, the most eminent poet of his time, was born in 1688, and died in 1744. He was blessed with a fair share of wealth, and hved in luxurious retirement in his vhla. at Twichenham. Afflicted with a a bodily deformity, touching which he was keenly sensi- tive, he mingled but little in the great world, but contented himself with the society which sought him in his home. He was emphatically a literary man, giving his whole time and thousght to literary pursuits. His greatest work was the transla- tion of Homer, which 4n most re- spects remains unsurpassed by any previous or subsequent version. Of his original compositions the “Essay on Man” is that by which he is best known. IRENE MCCARTHY Age 22, Norwich. S Lincoln’s First Dollar. When he was about eighteen vears old, Abraham Linco]n who, as he saia, helohged to the “scrubs,” people who owned no slaves and not much of any- thing else, built a raft to carry some produce down the river to sell. ‘While he was looking at the work of bis hands and wondering if he could better it, two men came down to the shore and, looking over the several small craft there, picked out Lin- coln’s boat and asked if he eould take them and their trunks out to the big steamship coming down the river. A great many people now-a-days|there being no wharves in tnat Jo- are removing cavities from the trees| cality. which means fewer birds. Lincoln sculled them. oyt into the When lgcating a bird house it shon!d | river and put them and their trunis be in a shady place and well sur- rounded by twigs. Martens like theiry houses away from others. The entrance of the house depends on“the size of the bird. should be well sheltered. The jroot should project out to keep out built | forgotten to pay him. aboard the steamship at the last min- tte reminding them that they Fad Each man then threw him a silver-half dollar. “I could scarcely believe my eyes.” The house | said ILincoln in relating the occurrence. | “You may think it was a very little ihe | thing, and in these days it seems to rain. The house should face away from | me a trifle, but it was a most import- the prevailing wind and rain storms. The interior should be so made tnat it may be cleaned out. ant incident in my life. I could scarce. ly credit it that"J, a poor boy, hnd earned a dollar in less than a day: The grass should not be cut until| that by honest work, I bad earned a the birds which live on the ground| dollar.” are through breeding. EMMA GERGLER, Age 13. Mansfield Depot. Agrippa, I remember a kitten who once liv- ed at a farm house He was such LILLIAN ) East Norwidh, N. Y. LETTERS TG UNCLE JED. Esther’s Potato Crop. Dear Uncle Jed: Monday being a BREHAUT. a pretty little cat as to be wmade 2| pleasant day I went up to my garden great pet, and he would trot about aft- er the people, like a little dos. Hiy name was Agrippa, and he knew quite well. To this farm house came a hoy and | few, but a girl, named Ned. and Laura, spend the summer. to dig up the potatoes as they were ready for use and were beginning to rot. i took a hoe and ‘dug up qulte a the hoe damaged them so 19| badly that I took a pitchfork and dug Both were fond | them up. How many bushels’ do you of pets, and both played so much wuh think I got? .1 don’f think you eould guess for I am sure yvor have rno ides bov'.; big a v ‘them into barrels and packed-them-a) 2 Corming Whntor i Agrippa, that he grew rather lazy, a did not try to catch many mice. Ned and‘Laura were . very triends, but it happened now und then, thlt both wanted the 3 thing, and then mey wolld quarrel. would say, “Give me Amnu." and good | space I tock for potatoes. Ned | cellar for 'Ql After washing them I pu the = e how proud I a2 G ‘You can’t | for a number of piewre of m: ‘When onl; o!d she was Po ich we did. It qu.iekly healed the sores and her skin does not show a blemish. I have been a nurse ¥em and can highl ly recommend S e ort, Pn‘v‘vder —Margaret arley, ass. M.:H-Qflm):yp:‘wd‘nhtl bly mmmm uses, to heal and prevent chafing, itching, all skin soreness. At Drug and Dep't Stores, 25¢, THE CC., Boston, Mass: when I measured them to find three bushels of fine potatoes. ESTHER SHERSHEVSKY, Age 12 Norwich. My Trip to Fishers Island. Dear Uncle Jed: I read the Wide: Awakes’ letters every week and 1 thought 1 would like to write ane about my trip to Fishers Island. My mother, brother, aunt and I left home by trolley at 7.45 for New Lon* don. We took the steamer Restless for the island, which is a very nice sail. The weather was lovely, and we had a delightful time. We ate our lunch.on the beach and then my brother and I spent the day in paddling and gathering pretty shelis and_pebbles. We reached home at 8 o'clock, tired but happy. ELEANOR HEINRICH, Age 9. Taftville. Learned to Ride a Bicycle. Dear Uncle Jed: Several years ago when mamma and her sisters were living in Connecticut they all had bi- cycles, but after a few years they sold : them., After mamma was married, one’ aunt decided she wanted another bi- cycle and soon after she got her wheel, mamma and pape moved to Maine, and she came with us; but af- ter we arrived here the roads were sc stony and rough she was n®t able tc ride much, but she kept her wheel; lately they have been fixing the roads and all of the children are riding bi- cycles, so I decided I wanted to learn. I got the bicycle down pumped it up. Then I took yard and tried to ride, but no matter how hard I tried I could not balance myself long onough to catch the other al, and I had to jump off as quick- possible to save myseif from ng. ud several different ones kolding me on; but it was no use, the minute they let go of me I fell off. 1 was beginning to be discouraged for I had been trying a day and a half without success, when mamma told me to rest for a while and I might be able to ride a little after | resting. I did not try to ride again that afternoon or the next morning. - In the afternoon I had comvany and was not able to ride much then. After the company went I started to ride the bicycle and to my great sur- prise I was able to go quite a_little distance. I Kept on till T was able to ride across the lawn, and hefore a week was over I could turn corners and ride pretty good. After riding two weeks I punctured & tire and will now have to wait till sprine for another one. ARLENE PEARL, Age 13. Augusta, Me. Abraham coln. Dear Uncle Jed: Abraham Lincoln was_born in a log cabin in the hills of Kentucky. The floor of the cabin was the earth itself pounded hard. The cracks were filled with chips and mud, for it was winter when the little boy came. The cabin contained only one room. In one end of ‘the room was a fire- place which served to warm and to light the room. - His mother taught him his letters at her knee. After great struggles and hardships the boy grew to be a man and many years after became president of the United States. He was elected president in 1861. In | 1863 he issued the emancipvation pro- clamation which freed the slaves. He thought that if the north could get along without slaves the south could. One day the president told of a range dream: I went from room to room of the White House and in ev- ery room I could hear pitiful sobbing, but not a living being in sight. When I arrived in the Bast room I saw a body on a mattress guarded by sol- diers. I demanded of the soldiers “Who is dead?” “The president,” answered the sol- dier. On April 14, 1865, Lincoln and his wife planned to go to Ford's theatre. At 10.15 this memorable nignt Booth, the assassin, entered the theatre. At 10.20 Lincoln was shot through the brain. At 7.22 on the fifteenth of April Lincoln breathed his last. Booth was. captured and shot by Boston Cor- bett on the Garrett farm, April 25th. EMMA GERGLER, Age 12. Mansfield Depot. A Kind 'Girl. Dear Uncle Jed: I thought I would tell 'you about a kind girl. One day a little girl was out in the fields watching a man with his sheep. “Why have you left your dog at home?” she asked. The man said: “My dog can never help me with the sheep again. A cruel boy threw a stone at him and broke one of his legs. I shall kill him tonight to put him out of pain.” The little girl- was very sad when she heard this.. She did not say any- thing to the man but went -to his house. There she found the dog lying on the floor. At first the dog Woul(f not let the girl come near himg. But she was kind and gentle, and at last he let her look at his leg. She found that it was mmuch hurt, but not broken. She bathed it with hot water and bound it up. 5 After a while she saw the man com- ing home to szhoot it. He loved the dog, but he knew: it W'l! het!er to kill it _than leave it in The little zirl ran. to him and told him not to kil fhe dog, that 1t would be better in a few ‘days. The next morning she came to see it again. wvear him. In a few du.ys‘ he v)zm out in the field, watching the sheep.. . . 2 3 MARGARET BURNS. Norwich Town. This tlme ‘he let her come T