Subscribers enjoy higher page view limit, downloads, and exclusive features.
N2 let-you come to my party. Your mother I was so distressed and ashamed I REVENGE BY APA had d left and 1f 1til Kitty came flylng She put her arm and whispered: “I s just as mean as notion not to stay such a you could not stir down the MRS. W. F. PERRY, EAST OAKLAND. met with great then his health failed. He :d together what little he with mamma - and went to a far-away city z in hopes to re- rtune. for awhile, e having upper, oh, m: > things we are ou won’t be mad at me - Te- r, but ran home to though my heart mamma she cried ying as and was a but papa had heart and told ext two years-papa amma ‘“not he was v mining ‘d and F n dead ¥ So, alth s were ended. We we lived in the tinie : on a better carpets on the floor, and mamma lent a cottage, wit ris—well, Juliet was to earn our bread, we couraged. was at hand and papa and do, what I I consulted with frien party, with lots of et Beetle's mamma,” Kitty said, and candy, but she & the biggest bug in all the neigh- borhood d a suite of rooms above the store and ' c; our street. friends. standing. I felt it ke though and tried to heal my rride by ielling Kitty of the far g that we had once ugh it her a birthday par plans were golng on the s whisper: together slyly and looked at me as though the chief pleasure of it lay ‘. my not bei d of the turned she Julie Mrs. Beetle and Mrs, ander th d ty told the rest of the girls and. i me I co going t had as tle air, and said: — d a piano.” In \portance of it all Jeetle Kit than a nd gave m ortanc it with them. i it did seem to me to have and all the rtains ty came rushing rguerite!” he ing to the part t “Oh, did Juliet's not exactly, but g some friend, Mamma looked a .‘ £ i dae I ran home., K “Mamma,” I cried, “would you like to make your daugh- ter very happy?” ‘_‘((;nn you doubt it, little girl?” she said; it Vell, then, let us invite Juliet Bee- tle to enjoy my birthday with us.” looked a little savage when suggested it to him, but after a and - said: your own emed pleased Cubby, have it all HONORING THE FLAG. BY OLIVE RIFFLE, SAN FRANCISCO. HERE are many ways of honoring the flag, and if you canrot honor it in all w you can at least do and that is to salute it, hand or lifting your hat ng by or when a nattonal hymn is s Another way is to pray for it, and for the ships which sail, and the men who fight under the stars and (A nd I overruled consented to let = of my white frocks. better days table. but It she up the places “MY MAMMA WKL NOT LET Then she tied : out my waist, and : “Oh, pshaw! That" looked * tle’ had that. Just lét beauti- Have your papa and mamma u Spend the forenoon v g0 to a n hotel ything we want for lunch; ark in the afternoon; eat a ni ner, and wind n ith the th ng. What do you think of or a programme?”’ 1 me very much and then, amma had approved, ng about she was left when I found her the that Juliet, to the door. arent ap- to “wait until one day, crying over it, then I recalled my own out, stairs unha-niness when I was excluded from the pleasant conferences over her party, and from the party, too. haughty lit- “Mamma will not YOU COME-TO MY PARTY. were the brave boys who left ancisco recent going to fight. it not for the honor of America’s Why was it that so many. eyes G dim as the soldiers marched by, was it not beca so many would die, for./the flag? the colors in our flag are in above, and as.the sky protects the whole earth, so shall the American flag protect ‘““The 1 of the and the home of the brave Shitgs-tits SRR ‘Will not all the judges see to it that their opinions are sent in as soon as possible? To-day the children are un- able to say where victory perches, whether upon the banner of the girls or the boys. They are anxious to get the verdict. free Or PARTMEN! 2 5 o~ - ril 1 WIZARD’S CAVERN BY SUSIE -WHEELER, NEWVILLE, CAL. UE and John were visiting their grandfatehr’s last summer. Their home was in the great city of New York. Their father was a rich. merchant. Sue was 7 years old and John was 10 years old. ‘One day their father came home and told them that they could go to see their grandfather in the summer. They were wild with excitement and could hardly wait for summer. At last the time came. Their mother had all their clothes and toys packed two or three days before. The xt morning they were put upon the train with a servant to take care of them. Every time they passed a farm they asked their servant if it was grandpa’s p.ace. At night they took a stage to grand- pa’s. Both of the children were asleep. As they came near the house, Fido, a large dog, commenced to bark. The door was opened and grandpa cameout. He took the two children in his arms and kissed them. Then he carried them in the house and put them in bed. In the morning Sue woke up John. Just as the~ dressed the servant came in and said breakfast was ready. After breakfast was over the children went out to play. They picked flowers till noon. In the afternoon they went to a mountain. They climbed to the top, after resting two or three times. They were going home when .they heard something singing. They stopped and listened. It seemed as if it came from under their feet. They hurried to the house as quick as they could. By the time they reached the house it was dark. They ‘told their grand- father about the music they heard. He smiled, and told them that he would tell them a story after supper was over. They all gathered around the fireplace. “Well, once upon a time,” began grandpa, “a young man went hunting upon this mountain, and when he was about half way up the mountain he saw a large buck runni.g. He shot, but he ed it. So he went after it. After going about 100 yards he came to a small opening, where Le saw the buck going into & cave. “The youth was not going to be fooled that easy after coming so far, so he fol- lowed the deer into the cave. When he had gone abou’ fifty steps he came into a large room all lighted up, and off in one corner he saw the same buck he had shot at a while back. “It was playing on a harpsichord. soon as he saw the youth he sent a servant to invite him in. The youth started to run out of the cave, but the buck played a tv-e that drew back the youth. The servant motioned for him to sit down. As soon as he sat ou the seat he fell into & deep sleep. And now when people hear the music they say that another person-is being put to sleep.” TOM AND TERESA. BY ALICE JOHNSON, "HAYWARDS. OM and Teresa were little or- phans. = Their father died when Tom was a baby, and their mother had been dead a year. They lived in a small house with only one room, in it. Teresa was eleven years old and Tommy was only seven. As they lived in the country Teresa could earn, as small as she was, enough to feed and As M ¢ runstrup clothe herself and Tonfmy by picking fruit. ) Every morning in summer you might see two-happy little children going to Farmer Blair’s big orchard with their lunch pail. Tommy enjoyed himself very much indeed as he went along. He chased butterflies, picked’ flowers and laughed and sang, while Teresa walked behind more slow She felt very happy to think that she could work to keep her little brother healthy and happy. But something very sad happened. The next winter there was very little rain and very heavy frosts that killed CANDID OPINIONS HEN our boys or girls really exert themselves they are to Dbe taken seriously, whether their energies take the direction of story writ- ing, basket-ball, football or the gathering of knowledge. The judges who were invited to decide which of the spacimen pages of The Call, one con- sisting of stories produced by the boys. and another page written by the girls, was the better, all being connected with educational work, have more than others seen the necessity of care in reaching judgment.. As a consequence, for this is the explanation furnished, there are judges who are still deliberat- ing. Below are submitted the opinions so far as received. They may indicate whether the victory lies with the boys or with the girls. There were fifteen judges. A majority must rule. Hence, the winners need only eight votes, and it is easy for the boys and girls to count a conclusion in the matter.. Still is not considered best to comment upon upon the opinions until they are all in. It will be conceded. that the judges are most competent; that they have been perfectly fair; that they are entitled to and will certainly receive the thanks of all the boys and girls for the time and attention they have bestowed. Here are the views of all the judges who have re- ported: The girls’ page seems to me very Sl ke much better _than Riverside. the boys'. It has more veriety, 1s more elastic, more sympathetic in character. The boys are only able to play upon one string of the harp they have undertaken— the girls bring out a fuller harmony by striking many strings. The boys have nothing but fights against some physical foe — wildcats, wolves, bears, explosives, Spaniards— even the 6-year-old had -a dog-fight! Guns, pistals and powder are absolute necessities to the boys. But see how much more enters into the girls' page. Besides the fights there are spirits, witches, hobgoblins, love, court- ship, marriage, dreams, discovery of gold, supernatural fish, stolen children and a dozen other things. Undoubtedly the rls have more ways to play upon the arp of our sensibilities than the boys have. Their language Is better, t0o— richer, more comprehensive. 1 think these pages show that the fe- male sex is superior to the male in pow- ers of expression—and that it has there- fore a_literary superiority. The same thing shows all along the line of life. Teachers know that it is easfer to get a =g > «WHEN HE WAS ABOUT HALF WAY HE HEARD A LARGE BUCK" all the blossoms on the fruit trees. So the next fruit season there was hardly any fruit at all, and Teresa couldn’t earn much money for food or clothing. She did the best she could, but it seemed as if they would have to beg. Teresa felt very badly at the thought of this, but begging they went. You might see, by a large stone fence, Teresa with her little hand held out asking for pennies, and Tommy by her with a basket on one arm and crying and wiping his eyes on his sister's dress with the other. One morning as they were standing ttere Farmer Blair passed along and was very much surprised. He asked them how long they had been standing that way, and Teresa told him, and he took a child under each arm and car- ried them home to his wife saying, “We have no children, so we might as well have these.” His wife was very much pleased, and so were Teresa and Tommy, for they knew they had a good home. A POPPY HUNT. BY WALDRON W. ANDERSON. Go to bed, my sleepy head, Dream until the morning; Slumber on till night is gone, Till the day is dawning. ‘Waken then like other men, Fresh as any rover Bold and free, to follow me Through. the fields of clover. Far away we'll roam to-day; Every breeze that passes Biows, I know, where popples grow, High among’ the grasses. Bright and bold as yellow gold, Soft as sunlight glancing, Fresh and fair like sunbeams there In the meadows dancing. Rest we here till. night is near, Poppy breezes blowing, Then away with poppies gay Slowly homeward going. o\ ‘lnn > “a good thing of its kind. 1) “story” out of a little girl of § than a boy of the same age. The girl of 12 or 16 is more expressive, more versatile than her brother. If an old farmer and his wife have occasion to relate a circum- stance, which is readier, more sympa- thetic,' more detailed? Of course appar- ent exceptions can be shown in plenty— long special practice makes some males e, more, so than females e 'who have not had the training. A difference, however, is nat- urally there, and it goes down deep into the fiber of the race. Perhaps an ex- planation can be found In the different qualities that have been demanded of the sexes in order to preserve themselves dur- ing all the ages of the past, back even to the time when man and woman huddled in the caves of the mountains. To pre- serve himself and gain happiness man must fight— fight off enemies, fight for food. To preserve hérself and gain hap- piness woman must please—she must be versatile, -adaptable, expressive—if = she would escape misery or destruction she must be able to play upon the sensibili- ties of the “tyra vi her captors. Hence the girls’ page in Thel Call is better than the boys'. To the intelligent admirer of children’s storles there is a charm and freshness, a natural grace and a delicacy of fancy un- known in the adult writer. Certainly noth- ing could be more sweetly told than the ANew Master.” In “A Wild' Ride” the dramatic incidents are caught and forci- bly expressed. ““The Two Dreams” is ex- cellent In its way. “Sir Rolland,” I judge, was written by a child who has passed the myth age. “Sydney's Nug- get” is well written and gives graphically incidents of pioneer life and peril. ““The Bad Poodle” is exceedingly ridiculous and The storfes all point pathetically to the shut-in life and consequently limited vision of the .city girl. They are her dreams—her day dreams, as well as the sleeping one, with a notable absence of the astonishing SUPT. KATE AMES;” :‘"E-,‘; County. “ activity ever manitest in living things, tEaxt_l so thoroughly characterizes the boys’ stories. : In turning to them we find them char- acteristic of their sports. There is much of the rollicking, happy-go-lucky spirit. ‘The spirit of adventure danger which our boys court, and w goes far toward the development of a brave, sturdy ‘manhood. From the foolhardy ascent in the bal- loon, the wreck with its accompanying danger, the spirit of adventure that prompts the boy to go as a stowaway to the Cuban port, the desire to prove to the Indian as great bravery as he, him- self, possesses; the trip to the mountain to prove to friends the ability to care for himself, all depict the boy as he a]ctually lives, loves, hates, works and plays. But after all the brobdingnag, when the danger comes and the trial, there is the likeness to a woman—I do not mean weakness, yet it is the weakness and strength of humanity covered during the danger by the spirit of ‘we must act.” “But when Tom was on the ground his strength was all gone and he fainted.” “Bose recefved more hugs and his head was patted more times than could be counted when Frank saw him once more.” The peril on the mountain is not true. There is a false idea of bravery that leads to danger without sufficient cause. “I am going over the cliff to find Bill.” This is true to the manhood of the boy, but later it degenerates to mock heroism. They r‘;lskdda.nger for a bear—and a bear already ead. * f There is a ruggedness, a whole-souled- ness about the boys’ stories, a -boldness of imagination, a vision of life as they see it. The vision of the girls is as clear and as. clearly expressed, but it has been nar- rowera_nd cramped by their environment. In The Call's fs- sue of April 17 the boys presented a page ot creditable stories, written ———————"—"with an energyand vigor distinctly masculine. But a week later a page was devoted to the girls stories, the merits of which I put down as follows: First, variety of sabject; eec- ond, distinct individuality in style; third, attention to minor, descriptive detalls; fourth, better scholarship, as evinced by attention_to technical points, allusions, ete. In freshness and originality honors are even. But the girls are the champions it judgment be based on the fmportant point of literary superiority. The girls work suggésts ' something beyond the work of to-day—gives a promise of better effort later, of broader sympathies. The boys have set up limitations for them: A the shape of a narrowness cf SUPT. HOWARD, Sacramento. Ives in Scope, suggestive of one fleid ggpsytxg; d by the machine shop, pathy, bounded by = shopthe prairie, the fortress. There taste more than in style. Judging from the stories alone I find no marked distinction in the ability of our boys and girls ad story |writers. There | MRS. M. E. DITTMER, lare good storles oneack Co. Supt., Shasta. sl i is no lterary superiority 1in sex among children or adults. The good story writer is not inspired by genius, but by hard work, and his ability de- pends_upon the training he has had in thought and expression. The ages of the children writing the various stories should be taken into_consideration. On the whole, however, I believe the hoys’ page is the more inferesting. The boy is father to the man and it is quite as true that the girl is mother to the woman. If you doubt this GEO. M. ROBERTSON, read — the President Berkeley Board 1y boye. aud of Education. girls for the —Sunday Call. The boys write storfes of adventure and achieve- ment, concise and well expressed. If they boast a little and make their heroes achieve results incompatible with the means at their command they share this defect with their elders. The girl writers on the contrary, when they are not describing the dress of their heroines or marrying them off in some delightful way, lose themselves in idle and fantastic dreams. -These traits man- ifest themselves early and continue through life. They are responsible for much of the literary trash of the day. My judgment is that the boys have written better than the girls have and I fedl that it is not due to prejudice, for a young girl who herself writes stories agrees with me, and in fact expressed that .opinion before hearing my own. I was prepared toe find that the girls were superior to the boys in this trial of skill because I have thought that they were more ptecocious mentally, and I have observed that in school, where memory plays an important part, they accomplish equal results. But I see plainly that they are always girls and cannot escape from their limitation, and h;:n{s‘e\’er lo\'loly lheh)' may be and are as girls, as writers they have not d well as the boys. Foeae TIE* DS, TIE: DAT. BY MARY MACEY, BERKELEY. “Tie dis, tie dat! Tie ev'y one o’ des Wee fingers aye a-doing, ne’er at ease, How inefficient when his will decree: “Tie dis, tie dal No spider ever spun a surer snare, To trip and trap poor passers unaware, Than he from table-leg to latch, to chair— “Tie dis, tie dat!” Silk strands with stoutest cord their strength contrast; The “last knot,” seemingly, is never lost, Yet in the tying draws our heart-strings fast— “Tie dis, tie dat!” The rabbits at the head of this page have begun their career under exciting conditions. 'War rages along the en- tire length of Knee Deep Creek and from a purely naval engagement which, last week, was bad for the Spanish rabbits, progress has been made to an attack upon a “land bat- tery’™ of a somewhat unusual kind. The trunk of the tree is bravely defended, but the gallant bark Brer Uncle Sam is . powerful and has some new-fash- jomed appliances for warlike mischief. Brer Uncle Sam is in luck so far. DRESS PARADE AND REVIEW OF THE BUMPKINS AND THE EVER TUNEFUL AND ENTIRELY ORIGINAL *GETE HILL BAND.”