Harper's Round Table, September 24, 1895 Part 7

THE BELLS OF NINE O'CLOCK.

Sleigh-bells in winter, s.h.i.+p's bells at sea, Church bells on Sunday--oh! many bells there be-- But the cheery bells of nine o'clock Are the merriest bells for me.

School bells at nine o'clock, and straightway the street Breaks into music with the rush of little feet.

Clatter, patter, swift they go, wide stands the door, School bells are ringing now, holidays are o'er.

Silver bells and golden bells, and bells with iron throats, Cowslip bells and lily bells, and bells with tripping notes, Oh! many bells and merry bells, and liquid bells there be, But the st.u.r.dy bells of nine o'clock are the dearest bells for me.

M. E. S.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE PUDDING STICK]

This Department is conducted in the interest of Girls and Young Women, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the subject so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor.

What must I wear? is a question quite often on girlish lips, and a girl's satisfaction with herself depends a good deal on the answer to it. n.o.body enjoys being badly or strikingly dressed, and in this matter I am much of the opinion of Mrs. John Hanc.o.c.k, the great lady whose husband's signature stands out so splendidly on our Declaration of Independence. Mrs. Hanc.o.c.k said in substance that she could not approve of a girl who was indifferent to her dress, nor of one who showed that she was thinking about it, and that she was pleased with the effect she made. A girl must not strut about like a vain peac.o.c.k; she must wear her clothes as the plant wears its flowers--unconsciously.

If you are sensible and clear-headed girls you will not wish to have many frocks at once. A strong serviceable serge for every-day wear, a pretty cashmere or silk for best, a simple white frock for evening, two or three separate waists, and an extra skirt to relieve the serge, are sufficient for the winter wardrobe of a well-dressed young girl. In summer one requires more changes, but print and muslin and gingham frocks are cheap, and, if neatly made, are always appropriate. Of under-clothing have as simple a supply as you can take care of. The dainty girl likes to be clothed in fresh and clean garments next the skin, and where her clothing is not seen. These garments may be of fine and nice material, but the school-girl and the young woman should avoid elaborate frills and puffs and tucks, embroideries and laces, for these are easily torn, and are hard upon the laundress. Of stockings a half-dozen pairs are necessary, of handkerchiefs two or three dozen, and of linen for the neck and wrists enough to insure one's personal perfect neatness on every occasion. Gloves and shoes are important parts of a young lady's outfit. Of the former two pairs, one for best and one for common wear, will probably be enough to have at once, and of the latter, if you can afford it, have three or four pairs, for out-door and in-door uses. A young woman whose gloves and boots are good of their kind, and in nice order, will always appear well dressed. A water-proof cloak, a thick warm jacket, and two hats, one a toque, trim and dainty, the other a wider and more picturesque affair, with a brim, and feathers, ribbons, or flowers for tr.i.m.m.i.n.g, will meet all exigencies. Don't wear birds or wings on your hats. No ROUND TABLE Lady must countenance the cruel killing of little birds that her hat may be adorned in a barbaric fas.h.i.+on. The prejudice humane people feel against the wearing of slain birds does not extend to ostrich feathers.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Signature]

SOME CURIOUS FACTS CONCERNING HEARING.

An inquiry was recently made in London as to the greatest distance at which a man's voice could be heard, leaving, of course, the telephone out of consideration. The reply was most interesting, and was as follows: Eighteen miles is the longest distance on record at which a man's voice has been heard. This occurred in the Grand Canon of the Colorado, where one man shouting the name "Bob" at one end his voice was plainly heard at the other end, which is eighteen miles away. Lieutenant Foster, on Parry's third arctic expedition, found that he could converse with a man across the harbor of Port Bowen, a distance of 6696 feet, or about one mile and a quarter: and Sir John Franklin said that he conversed with ease at a distance of more than a mile. Dr. Young records that at Gibraltar the human voice has been heard at a distance of ten miles.

Sound has remarkable force in water. Colladon, by experiments made in the Lake of Geneva, estimated that a bell submerged in the sea might be heard a distance of more than sixty miles. Franklin says that he heard the striking together of two stones in the water half a mile away. Over water or a surface of ice sound is propagated with great clearness and strength. Dr. Hutton relates that on a quiet part of the Thames near Chelsea he could hear a person read distinctly at the distance of 140 feet, while on the land the same could only be heard at 76 feet.

Professor Tyndall, when on Mont Blanc, found the report of a pistol-shot no louder than the pop of a champagne bottle. Persons in a balloon can hear voices from the earth a long time after they themselves are inaudible to people below.

ON BOARD THE ARK.

BY ALBERT LEE.

CHAPTER VIII.

The Lion bowed in a dignified manner to the Gopher, and rapped on the table again to bring the Parrots to order, and then the Gopher said, very slowly and deliberately:

"When is a door not a door?"

The animals stared at one another, and whispered, and gazed up and down the table as if they thought they might possibly derive inspiration from the dishes. Tommy and the ex-Pirate said not a word. Presently the Gopher repeated:

"When is a door not a door?"

But no one could guess, and after a few moments more of anxious and strained silence the Gopher said:

"I suppose I shall have to tell you. A door is not a door when it is ajar."

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE ANIMALS ROARED WITH LAUGHTER AT THE GOPHER'S JOKE.]

The animals fairly roared and shrieked with laughter. They bellowed and howled and pounded on the table, and the Gopher became so much affected with appreciation of his own wit that he fell over backwards, and almost stunned a Newfoundland puppy who was trying to get his nose above the table to see what it was all about. Tommy had never realized before what the expression "to roar with laughter" really signified, and he concluded he never wanted to experience such a realization again. The noise was so great that he had to put his fingers to his ears. When the merriment had partially subsided, the little boy leaned over to the ex-Pirate and said:

"I have heard that joke before; haven't you?"

"Indeed I have," answered the ex-Pirate, "many a time."

"It's an awfully old one, isn't it?"

"I always suspected it was first gotten off in the Ark," said the ex-Pirate, shaking his head knowingly; "but I did not know the Gopher was responsible for it."

By this time the animals had recovered themselves, and some were shouting to the Gopher for more jokes. He got up and protested that he did not know any more; and then, suddenly pointing to the ex-Pirate, he exclaimed:

"He's a funny one. He can _recite_ things!"

Thereupon the animals all gazed at the ex-Pirate, and the Lion said, "Recite things."

The ex-Pirate never needed much urging to do this sort of thing, and so when Tommy whispered to him to read the seventeenth chapter of his autobiography which he knew his friend had in his pocket, and of which the little boy had only heard the first few lines, the ex-Pirate arose, and, bowing in his usual way to all his hearers, he pulled his ma.n.u.script from his coat and began to read:

The following day the sun rose up as usual from the East.

The sea was calm, the sky was clear, the stormy winds had ceased; The _Black Avenger_ sped along before a gentle breeze, And the starboard watch loafed on the deck in true piratic ease.

I took my breakfast down below, and when I came on deck I looked about, and far away I saw a little speck Upon the blue horizon, and I knew it was a sail.

For, in matters of this nature, my eyesight could not fail.

I called my swarthy Bo's'n, and I said to him, said I: "If we don't overtake that s.h.i.+p, I'll know the reason why; If we don't overtake her ere the sun s.h.i.+nes overhead I'll cut the whiskers off the crew before I go to bed!"

The Bo's'n nodded cheerfully and swore a fearful oath, (He called upon the Sun and Moon, and scandalized them both,) And then he hitched his trousers up and piped his whistle shrill, And made the loafing pirates heave the halyards with a will.

The _Black Avenger_ sped along and ploughed the boiling sea, The rigging creaked, the sails stood out, the foam flew fast and free.

The pirates gathered on the deck and buckled on their swords, Rolled up their sleeves, and combed their beards, and spoke piratic words.

But suddenly the Bo's'n came a-rus.h.i.+ng up to me, His face was pale, his nose was red, he spoke: "Good sir," said he, "Yon vessel is from Switzerland, and, verily, I fear We'll find she is not what she seems, as soon as we get near; She looks to me as though she might--might be a privateer"

(But when he found she wasn't one, he shed a private tear.) Said I: "Load up the cannons, boys, with ten-pound cannon-b.a.l.l.s; I care not what yon s.h.i.+p may be, into my hands she falls!

We'll take her, and we'll take her guns, her captain, and her crew, Her cook, her cabin steward, and her precious cargo, too!"

So the Gunner and the Gunner's Mate they lifted up the hatch, And they called upon the pirates who formed the starboard watch To help them lift the cannon-b.a.l.l.s from out the magazine Where all the cannon-b.a.l.l.s were kept, wrapped up in bombazine.

But presently the Gunner's Mate came rus.h.i.+ng to the rail, His hair was standing up on end, his face was very pale, He cried: "Oh, Captain, woe is me, no cannon-b.a.l.l.s are left; Of shot and sh.e.l.l of every kind the magazine's bereft.

There's not a piece of shrapnel, no canister or grape, There's not enough of buckshot to kill a good-sized ape!"

The Bo's'n, who stood near at hand, gazed sadly at us both, And then he pulled his pistols out and swore a mighty oath: "How shall we take yon Switzer s.h.i.+p," he said, "without a sh.e.l.l?"

"We've _got_ to fight," I answered him. "Won't cheese do just as well?"

For, two days previously, you know, we met a brigantine From Amsterdam for Zululand, by name the _Bandoline_, And in her hold she carried a fine cargo, if you please, Consisting of a hundred thousand dozen Edam cheese.

We took a hundred dozen and stowed them on the p.o.o.p Between the after cannon and the Captain's chicken-coop.

(The crew had used the cheeses and some bottles from the galley, The day before, to improvise a sort of bowling-alley.) Said I: "We'll take these Edam cheese and put them in the guns, And shoot them at the Switzer s.h.i.+p until she sinks or runs; For surely such proceeding will be worse than shot or sh.e.l.l, Just think of being _hit_ with cheese--say nothing of the smell!"