Harper's Round Table, September 3, 1895 Part 6

The remaining leg of our course we will suppose to be nearly free. When running this way the board should be kept up, and all the weight in the boat aft, as a boat under the great pressure exerted by the wind when running this way has a tendency to dig its nose under. It is not necessary for your crew to lay down now, and you may allow them to stand and stretch themselves, as whatever wind they will catch will help the boat instead of r.e.t.a.r.ding, as in the other cases. (See sketch of finish.) The only thing to be looked out for when running free, or nearly so, is a "goose-wing." This happens when the wind is so strong as to cause the boom to jump up parallel to the mast, and the sail wrap around it. If when running before the wind you find your boom is jumping too much, lowering the peak a little will lessen the pressure on the sail, and stop it.

It is impossible to prophesy the result of the race, but I can say that it depends equally on your boat and your management, with the training of the crew a close second.

[Ill.u.s.tration: RIGHTING A CAPSIZED BOAT.]

A few hints on how to right a capsized boat may not be out of place here. If you should happen to be near some boat that has capsized you will, doubtless, feel it your duty to a.s.sist the unfortunate. It is not a difficult matter to right a boat when you go about it in the proper way. Run your boat alongside of the capsized one's mast and strip its sail off, unfastening the throat and peak blocks, unreeving the sheet-rope, and cutting the las.h.i.+ngs of the sail to the mast-hoops. (Be careful that the sail does not sink.) Put your boat in a position alongside the bottom of the upturned boat, and unfasten your throat-halyard block from the gaff, fasten this to the mast of the capsized boat, as shown in sketch. It will then be an easy matter to pull the boat up to an even keel, when she may be pumped out.

We will suppose the autumn to have arrived, and you are ready to put your boat in winter quarters. After removing ballast, mast, sail, spars, etc., construct ways as shown in the sketch of winter quarters. They consist princ.i.p.ally of two skids, on which the boat is run and hauled out, but if you care for the condition of the boat's bottom, a cradle had better be made following the idea shown in sketch. Pull the boat out to the end of the skids, and if it is desirable to get it farther away from the water, lay beams in front of the skids and pull the boat on them. When free of the skids take them up and lay them in front of the beams, repeating this operation until the boat is at the distance desired. After removing everything, cover the deck and c.o.c.kpit with canvas. The sail should be sprinkled with salt and a little lime, not too much or it will cause rotting, the lime being used to bleach the sail only. This should be rolled up and packed away in a dry place, and the mast and spars should also be under shelter, but not where there is too great heat.

We have followed the fortunes of our boat from the beginning of the season until the end. Unfortunately the limited s.p.a.ce of this article compels the mere mention of some points on which whole volumes could be written. It is only the purpose of this paper to treat this subject in the broadest fas.h.i.+on, and to give only general hints for the use of the beginner in one of the most manly of sports.

DUDLEY D. F. PARKER.

[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.

I heard a girl spoken of the other day by one of her friends as a perfect candy fiend. It made me laugh, because I knew the girl in question, and I had never observed anything fiendish or malevolent about her. However, it is so much the fas.h.i.+on for girls to use sweeping expressions, that I am never a bit surprised when I hear "awful,"

"dreadful," "horrible," "terrible," and other strong words of that kind used without much reference to their exact meaning. I suppose the young girl described so alarmingly is very fond of candy, for which n.o.body can blame her; not I, certainly, especially if it be home-made. But I will imagine that each of my girls has an allowance, so much given her a week to spend as she pleases. What proportion of this should she devote merely to gratifying her taste for sweet things? Do you not think it rather foolish to spend so much on bonbons, caramels, and creams, that a girl has nothing left when she wishes to help clothe a poor family whose house has been burned over their heads, to buy a pretty framed photograph for her room, or to make a Christmas present for her mother or dear friend?

It is quite time, by-the-way, for us to begin the consideration of our Christmas presents in these bright days of late summer. By giving a little thought and time to the matter, paying attention to small wishes and wants which are spoken of in the family, we can often give our friends and ourselves much more pleasure than can be done when everything is left to the hurry of the last few weeks of the year. I heard a lady say the other evening, "I have at least six girl friends who knit beautifully, and I do wish one of them would make me a fascinator." "And pray what may a fascinator be?" said I. And I learned that it was simply a beautiful fleecy thing to wear upon the head in the evening. It used to be called a "cloud" when I was a girl; and in my girlish days I always kept one on hand to use up odd moments. It is pretty, dainty work. Bedroom slippers, crocheted and made up over lamb's-wool soles, are welcome gifts to receive, and not hard to make.

May I add that a present is much more likely to give satisfaction to the recipient if it is beautifully wrapped up in tissue-paper and tied with dainty ribbon? I never derived more pleasure in my life than from a book which came to me one white cold Christmas eve. The book was daintily wrapped in white tissue-paper and tied with a white ribbon, which fastened on the cover of it one dewy, long-stemmed rose. A candle and candle-stick is a graceful and useful present. You know that one should always have a bedroom candle at night. It is a comfort to have it standing on a little table near the bed with a supply of matches. One never need then be in the dark a moment if a light happen to be necessary. I saw a very quaint and charming candle-stick the other day.

It was in the shape of a monk with a cowl and robe, and he was patiently holding up a long crimson candle. Candles may be had in many colors, some of them very ornamental, and candle-sticks come in china, silver, and bronze, and sometimes very pretty ones in tin, though I do not recommend you to give a tin candle-stick as a present if you can afford one in another material.

Presents of one's own work are always very much appreciated, and there are many beautiful things in linen, such as doilies, centre-pieces, and the like, which are welcome additions to your mother's table, so that you cannot go wrong in choosing something in linen to embroider for her.

A set of towels with a monogram in the corner makes a very tasteful gift, and I can imagine nothing lovelier than for a family of girls, or a cla.s.s, to embroider a bed-spread for a mother or teacher. This, of course, would be a large undertaking, and should be begun many months before the time it is wanted, and you would have great fun in keeping the affair a secret. I saw a very beautiful bed-spread some weeks ago at a house where I was a guest. The lady who is making it has been engaged on it for years, and it is very elaborate--cream-colored linen of the finest texture, covered all over with beautiful vines and flowers. She has worked always from the flowers themselves, copying them faithfully in shape and tint.

When you are writing to me it would be very pleasant to have you tell me of beautiful Christmas gifts you intend to make. A girl in Maine might have a suggestion which would be acted upon by a girl in Nebraska. I will be extremely pleased to be the medium through which girls both North and South may give each other happy thoughts and charming suggestions about presents which are to be made for the next Christmas holidays. May I quote a bit from your letter, dear Tillie T.? It may give some of the girls an idea on which they may like to act. Tillie says: "With the help of two of my friends I am making a hospital box.

Can you tell me some children's hospital to send it to? And is it a very childish thing to do? For we really enjoy making the things, as well as thinking of the pleasure they will give the children later. We have made cambric sc.r.a.p-leaves, paper dolls with dresses of tissue-paper, a menagerie and circus of paper animals, and over sixty colored paper dolls--the sort which have dresses to come off."

Perhaps somebody can suggest an addition to Tillie's already generous list. St. Mary's Free Hospital for Children, West Thirty-fourth Street, New York city, will be very glad to receive any gifts which our readers would like to send to it.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Signature]

The poor patient mules that drag the train-cars far down in the mines rarely enjoy the light of day. Sometimes intervals of years pa.s.s before they are brought to the surface, and far below in the dense darkness of the mines they toil from month to month, seeing no light other than that of the miners' flickering lamps.

Recently some mules that had for a number of years hauled the trains in the lower tunnel of a coal-mine were brought to the surface. The strong light of the sun dazzled them, and every one kept his eyes closed tightly, and when they were released in a pasture a little distance away they halted trembling and astonished, even fearing some harm. For a long time they remained so, occasionally opening their eyes half-way, and finally, towards sundown, they broke into joyous brays. Afterward they ran around, jumped, kicked, and rolled on the gra.s.s as if mad. The delight of freedom, the sun, and the pure air were more to them than the food they refused to eat when it was put before them.

ON BOARD THE ARK.

BY ALBERT LEE.

CHAPTER V.

Tommy and the ex-Pirate and the Gopher remained quietly perched on the rafter for some minutes after the big Ark had begun to move; but when they found that none of the animals noticed them, since all seemed so busy attending to their own affairs, they slid along the beam until they could look out into the main room and see what was going on. That is, Tommy and the ex-Pirate slid along, but the Gopher remained where he was, apparently sound asleep.

"What do you suppose they will do next?" asked the little boy.

"Fight or eat, I guess," answered the ex-Pirate. "All animals fight or eat."

"I don't think I should like to see them fight," continued Tommy. And then he added. "Don't you think it is getting dark in here?"

"Very much so," said the ex-Pirate, looking about. "I suppose they will light up pretty soon. It's always dark on a rainy day, you know."

"What kind of lights do you suppose they will have?"

"Ark-lights, of course," said the ex-Pirate. "What other kind would you expect on a boat of this kind? Did you suppose the two Tapirs would be bright enough? If you had ever had any dealings with a Tapir you would know what a stupid beast he is. Don't you remember my cla.s.sic about him:

"Said the Monkey to the Tapir, One Sunday afternoon, 'Won't you let me have some paper, etc., etc, ...

"The Tapir sold writing-paper, you see. But he was too stupid to get along in the business. That's why it is called a stationary business."

Tommy was about to answer--he hardly knew what--when a b.u.mp and a squeal interrupted the conversation. The sleeping Gopher had fallen off the rafter. This accident might have caused a good deal of trouble if a great hubbub had not started at the other end of the room at the same moment. There were squeals and howls and yelps, as if one was being killed. In the rush and confusion the Gopher mixed with the crowd, and Tommy could only occasionally catch a glimpse of his pink sun-bonnet bobbing up now and then in the swarm that was struggling in the distance.

"I wonder what has happened?" said the little boy, leaning as far forward as he dared.

"First fight, I guess," muttered the ex-Pirate, "But I think we had better stay up here and wait till it's all over."

"I guess we had," a.s.sented Tommy. But they did not have to wait very long, for the Gopher soon came scurrying back and climbed quickly up beside them.

"Goodness! Goodness me!" he cried.

"What's the matter?" asked the ex-Pirate, eagerly.

"The Dachshund was playing tag with a Chinese Pug, and he fell through the trap-door."

"Oh, my!" exclaimed Tommy.

"You ought to see him," pursued the Gopher. "He fell all the way down to the hold, and his legs are jammed away up into his body and twisted all out of shape. They're only about three inches long now, and even the Elephant could not pull them out straight. He is disfigured for all time."

"Can't any one help him?" asked the ex-Pirate.

"He won't let any one. The Duck, who was educated in divers practices, offered his services as doctor, but the Dachshund would not have him.

Said he was a quack." There was a brief silence; then the Gopher added: "They are trying to find out who opened the trap-door, and so I ran away. I came in that way; but I'm sure I shut the trap after me."

"We came in that way too," said the ex-Pirate.

"Yes, and I came up first," put in Tommy. "You were last up. Did you shut the door?"