SEPT. 4 
578 
THE 
WJEW-YORKER. 
ULcairing far tjjc ^ouitq. 
A DIALOGUE FOR SCHOOL BOYS. 
TOMMY. 
If tilings were flxeil to suit me 
I’ll tell you vrtaat I'd wish: 
That all tbo boys had naught to do 
But only play and fiijh, 
LOUIS. 
Oh, that would be so jolly, 
I’d go right to the creek; 
I think I'd ride on horseback, 
I like to go so quick. 
GEORGE. 
I’ll help to form the party, 
We’ll find a nice large tree, 
And in the shade we'll stay and fish 
As happy as can be. 
OHABLKY- 
And I will Join you, too. boys, 
To catch the bass and pike; 
For baiting hooks, and watching “bites” 
Is just the fun I like. 
WILLIE. 
I mean to take along a book, 
To read, not idly wait 
For fish, to nibble at my hook 
And carry off the bait 
JOHN. 
Boys, I believe we’d like it best 
To work, and then to fish. 
To seek to spend our lives at play. 
Is not the wisest wish. 
—Sophia C. Garrett. 
THE DRAGON FJ 
Here, here I watch them come— % 
The wild bee with his drum; 
The tilting dragon fly with azure wing 
The painted moths; and lo! 
With his sharp, wiry bow. 
The* elbowed grasshopper with euddeu spring 
Setting the thickets brown id wild commotion. 
This much abused “bird” which sometimes 
flies In at, the open windows and frightens the 
young folks, Is not a dangerous fellow by any 
means, ills great name “ The Devil’s Darning 
Needle ” Is the worst thing about him, for lie won’t 
hurt you. You may take him Lu your hands and 
examine him as closely as you please, but don't 
hurt him. 
A writer in the Worcester Spy gives an Interest¬ 
ing sketch or the Dragon Fly. One of the most 
beautiful and boneflelal Insects of the Summer 
season, and one whose services are least appre¬ 
ciated by the agriculturist, lathe common dragon 
fly. There are many varieties, comprising an 
extensive and beautiful group of large-sized in¬ 
sects. rivaling our butterflies In gracefulness ot 
form and brilliancy of coloring, while they excel 
them In rapidity of flight. Various popular names 
have been given them In different countries. The 
French call them * Demoiselles,’ the Germans 
‘ Gauze Flies,’and * 1 Virgins of the Water,’ while 
among the English they are known as ‘Drag¬ 
on Flies,' * Horae Stingers,’ and • Devil s Darning 
Needles.’ The first of the English names Is very 
appropriate to the character of the fly, for among 
other insects, it fully earns Its title of ‘Dragon.’ 
It is not a ‘ horse stinger,’ however, can neither 
bite, sting nor poison, and as a ‘ devil’s darning 
needle ’ does not sew up the m ruths of those chil¬ 
dren who are given to romancing. They are per¬ 
fectly harmless to man, and can be handled 
without danger. 
The dragon fly belongs to the order “ Neurop- 
tera ” and the family “ LlbelluUdm.” They have 
six legs and four wings. In average specimens 
the body attains the length of an Inch and a half 
or two Inches. They are almost universally 
dressed in the gayest colors. The body Is variously 
banded with rich shades of blue, green and yellow, 
and the wings give off the most beautiful Irides¬ 
cent and metallic reflections. The substance of 
the wings is a delicate network, covered by a thin, 
transparent membrane, combining great strength 
with lightness, which enables It to fly and dart 
upon Its prey with the greatest rapidity. Tha long 
tall, or *• needle.” undoubtedly acta as a rudder to 
steady Its flight. The large head Is provided with 
two enormous compound eyes, composed of many 
thousand facets, and their great power of vision 
Is still further Increased by three simple eyes, or 
occelll, on the upper portion or the head. The 
mouth is quite a formidable structure. The 
upper lip is broad and conceals powerful toothed 
mandibles, and there are other organs of the 
mouth armed with strong teeth, which enable it 
to rend and masticate its food. 
The natural term of life of the dragon fly is 
about one year. Most of its existence Is passed in 
the water lu the condition of larva or pupa, and 
it inhabits the air only three or four weeks. In 
the water he appears like a large water bug or 
worm, with large eyes and six legs, and lives on 
the bottom of ponds, where he catches small Hsli 
or any similar thing for his food. 
When about to complete Its final transformation 
the pupa climbs up some suitable place near the 
water, attaches Itself firmly to some object, and 
In a short time the akin opens along the back, and 
from the rent there soon appears the perfect 
dragon ily, which, alter drying its moist wings, 
trusts its untried pinions with the fullest confi¬ 
dence to the now element, Ln which It lives but a 
few short summer days. 
Tennyson beautifully describes these changes in 
the “Two Voices": 
To-day i row the drairon fly 
Couie from the wells where he did lie. 
An inner impulsu rent the veil 
Of his old huslt; from head to tall 
1 ’ame out clear plates ot suppliire mail. 
He dried his wings; like gauze they grew; 
Through crofts and pastures wet with dew 
A living flash of light he flew.” 
During Its existence of three or four weeks 
above the water Its whole life Is a continued good 
to man. It hawks over pools and fields and 
through gardens, decimating swamps of mos¬ 
quitoes, files, gnats, and other baneful insects. 
Their rapid flight and enormous range of vision 
enable them to capture these insects with case. 
They destroy multitudes of moths and millers 
whose larva* are Injurious to vegetation, while 
they do not Injure any product of the agricultur¬ 
ist themselves. A few of them shut into a house 
would soon rid It of files, bugs and mosquitoes. 
They are perfectly harmless, and cau be bandied 
with Impunity, and are an Interesting subject for 
study, as there still remains much to be learned 
of their natural history. The dragon fly Is widely 
distributed over all parts of the globe, but few, 
however, exceed ln size and beauty those of our 
own country. 
lots of stories of little children that live ln cities 
and don’t have such nice times. Don't have any 
papa and mamma and not even a nice tumbler 
ot milk at bed time. I could tell you of long rides 
iu the cars and how we went out to sea—a little 
way—and the hand-organ man that bad the cute 
monkey dressed like a soldier, and If Uuelc Mark 
will send me some seeds I will plant them In my 
“ s*ky garden,” and tell you all about them, and 
where the garden Is. And the little, little beggar 
girl that slept ln a box all one cold Winter night. 
Now I guess I will stop. I think l will wait, and 
see If there is room for me. I am only ten years 
old, just ten yesterday, but I would like to tell you 
how mamma and I make plants grow. I think If 
your seeds do not come up that, the soil or tempera¬ 
ture Wits not right. Georgia G. .Smith. 
LIONESS AND RATS. 
An old lioness recently died at the Dublin Zoolog¬ 
ical gardens, and a correspondent in referring to 
the occurrence, says that the closing weeks of her 
useful life were marked by a touching Incident 
worthy ot being recorded. The large cats, or car¬ 
nivores, when ln health, have no objection to (he 
presence of rata ln their cages. On the contrary, 
they rather weleome them as a relief to the mo¬ 
notony of existence, which constitutes the chief 
trial of a wild animal in confinement. Thus, It Is 
a common sight to sea half a dozen rats gnawlDg 
the bones off which the lions have dined, while 
the satisfied carnivores look on contentedly, giving 
the poor rats an occasional look w ith their sleepy 
eyes. In Illness the ease Is different, tor the un¬ 
grateful rats begin to nibble the toes of the lord of 
the forest before his death, and add considerably 
to his discomfort. To save our lioness rroni this an¬ 
noyance, we placed In her cage a tine little rat and 
tan-terrier, who was at ffrst received with a surly 
growl, but when the flrsi rat appeared, and tbo 
lioness saw the little terrier toss him in the air, 
catching him with professional skill across the 
loins with a snap as he came down, she began to 
understand what the tender was for; she coaxed 
him to her side, folded her paw around-him, and 
each night the terrier slept at the breast of the 
lioness, enfolded with her paws, and watching 
that his natural enemies did not disturb the natu¬ 
ral rest of his mistress. The rats had a bad time 
during those six weeks. 
A SCHOOL BOY’S VACATION. 
A Cambki not boy, alter a week's absence ln the 
country, wrote to his mother: “I got here all 
right and 1 forgot to write before; It Is a very nice 
place to have fun. A feller and I went out in a 
boat and the boat tipped over and a man got rne 
out and l was so full or water 1 didn’t know oothin’ 
for a good long while. The other boy has got to 
be burled after they And him. Ills mother come 
from Chelsea and she cries all the time. A boss 
kicked me over and 1 have got to have some money 
to pay a doctor for fixing my head. We are going 
to set an old barn on tire to-night and I should 
smile if we don’t have bully fun. I lost my watch 
and am very sorry. 1 shall bring home some mud 
turkles and I shall bring borne a tame woodchuck 
If I can get ’em in my trunk.” 
-- 
A LITTLE BOY’S COMPOSITION, 
One day our dog Towser was a lyin’ ln the sun 
a trine to sleep, but the flies was that bad he 
couldn’t cos he had to catch ’em, and blrneby a 
bee lit on his head and was workln' about like the 
dog wasliis’n. Towser he held his head still, and 
when the bee was close to his nose, Towser winked 
at me like he sed, you see what this buffer Is doin’; 
he thinks I am a Illy or the valley which Isn’t 
opened yet, but you just wait till 1 blossom, and he 
opened his mouth very slow so as not to lrlien the 
bee, and the bee wont into Towser’s mouth. Then 
Towser shet his eyes and Ills mouth too, and be¬ 
gan to make a peaceful smile wen the bee stung 
him, and you never see a illy of the valley ack so 
ln your life. 
-♦- 
A FASTING CHICKEN. 
Some one says that any chloken can do what Dr. 
Tanner did and to prove It tells the following 
story: An Albanian ln Albany missed a line young 
cblcken from his poultry-yard a month ago, as 
his wile was having some refuse taken out of the 
yard, an old bucket, which had not been In use 
for some time, was overturned. Underneath tho 
bucket was the young fowl, it had been caught 
ln the trap, and been without food and water 
over twenty-rour days. The chicken looked ema¬ 
ciated, and seemed depressed lu spirits. Pulse 
normal, temperature normal, sphygmographlc 
tracings weak and Irregular, muscular pressure 
undetermined. The feathered faster was given 
feed ln judicious quantities, and has already re¬ 
covered Its general sprlghtllness. 
-- 
LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
Dkak Uncle Mark.—1 guess you will think 
that we have forgotten to thank you for tho seods 
that you seut us, but we have not. We sowed 
the pinks and portulacas ln a box. They are all 
in blossom now. The pinks are Just splendid, !S5 
varieties; the most of them are double, but the 
portulacas are all slDgle. Tho rest of the seed 
we did not sow. We have not many flowers this 
year. We have il geraniums, our grape seeds 
are not up yet. Every seed ot the melons came 
up and are very nlco; wc picked two yesterday, 
they were splendid, We have got a little baby 
sister and her name Is Faith. She Is Just as cun¬ 
ning as she can be. She Is two months old to¬ 
morrow ; when may she join the club ? Good-bye, 
Your affectionate nieces, 
Bertha and Ettik Robbins. 
oswego Co., N. Y, 
[We add the name of your little sister to the 
club. She is the youngest member. U. M.] 
Dear Uncle Mark:—I take my pen to report 
what success Clara and 1 have with the seeds you 
so kindly sent us. Ala planted the phlox, and 
pinks, and okra seeds In the house ln boxes, and 
we now have fourteen plants of phlox ln blossom, 
and a nice bed of pinks all budded, and there Is 
one In blossom, and I wish to know if they will 
remain out alt Winter without harm. Our musk- 
melons grow nicely and now have quite large 
Irillt on the vines, but 1 cannot tell how good they 
are for none have yet got ripe so that l could have 
a taste. We will try and do better with our beds 
next year, and hope wc may have better luck so 
we can give a better report next Fall. We hope 
you will not forget us In j our next seed distribu¬ 
tion. Thankfully yours, H. & C. Jones. 
Steuben Co., N. Y. 
[These plants are hardy. They may, however, 
be covered with mulch at the beginning of cold 
weather. U. M.j 
Dear Uncle Mark:—As l had uothlng better 
to do, I thought 1 would write and tell you of my 
success with my seeds. I had very bad luck with 
them, I can assure you. Only the okra, mignon¬ 
ette, portulaca, pinks, phlox, and musk melons 
came up. Father sowed the oats, but they are 
only about a foot and a halt high. He did not sow 
the peas, as they will not ripen here. I agree 
with Alma Allen ln thinking that It would be nice 
for the cousins to correspond with each other. 
But I must close, or this will go into the waste¬ 
basket. Your niece, Fanny Horne. 
Wolfe Island, Ontario. 
Dear Uncle Mark:—I am a little girl eleven 
years old. I live In Dakota. My father takes the 
Rural, and 1 like It real well. 1 like to read the 
letters, and 1 want to join your society. I mean 
to have a garden next year, and will you please 
remember me when you send your seeds ? 1 have 
never raised many flowers, but 1 am going to try 
next year. Hattie Stone. 
Dakota. 
Dear Uncle Mark My flowers have come up 
well and are growing nicely, and we like them 
very much. We have a great many flowers. The 
musk-melon vines have quite large melons on 
them. The pinks and portulacas and Sweet Mlg- 
nonettee are nice. 1 have saved some seed from 
the portulaca. K. F. Dodge. 
Lewis Co., N. Y. 
alihtj) ^tailing 
■f 
THE UPWARD FLIGHT. 
Are wo almotit there f 
Have we scaled the flight! 
Are those the home lights which (fleam afar ? 
Have we bade farewell to the shadowy nieht, 
And entered the realm of tho morning star? 
Faint to my ear comes the sound of earth, 
Her wail of uuKiiislt and wild dcsiiair; 
The hollow riujf of her hollow mirth 
Are lost in the dentils of this upper air. 
Dear Uncle Mark : —I don’t quite understand 
what your “ Horticultural Club ” Is, and 1 wonder 
what all the “cousins" mean when they talk 
about seed. T atu a little stranger you see, but 1 
like to read the “ letters from the cousins ” and I 
think I would like to become a member and write 
too. I wonder If most of the other girls and boys 
donotllve out among the green fields, where the 
birds sing and the dear little, brooks bubble along 
over the prettj' stones, and how clear and bright 
the pebbles do look wben In the water, so much 
nicer than they do after they are dry, I suppose 
these country coun-lns have lots of Interesting 
things which we In the city cannot have, l sup¬ 
pose they' have a big shepherd dog, whose name 
Is Prince, and a great maltese cal that they call 
Snip, and lots of luuny ducks and chickens; that 
is what cousin Genie has out on the farm, but 
we don’t have them ln the city. I could tell you 
And now a breath, like the breath of morn, 
A light, a radiance, spreads around, 
And forms of that mystic radiance born. 
Seem floating hither with glory crowned. 
O angel! lend tby sheltering wing— 
I see the portals of light unrolled. 
With songs of welcome their arches ring— 
The ransomed are sale ln tho heavenly fold. 
Laura S. Haoner. 
-- 
OUR SAVIOUR. 
Throughout the Bible run two great lines of 
thought, the one leading up to the sufferings of 
Christ, the other to the glory that should follow. 
The one series speaks of a mysterious pain and 
anguish, beyond human thought to fathom ; the 
other points to a glory of kingship, a jubilance of 
triumph also surpassing all that man has con¬ 
ceived. The two lines sometimes run parallel, 
sometimes cros3 oach other, and in the prophecies 
of Isaiah both converge to a point. The “Man of 
sorrows and acquainted with grief,” la yet “the 
King ln his beauty.” To that Divine poem of con¬ 
tradictions the first chapter of the Epistle to the 
Hebrews Is the key, telling of one who, “ when 
he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on 
the right hand ot the Majesty on high,” “ whose 
throne la for ever and ever.” The one great hope 
of existence Is, that the Lord who died Is Ruler 
and Worker, i re In whom all things subsist Is the 
centre of the Universe; his Cross is the explana¬ 
tion of all Its secrets Tho ascension moant this; 
hence the importance attached to it ln apostolic 
teaching,’ or rather to that glorification of the 
risen Christ of which It was the sign, The epistles 
to the Ephesians and the Colosslans are one grand 
amplification of this theme. 
Our )x>rd s appearances after the resurrection 
had assured the disciples of the reality of his 
glorified life. The Intercourse was sufficient to 
bridge whal would otherwise have been an Impas¬ 
sable gulf between their remembrance of his 
earthly life and their thought ot him at the 
Father's right hand. The cross, the grave, had 
but left upon him the marks of a love deeper than 
death. So the cloud which received him out of 
their sight did not hide him from their conscious¬ 
ness. Fain would they, as we, have looked behind 
that cloud, following the track ot his glory, until 
the portals ot heaven opened ln answer to the 
triumphant cry, “ 1,1ft up your heads, O ye gates 
and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the 
King of Glory ehall come In," But It la an angel’s 
voice that recalls to earth, and tn thought we 
gather rather with that little band who, In the 
upper chamber, continued with one accord ln 
prayer and supplication, and there were endued 
with power from on high. 
Uentecost, is the true interpretation of the 
Saviour’s ascension. The Spirit was now given, 
because Jesus was now glorified. Yet was It but 
an earnest of blessing—the feast of flrst-frults; 
the feast of ingathering is yet to be. The ascen¬ 
sion proclaimed, emphatically, every barrier be¬ 
tween God and man is swept away, Freely can 
his life now be imparted. Even Calvary had the 
Lord endured, rather than that we should be cut 
off from that lire. The Cross ts the measure of his 
longing to bless. Through all, over all, that op¬ 
posed would his love And Us way to us. Yet we 
seek him doubtfully, yet wc trust hint tremblingly. 
Why should we remain sorrowful, when we have 
but to ask and receive that our joy may be full? 
When he has cast down every obstacle, shall we 
erect others ? It Is possible that our unbelief may 
thwart the purposes of the love that even the cross 
could not baffle, 
“lie has received gifts for men,” gifts without 
reserve, God never gives by halves, is It a 
scanty, measured lire that gladdens us ln spring ? 
Can we tread five steps on an April day without 
rinding that we have not faculties sufficient to 
take lu even the dimmed and narrowed glory that 
comes to us as we pass along the streets? Through 
some rift in the stony gloom we catch a ray of the 
beauty, a. glimpse of the freshness, a breath of the 
fragrance, a note of the songs, and we feel as if 
even that were enough to last us for evermore. 
But more easily might we count the leaf-buds, or 
number the sunbeams, than measure the infini¬ 
tude of gifts the ascended Saviour waits to pour 
out upon us. 
Once more, Christ’s ascension Is not only for us; 
It is oura. We may know a present dally ascen¬ 
sion with him, which Is to us the pledge of love. 
-♦■•«-♦- 
If life be a battle, how mad must he be who 
falls to arm himself for the contest! If life bo a 
storm, how infatuated Is he who sleeps while his 
bark Is driven among unknown waters l if life be 
a pilgrimage, how unwise t-i he who strays from 
the right road, nor seeks to return till the twilight 
shadows gather around his patliwaj' I 
The characters of Christians differ, it Is the 
peculiarity or the life of the Saviour to impart 
different gifts, and a different selection or gifts to 
different believers, so that while all have a family 
likeness to the Master, yet. they are not “like to 
like,” but “like iu difference.”—Rev, Charles 
Butcher, D. D, 
There Is no portion of our time that is our time, 
and the rest God’s; there Is no portion of money 
that Is our money, and the rest God’s money. It 
Is all Ills; He made it all, gives It all, and He has 
simply trusted It to us tor ilia service, A servant 
has two purses, the master’s and hts own ; but we 
have only one. -Monod. 
Where science speaks of Improvement, Christi¬ 
anity speaks or renovation; where science speaks 
of development, Christianity speaks of sanctifica¬ 
tion; where science speaks or progress, Christi¬ 
anity speaks or perfection.—J. o, Thompson. 
Earthlt glory soon vanishes; earthly posses¬ 
sions pass away—a lew years and all are gone. 
But the promises or God remain unto us until the 
end or all things; heaven rests on eternity. It 
maj’ be ours It we seek It aright. 
You may depend upon lt that enthusiasm Is a 
liberal education for a Christian; I mean noth¬ 
ing makes a man so quick-sighted and Intel¬ 
ligent la the service of God as enthusiasm— 
Spurgeon. 
Every year or our lives we grow more con¬ 
vinced that lt is the wisest and be3t to fix our at¬ 
tention on the beautiful and the good, and dwell 
as little as possible on the evil and the false. 
Do you believe In God? Dare you not trust your¬ 
self llko a child to Him? What Is your belief 
worth if It has not taught you that blessed central 
truth of all—that He Is your Father ? 
God is immortal; goodness Is Immortal and 
therefore his servants shal 1 not perish; they shall 
shine as stara forever and ever. 
He who Is not affectionate to God’s creatures and 
to hls own children, God will not be affectionate 
to him.—Mohammed. 
