‘Iht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1135 
Your editor might add that usually it 
is not permitted for either runner or 
chaser to cut across the circle. Run¬ 
ning must all be done outside the circle 
except when a runner goes in to stop in 
front of a couple and call “three deep.” 
And also, the third man when he starts 
to run may not go right over to one of 
the couples on either side of him. He 
must run a bit, at least. 
THIRD MAN 
This game is played much like three 
deep. Players stand in couples facing 
each other. The couples are scattered 
in any way around the room or ground. 
The runner is free from being “tagged” 
when he steps in between the two play¬ 
ers of any couple, and the chaser must 
chase the one toward whom the runner 
turns his back. 
New York. Verna AVilkins (9 years). 
The Brook 
(An Original Poem) 
Dancing in the sunlight, 
Laughing on its way, 
Onward runs the little brook 
Singing all the day. 
Rushing past the old mill 
Where many birdies call, 
Carrying the pretty leaves 
Of the early Fall. 
New York. —'Anna Youmans. 
David Copperfield 
BY CHARLES DICKENS 
This great story, which was described 
in last month’s Book Puzzle, brought a 
large response from our readers, and it 
is fine to know that so many have read 
and enjoyed it. You will find below one 
letter re-telling the story, with the names 
of the characters inserted, and two others 
which recall some of the main facts of 
Dickens’ life. 
The answer to the July Book Puzzle 
is David Copperfield. written by Charles 
Dickens. The little boy was David Cop¬ 
perfield. His father died 'before his 
birth. The nurse was Clara Peggotty. 
They always called her “Peggotty. 
When he grew up, his mother used to 
read to him about crocodiles. One day 
Peggotty took him to Yarmouth. There 
he met Mr. Peggotty, Ham and Little 
Km’ly. When he returned home he had 
a new daddv and a new aunt. His daddy 
was Mr. Murdstone, and his aunt was 
Jane Murdstone. One day. when he was 
being whipped, he bit his daddy and was 
locked in his room for a week. He was 
sent to school in a coach. Mr. Murd¬ 
stone sent a sign to the school and told 
them to hang it on David’s back. The 
sign read, “Take care of him. He bites.” 
While he was away at school, his mother 
and his baby brother died. He was then 
sent to work in Tx)ndon. There he met 
Mr. Mieawber who was always looking 
for “something to turn up.” The work 
was too hard for David, so he ran away. 
He went to his aunt, Betsy Trotwood. 
She lived at Dover. She nicknamed 
David “Trot.” Mr. Murdstone came to 
take him back, but David did not go. 
He started to school from his aunt s 
and boarded at the home of Mr. Wick- 
field. He met Agnes Wickfield whom he 
loved as a sister. lie also met Uriah 
Heep who was very “umble.” His nurse, 
Peggotty was married to Barkis, the car¬ 
rier. David went to study law with Mr. 
Spenlow. Mr. Spenlow had a daughter 
named Dora. Jane Murdstone was her 
chaperon. Dora did not like her. David 
was married to Dora. She. only lived a 
few years. Her dog .Tip died the same 
moment as Dora died. When Dora was 
on her death-bed, she called Agnes to her 
bedside and asked her to take her place. 
Later David was married to Agnes. They 
had three children whom they named 
Agnes, Dora and Betsy Trotwood. They 
lived a happy life. 
—Madlyn Beers (13 years). 
Pennsylvania. 
Charles Dickens was a very great ( au¬ 
thor and wrote many good books. “Old 
Curiosity Shop” among them, which I 
have read. He was born at Portsea, 
England, in 1812, where his father was 
a poor government clerk, and the son re¬ 
tained vivid memories of poverty and 
hardship, which influenced his novels. 
Only a year or two of schooling were al¬ 
lowed him, and in a school of the type 
he afterwards described so vividly and 
thus helped bring about its reform. He 
learned shorthand and became a newspa¬ 
per reporter; through this work he added 
many more experiences to his life. Out 
of his newspaper experience came the 
book which first gave him fame.* “Pick¬ 
wick Papers.” He wrote “Martin Chuz- 
zlewit” (1843) and “David Copper- 
field” (1850). The last named is mainly 
the story of his own life, and the one he 
liked best. Dickens was a great traveler. 
He was a splendid actor, and could read 
with such dramatic effectiveness that he 
attained a great following. He was fond 
of walking, often tramping 20 miles at 
a time. London was a source of un¬ 
ending fascination for him, and few men 
knew it as thoroughly as he. His abound¬ 
ing humor, his unfailing sympathy for 
ali sorts and conditions of men, his mast¬ 
ery of pathos and the unending variety 
/in his characters, have all given him a 
Some little children one Summer day, 
IWent down to the sandy beach to play; 
Draw them playing with spade and pail. 
Or trying their best a boat to sail. 
Brawn in pencil by Dorothy Bozarth (1/f 
years), New Jersey 
Drawn in pencil by Emily Schaffner (10 
years), New Hampshire 
Drawn in pencil by Alice Brown (12 
Drawn in pencil by Caroline Schredcr 
(18 years), New York 
D rawn by Elen ora Wirth (15 years), 
New York 
Drawn by Either Herr (16 years), 
Pennsylvania 
Drawn by Agnes Helfert (15 years), 
Wisconsin 
Drawn by Christine Funk (16 years), 
Washington 
Drawn by Collins Johnson, Ncic Jersey 
Drawn by Rebecca Bpencer (IS years), 
Maine 
Drawn by Annie Berry (13 years), Vir¬ 
ginia 
Draton by Helen Curtiss (15 years), New 
York 
place near the highest among fiction 
writers. lie died in 1870. 
West Virginia. —Lucy Greene. 
y.jhheu uy a Deauuiui estate on Cad s 
Dili. Dickens often said that he wished 
it were his home. After he had written 
many books and had become famous, lie 
did live in this house which he had ad¬ 
mired in his boyhood days. Dickens 
wrote many books; among them are “A 
qu e » 0 L?’ W , 0 Cities,” “Old Curiosity 
^P' UT Bleak House,” “Nicholas Nickle- 
by. Little Dorrit.” Some of Dickens’ 
books are read in school. 
—Miriam Tilden (14 years). 
Massachusetts. * ; 
A New Book Puzzle 
A little boy lived in America with his 
mother His grandfather was an English 
lord who hated this boy’s mother because 
sbe was an American and had married 
u y l °. ungest son - . The son was now dead, 
but Ins son, the little American boy, was 
living. As he did not have any' other 
heirs to his estate 1 , the earl sent for his 
American grandson. The little boy was 
so polite, so kind and good, that his 
grandfather soon learned to love him. 
Through the boy’s aid the grandfather be¬ 
came acquainted with his daughter-in- 
law, whom he had imagined was an ugly 
and ill-mannered woman. But- to his sur¬ 
prise, lie found the American woman very 
pretty, gentle and kind', and one who bore 
no hatred against her father-in-law. The 
earl soon learned to like his son’s wife, 
and later brought her to his house, for be¬ 
fore this she had lived at one of his 
lodges, where the earl could not see her. 
Ihe little boy had always gone to see his 
mother; he always spoke about her to his 
grandfather, <and couldn’t guess why his 
grandfather did not like to speak about 
his mother. But the earl finally saw his 
daughter-in-law, as related above. All 
three, the boy, his mother and his grand¬ 
father, visited' America and saw many of 
the boy’s friends and remembered them 
well. Everyone was happy, because al¬ 
though an heir and a lord, the little boy 
had not become proud and haughty. 
—Bertha Kristt 
New York. (13 years). 
The boy or girl over 10 years of tige 
who has not read or heard of this story 
is an exception and I shall look for many 
letters in answer to Bertha’s good de¬ 
scription. Be sure to give the full title 
and author's name. You might also tell 
ue when you first read the book and how 
and why you liked it. If you can learn 
anything about the author’s life, add that, 
too. Credit is due another reader, Mary 
Smoot (14 years) of Arkansas, for send- 
ing a puzzle on this same book. 
Our Artists 
There was plenty of interest in the 
“sandy beach” rhyme drawings, and your 
editor had his usual task choosing those 
to print on this page. A majority of the 
drawings come from older boys and girls 
this time, though some younger ouch tried. 
It is pretty hard to draw many human 
figures. Next time we have a rhyme 
drawing contest we will take something a 
bit easier. You will agree, however, that 
the drawings printed are fine and show a 
lot of originality and Variety. A new 
touch was added by Dorothy Bozarth, 
who wrolte: “My brother posed for both 
the little boys in my drawing.” This is 
good, original work. 
In addition to the drawings published 
the following “artists” deserve Honor¬ 
able Mention for their work: Elinor 
Willis (12), Anna Wild'owsky (13) and 
Anna Mayer (15) of Connecticut; Alice 
Croasdell (11) of Florida, Marion Ful¬ 
ler (14) of Massachusetts, Alzina Gil- 
lett (15) of Nebraska, Carrie Bontwell 
of New Hampshire, Elizabeth Lewis (7), 
Mildred Betzler (7), Janice Baldwin (7), 
Augusta Olson (10), Vera Krasity (11), 
Iva McClatcbie (14) and Charlotte 
Booth (10) of New York, Miriam Rachel 
and Rudolph Tanner (14) of Pennsyl¬ 
vania and Julia Koch a nek (13) of Rhode 
Island. 
Notes 
Roy Bergman, a New York reader, 
wrote the lines in the Box this month. 
Your editor likes them very much, and 
feels sure that any reader who shows the 
interest and takes the pains to write to 
Our Page may well feel happy at having 
a share in helping along something that 
means so much to so many boys and girls. 
You will find the full list of contribu¬ 
tors this month on page 1138. The girls 
still greatly outnumber the boys. We cer¬ 
tainly would enjoy having letters from 
more of our boy readers, don’t you think 
(Continued on page 1138) 
