Fig. 1.—Grasshopper, slightly magnified.Fig. 1.—Grasshopper, slightly magnified.
In our illustration some of these curious 'ears' are shown. Fig.2shows the ear of the grasshopper magnified. In fig.3this is further magnified to show the V-shaped mark which represents the horny stalks to which we referred, seen through the clear membrane of the drum. The dark border (b) around the drum represents a raised ridge. In fig.4we have the antennæ of a gnat, some of the hairs of which serve as sound-conductors to delicate nerves lying at their base.
Fig. 2.—Ear of Grasshopper, drum at A, greatly magnified.Fig. 2.—Ear of Grasshopper, drum at A, greatly magnified.
Fig. 3.—Drum of Grasshopper's Ear, greatly magnified.Fig. 3.—Drum of Grasshopper's Ear, greatly magnified.
The sense of smell in insects lies mainly in those wonderful organs, the antennæ or 'horns.' Scents of various kinds are perceived either through pits, or through peg- or spike-like teeth filled with fluid. The leaf-like plates of the antennæ of the cockchafer (fig.5) have these pits very highly developed. On the outer surface of the first 'antennal' leaf, as also on the edges of the other leaves, only scattered bristles are seen; but on the inner surface of the first and seventh leaves, and on both surfaces of all the other leaves, there are close rows of shallow, irregularly shaped hollows. Their number is enormous—in the males as many as thirty-nine thousand, and, in the female, thirty-five thousand on each antenna. As some of the scent-laden air reaches the surface of these pits, it causes the nerves of smell to be roused, and so guides the beetle to its mate, or to its food, according to the nature of the smell. These pits are so tiny that they cannot be shown on the antennal leaves of the cockchafer shown in fig.5, but they are there. On fig.6a highly magnified section of one of these 'leaves' of the antenna is shown: 'p' is the pit, 'n' is the nerve, and 'S. C.' the sense-bulb of the nerve in which it terminates—the point at which the smell is perceived.
Fig. 4.—Antenna of Gnat, greatly magnified.Fig. 4.—Antenna of Gnat, greatly magnified.
Fig. 5.—Antenna of Cockchafer, greatly magnified.Fig. 5.—Antenna of Cockchafer, greatly magnified.
Fig. 6.—Section of "leaf" of Cockchafer's Antenna, greatly magnified.Fig. 6.—Section of "leaf" of Cockchafer's Antenna, greatly magnified.
It has been proved that insects which have lost their antennæ have no sense of smell.
W. P. Pycraft, F.Z.S., A.L.S.
A Story of Adventure on the North Sea and in China.
(Continued from page 279.)
"The donkey-man caught hold of Krüger's tail with both hands.""The donkey-man caught hold of Krüger's tail with both hands."
Fourteen days after leaving Liverpool theTwilightarrived at Port Said, and Fred, Charlie, and Ping Wang at once went ashore. The Pages thoroughly enjoyed their first glimpse of the East, for Ping Wang, knowing the place, took care that they should see everything worth seeing. After sitting for a time in a bigcaféwhich was crowded with men of almost every European nation, they wandered through the shop district, and out into the Arab portion of the town.
After they had looked at the sights for somelittle time, Ping Wang suggested that they should have a donkey ride. They had noticed the large, handsome donkeys soon after they landed, but as the passengers from a big P. & O. vessel had come ashore just before they arrived, all the animals were engaged. But when they returned to the busy part of the town they found three donkeys on hire, and the donkey 'boys,' two of whom were elderly men, at once shouted out the names of their animals.
A Port Said donkey sometimes has its name changed three or four times in a year, in consequence of its proprietor's desire that it shall always bear one which is just then popular with Englishmen. You may ride on 'W. G. Grace' in June, and on returning to Port Said in December will discover that the same animal is now called 'Mr. Chamberlain,' or 'Lord Charles Beresford.' The donkeys which Fred, Charlie, and Ping Wang found on hire were named respectively 'Lord Roberts,' 'General Buller,' and 'Krüger.'
Charlie sprang on to 'Lord Roberts's' back; Fred made a rush for 'General Buller,' and left Ping Wang to mount 'Krüger.'
'Let us have a race,' Charlie suggested, when they were getting clear of the crowded narrow streets, and immediately all three urged on their donkeys; but, before they had gone many yards, 'Krüger' began to leave his companions behind.
'This will never do,' Charlie declared, and touched up 'Lord Roberts' with his stick. Fred tried to hurry up 'General Buller.' Neither of the animals, however, appeared to be at all anxious to exert themselves, and they would have lost the race had not the donkey-man, remembering that his English patrons always seemed pleased when 'Krüger' was last, caught hold of 'Krüger's' tail with both hands, and, throwing back his head, pulled as if he were engaged in a tug of war. 'Krüger,' not liking this strain upon his tail, slackened speed and stopped. 'Lord Roberts' and 'General Buller,' evidently fearing that if they continued running they would be treated in the same way as 'Krüger' had been, stopped with such suddenness that Fred was shot over his animal's head into the road, and Charlie only just escaped a similar fate by throwing his arms round his Jenny's neck.
'This is a nice thing!' Fred declared, ruefully, as he pointed to a big tear in his trousers. 'To-day is the first time I have worn this suit.'
Ping Wang condoled with him, but Charlie, who always maintained that his brother thought too much of dress, laughed at his mishap.
'If you had been wearing a serviceable suit like mine,' he said, 'your trousers would not have been torn.'
'May the day never come,' Fred answered, solemnly, 'when I have to take your advice on the matter of dress. And now I think it is about time that we returned to theTwilight.'
'Shall we have another race?' Ping Wang asked eagerly, somewhat disappointed at having been robbed of his victory.
'I've had quite enough racing, thank you,' Fred declared, placing his hand over his knee to conceal the rent in his trousers.
'I haven't,' Charlie joined in. 'Come along, Ping Wang.'
Charlie and Ping Wang whipped up their donkeys, but no sooner had they started than Fred's animal, in spite of its rider's efforts to restrain it, bolted after them, and, overtaking them, ran a dead heat with 'Lord Roberts.' 'Krüger' was last.
When, after a little further exploration of the town, they went back to theTwilight, they were thoroughly delighted to find that she had finished coaling, and that nearly all traces of that unpleasant job had been removed.
They went down to dinner at once, and when they came on deck again they were in the Suez Canal. Fred and Charlie found plenty to interest them in the Canal. They saw several thin brown pariah dogs wandering about the desert in search of food, and once a dead camel came floating by them. Towards evening theTwilighthad to anchor for a time, and the three passengers, with the captain's permission, went ashore and gathered flowers and shells to send home.
In the Red Sea there was still more to see. All day long the seagulls—brown with white breasts—hovered around theTwilight. Many other birds came and rested on the ship for hours, and, as the weather was intensely hot, Charlie, Fred, and Ping Wang found it very entertaining to sit quietly in their long chairs and watch their pretty little feathered visitors.
Three days after leaving Suez they saw, for the first time, the Southern Cross, and, on the following morning, they steamed into what, at first sight, Fred and Charlie thought was land, but was simply a wide streak of floating sand which had been blown out to sea during a sand-storm.
At night they were now permitted to sleep on deck—a boon which all three appreciated highly. They took their blankets and pillows on to the poop, and slept with greater comfort than they had experienced for many days, though one night they were caught in a heavy thunder-shower.
One morning, when they went on deck, they found it literally strewn with flying fish. The ship's rats had evidently had a good feed, for many of the fish were gnawed and bitten.
'Would you like some flying fish for breakfast, gentlemen?' the cook said to the three passengers as they stood looking at the stranded fish.
'Are they good?' Charlie inquired, suspiciously.
'First class,' the cook declared; so Charlie, Fred, and Ping Wang had flying fish for breakfast.
'I can't say that I consider them "first class,"' Fred said when he had eaten two of them, 'but I am glad that I shall be able to say that I have eaten one.'
'Eaten two,' Charlie said, but Fred ignored the interruption.
'I make a practice of tasting any new dish I come across,' he continued.
'When we get to China,' Charlie said, 'Ping Wang will have the pleasure of offering you puppy-dog pie.'
Ping Wang smiled serenely.
'I don't think that you will find Chinese food so bad as you imagine,' he said. 'Certainly it will be better than what we had to eat on theSparrow-hawk.'
While they were looking at a heap of dead fish, the captain shouted to them to come over to the starboard side; and on doing so they beheld a shoal of small fish being chased by big ones. To escape their pursuers the small fish jumped out of the water, and were instantly seized by the gulls, a flock of which were hovering around. The gulls had a splendid feast, several hundred of small fish being eaten by them before theTwilightsteamed away from the shoal.
It was not long before theTwilightarrived at Aden, where they all went ashore for a short time.
After they left Aden the days were extremely monotonous, for there was nothing to be seen but the ocean.
'I shall be jolly glad when the voyage is at an end,' Charlie declared when they had passed Ceylon without catching a glimpse of it.
'So shall I,' Fred answered, 'but it won't be much longer, and then the fun will begin.'
'I hope,' Ping Wang said, 'that you will not mind being dressed as Chinamen.'
'But, my dear fellow,' Fred replied, 'if we were dressed as Chinamen, we should not deceive any one. Our faces are not at all Chinese.'
'I can alter that by shaving your eyebrows.'
'Very likely, but Chinamen without pigtails would be as absurd as a wingless bird.'
'I will buy two pigtails,' Ping Wang declared, calmly.
'What! Surely Chinamen don't wear false pigtails?' Charlie exclaimed.
'Thousands of them do, but, of course they keep it as secret as do your English ladies who wear false hair.'
'But how do they fix it to their head? Stick it on to their bald pates with gum?'
'Oh, no! Chinamen are never quite bald—at least, I have never met any who are—and the pigtail is fixed to what hair they have. My reason for advising you not to have your hair cut in Port Said was that I wanted you to have long hair by the time we reached Hongkong. I think that it is already long enough for pigtails to be attached.'
Charlie was delighted at the prospect of having to don Chinese attire, but Fred was far from pleased. He had provided himself with an excellent khaki campaigning suit, and did not at all like the idea of its lying idle. However, after some further conversation, Ping Wang succeeded in convincing him that, for the success of their plans for recovering the idol, it was necessary that he and Charlie should pass themselves off as Chinese.
'We shall have to eat our food with chop-sticks I suppose?' Charlie remarked.
'Certainly,' Ping Wang replied.
'Then lend me yours, and I'll start practising at once. I don't want to be starved when I get to China.'
Ping Wang lent his chop-sticks willingly, and having obtained some boiled rice from the cook, Charlie practised getting it into his mouth. It was an easier task than he had imagined, and when he had become proficient, he passed the chop-sticks on to Fred, who at once set to work to become as accomplished as his brother. Long before they arrived at Hongkong, Fred and Charlie found it as easy to eat with chop-sticks as with a knife and fork.
(Continued on page 291.)
Two men once stopped at a French inn, and gave in charge of the landlady, who was a widow, a bag of money, telling her to give it up to neither of them unless they were both together. A little while afterwards one of the men came alone and asked the landlady to give up the money under the pretence that his companion had to make an important payment immediately. The widow had paid little attention to what had been said to her before, and now, forgetting all about it, gave up the bag. The rogue disappeared with it so quickly that the landlady asked herself if she had not made a mistake.
The next day the other man turned up, and made the same request as his comrade had done the previous day, and when the widow told him what had happened, he went into a passion, and summoned her for the loss of his money.
Some one who heard of the poor woman's plight advised her to say that she was ready to bring forth the money on the original terms. She asked the plaintiff to produce his comrade. The argument was found plausible by the court, and as the thief took care not to come back, his comrade had to give up his claim.
W. Yarwood.
Many instances of curious animal friendships have been recorded, but not many are stranger than that which a correspondent of theFieldrelates of a kitten and a peacock in his own grounds. The kitten was a half-wild one, living in the shrubberies near the house. All its brothers and sisters had been destroyed or taken away, and the kitten must have felt very lonely when there were none of its own kind to play with. Being very young and playful, it felt that it must have a friend and playmate of some kind, and it looked round to find one. There was a handsome peacock in the grounds, and pussy admired him very much, and thought she would like to play with him. So she tried to form an acquaintance, and, as the peacock was not half so vain as he looked, she succeeded very well. They were soon so friendly that pussy could rub against him and box his ears with impunity; she even tried to scramble upon his back. He took all her play in good part, and seemed to enjoy it quite as much as she did. Perhaps he was flattered by pussy's admiration, or perhaps he felt a true friendship for his strange companion. Whichever it was, he always looked out for his little playmate, and was evidently pleased to see her.
W. A. A.
"The peacock took all her play in good part.""The peacock took all her play in good part."
"The cat washed the jackdaw in its turn.""The cat washed the jackdaw in its turn."
We have all seen instances of the affection and care which most animals give to their helpless or nearly helpless offspring. The cat spends nearly all her day coiled up in some quiet, cosy corner with her family of kittens, and when she leaves them for a few minutes, to stretch her limbs and seek some refreshment for herself, the least squeak of one of her children will bring her back to its side. The hen struts about the farmyard surrounded by her chickens, and at the least appearance of danger the brood runs for shelter under her wings. When the lamb in the field strays from its mother's side she is soon alarmed, and shows her fear by her anxious bleating, which does not cease until the lamb returns to her. And thus it is with nearly every animal, tame or wild. Each gives proofs, if we could only see and understand them, of a wonderful and beautiful love for her young.
This motherly care is not quite like the ordinary friendship which one animal may have for another. A cat and a dog may be good friends all their lives. But, though the cat loves her kittens before all things while they are young and weak, later on, when they are sufficiently grown in size and strength to take good care of themselves, her affection gradually dies away, and she becomes indifferent to their wants. Sometimes she will even drive them away from her.
Another feature of this parental love is what might almost be called its unthinking strength. The mother animal feels her affections so strong that she cannot restrain them, and she often bestows them upon the strangest animals, along with her own young ones, or when she has been deprived of her own offspring. A hen will hatch ducks' eggs, and take the same care of the ducklings which she would have taken of her own chickens. I have heard of a hen taking charge of three young ferrets for a fortnight. They were placed in her nest because their own mother had died, and she took to them at once, and nestled down over them just as if they had been chickens. They were too helpless to follow her about, as chickens would have done, and she had to sit with them almost the whole time. She combed out their hair with her bill, just as she would have preened the feathers of chickens. The ferrets were fed by their owner, and they were taken away from the nest before they were old enough to do the hen any harm.
An even stranger instance of this misplaced affection on the part of a parent has been seen at a railway station recently, according to the newspapers. A cat in the goods shed had three kittens, which she was bringing up in the usual way. Soon after the kittens were born, some of the railwaymen found a young jackdaw, and put it with them. The cat made no objection, but received the bird kindly, and gave just as much care to it as to the kittens. The workmen fed the bird, while the cat took every other care of it, and even washed it, in its turn, with the kittens. The rearing was quite successful, and the bird grew up strong and healthy.
W. A. Atkinson.
On Coronation Day (August 9th, 1902), a number of balloons filled with natural gas were sent off from Heathfield, near Tunbridge Wells. One of these balloons was picked up on August 10th at Ulm, in Germany, having travelled the six hundred miles in less than twenty-four hours.
Notice of this fact was sent in German by the finder on a post-card, but he evidently did not understand English, for he copied the wording on the little medal fastened to the balloon: 'Natural gas carried me from Heathfield, Sussex.'
With these words for address, the post-card, after some delay, reached Heathfield, and was delivered to the manager of the Natural Gas Works.
S. Clarendon.
C. J. B.
[Answers on page 339.]
12.—
13.—
KNETSTARESCATTERBLESSINGS
About the year 1845, a 'Ragged School,' as it was called, was started in a very poor quarter of London, but so turbulent and noisy were the boys that at last the teachers found themselves obliged to engage the services of a policeman to keep order.
This policeman was himself a 'bit of a scholar,' and had also a love of boys, and he suggested that if he took a class in the school it might be the best way of maintaining order amongst the unruly crew.
The experiment was tried, and proved a great success. The worst and noisiest boys were drafted into the policeman's class, and he somehow tamed them all. More than that, his class was so popular that all the boys wanted to belong to it, and they gave their constable the title of 'King of the Peelers.'
'Peelers,' a name which has been nearly ousted by our slang word 'Bobby.' was derived from Sir Robert Peel, who instituted the police. 'Bobby,' of course, comes from Peel's Christian name.
X.
A Story of Adventure on the North Sea and in China.
(Continued from page 287.)
It was early one morning when theTwilightarrived at Hongkong, and the Pages and Ping Wang at once went ashore in asampan, or native boat, to present a letter of introduction which they had brought from England.
Although it was only half-past six when they arrived at the Hongkong merchant's office, they found the manager, to whom their letter was addressed, already hard at work. He had received, some days before, from the head of the firm in London, notification of the Pages being on their way to Hongkong, and greeted them very cordially.
'I had hoped,' he said, after a few minutes' conversation, 'that you would have been here a day or two ago, for there is a very decent boat starting for Tien-tsin this afternoon, on which you would have been very comfortable. The next one will not be leaving until to-day three weeks.'
'Then let us start this afternoon,' Charlie exclaimed.
'I am quite willing,' Ping Wang said, 'if we can get you and Fred disguised in time.—As we are going to my native village, which is a very anti-foreign place,' he continued, addressing the manager, 'I think that it will be wise to have my friends disguised as Chinamen.'
'If they can act up to their disguise the suggestion is an excellent one,' the manager declared, 'for there are rumours that the Boxers or Big Sword Society are threatening to drive out all the foreigners in the land. If you wish to go on by this afternoon's boat there should be no difficulty about getting your friends disguised in time. I will send for my barber and tailor at once.'
The manager sent for the barber and tailor, and also dispatched a message to the skipper of the boat which was sailing that afternoon, theCanton. The Pages and Ping Wang had breakfast when these orders had been given, and long before they had finished their meal the barber arrived, the tailor following him very quickly. After breakfast the manager took his guests up to his bedroom, and called to the barber and the tailor to follow them. The latter had brought with him an excellent assortment of Chinese garments, and from them Ping Wang speedily selected suitable clothes for his English friends. He also chose, with the aid of the barber, a couple of splendid pigtails. Charlie having paid for the goods, the tailor departed, leaving the barber to begin shaving the Englishmen's heads and eyebrows.
Fred was the first to be operated on, and Charlie laughed heartily when he saw the alteration which the loss of eyebrows made in the appearance of his brother. The barber was a quick worker, and turning his attention to Fred's head, speedily removed with scissors and razor a large portion of his hair. He found, however, that although Fred's hair had been allowed to grow during the voyage, it was not sufficiently long for a pigtail to be tied securely to it. Therefore he sewed the pigtail to the inside of a skull-cap, and placed the cap on Fred's head.
'It is very well done,' Ping Wang admitted, when Fred was fully dressed in Chinese garments. 'If I had glanced at you casually out of doors, I should not have suspected that you were not a Chinaman.'
'But I don't like the idea of wearing this little cap,' Fred protested; 'I shall get sunstroke.'
'When you go into the sun you can wear a beehive,' Ping Wang replied, pointing to several big Chinese hats which the tailor had left for inspection.
Charlie's disguise was completed with even more speed than Fred's had been.
'It's splendid,' Charlie declared, as he surveyed himself in the glass; 'don't you think so, Fred?'
A few minutes later the barber was dismissed, and the four of them returned to the sitting-room, where the skipper of theCantonwas awaiting them. He shook hands with the manager and greeted the other three men in Chinese. Charlie was nearest to them, and feeling that politeness demanded that he should say something, blurted out, 'Je ne parle pas Chinese.'
The skipper looked puzzled, and the manager, who was already in a laughing humour, roared, but Ping Wang was very serious.
'I say, Charlie,' he exclaimed, 'do remember that you are not to answer any one who addresses you in Chinese, or we shall be discovered.'
The skipper looked at Charlie in surprise. It was the first time that he had heard a Chinaman called Charlie.
'Two of these gentlemen are Englishmen,' the manager explained. 'What do you think of their disguise?'
'It is excellent. If I had not heard you speak,' he added, addressing Ping Wang, 'I should never have believed that you were an Englishman.'
'I'm not one,' Ping Wang declared merrily; 'I'm a Chinaman.'
'Well, who am I to believe?' the skipper exclaimed in bewilderment.
'They are the Englishmen,' the manager answered, pointing to Fred and Charlie; 'the other gentleman is a Chinaman. But to come to the point, I want you to take my three friends to Tien-tsin. They wish to be undisturbed, and do not want it to be known that they are not Chinamen. Therefore let every one—even the mate—fancy that they are Celestials.'
'I understand. I will have the saloon berths got ready at once. What time will they come aboard? I shall sail about four.'
'Will half-past three be early enough?'
'Half-past three, sharp, will do.'
The skipper departed a few minutes later, leaving the three travellers alone with the manager.
'Let us sit in the verandah,' the manager suggested, and for fully two hours they sat in long chairs chatting together, and watching the busy scene in the street below.
'Would it not be a good idea if we went for a short stroll?' Fred asked, after a time. 'It would accustom us to appearing in public in our Chinese garb.'
'That is a good suggestion,' Charlie declared. 'Don't you think so, Ping Wang?'
'You would be safer here,' said Ping Wang, 'but if you wish to go out, I will come with pleasure.We must not go far. We needn't wear our beehives. We will keep in the shade.'
"Fred was the first to be operated on.""Fred was the first to be operated on."
'We mustn't walk three abreast, I suppose?' Fred remarked, as they quitted the premises.
'No,' Ping Wang answered. 'It will be better to walk single file. I'll walk in the rear, so that I can keep watch on you, and hurry forward if any of my countrymen speak to you. Don't walk fast.'
Charlie stepped into the street, Fred followed, and Ping Wang brought up the rear. At first Charlie and Fred felt decidedly uncomfortable, and fancied that every one who glanced at them had discovered that they were not Chinamen.
(Continued on page 300.)
The Giant's Hall, Luray.The Giant's Hall, Luray.
T
he United States of America, forming such a huge country, seem to have been provided by Nature with fittings on a similar scale. Niagara, the Rocky Mountains, the big trees of the Yosemite Valley, the wonders of Yellowstone Park and the Mammoth Cave are instances of this, and the caverns of Luray, some eighty miles from Washington, are both in size and beauty not unworthy of their mighty mother-land. They were only brought to light in 1878, although the existence of several small hollows in the neighbourhood had suggested that larger caverns might be found, and it was when actually looking for another entrance into one of the known grottoes that a Mr. Andrew Campbell accidentally came upon this wonder of the world. With an eye to business, the find was without delay turned to profit, and a Company formed which has lighted the caverns with electricity and put staircases and paths for the convenience of visitors, who flock there in great numbers. Some idea of the vast size of the caves may be gained from the fact that the electric wire is three and a half miles long, and that this only illuminates the chief halls and galleries. Each visitor carries a tin reflector to penetrate dark corners and smaller passages.
One curious cavern is called the Fish Market, from rows of fish-shaped stalactites hanging from the roof, looking exactly like bass or catfish hung on a string. Another is known as the Toyshop, from quantities of stalactites twisted into all possible shapes, many of which suggest some well-known plaything. In one place is a huge cascade of alabaster resembling a frozen waterfall, and frequently the walls appear to be hung with curtains and draperies of gleaming white, or tinted with all shades of beautiful colours. In one cavern six curious blade-shaped stalactites are called the Major Chimes. When struck by the hand they give out sweet musical tones, the vibrations of which last from a minute to a minute and a half, and resound to far-distant parts of the caverns. One enormous stalagmite bears the name of the Hollow Column, and measures one hundred feet round by forty feet high. This column shows plainly the overwhelming force of a current of water, as it is pierced from top to bottom, and visitors climb right up inside to explore the great galleries above the Giant's Hall. Learned people say that some time in the days of long ago, when the cave was filled with angry water trying to find a way of escape, the flood forced a passage right through the heart of this huge stalagmite, and on subsiding left a hollow column where it had found a solid one. The 'Tower of Babel' is another wonderful sight, with twenty-two rows of dwarf columns, and from it we pass into the Giant's Hall, where the colossal stalagmites look like monster chess kings and queens standing on pedestals. One of these is particularly beautiful, being white below and changing above to a delicate rose-pink, the colour of the inside of a shell.
One enormous stalactite was taken from the roof, and presented to the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. It weighed a thousand pounds, and was removed with great care. First it was wrapped all over in cotton cloth, every little point being separately packed. Then bits of wood were fitted exactly between the points, and, to prevent any jarring, a wooden case was built round it while it was still hanging from the roof of the cave. Then, resting on a scaffolding, it was sawn from the rock, cautiously lowered, and sent off to its new home.
From marks of claws on the stalagmites, as well as of teeth, it is clear that some of the caverns have been used by huge animals in former times, and many impressions of smaller animals are also found, such as wolves, panthers, rats, and rabbits. These marks are perfectly clear, and they must be of great age, as the stalagmites on which they are found have grown into huge pillars carrying the records of their visitors up with them far out of reach.
In one cavern, known as the Round Room, arrow and spear heads have been found, proving that human beings formerly made use of the caves.
One peculiar feature of these caves are what appear to be limpid pools, though really they are quite dry now. An unfortunate traveller slipped into one of these many years ago, when the pool was not fully hardened, and the impression of his form is still quite clearly seen, whilst the pool, in honour of him, is known as Chapman's Lake.
Dust! dust! dust! dust!Carpet, curtain, window, floor;Right, left, thrust, thrust—Clouds are rising more and more!Sweep, sweep, sweep, sweep—Kitchen, parlour, passage, stair;Sweep, sweep, sweep, sweep—That's whatI'mobliged to bear!Dust, dust, dust, dust,In the lofty attic found;Dust, dust, dust, dust,In the cellar underground.Cobwebs, spiders, beetles, flies,Nooks and corners dark and drear,That is where my pathway lies,Month by month and year by year;Buckets, boxes, brushes, boots,Near to me for ever dwell;No one lets me share the fruitsOf the work I do so well;Boys and girls will often playIn some clean and pleasant room,Making litter all the day,For the poor unhappy broom.No one shows me gratitude;No one cares a jot for me,For when work is done I'm stoodIn some gloomy scullery.But no matter! time will come—When my hair is worn away,I shall rest, while some new broomDoes what I must do to-day.
Dust! dust! dust! dust!Carpet, curtain, window, floor;Right, left, thrust, thrust—Clouds are rising more and more!Sweep, sweep, sweep, sweep—Kitchen, parlour, passage, stair;Sweep, sweep, sweep, sweep—That's whatI'mobliged to bear!Dust, dust, dust, dust,In the lofty attic found;Dust, dust, dust, dust,In the cellar underground.
Cobwebs, spiders, beetles, flies,Nooks and corners dark and drear,That is where my pathway lies,Month by month and year by year;Buckets, boxes, brushes, boots,Near to me for ever dwell;No one lets me share the fruitsOf the work I do so well;Boys and girls will often playIn some clean and pleasant room,Making litter all the day,For the poor unhappy broom.
No one shows me gratitude;No one cares a jot for me,For when work is done I'm stoodIn some gloomy scullery.But no matter! time will come—When my hair is worn away,I shall rest, while some new broomDoes what I must do to-day.
'I want you to look after the new boy, Angus,' said Mrs. Macdonald, the wife of the head master, to her son.
'Oh, Mother, I know that means he is either a molly-coddle or a black sheep. I remember the time I had when you set me on to look after young Smith.'
'My boy, I want your help. I am sure you will not refuse it.'
'Well, fire away, Mother. Let me know the worst,' and Angus put on a resigned look.
'It is Andrews, the boy who has been sent home from India,' Mrs. Macdonald explained. 'He has been brought up so badly. His mother died when he was a baby, and he has been quite neglected, and left to native servants. His father writes that he hopes English school-life will break him of the bad habits he has formed, but I am afraid it will be no easy matter. Of course, I am telling you this in confidence, Angus, but I cannot help thinking of the fight the poor boy has before him, and I want you to understand it and to befriend him.'
'Well, this is a nice treat for me,' Angus said. 'But you know, Mother, you always get your own way, and so I suppose I must do the best I can for him.'
'Thank you, my boy; I knew I could count on you. I want Andrews to have a real chance.'
'How aboutme, though?' asked Angus, with a smile. 'Perhaps I shall learn his bad habits, instead of breaking him of them!'
'I am not afraid,' said his mother, proudly, as she left him.
A month later Angus Macdonald told himself he had not done much towards fulfilling his promise, although he had faithfully tried.
Andrews was a most difficult boy to deal with. He was untruthful, and seemed to have no idea of honour, and he had a hot, passionate temper. On the other hand, he could evidently be led by his affections to some extent. He liked Macdonald, who had taken his part once or twice when the other boys were bullying him, and he would have done anything to show his gratitude.
'But I cannot stick up for you if you are not straight, Andrews,' Macdonald had told him plainly. 'And you will never get on here unless you act on the square and tell the truth always.'
'Indeed, I will try,' Andrews would say, and within an hour or so he would very likely be detected in some mean, deceitful act, which would make Macdonald inclined to throw up his charge and let him go his own way. Then he would remember he was the boy's only friend, and would make up his mind to give him another chance.
Howard, one of the bigger boys, lost no opportunity of bullying Andrews. He was no friend of Macdonald's, and so he took a delight in making the younger boy show off his worst points.
'Hullo, nigger, keep your hair on!' he said tauntingly one day when Andrews was beginning to get angry about some trick that had been played on him. The words made Andrews furious.
'I am as English as you are; how dare you call me that name?' he cried, and flew at his tormentor, who of course made short work of him. In a moment Andrews was lying on the floor, with Howard ready to upset him if he got up again. But after a time Howard let him go, and he walked away, vowing vengeance in his heart.
The same evening he was in the play-room alone, and he remembered that Howard had received a hamper the day before, the contents of which were packed away in his cupboard.
The temptation was too great. First, there was his love of sweet things; then his long-accustomed habit of never denying himself anything he wanted, if he could get it by fair means or foul. And his lessons in honour had been learnt such a little time that the disgrace and wrong of stealing scarcely troubled him. Finally, he would be doing his enemy an injury, and the thought of revenge was sweet to him.
He had cut some rich plum-cake, and was eagerly devouring it, when Howard came suddenly into the room and caught him in the act.
'You young rascal!' he cried, catching hold of the younger boy and tweaking his ear so unmercifully that he cried out with pain. 'I shall just make you pay for this.'
At the same moment Macdonald appeared in the doorway.
'What's the row?' he asked.
'Why, your precious friend is the row,' Howard said. 'I hope you are proud of him—the little thief! I will leave you to enjoy one another's company,' and he turned away, not sorry to have such a story to tell the other boys.
'Now you see what you have done!' Macdonald said to the culprit, who was hanging his head, remorse having overtaken him. 'How can you hope to keep your friends if you bring disgrace on them?'
'I didn't think,' murmured the unhappy boy. 'Oh, yes, I see now! Of course, you can never speak again to a boy who is a thief. It doesn't matter. I don't care what becomes of me now,' and he turned miserably away.
There was such a forlorn look about him that Macdonald was touched in spite of his anger. There flashed into his mind his mother's words, and also those others from an even Higher Authority—'until seventy times seven.'
'Hold hard, Andrews,' he said. 'I will give you one more chance.'
Then the boy broke down and promised he would never forget his friend's kindness, but would fight hard to win the victory over his faults.
And although he did not succeed without some more falls, he did, to the best of his ability, keep his word, and in the end took an honourable place in the school.