CHAPTER XVIII.

Enoch might have gone further and said that the Tories not only refused to believe the evidence of their ears, but that they went to a greater distance and declined to believe the evidence of their eyes when they stood on the wharf and saw the dead and wounded taken off the two vessels and laid carefully away, the former with sheets spread over them. These were promptly taken care of by their friends, and in a short time there was no one around the wharf except the provincials and a few Tories who wanted to hear more about the fight.

"They did not pull down their flag, did they?" said one who made this inquiry of Zeke.

"No, sir. We pulled it down for them. The only man who had the power to strike it has just been carried away in that wagon," said Zeke. "There is the man who pulled it down," he added, pointing to Wheaton. "We are going to get a flag of our own to take its place when we haul the Cross of England down."

"Some of you will go up by the neck before that happens," said the man, turning away and whispering the words to a Tory who stood at his side. "And I will wager that Zeke will go up for one."

"I just wish I knew something about history," continued Zeke, who, of course, did not hear this whispered conversation on the part of the Tories. "They say that that flag has never been hauled down by any nation; but a 'flock of Yankees' was too much for them. Now, captain, what are we going to do with these vessels? We don't want to leave them alongside the wharf all night."

Captain O'Brien had been thinking about this, and had already made up his mind what to do. Of course the "rebels" had captured three boats—the schooner and the two sloops that were engaged in taking lumber on board for the New York market. He did not want to leave them alongside the wharf for the simple reason that, if the Tories got up courage enough, it would be easy work for them to come down there with a party of men after it became dark, and recapture them. It would not be so easy a matter if they were moored a little way from shore. Of course Enoch and Caleb were there waiting to see what further work there was to be done, and this time Caleb had his flint-lock on his shoulder. They had remained at home until they had eaten a late dinner, and had then come down to their prize to do whatever else there was to be done. Enoch had kept a good lookout for James, but when he saw him coming he went into the house. He did not want to hear another story of that victory.

"Enoch," said the captain, after thinking a moment, "have you had anything to eat?"

"Yes, sir, and Caleb and I are out here for all night, if our services are needed that long," replied Enoch.

"All right. I will detail you two as guard to that schooner. You have your flint-locks with you, and, Enoch, I know that you can shoot tolerably straight," said the captain, patting the boy on the shoulder. "Don't you let anybody, even if they are 'rebels,' come aboard that boat. After the rest of us have had supper, I will appoint a commander for her, and then you can take some of these small boats and tow her out to her anchorage."

The boys waited for Captain O'Brien to go on and tell them what else he had to say, but he had evidently gotten through and turned on his heel; whereupon the newly-appointed guards went on board the schooner and took their place by the side of the gangplank which led up to it. They leaned their guns against the rail, rested their elbows on the bulkhead before them and proceeded to watch what was going on on the wharf as well as to wait until some Tory took it into his head that he would like to come aboard the boat. But no one came near them, and Caleb finally fell to examining the bullet holes made by the rifles during the fight. While he was walking about the vessel he happened to cast his eyes toward the shore and saw two persons whom he had wished to see for a long time. Enoch discovered them at the same moment, and when Caleb, after pushing back his sleeves and settling his hat firmly on his head, was about to step upon the gangplank, he found Enoch in his way.

"What's to do here?" demanded Enoch.

"Don't you see James Howard over there?" asked Caleb, in reply. "I have a fine chance to punish him now. I will give him two black eyes, but they will not make him suffer as I did while being shut up in that brig waiting to be carried to New York. Stand out of the way here."

"You have not been relieved yet," said Enoch. "You must get somebody to take your place before you go ashore."

"Well, I can easily do that. Oh, Captain!" he shouted to O'Brien, who was but a little distance off. "I want to go ashore for just about two minutes."

"Go on," said the captain. "I don't know as I am hindering you."

"Captain," said Enoch, pointing up the wharf toward the two persons who were coming along, entirely ignorant of what was transpiring on board the schooner. "He has not been relieved yet. I do not want to stay here alone."

The captain looked, and when he saw James coming toward the schooner he knew why Enoch was standing in the way of Caleb. He knew that those two boys must be kept apart or else there would be a fight; so he added hastily:

"That's so. You have not been relieved yet. You stay there until I can send some one to take your place."

"Yes; and that will never be," said Enoch, to himself.

"Enoch, I didn't think this of you," said Caleb, leaving the gangplank and settling back against the rail. "You are a friend of James Howard."

"No, I am not, and nobody knows it better than you," said Enoch. "Why do you not let him go until a proper time comes?"

"A proper time!" repeated Caleb. "The proper time is whenever I can catch him."

"I don't believe you could catch him any way," said Enoch, pointing to James and Emerson, who had stopped suddenly on discovering the boys, and did not seem inclined to come any closer. "They are going back again."

Once more Caleb rested his arms upon the rail and watched the two Tories, who had stopped and were regarding them with eyes of apprehension. They waited there for some minutes and not seeing any move on Caleb's part they mustered up courage enough to come a little closer, until they were talking with some of the provincials who were in the fight.

"Enoch, will you let me go ashore?" said Caleb. "I will never have a chance like this to get even with him."

"The captain has not sent anybody to relieve you yet," said Enoch.

"Don't I know that? He isn't looking for anybody. There they come," he added, when the two resumed their walk and came up to the shore end of the gangplank. "Well, what do you think of it? We sent the bullets around her pretty lively, did we not?"

The two boys did not say anything. They had probably come down there to use their eyes and not their tongues, and in that way escaped getting into argument with Enoch and Caleb which they were sure would end in something else. They looked all around the schooner and up at her sails, and finally having seen enough turned to go away; but Caleb who was watching them told them to wait a minute.

"James, I want you to remember that you put me in trouble through that tongue of yours, and that I shall bear it in mind," said he. "The only thing that saves you now is my being on guard on board this vessel."

James waited until he thought Caleb was through, and then hurried away without making any reply, and they blessed their lucky stars that they had got off so easily; but there was a threat contained under Caleb's last words which rankled uneasily in James's mind.

"I guess my father's way is the best," said the latter. "Will you come, too?"

"I hope so," replied Emerson. "It is a beautiful thing to give up to the rebels, that place of ours, but it won't be forever. They will soon be whipped and then we can come back."

The boys waited a long time for the rest of their friends to get through with their supper and come back to the wharf, and then they saw that Captain O'Brien had something on his mind, for he was going first to one man and then to another and having a talk with each. They were all in favor of it, too, for each one shook the captain's hand and patted him on the back as if they wanted to go at it right away. Zeke appeared at last, and he was wild over what the captain said to him. He pulled off his hat—he had been home and got another one by this time—and swung it around his head, but he did not hurrah until he was red in the face as he usually did. He seemed to take his enthusiasm out in the violence of his motions. Then he put his hat on his head and walked briskly toward the schooner.

"Now, boys," said he as he came up the gangplank.

"Say, Zeke, what was it that the captain had to say to you?" asked Caleb. "It must have been something patriotic, for you swung your hat and never hurrahed at all."

"Enoch, you jump down there and cast off the bow and stern lines," said Zeke, looking all around as if to see what else ought to be done. "Caleb, you go round on the wharf and find a small boat that you think will do to pull the boat out to her moorings. I will go to the wheel, and when all that is done I will tell you what the captain said to me."

Zeke never said a thing like this without meaning to be obeyed, and the boys knew that it was useless to argue the point with him. The sooner the work he had set for them to do was done, the sooner would they find out the captain's secret; so without hesitation they placed their guns where they would not be in anybody's way and went about their duties in earnest. Enoch speedily cast off the lines, Zeke staying on board to haul them in, Caleb made his appearance sculling a boat that was to pull the little vessel out to her anchorage, and a line was passed down to him.

"Now, Enoch, tumble in there and pull for all you are worth," said Zeke. "You see the schooner's buoy over there? Well, when you come up with it make this line fast to it and come aboard."

Of course these orders were quickly delivered, but it took longer to carry them out. The schooner moved but slowly in the water. The boys had to turn her around and pull her against the tide, which was coming in at about five miles an hour; but after a long siege they got the line fast and pulled back to the schooner pretty nearly exhausted.

"That's all right," said Zeke. "The next time the captain wants such work done he will have to send more men to do it."

"Go on now, and tell us what the captain had to say," said Caleb, backing up against the rail and using his hat as a fan. "It did not amount to much, any way."

"Didn't, hey? Then I guess you don't want to ship aboard this vessel."

"What is she going to do?" asked Enoch.

"We lucky fellows will be coming ashore every month or so, and when you see us spending more money than you ever heard of——"

"Where are you going to get it?" interrupted Caleb.

"Prizes, my boy; prizes," replied Zeke, poking Caleb in the ribs with his long finger. "We are not going to let the Cross of St. George float out there alone, are we?"

"No; but when we take the prizes what will we do with them?"

"Sell them to the highest bidder. You see the captain was thinking about this thing while he was eating his supper, and he came to the conclusion that since we have a fine vessel with guns and small arms for a crew of thirty men, we ought to use them. There are plenty of ships going by that are loaded up with stores for the King, and what is there to hinder our going out and capturing some of them?"

"Whoop!" yelled Enoch.

"That is what I thought, although I did not say it out quite so loud," said Zeke, laughing all over. "We want to keep it as still as we can, for there are a good many Tories around, and we want to keep them in ignorance of it. Now you boys stay here and talk it over and I will go ashore and bring off the rest of our guard."

"Do you think your mother will let you go on this vessel?" said Caleb, as he and Enoch leaned upon the rail and watched Zeke as he sculled the boat ashore.

"Let me go to fight against tyranny? Of course she will."

"You will be a pirate if you do."

"No more than I am now."

"And if they catch you——"

Here Caleb drew his head on one side and straightened his left arm above his head as if he were pulling on a rope.

"It is a good plan to catch your rabbit before you cook him," said Enoch.

Captain O'Brien and the rest of the leaders who took part in that fight with the schooner, had plenty to do that night. Among other things they were selecting the crew for their privateer, and they wanted to be sure that they got none but the best men. Zeke was ashore for an hour or two before he sent the cutter back, and then he did not come with it but sent Zeb Short to scull the boat. There were nine men in the party, and each one brought with him a large bundle which contained some changes of linen and his bedclothes.

"Where is the mate?" asked Enoch, as the men threw their bundles aboard and then proceeded to climb aboard themselves.

"The mate!" exclaimed Zeb Short, as if he did not catch the boy's meaning.

"Yes; Zeke told us to stay here until he came back."

"Oh. Well, Zeke is ashore helping the captain; and he told me to inform you boys that if you want to ship on board this vessel you had better go home and get some duds, for we are going to sail with the turn of the tide which takes place about four o'clock. Of course you boys are going?"

"You wager we are," said Caleb.

"Take your guns with you," continued Zeb. "We shall not want them any more. When we board the next Britisher you will have a cutlass or pike in your hands."

The boys clambered down into the boat with Zeb Short and were slowly sculled toward the shore. It looked to them as if they were in for fighting and nothing else. They did not stop to speak to the captain or any of the other men standing around but went straight for home as fast as they could go. There was one place where they were tempted to stop and exchange a few words with the inmates, and that was at James Howard's house. The boys were sitting on the porch and were talking about what they had seen at the wharf.

"There go a couple of those rebels now," said James, as Enoch and Caleb hurried by. "I hope I will be here to see them hung up."

"Enoch, I have the best notion to go back and whip him in his own dooryard," said Caleb, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. "If you will keep the other off me, I can punish James in two whacks."

"Come on, now, and don't mind them," said Enoch, taking Caleb by the arm. "You may have some other fellows to fight some day, some that have weapons in their hands, and you can take revenge upon James in that way. Come along."

Caleb reluctantly allowed himself to be led away, and presently he was dropped at his own gate. Enoch broke into a run and entered the kitchen where his mother was busy with her usual vocations. He seized a chair, moved it up under the hooks on which his flint-lock belonged, placed it there with his bullet-pouch and powder-horn, and Mrs. Crosby looked at him with surprise.

"What's to do, Enoch?" she said at length.

"Mother, I want my bedclothes and a change of underwear to go out to sea," said Enoch. "You see——"

Here the boy began and told his story in as few words as possible, and to his joy his mother did not say one word to oppose him.

"There is one thing that does not look exactly right," he continued, "and that is I don't know what I am going to get for my trouble. I do not know that I am going to get a cent."

"That is all in the future," said his mother. "Do your duty faithfully and I will take care of myself."

Enoch said no more, but somehow he could not help wishing that he had some of his mother's pluck. When the things had been bundled up he kissed his mother good-by and went out of the house, wondering if he was ever going inside of it again. He found Caleb at his gate with his bundle on his shoulder, and in half an hour from that time they were safe on board the schooner.

"If no one has spoken for this bunk I guess I will put my things in here," said Enoch, looking around upon the men who were busy at work making up their own beds.

"There is a bunk for every man in the crew," said one. "Put your things in there and say nothing to nobody."

"All below, there!" shouted Zeke. "Come on deck, everybody."

"We are going to choose our officers the first thing we do," said Zeb Short, who proved that he was a good sailor by leaving his bunk half made up and hurrying to obey the order. "My captain is O'Brien, every time."

The men hastened aft, and there stood O'Brien with his hat off. The crew removed theirs out of respect, and the captain began a little speech to them. He repeated at greater length what he had told them ashore—that they now took their lives in their own hands and were about to go out to sea to do battle with the flag they had that day hauled down, and that if captured they could not expect but one thing, death at the yard-arm. If any of the men had time to think the matter over and wanted to back out—

"We don't," shouted Zeke, in a voice that must have been heard on shore. "There is no one in this crew that thinks of backing out."

"Zeke speaks for all of us," said Zeb Short.

"Then we will proceed to elect officers," said Captain O'Brien. "You are, most of you, sailors, and I need not tell you that it is necessary that you select good men and those whose orders you are willing to obey."

It did not take over ten minutes for the crew to select the men who were to command them. They had evidently made up their minds just whom they wanted, and each one proposed was accepted by acclamation. O'Brien was chosen captain; no one could do better than he did in the fight with the schooner, and the men were sure that he could do equally well in a contest with another vessel. Zeke was chosen first mate, Zeb Short second, and Wheaton, who did not know the first thing about a ship, was appointed captain's steward.

"What will I have to do?" asked Wheaton; whereupon all the crew broke out into a hearty laugh.

"You will have to see that I get enough to eat," said the captain. "I will wager that I do not go hungry while you are in office."

"Well, if it is all the same to you, Captain, I won't take it," said Wheaton. "Let me be a foremast hand. I shipped to fight——"

"You will have all the fighting you want to do as steward," said Captain O'Brien. "Everybody will be on deck then."

After a little more argument Wheaton was induced to take the position, and the election of officers went on. The last one that was chosen was the man who had fed Enoch while he was a prisoner in the brig; Ezra Norton was his name, and he was told to look out for the ammunition. He had served on board the schooner and knew pretty nearly where to go to find the charges for the guns. After that the crew were divided into watches, and in obedience to Zeke's order: "All you starbo'lins below!" went down to their bunks to sleep until twelve o'clock.

Just at daylight the next morning—it was Enoch's watch on deck now—there was great commotion on the schooner, for the lookout who was sitting on the cross-trees shouted down two words that sent a thrill to every heart. It did not create a hubbub or take the form of words, but it set them to scanning the horizon and exchanging whisperings with one another—

"Sail ho!"

"Where away?" shouted Zeke, who happened to be the only officer on deck.

"Straight ahead," was the answer.

"Can you make her out?"

"I can see nothing but her top-hamper, but I think she is a schooner bound for New York."

Presently the hail came down again—another ship four points off the lee bow, and headed the same way that the other one was. The captain, on being summoned, came on deck and mounted to the cross-trees with a glass in his hand. He stayed there an hour, and when he came down again the vessels were in sight.

"I will wager my hat against yours that those are two of the boats that we want," said he to Zeke. "We will soon make them show their colors whatever they are."

"Wheaton, have you your flag here?" asked Zeb Short, turning to the steward who at that moment came on deck.

"No, no; don't try that," said the captain, hastily. "We will approach her without any flag. We will not attempt to make her think we are friendly when we are not."

The two vessels continued to approach each other, and finally the stranger, thinking that the schooner had some business with her, ran up the very flag they wanted to see—the flag of England. In answer to the question, "What schooner is that?" she replied that she was the Spitfire, bound from Halifax for New York with a cargo of supplies for the British government.

"Now, Zeke, it all depends upon you," said the captain, jumping down from the rail on which he had stood while making his hail. "Crowd all the men you can into a boat and go off and take possession of that schooner. Send the officers to me and put the rest down below. Fill away in my wake when I start for Watertown. But first I must capture that other schooner."

"I will send a boat aboard of you," said the captain, seeing that the Spitfire was not decreasing her pace.

To man the boat did not take very long on the part of the schooner's crew, for every one knew just what he had to do. To seize cutlasses and pistols from the rack, buckle them on and tumble over the side was but the work of a minute, and in hardly more time than we have taken to describe it, they had boarded the Spitfire and a man was sent to her wheel. Zeke pulled down the flag and waved it over his head.

Of course her officers were full of questions when they were brought aboard the schooner, and could not understand the matter at all; but the captain did not stop to enlighten them until the other vessel was captured. He ordered them down into his cabin, and there they remained while the schooner speeded on to make a prize of the other vessel which was found to be the Storm King, bound to the same port and loaded with supplies. When the officers were all on board his vessel and prisoners in his cabin, the captain went down and explained matters to them. They did not know anything of the battle at Lexington, and when they heard it their surprise knew no bounds. They plainly saw that their cruise had ended, and with that they were obliged to be satisfied until they were turned over to the authorities at Watertown.

Captain O'Brien's bravery did not pass unrewarded. His appearance in Watertown with his prizes created a great commotion there, and he was appointed captain in the marine of the colony and sent to sea to capture some more vessels. His work in the Revolutionary War was just begun, and those who went with him from Machias stayed by him to the end. Zeke Lewis and Zeb Short were promoted to gunners, because it was necessary that they should have better educated men for first and second officers; at any rate they received thirteen dollars in their new position whereas in their old, they received only eight.

Enoch and Caleb were not forgotten. By strict attention to their duties they received promotion one after the other, one to assistant sailmaker at twelve dollars a month and the other to yeoman at nine dollars. They were on every voyage with their beloved captain. When he received command of a privateer and had the whole ocean in which to search for his prizes, the boys went with him and did their best to establish his name.

James and Emerson did not long remain in Machias. Things became too unpleasant for them, and one morning their houses were not open as usual. Of course their neighbors wanted to see what was the matter, and an investigation proved that the families had gone in the night-time to seek another haven of refuge. They brought up in New York and stayed there until the place was evacuated by the British. Then they went to England, and it is to be hoped that they could talk their sentiments there without being threatened with a beating by a Yankee.

During the course of the long and bloody struggle that followed there was much depression in the provincial ranks. Even the great heart of Washington was bowed down by sorrow, and when "famine was stalking through the camp" and his enemies were hard at work to have a "new and a better man" appointed in his place, the leader never lost sight of the "justice of her cause or the sincerity of his country." Read the following incident related by a man who was there and saw it all. It proves that General Washington, in the troubles with which he was surrounded, found that there was a stronger arm than man's to lean upon.[7]

Isaac Potts, at whose house Washington was quartered, relates that one day while the Americans were encamped at Valley Forge, he strolled up a creek that was not far from his house and heard a solemn voice. He walked quietly in the direction of it and saw Washington's horse tied to a sapling. In a thicket near by he saw his beloved chief in prayer, and his cheeks suffused with tears. Like Moses at the Bush, Isaac Potts felt that he was treading upon holy ground and withdrew unobserved. He was much agitated upon entering the room where his wife was, and he burst into tears. On inquiring the cause he informed his wife of what he had seen, and added:

"If there is any one on this earth whom the Lord will listen to, it is George Washington; and I feel a presentment that under such a commander there can be no doubt of our eventually establishing our independence, and that God in His providence has willed it so."

"Oh, who shall know the mightOf the words he uttered there?The fate of nations that was turn'dBy the fervor of his prayer?"But would'st thou know his nameWho wandered there alone?Go, read in Heaven's archivesThe prayer of Washington."

"Oh, who shall know the mightOf the words he uttered there?The fate of nations that was turn'dBy the fervor of his prayer?

"But would'st thou know his nameWho wandered there alone?Go, read in Heaven's archivesThe prayer of Washington."

[1]"He said to a friend, 'If the British marchBy land or sea from the town to-night,Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry archOf the Old North Tower as a signal light—One if by land, two if by sea,And I on the opposite shore will beReady to ride and spread the alarmThrough every Middlesex village and farmFor the country folk to be up and to arm.'"

[1]

"He said to a friend, 'If the British marchBy land or sea from the town to-night,Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry archOf the Old North Tower as a signal light—One if by land, two if by sea,And I on the opposite shore will beReady to ride and spread the alarmThrough every Middlesex village and farmFor the country folk to be up and to arm.'"

[2]Lossing says: "The British lost 65 killed, 18 wounded, and 28 made prisoners; in all 273. The Americans lost 59 killed, 39 wounded, and 5 missing; in all 103.

[3]Bannocks are something like the present "hoecakes" of the South—merely flat cakes of Indian meal or rye, wet with water and baked over the hot coals on the hearth.

[4]Marbles.

[5]The constables were not in the habit of knocking at a private house. They heralded their approach by the command: "Open in the name of the King!" and then went in and did their business.

[6]The brig is a small, dark apartment on board a vessel in which culprits are confined.

[7]Condensed from Lossing's Field Book.

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"It is full of stirring incidents."—San Francisco Chronicle.

CAPTAIN JOHN CRANE

The hero of this book tells his adventures on the sea from 1800 to 1815; his experiences with the pirates; the dangers of our ships during the trouble with France and Tripoli; how British war ships overhauled our merchantmen; their manner of searching for deserters, etc., etc. Sailors' superstitions are woven into the narrative in the most admirable manner. The story is historically correct and entertainingly related.

A CLOSE SHAVE

Or how Major Flagg won his bet, and journeyed around the world in seventy days. Modern aids to travel and communication; valuable scientific discoveries and inventions brought to the reader's attention in an attractive form. The routes, time-tables, monsoons, etc., described in "A Close Shave" may be relied upon as being absolutely correct. An excellent description of the country between New York and San Francisco; a train robbery with one of the notorious Jesse James gang as a leader; an exciting experience with a school of whales; a typhoon and the wreck; the story about monsoons; Chinese and Malay pirates; a train accident in Egypt, etc., etc. Will prove exceedingly interesting to all boy readers.

THE TALKING HANDKERCHIEF

Under this title, Colonel Knox, that inveterate globe-trotter and writer of stories for boys, has gathered a collection of absorbing tales of adventure in Russia, China, India, and elsewhere, which will prove of deep interest to both young and old.

A series of sixteen volumes, by the world's foremost juvenile writers.

Titles:

Joe, the Chimpanzee.An account of a lady's visit to the cage of the famous Chimpanzee of London. Also stories of foreign countries.

David Bushnell and His American Turtle.The first submarine boat used during the Revolutionary War. Dr. Franklin is one of the characters in this interesting book.

A Child in Florence.Glowing descriptions of the beautiful paintings and sculpture in this City of Art.

'Mandy's Quilting Party.How a little Vermont girl invited her friends to a quilting party without the consent of her mother.

The Wonderful Cookie.A true story of a German King, and the Cookie which was baked especially for him.

Aunt Polly Shedd's Brigade.A story of Colonial times.

Shetland Ponies, with a description of the Shetland Isle, the home of the famous pets.

Choosing Abe Lincoln Captain.An interesting account of how Abe's friends elected him Captain during the Black Hawk War. Also "Sally's Seven League Shoes."

Indian Children and Their Pets.

Children of the Koppenberg.A new version of the famous old legend of the "Pied Piper of Hamelin."

Babouscka.A Russian Christmas Story.

The Jewelled Tomb.The grandest sepulchre in the world, built by a King of India.

A Hero.A tale of Revolutionary times.

Secrets of Success—ByRev. Francis E. Clark, "Father of the Christian Endeavor."

St. Botolph's Town.Many interesting facts of the ancient city, which was our Boston of to-day.

A Hero in Peace and War.A character sketch of Israel Putnam and his bravery at Bunker Hill. Also "The Only Woman in the Town," a sweet old lady of Boston, magnanimous enough to entertain her enemies during a siege in Colonial times.

NAPOLEON, LOVER AND HUSBAND

ByFrederic Masson, translated by J. M. Howell. If there is any figure in the world's history that the present age might suppose that it knew, Napoleon Bonaparte would be taken as preeminently the best known; and yet, the real Napoleon, the Lover and Husband, has been fairly left untouched until to-day. Frederic Masson reveals the lover side of Napoleon in the most fascinating manner, and shows that his greatest enterprises have been to a grave extent influenced or modified by feminine associations.

NAPOLEON'S MILITARY CAREER

ByMontgomery B. Gibbs. A gossipy, anecdotal account of Napoleon as his marshals and generals knew him on the battlefield and around the camp-fire. Reveals something new on every page concerning this son of a poor Corsican gentleman who "played in the world the parts of Alexander, Hannibal, Cæsar, and Charlemagne."

"The illustrations beginning with the famous 'snuff-box' portrait are capital, and the book is a dignified adjunct to modern study of a redoubtable giant."—Chicago Herald.

NAPOLEON FROM CORSICA TO ST. HELENA

ByJohn L. Stoddard. A pictorial work illustrating the remarkable career of the most famous military genius the world has ever known. It contains pictures of all of Napoleon's marshals and generals, his relatives, the famous places where Napoleon lived as Emperor, and the monuments erected to perpetuate his brilliant achievements on the battlefields of Europe. The pictures in themselves constitute a priceless collection, and the descriptions by John L. Stoddard a truthful history of the great hero.

RECOLLECTIONS OF THE PRIVATE LIFE OF NAPOLEON

ByConstant, Premier Valet de Chambre; translated by Walter Clark. Three superb volumes, cloth, handsomely stamped in gold. Although first published in 1830, it has just recently been translated into English. Notes have been added by the translator, greatly enhancing the interest of the original work of Constant.

This man has been studied as a soldier, a statesman, an organizer, and a politician, but, although he was undeniably great in all, men will always seek to know something about Napoleon as a man. These volumes will supply the desired information, for they are written by one who joined him in 1800, and was with him constantly until he laid down the sceptre fourteen years later.

Napoleon's Foibles, Peculiarities, Vices, Kindness of Heart, Vast Intellect, Knowledge of Men, Extraordinary Energy, and Public Spirit are depicted without reserve.

James Otis, the Popular Juvenile Writer, needs no introduction to the boys of to-day.

TELEGRAPH TOM'S VENTURE

A highly entertaining story of a boy who assisted a United States officer of the law in working up a famous case. The narrative is both interesting and instructive in that it shows what a bright boy can accomplish when thrown upon his own resources. Throughout an intensely interesting and exciting story.

MESSENGER NO. 48

Relates the experiences of a faithful messenger boy in a large city, who, in answering a call was the means of ferreting out a band of criminals who for years had baffled the police and detectives. The story tells of the many dangers and hardships these boys have to undergo; the important services they often render by their clever movements; and how by his fidelity to duty, Messenger Boy No. 48 rose to a most important position of trust and honor. It teaches boys that self-reliance, pluck, and the faithful performance of duties are the real secret of success.

DOWN THE SLOPE

The hero of this story is a boy, who, in order to assist his mother, works as "breaker" in a coal mine. The book tells how coal miners work; their social condition; their hardships and privations; and the older reader will get an excellent idea of the causes of labor troubles in this industry, and will become more sympathetic toward this class of people. The young readers will find in this book a high ideal of a boy's devotion to his mother, and will learn how manly courage and a brave heart will overcome great difficulties, and lead to success and honor.

TEDDY

A captivating story of how Teddy, a village boy, helped to raise the mortgage on his mother's home, and the means he took for doing so. The obstacles his crabbed uncle placed in his way; his connection with the fakirs at the county fair; his successful cane and knife board; his queer lot of friends and how they aided him; and how he finally outwitted his enemies, are all set forth so clearly and attractively in this volume that we forget that the hero is not a real boy, and his trials and successes real occurrences. The characters are taken from life, Mr. Otis himself acting as "fakir" in order to become thoroughly acquainted with the surroundings. "Teddy" is sure to win a warm place in the hearts of all boy readers.

ByAdah L. Sutton. Illustrated by W. H. Fry. The finest juvenile on the market. Just published. Far superior to anything of the kind ever before presented to the little ones. Sure to attract and delight the children.

The Quaint Characters, Comical Situations, Laughable Incidents, Queer Episodes, Ridiculous Personages, Catchy Rhymes, Bright Sayings and Brilliant Colors to be found in "Mr. Bunny, His Book," will bring forth hearty laughter and attract and interest the little ones, proving an unfailing source of enjoyment to them.

ByDr. L. Heck. A superb pictorial, showing reproductions of photographs of the rarest and finest specimens of the animal kingdom,taken from life. Heretofore those interested in the study of animal life were confined to dull descriptions with no object lessons whatsoever; therefore this book, "Living Pictures from the Animal Kingdom," will undoubtedly greatly enhance interest in this branch of science, proving of inestimable value to the professor and student of zoölogy.

Every member of the household will welcome this beautiful book, for animal pictures of the size shown therein are a novelty. The foot-notes describing the habits, etc., of the originals of the lifelike illustrations will be found exceedingly interesting.

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