war went on the robbers grew very bold because they knew they were secure from punishment in the unsettled condition of the time. To make matters worse Mr. Lynch learned that a conspiracy against the Continental government was hatching in his own community. This was too much for the sturdy old patriot. The trial court sat about two hundred miles from Campbell county, and as the war made it impossible to send prisoners so far, Mr. Lynch decided to take matters in his own hands. He, with three neighbors, Captain William Preston, Captain Robert Adams, Jr., and Colonel James Calloway, determined to punish all lawlessness themselves. Under

Mr. Lynch's direction, suspected persons were arrested and brought to his house. Here they were tried by Mr. Lynch and the other three gentlemen, the latter sitting as associate justices. The accused and his accusers were brought face to face and when the offender heard the testimony against him he was allowed to call witnesses in his behalf and to plead his case. If acquitted he was allowed to depart, if convicted he was sentenced to receive thirty-nine lashes on his bare back. Then if he did not cry "Liberty forever," he was hanged up by the thumbs until he did say it. The whipping post was a large walnut tree which is still standing on the lawn of the Lynch house.

"STUDY OF A CHILD." AGED 15.

THE STORY OF A WORD.

BY LUCILE DELIGHT WOODLING (AGE 13). (Honor Member.)

IT is a word that all of us know, and one that will never leave the language of any nation. Mother says

it is the dearest little word in all the world to her. There has never been a warrior or statesman who has not said it, or a scholar or prince whose lips have failed to form it.

It is "agoo." There is no great mystery or meaning back of it, save the beautiful mystery of babyhood, and the meaning of innocent joy.

Sacred in the record of every mother's heart, and therefore, in the history of the world, is this tiny word. No dictionary explains it, for it can be interpreted only by loving hearts. Every language has agoo." Thousands, mil

66

lions of sweet babies form it every day with their rosy mouths. In crowded tenement districts, babies, Swedish, Italian, English, can say "agoo," and laugh, and understand each other. But their parents jabber in vain; they have forgotten the language of innocence.

How much better this old world would be, could we all say one simple language, and laugh, and understand! What are all these side issues of learning, any. way, in comparison to the pure thought of a little child?

THE STORY OF A WORD.

BY FRANCES SLADEN BRADLEY (AGE 11). A LONG time ago the Anglo-Saxons had a God that they called Wodin. The Norsemen, however, called him Odin. He and his brothers were supposed to have created the earth. The heavens were his kingdoms.

The Scandinavians also worshiped him, but the place in which he was considered greater was Denmark. There, he was the wild huntsman that rode in the sky, over seas and land.

The people had an especial day in which they devoted themselves to Wodin or Odin.

He drank from Mimir's fountain and thus became the wisest of gods and men. Drinking from the fountain he lost an eye.

Many, many years after, the people changed the name of the day in which they worshiped Wodin to Wednesday, which means Wodin's day.

Ever since that time the fourth day of the week has been called Wednesday.

"STUDY OF A CHILD."

BY MURIEL DOROTHY BARRELL, AGE 7. (SILVER BADGE.)

THE MOUNTAIN HOSPICE.

BY ELEANOR JOHNSON (AGE 7.) (Silver Badge Winner).

WHERE the everlasting mountains Lift their snowy peaks on high; While below, the rippling fountains Seem to murmur to the sky;

Where the hunter swiftly climbing
Seeks the chamois with his bow,

Hears in thought the church bells chiming
Of the chapel down below;

There, upon the mountain lonely
Live the monks we know so well,
Whose one aim in life is only

To make refuge where they dwell.

And their dogs, so brave and daring, Going out into the storm;

Tho' dumb creatures, wisely caring-
Rescuing each prostrate form.

No lost travelers' calls unheeded,
Not unanswered, is their prayer;
Quick to guide to shelter needed,
Lo, a dog's voice leads them there.

Tho' we hear full many stories
Of the mountains, east and west,
Covered each with countless glories,
Still I love this one the best.

THE STORY OF A WORD.

BY MARJORIE R. PECK (AGE 15). (Honor Member.)

"BALL."

BY ALICE G. PEIRCE (AGE 13).
(Honor Member.)

HUNDREDS of years ago there was in vogue in Europe a three-fold game in which the young men and women took part. In this game the people danced to the sound of their own voices and as they danced they tossed a ball-so called by general consent-back and forth to one another. It is said that this game origi nated from the Neapolitan custom of Ball Playing in Church" during Saturnalia or "Feast of Fools" which corresponded to our Easter time. The ceremony began

THIS is the story of the word forest, common enough in most countries. The old Normans brought this word with them when they came to England; and it originated in the Latin adverb foras, which means out of doors. This word forest in those days did not mean the same as it does now, for it meant merely a tract of land, not necessarily wooded, which was not governed by the common law.

In about the year 1070, William the Conqueror, after conquering England and making himself king, laid waste a great piece of land from Winchester to the seashore. This land was not to be governed by the common law, but belonged to the king alone, and he called it the New Forest. It stretched away for miles, rough, rocky, and wild. In this forest there were many wild animals, and William allowed no one to kill them but himself and those whom he invited to hunt with him. Hunting was one of his favorite amusements and he spent a great deal of time in his new forest. It must have been a gay sight, the king, his friends and hunters in hunting dress, riding swift steeds and urging on their packs of fierce, baying hounds through that wild waste.

Later on he had trees planted in some parts of this so-called forest, sometimes to protect the game, and sometimes to make use of land which was not fertile enough to grow anything else, by growing timber. Of course, after some time, nearly all the place was wooded, and as it was called "the forest," people gradually came to call all land that was thickly covered with trees by this name, and they do so to this day.

"

BY RAYMOND ROHN, AGE 17. (GOLD BADGE.) by the Dean taking the ball in the left hand. Then commencing an antiphon, in which all the choir boys joined as they danced around him, singing at the same time, he threw the ball to first one and then another. There is still in existence a statute which regulates the size and character of the ball used on these occa

sions.

Thus when the three-fold game, mentioned above, separated and the three sets of dances became independent of each other, the dance itself took the name of the article used in this dancing game, therefore it was called a "Ball," and the song sung as they danced was styled the Ballata or according to the present time Ballad-indicative of a dancing song. While Ballare brought into existence the French Ballet applied to a dancing tune.

This is the origin of the word "Ball" in its relation to a dance.

NOTICE.

The ST. NICHOLAS League is an organization of St. Nicholas readers. Its membership is free. A League badge and instruction leaflet will be sent on application.

THE HISTORY OF A WORD.

BY BUFORD BRICE (AGE II).
(Honor Member.)

THE full dress of our army and navy officers is topped off with the chapeau, yet few know the origin of this peculiarly named hat, and I am going to tell you what I have learned about it. It sounds Frenchy, and indeed it is of French origin, although it is now used every day by the English. Many, many years ago when the Crusaders marched to the Holy Land to take the birth and death place of our Saviour from the Saracens they all wore queer caps made of catskin. These caps were worn mostly by the French, and the French name for cat being chat, and the French name for skin peau, they combined the two and called the caps chapeau. After that, the word was applied to all hats by the French, and to the full dress hats of the officers in the army and navy of this country.

THE STORY OF A WORD.

BY REBECCA EDITH HILLES

(AGE 13).

(Honor Member.)

IN the days of long ago the old alchemists were very superstitious, and believed that if they put the sign of the cross in the bottom of their melting pots, it would bring them better luck. Thus when the clay was soft, and the pot was being formed, they imprinted the figure of the cross in it, and would not use one without, for luck's sake.

And they are very, very small,
For they are only oats.

The summer boat sails round about,
Landing at islands gay;
Unloading ribbons very fine

(Some worsteds thrown away).

At last the pretty summer boat,
Lands once more at home;

The sailors are planted in one small heap,
Never again to roam.

A FAMILY TRADITION.

BY MARGARET E. BULL (AGE 11).

Little by little, as the years went on, the custom formed so long ago disappeared, but the word crucible was given to all chemists' melting pots. If you look it up in the dictionary, you will find it only says, "A chemist's melting pot," but originally it got its name from the old alchemists and their superstitions.

A SUMMER SAIL.

BY MARGUERITE RADLEY (AGE 10). THE summer sea is a quiet pool, Where the minnows play;

And the bullfrogs chant their croaking notes, After the close of day.

The summer boat is a pea-pod green,

And the sailor brave and true

Guides the sail, a rose-leaf sail,
Made by a lass like you.

The summer crew are sailors bold,
All wearing yellow coats;

HAD it not been for the fearlessness of my ancestor, Captain Thomas Bull, Connecticut might have been our smallest state. It happened in this way.

In 1664 the Duke of York desired land in America, so the King gave him New Netherlands. Its eastern boundary was to be the west side of the Connecticut river. This land was claimed by Connecticut and when the people heard of this they were naturally extremely angry. When Col. Nichols came to America, he at the King's command decided this troublesome question. He made the disputed boundary what it is at present.

This did not suit the Duke, so in 1674 he secured a new patent containing the same territory as in the first one. When Major Andrass (the new governor) arrived in America he was so pleased with the country that he determined (by the right of the new patent) to rule the land west of the Connecticut, and as the war with King Philip was at hand he offered the aid of his troops to the people of Connecticut. But word was brought to Hartford, telling of other reasons for Andrass' generosity. It seemed that he was about to take Saybrooke by force, and then take other parts of the colony to establish his rule. Upon the receipt of this message a company of militia was despatched to Saybrooke under Captain Bull with instructions to "inform Major Andrass that Connecticut had no need to trouble him because of this uprising of the Indians," and "to avoid striking the first blow."

The militia arrived, none too soon, for already Andrass' ships had appeared in the harbor. Bull immediately ran up English colors and Andrass did not dare to fire on his own flag, so he waited and three days later on the 12th of July, asked if he might land and have an interview with the principal men of the town. This request was granted, and the same day he landed. He was met by the men, headed by Bull who quietly told Andrass Connecticut needed no aid. Andrass paid no attention, and haughtily commanded the clerk to read the papers which gave him his pre

IF all League members knew how much fun chapters have, and how much they are benefited by their meeting, every member would be a chapter member. Chapters meet and read the League contributions and other interesting things aloud, play games, get up entertainments, and work together in many ways. Some of them have small dues and sets of rules and regular meeting-places. Others meet at members' houses in rotation, and enjoy themselves in any way that pleases them for the time. To read and discuss the League contributions is one of the most profitable features. New chapters forming may have their badges, etc., come in one large envelop, postage free.

NEW CHAPTERS.

No. 904. Merrill Goodhue, President; Roger Dix, Secretary; four members. Address, 40 Crafts Road, Chestnut Hill, Mass. No. 905: "The Literary Two." Margaret McNeill, President; Jessie Tait, Secretary; two members. Address, 228 Adams St., Memphis, Tenn.

No. 906. "O. Y. H." Jess L. Hall, President; Lucile I. Kruger, Secretary; three members. Address, 3863 Reading Road, Avondale, Cinn., Ohio.

No. 907. "The Greenleaf Club." Helen E. Seckerson, President; Helen F. Sargent, Secretary; five members. Address, 95 Brooklyn Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y.

No. 908. Fred Wish, President; Harold Colby, Secretary; seven members. Address, 395 Cumberland Ave., Portland, Me.

THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE OF SAN FRANCISCO, APRIL 18TH, 1906.

Wednesday morning, at twenty minutes after five, I was awakened by the crashing of broken ornaments and falling furniture. The house was rocking to and fro so violently, that I lay still in my bed, and my only thought was that the end of the world was coming. The shaking kept up for a long while, and soon my bookcase, full of books, fell on my bed with a crash. After a few minutes Í was able to stand up, and every member of the family rushed downstairs in their nightgowns, while a few had grabbed a blanket or a

wrapper.

Now the streets seemed to be alive with people, some dressed, but others huddled together with only nightgowns on and bare feet.

After we had dressed and were a little more calm, we walked around the streets, with a few of our friends, to see the damage done around us. The greatest ruin near us was St. Luke's Church, for there all the walls of that beautiful, new, stone building were down.

The earthquake was so terrible that it had caused the earth to open in several places, and down near the water front they were so bad that we saw one crack where a truck had been half buried in it. One crack I heard of opened so wide that a cow sunk down in it, and when the ground closed again, she was buried in the hole, and left only her tail sticking out. In other places the earth sunk two or

three feet.

We then went up on a hill and from there we could see eight or nine fires, that had started down town from the broken electric wires. The flames were very high, and they could not be subdued, because the earthquake had broken the pipes and no water could be gotten. Very soon all the troops were called out to fight the flames.

From our hill we could see a few of the ruins. The City Hall had nothing, hardly, left to it but the steel frame, and that was all that was left of nearly all the other brick or stone buildings. Later it was found that two hundred and ninety-seven people were killed by the falling bricks and by having the buildings collapse on top of them, and they expect to find more in the ruins.

Every one sat on their steps that day waiting for another shock, but only a few small ones came. In the afternoon there was a pitiful sight of all the poor, homeless people trudging up the hill to Lafayette, and other parks, with what little they could save slung over their backs. Some people got so rattled, that they picked up the most unnecessary things, such as large glass vases and their best hats, with hardly any clothes or blankets. One man was seen rushing from his house with very few clothes on him, with a bicycle pump and an empty bird-cage in his arms.

That night every, one who owned a home slept on mattresses in

VOL. XXXIII.—132.

their drawing-rooms or halls, while the parks were crowded with shivering men, women and children, and even poor little babies, some of them not even a year old. But all the people bore it wonderfully well. Every one, even those in the parks, were cheerful, and laughing at all the jokes, for funny things happened even in these hard times. In fact, people could not and did not wish to realize the terrible state of things. People who were naturally weak became strong, stronger than any one else, and some crazy people became sane. One thing that showed how kind people were, was that citizens carried their pet animals and birds with them wherever they went. They even left their clothes behind, so as to be able to carry their pets.

The next morning the fire was worse, and what excited me more than anything was that every one was leaving the city and going to the Presidio. Even some rich people, who were not able to get a carriage, hired scavenger wagons to convey their families and baggage away from the city.

Later, in the afternoon, some of our friends wished to leave the city and go to the country. They all felt the same way, but we had to stay by our home, or else it might be looted. They hunted everywhere for a carriage or wagon that would convey them to the ferry, but nothing could be found. At last, as the fire crept nearer and nearer, and the flames rose higher and higher and threatened to burn the whole city, they became so desperate that they would take anything for any price. After searching for a long while, they found an expressman, who agreed to take them down in his cart for twenty-five dollars. They accepted it, and as I watched them rattle off I wished, with all my heart, that I were in their place.

That evening a soldier came to our corner with a horn and called out for the people around there to leave their houses and go away, for they were going to dynamite the house opposite us, to prevent the fire, that was now only four blocks away, from spreading and burning the rest of the city. But we did not want to leave the house until the last minute, when the fire was only a block away, so we were told to open our windows from the bottom and go to the back of the house. We did what we were told, and waited, but as nothing happened, we came back again and found they were not going to dynamite the house after all. By this time, large red hot cinders were falling thick around us and the fire was a block nearer now, on Van Ness avenue

Van Ness is a very broad street, broader than any other but Market, and it really was the only thing that saved our house, for the fire took a very long time to cross the street, which it did in two places, and by the time it did cross they had gotten enough water to control it. When it was finally stopped two blocks from us, more than half of the city was gone, but the saddest part of all was to look on the ashes of houses once the homes of our friends.

Thanks to all the kind people in the United States, there was no one starving that night, for other cities sent money, food and tents for the poor people, and now most of them are living as happily as is possible under the circumstances. There is a regular tent city in the park in front of us, and they all seem well provided for. CORONA WILLIAMS, (age 12).

(HONOR MEMBER.)

None of us have anything left but the clothes we wore that awful day, but we all feel thankful that we got away alive; no one who did not go through it could realize how terrible it was.

We are now in Sacramento for a time.

I lost all my numbers of ST. NICHOLAS for three years back, and I miss those as much as anything.

Your loving reader, JUSTINA RENNIE, (age 14).

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA. DEAR ST. NICHOLAS LEAGUE: Through you I wish to thank the members of the League, especially those belonging to the postalcard exchange department, for the kindness which they have shown to one who has experienced the earthquake and fire of San Francisco. One of the League members wrote me a nice note and enclosed a five dollar bill, saying that, as the banks were closed, I might be in need of money, and that this would be useful. Fortunately my home was not burned, although the fire came within four blocks, and the money so generously sent was not needed. The girl who sent it had never corresponded with me in any way but by the postals, and we were strangers to each other. Several other League members wrote me kind and sympathetic letters, offering help. This shows that, although the postal-card department has been withdrawn from the League, it has done much good and made strangers friends. Thanking the League members again for their kind and thoughtful notes, I will add that San Francisco has suffered a great disaster, but she is still on the map and is rapidly being restored. The San Franciscans will rival the Athenians in the rebuilding of their city. Sincerely yours, as a League Member,

HELEN RUNYON.

PORTSMOUTH, N. H.

MY DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am writing now to tell you of a delightful picnic that the members of Chapter 754 held on May 5th, 1906.

We started at ten o'clock, five of us, with our chaperon, Miss Forster.

We reached Rosmary, where we got out and climbed a steep hill, at the summit of which we stopped.

Then we all went into the wood, leaving Miss Forster to take care of our wraps.

When we wanted to find another member we called our club song and they answered.

We went in search of May flowers and we had a good many when we all returned to dinner.

After lunch, as our club has a baseball team, we all played baseball, and we then went home, merry but dirty children, after a delightful day.

Your very loving reader,

FLORENCE M. WARD.

Other welcome letters have been received from F. Aldridge, Eleanor Copenhaver, Frances Dameron, Elizabeth Eunice Wheaton, Arthur Jenning White, Jeannette Covert, Charles D. Holt, Elizabeth Wotkyns, Miriam C. Alexander, B. F. Simonds, Carolyn Hulbert, Aileen Hyland, Elizabeth Page, Emily W. Browne, Joseph T. Boudwin, Geneva Anderson, George D. Robinson, Dorothy Marcus, Leonard Ochtman, Jr. Mary G. Bonner, Janet McLeod Golden, Grace E. Moore, Madelaine Airetiene.