VOL. 37. No. 17. WEEKLY.DAVID C. COOK PUBLISHING CO., ELGIN, ILLINOIS.GEORGE E. COOK, EDITOR.APRIL 26, 1914. The tide was low, and a dark line of rocks showed up clearly in the still water. "I wonder what those rocks are really like," said Toby rising slowly from his seat. "It looks almost as if we could paddle out to them," said his twin sister Nancy, as she pushed her red curls under... more...

Simeon Ponsonby—the professor of botany at Harmouth—had married when over forty the eldest daughter of a distinguished though impecunious family in his own college town. His mother, on her deathbed, foresaw that he would need a housekeeper and suggested the match. "Simeon," she said, "it isn't for us to question the Lord's ways, but I am mortally sorry to leave you, my son; it... more...

October 28, 1914. Reports that Germany is not best pleased with Austria-Hungary are peculiarly persistent just now. There would indeed seem to be good grounds for Germany's displeasure, for a gentleman just returned from Budapest says that the Hungarian Minister of the Interior has actually issued an official circular to the mayors and prefects throughout the land enjoining upon them the duty of... more...

PRESENCE OF MIND. A general had been very unfortunate in a battle, and his defeat so preyed on his mind that he lost his reason. He had to be kept confined in a room in his own house, and an attendant was always near to wait upon him, and to prevent him from doing harm. One day, an officer who had been paying him a friendly visit happened to leave his sword and scabbard in the general's room. As... more...

VI. THE CARMINE. The only part of this ancient church which escaped destruction by fire in 1771 was, most fortunately, the famous Brancacci chapel. Here are the frescos by Masolino da Panicale, who died in the early part of the fifteenth century,—the Preaching of Saint Peter, and the Healing of the Sick. His scholar, Masaccio, (1402-1443,) continued the series, the completion of which was... more...

MR. PUNCH'S PRIZE NOVELS. NEW SERIES.—IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT. This age has been called an Age of Progress, an Age of Reform, an Age of Intellect, an Age of Shams; everything in fact except an Age of Prizes. And yet, it is perhaps as an Age of Prizes that it is destined to be chiefly remembered. The humble but frantic solver of Acrostics has had his turn, the correct expounder of the law of Hard... more...

CHAPTER VIII.—ESCAPE. When Elsie awoke in the morning, after at last falling into a dull, heavy sleep, she had not an opportunity of seeing what sort of weather it was. There was no light in their rude sleeping-place, except the dim one that came through the aperture from the other room. She listened, and hearing sounds of life below, she hastily rose, and creeping down the ladder, went in search of... more...

THE HOSTLER'S STORY. By J. T. Trowbridge. What amused us most at the Lake House last summer was the performance of a bear in the back yard. He was fastened to a pole by a chain, which gave him a range of a dozen or fifteen feet. It was not very safe for visitors to come within that circle, unless they were prepared for rough handling. He had a way of suddenly catching you to his bosom, and picking... more...

INITIALS USED IN VOLUME IV. TO IDENTIFY INDIVIDUALCONTRIBUTORS, WITH THE HEADINGS OF THEARTICLES IN THIS VOLUME SO SIGNED.A. B. R.Alfred Barton Rendle, F.R.S., F.L.S., M.A., D.Sc.Keeper of the Department of Botany, British Museum.{Botany.A. E. H.A. E. Houghton.Formerly Correspondent of theStandardin Spain. Author ofRestoration of the Bourbons in Spain.{Cabrera.A. E. S.Arthur Everett Shipley, F.R.S.,... more...

A PAIR OF MILITARY GLOVES. It was in Italy, on my way home from Egypt to be demobilised, that I decided to buy a pair of warm gloves from Ordnance. After being directed by helpful other ranks to the A.S.C. Depot, the Camp Commandant's Office and the Y.M.C.A., I found myself, at the end of a morning's strenuous walking, confronted by notices on a closed door stating that this was the... more...