When the good old Captain heard this he was greatly rejoiced, and, as the holidays were now near, he insisted that the boys should spend Christmas before last over again, at his son’s house.  He found that a good many people here knew where Apple Island was, and he made arrangements for the First Class in Long Division to return to that island in a vessel which was to sail about the first of the year.

The boys still possessed the great nut which the Captain had insisted they should keep for themselves, and he now told them that if they chose to sell it, they would each have a nice little fortune to take back with them.  The eldest boy consulted the others, and then he said to the Captain: 

“Our class has gone through a good many hardships, and has had a lot of trouble with that palm-tree and other things, and we think we ought to be rewarded.  So, if it is all the same to you, I think we will crack the nut on Christmas Day and we all will eat it.”

“I never imagined,” cried Captain Covajos, as he sat, on that Christmas Day, surrounded by his son’s family and the First Class in Long Division, the eyes of the whole party sparkling with ecstasy as they tasted the peerless fruit of the Fragile Palm, “that Christmas before last could be so joyfully celebrated over again.”

 Prince HASSAK’S march.

* * * * *

In the spring of a certain year, long since passed away, Prince Hassak, of Itoby, determined to visit his uncle, the King of Yan.

“Whenever my uncle visited us,” said the Prince, “or when my late father went to see him, the journey was always made by sea; and, in order to do this, it was necessary to go in a very roundabout way between Itoby and Yan.  Now, I shall do nothing of this kind.  It is beneath the dignity of a prince to go out of his way on account of capes, peninsulas, and promontories.  I shall march from my palace to that of my uncle in a straight line.  I shall go across the country, and no obstacle shall cause me to deviate from my course.  Mountains and hills shall be tunnelled, rivers shall be bridged, houses shall be levelled; a road shall be cut through forests; and, when I have finished my march, the course over which I have passed shall be a mathematically straight line.  Thus will I show to the world that, when a prince desires to travel, it is not necessary for him to go out of his way on account of obstacles.”

As soon as possible after the Prince had determined upon this march, he made his preparations, and set out.  He took with him a few courtiers, and a large body of miners, rock-splitters, bridge-builders, and workmen of that class, whose services would, very probably, be needed.  Besides these, he had an officer whose duty it was to point out the direct course to be taken, and another who was to draw a map of the march, showing the towns, mountains, and the various places it passed through.  There were