And when maturer age he sees
    With ready pen so swift inditing,
  With envy he beholds the ease
    Of long-accustom’d letter-writing.

  Courage, young friend, the time may be,
    When you attain maturer age,
  Some young as you are now may see
    You with like ease glide down a page.

  Ev’n then, when you, to years a debtor,
    In varied phrase your meanings wrap,
  The welcom’st words in all your letter
    May be those two kind words at top.

CRUMBS TO THE BIRDS.

  A bird appears a thoughtless thing,
  He’s ever living on the wing,
  And keeps up such a carolling,
  That little else to do but sing
        A man would guess had he.

  No doubt he has his little cares,
  And very hard he often fares;
  The which so patiently he bears,
  That, listening to those cheerful airs,
        Who knows but he may be

  In want of his next meal of seeds? 
  I think for that his sweet song pleads;
  If so, his pretty art succeeds. 
  I’ll scatter there among the weeds
        All the small crumbs I see.

* * * * *

We very seldom take up a book only to break the tenth commandment; but Bayard Taylor’s recent volume, “The Boys of Other Countries,” published by the Putnams, always has that effect upon us, for we wish that every one of the stories in it had been written for ST. NICHOLAS.  The best thing we can say to our boys and girls, of a book so well described by its title, is that it contains “Jon of Iceland,” which originally appeared in this magazine, and that each of the stories is as good in its way as “Jon” itself.

* * * * *

THE RIDDLE-BOX.

DOUBLE ACROSTIC.

The initials name a noted philosopher, and the finals an eminent astronomer.

1.  A narrow arm of the sea. 2.  A beautiful flower. 3.  A tree, usually growing in moist land. 4.  A small marine animal. 5.  A river in the United States. 6.  A cone-bearing tree. 7.  A tract of land, surrounded by water. 8.  A metal.

ISOLA.

BROKEN WORDS.

Find a word to fill the single blank, and divide it into smaller words (without transposing any letters) to fill the other blanks.  Thus:  Such forages have gone on in that forest for ages.

1.  You must not think the whole were ——­ because he ——­ ——. 2.  One of this boy’s minor ——­ is his constant climbing ——­ ——. 3.  When I gave him a pledge, the toper said with a ——­ look, “You ——­ ——­ ——­ ——.” 6.  The alder was pictured against the ——­, every branch, leaf, and ——­ ——­ standing out clearly.

B.

PICTORIAL NUMERICAL, REBUS.