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“Be off, you bundle of mischief!”
I stormed Jones, while his face relaxed in
| to a manifest smile, for he and Wildcat
also were excellent friends, and he was
convinced by the other’s officious pity
that the tea, although for the present
concealed, would soon be forthcoming.
“Be off, and bring back my cup. You
know where it is ; I see it in your eye.”
“Cup too much big to be in my eye,”
Wildcat replied, at the same time pulling
down his lower eyelids with his fingers.
“Tea not in here ; tea too much hot.”
“Nobody said that the tea was in your
eye, though I will put some sand there
I if you do not bring back my cup,” Jones
threatened, grasping, as he spoke, a
handful of sand. Wildcat pretended to
be dreadfully alarmed, and fled to Thomp
son for protection ; then whispering in
his ear, “Fight him for me,” ho slipped
around to Magruder, obtained the missing
§ cup, glided noiselessly to the rear of
Jones, who was warding off some witti
glcism of Thompson’s, and put down the
i: cup near Jones’ heels, saying:
“ Ecs-ta had-kin* must take care ! Tea
$ will burn his foot!”
Gladly did Jones turn at this hint, to
find his tea lying close within reach ; and
■ finding also that it was now cooled down
if to the exact temperature he liked best,
ho sipped it with great complacency;
then looking at Wildcat’s smoking cup,
he resumed his old question, and asked—
“ How docs the Ees-ta chat-tees drink
his hot tea from a tin cup ?”
“So,” replied Wildcat, taking from his
pouch a joint of reed, open at both ends,
and with great comfort sipping the hot
1 tea through it.
“That joint of reed,” said Jones, look
? ing with admiration upon his little friend,
| “ is a perfect wonder in that boy’s hands.
I have seen him get water with it, where
p' without it you could get none ; I have
seen him drink through it when the water
| was so muddy or so wormy that without
| it you could drink none; J have seen him
| kindle a fire with if, when without it you
could kindle none; and I have seen him
Ifind game with it, when without it you
£ could find none.”
Jones’ enthusiasm produced a laugh,
is, 1 0,7
I but lie continued : “I am telling you the
1 truth. I saw him use it one day as a
■turkey call; he put it between his lips
and made a quick jerking noise through
Igit that soon brought a gobler strutting
■towards us from the bushes. I saw him
Base it again for a blowpipe; we had only
a spark of fire that we were afraid would
■
| *AYhi to man.
K 1 Red man, or Indian.
BURKE’S WEEKLY.
go out, but he put the spark between two
dead coals, and blew upon it through his
reed until both coals were in a glow. I
saw him use it to obtain water one day
on the beach when we were fishing; our
canteens had given out, and the sand was
so spongy that, although there was fresh
water in it, we could not separate it from
the sand. lie took that same reed, tied
a thickness or two of woollen cloth
around the end, buried that end in the
sand, and then sucked the pure water
through it. In the same way lie used it
as a filter, when the water was full of
wiggle-tails, or full of mud or moss.”
“It is a wonderful reed,” said Thomp
son, stretching his eyes wide as if in great
admiration, “and some of these days I
think I shall get it and put it to another
wonderful use, as the stem of my pipe.”
“Pipe stem!” said Simpson, “I’m a
wantin’ one na-ow,” and he stretched out
his hand and clutched at it, but his mo
tion was not quick enough for the nimble
boy, who suddenly withdrew himself be
yond reach, and with a murmured “Catch
me first,” went to sj£ his .tea at another
part of the semi-circle.
They thus amused themselves until 9
o’clock, when Tomkins ordered tattoo ;
soon after which every man, except the
sentinel, was wrapped in his blanket, and
most of them wrapped also in slumber;
though several were to bo observed toss
ing restlessly about, being kept awake
long after a soldier’s hours by the com
bined influences of moonlight and green
tea, co-operating with the effects of the
preceding merriment.
Temperature of Sleeping Rooms.
It is better to sleep in a room com
fortably warm than it is to sleep in a very
cold room, provided there is good ventil
ation, for the reason that less clothing is
required to keep comfortable. The less
clothing, consistent with comfort, the
better, whether awake or asleep. Warm
air is just as good as cold air, and ventil
ation is more easily secured when there
is a difference of temperature between the
air in the room and that outside. The
best way of warming and ventilating
sleeping rooms is to have an open grate
fire and open windows.
A certain distinguished clergyman
of the present day is said to have been
such a gay and mischievous rogue when
he was a boy at school, that when he ven
tured to play truant one day for the pur
pose of attending a menagerie in a neigh
boring town, the school was so quiet that
his absence was at once detected and
brought him a sound flogging.
AN EASTERN STORY.
BIIERE was a horse in the
tribe of Neggdeh -whose
fame was spread far and
near, and a Bedouin of
another tribe, by name of
(sired extremely to possess
ng offered in vain for it
Is and his whole wealth,
t hit upon the following
device, by which he hoped to gain the
object of his desire :
He resolved to stain his face with the
juice of an herb, to clothe himself in rags,
to tie his legs and neck together, so as to
appear like a lame beggar. Thus equip
ped, he went to wait for Nabar, the own
er of the horse, Avho was to pass that
way. When he saw Nabar approaching
on his beautiful steed he cried out in a
■weak voico:
“ I am a poor stranger; for three days
I have been unable to move, from this
spot to seek food. lam dying; help mo,
and Heaven will reward you.”
The Bedouin kindly offered to take
him up on his horse and carry him home.
But the rogue replied :
“ I cannot rise; I have no strength
left.”
Nabar, touched with pity, dismounted,
led his horse to the spot, and with great
difficulty set the seeming beggar on his
back. But no sooner did Daher feel him
self in the saddle, than ho set spurs to
the horse and galloped off, calling out as
he did so,
“It is I, Daher. I have got the horse,
and am off with it.”
Nabar called after him to stop and lis
ten. Certain of not being pursued, he
turned, and halted at a short distance
from Nabar.
“ You have taken my horse,” said the
latter. “ Since Heaven has willed it, I
wish you joy of it; but Ido conjure you
never to tell any one lioav you obtained
it.”
“And why not?” asked Daher.
“Because,” said the noble Arab, “an
other man might be really ill, and men
would fear to help him. You would be
the cause of many refusing to do a chari
table act, for fear of being duped as I
have been.”
Struck with shame at these words,
Daher was silent for a moment, then
springing from the horse, returned it to
his owner, embracing him. Nabar made
him accompany him to his tent, where
they spent a few days together, and be
came fast friends flbr lifts.— Lamartine.
useful and the beautiful aro
not far asunder.
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