Newspaper Page Text
12
THE SOUTHERN WORLD, JULY 1, 1882,
" The world, dear child, la is we take It, and
Mfe. twanre, i« what we make it."
••TIIE NWEETE8T MOTHER.”
Little liana waa helping mother
Carry home the lady’a basket;
, Chubby hands of course were lifting
One great handle—can you ask It f
As he tugged away beside her.
Feeling oh I so brave and strong,
Little Hans was softly singing
To himself a little song:
“ Borne time I'll be tall as father,
Though 1 think It’s very tunny,
And I’ll work and build big houses,
And give mother all the mo icy,
For," uud little Hans stopped singing,
Feeling oh I so strong and grand,
“ I have got the sweetest mother
You can flndln all the land."
—Mrt. M. Hangtter, in Harper's Young People.
I1ABY LlOSiH
Most babies are cunning, and baby cats
are usually more cunning than any other
kind. The lion is only a big cat, and its
babies are quite naturally very much like
big kittens. They are as big as full grown
cats, to be Bure, and their play is sometimes
rough; but they have all the funny tricks of
kittehs, and are just as full of
mischief.
You have often seen kittens
tense their mother; bitting her
tail when she wants to sleep,
tapping her nose with their lit
tle paws, 'jumping at her, get
ting in her way as she walks
about, and doing a great many
more very impertinent things.
J list so do baby lions with their
mother. You can see in the
picture how two of her little
ones are playing with the lion
ess, while she is as gentle with
them as your mother could bo
with you.
It is very strange and very
beautiful to see how a great,
savage beast like the lioness
will become so soft and tender
for the sake of tier children.
Why, if you or I should at
tempt to do half the impudent
things to her that her babies
do, sbe would eat us up. Some
times she becomes impatient
when they will not let her sleep
in jieacc, and then she boxes
their ears. It seems a very gen
tle tap that she gives them, but
it sends them rolling head over
wheels. She takes grent care
when she hits them, however,
that her clows are covered up;
for if she did not, she might
kill them.
If you will notice when you
piny with pussy, and she is in a
good humor, her paws feel like
velvet; but when she is angry,
they feel ns if they were full of
sharp, crooked pins. It is the
same with the lion; it can hide
its claws, or put them out, just
ns it wishes.
Very naturally, almost all
animals are kind totheirchild-
cn; although there are some
exceptions, as you learned last
month, when I told you about
the tortoise. In a great many
cases, however, the father either
cares very little, or not at all, for the babies.
This is not so with the lion, who seems to
love the little ones almost as much as the
lioness docs. He helps to take care of them,
and lights for them if they are in danger.
The tigress, which is also one of the cat
tribe, is very fond of her children, too, but
will net do as much for them as the lioness
will for hers. If the lioness hear a noise
she will run out and see what it means, co
that she can be ready to protect her children,
if necessary. But if the tigress fear any
thing she will send her children out ahead
of her, so that harm may come to them first.
To be sure, she will fight fiercely if any
thing wrong happen to them; but it would
be more loving if shodid not put them in
danger in the first place.
The color of the full-grown lion is the
same all over its body; but the baby lions
are generally striped, and might, for that
reason, seem more like young tigers than
young lions. These stripes go away after a
while, and the young lion begins to look
like its parents. It takes a lion about three
years to become full grown.
Lions that are captured when very young
can be made very tame, but are naturally so
savage that it is never safe to trust them; for
if they do suddenly become angry, they are
so very strong that it is almost impossible to
control them. It is related of a man who
bad tamed a lion and two leopards,
which-are also very powerful animals of the
cat tribe. These three creatures he used
to put into one cage, and then go in with
them. He would open the lion's mouth
with hishands, and would make the leopards
jump over his shoulders.
For a long time he had no trouble: but
one day the lion was cross about something,
and would not open his mouth. The man
tried to make him do so, when the lion sud
denly sprang upon him and caught his arm
in his mouth. Of course the man was ter
ribly frightened; but did not dare to show
it, for fear that worse would happen. So he
stood perfectly still, and with his whip be
gan to strike the lion, just as he usually did
when the animal was bad. This only made
the lion more angry, and he began to growl,
while his eyes sparkled like coals of fire.
All this time the leopards had remained
still; but when they saw that the lion was
really going to harm their master, they went
to his relief and sprang upon the lion. This
sent the second mate to do the job. But he
had gone scarcely farther than his superior
when he too beat a retreat. It began to
look a little Berious, and the captain called,
"Come boys, who’ll go? Any one of you! "
None volunteering, he turned to a quiet
fellow, the youngest sailor of the crew, and
asked,—
"William, do you dare go up and haul
out that earing?"
“Yes, sir,” said William “I’ll do it,
sir."
William went! but when not more than
half-way up the ladder, he heard a deep,
loud voice, appearantly directly above hiB
head, say,—
“It blows 1 It blows hard, don't itt"
The brave boy wisely arguing that so long
os the ghostly intruder did not lay hands on
him, he wussafe, continued up the rigging.
He let the earing go, and heard the "That's
well," from below. Making all secure, he
was nearly ready to make the descent, when
again he heard the voice, which seemed to
say right by his head, “It blows hard, don't
itt''
Peering up into the darkness, and hold
ing fast with his left hand, he reached with
his right in the direction of the sound. To
hissurprise he seized something that cut his
Be n Good Render.
There is an accomplishment, which I
would earnestly recommend to the young
reader, that of being a good reader. Culti
vate, then, assiduously the ability to read
well. I stop to particularize this, because it
is so very much neglected, and because it is
so elegant, charming, and lady-like an ac
complishment. Where one person is rarely
interested by music, twenty are pleased by
good reading. Where one person is capable
of becoming a good musician, twenty may
become good readers. Where there is one
occasion suitable for the exercise of musical
talent, there are twenty for that of good
reading. The culture of the voice, neces
sary for reading well, gives a delightful
charm to the same voice in conversation.
Good reading is the natural exponent and
vehicle of all good things. It is the most
effective of all commeiftaries upon the works
of genius. It seems to bring dead authors
to life again, and makes us sit down famil
iarly with the great and good of all ages.
Did you ever notice, what life and power
the Holy Scriptures has when well read?
Have you ever heard the wonderful effects
produced by Elizabeth Fry, on the prisoners
of Newgate, by simply reading to them the
parable of the Prodigal Son ? Princes and
peers of the realm, it is said,
counted it a privilege to stand
in the dismal corridors among
felons and murderers, merely
to share with them the privilege
of witnessing the marvelous
pathos, which genius, taste, and
culture could infuse into that
simple story. What a fascina
tion there is in really good
reading! What a power it
gives one! In the hospital, in
the chamber of the invalid, in
the nursery, in the domestic,
and in the social circle, among
chosen friends and companions,’
how it enables you to minister
to the umusement, the comfort,
the pleasure of dear ones, as no
other art or accomplishment
can. No instrument of man’s
devising can reacli the heart
as does that most wonderful in
strument, the human voice. It
is God’s special gift and endow
ment to His chosen creatures.
Fold it not away in a napkin.
If you would double the value
of all your acquisitions, if you
would add immeasureahly to
your own enjoyment and to
your power of promoting the
enjoyment of others, cultivate
with incessant care this divine
gift. No music below the skies
is equal to that of pure silvery
speech from the lips of a man
or a woman of high culture.—
Baltimore Presbyterian.
BABY LIONS.
made the lion turn upon them. By this
time some other men had come up and
handed into the man inside a heavy iron
bar. With this lie beat the lion until he
stopped fighting and crawled growling to
one end of the cage, when the man got out.
A Frightened Sailor.
Many a jolly tar who would be a brave
hero should he be called to stand at the cun-
non’s mouth, will grow pale at the sight and
sound which suggests a supernatural vis
itor.
In the year 184V, on a dark and windy
night, the American barque Croton was
leaving Havre, France. An order was given
to haul out the earing of the main top
sail. As this was the duty of the first mate,
that oflicer came forward with alucrity. He
bad, however, gone but half-way up the
rigging when he suddenly turned and ran
down to the deck. Pale and trembling he
stammered out,—
“Cap’n, I—I—can’t! there’s something—
a voice there—talking to met "
Surprised, but incredulous, the captain
forefinger so that he felt the blood flow
down his wrist und sleeve.
The voice screeched, growled and groaned;
something scratched and flapped at his face.
But holding it fast and descending os best
he could with but one hand to help, and
such a struggling companion, he reached the
deck.
His captive was an old African parrot,
gripping with her beak the hand of poor
William.
Poll had been a stow-away in the rigging,
and had heard the sailors say to one another,
when the relief at the wheel came round
early after dark,—
“It blows hard, don’t it? "
The Captain,’ when this mystery was un
ravelled, said, “Well, William, if you don’t
want old foil, I’ll give you ten dollars for
her.” William, having enjoyed enough of
her company, willingly struck the bargain.
—Youths’ Companion.
Ink can be extracted from colored articles
by dropping tallow on the stains and then
soaking and rubbing the same with boiling
milk,
The Olucrvutory of Mount
.Etnn.
The famous Hospice of St.
Bernard, which is 8120 feet
above the level of the sea, lias
hitherto enjoyed the distinc
tion of being the most elevated
building in Europe which is
inhabited the year round; but
is now to be deprived of that
honor. During the past year
the city authorities of Catania,
in Sicily, have.caused to be erected near the
summit of Mount .Etna an astronomical ob
servatory, which stands 2943 meters above
the sea-level,or fully 1000 feet higher than the
Hospice of St. Bernard. The structure is
nine meters (of 39.37 inches each) in height,
and covers an area of 200 squre meters. It
consists of an upper and lower story, and
is built in a circular form. In the lower
story there rises a massive pillar, upon
which is placed the great refracting tele
scope. This story is divided into a dining
room, kitchen and store-room. In the up
per story there are three bed-rooms, intend
ed for the accommodation of astronomers
and tourists visiting the establishment The
roof consists of a movable dome. From the
balconies of the upper story a prospect of
vast extent and grandeur is presented. The
spectator is able to see over half the island
of Sicily, the island of Malta, the Lipari
Isles and the province of Calabria, on the
mainland of Italy. The observatory is
erected upon a small cone, which will, in
the cose of eruption, protect it completely
from the lava-streams.