GEOFFROY, the painter of the picture from which this month's frontispiece is taken, has no equal in rendering the expressions of children, and every face and attitude of the scholars in this "village school" will repay careful study. The quaint linen caps and collars worn by teacher and pupils are parts of the costume of the peasantry. It would seem strange to us if the inhabitants of each county or State should wear a distinctive hat!but the result in Brittany, at least, is picturesque.

It is interesting to recall that Brittany received its name from the Britons who settled there, when driven from Cornwall, England, by their Anglo-Saxon enemies, and that the modern Bretons are descendants of those exiles from the southwestern part of England.

THE author of the poem "The Maid of Hainault," on page 931 of this number of ST. NICHOLAS, sends some explanatory notes about the game of court-tennis. Our readers will be interested in her account of the ancient game.

The historic game of court-tennis, of which our lawntennis is a modern adaptation, had its origin many centuries ago. It was the favorite sport of the kings and nobles of France during the Middle Ages, and was then confined exclusively to court circles. The game was called jeu de la paume or "game of the hand," probably because at first the hand was used, instead of the racket, in serving the ball. Among the famous royal players of France were Louis XI., Louis XII., Francis I., Charles IX., Henry II., and Henry IV.; and the ladies of the court of Catherine de' Medici, during the reign of Henry II., adopted the fashion of braiding their hair, in imitation of tennis-rackets with their interlaced strings, which fashion was termed la coiffure en raquette. Court-tennis was introduced into England early in the sixteenth century; and the celebrated tennis hall at the palace of Hampton Court was built by Henry VIII. in 1526. This monarch and his successors, especially the kings of the house of Stuart, were enthusiastic devotees of this ancient game. There are now several halls for courttennis in London and Paris. There is also one at Versailles, which is still called the Hall of the Jeu de Paume; and a fine structure, known as Hunniwell Court, is owned by the Court Tennis Club of Boston. The rules of the game are substantially the same as they were four centuries ago. The ball is served against the wall of the court, and, as it rebounds or "caroms" at various angles, very skilful and scientific playing is required. In the fifteenth century the most famous tennis-court of Paris was in the Rue Grenier St. Lazare; and it was here that Mademoiselle Margot, a charming young girl from the province of Hainault, distinguished herself at the royal game, and won the first prize, a silver ball.

For the benefit of the younger readers some of the references in the poem are here explained.

'The crownèd poet"- Shakspere frequently mentions the game of court-tennis. See "Henry V.," Act 1, Scene 2, where the French Dauphin sends a gift of tennisballs to King Henry V., and the latter replies: "His present, and your pains, we thank you for: When we have matched our rackets to these balls We will, in France, by God's grace, play a set, Shall strike his father's crown into the hazard."

By the "Merry Monarchs" the Stuarts are meant. It is said that Charles I., in 1610, paid twenty pounds for tennis-balls and rackets, and Charles II. was a very expert player.

"Bluff King Henry" is, of course, Henry VIII. of England, and by " His imperial German guest" Emperor Charles V. of Germany is referred to; he made a friendly and diplomatic visit to King Henry's court in 1521.

Henry II. was the best player among the French kings. He had his favorite court at the Louvre. Queen Elizabeth of England also was very fond of watching the game.

BROOKLINE, MASS.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: We are three little girls who have taken you for some time, and look forward at the end of every month to your arrival. A few summers ago two of us went out West with our father and mother. There were a pony and donkey there, and we were on a large farm, and rode to town once in a while; but it was several miles away.

I went to a dog and pony show one day while there, and the ponies were very small. I also rode on one of the smallest when the show was over. It was in a tent, something like a circus, only much smaller. We saw a hound supposed to be the highest jumper in the world. The man piled chairs and tables on top of one another, nearly up to the top of the tent, and the dog would jump over them.

We stayed in Indiana a month or so, and on the way home stopped at Chicago two or three days, and then went to Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Albany, and New York. We were at last glad to come home again and get settled down. From your loving readers, MARY K., CARMELITA, and WILHELMINA S—.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have been taking you about six months, and find you the most interesting niagazine I have ever read. I live in Alexandria, Va., and I suppose everybody has heard of that ancient-town. The church here to which Washington went is a quaint old structure, made of rough brick, and it has a tall wooden steeple with blinds on the sides of it. There is also here the house where Gen. Braddock stopped (Braddock House). On the corner opposite it is the Carlyle House, where Washington stayed. The steps where he has often trod are made of pure mahogany; and at the top

of these stairs are two places for statues, but they have never been occupied. There are about twenty rooms in the Carlyle House; but the prettiest is the Blue Room, or "Washington's Library." They also danced in this room; for there still remain two large stones with long wooden handles, with which they waxed the floor.

About eight miles from Alexandria is Mount Vernon, Washington's home. It is a large, picturesque house with low porches and beautiful trees surrounding it. It is a delightful ride there on the electric cars. I suppose visitors coming to Alexandria expect to find a beautiful old city with stately old mansions filling it; but if they expect this they will be disappointed, I think, for it is a busy, hard-working little town. But of course it has some beautiful houses, such as the Marshalls' and Smoot's. On the corner of Washington Street is a monument erected to the dead Confederates.

Alexandria is situated on the Potomac River, and we have a fine view of Maryland, and often go over there in row-boats and sail-boats. At one end of the city there is a dangerous rocky point, called Jones's Point, which has a lighthouse on it. Girls and boys often go there fishing and sketching. From your constant reader,

ALICE V. LINDSEY.

JOHNSONVILLE, N. Y. DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I never had much to write about, but now I have a little.

Father and I get up very early nearly every morning. On one occasion we went out for a walk, and I saw a little bird hopping about as if it could not fly. I went after it and caught it. As we went along, I saw another bird fluttering about, caught that also, and brought them both home. I hunted up an old bird-cage and put them both in it. I named them "Dick" and "Belle." They prospered finely for a time, and I took them both out every day, trying to teach them to fly. The first thing I knew Dick had flown away to a tree. I kept Belle a little longer, and one day I was cleaning out her cage and the cat jumped at her; and that was the end of Belle.

My kitten that caused the death of poor Belle regretted it five minutes later; for with the help of a shingle my hand served to quicken her memory not to do so again. The kitten I named "Rosette," because her paws look like a rosette.

I have taken you for about three years, and could not do without you. I have a bicycle, and can ride it with my two brothers on behind me. They each occupy half of the saddle while I stand up and ride.

ANGORA STATION, W. PHILADElphia. DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am a girl from the Church Home School. We have about one hundred and eight children here. Our home is out in the country, and we are all very glad when spring comes.

In the woods we find hepaticas, spring beauties, partridge berries, and anemones.

In the schoolroom we read the letters at the back of ST. NICHOLAS and find the city and country they come from, and have it as a geography lesson. We have never seen a letter yet from Angora. Your constant letter reader, KATE JURETICH.

LONDON, ENGLAND.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: This is the first time I have written to you. I have taken you for several years, and like you very much. This winter we have been traveling about Europe. We have been to Spain, Africa, Italy, France, and now we are in England. Perhaps you

would like to hear of the trip I made with my father down to the docks.

We went down in the morning, and went into a great many different warehouses, where the men were packing up ivory, wine, and different kinds of spices to be sent to other countries.

The wine warehouse was underground, so we had to carry little lamps, which were on the end of sticks.

The ivory warehouse was full of elephants' tusks from Africa and India. One of the tusks was over seven feet high, and cost over four hundred dollars.

When we came into the spice warehouse we could hardly breathe on account of the strong smell of the spices. One of the men showed me the nutmeg in its different states. When they pick it off the bush it has a little red skin, which they sell, and people use it in flavoring soups. Then the skin is taken off, and there is a hard black shell; under this is the kernel - and this is the nutmeg. When we had seen the warehouses we walked a little farther out on the docks, and watched some ships being unloaded. The men were unloading cork and bark, which they were taking up into the warehouses.

We took lunch at a little mission-house which was for the sailors. On the walls of this mission-house were little prayers and sermons for the sailors to read. The lunch was very good, and consisted of soup, bread, and milk, and some coffee. The meal cost only five cents. Your interested reader,

HARRIET GREELEY.

KENOSHA, WIS. DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: My sister and I are two little girls visiting at a farm about fifty miles from Chicago, and it seems as if we had come into a truly Babyland. There are so many little calves, little pigs, puppies, lambs, chickens, and turkeys; and to little girls who have lived nearly all their lives in the city, they seem very interesting. We wish there were some others of the ST. NICHOLAS little boys and girls here to enjoy them with us.

We have taken the ST. NICHOLAS only since Christmas, and we think we could not do without it now. Truly your little friend, MILDRED WINSLOW.

ALLEGHENY.

For

MY DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: You have been a great friend to me for two years; and if I did not have a copy of you every month I should miss you very much. some time I have been wanting to write you a letter telling you about my pets-a dog and a canary-bird. I hardly know which I like better; but I think that I like my dog. Perhaps it is because I have had her longer; and then I taught her all the tricks that she knows. Before I tell you any of her tricks I will tell you how

she came to me.

66

My uncle, while out West, bought and sent her to me. She came in a box by express. She was two days on the road, and on the box was tacked a card, which said: "Please give me a drink of water." I suppose the men on the train gave her water and food, for she arrived safely. The first thing that I taught her was to shake hands. Then I taught her to sit up, 'speak," and jump. Afterward she learned to take off my hat when I came into the house. But what I enjoy most is dressing her in a baby's short dress and a little mull hat. She puts her paws through the sleeves, and I button the dress down the back; then, when the hat is tied under her chin, she looks quite comical. She, too, seems to like it; for if I hold her paws, she will walk all through the house on her hind legs. Sometimes two or three of us play "Ring-around-a-rosy"; and when we go down, "Nelly" goes down with us.

up

And now for the bird. We got him just before the returns of the election, and decided to name him for the successful candidate. As "McKinley" was too long and awkward a name for a bird, we thought " Major would be better. He is very tame for a bird. He will eat from my hand, and come out of the cage and walk around my shoulders. If I poke my finger in the cage he will raise his wings and fly at me, pretending to fight. I remain, your faithful reader,

RALPH E. MANNHEIMER.

FORT MISSOULA, MONTANA. DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: You have come to our house for quite a long while, and there never has been another magazine which we liked better. I like all the stories that are published; but I think "A Boy of the First Empire" was one of the best. I like all army and navy stories very much. My father is in the army, so of course I find all army stories very interesting. In one of the numbers of ST. NICHOLAS there was an article entitled "What the Bugle Tells on a War-ship." I found I knew a great many of the calls.

I shall be very sorry when we have to go away from here. It is the prettiest little post I ever was at. The mountains are all around us. Wishing you a long and prosperous life, I remain your most interested reader, MARGARET EDWARDS.

TRENTON, N. J. DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I would like to tell you about a little incident which happened on our porch last sum

mer.

One day I was sitting on the porch for a little fresh air when a wasp flew unintentionally into the web of a large spider. The spider came up as usual to bind and carry off his prey; but the wasp knew better than to allow himself to be carried away, so he fought and struggled to get free. Meanwhile the spider tried to spin a little web around the wasp, and entrap him. They fought for ten minutes with equal strength, till at last the wasp reached out his sting, and caught the spider square in the body. This seemed to make the spider very tired, for he immediately dropped all claim to the wasp, and slowly moved to a corner of his web. Meanwhile the wasp struggled, and with some difficulty got loose from the web, and flew away in triumph.

I am, yours respectfully, WALDBURG HEWITT.

MERIDEN, CONN.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: My papa is a newspaper man, and in consequence our home is literally filled with magazines and other publications; but I like ST. NICHOLAS the best of all. It is always instructive as well as entertaining; and its illustrations are superb. I wish every boy and girl in the land could see you each month in the year.

I wonder if all of your readers are bicycle riders, or does the wheel fail to follow your circulation to all parts of the civilized world? I have been a wheel girl for nearly a year, and enjoy the exercise very much. Mama thinks that bicycles interfere too much with school studies and music. She fears that they may prove detrimental to some young people on that account.

Some time ago a number of scholars in the school which I attend formed a district branch of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. While we may

not do much toward preventing others from being cruel, the organization inculcates the spirit of kindness among its members, which leads them to think of others. Your appreciative reader, ISABEL LEE SMITH.

RAWLINS, Wyo.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I received the June number to-day. It was my turn to read it first. You see my older sister and I take turns in reading it first, I one month, she another.

Yesterday my brothers caught a gopher; but it got away this morning. Papa made us the nicest cage for gophers. One large box is filled with ground for the gophers to burrow in, and the other has a screen on the front and a sliding-door at the back.

Last summer we had four of the cutest little gophers. One of them died from eating something injurious. Three of them were called "Spry," "Spy," and "Sky." Perhaps you remember I am the little girl who sent you a story Alvon and the Stone Ring"- about two I remain, yours,

years ago.

EMMA STUver.

DODGEVILLE, WIS. DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: We are taking you in our school, and think you are delightful. Miss Jones, our teacher, is reading us a story out of you, called " Master Skylark." We all enjoy it.

Now I will tell you about the time when I went picking flowers. A girl friend of mine and myself started from home and went out into the woods. We first started to pick violets, and then to pick some yellow flowers which grew in marshy places. I spied some water-cresses and wanted some. There was a stick across the stream, and I stepped on it to get some, and the stick broke, and of course you know where I went to. and stockings off, and washed them in a clear part of the I was all muddy and wet. My friend took my shoes stream, and then we went home. I was questioned a great deal, and I thought I would never go again. I am going to take you when I can, and I will read every story in you. I won't finish my letter yet, but will tell you a little story that I have read. There was once a little girl named Alice, who dreamed the queerest things you ever heard of. She dreamed that she was down in a rabbit-hole, which led to a beautiful hall all lit up and elegantly furnished. There she saw a little table with a bottle on it; and it said on the bottle, "Drink me"; so she drank it, and she began to grow smaller. She feared she would get so little that there would not be anything left of her. She went a little further and saw a bottle on another little table, which said, “Drink_me." She drank it, and began to grow larger. She had to stoop in order to walk. Well, if I told you, dear ST. NICHOLAS, how much this little Alice dreamed, I would write a whole book full. From your true friend, ANNIE CHANDLER.

WE thank the young friends whose names follow for pleasant letters received from them: Dorothy Jocelyn, Marie A. Gwynne, Robert Henry Fairlamb, H., Julia Frances O'Connell, Ethel B. Fleming, Eugenia Greenough, J. Louis Cobb, Emily G. Porter, Helen L. R. Glover, Lambourne Smith, Bessie C. Andrews, E. K. C., Mary Grace Allmutt, "Young New Zealand," T. H. McHatton, H. M. H., E. H. J., E. C. H., M. D. H., Wm. Malcolm Harris, Deane King, Robert W. Wilson.

CURIOUS ZOOLOGICAL CHANGES.

(EXAMPLE: Give a new head to a small dog, and make an insect. Answer, Pug, bug.)

1. Give a new head to a domestic animal, and make a sea-fowl.

2. Give a new head to a wild animal, and make a wild or domestic fowl.

3. Give a new head to a sort of deer, and make another sort of deer.

4. Give a new head to a wild animal, and make a wild or domestic fowl.

5. Give a new head to a rodent, and make its worst enemy.

6. Give a new head to a wild animal, and make a beast of burden.

7. Give a new head to a water animal, and make a water-fowl.

8. Give a new head to a certain domestic animal, and make another domestic animal.

9. Give a new head to a rodent, and make a tiny insect found on plants.

10. Give a new head to a species of rail, and leave a domestic fowl. L. E. JOHNSON.

I. O HOME of the muses! thy temples so fair,
Most lovely in ruin, still rise in the air.

2. Great empire of old! of the earth thou wast queen,
The like of thy glory the world has ne'er seen.
3. Enthroned 'mid the deserts for thousands of years,
The tales of thy marvels astonish our ears.
4. Through thy great wilderness, driven by wrong,
Wandered the children of Israel long.

5. The fez and the scimiter, crescent and horn, Thy emblem, O land by atrocities torn!

6. Deep, vast are thy forests, O country so new! Thy jewels are brilliant, thy comforts are few. 7. Thy rulers despotic, O land of the north,

Thy rich and thy poor oft to exile send forth. 8. Fair Emerald Isle, where the witty are born, With struggles 'twixt landlord and tenant so torn. 9. From thee, far away from the civilized world, Have hordes of wild horsemen on Europe been hurled.

10. Thee, haunt of the seal, by an Autocrat sold,
A young country bought for a bag full of gold.

ALL of the words described contain the same number of letters. When rightly guessed and placed one below another, the central letters will spell the surname of a well-known American.

CROSS-WORDS: 1. A military officer. 2. A serpent. 3. Young quadrupeds. 4. A part. 5. A soft compo sition. 6. A South American ruminant. 7. To go at an easy gait. 8. Weeds. 9. Approaches. 10. Mentions. II. A light carriage. 12. To compose. 13. Weary. 14. A military firearm. 15. A country of 16. A color. 17. A young lady of superior beauty and attractions. 18. A range of mountains.

Asia.

ROGER HOYT AND FRED KELSEY.