My cousin Harry and I found some pepper-and-salt (or erigenia, as my big sister calls it) on the east side of a hill in our woods on the 28th of February. We also found spring-beauties and pepper-root in bud. I never found wild flowers so early before. Last year we found the first on the 11th of March.
I am seven and a half years old, and I go to school. I had a canary named Sweet. It died, and I buried it under the kitchen window. I take YOUNG PEOPLE, and like the Post-office best of all. My cousin Lizzie made me a fire-fly out of pasteboard, and it flies nicely.
I am a subscriber to YOUNG PEOPLE. I think it is a very nice paper. I have a little pet antelope, and we feed it out of a bottle.
When I was four years old we had a young mule. The day it was born my brother and I were going to see a little friend who lived near us. I asked mamma if the mule could not go too, because it looked very anxious to go. After that we always called it the anxious mule.
The picture of a little girl pulling the Chinaman's pigtail, and asking if it would ring, amused us very much, for it reminded us of something that happened to my little brother. He went with papa and mamma to the Centennial Exhibition. At first he was very shy of the life-size groups dressed in the costumes of different countries; but when he found they were not alive, he would go and examine them very closely. When he visited the Chinese Department, a gentleman stood there in full Chinese costume. The little fellow ran up and touched his dress, thinking he was a figure like the others, and was frightened almost to death when the supposed figure stooped down and patted his cheek. Willow "pussies" were here two weeks ago.
I like YOUNG PEOPLE very much. My father is a clergyman, and he says it is a good paper for boys and girls. I like to make "Wiggles." I made a big pig from No. 9, but it was very crooked, and looked like a calf. When I get to be a man, I will learn to print newspapers, and I will put in lots of "Wiggles." I like the new story, "Across the Ocean," very much.
In our school we use HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE for a reader, and we all like it so much. We had a lesson to-day about "Tracking a buried River." On Saturday before Washington's Birthday our teacher let us have a school party. He bought candy and oranges for us, and the boys and girls brought pies and cake. Some of the teachers from the other schools came, and we set a table, and made tea.
