that
parrot himself sent it? But no; he wasn't smart enough for _that_; I
remember, now, the signature was "Chambers."

THE WRITING OF THE PULSE.

Did you ever hear of a sphygmograph? Of course not. Well, in its
present improved state, it is something new and very wonderful. It
takes its name from two Greek words, _sphugmos_, the pulse, and
_grapho_, I describe. It is an implement to be used by physicians, and
forces the patient's pulse to tell its own story, or, in other words,
make a full confession of all its ups and downs and irregularities. Not
only make a confession, my beloveds, but actually _write_ it down in
plain black and white!

So you see that a man's pulse in Maine may write a letter to a
physician in Mexico, telling him just what it's about, and precisely in
what manner its owner's heart beats--how fast or slow, and, in fact,
ever so much more.

Now, isn't that queer? Should you like to see some specimens of
pulse-writing? Here they are:

[Illustration: 1.]

[Illustration: 2.]

[Illustration: 3.]

[Illustration: 4.]

No. 1, according to the doctors, writes that he is the pulse of a
strong, healthy boy, and that his owner is getting on admirably. No. 2
writes that his proprietor has trouble with his heart. No. 3 tells a
sad story of typhoid fever; and No. 4 says that his owner is dying.

I am only a Jack-in-the-Pulpit, you know, quite dependent upon what
the birds and other bipeds tell me, so you cannot expect a full
description and explanation of the sphygmograph here. Ask your papas
and friends about it.

There's a great deal going on in the world that you and I know very
little about; but such things as the sphygmograph give us a hint of the
achievements of science in its efforts to help God's children out of
their many ills and pains.

The deacon says that, wonderful as the sphygmograph is, the pulse
itself is more wonderful still--a fact which no good ST. NICHOLAS child
will deny.

A PERUVIAN BONANZA.

You've heard, I suppose, that they expect soon to open up a new and
wonderfully rich deposit of silver in the mines of Peru? No! Well,
then, it's high time you were warned about it. Take your Jack's advice,
my youngsters, and be very careful about things. Why, if they go on
finding big bonanzas in this reckless way, silver will be too cheap for
use as money! And then what will they do? They'll have to use something
in place of it, of course; but there's no telling what it will b