ecessary to clear it out every little while, and so the people have
been in the habit of setting it on fire every year a few days before the
equinoctial storms were due. They had found from experience that by the
time the storms came the fires had burnt out enough of the undergrowth
for their purpose, and the heavy rains which usually accompany the
storms put the fires out for them.

This year, however, the equinox brought no storm with it, and the
lighted fires have continued to burn with such fierceness that not only
the swamp, but the surrounding country, is in danger of being laid
waste.

The equinox is that period in which the sun, in its yearly course,
crosses the equator, and makes the day and the night of equal length.
This occurs twice in the year,--about March 21st and September
22d,--and, as we have told you, is usually attended by high winds and
severe storms.

In Virginia there is also a serious forest fire. The Dismal Swamp, as it
is called, is on fire. The smoke has become so dense that the people on
the trains which run through are forced to keep all the windows closed,
and even then the smoke is almost unbearable.

The train hands report that the game and wild animals that have made
their homes in the swamp are deserting it and fleeing in all directions.

All over these sections of the country the constant prayer is for rain,
rain, rain!

Curious, is it not, that in one year we should have had a period of such
heavy rain that dams were burst, rivers overflowed their banks, and the
farmers lost their hay crops, and that this wet season should have been
followed by such a severe drought that the forests have taken fire!

* * * * *

The latest news from Guatemala is that the government troops who are
supporting Dictator Barrios have succeeded in recapturing the important
city which the rebels had previously taken by storm.

It is necessary that you know the name of this city, but it is one of
the hardest we have had to encounter so far. Quezaltenango is its name.

(Strange, isn't it, that foreign names should sound so funny to us, and
be so difficult to pronounce? In many foreign tongues the _e_ is
pronounced _a_, and the _a_, _ah_. If you remember this it will help you
to a correct pronunciation of many names and places.)

Quezaltenango being once more in the hands of the Government, Barrios
has plucked up fresh courage, and attacked the insurgents with such
vig