p stairs to us. He plays
hide-and-seek with me, and sometimes I tie a rope to his collar,
and he draws me on my skates. How fast we do go! One day I hitched
him to a sled for the first time, and he did not know what to make
of it. He ran a little way, and then tipped me into a snow-bank,
and made for home.

A. O. THAYER.

* * * * *

BARTON, MARYLAND.

I had a pair of pet rabbits which I prized very much. Papa built a
hutch for them, and they enjoyed their home very much. I fed them
with clover, cabbage, and apples. Sometimes I gave them a dish of
sweet milk to drink. They were growing so nice; but we had an old
cat which I suppose thought if the rabbits were out of the way, she
would get all the milk herself. One morning I fed them, and forgot
to give Spiney her milk. (That was the old cat's name.) So she went
down to the hutch and watched them drink their milk. When they had
finished, they popped their little heads out between the bars. Old
Spiney sprang on them, and that was the last of my poor rabbits.

MAGGIE BERMINGHAM (10 years).

* * * * *

Bertha A. F. saw the bluebirds at Sag Harbor, Long Island, on the day
before St. Valentine's, and on February 20 she picked willow "pussies."
O. T. Mason says he found the "pussies" in Medway, Massachusetts, as
early as January 18, but he neglected to report them.

* * * * *

LEON M. F.--If you dampen the skin under the feathers with
water, and sprinkle on it a little finely pulverized sulphur, your
pigeons will probably be relieved.

* * * * *

AGGIE R. H.--Nourmahal, afterward called Nourjehan, or "Light
of the World," was the wife of Selim, son of Akbar, Mogul Emperor of
Hindostan. Selim succeeded his father in 1605, and was henceforth known
as Jehanghir, or "Conqueror of the World." In the early part of his
reign Selim was intemperate and cruel, but after his marriage with the
beautiful Nourmahal his conduct greatly improved. Her influence over her
husband was very great. He took no step without consulting her, and as
she was an extraordinary and accomplished woman, her advice was always
wise and judicious. Jehanghir died in 1627, and was succeeded by his son
Shah Jehan, who was the father of Aurungzebe, whose beautiful daughter,
Lalla Rookh, is the heroine