less song-birds bright,
That soon will break the tinted shell
And rise and sing in joyous flight."

[Illustration]

A VISIT TO A LONDON DOG-SHOW.

BY LAURA SKEEL POMEROY.

Some years ago I went to see a great dog-show at the Alexandra Palace, in
the north of London.

My friend Charley, a bright boy who knows the way all over this part of
the city, was my escort. We concluded to go to the show by the underground
railroad, and at half-past one o'clock we were at the station called South
Kensington. We bought our tickets there, and passed through gateways where
men in uniform examined our tickets, allowing but one person to pass at a
time, then descended two long flights of stone steps, and went down, down,
into the subterranean station.

[Illustration: A BLACK AND WHITE SETTER.]

Although it is nearly forty feet below the surface, daylight is let in
from above at this station, as in many of the others on the line.

Before and behind us we could see the great black-mouthed tunnels, through
which the trains were constantly passing.

When our train arrived we quickly found seats in a car, or carriage, as
they call them here, and were soon rushing along underground.

Now and again we came out into the open air for a while; soon we were at
Bayswater, then at King's Cross, at which station we got out of the car
and climbed up the iron stairs to the earth's surface again.

From King's Cross to Alexandra Palace was a ride of about twenty minutes
more, this time on a railroad which ran, for some distance, _above_ the
surface of the earth. We sped above the tops of smoky houses, by sooty
walls, through egg-shaped tunnels, beyond all these to the open country,
where were smooth green grass, groups of picturesque trees, and tangled
hedges.

The train stopped at the station called Muswell Hill, on which is built
the new Alexandra Palace--a large red-brick building at the top of the
hill. It is not so extensive as the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, but, like
it, is covered over with glass, and contains tropical plants, many
palm-trees, several theaters and lecture-rooms, and a large bazaar with
gay booths, at which you can buy almost anything you wish for.

As we approached the central part of the hall, a deafening chorus of dogs,
yelping, barking, growling and howling, assailed our ears. The stalls in
which the dogs were chained were arranged to form several aisles. They
faced each other, with a wide pas