at it takes forty days to purify the
mouth which has so defiled itself. The Burmese were, up to a very late
date, ignorant of the art, and expressed great astonishment when an
American whistled an air, exclaiming that 'he made music with his
mouth.' The natives of Tonga Islands, in Polynesia, consider whistling
most disrespectful to their gods, and even in European countries it is
objected to at certain times. In Northern Germany peasants say that
whistling in the evening makes the angels weep, and in Iceland the
feeling is so strong that even swinging a stick or whip, which may make
the air whistle, is supposed to have an evil effect.

[Illustration: The Hinen.]

The curious little instruments called by the Chinese 'Hinen' are of very
ancient construction. They are made of baked clay with five
finger-holes, three in front and two behind. They are wind instruments
blown by the mouth and tuned in what is called the Pentatonic scale,
which sounds much as the scale of C Major would if F and B were omitted.

HELENA HEATH.

[Illustration: "FALL IN"]

[Illustration: "THE MARCH PAST"]

[Illustration: "HALT!"]

[Illustration: "ATTENTION"!!!]

[Illustration: "STAND AT EASE"]

[Illustration: "THE MESS BUGLE"]

FLOWERS OF THE NIGHT.

People often speak of flowers going to sleep at night, and it is
perfectly true that many of them do close up their petals when it is
dark. Some, indeed, sleep very early--our British wild plant, the goat's
beard, is also called 'Jack go to bed at noon,' because the tops close
about mid-day. We have other plants, such as the daisy and the
dandelion, which shut their flowers early in the evening. But numerous
are the blossoms that are open all night, both wild and garden kinds,
affording food to night-flying insects. Then, again, we have flowers
which are usually closed by daylight, but open after sunset, and which
we should call 'flowers of the night.' Most of these are garden species,
though there are a few wild ones. Often we are drawn to them by a
fragrance which is wafted upon the evening air.

Perhaps the best known of all, a flower which seems to be at home even
in a city garden, is the evening primrose, an American plant, which does
not belong to the family of the true primroses. But the flowers have a
primrose tint, and they are slightly fragrant, opening usually about six
or seven in the evening, though an occasional bud may expand during the
day. The flower has little