Harper's Young People, December 16, 1879

Broad as it can be,
And both of them are grewsome things,
As ever you did see.
Then careful be, young people,
And do not whine or frown,
Lest some day you discover
Your chin's a-growing down.
Nor must you giggle all the time
As though you were but loons;
We want no children's faces
Like those in silver spoons.

The Largest Tree in the World.– In San Francisco, encircled by a circus tent of ample dimensions, is a section of the largest tree in the world – exceeding the diameter of the famous tree of Calaveras by five feet. This monster of the vegetable kingdom was discovered in 1874, on Tule River, Tulare County, about seventy-five miles from Visalia. At some remote period its top had been broken off by the elements or some unknown forces, yet when it was discovered it had an elevation of 240 feet. The trunk of the tree was 111 feet in circumference, with a diameter of 35 feet 4 inches. The section on exhibition is hollowed out, leaving about a foot of bark and several inches of the wood. The interior is 100 feet in circumference and 30 feet in diameter, and it has a seating capacity of about 200. It was cut off from the tree about 12 feet above the base, and required the labor of four men for nine days to chop it down. In the centre of the tree, and extending through its whole length, was a rotten core about two feet in diameter, partially filled with a soggy, decayed vegetation that had fallen into it from the top. In the centre of this cavity was found the trunk of a little tree of the same species, having perfect bark on it, and showing regular growth. It was of uniform diameter, an inch and a half all the way; and when the tree fell and split open, this curious stem was traced for nearly 100 feet. The rings in this monarch of the forest show its age to have been 4840 years.

Sweet Scents.– Perfumes were used in the early times of the Chinese Empire, when ladies had a habit of rubbing in their hands a round ball made of a mixture of amber, musk, and sweet-scented flowers. The Jews, who were also devoted to sweet scents, used them in their sacrifices, and also to anoint themselves before their repasts. The Scythian ladies went a step farther, and after pounding on a stone cedar, cypress, and incense, made up the ingredients thus obtained into a thick paste, with which they smeared their faces and limbs. The composition emitted for a long time a pleasing odor, and on the following day gave to the skin a soft and shining appearance. The Greeks carried sachets of scent in their dresses, and filled their dining-rooms with fumes and incense. Even their wines were often impregnated with decoctions of flowers. The Athenians anointed pigeons with liquid perfume, and let them fly loose about a room, scattering the drops over the guests.

THE MOTHER SINGS SOFTLY TO HERSELF:

Play, baby, in thy cradle play —
Tick goes the clock, tick-tick, tick-tick;
And quick goes time, quick, quick!
Grow, baby, grow, with every day —
Tick goes the clock, tick-tick, tick-tick;
And babyhood will pass away,
For quick goes time, quick, quick!
Not long can mother watch thee so —
Tick goes the clock, tick-tick, tick-tick;
And quick goes time, quick, quick!
To pretty girlhood thou wilt grow —
Tick goes the clock, tick-tick, tick-tick;
To womanhood, before we know,
For quick goes time, quick, quick!
Play, baby, in thy cradle play —
Tick goes the clock, tick-tick, tick-tick;
And quick goes time, quick, quick!
And some brave lad will come some day —
Tick goes the clock, tick-tick, tick-tick;
And steal my baby's heart away:
Ah, quick goes time, quick, quick!

Charley Bangs is a nice boy, but it was not right of him to take his big dog Towser to school when he heard the teacher was going to give him a flogging – And then to say he was afraid to send the dog home because it was so vicious, and might turn on him, and bite him!