style; but the Chinese love to add all possible clatter and din to the tune. Gongs, drums, trumpets, and bells, serve to drown the melody. At gut-komm, OR CHINESE GUITAR. the beginning and end of each piece, a meaningless clatter of sticks and wooden utensils is kept up. Here, for instance, is the Tchu, which is only a mallet fastened in a wooden box, and which is sounded by a person putting his hand through the hole and giving it a pull. It only gives an irregular 'rattat-tat' against the sides of the box; but that increases the noise, and therefore pleases the audience. In addition to this, each of these instruments is dear to them on account of the legends and symbolical meanings which have been attached to it. Even this wooden box, the Tchu, is supposed to typify the advantages of social intercourse." flute. But they like our music-boxes best of all; so much so, that the manufacturers in Switzerland make boxes with Chinese tunes, expressly for that market, and great numbers are sold in China. Some Chinese are fond of the piano; and so are the people of Japan, where many music-boxes and pianos are sold, the empress herself being a very good pianist. But, after all, music-boxes are liked everywhere; even in the very heart of Africa, travelers have found that it is a sure road to the favor of a chief to give him a music-box. "Then, too, they have the gut-komm, which is the Chinese guitar, and is not very different from some of our own stringed instruments; and here is the samm-jin, or samm-sin, which, as samm-jin, OR CHINESE BANJO. you see, is a much more primitive instrument. It appears to bear about the same relation to the gut-komm that our banjo does to the guitar. As the picture indicates, it has three strings of catgut. "It is probable that neither of these two instruments is of Chinese origin, but that both came to China from India. The samm-jin is also a favorite ty, OR CHINESE FLUTE. bored, and desisted from forcing our gentle music upon the poor Chinese." The clock here joined in the conversation by striking ten. "Why, we are an hour beyond bed-time!" anxiously exclaimed mother; "shall we hear the rest to-morrow?" in Japan, and it is certainly to be found in the said Uncle Herbert. wedding outfit of every bride. "The ty is a good example of the kind of flutes used by the Chinese. It is made of bamboo, and has three embouchures, or breathing-holes, instead of one, as our flute has. "One of the harshest of all Chinese instruments, whose sound is sufficient to set one's teeth on edge, is the fiddle of two strings. It had, like the sammjin, an Indian origin. The small sounding-board is made of the skin of the gazelle, and the strings are made of the intestines of that animal. "All of you will remember the excruciating toy which the boys invented a short time ago, and which consisted of a waxed string drawn through a tin box. Well, the small sounding-board of this instrument looks like that unpleasant toy, and its tones bring it to mind yet more forcibly." 66 How do they write their music?" asked Arthur, memories of the difficulties in reading bass notes coming over him. "They have one of their letters or hieroglyphs for each note." "There is no 'rest,"" "I have given you all I can think of on the subject, that the young heads can take in; so this evening's history is done." That night, Arthur dreamt that he was entertaining the emperor of China with variations of "Pina THE tchu. fore" played on the king, and his mother was "And wont they ever like our beautiful compo- aroused late at night by his pounding on the wall sitions?" was Maud's pitying question. during his imaginary performance. But the music lessons improved, and many an evening the party gathered in the library to hear the music of various nations, as Uncle Herbert had heard it in his travels. The crisis of dullness in the musical studies soon passed away, and, before Uncle Herbert went back to Hong-Kong, he saw his niece and nephew working with zeal and pleasure at a study which, for a short time, had become irksome. Yet it did fret them both, a little, that their piano was not a better one. Their mother did not feel able to purchase a new one for them.. However, their affection and good sense would not allow them to complain. The week before their uncle's departure was a busy one, musically, for them both; there was to be a school exhibition in the town-hall, and Maud was asked to perform the sixth of Mendelssohn's "Songs without Words," and Arthur, Mozart's Sonata in C major. How they felt as they came before the large audience! but, as Maud said: "I saw Uncle Herbert looking at me nervously, and I made up my mind that I would show him I had been studying hard, at least." And both pieces went gloriously; so that their playmates, Edith and Harry Somers, asked: "Did you practice those pieces altogether on your BLODGET'S ORDERS. BY GEORGE Klingle. GRAND AUNTIE VON TIEZLE had ordered the great family coach and partaken of luncheon, and, at one by the clock, sat wrapped in her tippets and flappets, for her grand nieces, the darlings, the treasures, had put their pretty heads together, and for what? Why, that the great family coach, with Vixen and Spanker, should be ordered to take them a ride. What a tour they would make! Since Grand Auntie von Tiezle came in possession of the great coach, no such marvelous route had been projected. In fact, why should it have been? Were not Spanker and Vixen creatures of blood and mettle? Was not the coach a marvel of beauty and polish? Was not Grand Auntie von Tiezle herself given to cramps and stitches, and were any of the three to be trifled with? But it was plain there was a new leaf to be turned with the coming in of the new year. Nothing was surer than that Grand Auntie von Tiezle had ordered the coach for one o'clock, and that Bradley, the butler, had been given to understand that nobody need be expected till the clock struck five-and who could tell what to make of it? Grand Auntie von Tiezle and her nieces were cushioned in the great coach. Each heart was in a flutter; each tongue was all a clatter; each horse was at a scamper, and the wheels flew round. Grand Auntie von Tiezle was not certain about the time it would take to reach Crimpton; it was usually considered a drive of an hour; everybody thought an hour was not long, and began glancing to the right and to the left, to the left and to the right, to note the progress on the road. Everybody glanced carelessly, then more carefully, then leaned forward in astonishment. Everybody turned to look at everybody, for the coach, at that moment, was dashing past Grand Auntie von Tiezle's own mansion, which they had left with Bradley and the maid servants, and had believed to be a mile away! "It is strange! It is odd! It is past understanding!" chimed three young voices. 66 Quite remarkable," said Grand Auntie von Tiezle, lying back in the flying coach; and they whisked around a corner; went a block and whisked again around a corner, and, in a trifle of time, were again dashing past Grand Auntie von Tiezle's own mansion! Astonishment sat on every face. "What can be the matter? What can the driver be doing? What can he be dreaming of?" Impatience mingled with dismay as the horses flew along, dust blew up, and the sashes were at a clatter, and Blodget sat, tall and serene, driving Spanker and Vixen on apace. Would Grand Auntie von Tiezle ever speak to him? Would she ever ask him? Would she ever do anything but say: “It is rather odd !” "It is vexatious! It is outrageous!" Grand Auntie von Tiezle looked in perfect dismay as she heard the exclamations from her nieces. "You are on the way to Crimpton, are you not, my dears? It seems you are in need of patience." "In need of patience? On the way to Crimpton? Why, Auntie von Tiezle, we are this minute but passing, for the fortieth time, the house from which we started." "Ah!" said Auntie von Tiezle, looking provokingly through her glasses. "Possibly, it is all right, my dears. Blodget has his orders: he understands the lines -." "But the road, Auntie dear, the road! "The road? Ah, yes, it is all correct: it is some miles to Crimpton; I told Blodget to drive as fast as he dared." "But he has not started; he is yet at your door!" "Yes? Well, he will turn the corner in a moment. You see, the roads are poor a mile beyond, and I told Blodget to drive the proper number of miles around the block, for I wanted him to get to Crimpton by a smooth and easy way." Nobody could speak. Astonishment was giving way to fear. Had Auntie von Tiezle and the driver on the box gone mad? But she continued, quite sanely: "It is foolish, you know, my dears, to do things by hard ways; it is silly to drive over rough roads when you can fly over smooth ones." We "We have lost our New Year's frolic! have lost our ride to Crimpton !" cried the voices. "Silly dears! We are riding right along." "But the road; there is a right road; there is only one way that leads to Crimpton!" "There is only one way? Ah! How? The real road, the right road! Then we must take the right road, must we? Then it will not do to go by easy ways, smooth ways, our own ways?" "Oh, you wicked, teasing Auntie !" chimed the voices. "You mean to show us - "" "That if you mean to do anything this year you must not think about it, talk about it" "We see it all now-we understand it all now." "Do you want to acquire knowledge? Then do not talk of books, and sigh over the covers, and glance at the first page and the last page, and hope to get over the difficulties, simply by riding around the block. Great men have found it hard to tug over! Choose where you wish to go this year, and get on the road. Do you want to learn to be patient, gentle, Christlike? make haste and get on the road,-not some easy, smooth, roundthe-block road, but the real, right road; beware this year of riding round the block when you want to get to Crimpton." Then everybody understood all about it, and Auntie von Tiezle was not mad, and the girls protested that they would not ride around the block this year, but get on roads that led somewhere. Then Blodget had new orders, and the wheels flew around, and the dust blew about, and on before went Spanker and Vixen, and everybody knows, of course, that they were at last on the right road to Crimpton, and what 's more, they got there! THE SPRIG OF HOLLY. BY FRANK R. STOCKTON. NE Christmas, there was a great scarcity of holly in that part of the country where Colin and his little sister Dora lived. Everybody decorated their houses with Christmas greens, and as holly branches and berries were particular favorites that year, Colin and Dora wished very much to get some to put up among the clusters of evergreens which their father had arranged over the big fire-place in their parlor at home. But not a leaf or sprig of holly could they find. "I tell you, Dora," said Colin, we are too late. All the people have been out here, and have picked every bit of holly they could see. We ought not to have waited so long. It is almost Christmas now, and of course the persons who wanted holly came and got it a good while ago. I know one thing: I'm not going to put off picking holly, next year. I'm coming out into the woods before anybody else." "Yes, indeed," said little Dora. 66 They wanted so much to find some holly, that they did not give up the search, although they had been wandering about so long. They had found an evergreen bush with some berries on it; but it was not holly. All at once, Colin saw a fine twig of holly, with several great leaves and some berries as red as ripe cherries, waving gently about by the side of a great tree. It seemed as if it must be the only sprig on some little bush. Without saying a word, Colin dashed forward toward the big tree, followed closely by little Dora; but when they reached the holly, they found that it was not on a bush at all, but was held by a little dwarf, who had been waving it over his head to attract their attention. "Hello!" cried the dwarf. nice sprig of holly?" "Don't you want a Colin did not answer at first. He was too much astonished, and as for Dora, she just stood close to her brother, holding tight to his hand. The dwarf did not appear to be big enough to do them any harm, but he was such a strange creature that it is no wonder Colin hesitated before speaking to him. He wore a high cap, a funny little coat, and his breeches and shoes and stockings were all in one piece and fitted very tightly indeed. "You do want some holly, don't you?" he said. "Yes," said Colin, "I want some very much. We have been looking everywhere for it, but could n't find a bit." "There is n't any more than this," said the dwarf. "This is the last sprig in the whole forest. And it's splendid, too. There's been no holly like it in this country for years and years and years. Look what big leaves it has, and see how bright and shiny they are, and what a fine bunch of berries is on it! It's very different from that piece of bush you have in your hand. That's not holly." "I know it is n't," said Colin, "but I thought it might do, perhaps, if we did n't find any real holly." "But it wont do," said the dwarf. "Nothing will do for holly but holly. That's been settled long ago. You can have this, if you 'll pay me for it." "How much do you want?" asked Colin. "One year of your life," said the dwarf. If Colin and Dora were astonished before, they were ever so much more astonished now. "Why-what do you mean by that?" stammered Colin. "I mean," said the dwarf, "that for one year you are to belong to me, and do everything I tell you to do." "I wont do that," said Colin, who had now recovered his spirits. "It's too much to ask." "Yes, indeed," said little Dora, clinging closer to her brother. "Well, then," said the dwarf, "what do you say to six months? I will let you have the sprig for six months of your life." "No," answered Colin, "that's too much, too." "How would a month suit you?" asked the dwarf. "That's not a long time." |