"Oh, mama, Santa Claus has left me nothing, because I lay awake to see him.' She looked at her mother wistfully. "Why, darling, that was all a dream. Look at the mantelpiece and your stockings.' Dorothy looked, gave an exclamation of delight. Oh, he did leave me a share of his bag, after all!" Then she told the story to her mama, as she drew candy, nuts, and toys of all sorts from her stockings. "Mama, was n't he good?" "Very," said her mother, happily. GOOD-BY, OLD YEAR. BY TERESA COHEN (AGE 9). No more is spring with buds and flowers, The grass and flowers are no to his satisfaction, when-" First class in geography!" and it was gone. "HOLLY AND MISTLETOE." "city folks," a mother with a boy and girl of his own age. He was not thinking, however, of the fishing excursions, the all-day tramps, and the moonlight rides. No; he was thinking of that last day in the parlor-the day when the girl had described to him the delights of Christmas. She had shown him the dainty little things she was making for presents, and had even shown him how to waltz. In this wicked accomplishment he had taken great delight; and although by the next morning he had forgotten how, he still thought of the parties with a thrill. He was thinking of them now. In his imagination the valley was changed to a spacious drawing-room, with its rich furnishings and fine musicians, and in the center the dancing children. Then he heard a march struck up, and the scene changed to a dining-room. It took a longer time to arrange this scene, for he had never been into the hotel dining-room, and she had said it was much finer than even the annual church supper. He had just got the table set and the servants arranged VOL. XXIX.-36. THE DEATH OF THE OLD YEAR. BLOW, thou fierce north, wind, blow, In a calm and peaceful sleep, Bury him deep in your thoughts and prayers And old remembrances dear, And then go back to the world and its cares, But forget not the dear old year. Y& Quaana 'HOLLY. GOOD-BY, OLD YEAR. BY LEON BONNELL (AGE 16). WHEN the leaves turn gold and crimson, And the sumac blazes fire; When the hills are robed in beauty, And all earth in gay attire; When the frost of the night bites kcener, When the leaves are dead and fallen, And the earth is white with snow; When the blaze on the hearth burns cheery, And the brook has ceased its flow; When the winds from the north are spurning, And the bare trees yield and sway; And a voice in the wintry moonlight Says this is stern winter's way, Then hail to the year that is dawning! Good day, new year, good day! GOOD-BY, OLD YEAR. BY ROY M. STERNE (AGE II). BY DOROTHEA SEEBERGER A LITTLE bit of patience Often makes the sunshine And a little bit of love A little bit of hope Makes a rainy day look And a little bit of charity Makes glad a weary day. GOOD-BY, OLD YEAR. BY DORA CALL (AGE 12). GOOD-BY, old year! We leave you With many a heavy heart; 000 ROCHESTER, N. Y. MY DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have had the books all the year, and I want to belong to the St. Nicholas League. I have liked your stories very much. I had once twenty pollywogs, but they all died. I saw some others though. I will tell you all about it. First I had got them, they were little bits of eggs, and they grew a little bigger and bigger until they put out their front legs, and I put in some stones and shells, and fresh water every day. Then they put out their hind legs. They were not Alma Jean Wing, a winner of silver and gold badges, wants the age limit of members extended on the ground that many are only getting a start by the time they are eighteen. In reply we would say that a start is all the League intends to give its members. A good start in the right direction, and then the League door closes, and the young author or artist becomes a part of the great struggle outside, where the prizes are not gold and silver badges, but recognition, remuneration, and perhaps fame. Miss THE NEW YEAR'S PARTY: UNDER THE HOLLY & MISTLETOE Wing is one of those who has BOVGHS: received an excellent start, and must take up with a stout heart and stouter resolution the battle that will be hers when on the BY BETH HOWARD, AGE 14. morning of her eighteenth birthday the League door closes to. The battle may be hard and long, but with perseverance Miss Wing will win. For great are the joys you 've brought us, We hope to find the new one And even though we 'll miss you, NOT A DAY IN THE FIELDS. A LITTLE kitten one day very slow! come back LEAGUE NOTES AND LETTERS. THERE are still a number of very talented young people who are careless in preparing their work. More than once it has happened that out of all the pictures or poems or stories received, the very best have lacked the name, age, or address of the sender. Perhaps this will explain to some wondering contributor why his or her work did not receive recognition. Name, age, address, and indorsement-these all are very necessary, and must be in a conspicuous place on the contribution itself, not on a separate sheet, as this is likely to be lost in the great mass of work received. DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: We have taken you ever since I can remember, and mama took you when she was a little girl. We all look forward to the last of the month when we are at home, but since we have been abroad it is only now and again we can get you. I like trying for the puzzles, and am a League member. I wish you could give up more space to the Letter-box, as I think it is such fun reading the different letters. We spent Christmas and the New Year in Rome, and were lucky enough to see the Pope. He gave an audience to some pilgrims. We had to wait for what seemed to be ages in St. Peter's. At last he came in, carried in a chair by his Swiss body-guard. They wore the costume designed by Michelangelo. We all thought he had such a lovely old face. One day we went to see the prison of Beatrice Cenci in the Castello de San' Angelo. It is a little stone room about seven feet square, with a large pit in the middle where the bodies of the prisoners who died in prison were thrown down. This pit had no cover whatsoever, and there was barely room for the bed beside it. It was the only stick of any kind in the room. The pit has a railing around it now, but it did not use The only light is received through a small grating in the corner between the ceiling and the wall. We also saw the original of that picture where Beatrice Cenci has a white cloth about her head. I remain, to. Your reader, MARY LOUISE LOGAN. The following letter refers to the picture "William Penn's Hut," published this month. DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am sending a picture that I took of a little old house known as "William Penn's Hut," at Upland, near Chester, Pa. There is a high stone wall around it. On the wall is this inscription: "House built by Calib Pusey in the year 1683 and occupied by William Penn during occasional visits." Your interested League member, FREDERICKA GOINA. A LETTER FROM THE FAR DEPTHS OF INDIA. WOODSTOCK, MUSSOORIE, BRITISH INDIA. MY DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I live in the Himalaya Mountains. My father and mother are the principals of the school in which I stay. Its name is "Woodstock Girls' High School," and the picture on this paper shows how the school building looks. This is a missionary school. It is situated seven thousand feet above the ocean, and we are not nearly at the top of the mountain. The flowers are very pretty; the dahlias grow wild on the hillsides. There are different kinds of orchids; some of them are red, and some are white. The trees have long thin ferns hanging down from their branches, which makes them look very pretty. Looking from one side of our house, we can see six or seven ranges of mountains, and on another side we look down upon the beautiful valley of Dehra, and the Sewalik Mountains on the other side. I enjoy reading the ST. NICHOLAS, and I hope you will print my letter in it. I am ten years old, and wish to become a member of the St. Nicholas League. HELEN E. ANDREWS. A member who puts down his age, but forgets to sign his name, sends this amusing anecdote : DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: The following is a story that I thought perhaps might please you and the readers of the ST. NICHOLAS: A Dutch prospector had been working a mining claim for several years, when it dawned on him that there was nothing in it, so he concluded to sell out. He had his mine advertised, and finally suc THE ROLL OF HONOR. ceeded in getting a buyer. The new owner started work where the Dutch miner had left off, and before he had gone three feet struck a big body of ore. When the Dutchman heard of it, about a week after the strike, he said, "Vell, dot vas ver' funny. Next time ven I quit I go three feet furder." Other welcome letters have been received from Theodora Kimball, Henry Ormsby Phillips, Jean Bradshaw, Denison H. Clift, Dorothy Calman, Basil Aubrey De Vere Bailey, Pansy R. Greg, Elisabeth Schell, Helen Frith, Marian Daves Shove, Gwendolen G. Perry, Florence Loveland, Florence B. Bracq, Philip Beebe, Gedde Smith, Margaret E. Sayward, Audrey De Renne, Ruth G. Sterne, Ivy Varian Walshe, Randall M. Tuttle, Edna Wier, Mabel Fletcher, Caroline E. Everett, Frida Muriel Harrison, Edna Youngs, Edna Mead, Mary Gordon Collins, Mildred White, Helen Reef, William E. Hill, Gertrude T. Clarke, Monica Peirson Turner, Margaret J. Shearer, Dorothy Taussig, Miriam L. Ware, Thérèse H. McDonnell, Marguerite M. Hillery, and May H. Ryan. Mary W. Robinson Marguerite Owings A LIST of those whose work has been found well Lawrence Gray Evans worthy of encouragement. VERSE. Marcia L. Webber Margaret Alline Fellows Eleanor Hollis Murdock Mabel Fletcher Janet P. Dana Beulah H. Ridgeway. PROSE. Barbara P. Benjamin Howard R. Patch Hilda Butler Freda A. Snow Freda Muriel Harrison Adele J. Connelly Martha E. Sutherland Lucille E. Rosenberg Gertrude Riker Leverich Eleanor F. Reifsnider Rona Bond Belle Schonwasser Ada Hilton Green Mary M. Alexander Eunice Clark Barstow Gertrude Chandler Stimson Philip Little Caroline Wood Ferris Mildred Valentine Ham- Edith G. Daggett burger Elizabeth Lewis Slee Selma Einstein Margaret G. Wood Emmeline Bradshaw Dorothy Sidney Paul Louise Fritz Jessie Metcalf Harold R. Norris Catherine H. Straker Kathryn Belden Grace Kramer DRAWINGS. Charles Ridgely Marjory Anne Harrison Elizabeth Bruce CHAPTERS. TEACHERS and others who are forming chapters may have as many badges as are needed sent at one time and in one package. Badges thus sent will be post-paid by the ST. NICHOLAS without charge. There are no rules for forming chapters other than those given'in the League leaflet. The main thing is to get together, and work and play together, and see if one or more members of the chapter cannot succeed in getting prizes, or in having something published, or in getting on the roll of honor. The Ozark Chapter sends a most interesting report of a summer outing it had last August. We would gladly print it if we had room. No. 33 reports new members and new officers. If we mistake not, Bertha Janney, now president, is one of our prize-winners. The president of Chapter 90 wishes to know if other than League members may join chapters. No; but why are they not members? They do not need to be subscribers to the magazine. They need only send for badges, and take an interest in the League department. Of course they will do that if they want to belong to the chapter. They can read the magazine at the library, or at the club An interest in the League meetings, or may borrow it if they can. is the only requirement of members, and certainly those who wish to join chapters must be interested. No. 299 calls for five new badges; 299 meets Saturdays instead of Fridays, as reported. No. 327 has begun its meetings again, and reports "fine times." 327 gave a benefit in October, with an admission charge of two cents. Meetings every other Saturday. No. 363 calls for three more badges. No. 368 calls for four more badges, and has taken the name of "The Golden Eagle." Weekly dues five cents. Would like to hear from other chapters. John Ross, Secretary, 312 14th St., Davenport, la. NEW CHAPTERS. No. 370. M. Letitia Stockett, President; Alec Woollen, Secretary; seven members. Address, 1508 John St., Baltimore, Md. No. 370 meets every two weeks, and members take turns reading while the others sew. No. 371. Frances Oldham, President; Dorothy Mathews, Secretary; three members. Address, The Auburn, Mt. Auburn, Cincinnati, O. Anite Dumars, President; Edith Roberts, Secretary; eleven members. Address, Glen Ridge, N. J. No. 373. 46 'Jolly Five." Alida Wright, President; Mary Campbell, Secretary; five members. Address, 119 Welsh St., Kane, Pa. No. 374Loraine Washburn, President; Julia Coolidge, Secretary; four members. Address, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. No. 375. "The Happy Two." Elizabeth Upham, President; Ruth Wintermute, Secretary; two members. Kilbourn, Wis. "The Happy Two" send a nice letter about Wisconsin which we wish we had room to print. No. 376. "McKinley Club." Helen Mann, President; Karl Mann, Secretary; twelve members. Address, 124 Farwell Ave., Milwaukee, Wis. No. 376 will meet weekly at members' houses, and after work will have games and refreshments until home time. No. 377. Gladys Aurand, President; Paul Bruner, Secretary; seven members. Address, 1313 Otter St., Franklin, Pa. Dues, twenty cents a month, to furnish club-room. "Any member injuring or trying to injure any bird or animal will be fined five cents." No. 378. Fred Sullivan, President; Walter Underhill, Secretary; four members. Address, 1050 Trinity Ave., New York City. No. 380. "P. O. Chapter." Clarkson Miller, Secretary; six teen members. Address, Lock Box 21, West Liberty, Ia. No. 381. "Earnest Workers' Naturalists Club.' Marion Hopkins, President; Harriet Leopold, Secretary; fifty-five members. Address, Miss Florentine Fuld, 130 E. 110th St., New York City. No. 382. Helen Macleish, President; Cecily Praeger, Secre tary; five members. Address, 231 S. Hill St., Los Angeles, Cal. No. 383. "Little Women." Emma Heinsheimer, President; Agnes Senior, Secretary; eight members. Address, Francis Lane, Walnut Hills, Cincinnati, O. Ad. No. 384. dent; Gertrude Theissinge, Secretary; seventeen members. Young Folks' Association." René Piperoux, Presidress, 920 Summit Ave.. Jersey City Heights, N. J. No. 385. Florence O'Neill, Secretary; five members. Address, 415 Morewood Ave. E. E., Pittsburg, Pa. No. 386. Kenneth Tredwell, President; Roger Lane, Secretary; three members. Address, 14 Prospect St., Bristol, Conn. No. 387. "Falls Village Chapter." Elsie Willey, President; Marion Alseph, Secretary; twenty members. Address, Falls Village, Conn. PRIZE COMPETITION No. 28. THE St. Nicholas League awards gold and silver badges each month for the best poems, stories, drawings, photographs, puzzles, and puzzle-answers. A SPECIAL CASH PRIZE. To any League member who has won a gold badge for any of the above-named achievements, and shall again win first place, a cash prize of five dollars will be awarded, instead of another gold badge. Competition No. 28 will close January 15 (for foreign members January 20). The awards will be announced and prize contributions published in ST. NICHOLAS for April. VERSE. To contain not more than twenty-four lines, and may be illustrated, if desired, with not more than two drawings or photographs by the author. Subject to contain the word "fireside.' PROSE. Story, article, or play of not more than four hundred words. It may be illustrated, if desired, with not more than two drawings by the author. Subject, "One Rainy Day," and must be a true story. May be humorous or serious. PHOTOGRAPH. Any size, mounted or unmounted, but no blue prints or negatives. Subject, "Deepest Winter.' DRAWING. India ink, very black writing-ink, or wash (not color). Subject, "Going to School," and must be from observation. Best, BY MARY HAZELTON FEWSMITH, AGE 12. PUZZLE. Any sort, the answer to contain some word or words relating to the season. PUZZLE-ANSWERS. neatest, and most complete set of answers to puzzles in this issue of ST. NICHOLAS. WILD-ANIMAL OR BIRD PHOTOGRAPH. To encourage the pursuing of game with a camera instead of a gun. For the best photograph of a wild animal or bird, taken in its natural home: First Prize, five dollars and League gold badge Second Prize, three dollars and League gold badge. Third Prize, League gold badge. RULES FOR ALL COMPETITIONS. EVERY contribution of whatever kind must bear the name, age, and address of the sender, and be indorsed as "original" by parent, teacher, or guardian, who must be convinced beyond doubt that the contribution is not copied, but wholly the work of the sender. If prose, the CITY BUS. BY LOUIS W. CRUTTENDEN, AGE 7. number of words should also be added. These things must not be on a separate sheet, but on the contribution itself-if a manuscript, on the upper margin; if a picture, on the margin or back. Write or draw on one side of the paper only. A contributor may send but one contribution a month - not one of each kind, but one only. Members are not obliged to contribute every month. Address all communications: THE ST. NICHOLAS LEAGUE, New York. |