From the Hesperian Weekly letter fell out a cheque; each of the other notes signified the acceptance of my contributions. But the cup of my rejoicing was full, when the hitherto unseen editor of the Golden Gate Monthly suggested an interview in the hope of arranging for further contributions from my pen!

When I laid the cheque on the tableand when I read to my family the flattering letters I had received, I saw that their respect for me had been reinforced by other people's recognition. Sam followed me into the kitchen, as on that other night when I went too, as to-night, to "set my sponge."

"There, Beth," he said, laying a gold piece on the pastry board, add that to your wealth. I have been slow in paying it." "Aha!" thought I; "you dear, good old Sam, you shall have somebody to help you now in buying food and raiment for this family!"

"And now Sis, help me with a little advice. Do you see this half coin ?"

I did indeed, and wondered breathlessly -almost chokingly---how he had got it.

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Oh, that!" he said, with an embarrassed sniff. Well, I found out what Maria wanted for Christmas, and I had only saved twenty dollars, so to make out the thirty, I concluded to borrow till next payday a ten I knew she had hid away. I found it after lots of trouble, tied up with this half coin in a rag of grey silk. I heard her coming and walked off in a hurry to my train, and tied up my own gold pieces in the same scrap of silk; I don't know why, except to have the silk to put back. Well, I lost it on the boat and never got Maria's present of course-and borrowed ten from you to replace her coin, and told her nothing about it. But by Jove! I am in a regular fix about that monogram half thaler !"

There! There! There! To think it was poor Sam's money I had been using all the time !

Judge if I rolled the burden of my lie off at his feet before I even told Louis. And besides them, I never told anyone else. Where would have been the good of grieving the tender mother, and feeding Maria's pessimism and scorn?

Mary E. Grafton.

PROFESSOR PICKERING, of Harvard College Observatory, in a recent pamphlet, asks the public for subscriptions toward a fund, to be in charge of Harvard College, but to be used to support co-operation in astronomical research among many observatories. The ground on which he bases this request is of general interest: viz., that there are now more observatories and telescopes than can be advantageously used, for lack of money to pay the salaries of the observers, the cost of printing observations, and the like current expenses. "But few of the existing observatories are really active,

and at most of the active observatories the value of the buildings and instruments represents but a small portion of the total sum devoted to astronomical purposes. The current expenses during a single year, at some of the most successful observatories, equal the entire value of the instruments employed..... The number of large telescopes now lying idle is so great, that it is much more important that they should be employed than that others should be added to their number..... For several years the eighteen-inch telescope at Chicago was the finest instrument of the kind in the world.

No means were provided for an observer, and for part of this time the instrument was idle and unused." President Holden has more than once called attention to the fact that after paying for the preparation of the site, the buildings, the great telescope, and the other equipments, of the Lick Observatory, the remaining endowment will not be sufficient to keep the observatory in use to its full capacity. It is much to be hoped that some patriotic Californian, or some friend of astronomy elsewhere, will find his opportunity in this fact.

read a felicitous

MR. LOWELL's Harvard anniversary add ess is worthy of very wide reading; and that not merely among all who, from interest in Harvard University, wish to occasional address; but among all who are interested in theories of education, who have been impressed by the attitude Harvard is taking in the educational controversies of the present, and who therefore wish to read a somewhat authoritative expression of what the older Harvard—the college at the time it was producing its most remarkable crop of men-thinks of these things. Mr. Lowell is by no means a man left behind in the world's progress; on the contrary, he is in the full ripeness of intellectual activities and honors: yet the spirit and attitude toward education that express themselves through him are of a period prior to the present elective and specialist inclination of Harvard. The significance of his utterance on these things is not merely in the few paragraphs bearing directly upon Greek and electives, but still more in the conception of education expressed throughout the address, and of the relation of classically educated men to the commonwealth. It could not but have occurred to the younger Harvard men who listened, and who, perhaps, had been carried away by a certain much discussed address of a few years ago, that this old graduate, in whose experience foreign courts and schools have played their part, does not seem to have found his life crippled because Greek was not set aside in his college days to make room for drill in French. Ex-minister to Spain, he has not found it a mental impossibility to acquire the Spanish language at any period out of his three score and ten years save in the four years between matriculation and graduation. Had Mr. Lowell remained always a quiet teacher of young men, his pupils might have mentally responded to his doctrines: "No doubt the classical training was just what was needed to prepare him for the profession of scholarship-we expect to be men of affairs." But he has now been a man of affairs himself, and one who brings back to his Alma Mater more trophies of success than ever did

the railroad commissioner who testifies that he never could understand or care for his Greek.

THE recent elections in the United States afford some very decided indications, though these are not such as partisans on either side try to deduce from them. From a party point of view, neither side has gained any decisive advantage. The Republicans have gained in the number of men elected, the Democrats in the size of their minorities and in the geographical distribution of their successes; that is all that can candidly be said. But to the non-partisan observer the elections are full of significance by virtue of the shifting of votes. Republicans have carried Democratic districts, and Democrats have carried Republican districts. Tariff reformers have been defeated in districts formerly strongly in their favor, and that upon a distinct tariff issue; they have been elected, and that upon a distinct tariff issue, in districts formerly solid for high protection. Civil service reformers have been defeated, plainly because of their support of the President; spoilsmen have been defeated, plainly because of their opposition to him. It is to be said in limitation of this last sentence, that on the whole, the discomfiture of the Democratic party has been worst where the opposition of the local leaders to the President's reforming tendency has been strongest, and he himself, therefore, least consistent in carrying it out; while their gain has been most marked where the opposite conditions have prevailed. This limitation does not weaken, but rather emphasizes, the deduction of a shifting of party lines that every candid observer must draw from the elections. If they do not indicate a breaking up of parties, the signs are much at fault.

In our own State, the complete collapse of the independent movements was no sign of content with the old organizations. It was only a sign that such disjointed and aimless revolt could not recommend itself, in any of its fragmentary branches, to many voters; no one can doubt, from the current talk of the home or street, that great numbers hold still to their respective parties by a very slender tie, indifferently waiting to see something better before they cut loose. Meanwhile, from both tickets, a very respectable lot of officers has been elected; the State may be considered reasonably safe for the present; and a new municipal charter is the immediate matter of political interest. A board of freeholders, in whom both parties have confidence, is at work on the instrument and within the next two months, the people will have to decide upon it.

THE most critical question, perhaps, in drawing the charter, will be the definition of the powers of the mayor. The first thought of every one, on being newly confronted with the idea of making him the responsible governor of the city, is the traditional American fear of "one-man power." The last thought, however, of students of municipal government appears to be that if there is any solution to that problem, it lies in the mayor. The logic of this may be roughly phrased by saying that it is easier to find one good man than a dozen, and easier to watch one man than a dozen. Irresponsible power is ruinous to good government; but so long as a man can be held to account for the use of his power, the more he has the better he is likely to serve the public, for he will be chosen with more care, watched with greater attention, freed from hampering dictation if he is a good and able man, and deprived of the excuse of this, if he is weak or tricky. If things are all in his hands, and go wrong, he will be promptly unseated at the next election, with tarnished repute that will follow him, not only in farther political life, but in business; while if he does well, he will go on in political, and business, and social life with increased prestige. Where things can be done in the dark, and one person can hide behind another, these rewards may be lost, these punishments may be escaped, for the public, which awards them, may be easily deceived. Large power, checked by accountability to the public, has always produced the best class of public servants. Mayors, governors, and presidents are notoriously apt to be better than their tickets.

Winter in San Francisco.

It rains, and they say that Winter has come;
A jovial, genial fellow is he:
His great fur coat is swinging wide,

A rose in its button hole blooms with pride,
Its pocket holds a fan beside.

A jaunty, jesting fellow is he.

'Tis Winter, yet in strange disguise;

The earth springs green 'neath his broad smile;
What matter if he spread a frost
O'er tender grass? Its sting is lost
Before the sun an hour has crossed.—
All nature grows 'neath his broad smile.

Drear, irksome Summer, whom all dread,
He smiles to think of her chagrin,—
Of her dun-colored gown and veil, poor thing.
He has stolen all she ought to bring;
Forlorn she's left through his pilfering.—
He basely laughs at her chagrin.

And where is Spring-that joyous youth?
Some breathe a dark and dreadful tale,
That tells an old man murdered lay,
And he who wears his garb so gay,

Is the murderer Spring with his fun and play.'Tis better so,-yet breathes the tale.

E. S. B.

Mount Shasta as Seen from Tehama. The Sacramento's plains are green

With early wheat and tender grass;
A glorious picture, framed between—
Grand mountain ranges that surpass
The power of pen or brush to paint;

All veiled in softest haze of blue,
With snow-crowned peaks that show no taint
Of aught that can defile. In new
And gorgeous robes of spotless snow
A mountain of the purest white,
Lifting itself from all below

In majesty sublime—a sight
To thrill the soul-stands Shasta, king
Among Sierra's lofty domes.
No song the sweet-voiced Muses sing

In their melodious, mystic homes,
In praise of things sublimely grand,

Can picture this enrapturing view In Nature's temple where I stand,

And gaze upon the arch of blue That bends to touch Mount Shasta's crown, As if the world the heavens would greet; While common parentage they own, Where white-robed earth and bright sky meet. J. S. M.

San Emigdio.1

"Defender from the earthquakes." In the dark We faintly see, Emigdius, thy face, And, near Los Angeles' dim altar, trace

The Spanish words that tell thine office. Hark! What ghosts of sounds revive again; and, mark, What faces, whitened with the sudden fear Of shivering sod, look up and cry, “Oh, hear!

Hold thou earth still, Emigdius, patriarch!" So, when our fair life-structures are o'erthrown And all we planned lies low in dust, we wail, "O world, that seemed so true, how can we own Thee false?" Till, finding our laments avail Us not, we turn, with faith before unknown, To heaven's foundations that can never fail. Mary E. Bamford.

1 Behind the altar of the Catholic Church in Los Angeles is a portrait bearing this inscription:

San Emigdio, Obispo y Martir, Abogado contra los Temblores.

Holiday and Children's Books.

A few early forerunners of the holiday season, in the way of illustrated editions, are already in the book stores, and also a great many of the children's books that are brought out at this time of year with some reference to gift purposes. Of the first class is a heavy and lavishly decorated volume containing The Lay of the Last Minstrel,' with some eighty illustrations, large and small, tailpieces, headpieces, vignettes, and half-titles. These are drawn by W. St. John Harper, E. H. Garrett, F. Myrick, F. T. Merrill, L. S. Epsen, and engraved by A. V. S. Anthony, John Andrew & Son, H. E. Sylvester, H. W. Lyouns, G. E. Johnson; and they are drawn, engraved and printed, under the supervision of A. V. S. Anthony." They are a little perfunctory as gift-books illustrations, perhaps, must inevitably be, but good of their kind, and with its thick, dead-finish paper, beautiful print, and profuse pictures, the book is a pleasant one to read and an attractive table ornament. The arms upon the cover are those of Buccleuch, the Lord of Branksome. Houghton, Mifflin. & Co. reprint from one of the magazines, with new illustrations, as a Christmas volume, a pathetic story by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, The Madonna of the Tubs.2 We do not think it of Miss Phelps's best, in spite of many strong qualities, because there is an unfortunate failure of simplicity in it. Estranged lovers encounter each other, and their eyes meet, and before any remarks are exchanged, the following phenomena occur: "Their eyes clashed, retreated, advanced, united, and held gloriously: they defied each other, they adored each other, taunted and blessed, challenged and yielded, blamed and forgave, wounded and worshiped." This is, to our mind, decidedly bad style, and we regret it the more because Miss Phelps's tenderness, fervor, force, and abundant keen observation deserve to be free of such flaws. Here may perhaps be mentioned a new edition, abundantly illustrated, and in fine, large type and small folio form, of The Peterkin Papers, since these droll sketches are almost as

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1 The Lay of the Last Minstrel. By Sir Walter Scott, Bart. Illustrated. Boston: Ticknor & Co. 1887. For sale in San Francisco by Samuel Carson.

2The Madonna of The Tubs. By Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. With forty-three illustrations by Ross Turner and Geo. H. Clements. Roston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1887. For sale in San Francisco by Chilion Beach.

3The Peterkin Papers. By Lucretia P. Hale. With illustrations, Boston: Ticknor & Co. 1887. For sale in San Francisco by S. Carson & Co.

much grown folks' reading as children's. The volume contains one new paper. Some one has collected bits of poetry, under the six heads of "Reflection," "Fancy," "Wit and Humor," "Love," "The Poets' Garden," and "Faith, Hope and Charity" into six tiny volumes, prettily bound in colored silks, and named them The Pearl Series. The selections are good, and the form is a pleasing one in which to have them. Shakspere and the Bible are excluded from most of the volumes as being too rich in "pearls." The six miniature books are enclosed in a box together. -Beckonings for Every Days, whose sub-title is "A Calendar of Thought,," is a book containing selections of prose and poetry for every day in the year. The selections, made by Lucy Larcom, are good, with a somewhat devotional turn, yet with a range that can be judged from mention of the authors most drawn from-Phillips Brooks, Carlyle, Coleridge, Emerson, Geothe, Dora Greenwell, Lowell, McDonald, Martineau, Maurice, Robertson, Ruskin, Whittier, and Wordsworth. Matthew Arnold, St. Augustine, Browning, Miss Cobbe, Miss Coolbrith, George Eliot, Epictetus, Fénelon, Keats, Marcus Aurelius, Mill, Saadi, Keshub-Chunder Sen, and a great many more names as various in time, place, and creed, are also in Miss Larcom's list. She gives to each month a topic--for January, "The Invisible Presence;" for February, "Our Work;" for April, "Nature and Ourselves."

-Mr. Vedder's remarkable designs for the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam, have hitherto been scarcely accessible except to the well-to-do; and this is a pity, because, whether one altogether likes them or not, they constitute certainly one of the most notable and impressive pieces of illustration in the whole history of the art. The publishers have this year again reproduced the designs in phototype, this time on a considerably smaller scale, to make a less expensive book. We are very glad to see this done, even though we cannot agree with the publishers that the designs "lose none of their marvelons excellence in this form."

The Pearl Series. New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1886. For sale in San Francisco by Samuel Carson.

5 Beckonings for Every Day. A Calendar of Thought. Arranged by Lucy Larcom. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1886. For sale in San Francisco by Chilion Beach.

6 The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam. Translated by Edward Fitzgerald. Illustrated by Elihu Vedder. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1886. For sale in San Francisco by Samuel Carson & Co.