thee sorest, mayest thou distil some precious attar, that will gain for thee a royal entrance to the City of thy Desire."

THE BOOKS THAT HAVE HELPED ME MOST-
AND WHY

BY MARJORIE TROTTER (AGE 17)
(Gold Badge)

APART from the Bible, which is acknowledged by every one in our day to hold highest place among books, both from a literary and moral standpoint, it is difficult to decide what books are most helpful, for there is such an abundance of good literature, ministering to such widely varied needs. It seems to me the books I need most are not those that inspire to mighty deeds in the dim future, or show me how to solve great problems I may never meet, but books that help me, here and now, to live an unselfish life. And when I ask myself what books have influenced me most in this regard, I am compelled to make an answer of which I am almost ashamed, for my choice is no masterpiece of writing, but merely a series of simple stories for girls, the "Little Colonel" books.

They contain no sermons, no wearisome digressions from the story. They are full of activity and fun, but the sweet atmosphere round the winsome Kentucky heroine that breathed fragrance into the lives of all she met, unconsciously influences those who read her history. It was Lloyd's high aspiration "to live in scorn of miserable aims that end with self," and any thoughtful girl, watching her character develop from baby days to the dawn of her gracious womanhood, will herself be stirred to this lofty ambition. Besides Lloyd, Mrs. Johnston draws, so vividly that we feel them to be intimate friends, hosts of other charming characters. Especially lovable are the jolly Wares, whose sturdy determination "to remain inflexible" before all their troubles is a beautiful example of cheery optimism. Their many other teachings cannot be enumerated here, but I have never opened one of these books without receiving fresh stimulus in the pursuit of my ideals.

SPRING

BY DORIS ROSALIND WILDER (AGE II)
By a shadowy, babbling brook,
'Neath tall pines that overlook
Fields of daisies gold and white,
Like stars in summer sky at night,
Every gentle breeze that blows
Bears the scent of briar rose,
Transparent ferns, and mosses rare,
Sunny skies, and balmy air.
Now and then a warbling note,
From some joyous robin's throat,
The shining air of summer fills,
And echoes 'mid the distant hills.
Fleecy clouds as white as snow,
Memories of long ago;

'Neath the trees dim shadows lie,
Mysteries of by and by.

But the babbling of the brook Breaks the silence of this nook, Gurgling, murmuring as it flows, "Memories linger, but time goes."

THE BOOK THAT HAS HELPED ME MOST-
AND WHY

BY DORIS LONGTON (AGE 17)
(Silver Badge)

Or the many books I have read, and reading is my favorite occupation, Louisa M. Alcott's "Little Women" has influenced me most.

It contains many lessons of unselfishness, charity, and economy, showing how happiness may be got

"

'AT PLAY." BY MARGARET AYER, AGE 14. (SILVER BADGE.) from very simple pleasures irrespective of riches. Also the perseverance and trials of four girls, very like other girls, who struggled hard against, and overcame, each one her special failing, seem to urge you to try to follow in their foot-steps.

Jo is my special girl. I seem to have cared for her from the first. She is so real and true. How I enjoyed reading the part where, through working hard, she got well planted on the road leading to successful authorship, scribbling away in the attic on her strange desk. How tender a nurse she made when, the mother away nursing a sick father, her little Beth took scarlet fever; and how she made peace with Laurie's irate

grandfather, when both were angry and hurt, although she, herself, was angry when Laurie played such a rude trick on Meg.

As for Beth, with her piano, her dolls, her dish-tub, and dusting, gentle, shy, little Beth did every one good by her patient duty-loving ways and manners, even to harum-scarum Jo.

Meg overcame her vanity and walked unscathed through "vanity fair," growing, when the mother was suddenly called away, from girl to woman, striving to care for the younger sisters and keep the home.

The little artist Amy learned a hard lesson with Aunt March, growing to think of others before herself and curb her vanity.

Louisa M. Alcott knew girls were not perfect, but what reward could be more than Mr. March's observations on his return from the war, when he was able to remark upon such improvement in his girls?

My friend, have you seen the northland
When the rivers are barred with mail?

When the pines bow low, 'neath the wind-heaped snow,
And sing through the rushing gale?

Then hark to the mighty blizzard

As it roars through the northern night Till the dark trees gleam like a misty dream, Through a flickering veil of white.

But listen! the wind is dying,

The clouds have been swept away;

And the moon sails high in a star-gemmed sky, O'er a world that is light as day.

Then ho! for the winter moonlight!
The monarchs of all are we,

By the heart atune to the winds that croon,
And the song of the gliding skee.

But ever the home lure calleth,
Till it kindles a wild desire;

Then fare we back o'er the gleaming track,
To drowse by the open fire.

IN YE WYNTER TYME
(An Acrostic in Archaic Spelling)
BY ELEANOR E. CARROLL (AGE 14).
(Silver Badge)

IN ye joyeuse wynter tyme,
Neare ye fyre I lyke to sytte.
Yellowe blazes upwarde clymbe,
Ever leaping: ne'er they quitte.
When ye blyzzards rage outsyde,
Younge and olde together synge,
Now aboute some ancyente bryde,
Telling usse of her wedding;
Else, about a vallyante knyghte
Roving 'rounde throughout the lande,
Tyll he fynds some wronge to righte;
Yea, he does onne every hande.
Months fly past, eache as a gueste,
Every one lykes wynter beste!

SPRING

BY ELIZABETH MACDONALD (AGE 10) SPRING on the hillside,

Ankle-deep in flowers,

Her favorites flocking round her,
Or hanging back in bowers.

Resting in the valley

Like a tired child from play, Lying in the fern and moss, Breathing scents of May.

Spring is in the woodland More beautiful than all, Budding blossoms round her Opening at her call.

Birds singing o'er her,

Blue sky above,

God surely sent her

To fill the world with love.

THE BOOK THAT HAS HELPED ME MOST

AND WHY

BY GRACE KING (AGE 17) (Silver Badge)

I HAVE been helped and educated by many different books, but I believe that during the last three years, the one that has helped me most has been my bankaccount book. Before I was given my bank-book, I spent my allowance heedlessly; in fact, I spent my money so quickly that I really could not give my parents an accurate account of what it had all gone for.

So, finally, on my fourteenth birthday, my father gave me a bank-book, and he told me to put my allowance (which was twenty-five dollars a month) into the bank and draw out five dollars every week, which should last me through the week for all my expenditures. He told me to keep an accurate account of every penny that I spent during the week, and to record these weekly accounts in my bank-book. At first I thought this would be an awful task, but I soon learned to take pleasure in being careful with my expense accounts, and then my father rewarded me for my extra trouble by adding another five dollars to my regular monthly allowance.

I am very glad now that I was taught to keep a bank-account, for it certainly did succeed in making me more economical, and more careful with money.

Everything within the house is missing From its own accustomed shelf or hook; For a hat, or pen, or clock, or necktie,

No one ever knows the place to look.

And the springtide's glory bright is darkened By the clouds of dust that upward rise, Veiling our fair land in all its beauty,

Casting gloom upon e'en sunset skies.

Thus, though spring comes dancing o'er the hilltops,
And birds are winging, joyful, to our homes;
Spring house-cleaning sways relentless scepter,
And through our land tyrannically roams.

TO WINTER

BY MARGARET M. CASKEY (AGE 15)

WITHDRAW, thou cruel tyrant of the cold!
Desert thy heaped-up fastnesses of snow,
Strike off thy icy chains from earth, and go
Far hence; and let Spring's buds unfold-
The purple of the violets, the gold

Of crocuses; let Spring new life bestow.
Depart, dread king, fair Spring's most deadly foe,
Lead forth thy legions of frost spirits bold
Who sheathe with ice each tender growing thing.

The birds, the minstrels from the south, will come To take their place; and butterflies will sail Through verdant trees, with opalescent wings; Among the flowers sweet the bees will hum, And Spring's allies shall o'er thy power prevail.

SPRING

BY DORIS F. HALMAN (AGE 16) (Honor Member)

A LITTLE stir,

A winged whir,

A flash of blue
And crimson, too.

The world is new!

A first robin's thrill,
A tree's soft, green frill,
A brook's flashing thread,
A white violet bed.

Blue sky overhead!

Splotches of gold on a rolling green, Perfume of flowers that blow unseen, Apple-bloom down-balls the breezes fling, Wee, shrilling voices that sing and sing, "Glory to God, for it 's spring! It's spring!"

THE BOOK THAT HAS HELPED ME MOSTAND WHY

BY DORIS IRENE KNIGHT (AGE 14)

"THE book that has helped me most," I thought to myself. Upon which of my many favorite books should the choice rest? Should it be "Captains Courageous," "The Jungle Books," or, perhaps, Thompson Seton's stories of animals? But no; a second reading of the title changed my ideas. "The book that has helped me most," it read. That book is surely the ST. NICHOLAS. And why?

The League has given me a chance to write once a month, or, at least, to think about the new title, so it has kept me in practice.

Then what a drill in patience ST. NICHOLAS is. For instance:

And they turned in their stirrups to see Nether Hall one great blaze.

"Heavens!" gasped Captain Hood.
They dashed back with white faces.
(To be continued.)

or words to that effect.

ST. NICHOLAS, too, always can settle any dispute as to punctuation, capitals, etc., because it always has the "latest" in printing.

All the stories are good and well written. Altogether, I do not see how I ever could get along without "the book that has helped me most."

PROSE, 1 Elizabeth C. Walton Katherine Judson Dorothy Rogers Margaret Vaughn Marie Merriman Mary E. Van Fossen Helen Gawthrop Elizabeth D. Macy Helen Grace Garnham Jeannette Gleed Nathaniel Dorfman Anna Charap Frances E. Čavanah Mittie Clark

Anne K. Warren Arthur Nethercot Catherine F. Urell Lucile E. Merrill Elsie Stevens Anna Rimington Louise S. May Florence L. Smith Adeline Rotty Hazel B. Pawlowsky Hattie M. Wulke James Sheean Antonia Schwab Myrtle Doppman Mildred Thorp Louise Lieber Fredrica McLean Walter L. Chapin, Jr. William W. Ladd Lenore J. Hughes

PROSE, 2

Dorothy A. Heinlein
Vernon P. Williams
Max Muench

Jessie V. H. Westfall
Naomi Lauchheimer
Alfred J. Murray
Hyman Estrin
Mildred Weissner
Vera B. Hall
Joseph Kaufman
Ethel M. Feuerlicht
Anna Laura Porter
Evelyn V. Palmer
Marguerite Sisson
Sarah Polansky
Mary Daboll
Catherine Johnson
Roxana Chadbourne
Etienne Donovan

VERSE, I

Bruce T. Simonds
Winifred S. Stoner, Jr.
Josephine N. Felts
Martin Stahl
Anita Grannis
Elizabeth Zerrahn
Betty Humphreys
Katharine Baker
Elizabeth Willcox
Ethel London
Margaret B. Laws

ROLL OF THE CARELESS

A LIST of those whose contributions were not properly prepared, and could not be properly entered for the competition.

LATE. Robert S. Welden, Hortense Douglas, A. F. Gilman, Jr., Parker McAllister, Chrystie Douglas, Betty Quick, John Argens, Valentine C. Hart, Laura Cook, K. O'Hanlon, Helen Fortier, Madelaine Schreiber, Helen Stearns, May C. Jacobs, Beatrice Woodruff, Hannah B. Trainer.

NOT INDORSED. Mary E. Mumford, Sally S. Palmer, Anthony F. Brown, Jr., Albert C. Kringel, Eleanor M. Sickels, Cyril G. Laub, Donovan Hinchman, Lucille MacAllister, Sophie Duwall.

NO AGE. Ray Inman, Jr., Catharine Clement, Theodore Neustaedter, Marian Speilman, Helen Beeman, Catherine B. McCoy, Nellie Melrose, Audrey Cooper.

WRONG SUBJECT. William Kalning, Harry Salzman, Bella Schnall, Isadore Schnall, Frances Brooks.

FULL ADDRESS NOT GIVEN. Minna Schwarz, Elsie L. Morey, Lucile Lesser, Ellen Lee Hoffman, Theresa E. Tobiassen, Joseph Barrett, Eleanor Mishnun, Walter J. Baëza.

WRITTEN ON BOTH SIDES OF PAPER. Gertrude Zwisler. IN PENCIL. Margaret Beauchamp, Clement Kell, Lois Gubelman, James O'Brien, Esther Huntington, Joseph Deprimo.

PRIZE COMPETITION NO. 151

THE ST. NICHOLAS League awards gold and silver badges each month for the best original poems, stories, drawings, photographs, puzzles, and puzzle answers. Also, occasionally, cash prizes of five dollars each to gold-badge winners who shall, from time to time, again win first place. May 10 (for Competition No. 151 will close foreign members May 15). Prize announcements will be made and the selected contributions published in ST. NICHOLAS for September.

Verse. To contain not more than twenty-four lines. Subject, "A Song of the Woods."

Prose. Essay or story of not more than three hundred words. Subject, "A Seaside Adventure."

Photograph. Any size, mounted or unmounted; no blue prints or negatives. Subject, "On the March."

Drawing. India ink, very black writing-ink, or wash. Subject, Left Behind," or a Heading for September. Puzzle. Any sort, but must be accompanied by the answer in full, and must be indorsed.

Puzzle Answers. Best, neatest, and most complete set of answers to puzzles in this issue of ST. NICHOLAS. Must be indorsed and must be addressed as explained on the first page of the "Riddle-box." Wild Creature Photography. To encourage the pursuing of game with a camera instead of with a gun. The prizes in the "Wild Creature Photography competition shall be in four classes, as follows: Prize, Class A, a gold badge and three dollars. Prize, Class B, a gold badge and one dollar. Prize, Class C, a gold badge. Prize, Class D, a silver badge. But prize-winners in this competition (as in all the other competitions) will not receive a second gold or silver badge. Photographs must not be of "protected" game, as in zoological gardens or game reservations. Contributors must state in a few words where and under what circumstances the photograph was taken.

Special Notice. No unused contribution can be returned by us unless it is accompanied by a self-addressed and stamped envelop of the proper size to hold the manuscript, drawing, or photograph.

RULES

ANY reader of ST. NICHOLAS, whether a subscriber or not, is entitled to League membership, and a League badge and leaflet, which will be sent free. No League member who has reached the age of eighteen years may compete.

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 and idea of the sender. If prose, the number of words should also be added. These notes must not be on a separate sheet, but on the contribution itself — if 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. Address:

The St. Nicholas League,
Union Square, New York.