Boy's Column.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2075, 24 October 1885, Page 6 (Supplement)

Boy's Column.

To»si Slug. 1 Thi-J will nyvcr do, Tom,' bftid Mr. \)m j*:nin Sluj, ri bo real his ton's rch<W' rcpoit for another term. 'You ranst n>ally rov'.se up, or you'll never make a man of yotnw-eU. Mi S'ug had Rot on in the world by aciin? on the motto, ' Labour conquers evervtbin^,' and thus from au ofnse-boy he had riftm to the head of the firm. Jnstly prond of his own euccCß, and knowing its secret, ho was vary anxious his son «hould follow in his Gfeep?. To this end ho had pnfc him to the boat sohools, aud given him every chance of * good education. But the burden of every report was the game : ' The lad has good natural abilities, and woultt make a splendid ■cholar had he application ' — a polite way of saying that Tom was lazy. Tnere was a pioture in his bedroom of a field in a wilderness state of briers and thorns. Part of it had been originally inclosed as a vineyard ; bat it wag now oovered with nettles, and the vine^ were overrun with foxes, finding ready entrance by the rained wall. In one corner of the vineyard was a lod<?e, the latticed window ihowing the diowey keeper within, mnrnmring now and again, as he turned from side to iide : ' Yet j & little sleep and a little slumber, then will I I arne and till qiy field and trim my vines.' , In the dim distance, the grim, gaunt, hungrylooHng figure of Poverty was seen stealthily 1 approaching. Tom often looked at this picture, but hitherto had not fully learned ita l<2F3On. ! lie wag a thoughtful boy in his way, and ! sometimes philosophised a bit about hia lazy tendencies. Indeed, he was a philosopher in petticoats ; for he would sometimes argue to i himpelf in this way: 'My name is S!u?. ! Why, iff. tho name of that slimy, gliding thing on the garden walks I I wonder if the family got Ha numo — as Edward Longahinks got his, from his long legs— from the slowness of some member reminding people of a slug ? If so, how can I help being sluggish ? — it's in the blood. 1 He bad yet to learn that men are born into the world like oolta, and need breaking-in to be of fun U3C. The boy wa3 quick with his eye 3, however, if slow with his hands and feet. He had picked np a good deal, in this way, about boasts and birds and flies and oreeping things. On this memorable afternoon ho was fresh from a book about the Termites or ' white ants,' found in Africa, which build nests twelve feet high, some on tho ground, shaped hko pointed haycocks or hu^e mushroom: and some in treea, shaped like sugar-casks, I with a oovered-way to them, winding round the trunk, from the ground. There was n s#riousnesj in his father's tone as he begged Tom to free himself from the growing ilavery of indolence by one grand effort, which made him feel very miserable and disgusted with hinnelf. In this mood he wandered into the orchard, and threw himself down uador ft tree. It was a beautiful summer evening. The slanting sunlight barred the grass with long shafts of green and gold. Hard by, a little stream made music as it ran. The air was thronged with insects, dancing away their little day in the sunsot hour. I'om oould not help feeling the beauty of the scene. And coma sense of sweetness would mingle with the bitterness that found tent in his tears. When these had ceased, his eye chanced to fall on a nest of ants, the inmates of which wore very busy around him, some repairing tho ne9t, others guarding it, and others oarrying stores into it. A« he watched them, tho nest began to grow sensibly bigger, until it seemed as if ho oould walk up and down in it. Tom thought thia was a splendid chance of exploring an anthill, and making up to the nest, was about to ent«r, when two of the guards rushed out clashing their jaws so fiercely that he felt quite frightened. He was still more staitled, however, when one of them asked him what be wanted. On reoovering himself, he made bold to ask if he might ba allowed to see over the nest. The guards oonversed for a momant, and then one of them went inside, and presently returned with a kindly, motherly-looking ant, who said : ' The Queen has been pleased to grant your request, and appointed mo your guide. Pleaie step this way.' The entrance opened into a kind of ball, whioh again narrowed into a lobby, having a pillar at tho entrance, midway between the walls. Seeing Tom look wonderingly at this pillar, the guide told him it was to make the nest easior of defenoe when attacked. ' Too see,' sho said, ' a oouple of ants could keep a whole army at bay hero.' Tom thought it a most skilful devioe. Passing through this lobby, they came to another hall, much larger than tha first, with pillars here and there, to support the roof 1 This is the grand aisembly-room,' said the guide. Then she led him into another lobby, having a row of cells on each side. Thonca they mounted a Btairoase, and passed through a gallery, which also had rows of cells on each side. There was «ornething, or some body, in every cell. Now and again, they met a long string of ants bearing burdens. The leader of one of those — a big-jawed ant — seized Tom with his nipper as they were passing, and would hava made them meet in bis flesh, had not the guide signalled that be was a friend. Tom might have grown weary with his long tramp, but for some entertaining acoounts of other ant-nests by the guide. She described one hollowed out of the branches and twigs of a thorn-tree for the sake of honey hidden there; another parse-shaped, made by gluing leaves together while on the tree ; and another, stranger still, made with dried oakes of refuse arranged like tiles on the branches of a tree, one large cake forming the roof. As they came to one cell, a joyous company passed out, having among them a large ant of very stately bearing. ' Ttid Queen 1 the Queen 1 ' cried tho guide. ' Isn't &lie a right noble lady? Tom took note how very devoted and attontivo the nnta were to their Qaeen. Her bodyguard lifted her gently over all rough place ; and when the royal party met a troop of working ants, the latter divided and sainted the former as it passed along, Turning into the cell the Qaeen bad just loft, they saw tha floor oovered with the flmttflefit eggs Tom had ever seen. They were scarcely bigger than a pin-point. ' But oome this way,' said the guide, ' and I'll ihow you the nursery.' This was one of the cosiest cells in the whole negt. Here, ranged against the walls, hko classes in a school, wero rows upon rowa of small, white, legleas gruba. They looked l:kc tiny sugir-loavea, and wera made up of eleven or twelve rings. Every little creature had its nurso, who was either feeding it or washing it, or just taking it out for an airing, or bringing it in. • What in the world are these fuuny little things ? ' asked Tom. 4 Why, they havo come oat of o?r ) like those you saw just now ; and if spared, will be full grown ants some day. — Now you must see tho spinning-room.' So saying, the guide I'd Tom across a passage into another eel! H?re a number of fine fat grub 1 ? were spinning gauze dresfie3 for themselves, which were to H'sroud their bodies from top to toe. A few wero spinning an additional ooat of f ilk to pnt over the gauze dress. ' Taese are their nightgowns,' said tha puitfo ' An'l tho moment they aro covered from licivd to foot, the y will go to sleep for a •uord, 1 ! or six we°ks without waking.' r J'< m thought that uattld bo nice. Tho ppiiu)>uq hktu led to the dormitory. n< ro Tom fcav, what at first looktd liko jiilea of broken twifjs p-nd tiny balte of silk ; but v.'iun ho examined tho bits of stick more clohH', he oould tiaco the face and hmbj of an inflect through tho gauae-eoverin£. Thty kioktd, ioc all the world, like the pictured mummies be bad seen in book 3. Tho guards

iii the room looked rathe* flav&gely at Tom when he entered; but a glance from the ','iidp made .ill riphfc. 1 You need v>il \vf\lk bo poftly. A thousand c\nnon, thundeiiptf ov«r thorn, would not rouse them nntil they had slept their sleep out. As soon m they nhow the least fign of waking, howevei, ti;oy will bo taken into the next room and u v-wathed.' To fhi-i room they now proceeded. Tup sight Tom saw hero interested him much moro than anything he had yot eeen in the ant-world. The floor w&a siicwn with mummy liko forms, bnd Bilk balls liko those in the room just left; but they were stirring a little, as if alive. Mounted on each one were three or four ants, who carefully assisted tho inmates to unwrap themselves ; then thoy took the limbg from their aheatna and smoothed them out ; And at last the released prisoner stood up on its six Ipri, in all the freedom of a full-Rrown ant. What a change from the little helpless worm ! Tom examined one of these brand-new ants very minutely. He found the mouth had two pairs of jaws, which moved from pide to side, not up and down, liko his own. One pair of jiws was like toothed scissors, with a sharppointed beak. These, he learned, were to fight with. From the front of lt>e head iprarjg two Ion;', joiated things, like a thresher')] flail, but ciub shaped at the end. Che guide said these were the most useful thing* an aat had— arms, handg, and nose nil in one ; and that if she lost them bli<j was the most hulpless of croatures. Bin v;hat wonderful oyes ! Theie were five altogether — three arranged m a triangle on tho top of the head, and one on euch side. Tue two last were very large, and seemed made up of hundreds of smaller eyes. Tom tried to oount them; but when ha had reached a thousand in one socket alone, he gava it up. Tom also discovered that each ant had a bag in its hinder part, filled with poison, which In fighting it cnald bpurt into the bodies of ltd enemies. Tll2 guide told him that one family of anta had stings, as well aa poisonbags. Tom had observed on the back? of some of the auts when una.vathed, and just above the breathing holes, two pair of delioato wipp.3, n-hile the greater number had none. He learned, on inquiry, that the winged insects were kings and q leena, and those without wings, common workers. 010 1 reminding his guide that the Queen they saw a little while a^o had no wings, she said : You are quite right, Master Sharp eyes. But she once had wings, and I'll tell you bow •she lost them. The wing? 0? the King and Queen are for the weddino-tctp only. The King dies, or is killed off, on his return ; while the Q leen strips off her winga and pct9 seriously to her life work of laying rggs ; and clittt iii how she loses he? whip.— S2o ! there they go for the wedding-trip I ' Tom turned, and saw two rather elegantlooking ants, with winga half -raised, making towards tho door of the nest. Ho and the guido followed just in time to wish them muoh happiness, a^ they flew away thiough the sunlit air. Tom, seeing himself at the main door uyain, and thinking he had tietpasded quite lung enough on the kindness of hn ant 'mend, tnrned to thank her, and to send al r o a message of thanks to the Queen, when she exclaimed : ' Oh, I have a good deal moie to ahow you. You havo not seen our cow 3 yet.' •Cow?, cows! Anta have cows! 1 cried Tom in astonishment. ' Yes ; ants have cows ; and if you will step this way, you ahalleea them.' Tom obeyed, and they retraced their Qteps through one of the long corrtfora. Aa they went along they met an ant carrying a heavy burden. 'What! busy yet? 1 said the glide, and they touched hands as they passed.— 1 That is one of tho beat workers in the whole hive ; bhe works fifteen hours a day, many a time.' Presently they camp upon a fittle incect with a tuft of hitfr-i on its back, wWich sn ant sucked, and then vent away, sucking its lips. 'That is a w. ll ing honey pot,' said the guido. 'We k< ep ncver&l in the nest, and when we want a ta3te, we suok them, as you saw that ant do just now.' Tom opened hia eyes at this. But he opened them wider when he learned that there were ants who were living honey-jaws, who stored up honey, and gave it out as required to the other members df tho community. Just then a very small ant leaped on the back of the guide and put its long spider-legs round her neck. ' Stennie, Stennie, my little pet, don't quite choke mo with your hugs. — You see we have pet", as woll of oows and living honey-pots, 1 turning to Tom. They had now reached the cowshed, connected with the main nest by a covered-way. Id was built round and over tho leaves of a daisy plant which formed the stalls for the cows. Tom was looking for a largo four-legged orealuro; and ■when the guido pointed out quite a herd of small green insects, ho thought sho was surely poking fun at him. But these wero the ant-cows, For by-and by the milkmaids came in, went up to the cowrf and stroked thorn very gently until drops of honey fell from th°ra, which they drank. As Tom stood watching them, he remembered to ha\e seen green iii.-ectd hka these on the rose-treea and gooseberry bushes in his father's garden ; and the thought struck him that what people oall honey dew was the honey dropped by these little oreatuies. The guide told him as they walked away that there were some ants that grew their own rice, and even mushrooms. 1 Daar me,' thought Tom, ' ants are as clever as men.' Coming to a door that led inte the grand hall, and looking in, the guide exclaimed : 1 Why, the sports are on, and I did not know.' It was a merry pceno. At one end waa the Queen, with all her oourticra round her, watching the game?. Here a long double row of anta was playing at thread-needle. There a oompiny waa dancing; close by wero several paira wrestling and boxing ; while many of the youngsters were playing at hide-and-seek all round tho hall. Suddenly, when the merriment waa at its height, a cry was heard : To tho pillar, to tho pillar ! The foe, the foe ! Sual the inner doors ! ' The scene was changed in an inptant. Tho Qjpenhadher bodyguard doubled, and waa taken off at onca to the royal cell, and sealed up. The koipera of tho eggs, the grubs, and the rnummici liurnscl away to their respective cells, and filled up the doorwaya with clay. Tho cow kerpus did the samo with tho entrpneo to the covered- way. All was t^aitemeot. When the defences wero completed, all waited the onrush of tho enemy. But it proved a falde alarm. One of the outposts had indeed .seen a legion of soldier ants in t ae distauce, tending towards tho neat. They wero Hiuiply rounding a hill, however, and then made for a nest of negro anto, intent on making sl&voi. This was the explanation of a scout, who had been sent out to see how the thing would turn. Tom was utterly dumfounded when ho heaid of ant-alaves. 1 Do antrf really make and hold slaves ? ' ho asked, in utter astonishment, of his guide* Yes, pome ; but not all. We have no slaves, but do all our york ourselves. Theie is one tribo of ante, the " Amazons," great slaveholders ; but they do nothing but fight and lounge. They are veiy brave iv war, howeve» # , aud nevrr take or kill the up-grown ants of a neat, except there try to hinder them from catrying (iff their young, which they want to bring up and make into sl&'' eS j # But they havo to pay dourly for their lazinoss.'— Tom winced. — ' They are called tho " Workeis ; " but they me just tho opposite, wheu not fighting. They neither feed noi clean themselves, nor their young onca. All this is done for them by slaves, who actually havo to cany them on their bacLa when they go to a new aeUlunient. In fact they have lost the power of doing anything for thornHelves, through having everything done for them, and not using the power they had. Their jaws have lost their teeth, and are now

simply nippers with which they kill their foes. And all this results from indolence.' — Tom wincsd again. Was Bhe pointing at him? — 1 15 at,' she went on, 'I know another tribf\ the Round jaw 3, who have become more helpless still in tho same way. They are even losing their nipping power; and if it vrcro ro f for thr".r alavci, -n'lo cairy them to the field and (.'ion fi^hc h? their side, thoy would never wui a bittle. T lere is one oilier tribe which sloth has pinned into yet drppsr depths of degradation, th« Wornouta. Tlicy are the rnfro pupp^c masters oi their Hkv>g, who have bfcoine tlio real masters. Lizmes3 is a terrible curse; it can blight tha finest powers.' The speaker's thousand eyes flashed fire as she spoke these words, and made Tom tremble. He shuddered at tho pioture of the anto on whoji the curse of idleness had fallen. It made him think of the picture in his bedroom. Did he really see what his future might bbande — and would ba, did he not change — in these pictures ? And he groaned aloud, in anguish of heart, at the thought. ' Tom, Tom, rouse up, my boy t You will get your death of cold sleeping like that in the graas. Cjme in and get some warm cupper.' This was Tom's father, who had been seeking him, high and low, for some time, and had found him at laat, fast asleep in the orchard. Tom's adventure in an ant-hill was a dream ; yet not all a dream, passing away with his waking thoughts, like the morning oloud. The last words of hi 3 guide rang through hia mind for many a day : ' Laziness is a terrible curse, and can blight the finest power?.' Ie waß the turning-point in hia life, which suffeied as great a change as that whicu turned the white legless grub, in hia dream, into a light a ; ry insect. It was a new birtb. A few months later he went to business, and Boon won a character for patient industry, which he kept throughout his life.

Eilhton and George the Third* Ox the ovening of Elliaton'a benefit at Weymouth, rain coming on just as King Goorge 111. was passing the theatre door, he went in, and, finding no one at hand, he proceed' d to tha Iloyal box, and seated himqolf in his own chair. His Majesty soon fell into a comfortable doze, which presently became a sound slesp, la the meantime Lord Townsend, who hod met Elliston, inquired whether he had seen the King, as his rnaj^ty had not been at the palace binee three o'clock, and, it being nearly five, the Qn"en and Princesses were in some little anxitty about him. His lordship, gaining no information, went away. E!li°ton, making hiß way'to the'theatre for the purpose of superintending all things necessary for the reception of his auguat patrons, went straight into the king's box, and, percaiving a man fast asleep in hH Majesty's chair, was about recalling him to his senses in no gentle manner, when, fortunately, he recognised the Ktag himself. What was to be done ? Elliston oould not presume to wake hia Majesty— to approach him, apeak to him, touch him — impossible! And yet something was necespary, &s it was now time the theatie should be lit up. Elliston hit on the following expedient : Taking up a violin from the orchestra, he stepped into the pit, and, placing himself just beneath his truly exalted guest, Btruck up, dolecmaiti, " God save the King." Tho expedient had the desired effect ; the royal sleeper was gently loosened from the spell which had bound him, and waking, up ho sprang, and, staring theoomedian full in ths face, exclaimed : 1 Hoy 1 hey ! hey 1 What 1 what I Oh, yen! I see; Elliston. Hal hal Rain catuo on— took a seat— took a nap. What's o'clock?" " Approaching six, your Majoaly." "Six — six o'clock !" interrupted the King. " S=nd to her Majesty — say I m here. Stay — stay — this wig won't do. Eh — eh ? Don't keep the people waiting. Light up— light up — lot 'em in — let 'em in. Ha, ha 1 fast asleep. Play well to-night, Elliston — great favourite with the Queen. Lst 'em in — let 'em in 1" . The hou3c was pit2i3ntly illuininatod ; mosscnger3 were scat oil' to the royal party, which in a short space of tima reached the theatre. Ellirton quieted the side of hi 3 affable monarch, and dressing himself in five minuted for his part in the diaoii, went through his business with bounding spirit. Nor was his glee at all diminished whan, on attending the royal visitord to Iho carriage, the Kiug once raora nodded his head, saying : " Fast asleep — sh, Elliston 1 fast askep 1"