birds, together with a
liberal supply of the prepared food.

STUDENT.--Among the ancients, and during the earlier part of the middle
ages, there was no distinction of capital and small letters. After the
practice had been introduced of beginning books and chapters with large
letters, often adorned or illustrated with artistic ability, it was not
long before capital letters were employed in much the same way as at the
present day. At times, however, their use was so extravagantly indulged
in that many of the old books present a ludicrous appearance to the
latter-day readers. The exact date at which they came to be universally
used is unknown.

TWO OLD CRONIES.--1. A boy aged eighteen is not too old to learn how to
play the piano, violin or any other musical instrument. There are
thousands of stenographers who did not take up that profession until
they were twenty-five or thirty years of age. They were firm believers
in the adage, "It is never too late to learn." 2. Munson's appears to be
the most popular system of shorthand. 3. A ten or fifteen minutes' walk
in the open air before taking breakfast will do no harm; but indulgence
in other forms of exercise should be reserved for the middle of the day,
if possible, or an hour or so after eating supper.

H.T.C., BIZ AND J.A.M.--Candidates for clerkships in the government
departments must pass a civil service examination in arithmetic,
geography, grammar, history, reading, writing and spelling, and in some
cases a knowledge of book-keeping is required. This depends upon the
branch of the service and the special position for which application is
made. Those desiring to enter the railway mail service must, among other
things, give the boundaries of their own county, State and country; the
location of all the States and Territories, locate all the counties
along a specified mail route, locate offices on the route and exhibit a
thorough understanding of the geography of the United States.

FRANK W.--1. According to Caesar, the first coins of what is now called
Great Britain were of tin, and he has been substantiated by the
discovery of pieces made of that material. The first copper coins made
by the United States Mint were one cent and one-half cent pieces, of
which there were four designs, designated the "chain cent," the "wreath
cent," the "flowing-hair cent" and the "liberty cap cent." 2. The
letter, or mark on a coin designating the mint at which it was struck,
is calle