p of curves; although most birds flap their wings so rapidly that
they have no time to fall through a space great enough to be seen. Birds
also make use of the wind to aid them in flight, and by holding their
wings inclined like a kite, so that the wind shall slide out under them,
they can sail great distances without flapping their wings at all. They
are supported, as a paper kite is, by the wind, which is continually
pushing against their wings, and sliding out backward and downward, thus
lifting or holding up the bird, and at the same time driving it forward.

The birds are not compelled to face the wind while they are sailing, but
by changing the position of the wings a little they can go in whatever
direction they wish, much as a boy changes his direction in skating by
leaning a little to one side or the other. Some birds are very skillful
at this kind of sailing, and can even remain stationary in the air for
some minutes when there is a strong wind; and they do this without
flapping their wings at all. It is a difficult thing to do, and no birds
except the most skillful flyers can manage it. Some hawks can do it, and
gulls and terns may often be seen practicing it when a gale of wind is
blowing, and they seem to take great delight in their power of flight.

Of all birds the albatross is the most skillful in the art of sailing in
the air. It is a large sea-bird, about the size of a swan, and has very
long and powerful wings. It lives far out upon the open ocean, hundreds
of miles from land, and spends nearly all of its life in the air, very
seldom alighting upon the water. It flies almost entirely by the aid of
the wind, and sometimes does not flap its wings for an hour at a time.
Albatrosses often follow a ship clear across the ocean, or, rather, they
keep company with the ship, for as they are able to fly one hundred
miles an hour with ease, the rate at which a ship travels is much too
slow for them; so they make long journeys ahead and behind, like a dog
taking a walk with his master, returning occasionally to the ship to
pick up any food which may have been thrown overboard.

NANCY CHIME.

BY S. SMITH.

[Illustration]

Untarnished by the breath of fame,
Untouched by prose or rhyme,
The world has never heard that name,--
The name of Nancy Chime.

Domestic, friend, and monitor,
She served us long and well;
Not many "helps" could equal her,
And none, perhaps, excel.