next day the finger was again shown.

'Better?' was the doctor's question.

'Worse.'

'Poultice again.'

Lastly, when the finger was at length cured, the doctor even went so far
as to compliment his patient.

'Better?' he asked.

'Quite well.'

'Good. You are the most sensible woman I ever met. Good-day.'

WHAT INSECTS LOVE.

'I love,' said a Beetle,
'The Buttercups all.'
'And I,' quoth a Fly,
'Like the Daisies small.'
But a Humble Bee
Said, 'As for me,
My love is true
To the Cornflowers blue,
And Violets hid by a moss-grown wall.'

'All flowers I adore,'
Laughed a Butterfly;
And murmured a Wasp,
'Red Heather, say I.'
Then a grey Moth said,
'When you're all in bed,
I have the bliss
Of the Woodbine's kiss;
She waits for me when the day doth die.'

AFLOAT ON THE DOGGER BANK.

A Story of Adventure on the North Sea and in China.

(_Continued from page 335._)

CHAPTER XVI.

After strolling some distance, the three travellers discovered the ruins
of an old brick building. They entered it, and found that there were no
signs of its being used by any one.

'The first thing to do is to have something to eat,' said Charlie.

He took from his pocket some of the food which the missionaries had
given them. Fred and Ping Wang followed his example, but in the middle
of their meal Charlie startled them by declaring that their plan for
getting him a pigtail was not worth carrying out.

'What is the good of my having a pigtail?' he asked. 'I haven't a
skull-cap, and it can't be sewn to my "beehive."'

'I will lend you my skull-cap,' Ping Wang said.

'Thank you,' Charlie said. 'But how are we going to sew the pigtail to
the cap?'

'I have a pin,' Fred replied. 'We must use that for a needle; and as for
thread we must pull some out of our clothing. That can easily be
managed.'

As he was speaking, he rummaged about the inside of his coat, and
succeeded at last in pulling out about a yard of blue cotton. Then they
sat down on portions of the ruin which had fallen in, and prepared to
wait until it was dark enough to carry out their unpleasant but
necessary task.

Three holes in the wall commanded a view of the surrounding country, and
they were satisfied that there was no one near them at present. For
nearly an hour they chatted quietly. But, when Charlie peeped out again,
he