Again she took the necklace in her hand and said: "Obey me at once." But the strand broke and all the beads rolled away save one which she held in her hand. And then she wept. The wind seemed to say:

"Hush! never a heart can come to harm, If it but speak the old dame's charm."

And then she seemed to hear the voice of the old flax spinner and over again she could see the many kindnesses that had been done for her. And the voice seemed to say: "How couldst thou forget us, Olga? We were done for love's sweet sake." Then Olga wept again, and as she wept she remembered the words, and holding a bead in her hand said:

"For love's sweet sake in my hour of need,

Blossom and deck me, little seed.".

This time her dress looked as if it had been woven out of the snow drops and in her hair there was a coronet of pearls. When she went into the castle the prince came down to meet her and she was made the princess of the castle.

Again, in all the merriment, the old flax spinner was forgotten. Her kindness of the past and her loneliness of the

present had no place in the thoughts of the maiden. But the beads had rolled away in the darkness and buried themselves in the earth and began to grow beside the castle gate into strange sweet flowers. On the stem there hung a row of tiny hearts. One day the princess, seeing them, went down to them. With the flax spinner she had learned the speech of the birds and flowers, so she said to them: "Why grow you here?" They answered: "We sprung from the flax spinner's gift. The necklace which you

broke and scattered from her heart's best blood she gave it and her heart bleeds to think she is forgotten." Then they told over again how the old dame had given of her heart's best blood that Olga could be happy, and as Olga listened she was ashamed and she went to the cottage and brought the old flax spinner to live with her.

"And still the flower we call the bleeding heart blooms on by cottage walls and castle gardens, reminding us how often it is through hearts which bleed. for love's sweet sake that we reach our happiness."

Adapted from "The Little Colonel's House Party," by Annie Fellows Johnson. L. C. Page, Boston.

WHAT IS ARITHMETIC?

MARY WILGUS, XENIA, OHIO.

Progress toward mastery of a situation or a subject lies in the discovery of its inner simplicity, and in making the outer and apparently complex resolve itself and absorb into the true inner simple. The understanding of arithmetic on the part of the student can be measured by the degree in which its relations classify themselves for him into fewer and fewer groups.

Too many believe that addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are one

thing, fractions another, percentage still another, and interest with its variations still another; when in reality they are identically the same.

When reduced to its beautiful crystalline simplicity, arithmetic is just two things: combination-in the broad algebraic sense, that includes both addition and subtraction -of like units, and reduction of quantity from expression in terms of one unit to terms of another unit.

Reduction and combination-these two 'things constitute the science of arithmetic: and arithmetic when viewed in its elemental

simplicity loses all its bugbear qualities, and becomes beautiful and easy. It should be beautiful and easy for all. For those who do not rear mental barriers to clear seeing, but look simply and naturally straight inward where truth abides, it will be beautiful and easy.-Journal of Education.

SMITH'S ARITHMETICS.

Perhaps no man in America has given so much time and study to the pedagogy of elementary mathematics as Professor David Eugene Smith of Teachers' College, Columbia University. Dr. Smith is a teacher of rare ability. He has kept in very close touch with the elementary public schools. All these things united make him able to produce a superior series of arithmetics.

Both books of the series, the Primary and the Practical, are built upon sound pedagogical principles. They take into account the best ideas involved in the present courses of study. The Spiral system, which never quite completes any subject, is rejected, as is also the old-time plan of a single chapter to a subject. The author follows a happy mean between these extreme views. Perhaps the most attractive and valuable feature of the series is in the freshness of the exercises. One looks in vain for the problems, hoary with age, that crowd the pages of so many arithmetics. The problems have to do with the business of today, with the farm, the store, and the factory. While the treatment is largely concrete, enough purely abstract problems are given to furnish ample drill for fixing processes.

Both books of the series are rather profusely illustrated. The illustrations not only make the books very attractive, but they also form centers for lists of interesting problems. Teachers will find Smith's arithmetics very suggestive and helpful in connection with whatever series they may be using. They are published by Ginn & Company, Boston and Chicago.

SOLUTIONS.

10. Express the numbers from 80 to 100 by the use of four nines and whatever algebraic signs are necessary.

No absolutely correct answer was received for this problem. The above is a composite of the many answers received, with additions by the editor.

11. An eight-gallon cask is full of brandy, and a ten-gallon cask is full of water. How much must be transferred from one cask to the other that the mixture may be of equal strength?

Let x number of gallons transferred. 8-x= number of gallons of brandy left in small cask.

10-x= number of gallons of brandy left in large cask.

QUERIES.

13. A note of $100 was due September 1, but on August 11 the maker proposed to pay as much in advance as would allow him two months after September 1 to pay the balance. How much was required August 11, money being worth 6 per cent.?

14. At the angles of an equilateral triangle whose sides are 200 feet are posts 30, 40 and 50 feet high, respectively. How far from the foot of each post must a lad der be placed to just reach the top, and what is the length of the ladder?

15.

What is the length of a chord that cuts off of the area of a circle whose diameter is 1 foot? what is the height of the segment cut off?

14.

There is a Quaker, I understand.

Who, for three sons, laid off his land,
And made three circles nicely meet

So as to bound an acre neat.
Now, in the center of that acre

Is found the dwelling of the Quaker;

In center of the circles round

A dwelling for each son is found. Now can you tell by skill or art How many rods they live apart? Solutions to these problems should reach the editor, Robt. J. Aley, Bloomington, not later than April 14.