22 The Acorn Miscellaneous WHAT IS A LETTER A silent language uttered to the eye, Which envions distance would in vain deny, A tie to bind where circumstances part, A nerve of feeling, stretched from heart to heart. Armed to convey, like an electric chain The mystic flash the lightning of the brain, And bear at once, along each precious link, Affections life pulse in a drop of ink. Among the plants, sacred, and closely allied to the mystic life of the human race, there is none more interesting, and rich in legend than the mistletoe. It is found on diciduous and evergreen trees. But if in the right climate, there are few trees which are exempt from serving it as a host. It attains a height of four feet, and lives as long as the tree itself. The leathery leaves, and the stems are a yellowish green, and in the axils of the leaves are the small and insignificant flowers which ripen about Christmas tide into pearly white translucent berries. It was in "Merrie England" that the mistletoe was held most sacred. The Druids went to the oak groves to perform their mystic rites. The mistletoe was not often found on the oak, but when discovered, there was much rejoicing and peculiar ceremonies. There are many interesting myths about it: in fact, the mistletoe is closely woven with many beliefs and rites of the Druids. While excavating on his ranch in Montezuma Valley near Dorors, Thomas Elmer uncovered one of the rarest Aztec relics ever found. It is a bird carved in stone and inlaid with turquoise. The wings are outspread and inlaid with the beautiful blue stones, as is also the back of the bird. The stone from which the bird was carved is hematite, a mineral of a high degree of hardness. The relic is valued at $2500.00. When found it was in the mouth of a skeleton. Frederic Remington is called a painter of the vanishing west. He is," says President Roosevelt, "one of the most typical American artists we have ever had, and he has portrayed a most characteristic and yet vanishing type of American life. The soldier, the cowboy The Acorn 23 and rancher, the Indian, the horses and cattle of the plains, will live in his pictures and bronzes forever." "What would have been the History of the Ninteenth Century Fiction without Dickens? How gladly the common people heard him. He brought sunshine into thousands of shadowed hearts. His abounding humor, his overflowing human sympathy, and his immortal caricatures sprang from a vital force that age cannot wither nor custom stale. His books are mighty encyclopedias of life." Over in Florence in the beautiful chapel of St. Peter, there is a choir of birds. It is the only one of that kind in the world. There are over three hundred birds, each in a separate cage. The cages are in rows on both sides of the altar. The birds have been trained by a girl who has spent more than two years teaching them their part of the service. When it is time for the birds to sing, the girl leader raises her hands, starts each hymn by whistling softly the first few notes of music. Then the birds take up the air and and sing their part. Their singing rings sweet and clear through the chapel. For four years the Bagdad railway has been the axis upon which all the political questions of Europe revolve. This is to be built overland from Constantinople to the Persian Gulf. It will be a new route to India, and will do away, to a great extent, with the traffic on the Suez Canal. Germany intends to have full control, but the other powers of Europe are determined to have a share in this vast enterprise. The Powers, England, Russia, and France wish to take part of the stock, receive some of the contracts, and make it an international affair. "At its best Thackery's art is unimpeachable. 'Vanity Fair,' with its unforgetable characters, and 'Henry Esmond,' the best historical romance in the language, are books that no other man could have written; and if anything may be called pure gold of literature, it is surely such works as these." "He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who has filled his niche, and accomplished his task, who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a recuced soul, who has never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty, or failed to express it; who has always looked for the best in others, and given the best he had; whose life was an inspiration; whose memory is a benediction." Bulgaria is the land of roses. It is here where there are great rose gardens, the leaves of which are used to make Attar of Roses. The