L

AST lines are more or less common in these days of "The Conning Tower," "Line o' Type," and "The Sun Dial." Newspaper "columnists" evidently use their best wits to evolve the sentence which will give the "whip-cracker" finish to their day's stint. And when they achieve such a line as F. P. A. did during the milk-wagon drivers' strike, "what we want is milk from contented drivers,"-the day's work is doubtless considered well done, and the setting sun (or perhaps the rising moon) looks not upon an empty hand.

Such an enormous load of talk is easily borne by the 3,341,000 miles of wire that circles Manhattan Island in underground conduits.

Compare this volume of business with the first message ever sent over a telephone wire. Floyd L. Darrow, in his article "The Story of the Tele

phone," in the April ST. NICHOLAS, describes the patient experimenting which was carried on by Alexander Graham Bell and his assistant, Thomas A. Watson, and how they finally made the telephone talk. Briefly, this dramatic moment was as follows: "Forty more weeks of patient experimentation, and then, on March 10, 1876, Watson heard distinctly, through the telephone receiver, this message: 'Mr. Watson, please come here; I want you.' And this every-day message will be as well-remembered as the one, 'What hath God wrought.'"

All this by way of leading up to famous first lines. When Miss Ellsworth (later Mrs. Roswell Smith, wife of the founder of The Century Co.) sent "What hath God wrought?" as the first telegraph message, she conveyed as well the awe and inspiration which the invention had created in her mind. On the other hand the first sentence to be written on the typewriter (as you doubtless read in the March ST. NICHOLAS) was, "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party." Almost every one who has ever had a typewriter demonstrated to them, or learned to use a machine, has written that line over and over again. It could stand very well as the motto for the typewriter salesman's union, if there is such an organization. Mr. Collins, author of the ST. NICHOLAS typewriter article, says that at the time Christopher Latham Sholes produced his first workable machine there was a bitter city-election campaign on in Milwaukee, and every one was so keenly interested in the results that even the mild and kindly Sholes was fired with partisan enthusiasm, and transcribed his feelings on his first machine.

In one hour in New York City-between ten and eleven in the morning-about 450,000 conversations are held over the telephones of the metropolis. This is the busiest sixty minutes of the day for the New York Telephone Company.

A second dramatic chapter is recorded when the transcontinental telephone-line was opened. Mr. Darrow says: "On that historic afternoon of January 25, 1915, Dr. Bell in New York, speaking into an exact reproduction of his original instrument, was clearly heard by Watson in San Francisco. Dr. Bell said again, as on that other historic day thirty-nine years before, 'Mr. Watson, please come here, I want you.' And Watson replied, 'It would take me a week now.'

And what do you suppose were the first words reproduced on the phonograph? William H. Meadowcroft, an assistant to Mr. Edison, and author of "A Boy's Life of Edison," has written a brief history of the invention and development of the phonograph for ST. NICHOLAS, which will appear in the May number. But we won't keep you guessing. The historic first utterance of the Edison machine was: "Mary had a little lamb."

Perhaps if these latter inventors had realized that their devices were going to work, they might have chosen stately passages from the ancients

but history will doubtless cherish these modest first lines with equal appreciation.

ST. NICHOLAS for April has an especially good boys' story in "The Master of the Hounds," by Merritt P. Allen. One of the illustrations which William M. Allison made for it is reproduced with these notes. How George outwits the thieves who try to steal a valuable horse from the stables is a clever bit of work for a lad, and the devotion which the dogs bear him makes him well deserve the post of master of the hounds.

The April instalment of "The Inca Emerald" by Samuel Scoville, Jr., is all one could desire in the way of adventure and narrow escapes. And Charles Livingston Bull has pictured some of the causes of these thrills in realistic fashion.

"The Frost Whistle," by Edith M. Wallace, "A Live Latin Club," by Grace Humphrey, as well as a splendid instalment of "The Hill of Adventure," will appeal to our girls and their mothers, especially. They will be delighted, also, with Donald Teague's pictures of the heroine.

There's fun, too, in "Impossible Anthony," a baseball story; in Malcolm Douglas's "The Gentle Pirate," and in Jean Black's "A Zoo-Illogical Spree."

in their seasons in the same relative positions and at the same time in the evening, as unchanging and steadfast as the 'everlasting' hills. No earthly changes affect their comings and their goings from evening to evening and from year to year. The stars of the Egyptians and the Chaldeans are the stars of the Americans and the Europeans. The appearance of the heavens changes very little in a few thousand years. If the ancient astrono

In the NATURE AND SCIENCE department, Isabel M. Lewis, the well-known astronomer, closes her series of articles on the constellations, and with this paper completes the circuit of the sky. During this twelvemonth Mrs. Lewis has told ST. NICHOLAS readers how to locate the constellations and planets of each month. With her interesting descriptions and accurate charts, our boys and girls (and doubtless many fathers and mothers, too) have gained considerable knowledge concerning the heavens at night.

Mrs. Lewis says in concluding her last paper: "With this month we complete the circuit of the heavens and return to the point from which we set forth last May.

"From now on you will find our old friends of spring, summer, and autumn returning once more

mers should return today, they would readily recognize their old familiar landmarks of the sky. To all mankind, of whatever age or generation, the stars are the friendly beacons that guide the sailor on the seas and the wanderer on land, sending gleams of cheer and comfort through the depths of space to all those who learn their ways and come to welcome them as friends."

This department, in April, will also carry an interesting article on the electrical cotton-picker, a device which promises to simplify for the South the problem of promptly gathering this staple crop, although it may lead to the eventual disappearance of some of the romantic features of plantation life.

From time to time we have referred to the re

freshing letters we get from readers of ST. NICHOLAS. One page of the magazine, each month, is set aside for some of these, but it accomodates barely one half of one per cent of them. In the April "Letter-Box," as this page is called, we have a wide variety of letters, geographically-New Zealand, England, Korea, China, California, New York, and Illinois being represented.

One child writes that she has won ST. NICHOLAS in a contest at a book shop, another gets hers from the Athenæum, and one says she 's particularly interested in Ralph Henry Barbour's "The Turner Twins," for she and her sister are also "Turner Twins."

For a page of fresh, genuine, unaffected writing (much of it interesting description) turn to the Letter-Box, in the April ST. NICHOLAS.

PROPH

ROPHECIES are as a rule expected to carry a more or less roseate tinge, wherefore they have come to be accepted with something of the proverbial "grain of salt." Yet there are times when no exaggeration of actual circumstances is needed to warrant a fairly free use of superlatives.

This by way of introduction to the statement that the golfing season just now about to come bowling over the horizon would appear to be in all probability the greatest that the game has ever known. Since competitive play was resumed following the late war, each year has shown material development over the preceding one, and in view of this fact, the foregoing claim need not appear in the light of any exaggeration.

Without doubt the international aspect of competitive golf for 1922 will assume larger proportions than has marked the history of the game in any past year. In 1920 the United States had fair representation in the three British national events, the Amateur, the Open and the Women's championships. At the same time Britain sent over able representatives for our Amateur and Open.

Last year, we increased our delegations that invaded the British Isles for the three big tournaments, incidentally with complete success in one. of the three events. Britain again sent strong representatives for our championship events, being ably represented in each of our three national title contests.

So much for the past. As to the coming season, it is pretty well established that we will again send entries to challenge the sovereignties of British golfing mandarins. Jock Hutchison, the United States entry who captured the British Open Championship last year will return to defend his honors, and with him are expected to go several other high-class players of the professional field.

Jesse Guilford, our National Amateur Champion, is fully expected to make another trip over to try conclusions with Britain's best amateurs. Last year was Guilford's first try at the British amateur and he had the queer turn of luck to draw champion Cyril Tolley in his first match. He was beaten, and beaten fairly, but there were certain phases of the match which left very reasonable stimulus to incite Guilford's ambitions for another try.

In addition to our champion, it is quite likely that several others of our crack players will again

try conclusions with their British cousins. As yet no definite plans for a visit have been promulgated, but it seems entirely probable that a strong delegation will accompany Guilford.

Then Willie Hunter, British Champion, who is now a resident of New York has already gone over to defend his title. Hunter has definitely located in America and is now a full-fledged New York business man. The little Scot retains his native citizenship, but for all of that he is here with us, and a very considerable figure in our big tournament play.

On the other hand, Britain will be strongly represented in all of our title events this year. J. H. Taylor and Alexander Herd, two of the best known of British professionals, are already booked to come over. It is also probable that George Duncan and Abe Mitchell will return, and there is a possibility that Harry Vardon will also come over.

In amateur circles, it is promised that the most pretentious British delegation ever to compete in the United States championship will be on hand at Brookline. It is quite possible that the British delegation will include enough players to form a team for an international match similar to the one that was played at Hoylake last year.

So much for the international angle of the year's program. In addition to what excitement our future visitors may provide here, to say nothing of what may develop from the efforts of our representatives over there, the struggles to dethrone our present reigning champions will gather considerable intensity among the ranks of our own players in all of the three national fields. It goes without saying that Jesse Guilford, Miss Marion Hollins and Jim Barnes, respectively amateur, women's and open champions will have tremendous odds to encounter in their efforts to

retain their respective championships through

the year.

With a program both extensive and intensive in nature on ahead, the year looks like a most promising one for the readers of THE AMERICAN GOLFER, THE SPORT PICTORIAL. As usual we will follow these big championships with experts of the game to spread out for our readers graphic accounts of the hows and wherefores of the varying results. We anticipate a keen pleasure in recording the big moments of these battles, both graphically and pictorially, for our readers.