dance" always meant "Off to Brighton," for Stand." Dan had worked hard, appearing

then and there, just as they were allowed to wash in the pleasant waters of the seashore.

So the Kerosene Brothers were on the boards; and never was somersault like that of Dill exceeded in its wonderful perfection. To take two or three quick steps upon a bare stage only eight feet in height from floor to ceiling, and throw the body over in somersault, without extending the arms, forward and backward, is about as far as human power extends. This was done by one of them often, and always with complete success. The two together performed many very pleasing and difficult parts; in fact, they exhausted the circus rôle, as far as they knew; and, with St. Clare as clown, were a "strong card" in the programme of the little theatre.

St. Clare was compelled to use a goodly quantity of flour to whiten his face to the

requisite aspect, an African clown being rather foreign to the conventional notions of the stage.

a general and instantaneous stampede. The light pasteboard box, as it is, returns by a jerk of the hand, and a sigh of relief is heard "all along the line."

A small fee for admittance was charged, and thereby was obtained a sum quite adequate to the full accomplishment of the design. Limes were constantly procured, as well as vegetables and fruit; and in a short time the surgeon had the satisfaction of seeing a rapid and steady im

Among the various parts taken by one of the "Brothers" was lifting of heavy weights. The balls, it must be confessed, were more gracefully handled in this exhibition than during the day, when the same eight-inch shot and shell were dragged by the Kerosene Brothers around the garrison on police duty. An amusing burlesque was brought on at the close of the perform-provement. At the commencement five hunance with heavy weights. Tambo, as clown, dred men were on the sick-list; and that numhad prepared a pasteboard box resembling ber were prescribed for every day for several in size and shape a fifty-six pound weight; weeks. Many were too ill to leave their quarbeing painted carefully to resemble the weight, ters. Tents were put up for them in the fresh and as carefully marked with the figures. At- air, and every attention paid to give them suftached to this was a rope. Seizing the rope, ficient and generous diet, with the lime juice, and winding it with all caution around his hand, which was served three times a day; when rapid the weight was swung, very slowly at first, in convalescence followed. The garrison had been precise imitation of one performing the same highly entertained, and great good had come motions with a solid weight. After a number out of the proceeds. of swingings, back and forth, apparently with great exertion, the weight is allowed to leave the hand, and goes out over the audience, fearfully near the heads of those in the pit, causing

A movement of this nature would hardly be considered proper in ordinary times; but when we consider how many there were, among the hundreds of wretched creatures, who were prob

ably suffering for a trifling breach of discipline, and dying for the want of the actual proper food, it will be seen that the means used were justifiable. The walls of the fortress were too small to accommodate more than half the number, and maintain the ordinary conditions of health. Disease was upon them, the season was midsummer, the climate tropical. The theatre plan was manifestly a sanitary measure, and proved so most thoroughly not only to the sick, but to the well. To the latter it was a rational prophylactic.

Many of the troops were sick at the time, but all seemed to be enlivened and to receive new energy after the hearty laugh at the evening entertainment.

The excellent band of the 110th New York Infantry, the regiment then on guard there, furnished the orchestra with superior string music, and helped materially toward the success of the enterprise; particularly as Helmer, the leader, gave really very fine solos on the violin. Few of those who attended, night after night, will forget the pleasure derived therefrom. The little Théâtre de Hôpital has, we are gratified to learn, since been refitted, and has not ceased to be one of the institutions of the Dry Tortugas, though the motley throng that once crowded its corridors and "green-room" has long since dispersed. Pardons came "thick and fast," and hundreds of the poor fellows, many of them with anxious families awaiting their coming, were released. Hundreds that had gone unwittingly astray were now at liberty, but had felt the full measure of penalty, in some instances to a most serious extent.

they would prove quite as grateful to the taste as the birds'-nests of the Chinese.

This trepang is one of the wonderful modifications of the radiated animals. Belonging to one of the four great divisions-the Radiata-it seems at first strikingly different from the more familiar forms of star-fish and sea-anemones. To understand more clearly why this long-bodied member of the family is like the flat ones, or built on the same plan, we may take an orange, which is something like, in shape, the more round sea-urchins. Now if we roll out the orange-formed urchin, or jam down the long cucumber-like trepang, we have a nearer approach to the type, and see the plan expressed equally clear in both forms. If we peel the orange in quarters, or fives, and not only throw back the peel to form the star that it will, but the whole, in its divided parts, we have a star shape which indicates the star-fish, one of the most familiar forms of the plan. The mouth, it will be observed, is always at one end. Then, again, we take a star-fish, fold in backward his arms so that the points touch each other, then a seaurchin is represented. To express the form of the holothuria, which seems so different, if we could roll this sea-urchin into a cylinder the relation is seen at once. No more interesting example or proof of the presence of Mind in nature is found in the whole range of creation. The greatest diversity exists in this division of nature, and yet the most mathematical exactness is proved in the adherence to the plan laid out for that particular class. But we came out here to have a little recreation, and not to meet dry matters in science. We want you to see what a curious parasite there is in this strange animal. We have spoken of its value to the Chinese because the circumstance seems to be not generally known to readers; and it is probable that few have ever heard of so strange an instance as this of the trepang's "hanger-on." Now the old gentleman Webster, of the "Dietionary," says that a "parasite is, literally, a trencher friend-one that frequents the table of the rich, and earns his welcome by flatterya hanger-on." We see none here, but drop the trepang into the tall glass jar which we have brought along for the purpose. The creature

Another day dawns upon the reef, and we muster our crew. There were great numbers of curious cucumber-like creatures, or things, lying upon the bottom of the lagoon. Every visitor here is sure to spy them, and, of course, desires to know what they are. A peculiar habit which we have noticed connected with them we will also look into. Driving the boat into a shoal place, Fatty gets over, and stooping with head under water, eyes wide open-a trick we can hardly conceive as agreeable-seizes a cucumber, which makes hardly more resistance than its namesake of the garden; spirting a stream of water, though, with considerable pow-soon begins to exhibit numerous small white er, and slowly contracting itself, as if to show that its position in society is not so low as you thought. This is the bêche de mer of the French, the trepang of the Chinese, and the holothuria of science.

tubes arranged in a line along the body, just as they are (the same kind of organs) in the arms of a star-fish, or on the five quarters of the seaurchin. The tubes have sucking-disks, and fasten themselves upon the glass. Now the creature crawls with considerable skill. It is a great tube itself, with a nearly straight intestine running through it. At the mouth it is provided with a row of soft tentacles, not unlike the sea-anemones, instead of teeth like the an

For a long time the Chinese have been in the habit of eating these creatures; and American ships, particularly those fitted out and owned in Salem, Massachusetts, have long been in the trade. The animals are gathered in the waters of Madagascar and in various parts of the In-imals very much higher in the scale of life. Indian and Pacific oceans, are then cut and dried, or smoked, and carried to the Chinese ports by the shipload. After our view of them here, we should hardly be prepossessed in their favor as an article of luxurious diet, though probably

stead of the brittle shell of the urchin, or the rough spiny armor of the stars, the trepang has a leathery tunic covering its fleshy body. One species, however, of its class has a beautiful armor of scarlet-colored scales, and spreads

ALONG THE FLORIDA REEF.

mouth-a soft treelike branch with innumerable

branch

lets. This is often brought up on the lines of the fishermen off the New England coast, and is only the size of your hand. Our captive here is over a foot long, and as large as your wrist. It looks always so much like a cucumber, with its rough knobby sides and oblong shape, that the term sea-cucumber seems quite appropriate.

Well, we have been talking just long enough to give the trepang a chance to exhaust the air-the oxygen, as the chemists say - and you must know that so large an animal will

require a large quan

remonstrance.

FAT CHARLEY AND THE TREPANG.

tity. The small jar would not long afford him [ence is seen in its extreme transparency; and the all-important life-giving element unless it this is a very interesting sight. Holding the were very frequently renewed. The first indi-glass before the light, you can see the pulsation cation of this want of air is seen by the creat- of the great vessels, and nearly the whole anature's anxiety to reach the surface, the same as omy, at one view. The trepang has no apparent objection to his in the case of the golden carp that are kept in But another and more import-presence, and in most instances they are found glass globes. ant member of the animal world puts forth a to have this for their companion, their "hangerHe is not only more delicate, on," though never more than one. On examining the anatomy of the trepang physically, but he belongs to a very much higher class of society, and has lungs to be we find that the intestine doubles upon itself, refreshed with the grateful element-or gills, in a measure; and it is probable that no secrerather. As the trepang begins to stretch up tion is formed within that portion of the inteshis mouth toward the air, a fish's head is tine occupied by the fish, except, perhaps, museen bobbing up and down, peering out into cus. Then, possibly, the fish is provided with Now an extra secretion of mucus, which prevents the external world from the interior. "a joke is a joke;" and we at first thought any undue action of the fluids of the internal some one had perpetrated a joke upon us; but structure of the trepang. Wonderful as it is, no. On various and numerous examinations the fact remains; this fish is wholly dependent this particular species of fish is found living on the kindly offices of this low, simply organwithin the intestine or stomach of the trepang! ized creature of another division of the animal Is it not unaccountable that a fish, well formed kingdom. The fish would not survive out of and perfect in all its parts, should be placed in his accustomed protection, though we have careFor some wise purpose such a position for life? A "hanger-on" he fully tried the experiment, with frequent changes certainly is. Though a "trencher friend," and and renewal of water. "one who dines with others," he looks like this apparently absurd situation is created, and Out he comes and it affords another illustration of the presence of one born for better things. swims feebly, then drops heavily to the bottom. a Guiding Hand in this wondrous world. This He seems to be unable to support himself, or is was a new fact even to naturalists; but since too lazy. This fish is about the size and shape we made these observations Dr. Collingwood It has a long slender fin has discovered on the shores of the China Sea of a small smelt. along the entire length of its back, and alto- an enormous blue sea-anemone, two feet in digether is as well provided with means for self-ameter, in which little fishes take shelter. Some protection as any other fish. The only differ- of the jelly-fishes also have been found to pro

THE STORY OF PUNCH AND JUDY.

NE pleasant summer day, a few years ago, on with it. It was considered silly and stupid;

was and yet, as we shall show, with the assistance