colonial government. We do not know much about him, except that he died in 1672. However, we may confidently assume that the island was seen by Hendrick Hudson when he first explored the Hudson River. The Dutch colonists must have passed close to it on their way to Communipaw, where they first settled before they founded New Amsterdam. Afterward, during the Revolution, it was called Kennedy's Island, as Captain Kennedy, commander of the British naval station in New York, bought it. He built a house upon the island and used it as a summer residence. At the end of the war it became the property of the State of New York, and at the time of the yellow fever alarm, in 1797, it was used as a quarantine for a short time. In 1800 it was given by the State to the United States, and in 1814 the Government began to build a fort on the island. In 1841 the

present star-shaped fort was built, at a cost of $213,000. It was thought at the time to be a fine affair, as it would mount over seventy guns and hold a garrison of three hundred and fifty men. During the Rebellion the place was used as an hospital, and a number of hospital buildings were built on the island. With this exception, the

fort has never been practically utilized. We are not at war with any one, nor do we wish to harm any nation; so it happens that this, like many of our forts, has never been fully supplied with guns

THE HEAD, AS EXHIBITED IN PARIS.

the illustrations in an old picture-book. As you go up from the wharf on the east side, you cross a road that follows the top of the sea-wall, and come at once to the outside battery, already falling to ruin. Here are a few rusty old guns, and behind them rise the granite walls of the fort. There are on the west side an arched entrance, a moat, and a place for a draw-bridge-like those of an old castle. In the south-east corner is a sally-port, a cavern-like entrance, dark and crooked and closed by massive iron doors, not unlike the doors of a big safe. Within the fort there was a parade-ground, or open space, a few houses for the men and officers, and immense tanks for storing water, and great bomb-proof vaults where the men could hide if the shells flew too thick.

It was decided that the lofty pedestal for the statue should be built in the square within the fort. The parade-ground, however, appeared to be level sand. Clearly, it would not do to rest so great a weight on sand, and it would be necessary, therefore, to make excavations until a firm foundation was secured, far below. This seemed an easy task, but it proved to be an exceedingly difficult one. Under the parade-ground were the old water-tanks, the store-rooms, and bomb-proof vaults, and these were of solid brick and stone, very heavily built.

to form the immense figure. Now it is our turn. The statue is a gift- a free present of respect and good-will from the people of France. It is our part to receive it with honor, and put it up in the place assigned to it. America is to build the pedestal on which the great bronze figure will stand.

The pedestal will be of stone, rising in a massive square eighty-two feet above the ground. The solid block of concrete will be hidden under the grass, securely holding up the pedestal and the statue above. There will be stair-ways within the pedestal and balconies near the top, commanding a fine view of the beautiful bay and the three cities. The figure itself, from the top of the head to the foot, on which it stands posed as if about to step forward, is one hundred and ten feet and a half high; the forefinger is eight feet long and four feet in circumference at the second joint; the head is fourteen feet high, and forty persons can stand within it. There will be a stair-way within the statue, leading to the head, and another in the extended arm, by which ascent may be made into the torch, which will hold fifteen persons. A great light will be placed in the torch, and the pointed diadem, encircling the head, will be studded with electric lights. The total weight of the statue, including both the iron skeleton and the copper covering, will, it is said, amount to one hundred thousand pounds.

As the summer advances, the work on the pedestal will be resumed; if all goes well, the cornerstone will be laid on the 4th of July, 1884. When the entire pedestal is finished, the great Liberty, in hundreds of separate pieces, will arrive from France; and then will come the grand work of putting the noble statue together. It will be well worth seeing, for it will be a repetition, in part, of the curious work of building it. The pedestal being finished, the first step will be to fasten the great iron framework securely to the stone-work. Long bolts will extend deep into the pedestal, and be anchored firmly in the concrete, so that nothing less than an earthquake can ever throw the structure down. The skeleton in place, then will come the work of putting on the thin plates of copper that make the outside of the figure. These pieces will be fastened with bolts that will not show on the outside, and the joints between the sheets will be so fine that it will be difficult to find them, and so the work will appear from the outside like one solid piece of rich dark bronze.

In Union Square, New York, and facing the statue of Washington, is a bronze figure of Lafayette. It represents a man, of graceful figure and handsome, open face, in the act of making offer of his sword to the country he admired -- the country that sorely needed his aid. The left hand is extended as if in greeting and friendly self-surrender, and the right hand, which holds the sword, is pressed against the breast as if implying that his whole heart goes with his sword. The statue well expresses the warm and generous devotion which, as we all know, the French Marquis rendered to this country during the War of the Revolution, and is a fitting memorial to the noble friend of Washington and of America. Look at this statue the next time you pass Union Square or visit New York City. For it, also, was designed by Bartholdi-who planned the great bronze Liberty. He has made many other statues, and almost every one seems to have this strong and vigorous character, and to embody and express a meaning that all who see can understand. He has done good work, and we need have no fear that after the great figure is complete it will not be grand or beautiful. But no matter how imposing its appearance, it might be a failure, in one sense, if it did not clearly express a meaning. The Lafayette in Union Square seems ready to speak. too, the new Liberty evidently has something to say.

And so,

What will this grand figure mean? Well, in the first place, it will commemorate the generous part which the French played in the War of Independence, one hundred years ago. And it will represent the good-will and kindly feeling existing between the two nations which are, to-day, the only republics among the leading nations of the world. But there is a still wider meaning in this noble statue, and it is this meaning which the sculptor has embodied in the pose and expression of the figure itself. This colossal statue stands for Liberty enlightening the World. In one hand she lifts aloft a torch; in the other she clasps a book. Perhaps the book means law, or right doing. She stands for liberty; but it is the true, unselfish liberty which respects the rights of others. over, she stands for the people. She means that, under the shadow of liberty, the people are greater than king or emperor; that peace is better than war, friendship wiser than enmity, love and respect better than selfishness and unkindness; and that liberty is for all peoples throughout the wide world.

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THERE'S a dandy little fellow
Who dresses all in yellow,-
In yellow with an overcoat of green;

With his hair all crisp and curly,
In the spring-time bright and early,
A-tripping o'er the meadow he is seen.

Through all the bright June weather,
Like a jolly little tramp,

He wanders o'er the hillside, down the road;
Around his yellow feather,

The gypsy fire-flies camp;

His companions are the woodlark and the toad. Spick and spandy, little dandy,

Golden dancer in the dell!

Green and yellow, happy fellow, All the little children love him well!

But at last this little fellow
Doffs his dandy coat of yellow,

And very feebly totters o'er the green;-
For he very old is growing,
And with hair all white and flowing
A-nodding in the sunlight he is seen.
The little winds of morning

Come a-flying through the grass,
And clap their hands around him in their glec;
They shake him without warning,-

His wig falls off, alas!

And a little bald-head dandy now is he. Oh, poor dandy, once so spandy,

Golden dancer on the lea!

Older growing, white hair flowing, Poor little bald-head dandy now is he!