---
title: Improvement Era
description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930.
authors:
  - Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
collections:
  - periodicals
tags:
  - magazine
  - improvement-era
periodical: Improvement Era
volume: 7
number: 6
published: 1904-04
publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
publisher_place: Salt Lake City
language: en
type: magazine
reference: 'Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, "In Lighter Mood," *Improvement Era* 7, no. 6 (April 1904): 473.'
source:
  url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0706unse
  transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers.
  identifier: improvementera0706unse
start_page: 473
end_page: 473
rights:
  status: public-domain
  basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1904-04)
  source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0706unse
  publication_year: 1904
  note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1904, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright.
---

# In Lighter Mood

<!-- page:473 -->

EDITOR'S 
        TABLE. 
        473
agrees 
        with 
        all 
        the 
        views 
        set 
        forth. 
        The 
        magazine 
        will 
        be 
        issued
quarterly, 
        the 
        subscription 
        price 
        being 
        30 
        cents 
        a 
        number, 
        or 
        $1.00
per 
        year.
TO 
        THE 
        READER.
The 
        Era 
        returns 
        thanks 
        to 
        the 
        many 
        young 
        men 
        who 
        made
reply 
        to 
        our 
        request 
        in 
        the 
        March 
        number. 
        Many 
        of 
        them 
        between
fifteen 
        and 
        twenty 
        years 
        of 
        age 
        have 
        written 
        the 
        editors, 
        and 
        in
their 
        letters 
        have 
        given 
        good 
        suggestions 
        with 
        which 
        it 
        will 
        be 
        our
pleasure 
        to 
        comply. 
        We 
        will 
        embody 
        them 
        in 
        the 
        Era 
        as 
        rapidly
as 
        possible, 
        and 
        hope 
        to 
        get 
        every 
        young 
        man 
        between 
        those 
        ages
interested 
        in 
        our 
        magazine. 
        The 
        allotment 
        of 
        the 
        book 
        for 
        the
best 
        suggestion 
        will 
        be 
        announced 
        in 
        the 
        next 
        number, 
        as 
        more
replies 
        are 
        expected 
        at 
        this 
        writing.
In 
        the 
        meantime, 
        besides 
        some 
        splendid 
        articles 
        for 
        students,
we 
        present 
        the 
        closing 
        chapters 
        of 
        "The 
        Celtic 
        Maiden," 
        and 
        the
first 
        division 
        of 
        "Kentucky 
        Belle," 
        in 
        this 
        number; 
        and 
        will 
        begin
"Adventures 
        of 
        a 
        Pioneer," 
        in 
        the 
        May 
        number
        —
        all 
        very 
        interesting
to 
        the 
        boys.
IN   
        LIGHTER 
        MOOD.
Passing 
        It  
        On.
        —
        Elsie:     
        "There's 
        a 
        man 
        at 
        the 
        door, 
        pa, 
        who 
        says
he 
        wants 
        to 
        'see 
        the 
        boss 
        of 
        the 
        house.'
        "
Pa:    
        "Tell 
        your 
        mother."
Ma 
        (calling 
        down 
        stairs):    
        "Tell 
        Bridget."
        —
        Philadelphia 
        Press.
Nathan's 
        teacher 
        believed 
        in 
        reducing 
        poetry 
        to 
        diagram 
        and 
        vis-
ible outline. 
        Therefore, 
        says 
        the 
        Boston 
        Herald, 
        she 
        told 
        the 
        class 
        to
make 
        a 
        rough 
        illustration 
        of 
        the 
        poem; 
        "The 
        Old 
        Oaken 
        Bucket."
Nathan's 
        illustration 
        consisted 
        of- 
        a 
        large 
        circle, 
        three 
        buckets 
        and
a 
        bunch 
        of 
        dots.
"Nathan," 
        said 
        the 
        teacher, 
        "I 
        don't 
        understand 
        this. 
        What's 
        the
circle?"
"That's 
        the 
        well," 
        replied 
        Nathan.
"And 
        why 
        have 
        you 
        three 
        buckets?"
"One 
        is 
        the 
        old 
        oaken 
        bucket, 
        one 
        is 
        the 
        iron-bound 
        bucket, 
        and 
        the
other 
        is 
        the 
        moss-covered 
        bucket 
        that 
        hung 
        in 
        the 
        well."
"And 
        what 
        are 
        all 
        those 
        little 
        dots?"
"Those 
        are 
        the 
        loved 
        spots 
        which 
        my 
        infancy 
        knew."