THE Mississippi is well worth reading about.

It is not a commonplace river, but on the contrary is in all ways remarkable.

Considering the Missouri its main branch, it is the longest river in the world--four thousand three hundred miles.

It seems safe to say that it is also the crookedest river in the world, since in one part of its journey it uses up one thousand three hundred miles to cover the same ground that the crow would fly over in six hundred and seventy-five.

It discharges three times as much water as the St.Lawrence, twenty-five times as much as the Rhine, and three hundred and thirty-eight times as much as the Thames.