Jack and Jill .........................................................................................................................................................1

Louisa May Alcott...................................................................................................................................1

"Clear the lulla!" was the general cry on a bright December afternoon, when all the boys and girls of

Harmony Village were out enjoying the first good snow of the season. Up and down three long coasts they

went as fast as legs and sleds could carry them. One smooth path led into the meadow, and here the little folk

congregated; one swept across the pond, where skaters were darting about like waterbugs; and the third,

from the very top of the steep hill, ended abruptly at a rail fence on the high bank above the road. There was a

group of lads and lasses sitting or leaning on this fence to rest after an exciting race, and, as they reposed,

they amused themselves with criticising their mates, still absorbed in this most delightful of outdoor sports.

"Here comes Frank Minot, looking as solemn as a judge," cried one, as a tall fellow of sixteen spun by, with a

set look about the mouth and a keen sparkle of the eyes, fixed on the distant goal with a doordie

sang out another; and down came a girl with flying hair, carrying a small boy behind her, so fat that his short

legs stuck out from the sides, and his round face looked over her shoulder like a full moon.

"There's Gus Burton; doesn't he go it?" and such a very long boy whizzed by, that it looked almost as if his

"Hurrah for Ed Devlin!" and a general shout greeted a sweetfaced lad, with a laugh on his lips, a fine color

"Laura and Lotty keep to the safe coast into the meadow, and Molly Loo is the only girl that dares to try this

long one to the pond. I wouldn't for the world; the ice can't be strong yet, though it is cold enough to freeze

one's nose off," said a timid damsel, who sat hugging a post and screaming whenever a mischievous lad

Down came a gay red sled, bearing a boy who seemed all smile and sunshine, so white were his teeth, so

golden was his hair, so bright and happy his whole air. Behind him clung a little gypsy of a girl, with black

eyes and hair, cheeks as red as her hood, and a face full of fun and sparkle, as she waved Jack's blue tippet

"Jill goes wherever Jack does, and he lets her. He's such a goodnatured chap, he can't say No."

"To a girl," slyly added one of the boys, who had wished to borrow the red sled, and had been politely

"He's the nicest boy in the world, for he never gets mad," said the timid young lady, recalling the many times

Jack had shielded her from the terrors which beset her path to school, in the shape of cows, dogs, and boys

"He doesn't dare to get mad with Jill, for she'd take his head off in two minutes if he did," growled Joe Flint,

still smarting from the rebuke Jill had given him for robbing the little ones of their safe coast because he

"She wouldn't! she's a dear! You needn't sniff at her because she is poor. She's ever so much brighter than

you are, or she wouldn't always be at the head of your class, old Joe," cried the girls, standing by their friend

Joe subsided with as scornful a curl to his nose as its chilly state permitted, and Merry Grant introduced a

"All of us. Frank invited the whole set, and we shall have a tiptop time. We always do at the Minots'," cried

"Jack said there was a barrel of molasses in the house, so there would be enough for all to eat and some to

carry away. They know how to do things handsomely"; and the speaker licked his lips, as if already tasting

"Mrs. Minot is a mother worth having," said Molly Loo, coming up with Boo on the sled; and she knew what

it was to need a mother, for she had none, and tried to care for the little brother with maternal love and

"Especially when she has a candyscrape," said Joe, trying to be amiable, lest he should be left out of the

Whereat they all laughed, and went gayly away for a farewell frolic, as the sun was setting and the keen wind

Down they went, one after another, on the various coasts solemn Frank, long Gus, gallant Ed, flyaway

Molly Loo, pretty Laura and Lotty, grumpy Joe, sweetfaced Merry with Sue shrieking wildly behind her,

gay Jack and gypsy Jill, always together one and all bubbling over with the innocent jollity born of healthful

exercise. People passing in the road below looked up and smiled involuntarily at the redcheeked lads and

lasses, filling the frosty air with peals of laughter and cries of triumph as they flew by in every conceivable

attitude; for the fun was at its height now, and the oldest and gravest observers felt a glow of pleasure as they

"Jack, take me down that coast. Joe said I wouldn't dare to do it, so I must," commanded Jill, as they paused

for breath after the long trudge up hill. Jill, of course, was not her real name, but had been given because of

"I guess I wouldn't, It is very bumpy and ends in a big drift; not half so nice as this one. Hop on and we'll

have a good spin across the pond"; and Jack brought "Thunderbolt" round with a skilful swing and an

"It is very nice, but I won't be told I don't 'dare by any boy in the world. If you are afraid, I'll go alone." And,

before he could speak, she had snatched the rope from his hand, thrown herself upon the sled, and was off,

She did not get far, however; for, starting in a hurry, she did not guide her steed with care, and the red charger

landed her in the snow halfway down, where she lay laughing till Jack came to pick her up.

"If you will go, I'll take you down all right. I m not afraid, for I ve done it a dozen times with the other

fellows; but we gave it up because it is short and bad," he said, still goodnatured, though of cows, dogs, and

"He doesn't dare to get mad with Jill, for she'd take his head off in two minutes if he did," growled Joe Flint,

still smarting horn the rebuke Jill had given him for robbing the little ones of their safe coast because he

"She wouldn't! she's a dear! You needn't sniff at her because she is poor. She's ever so much brighter than

you are, or she wouldn't always be at the head of your class, old Joe," cried the girls, standing by their friend

Joe subsided with as scornful a curl to his nose as its chilly state permitted, and Merry Grant introduced a

"All of us. Frank invited the whole set, and we shall have a tiptop time. We always do at the Minors'," cried

"Jack said there was a barrel of molasses in the house, so there would be enough for all to eat and some to

carry away. They know how to do things handsomely"; and the speaker licked his lips, as if already tasting

"Mrs. Minot is a mother worth having," said Molly Loo, coming up with Boo on the sled; and she knew what

it was to need a mother, for she had none, and tried to care for the little brother with maternal love and

"Especially when she has a candyscrape," said Joe, trying to be amiable, lest he should be left out of the

Whereat they all laughed, and went gayly away for a farewell frolic, as the sun was setting and the keen wind

A little hurt at the charge of cowardice; for Jack was as brave as a little lion, and with the best sort of bravery

"So it is; but I must do it a few times, or Joe will plague me and spoil my fun tonight," answered Jill,

"Here, put these on; I never use them. Keep them if they fit; I only carry them to please mother." And Jack

"They are lovely warm, and they do fit. Must be too small for your paws, so I'll knit you a new pair for

Christmas, and make you wear them, too," said Jill, putting on the mittens with a nod of thanks, and ending

"Now, which will you have?" he asked, with a warning look in the honest blue eyes which often

Jack's smile was gone now, and he waited without a word while Jill tucked herself up, then took his place in

front, and off they went on the brief, breathless trip straight into the drift by the fence below.

"I don't see anything very awful in that. Come up and have another. Joe is watching us, and I d like to show

him that we aren't afraid of anything," said Jill, with a defiant glance at a distant boy, who had paused to

"It is a regular 'gobang, if that is what you like," answered Jack, as they plowed their way up again.

"It is. You boys think girls like little mean coasts without any fun or danger in them, as if we couldn't be

brave and strong as well as you. Give me three gobangs and then we'll stop. My tumble doesn't count, so

Jill took her seat as she spoke, and looked up with such a rosy, pleading face that Jack gave in at once, and

down they went again, raising a cloud of glittering snowdust as they reined up in fine style with their feet on

"It's just splendid! Now, one more!" cried Jill, excited by the cheers of a sleighing party passing below.

Proud of his skill, Jack marched back, resolved to make the third "go" the crowning achievement of the

afternoon, while Jill pranced after him as lightly as if the big boots were the famous sevenleagued ones, and

So full were they of this important question, that they piled on haphazard, and started off still talking so

busily that Jill forgot to hold tight and Jack to steer carefully. Alas, for the candyscrape that never was to be!

Alas, for poor "Thunderbolt" blindly setting forth on the last trip he ever made! And oh, alas, for Jack and

Jill, who wilfully chose the wrong road and ended their fun for the winter! No one knew how it happened, but

instead of landing in the drift, or at the fence, there was a great crash against the bars, a dreadful plunge off

the steep bank, a sudden scattering of girl, boy, sled, fence, earth, and snow, all about the road, two cries, and

"I knew they'd do it!" and, standing on the post where he had perched, Joe waved his arms and shouted:

"Smashup! Smashup! Run! Run!" like a raven croaking over a battlefield when the fight was done.

Down rushed boys and girls ready to laugh or cry, as the case might be, for accidents will happen on the

bestregulated coastinggrounds. They found Jack sitting up looking about him with a queer, dazed

expression, while an ugly cut on the forehead was bleeding in a way which sobered the boys and frightened

"No, I m not. I'll be all right when I get my breath. Where's Jill?" asked Jack, stoutly, though still too giddy to

The group about him opened, and his comrade in misfortune was discovered lying quietly in the snow with

all the pretty color shocked out of her face by the fall, and winking rapidly, as if half stunned. But no wounds

"Broken his head," croaked Joe, stepping aside, that she might behold the fallen hero vainly trying to look

calm and cheerful with red drops running down his cheek and a lump on his forehead.

Jill shut her eyes and waved the girls away, saying, faintly, "Never mind me. Go and see to him."

"Don't! I m all right," and Jack tried to get up in order to prove that headers off a bank were mere trifles to

him; but at the first movement of the left leg he uttered a sharp cry of pain, and would have fallen if Gus had

"What is it, old chap?" asked Frank, kneeling beside him, really alarmed now, the hurts seeming worse than

mere bumps, which were common affairs among baseball players, and not worth much notice.

"I lit on my head, but I guess I've broken my leg. Don't frighten mother," and Jack held fast to Frank's arm as

he looked into the anxious face bent over him; for, though the elder tyrannized over the younger, the brothers

"Lift his head, Frank, while I tie my handkerchief round to stop the bleeding," said a quiet voice, as Ed

Devlin laid a handful of soft snow on the wound; and Jack's face brightened as he turned to thank the one big

"Better get him right home," advised Gus, who stood by looking on, with his little sisters Laura and Lotty

"Take Jill, too, for it's my opinion she has broken her back. She can't stir one bit," announced Molly Loo,

with a droll air of triumph, as if rather pleased than otherwise to have her patient hurt the worse; for Jack's

This cheerful statement was greeted with a wail from Susan and howls from Boo, who had earned that name

from the ease with which, on all occasions, he could burst into a dismal roar without shedding a tear, and stop

"Oh, I am so sorry! It was my fault; I shouldn't have let her do it," said Jack, distressfully.

"It was all my fault; I made him. If I d broken every bone I've got, it would serve me right. Don't help me,

anybody; I m a wicked thing, and I deserve to lie here and freeze and starve and die!" cried Jill, piling up

"But we want to help you, and we can settle about blame by and by," whispered Merry with a kiss; for she

"Here come the woodsleds just in time. I'll cut away and tell one of them to hurry up." And, freeing himself

from his sisters, Gus went off at a great pace, proving that the long legs carried a sensible head as well as a

As the first sled approached, an air of relief pervaded the agitated party, for it was driven by Mr. Grant, a big,

benevolentlooking farmer, who surveyed the scene with the sympathetic interest of a man and a father.

"Had a little accident, have you? Well, that's a pretty likely place for a spill. Tried it once myself and broke

the bridge of my nose," he said, tapping that massive feature with a laugh which showed that fifty years of

farming had not taken all the boy out of him. "Now then, let's see about this little chore, and lively, too, for

it's late, and these parties ought to be housed," he added, throwing down his whip, pushing back his cap, and

"Jill first, please, sir," said Ed, the gentle squire of dames, spreading his overcoat on the sled as eagerly as

"All right. Just lay easy, my dear, and I won't hurt you a mite if I can help it."

Careful as Mr. Grant was, Jill could have screamed with pain as he lifted her; but she set her lips and bore it

with the courage of a little Indian; for all the lads were looking on, and Jill was proud to show that a girl

could bear as much as a boy. She hid her face in the coat as soon as she was settled, to hide the tears that

would come, and by the time Jack was placed beside her, she had quite a little cistern of salt water stored up

Then the mournful procession set forth, Mr. Grant driving the oxen, the girls clustering about the interesting

invalids on the sled, while the boys came behind like a guard of honor, leaving the hill deserted by all but Joe,

who had returned to hover about the fatal fence, and poor "Thunderbolt," split asunder, lying on the bank to

Jack and Jill never cared to say much about the night which followed the first coasting party of the season, for

it was the saddest and the hardest their short lives had ever known. Jack suffered most in body; for the setting

of the broken leg was such a painful job, that it wrung several sharp cries from him, and made Frank, who

helped, quite weak and white with sympathy, when it was over. The wounded head ached dreadfully, and the

poor boy felt as if bruised all over, for he had the worst of the fall. Dr. Whiting spoke cheerfully of the case,

and made so light of broken legs, that Jack innocently asked if he should not be up in a week or so.

"Well, no; it usually takes twentyone days for bones to knit, and young ones make quick work of it,"

answered the doctor, with a last scientific tuck to the various bandages, which made Jack feel like a hapless

"Twentyone days! Three whole weeks in bed! I shouldn't call that quick work," groaned the dismayed

"It is a forty days job, young man, and you must make up your mind to bear it like a hero. We will do our

best; but next time, look before you leap, and save your bones. Goodnight; you'll feel better in the morning.

No jigs, remember"; and off went the busy doctor for another look at Jill, who had been ordered to bed and

Anyone would have thought Jack's plight much the worse, but the doctor looked more sober over Jill's hurt

back than the boy's compound fractures; and the poor little girl had a very bad quarter of an hour while he

"Keep her quiet, and time will show how much damage is done," was all he said in her hearing; but if she had

known that he told Mrs. Pecq he feared serious consequences, she would not have wondered why her mother

Jill suffered most in her mind; for only a sharp stab of pain now and then reminded her of her body; but her

remorseful little soul gave her no peace for thinking of Jack, whose bruises and breakages her lively fancy

"Oh, don't be good to me, Mammy; I made him go, and now he's hurt dreadfully, and may die; and it is all my

fault, and everybody ought to hate me," sobbed poor Jill, as a neighbor left the room after reporting in a

minute manner how Jack screamed when his leg was set, and how Frank was found white as a sheet, with his

head under the pump, while Gus restored the tone of his friend's nerves, by pumping as if the house was on

"Whist, my lass, and go to sleep. Take a sup of the good wine Mrs. Minot sent, for you are as cold as a clod,

"I can't go to sleep; I don't see how Jack's mother could send my anything when I've half killed him. I want to

be cold and ache and have horrid things done to me. Oh, if I ever get out of this bed I'll be the best girl in the

world, to pay for this. See if I ain t!" and Jill gave such a decided nod that her tears flew all about the pillow

"You d better begin at once, for you won't get out of that bed for a long while, I m afraid, my lamb," sighed

"I'm glad of it; I ought to be worse than Jack, and I hope I am. I'll bear it well, and be good right away. Sing,

Jill shut her eyes with sudden and unusual meekness, and before her mother had crooned half a dozen verses

of an old ballad, the little black head lay still upon the pillow, and repentant Jill was fast asleep with a red

Mrs. Pecq was an Englishwoman who had left Montreal at the death of her husband, a French Canadian, and

had come to live in the tiny cottage which stood near Mrs. Minot's big house, separated only by an

arborvitae hedge. A sad, silent person, who had seen better days, but said nothing about them, and earned

her bread by sewing, nursing, work in the factory, or anything that came in her way, being anxious to educate

her little girl. Now, as she sat beside the bed in the small, poor room, that hope almost died within her, for

here was the child laid up for months, probably, and the one ambition and pleasure of the solitary woman's

life was to see Janey Pecq's name over all the high marks in the schoolreports she proudly brought home.

"She'll win through, please Heaven, and I'll see my lass a gentlewoman yet, thanks to the good friend in

yonder, who will never let her want for care," thought the poor soul, looking out into the gloom where a long

ray of light streamed from the great house warm and comfortable upon the cottage, like the spirit of kindness

Meantime, that other mother sat by her boy's bed as anxious but with better hope, for Mrs. Minot made

trouble sweet and helpful by the way in which she bore it; and her boys were learning of her how to find

Jack lay wide awake, with hot cheeks, and throbbing head, and all sorts of queer sensations in the broken leg.

The soothing potion he had taken did not affect him yet, and he tried to beguile the weary time by wondering

who came and went below. Gentle rings at the front door, and mysterious tappings at the back, had been

going on all the evening; for the report of the accident had grown astonishingly in its travels, and at eight o

clock the general belief was that Jack had broken both legs, fractured his skull, and lay at the point of death,

while Jill had dislocated one shoulder, and was bruised black and blue from top to toe. Such being the case, it

is no wonder that anxious playmates and neighbors haunted the doorsteps of the two houses, and that offers

Frank, having tied up the bell and put a notice in the lighted sidewindow, saying, "Go to the back door," sat

in the parlor, supported by his chum, Gus, while Ed played softly on the piano, hoping to lull Jack to sleep. It

did soothe him, for a very sweet friendship existed between the tall youth and the lad of thirteen. Ed went

with the big fellows, but always had a kind word for the smaller boys; and affectionate Jack, never ashamed

to show his love, was often seen with his arm round Ed's shoulder, as they sat together in the pleasant red

"Is the pain any easier, my darling?" asked Mrs. Minot, leaning over the pillow, where the golden head lay

"Not much. I forget it listening to the music. Dear old Ed is playing all my favorite tunes, and it is very nice. I

"They all do. Frank could not talk of it. Gus wouldn't go home to tea, he was so anxious to do something for

us. Joe brought back the bits of your poor sled, because he didn't like to leave them lying round for anyone to

Jack tried to laugh, but it was rather a failure, though be managed to say, cheerfully,

"That was good of old Joe. I wouldn't lend him 'Thunderbolt for fear he d hurt it. Couldn't have smashed it up

better than I did, could he? Don't think I want any pieces to remind me of that fall. I just wish you d seen us,

"No, thank you; I d rather not even try to imagine my precious boy going heels over head down that dreadful

hill. No more pranks of that sort for some time, Jacky"; and Mrs. Minot looked rather pleased on the whole to

"No coasting till some time in January. What a fool I was to do it! Gobangs always are dangerous, and that's

Jack threw his arms about and frowned darkly, but never said a word of the wilful little baggage who had led

him into mischief; he was too much of a gentleman to tell on a girl, though it cost him an effort to hold his

tongue, because Mamma's good opinion was very precious to him, and he longed to explain. She knew all

about it, however, for Jill had been carried into the house reviling herself for the mishap, and even in the

midst of her own anxiety for her boy, Mrs. Minot understood the state of the case without more words. So she

"Foolish fun, as you see, dear. Another time, stand firm and help Jill to control her headstrong will. When

you learn to yield less and she more, there will be no scrapes like this to try us all."

"I'll remember, mother. I hate not to be obliging, but I guess it would have saved us lots of trouble if I'd said

No in the beginning. I tried to, but she would go. Poor Jill! I'll take better care of her next time. Is she very ill,

"I can tell you better tomorrow. She does not suffer much, and we hope there is no great harm done."

"I wish she had a nice place like this to be sick in. It must be very poky in those little rooms," said Jack, as his

eye roved round the large chamber where he lay so cosey, warm, and pleasant, with the gay chintz curtains

draping doors and windows, the rosy carpet, comfortable chairs, and a fire glowing in the grate.

"I shall see that she suffers for nothing, so don't trouble your kind heart about her tonight, but try to sleep;

that's what you need," answered his mother, wetting the bandage on his forehead, and putting a cool hand on

Jack obediently closed his eyes and listened while the boys sang "The Sweet By and By," softening their

rough young voices for his sake till the music was as soft as a lullaby. He lay so still his mother thought he

was off, but presently a tear slipped out and rolled down the red cheek, wetting her hand as it passed.

"My blessed boy, what is it?" she whispered, with a touch and a tone that only mothers have.

The blue eyes opened wide, and Jack's own sunshiny smile broke through the tears that filled them as he said

"You are not a noodle!" cried Mamma, resenting the epithet. "One of the sweet things about pain and sorrow

is that they show us how well we are loved, how much kindness there is in the world, and how easily we can

make others happy in the same way when they need help and sympathy. Don't forget that, little son,"

"Don't see how I can, with you to show me how nice it is. Kiss me goodnight, and then 'I'll be good, as Jill

Nestling his head upon his mother's arm, Jack lay quiet till, lulled by the music of his mates, he drowsed

away into the dreamless sleep which is Nurse Nature's healthiest soothing sirup for weary souls and bodies.

For some days, nothing was seen and little was heard of the "dear sufferers," as the old ladies called them.

But they were not forgotten; the first words uttered when any of the young people met were: "How is Jack?"

"Seen Jill yet?" and all waited with impatience for the moment when they could be admitted to their favorite

Meantime, the captives spent the first few days in sleep, pain, and trying to accept the hard fact that school

and play were done with for months perhaps. But young spirits are wonderfully elastic and soon cheer up,

and healthy young bodies heal fast, or easily adapt themselves to new conditions. So our invalids began to

mend on the fourth day, and to drive their nurses distracted with efforts to amuse them, before the first week

The most successful attempt originated in Ward No. I, as Mrs. Minot called Jack's apartment, and we will

give our sympathizing readers some idea of this place, which became the stage whereon were enacted many

Each of the Minot boys had his own room, and there collected his own treasures and trophies, arranged to suit

his convenience and taste. Frank's was full of books, maps, machinery, chemical messes, and geometrical

drawings, which adorned the walls like intricate cobwebs. A big chair, where he read and studied with his

heels higher than his head, a basket of apples for refreshment at all hours of the day or night, and an immense

inkstand, in which several pens were always apparently bathing their feet, were the principal ornaments of his

Jack's hobby was athletic sports, for he was bent on having a strong and active body for his happy little soul

to live and enjoy itself in. So a severe simplicity reigned in his apartment; in summer, especially, for then his

floor was bare, his windows were uncurtained, and the chairs uncushioned, the bed being as narrow and hard

as Napoleon's. The only ornaments were dumbbells, whips, bats, rods, skates, boxinggloves, a big bathpan

and a small library, consisting chiefly of books on games, horses, health, hunting, and travels. In winter his

mother made things more comfortable by introducing rugs, curtains, and a fire. Jack, also, relented slightly in

the severity of his training, occasionally indulging in the national buckwheat cake, instead of the prescribed

oatmeal porridge, for breakfast, omitting his cold bath when the thermometer was below zero, and dancing at

Now, however, he was a helpless captive, given over to all sorts of coddling, laziness, and luxury, and there

was a droll mixture of mirth and melancholy in his face, as he lay trussed up in bed, watching the comforts

which had suddenly robbed his room of its Spartan simplicity. A delicious couch was there, with Frank

reposing in its depths, half hidden under several folios which he was consulting for a history of the

A whitecovered table stood near, with all manner of dainties set forth in a way to tempt the sternest

principles. Vases of flowers bloomed on the chimneypiece gifts from anxious young ladies, left with their

love. Frivolous storybooks and picturepapers strewed the bed, now shrouded in effeminate chintz curtains,

beneath which Jack lay like a wounded warrior in his tent. But the saddest sight for our crippled athlete was a

glimpse, through a halfopened door, at the beloved dumbbells, bats, balls, boxinggloves, and

snowshoes, all piled ignominiously away in the bathpan, mournfully recalling the fact that their day was

He was about to groan dismally, when his eye fell on a sight which made him swallow the groan, and cough

instead, as if it choked him a little. The sight was his mother's face, as she sat in a low chair rolling bandages,

with a basket beside her in which were piles of old linen, lint, plaster, and other matters, needed for the

dressing of wounds. As he looked, Jack remembered how steadily and tenderly she had stood by him all

through the har4 times just past, and how carefully she had bathed and dressed his wound each day in spite of

"That's a better sort of strength than swinging twentypound dumbbells or running races; I guess I'll try for

that kind, too, and not howl or let her see me squirm when the doctor hurts," thought the boy, as he saw that

gentle face so pale and tired with much watching and anxiety, yet so patient, serene, and cheerful, that it was

"Lie down and take a good nap, mother dear, I feel firstrate, and Frank can see to me if I want anything. Do,

now," he added, with a persuasive nod toward the couch, and a boyish relish in stirring up his lazy brother.

After some urging, Mamma consented to go to her room for forty winks, leaving Jack in the care of Frank,

begging him to be as quiet as possible if the dear boy wished to sleep, and to amuse him if he did not.

Being worn out, Mrs. Minot lengthened her forty winks into a three hours nap, and as the "dear boy" scorned

"I'll read to you. Here's Watt, Arkwright, Fulton, and a lot of capital fellows, with pictures that will do your

heart good. Have a bit, will you?" asked the new nurse, flapping the leaves invitingly for Frank bad a passion

for such things, and drew steamengines all over his slate, as Tommy Traddles drew hosts of skeletons when

"I don't want any of your old boilers and stokers and whirligigs. I m tired of reading, and want something

regularly jolly," answered Jack, who had been chasing white buffaloes with "The Hunters of the West," till he

"Play cribbage, euchre, anything you like"; and Frank obligingly disinterred himself from under the folios,

"No fun; just two of us. Wish school was over, so the boys would come in; doctor said I might see them

"They'll be along by and by, and I'll hail them. Till then, what shall we do? I'm your man for anything, only

"Just wish I had a telegraph or a telephone, so I could talk to Jill. Wouldn't it be fun to pipe across and get an

"I'll make either you say"; and Frank looked as if trifles of that sort were to be had for the asking.

"We'll start the telegraph first, then you can send things over if you like," said Frank, prudently proposing the

"Go ahead, then. I'd like that, and so would Jill, for I know she wants to hear from me."

"There's one trouble, though; I shall have to leave you alone for a few minutes while I rig up the ropes"; and

Frank looked sober, for he was a faithful boy, and did not want to desert his post.

"And wake mother. I'll fix you a better way than that"; and, full of inventive genius, our young Edison spliced

the poker to part of a fishingrod in a jiffy, making a longhandled hook which reached across the room.

"There's an arm for you; now hook away, and let's see how it works," he said, handing over the instrument to

Jack, who proceeded to show its unexpected capabilities by hooking the cloth off the table in attempting to

get his handkerchief, catching Frank by the hair when fishing for a book, and breaking a pane of glass in

"It's so everlasting long, I can't manage it," laughed Jack, as it finally caught in his bedhangings, and nearly

"Let it alone, unless you need something very much, and don't bother about the glass. It's just what we want

for the telegraph wire or rope to go through. Keep still, and I'll have the thing running in ten minutes"; and,

delighted with the job, Frank hurried away, leaving Jack to compose a message to send as soon as it was

"What in the world is that flying across the Minots' yard a brown hen or a boy's kite?" exclaimed old Miss

Hopkins, peering out of her window at the singular performances going on in her opposite neighbor's garden.

First, Frank appeared with a hatchet and chopped a clear space in the hedge between his own house and the

cottage; next, a clothes line was passed through this aperture and fastened somewhere on the other side;

lastly, a small covered basket, slung on this rope, was seen hitching along, drawn either way by a set of

strings; then, as if satisfied with his job, Frank retired, whistling "Hail Columbia."

"It's those children at their pranks again. I thought broken bones wouldn't keep them out of mischief long,"

said the old lady, watching with great interest the mysterious basket travelling up and down the rope from the

If she had seen what came and went over the wires of the "Great International Telegraph," she would have

laughed till her spectacles flew off her Roman nose. A letter from Jack, with a large orange, went first,

"Dear JillIt's too bad you can't come over to see me. I am pretty well, but awful tired of keeping still. I want

to see you ever so much. Frank has fixed us a telegraph, so we can write and send things. Won't it be jolly! I

can't look out to see him do it; but, when you pull your string, my little bell rings, and I know a message is

coming. I send you an orange. Do you like gorver jelly? People send in lots of goodies, and we will go

Away went the basket, and in fifteen minutes it came back from the cottage with nothing in it but the orange.

"Hullo! Is she mad?" asked Jack, as Frank brought the despatch for him to examine. But, at the first touch,

the hollow peel opened, and out fell a letter, two gumdrops, and an owl made of a peanut, with round eyes

drawn at the end where the stem formed a funny beak. Two bits of straw were the legs, and the face looked so

"That's so like Jill; she'd make fun if she was half dead. Let's see what she says"; and Jack read the little note,

"Dear JackyI can't stir and it's horrid. The telly graf is very nice and we will have fun with it. I never ate any

gorver jelly. The orange was first rate. Send me a book to read. All about bears and ships and crockydiles.

The doctor was coming to see you, so I sent him the quickest way. Molly Loo says it is dreadful lonesome at

Jack immediately despatched the book and a sample of guava jelly, which unfortunately upset on the way, to

the great detriment of "The Wild Beasts of Asia and Africa." Jill promptly responded with the loan of a tiny

black kitten, who emerged spitting and scratching, to Jack's great delight; and he was cudgelling his brains as

to how a fat white rabbit could be transported, when a shrill whistle from without saved Jill from that

"It's the fellows; do you want to see them?" asked Frank, gazing down with calm superiority upon the three

"Guess I'd o!" and Jack promptly threw the kitten overboard, scorning to be seen by any manly eye amusing

Bang! went the front door; tramp, tramp, tramp, came six booted feet up the stairs; and, as Frank threw wide

the door, three large beings paused on the threshold to deliver the courteous "Hullo!" which is the established

"Come along, old fellows; I'm ever so glad to see you!" cried the invalid, with such energetic demonstrations

of the arms that he looked as if about to fly or crow, like an excited young cockerel.

With these characteristic greetings, the gentlemen cast away their hats and sat down, all grinning cheerfully,

and all with eyes irresistibly fixed upon the dainties, which proved too much for the politeness of

"Help yourselves," said Jack, with a hospitable wave. "All the dear old ladies in town have been sending in

lot, or we shall have to throw them out of the window. Bring on the doughnuts and the tarts and the shaky

No sooner said than done. Gus took the tarts, Joe the doughnuts, Ed the jelly, and Frank suggested "spoons all

round" for the Italian cream. A few trifles in the way of custard, fruit, and wafer biscuits were not worth

mentioning; but every dish was soon emptied, and Jack said, as he surveyed the scene of devastation with

"Call again tomorrow, gentlemen, and we will have another bout. Free lunches at ~ P.M. till further notice.

For half an hour, five tongues went like mill clappers, and there is no knowing when they would have stopped

"That's Jill; see what she wants, Frank"; and while his brother sent off the basket, Jack told about the new

They did so, and shouted with merriment when the next despatch from Jill arrived. A pasteboard

jumpingjack, with one leg done up in cottonwool to preserve the likeness, and a great lump of molasses

"Dear SirI saw the boys go in, and know you are having a nice time, so I send over the candy Molly Loo

and Merry brought me. Mammy says I can't eat it, and it will all melt away if I keep it. Also a picture of Jack

Minot, who will dance on one leg and waggle the other, and make you laugh. I wish I could come, too. Don't

"Let's all send her a letter," proposed Jack, and out came pens, ink, paper, and the lamp, and everyone fell to

scribbling. A droll collection was the result, for Frank drew a picture of the fatal fall with broken rails flying

in every direction, Jack with his head swollen to the size of a balloon, and Jill in two pieces, while the various

boys and girls were hit off with a sly skill that gave Gus legs like a stork, Molly Loo hair several yards long,

and Boo a series of visible howls coming out of an immense mouth in the shape of o s. The oxen were

particularly good, for their horns branched like those of the moose, and Mr. Grant had a patriarchal beard

which waved in the breeze as he bore the wounded girl to a sled very like a funeral pyre, the stakes being

"You ought to be an artist. I never saw such a dabster as you are. That's the very moral of Joe, all in a bunch

on the fence, with a blot to show how purple his nose was," said Gus, holding up the sketch for general

"I'd rather have a red nose than legs like a grasshopper; so you needn't twit, Daddy," growled Joe, quite

unconscious that a blot actually did adorn his nose, as he labored over a brief despatch.

The boys enjoyed the joke, and one after the other read out his message to the captive lady:

"Dear JillSorry you ain't here. Great fun. Jack pretty lively. Laura and Lot would send love if they knew of

"Dear GilliflowerHope you are pretty comfortable in your 'dungeon cell. Would you like a serenade when

the moon comes? Hope you will soon be up again, for we miss you very much. Shall be very happy to help in

"Dear MadamI am happy to tell you that we are all well, and hope you are the same. I gave Jem Cox a

licking because he went to your desk. You had better send for your books. You won't have to pay for the sled

or the fence. Jack says he will see to it. We have been having a spread over here. Firstrate things. I wouldn't

mind breaking a leg, if I had such good grub and no chores to do. No more now, from yours, with esteem,

Joe thought that an elegant epistle, having copied portions of it from the "Letter Writer," and proudly read it

"Now, Jack, hurry up and let us send the lot off, for we must go," said Gus, as Frank put the letters in the

"I'm not going to show mine. It's private and you mustn't look," answered Jack, patting down an envelope

But Joe had seen the little note copied, and while the others were at the window working the telegraph he

caught up the original, carelessly thrust by Jack under the pillow, and read it aloud before anyone knew what

"My DearI wish I could send you some of my good times. As I can't, I send you much love, and I hope you

will try and be patient as I am going to, for it was our fault, and we must not make a fuss now. Ain't mothers

sweet? Mine is coming over tomorrow to see you and tell me how you are. This round thing is a kiss for

"Isn't that spoony? You d better hide your face, I think. He's getting to be a regular mollycoddle, isn't he?"

jeered Joe, as the boys laughed, and then grew sober, seeing Jack's head buried in the bedclothes, after

It nearly hit Mrs. Minot, coming in with her patient's tea on a tray, and at sight of her the guests hurriedly

took leave, Joe nearly tumbling downstairs to escape from Frank, who would have followed, if his mother

"Only teasing Jack a bit. Don't be mad, old boy, Joe didn't mean any harm, and it was rather soft, now wasn't

"I charged you not to worry him. Those boys were too much for the poor dear, and I ought not to have left

him," said Mamma, as she vainly endeavored to find and caress the yellow head burrowed so far out of sight

"He liked it, and we got on capitally till Joe roughed him about Jill. Ah, Joe's getting it now! I thought Gus

and Ed would do that little job for me," added Frank, running to the window as the sound of stifled cries and

"Serves him right," muttered Jack, with a frown. Then, as a wail arose suggestive of an unpleasant mixture of

snow in the mouth and thumps on the back, he burst out laughing, and said, goodnaturedly, "Go and stop

them, Frank; I won't mind, only tell him it was a mean trick. Hurry! Gus is so strong he doesn't know how his

Off ran Frank, and Jack told his wrongs to his mother. She sympathized heartily, and saw no harm in the

affectionate little note, which would please Jill, and help her to bear her trials patiently.

"It isn't silly to be fond of her, is it? She is so nice and funny, and tries to be good, and likes me, and I won't

be ashamed of my friends, if folks do laugh," protested Jack, with a rap of his teaspoon.

"No, dear, it is quite kind and proper, and I'd rather have you play with a merry little girl than with rough

boys till you are big enough to hold your own," answered Mamma, putting the cup to his lips that the

"Pooh! I don't mean that; I'm strong enough now to take care of myself," cried Jack, stoutly. "I can thrash Joe

any day, if I like. Just look at my arm; there's muscle for you!" and up went a sleeve, to the great danger of

overturning the tray, as the boy proudly displayed his biceps and expanded his chest, both of which were very

fine for a lad of his years. "If I'd been on my legs, he wouldn't have dared to insult me, and it was cowardly to

Mrs. Minot wanted to laugh at Jack's indignation, but the bell rang, and she had to go and pull in the basket,

Burning to distinguish herself in the eyes of the big boys, Jill had sent over a tall, red flannel nightcap,

which she had been making for some proposed Christmas plays, and added the following verse, for she was

"When it comes night, We put out the light. Some blow with a puff, Some turn down and snuff; But neat

folks prefer A nice extinguisher. So here I send you back One to put on Mr. Jack."

"Now, I call that regularly smart; not one of us could do it, and I just wish Joe was here to see it. I want to

send once more, something good for tea; she hates gruel so"; and the last despatch which the Great

International Telegraph carried that day was a baked apple and a warm muffin, with "J. M.'s best regards."

"I do believe the child will fret herself into a fever, mem, and I m clean distraught to know what to do for her.

She never used to mind trifles, but now she frets about the oddest things, and I can't change them. This

wallpaper is well enough, but she has taken a fancy that the spots on it look like spiders, and it makes her

nervous. I've no other warm place to put her, and no money for a new paper. Poor lass! There are hard times

Mrs. Pecq said this in a low voice to Mrs. Minot, who came in as often as she could, to see what her neighbor

needed; for both mothers were anxious, and sympathy drew them to one another. While one woman talked,

the other looked about the little room, not wondering in the least that Jill found it hard to be contented there.

It was very neat, but so plain that there was not even a picture on the walls, nor an ornament upon the mantel,

except the necessary clock, lamp, and matchbox. The paper was ugly, being a deep buff with a brown figure

that did look very like spiders sprawling over it, and might well make one nervous to look at day after day.

Jill was asleep in the folding chair Dr. Whiting had sent, with a mattress to make it soft. The back could be

raised or lowered at will; but only a few inches had been gained as yet, and the thin hair pillow was all she

could bear. She looked very pretty as she lay, with dark lashes against the feverish cheeks, lips apart, and a

cloud of curly black locks all about the face pillowed on one arm. She seemed like a brilliant little flower in

that dull place for the French blood in her veins gave her a color, warmth, and grace which were very

charming. Her natural love of beauty showed itself in many ways: a red ribbon had tied up her hair, a gay but

faded shawl was thrown over the bed, and the gifts sent her were arranged with care upon the table by her

side among her own few toys and treasures. There was something pathetic in this childish attempt to beautify

the poor place, and Mrs. Minot's eyes were full as she looked at the tired woman, whose one joy and comfort

"My dear soul, cheer up, and we will help one another through the hard times," she said, with a soft hand on

"Please God, we will, mem! With such good friends, I never should complain. I try not to do it, but it breaks

my heart to see my little lass spoiled for life, most like"; and Mrs. Pecq pressed the kind hand with a

"We won't say, or even think, that, yet. Everything is possible to youth and health like Janey s. We must keep

her happy, and time will do the rest, I'm sure. Let us begin at once, and have a surprise for her when she

As she spoke, Mrs. Minot moved quietly about the room, pinning the pages of several illustrated papers

against the wall at the foot of the bed, and placing to the best advantage the other comforts she had brought.

"Keep up your heart, neighbor. I have an idea in my head which I think will help us all, if I can carry it out,"

she said, cheerily, as she went, leaving Mrs. Pecq to sew on Jack's new nightgowns, with swift fingers, and

As if the whispering and rustling had disturbed her, Jill soon began to stir, and slowly opened the eyes which

had closed so wearily on the dull December afternoon. The bare wall with its brown spiders no longer

confronted her, but the colored print of a little girl dancing to the tune her father was playing on a guitar,

while a stately lady, with satin dress, ruff, and powder, stood looking on, well pleased. The quaint figure, in

its belaced frock, quilted petticoat, and redheeled shoes, seemed to come tripping toward her in such a

lifelike way, that she almost saw the curls blow back, heard the rustle of the rich brocade, and caught the

"Oh, how pretty! Who sent them?" asked Jill, eagerly, as her eye glanced along the wall, seeing other new

and interesting things beyond: an elephanthunt, a ship in full sail, a horserace, and a ballroom.

"The good fairy who never comes emptyhanded. Look round a bit and you will see more pretties all for you,

my dearie"; and her mother pointed to a bunch of purple grapes in a green leaf plate, a knot of bright flowers

pinned on the white curtain, and a gay little double gown across the foot of the bed.

Jill clapped her hands, and was enjoying her new pleasures, when in came Merry and Molly Loo, with Boo,

of course, trotting after her like a fat and amiable puppy. Then the good times began; the gown was put on,

"It's a splendid plan to cover up that hateful wall. I'd stick pictures all round and have a gallery. That reminds

me! Up in the garret at our house is a box full of old fashionbooks my aunt left. I often look at them on

rainy days, and they are very funny. I'll go this minute and get everyone. We can pin them up, or make paper

dolls"; and away rushed Molly Loo, with the small brother waddling behind, for, when he lost sight of her, he

The girls had fits of laughter over the queer costumes of years gone by, and put up a splendid procession of

ladies in full skirts, towering hats, pointed slippers, powdered hair, simpering faces, and impossible waists.

"I do think this bride is perfectly splendid, the long train and vail are so sweet," said Jill, revelling in fine

"I like the elephants best, and I'd give anything to go on a hunt like that!" cried Molly Loo, who rode cows,

drove any horse she could get, had nine cats, and was not afraid of the biggest dog that ever barked.

"I fancy 'The Dancing Lesson ; it is so sort of splendid, with the great windows, gold chairs, and fine folks.

Oh, I would like to live in a castle with a father and mother like that," said Merry, who was romantic, and

found the old farmhouse on the bill a sad trial to her highflown ideas of elegance.

"Now, that ship, setting out for some faraway place, is more to my mind. I weary for home now and then,

and mean to see it again some day"; and Mrs. Pecq looked longingly at the English ship, though it was

evidently outward bound. Then, as if reproaching herself for discontent, she added: "It looks like those I used

to see going off to India with a load of missionaries. I came near going myself once, with a lady bound for

"I'd like to be a missionary and go where folks throw their babies to the crocodiles. I'd watch and fish them

out, and have a school, and bring them up, and convert all the people till they knew better," said

warmhearted Molly Loo, who befriended every abused animal and forlorn child she met.

"We needn't go to Africa to be missionaries; they have 'em nearer home and need 'em, too. In all the big cities

there are a many, and they have their hands full with the poor, the wicked, and the helpless. One can find that

"I wish we had some to do here. I'd so like to go round with baskets of tea and rice, and give out tracts and

talk to people. Wouldn't you, girls?" asked Molly, much taken with the new idea.

"It would be rather nice to have a society all to ourselves, and have meetings and resolutions and things,"

answered Merry, who was fond of little ceremonies, and always went to the sewing circle with her mother.

"We wouldn't let the boys come in. We d have it a secret society, as they'd o their temperance lodge, and we d

have badges and passwords and grips. It would be fun if we can only get some heathen to work at!" cried

"I can tell you someone to begin on right away," said her mother, nodding at her. "As wild a little savage as

I'd wish to see. Take her in hand, and make a prettymannered lady of her. Begin at home, my lass, and you'll

"Now, Mammy, you mean me! Well, I will begin; and I'll be so good, folks won't know me. Being sick

makes naughty children behave in storybooks, I'll see if live ones can t"; and Jill put on such a sanctified

face that the girls laughed and asked for their missions also, thinking they would be the same.

"You, Merry, might do a deal at home helping mother, and setting the big brothers a good example. One little

girl in a house can do pretty much as she will, especially if she has a mind to make plain things nice and

comfortable, and not long for castles before she knows how to do her own tasks well," was the first

Merry colored, but took the reproof sweetly, resolving to do what she could, and surprised to find how many

"Where shall I begin? I'm not afraid of a dozen crocodiles after Miss Bat"; and Molly Loo looked about her

with a fierce air, having had practice in battles with the old lady who kept her father's house.

"Well, dear, you haven't far to look for as nice a little heathen as you d wish"; and Mrs. Pecq glanced at Boo,

who sat on the floor staring hard at them, attracted by the dread word "crocodile." He had a cold and no

handkerchief, his little hands were red with chilblains, his clothes shabby, he had untidy darns in the knees of

his stockings, and a head of tight curls that evidently had not been combed for some time.

"Yes, I know he is, and I try to keep him decent, but I forget, and he hates to be fixed, and Miss Bat doesn't

Poor Molly Loo looked much ashamed as she made excuses, trying at the same time to mend matters by

seizing Boo and dusting him all over with her handkerchief, giving a pull at his hair as if ringing bells, and

then dumping him down again with the despairing exclamation: "Yes, we re a pair of heathens, and there's no

That was true enough; for Molly's father was a busy man, careless of everything but his mills, Miss Bat was

old and lazy, and felt as if she might take life easy after serving the motherless children for many years as

well as she knew how. Molly was beginning to see how much amiss things were at home, and old enough to

feel mortified, though, as yet, she had done nothing to mend the matter except be kind to the little boy.

"You will, my dear," answered Mrs. Pecq, encouragingly, for she knew all about it. "Now you ve each got a

mission, let us see how well you will get on. Keep it secret, if you like, and report once a week. I'll be a

"We won't begin till after Christmas; there is so much to do, we never shall have time for any more. Don't

tell, and we'll start fair at New Year s, if not before," said Jill, taking the lead as usual. Then they went on

with the gay ladies, who certainly were heathen enough in dress to be in sad need of conversion to

"I feel as if I was at a party," said Jill, after a pause occupied in surveying her gallery with great satisfaction,

"Talking of parties, isn't it too bad that we must give up our Christmas fun? Can't get on without you and

Jack, so we are not going to do a thing, but just have our presents," said Merry, sadly,

"I shall be all well in a fortnight, I know; but Jack won t, for it will take more than a month to mend his poor

leg. Maybe, they will have a dance in the boys big room, and he can look on," suggested Jill, with a glance at

the dancing damsel on the wall, for she dearly loved it, and never guessed how long it would be before her

"You d better give Jack a hint about the party. Send over some smart ladies, and say they have come to his

So they put a preposterous green bonnet, topheavy with plumes, on a little lady in yellow, who sat in a

carriage; the lady beside her, in winter costume of velvet pelisse and ermine boa, was fitted to a bride's head

with its orange flowers and veil, and these works of art were sent over to Jack, labelled "Miss Laura and

Lotty Burton going to the Minots' Christmas balI" a piece of naughtiness on Jill's part, for she knew Jack

liked the pretty sisters, whose gentle manners made her own wild ways seem all the more blamable.

No answer came for a long time, and the girls had almost forgotten their joke in a game of Letters, when

"Tingle, tangle!" went the bell, and the basket came in heavily laden. A roll of colored papers was tied

outside, and within was a box that rattled, a green and silver horn, a roll of narrow ribbons, a spool of strong

"Dear JillI think of having a Christmas tree so that our invalids can enjoy it, and all your elegant friends are

cordially invited. Knowing that you would like to help, I send some paper for sugarplum horns and some

beads for necklaces. They will brighten the tree and please the girls for themselves or their dolls. Jack sends

you a horn for a pattern, and will you make a laddernecklace to show him how? Let me know if you need

"She knew what the child would like, bless her kind heart," said Mrs. Pecq to herself, and something brighter

than the most silvery bead shone on Jack's shirtsleeve, as she saw the rapture of Jill over the new work and

Joyful cries greeted the opening of the box, for bunches of splendid large bugles appeared in all colors, and a

lively discussion went on as to the best contrasts. Jill could not refuse to let her friends share the pretty work,

and soon three necklaces glittered on three necks, as each admired her own choice.

"I'd be willing to hurt my back dreadfully, if I could lie and do such lovely things all day," said Merry, as she

reluctantly put down her needle at last, for home duties waited to be done, and looked more than ever

"So would I! Oh, do you think Mrs. Minot will let you fill the horns when they are done? I'd love to help you

then. Be sure you send for me!" cried Molly Loo, arching her neck like a proud pigeon to watch the glitter of

"I'm afraid you couldn't be trusted, you love sweeties so, and I m sure Boo couldn't. But I'll see about it,"

The mention of the boy recalled him to their minds, and looking round they found him peacefully absorbed in

polishing up the floor with Molly's pockethandkerchief and oil from the little machinecan. Being torn from

this congenial labor, he was carried off shining with grease and roaring lustily.

But Jill did not mind her loneliness now, and sang like a happy canary while she threaded her sparkling

beads, or hung the gay horns to dry, ready f or their cargoes of sweets. So Mrs. Minot's recipe for sunshine

proved successful, and motherwit made the wintry day a bright and happy one for both the little prisoners.

There were a great many clubs in Harmony Village, but as we intend to interest ourselves with the affairs of

the young folks only, we need not dwell upon the intellectual amusements of the elders. In summer, the boys

devoted themselves to baseball, the girls to boating, and all got rosy, stout, and strong, in these healthful

exercises. In winter, the lads had their debating club, the lasses a dramatic ditto. At the former, astonishing

bursts of oratory were heard; at the latter, everything was boldly attempted, from Romeo and Juliet to Mother

Goose's immortal melodies. The two clubs frequently met and mingled their attractions in a really

entertaining manner, for the speakers made good actors, and the young actresses were most appreciative

Great plans had been afoot for Christmas or New Year, but when the grand catastrophe put an end to the

career of one of the best "spouters," and caused the retirement of the favorite "singing chambermaid," the

affair was postponed till February, when Washington's birthday was always celebrated by the patriotic town,

where the father of his country once put on his nightcap, or took off his boots, as that ubiquitous hero appears

Meantime the boys were studying Revolutionary characters, and the girls rehearsing such dramatic scenes as

they thought most appropriate and effective for the 22d. In both of these attempts they were much helped by

the sense and spirit of Ralph Evans, a youth of nineteen, who was a great favorite with the young folks, not

only because he was a good, industrious fellow, who supported his grandmother, but also full of talent, fun,

and ingenuity. It was no wonder everyone who really knew him liked him, for he could turn his hand to

anything, and loved to do it. If the girls were in despair about a fireplace when acting "The Cricket on the

Hearth," he painted one, and put a gaslog in it that made the kettle really boil, to their great delight. If the

boys found the interest of their club flagging, Ralph would convulse them by imitations of the "Member from

Cranberry Centre," or fire them with speeches of famous statesmen. Charity fairs could not get on without

him, and in the store where he worked he did many an ingenious job, which made him valued for his

Mrs. Minot liked to have him with her sons, because they also were to paddle their own canoes by and by,

and she believed that, rich or poor, boys make better men for learning to use the talents they possess, not

merely as ornaments, but tools with which to carve their own fortunes; and the best help toward this end is an

example of faithful work, high aims, and honest living. So Ralph came often, and in times of trouble was a

real rainyday friend. Jack grew very fond of him during his imprisonment, for the good youth ran in every

evening to get commissions, amuse the boy with droll accounts of the day's adventures, or invent lifts,

bedtables, and footrests for the impatient invalid. Frank found him a sure guide through the mechanical

mysteries which he loved, and spent many a useful halfhour discussing cylinders, pistons, valves, and

balancewheels. Jill also came in for her share of care and comfort; the poor little back lay all the easier for

the aircushion Ralph got her, and the weary headaches found relief from the spray atomizer, which softly

Round the beds of Jack and Jill met and mingled the schoolmates of whom our story treats. Never, probably,

did invalids have gayer times than our two, after a week of solitary confinement; for school gossip crept in,

games could not be prevented, and Christmas secrets were concocted in those rooms till they were regular

After the horn and bead labors were over, the stringing of popcorn on red, and cranberries on white, threads,

came next, and Jack and Jill often looked like a new kind of spider in the pretty webs hung about them, till

reeled off to bide their time in the Christmas closet. Paper flowers followed, and gay garlands and bouquets

blossomed, regardless of the snow and frost without. Then there was a great scribbling of names, verses, and

notes to accompany the steadily increasing store of odd parcels which were collected at the Minots', for gifts

from everyone were to ornament the tree, and contributions poured in as the day drew near.

But the secret which most excited the young people was the deep mystery of certain proceedings at the Minot

house. No one but Frank, Ralph, and Mamma knew what it was, and the two boys nearly drove the others

distracted by the tantalizing way in which they hinted at joys to come, talked strangely about birds, went

measuring round with footrules, and shut themselves up in the Boys Den, as a certain large room was called.

This seemed to be the centre of operations, but beyond the fact of the promised tree no ray of light was

permitted to pass the jealously guarded doors, Strange men with pastepots and ladders went in, furniture

was dragged about, and all sorts of boyish lumber was sent up garret and down cellar. Mrs. Minot was seen

pondering over heaps of green stuff, hammering was heard, singular bundles were smuggled upstairs,

flowering plants betrayed their presence by whiffs of fragrance when the door was opened, and Mrs. Pecq

was caught smiling all by herself in a back bedroom, which usually was shut up in winter.

"They are going to have a play, after all, and that green stuff was the curtain," said Molly Loo, as the girls

talked it over one day, when they sat with their backs turned to one another, putting last stitches in certain bits

of work which had to be concealed from all eyes, though it was found convenient to ask one another's taste as

"I think it is going to be a dance. I heard the boys doing their steps when I went in last evening to find out

whether Jack liked blue or yellow best, so I could put the bow on his penwiper," declared Merry, knitting

briskly away at the last of the pair of pretty white bedsocks she was making for Jill right under her

"They wouldn't have a party of that kind without Jack and me. It is only an extra nice tree, you see if it isn't,"

answered Jill from behind the pillows which made a temporary screen to hide the toilet mats she was

"Everyone of you is wrong, and you d better rest easy, for you won't find out the best part of it, try as you

may." And Mrs. Pecq actually chuckled as she, too, worked away at some bits of muslin, with her back

"Well, I don't care, we ve got a secret all our own, and won't ever tell, will we?" cried Jill, falling back on the

"Never!" answered the girls, and all took great comfort in the idea that one mystery would not be cleared up,

Jack gave up guessing, in despair, after he had suggested a new diningroom where he could eat with the

family, a private school in which his lessons might go on with a tutor, or a theatre for the production of the

"It is going to be used to keep something in that you are very fond of," said Mamma, taking pity on him at

"Ducks?" asked Jack, with a half pleased, half puzzled air, not quite seeing where the water was to come

"There will be one little duck and one great donkey in it." Then, fearing he had told the secret, he ran off,

"It is to be used for creatures that I, too, am fond of, and you know neither donkeys nor ducks are favorities

of mine," said Mamma, with a demure expression, as she sat turning over old clothes for the bundles that

always went to poor neighbors, with a little store of goodies, at this time of the year.

"I know! I know! It is to be a new ward for more sick folks, isn't it, now?" cried Jack, with what he thought a

"I don't see how I could attend to many more patients till this one is off my hands," answered Mamma, with a

queer smile, adding quickly, as if she too was afraid of letting the cat out of the bag: "That reminds me of a

Christmas I once spent among the hospitals and poorhouses of a great city with a good lady who, for thirty

years, had made it her mission to see that these poor little souls had one merry day. We gave away two

hundred dolls, several great boxes of candy and toys, besides gay pictures, and new clothes to orphan

children, sick babies, and halfgrown innocents. Ah, my boy, that was a day to remember all my life, to make

me doubly grateful for my blessings, and very glad to serve the helpless and afflicted, as that dear woman

The look and tone with which the last words were uttered effectually turned Jack's thoughts from the great

secret, and started another small one, for he fell to planning what he would buy with his pocketmoney to

"Is it pleasant?" was the question Jill asked before she was fairly awake on Christmas morning.

"Yes, dear; as bright as heart could wish. Now eat a bit, and then I'll make you nice for the day's pleasure. I

only hope it won't be too much for you," answered Mrs. Pecq, bustling about, happy, yet anxious, for Jill was

to be carried over to Mrs. Minot s, and it was her first attempt at going out since the accident.

It seemed as if nine o clock would never come, and Jill, with wraps all ready, lay waiting in a fever of

impatience for the doctor's visit, as he wished to superintend the moving. At last he came, found all

promising, and having bundled up his small patient, carried her, with Frank's help, in her chairbed to the

oxsled, which was drawn to the next door, and Miss Jill landed in the Boys Den before she had time to get

either cold or tired. Mrs. Minot took her things off with a cordial welcome, but Jill never said a word, for,

after one exclamation, she lay staring about her, dumb with surprise and delight at what she saw.

The great room was entirely changed; for now it looked like a garden, or one of the fairy scenes children

love, where indoors and outofdoors are pleasantly combined. The ceiling was pale blue, like the sky; the

walls were covered with a paper like a rustic trellis, up which climbed morningglories so naturally that the

manycolored bells seemed dancing in the wind. Birds and butterflies flew among them, and here and there,

through arches in the trellis, one seemed to look into a sunny summer world, contrasting curiously with the

wintry landscape lying beyond the real windows, festooned with evergreen garlands, and curtained only by

stands of living flowers. A green drugget covered the floor like grass, rustic chairs from the garden stood

about, and in the middle of the room a handsome hemlock waited for its pretty burden. A Yulelog blazed on

the wide hearth, and over the chimneypiece, framed in holly, shone the words that set all hearts to dancing,

"Do you like it, dear? This is our surprise for you and Jack, and here we mean to have good times together,"

"Oh, it is so lovely I don't know what to say!" and Jill put up both arms, as words failed her, and grateful

"Can you suggest anything more to add to the pleasantness?" asked the gentle lady, holding the small hands

"Only Jack"; and Jill's laugh was good to hear, as she glanced up with merry, yet wistful eyes.

"You are right. We'll have him in at once, or he will come hopping on one leg"; and away hurried his mother,

laughing, too, for whistles, shouts, thumps, and violent demonstrations of all kinds had been heard from the

room where Jack was raging with impatience, while he waited for his share of the surprise.

Jill could hardly lie still when she heard the roll of another chairbed coming down the hail, its passage

enlivened with cries of "Starboard! Port! Easy now! Pull away!" from Ralph and Frank, as they steered the

"Well, I call that handsome!" was Jack's exclamation, when the full beauty of the scene burst upon his view.

Then he forgot all about it and gave a whoop of pleasure, for there beside the fire was an eager face, two

"I'm here! I'm here! Oh, do come, quick!" Down the long room rattled the chair, Jack cheering all the way,

and brought up beside the other one, as the longparted friends exclaimed, with one accord,

It certainly did look so, for Ralph and Frank danced a wild sort of fandango round the tree, Dr. Whiting stood

and laughed, while the two mothers beamed from the doorway, and the children, not knowing whether to

laugh or to cry, compromised the matter by clapping their hands and shouting, "Merry Christmas to

Then they all sobered down, and the busy ones went off to the various duties of the day, leaving the young

They did look very nice, though happiness was the principal beautifier. Jill wore a red wrapper, with the most

brilliant of all the necklaces sparkling at her throat, over a nicely crimped frill her mother had made in honor

of the day. All the curly black hair was gathered into a red net, and a pair of smart little moccasins covered

the feet that had not stepped for many a weary day. Jack was not so gay, but had made himself as fine as

circumstances would permit. A gray dressinggown, with blue cuffs and collar, was very becoming to the

blonde youth; an immaculate shirt, best studs, sleevebuttons, blue tie, and handkerchief wet with cologne

sticking out of the breastpocket, gave an air of elegance in spite of the afghan spread over the lower portions

of his manly form. The yellow hair was brushed till it shone, and being parted in the middle, to hide the black

patch, made two engaging little "quiris" on his forehead. The summer tan had faded from his cheeks, but his

eyes were as blue as the wintry sky, and nearly every white tooth was visible as he smiled on his partner in

"I'm ever so glad to see you again; guess we are over the worst of it now, and can have good times. Won't it

"Yes, indeed; but one day is so short! It will be stupider than ever when I go home tonight," answered Jill,

"But you are not going home tonight; you are to stay ever so long. Didn't Mamma tell you?"

"No. Oh, how splendid! Am I really? Where will I sleep? What will Mammy do without me?" and Jill almost

"That room in there is all fixed for you. I made Frank tell me so much. Mamma said I might tell you, but I'd

idn't think she would be able to hold in if she saw you first. Your mother is coming, too, and we are all going

The splendor of this arrangement took Jill's breath away, and before she got it again, in came Frank and

Ralph with two clothesbaskets of treasures to be hung upon the tree. While they wired on the candles the

children asked questions, and found out all they wanted to know about the new plans and pleasures.

"Mamma thought of it, and Ralph and I'd id it. He's the man for this sort of thing, you know. He proposed

cutting out the arches and sticking on birds and butterflies just where they looked best. I put those canaries

over there, they looked so well against the blue"; and Frank proudly pointed out some queer orangecolored

fowls, looking as if they were having fits in the air, but very effective, nevertheless.

"Your mother said you might call this the Bird Room. We caught a scarlettanager for you to begin with,

didn't we, Jack?" and Ralph threw a honhon at Jill, who looked very like a bright little bird in a warm nest.

"Good for you! Yes, and we are going to keep her in this pretty cage till we can both fly off together. I say,

Jill, where shall we be in our classes when we do get back?" and Jack's merry face fell at the thought.

"At the foot, if we don't study and keep up. Doctor said I might study sometimes, if I'd lie still as long as he

thought best, and Molly brought home my books, and Merry says she will come in every day and tell me

where the lessons are. I don't mean to fall behind, if my backbone is cracked," said Jill, with a decided nod

"Frank said he d pull me along in my Latin, but I've been lazy and haven't done a thing. Let's go at it and start

fair for New Year," proposed Jack, who did not love study as the bright girl did, but was ashamed to fall

"All right. They ve been reviewing, so we can keep up when they begin, if we work next week, while the rest

have a holiday. Oh, dear, I do miss school dreadfully"; and Jill sighed for the old desk, every blot and notch

"There come our things, and pretty nice they look, too," said Jack; and his mother began to dress the tree,

hanging up the gay horns, the gilded nuts, red and yellow apples and oranges, and festooning long strings of

popcorn and scarlet cranberries from bough to bough, with the glittering necklaces hung where the light

"I never saw such a splendid tree before. I'm glad we could help, though we were ill. Is it all done now?"

asked Jill, when the last parcel was tied on and everybody stood back to admire the pretty sight.

"One thing more. Hand me that box, Frank, and be very careful that you fasten this up firmly, Ralph,"

answered Mrs. Minot, as she took from its wrappings the waxen figure of a little child. The rosy limbs were

very lifelike, so was the smiling face under the locks of shining hair. Both plump arms were outspread as if

to scatter blessings over all, and downy wings seemed to flutter from the dimpled shoulders, making an angel

"Is it St. Nicholas?" asked Jill, who had never seen that famous personage, and knew but little of Christmas

"It is the Christchild, whose birthday we are celebrating. I got the best I could find, for I like the idea better

than old Santa Claus; though we may have him, too," said Mamma, holding the little image so that both could

"It looks like a real baby"; and Jack touched the rosy foot with the tip of his finger, as if expecting a crow

"It reminds me of the saints in the chapel of the Sacred Heart in Montreal. One little St. John looked like this,

only he had a lamb instead of wings," said Jill, stroking the flaxen hair, and wishing she dared ask for it to

"He is the children's saint to pray to, love, and imitate, for he never forgot them, but blessed and healed and

taught them all his life. This is only a poor image of the holiest baby ever born, but I hope it will keep his

memory in your minds all day, because this is the day for good resolutions, happy thoughts, and humble

While she spoke, Mrs. Minot, touching the little figure as tenderly as if it were alive, had tied a broad white

ribbon round it, and, handing it to Ralph, bade him fasten it to the hook above the treetop, where it seemed

Jack and Jill lay silently watching, with a sweet sort of soberness in their young faces, and for a moment the

room was very still as all eyes looked up at the Blessed Child. The sunshine seemed to grow more golden as

it flickered on the little head, the flames glanced about the glittering tree as if trying to climb and kiss the

baby feet, and, without, a chime of bells rang sweetly, calling people to hear again the lovely story of the life

Only a minute, but it did them good, and presently, when the pleasant work was over, and the workers gone,

the boys to church, and Mamma to see about lunch for the invalids, Jack said, gravcly, to Jill,

"I think we ought to be extra good, everyone is so kind to us, and we are getting well, and going to have such

"It isn't easy to be good when one is sick," said Jill, thoughtfully. "I fret dreadfully, I get so tired of being

still. I want to scream sometimes, but I don't, because it would scare Mammy, so I cry. Do you cry, Jack?"

"Men never do. I want to tramp round when things bother me; but I can t, so I kick and say, 'Hang it! and

when I get very bad I pitch into Frank, arid he lets me. I tell you, Jill, he's a good brother!" and Jack privately

resolved then and there to invite Frank to take it out of him in any form he pleased as soon as health would

"I rather think we shall grow good in this pretty place, for I don't see how we can be bad if we want to, it is

all so nice and sort of pious here," said Jill, with her eyes on the angel over the tree.

"A fellow can be awfully hungry, I know that. I didn't half eat breakfast, I was in such a hurry to see you, and

know all about the secrets. Frank kept saying I couldn't guess, that you had come,

Jack and Jill lay silently watching, with a sweet sort of soberness in their young faces, and for a moment the

room was very still as all eyes looked up at the Blessed Child. The sunshine seemed to grow more golden as

it flickered on the little head, the flames glanced about the glittering tree as if trying to climb and kiss the

baby feet, and, without, a chime of bells rang sweetly, calling people to hear again the lovely story of the life

Only a minute, but it did them good, and presently, when the pleasant work was over, and the workers gone,

the boys to church, and Mamma to see about lunch for the invalids, Jack said, gravely, to Jill.

"I think we ought to be extra good, everyone is so kind to us, and we are getting well, and going to have such

"It isn't easy to be good when one is sick," said Jill, thoughtfully. "I fret dreadfully, I get so tired of being

still. I want to scream sometimes, but I don't, because it would scare Mammy, so I cry. Do you cry, Jack?"

"Men never do. I want to tramp round when things bother me; but I can t, so I kick and say, 'Hang it! and

when I get very bad I pitch into Frank, and he lets me. I tell you, Jill, he's a good brother!" and Jack privately

resolved then and there to invite Frank to take it out of him in any form he pleased as soon as health would

"I rather think we shall grow good in this pretty place, for I don't see how we can be bad if we want to, it is

all so nice and sort of pious here," said Jill, with her eyes on the angel over the tree.

"A fellow can be awfully hungry, I know that. I'd idn't half eat breakfast, I was in such a hurry to see you, and

know all about the secrets. Frank kept saying I couldn't guess, that you had come,

and I never would be ready, till finally I got mad and fired an egg at him, and made no end of a mess."

Jack and Jill went off into a gale of laughter at the idea of dignified Frank dodging the egg that smashed on

Just then Mrs. Minot came in, well pleased to hear such pleasant sounds, and to see two merry faces, where

"The new medicine works well, neighbor," she said to Mrs. Pecq, who followed with the lunch tray.

"Indeed it does, mem. I feel as if I'd taken a sup myself, I'm that easy in my mind."

And she looked so, too, for she seemed to have left all her cares in the little house when she locked the door

behind her, and now stood smiling with a clean apron on, so fresh and cheerful, that Jill hardly knew her own

"Things taste better when you have someone to eat with you," observed Jack, as they'd evoured sandwiches,

"Don't eat too much, or you won't be ready for the next surprise," said his mother, when the plates were

"More surprises! Oh, what fun!" cried Jill. And all the rest of the morning, in the intervals of talk and play,

At two o clock they found out, for dinner was served in the Bird Room, and the children revelled in the

simple feast prepared for them. The two mothers kept the little bedtables well supplied, and fed their

nurslings like maternal birds, while Frank presided over the feast with great dignity, and ate a dinner which

would have astonished Mamma, if she had not been too busy to observe how fast the mince pie vanished.

"The girls said Christmas was spoiled because of us; but I don't think so, and they won't either, when they see

this splendid place and know all about our nice plans," said Jill, luxuriously eating the nutmeats Jack picked

"I call this broken bones made easy. I never had a better Christmas. Have a raisin? Here's a good fat one."

And Jack made a long arm to Jill's mouth, which began to sing "Little Jack Homer" as an appropriate return.

"It would have been a lonesome one to all of us, I'm thinking, but for your mother, boys. My duty and hearty

thanks to you, mem," put in grateful Mrs. Pecq, bowing over her coffeecup as she had seen ladies bow over

"I rise to propose a health, Our Mothers." And Frank stood up with a goblet of water, for not even at

"Hip, hip, hurrah!" called Jack, baptizing himself with a good sprinkle, as he waved his glass and drank the

Jill threw her mother a kiss, feeling very grown up and elegant to be dining out in such style. Then they'd

rank everyone's health with much merriment, till Frank declared that Jack would float off on the deluge of

water he splashed about in his enthusiasm, and Mamma proposed a rest after the merrymaking.

"Now the best fun is coming, and we have not long to wait," said the boy, when naps and rides about the

room had whiled away the brief interval between dinner and dusk, for the evening entertainment was to be an

"I hope the girls will like their things. I helped to choose them, and each has a nice present. I don't know

mine, though, and I'm in a twitter to see it," said Jill, as they lay waiting for the fun to begin.

"I guess you'll think so when they are handed down. The bell was going all day yesterday, and the girls kept

bringing in bundles for you; I see seven now," and Jack rolled his eyes from one mysterious parcel to another

"I know something, too. That square bundle is what you want ever so much. I told Frank, and he got it for his

present. It is all red and gold outside, and every sort of color inside; you'll hurrah when you see it. That

roundish one is yours too; I made them," cried Jill, pointing to a flat package tied to the stem of the tree, and a

"I can wait"; but the boy's eyes shone with eagerness, and he could not resist firing two or three popcorns at

"That barking dog is for Boo, and the little yellow sled, so Molly can drag him to school, he always tumbles

down so when it is slippery," continued Jill, proud of her superior knowledge, as she showed a small spotted

animal hanging by its tail, with a red tongue displayed as if about to taste the sweeties in the horn below.

"Don't talk about sleds, for mercy's sake! I never want to see another, and you wouldn't, either, if you had to

lie with a flatiron tied to your ankle, as I do," said Jack, with a kick of the well leg and an ireful glance at the

"Well, I think plasters, and liniment, and rubbing, as bad as flatirons any day. I don't believe you have ached

half so much as I have, though it sounds worse to break legs than to sprain your back," protested Jill, eager to

"I guess you wouldn't think so if you d been pulled round as I was when they set my leg. Caesar, how it did

"You didn't faint away as I'd id when the doctor was finding out if my vertebrums were hurt, so now!" cried

"Pooh! Girls always faint. Men are braver, and I didn't faint a bit in spite of all that horrid agony."

"You howled; Frank told me so. Doctor said I was a brave girl, so you needn't brag, for you'll have to go on a

"You may have to use two of them for years, maybe. I heard the doctor tell my mother so. I shall be up and

Both children were getting excited, for the various pleasures of the day had been rather too much for them,

and there is no knowing but they would have added the sad surprise of a quarrel to the pleasant ones of the

day, if a cheerful whistle had not been heard, as Ralph came in to light the candles and give the last artistic

"Well, young folks, how goes it? Had a merry time so far?" he asked, as he fixed the steps and ran up with a

"Very nice, thank you," answered a prim little voice from the dusk below, for only the glow of the fire filled

Jack said nothing, and two red sulky faces were hidden in the dark, watching candle after candle sputter,

brighten, and twinkle, till the trembling shadows began to flit away like imps afraid of the light.

"Now he will see my face, and I know it is cross," thought Jill, as Ralph went round the last circle, leaving

Jack thought the same, and had just got the frown smoothed out of his forehead, when Frank brought a fresh

log, and a glorious blaze sprung up, filling every corner of the room, and dancing over the figures in the long

chairs till they had to brighten whether they liked it or not. Presently the bell began to ring and gay voices to

sound below: then Jill smiled in spite of herself as Molly Loo's usual cry of "Oh, dear, where is that child?"

reached her, and Jack could not help keeping time to the march Ed played, while Frank and Gus marshalled

"Ready!" cried Mrs. Minot, at last, and up came the troop of eager lads and lasses, brave in holiday suits, with

faces to match. A unanimous "0, o, o!" burst from twenty tongues, as the full splendor of the tree, the room,

and its inmates, dawned upon them; for not only did the pretty Christchild hover above, but Santa Claus

himself stood below, furclad, whitebearded, and powdered with snow from the dredgingbox.

Ralph was a good actor, and, when the first raptures were over he distributed the presents with such droll

speeches, jokes, and gambols, that the room rang with merriment, and passersby paused to listen, sure that

here, at least, Christmas was merry. It would be impossible to tell about all the gifts or the joy of the

receivers, but everyone was satisfied, and the king and queen of the revels so overwhelmed with little tokens

of goodwill, that their beds looked like booths at a fair. Jack beamed over the handsome postagestamp

book which had long been the desire of his heart, and Jill felt like a millionaire, with a silver fruitknife, a

A simple little thing enough, with one tiny turquoise forgetme not, but something like a dewdrop fell on

it when no one was looking, and she longed to say, "I'm sorry I was cross; forgive me, Jack." But it could not

be done then, so she turned to admire Merry's bedshoes, the pots of pansies, hyacinths, and geranium which

Gus and his sisters sent for her window garden, Molly's queer Christmas pie, and the zither Ed promised to

The tree was soon stripped, and popcorns strewed the floor as the children stood about picking them off the

red threads when candy gave out, with an occasional cranberry by way of relish. Boo insisted on trying the

new sled at once, and enlivened the trip by the squeaking of the spotted dog, the toot of a tin trumpet, and

The girls all put on their necklaces, and danced about like fine ladies at a ball. The boys fell to comparing

skates, balls, and cuffbuttons on the spot, while the little ones devoted all their energies to eating everything

Games were played till nine o clock, and then the party broke up, after they had taken hands round the tree

and sung a song written by one whom you all know so faithfully and beautifully does she love and labor for

"What shall little children bring On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day? What shall little children bring On

Christmas Day in the morning? This shall little children bring On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day; Love

"What shall little children sing On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day? What shall little children sing On

Christmas Day in the morning? The grand old carols shall they sing On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;

Jack was carried off to bed in such haste that he had only time to call out, "Goodnight!" before he was rolled

away, gaping as he went. Jill soon found herself tucked up in the great white bed she was to share with her

mother, and lay looking about the pleasant chamber, while Mrs. Pecq ran home for a minute to see that all

After the merry din the house seemed very still, with only a light step now and then, the murmur of voices

not far away, or the jingle of sleighbells from without, and the little girl rested easily among the pillows,

thinking over the pleasures of the day, too wideawake for sleep. There was no lamp in the chamber, but she

could look into the pretty Bird Room, where the firelight still shone on flowery walls, deserted tree, and

Christchild floating above the green. Jill's eyes wandered there and lingered till they were full of regretful

tears, because the sight of the little angel recalled the words spoken when it was hung up, the good resolution

"I said I couldn't be bad in that lovely place, and I was a cross, ungrateful girl after all they ve done for

Mammy and me. Poor Jack was hurt the worst, and he was brave, though he did scream. I wish I could go

A great sob choked more words, and Jill was about to have a comfortable cry, when someone entered the

other room, and she saw Frank doing something with a long cord and a thing that looked like a tiny drum.

Quiet as a brighteyed mouse, Jill peeped out wondering what it was, and suspecting mischief, for the boy

was laughing to himself as he stretched the cord, and now and then bent over the little object in his hand,

"Maybe it's a torpedo to blow up and scare me; Jack likes to play tricks. Well, I'll scream loud when it goes

off, so he will be satisfied that I'm dreadfully frightened," thought Jill, little dreaming what the last surprise of

The little drum came flying in, and, catching it, Jill, with some hesitation, obeyed Frank's order. Judge of her

Jill was so delighted with this handsome apology, that she could not reply for a moment, then steadied her

"I'm sorry, too. Never, never, will again. Feel much better now. Goodnight, you dear old thing."

Satisfied with the success of his telephone, Frank twitched back the drum and vanished, leaving Jill to lay her

cheek upon the hand that wore the little ring and fall asleep, saying to herself, with a farewell glance at the

children's saint, dimly seen in the soft gloom, "I will not forget. I will be good!"

The good times began immediately, and very little studying was done that week in spite of the virtuous

resolutions made by certain young persons on Christmas Day. But, dear me, how was it possible to settle

down to lessons in the delightful Bird Room, with not only its own charms to distract one, but all the new

"I guess we'd better wait till the others are at school, and just go in for fun this week," said Jack, who was in

great spirits at the prospect of getting up, for the splints were off, and he hoped to be promoted to crutches

"I shall keep my Speller by me and take a look at it every day, for that is what I'm most backward in. But I

intend to devote myself to you, Jack, and be real kind and useful. I've made a plan to do it, and I mean to

carry it out, anyway," answered Jill, who had begun to be a missionary, and felt that this was a field of labor

"Here's a home mission all ready for you, and you can be paying your debts beside doing yourself good,"

Now Jill made one great mistake at the outsetshe forgot that she was the one to be converted to good

manners and gentleness, and devoted her efforts to looking after Jack, finding it much easier to cure other

people's faults than her own. Jack was a most engaging heathen, and needed very little instruction; therefore

Jill thought her task would be an easy one. But three or four weeks of petting and play had rather demoralized

both children, so Jill's Speller, though tucked under the sofa pillow every day, was seldom looked at, and Jack

shirked his Latin shamefully. Both read all the storybooks they could get, held daily levees in the Bird

Room, and all their spare minutes were spent in teaching Snowdrop, the great Angora cat, to bring the ball

when they dropped it in their game. So Saturday came, and both were rather the worse for so much idleness,

since daily duties and studies are the wholesome bread which feeds the mind better than the dyspeptic

plumcake of sensational reading, or the unsubstantial bonbons of frivolous amusement.

It was a stormy day, so they had few callers, and devoted themselves to arranging the album; for these books

were all the rage just then, and boys met to compare, discuss, buy, sell, and "swap" stamps with as much

interest as men on 'Change gamble in stocks. Jack had a nice little collection, and had been saving up

pocketmoney to buy a book in which to preserve his treasures. Now, thanks to Jill's timely suggestion,

Frank had given him a fine one, and several friends had contributed a number of rare stamps to grace the

large, inviting pages. Jill wielded the gumbrush and fitted on the little flaps, as her fingers were skilful at

this nice work, and Jack put each stamp in its proper place with great rustling of leaves and comparing of

marks. Returning, after a brief absence, Mrs. Minot beheld the countenances of the workers adorned with gay

"My dears! what new play have you got now? Are you wild Indians? or letters that have gone round the

world before finding the right address?" she asked, laughing at the ridiculous sight, for both were as sober as

"Oh, we just stuck them there to keep them safe; they get lost if we leave them lying round. It's very handy,

for I can see in a minute what I want on Jill's face and she on mine, and put our fingers on the right chap at

once," answered Jack, adding, with an anxious gaze at his friend's variegated countenance, "Where the

'Why, there it is on your own nose. Don't you remember you put it there because you said mine was not big

enough to hold it?" laughed Jill, tweaking a large orange square off the round nose of her neighbor, causing it

"So I'd id, and gave you Little Bolivar on yours. Now I'll have Alsace and Lorraine, 1870. There are seven of

them, so hold still and see how you like it," returned Jack, picking the large, pale stamps one by one from

She bore it without flinching, saying to herself with a secret smile, as she glanced at the hot fire, which

scorched her if she kept near enough to Jack to help him, "This really is being like a missionary, with a

tattooed savage to look after. I have to suffer a little, as the good folks did who got speared and roasted

sometimes; but I won't complain a bit, though my forehead smarts, my arms are tired, and one cheek is as red

"The Roman States make a handsome page, don't they?" asked Jack, little dreaming of the part he was

playing in Jill's mind. "Oh, I say, isn't Corea a beauty? I'm ever so proud of that"; and he gazed fondly on a

"I don't see why the Cape of Good Hope has pyramids. They ought to go in Egypt. The Sandwich Islands are

all right, with heads of the black kings and queens on them," said Jill, feeling that they were very appropriate

"Turkey has crescents, Australia swans, and Spain women's heads, with black bars across them. Frank says it

is because they keep women shut up so; but that was only his fun. I'd rather have a good, honest green United

States, with Washington on it, or a blue onecenter with old Franklin, than all their eagles and lions and kings

and queens put together," added the democratic boy, with a disrespectful slap on a crowned head as he settled

"Why does Austria have Mercury on the stamp, I wonder? Do they wear helmets like that?" asked Jill, with

"Maybe he was postman to the gods, so he is put on stamps now. The Prussians wear helmets, but they have

spikes like the old Roman fellows. I like Prussians ever so much; they fight splendidly, and always beat.

"Talking of Romans reminds me that I have not heard your Latin for two days. Come, lazybones, brace up,

and let us have it now. I've done my compo, and shall have just time before I go out for a tramp with Gus,"

said Frank, putting by a neat page to dry, for he studied every day like a conscientious lad as he was.

"Don't know it. Not going to try till next week. Grind away over your old Greek as much as you like, but

don't bother me," answered Jack, frowning at the mere thought of the detested lesson.

But Frank adored his Xenophon, and would not see his old friend, Caesar, neglected without an effort to

defend him; so he confiscated the gumpot, and effectually stopped the stamp business by whisking away at

"Now then, young man, you will quit this sort of nonsense and do your lesson, or you won't see these fellows

again in a hurry. You asked me to hear you, and I'm going to do it; here's the book."

Frank's tone was the dictatorial one, which Jack hated and always found hard to obey, especially when he

knew he ought to do it. Usually, when his patience was tried, he strode about the room, or ran off for a race

round the garden, coming back breathless, but goodtempered. Now both these vents for irritation were

denied him, and he had fallen into the way of throwing things about in a pet. He longed to send Caesar to

perpetual banishment in the fire blazing close by, but resisted the temptation, and answered honestly, though

gruffly: "I know I'd id, but I don't see any use in pouncing on a fellow when he isn't ready. I haven't got my

lesson, and don't mean to worry about it; so you may just give me back my things and go about your

"I'll give you back a stamp for every perfect lesson you get, and you won't see them on any other terms"; and,

thrusting the treasures into his pocket, Frank caught up his rubber boots, and went off swinging them like a

pair of clubs, feeling that he would give a trifle to be able to use them on his lazy brother.

At this highhanded proceeding, and the threat which accompanied it, Jack's patience gave out, and catching

up Caesar, as he thought, sent him flying after the retreating tyrant with the defiant declaration,

"Keep them, then, and your old book, too! I won't look at it till you give all my stamps back and say you are

It was all over before Mamma could interfere, or Jill do more than clutch and cling to the gumbrush. Frank

vanished unharmed, but the poor book dashed against the wall to fall half open on the floor, its gay cover

"It's the album! O Jack, how could you?" cried Jill, dismayed at sight of the precious book so maltreated by

"Thought it was the other. Guess it isn't hurt much. Didn't mean to hit him, anyway. He does provoke me so,"

muttered Jack, very red and shamefaced as his mother picked up the book and laid it silently on the table

before him. He did not know what to do with himself, and was thankful for the stamps still left him, finding

great relief in making faces as he plucked them one by one from his mortified countenance. Jill looked on,

half glad, half sorry that her savage showed such signs of unconverted ferocity, and Mrs. Minot went on

writing letters, wearing the grave look her sons found harder to bear than another person's scolding. No one

spoke for a moment, and the silence was becoming awkward when Gus appeared in a rubber suit, bringing a

"Look here, you just trundle me into my den, please, I'm going to have a nap, it's so dull today I don't feel

like doing much," said Jack, when Gus had done his errands, trying to look as if he knew nothing about the

Jack folded his arms and departed like a warrior borne from the battlefield, to be chaffed unmercifully for a

"I heard once of a boy who threw a fork at his brother and put his eye out. But he didn't mean to, and the

brother forgave him, and he never did so any more," observed Jill, in a pensive tone, wishing to show that she

"No, 'm; I suppose not. But Jack didn't hit Frank, and feels real sorry, I know."

"He might have, and hurt him very much. Our actions are in our own hands, but the consequences of them are

"Yes, 'm, I will"; and Jill composed herself to consider what missionaries usually did when the natives hurled

Mrs. Minot wrote one page of a new letter, then stopped, pushed her papers about, thought a little, and finally

got up, saying, as if she found it impossible to resist the yearning of her heart for the naughty boy,

"I am going to see if Jack is covered up, he is so helpless, and liable to take cold. Don't stir till I come back."

Away went the tender parent to find her son studying Caesar for dear life, and all the more amiable for the

little gust which had blown away the temporary irritability. The brothers were often called "Thunder and

Lightning," because Frank lowered and growled and was a good while clearing up, while Jack's temper came

and went like a flash, and the air was all the clearer for the escape of dangerous electricity. Of course Mamma

had to stop and deliver a little lecture, illustrated by sad tales of petulant boys, and punctuated with kisses

Jill meantime meditated morally on the superiority of her own good temper over the hasty one of her dear

playmate, and just when she was feeling unusually uplifted and secure, alas! like so many of us, she fell, in

Glancing about the room for something to do, she saw a sheet of paper lying exactly out of reach, where it

had fluttered from the table unperceived. At first her eye rested on it as carelessly as it did on the stray stamp

Frank had dropped; then, as if one thing suggested the other, she took it into her head that the paper was

Frank's composition, or, better still, a note to Annette, for the two corresponded when absence or weather

"Wouldn't it be fun to keep it till he gives back Jack's stamps? It would plague him so if it was a note, and I

do believe it is, for compo's don't begin with two words on one side. I'll get it, and Jack and I will plan some

Forgetting her promise not to stir, also how dishonorable it was to read other people's letters, Jill caught up

the longhandled hook, often in use now, and tried to pull the paper nearer. It would not come at once, for a

seam in the carpet held it, and Jill feared to tear or crumple it if she was not very careful. The hook was rather

heavy and long for her to manage, and Jack usually did the fishing, so she was not very skilful; and just as

she was giving a particularly quick jerk, she lost her balance, fell off the sofa, and dropped the pole with a

"Oh, my back!" was all she could think or say as she felt the jar all through her little body, and a

corresponding fear in her guilty little mind that someone would come and find out the double mischief she

had been at. For a moment she lay quite still to recover from the shock, then as the pain passed she began to

wonder how she should get back, and looked about her to see if she could do it alone. She thought she could,

as the sofa was near and she had improved so much that she could sit up a little if the doctor would have let

her. She was gathering herself together for the effort, when, within arm's reach now, she saw the tempting

paper, and seized it with glee, for in spite of her predicament she did want to tease Frank. A glance showed

that it was not the composition nor a note, but the beginning of a letter from Mrs. Minot to her sister, and Jill

was about to lay it down when her own name caught her eye, and she could not resist reading it. Hard words

"Dear Lizzie, Jack continues to do very well, and will soon be up again. But we begin to fear that the little

girl is permanently injured in the back. She is here, and we do our best for her; but I never look at her without

thinking of Lucinda Snow, who, you remember, was bedridden for twenty years, owing to a fall at fifteen.

Poor little Janey does not know yet, and I hope" There it ended, and "poor little Janey's" punishment for

disobedience began that instant. She thought she was getting well because she did not suffer all the time, and

everyone spoke cheerfully about "by and by." Now she knew the truth, and shut her eyes with a shiver as she

A very miserable Jill lay on the floor, and for a while did not care who came and found her; then the last

words of the letter "I hope"seemed to shine across the blackness of the dreadful "twenty years" and

cheer her up a bit, for despair never lives long in young hearts, and Jill was a brave child.

"That is why Mammy sighs so when she dresses me, and everyone is so good to me. Perhaps Mrs. Minot

doesn't really know, after all. She was dreadfully scared about Jack, and he is getting well. I'd like to ask

Doctor, but he might find Out about the letter. Oh, dear, why didn't I keep still and let the horrid thing alone!"

As she thought that, Jill pushed the paper away, pulled herself up, and with much painful effort managed to

get back to her sofa, where she laid herself down with a groan, feeling as if the twenty years had already

"I've told a lie, for I said I wouldn't stir. I've hurt my back, I've done a mean thing, and I've got paid for it. A

nice missionary I am; I'd better begin at home, as Mammy told me to"; and Jill groaned again, remembering

her mother's words. "Now I've got another secret to keep all alone, for I'd be ashamed to tell the girls. I guess

Jill looked the picture of a good, industrious child as she lay with her back to the large table, her book held so

that nothing was to be seen but one cheek and a pair of lips moving busily. Fortunately, it is difficult for little

sinners to act a part, and, even if the face is hidden, something in the body seems to betray the internal

remorse and shame. Usually, Jill lay flat and still; now her back was bent in a peculiar way as she leaned over

her book, and one foot wagged nervously, while on the visible cheek was a Spanish stamp with a woman's

face looking through the black bars, very suggestively, if she had known it. How long the minutes seemed till

someone came, and what a queer little jump her heart gave when Mrs. Minot's voice said, cheerfully, "Jack is

all right, and, I declare, so is Jill. I really believe there is a telegraph still working somewhere between you

"I didn't have any other book handy, so I thought I'd study awhile," answered Jill, feeling that she deserved no

She cast a sidelong glance as she spoke, and seeing that Mrs. Minot was looking for the letter, hid her face

and lay so still she could hear the rustle of the paper as it was taken from the floor. It was well she did not

also see the quick look the lady gave her as she turned the letter and found a red stamp sticking to the under

Mrs. Minot remembered having seen the stamp lying close to the sofa when she left the room, for she had had

half a mind to take it to Jack, but did not, thinking Frank's plan had some advantages. She also recollected

that a paper flew off the table, but being in haste she had not stopped to see what it was. Now, the stamp and

the letter could hardly have come together without hands, for they lay a yard apart, and here, also, on the

unwritten portion of the page, was the mark of a small green thumb. Jill had been winding wool for a stripe in

her new afghan, and the green ball lay on her sofa. These signs suggested and confirmed what Mrs. Minot did

not want to believe; so did the voice, attitude, and air of Jill, all very unlike her usual open, alert ways.

The kind lady could easily forgive the reading of her letter since the girl had found such sad news there, but

the dangers of disobedience were serious in her case, and a glance showed that she was suffering either in

"I will wait for her to tell me. She is an honest child, and the truth will soon come out," thought Mrs. Minot,

"Shall I hear your lesson, dear? Jack means to recite his like a good boy, so suppose you follow his example,"

Jill did try, and got on bravely till she came to the word "permanent"; there she hesitated, remembering where

"Do you know what that means?" asked her teacher, thinking to help her on by defining the word.

"Alwaysfor a great whileor something like that; doesn't it?" faltered Jill, with a tight feeling in her

throat, and the color coming up, as she tried to speak easily, yet felt so shamestricken she could not.

"Are you in pain, my child? Never mind the lesson; tell me, and I'll do something for you."

The kind words, the soft hand on her hot cheek, and the pity in the eyes that looked at her, were too much for

Jill. A sob came first, and then the truth, told with hidden face and tears that washed the blush away, and set

"I knew it all before, and was sure you would tell me, else you would not be the child I love and like to help

Then, while she soothed Jill's trouble, Mrs. Minot told her story and showed the letter, wishing to lessen, if

"Sly old stamp! To go and tell on me when I meant to own up, anti get some credit if I could, after being so

mean and bad," said Jill, smiling through her tears when she saw the telltale witnesses against her.

"You had better stick it in your book to remind you of the bad consequences of disobedience, then perhaps

this lesson will leave a permanent impression on your mind and memory, answered Mrs. Minot, glad to see

her natural gayety coming back, and hoping that she had forgotten the contents of the unfortunate letter. But

she had not; and presently, when the sad affair had been talked over and forgiven, Jill asked, slowly, as she

"Please tell me about Lucinda Snow. If I am to be like her, I might as well know how she managed to bear it

"I'm sorry you ever heard of her, and yet perhaps it may help you to bear your trial, dear, which I hope will

never be as heavy a one as hers, This Lucinda I knew for years, and though at first I thought her fate the

saddest that could be, I came at last to see how happy she was in spite of her affliction, how good and useful

"Why, how could she be? What did she do?" cried Jill, forgetting her own troubles to look up with an open,

"She was so patient, other people were ashamed to complain of their small worries; so cheerful, that her own

great one grew lighter; so industrious, that she made both money and friends by pretty things she worked and

sold to her many visitors. And, best of all, so wise and sweet that she seemed to get good out of everything,

and make her poor room a sort of chapel where people went for comfort, counsel, and an example of a pious

"Well, if I could not be as I was, I'd like to be a woman like that. Only, I hope I shall not!" answered Jill,

thoughtfully at first, then coming out so decidedly with the last words that it was evident the life of a

"So do I; and I mean to believe that you will not. Meantime, we can try to make the waiting as useful and

pleasant as possible. This painful little back will be a sort of conscience to remind you of what you ought to

do and leave undone, and so you can be learning obedience. Then, when the body is strong, it will have

formed a good habit to make duty easier; and my Lucinda can be a sweet example, even while lying here, if

"Can I?" and Jill's eyes were full of softer tears as the comfortable, cheering words sank into her heart, to

blossom slowly by and by into her life, for this was to be a long lesson, hard to learn, but very useful in the

When the boys returned, after the Latin was recited and peace restored, Jack showed her a recovered stamp

promptly paid by Frank, who was as just as he was severe, and Jill asked for the old red one, though she did

not tell why she wanted it, nor show it put away in the spellingbook, a little seal upon a promise made to be

Farmer Grant was a thrifty, welltodo man, anxious to give his children greater advantages than he had

enjoyed, and to improve the fine place of which he was justly proud. Mrs. Grant was a notable housewife, as

ambitious and industrious as her husband, but too busy to spend any time on the elegancics of life, though

always ready to help the poor and sick like a good neighbor and Christian woman. The three sonsTom,

Dick, and Harrywere big fellows of seventeen, nineteen, and twentyone; the first two on the farm, and the

elder in a store just setting up for himself. Kindhearted but roughmannered youths, who loved Merry very

much, but teased her sadly about her "fine lady airs," as they called her dainty ways and love of beauty.

Merry was a thoughtful girl, full of innocent fancies, refined tastes, and romantic dreams, in which no one

sympathized at home, though she was the pet of the family. It did seem, to an outsider, as if the delicate little

creature had got there by mistake, for she looked very like a tearose in a field of clover and dandelions,

When the girls talked over the new society, it pleased Merry very much, and she decided not only to try and

love work better, but to convert her family to a liking for pretty things, as she called her own more cultivated

"I will begin at once, and show them that I don't mean to shirk my duty, though I do want to be nice," thought

she, as she sat at supper one night and looked about her, planning her first move.

Not a very cheering prospect for a lover of the beautiful, certainly, for the big kitchen, though as neat as wax,

had nothing lovely in it, except a red geranium blooming at the window. Nor were the people all that could be

desired, in some respects, as they sat about the table shovelling in pork and beans with their knives, drinking

tea from their saucers, and laughing out with a hearty "Haw, haw," when anything amused them. Yet the boys

were handsome, strong specimens, the farmer a hale, benevolentlooking man, the housewife a pleasant,

sharpeyed matron, who seemed to find comfort in looking often at the bright face at her elbow, with the

broad forehead, clear eyes, sweet mouth, and quiet voice that came like music in among the loud masculine

Merry's face was so thoughtful that evening that her father observed it, for, when at home, he watched her as

one watches a kitten, glad to see anything so pretty, young, and happy, at its play.

"Little daughter has got something on her mind, I mistrust. Come and tell father all about it," he said, with a

sounding slap on his broad knee as he turned his chair from the table to the ugly stove, where three pairs of

wet boots steamed underneath, and a great kettle of cider applesauce simmered above.

"When I've helped clear up, I'll come and talk. Now, mother, you sit down and rest; Roxy and I can do

everything," answered Merry, patting the old rockingchair so invitingly that the tired woman could not

"Well, I don't care if I'd o, for I've been on my feet since five o'clock. Be sure you cover things up, and shut

the buttery door, and put the cat down cellar, and sift your meal. I'll see to the buckwheats last thing before I

Mrs. Grant subsided with her knitting, for her hands were never idle; Tom tilted his chair back against the

wall and picked his teeth with his penknife; Dick got out a little pot of grease, to make the boots

watertight; and Harry sat down at the small table to look over his accounts, with an important airfor

Merry hated clearing up, but dutifully did every distasteful task, and kept her eye on careless Roxy till all was

in order; then she gladly went to perch on her father's knee, seeing in all the faces about her the silent

"Yes, I do want something, but I know you will say it is silly," she began, as her father pinched her blooming

"Shouldn't wonder if it was a doll now"; and Mr. Grant stroked her head with an indulgent smile, as if she

"Why, father, you know I don't! I haven't played with dollies for years and years. No; I want to fix up my

room pretty, like Jill's. I'll do it all myself, and only want a few things, for I don't expect it to look as nice as

Indignation gave Merry courage to state her wishes boldly, though she knew the boys would laugh. They did,

"Why, child, what more can you want? I'm sure your room is always as neat as a new pin, thanks to your

"Let me have some old things out of the garret, and I'll show you what I want. It is neat, but so bare and ugly

I hate to be there. I do so love something pretty to look at!" and Merry gave a little shiver of disgust as she

turned her eyes away from the large greasy boot Dick was holding up to be sure it was well lubricated all

"So do I, and that's a fact. I couldn't get on without my pretty girl here, anyway. Why, she touches up the old

place better than a dozen flowerpots in full blow," said the farmer, as his eye went from the scarlet geranium

"I wish I had a dozen in the sittingroom window. Mother says they are not tidy, but I'd keep them neat, and I

know you'd like it," broke in Merrry, glad of the chance to get one of the longdesired wishes of her heart

"I'll fetch you some next time I go over to Ballad's. Tell me what you want, and we'll have a posy bed

somewhere round, see if we don't," said her father, dimly understanding what she wanted.

"Now, if mother says I may fix my room, I shall be satisfied, and I'll do my chores without a bit of fuss, to

show how grateful I am," said the girl, thanking her father with a kiss, and smiling at her mother so wistfully

"You may have anything you like out of the blue chest. There's a lot of things there that the moths got at after

Grandma died, and I couldn't bear to throw or give 'em away. Trim up your room as you like, and mind you

don't forget your part of the bargain," answered Mrs. Grant, seeing profit in the plan.

"I won't; I'll work all the morning tomorrow, and in the afternoon I'll get ready to show you what I call a

nice, pretty room," answered Merry, looking so pleased it seemed as if another flower had blossomed in the

She kept her word, and the very stormy afternoon when Jill got into trouble, Merry was working busily at her

little bower. In the blue chest she found a variety of treasures, and ignoring the moth holes, used them to the

best advantage, trying to imitate the simple comfort with a touch of elegance which prevailed in Mrs. Minot's

Three faded redmoreen curtains went up at the windows over the chilly paper shades, giving a pleasant glow

to the bare walls. A red quilt with white stars, rather the worse for many washings, covered the bed, and a gay

cloth the table, where a judicious arrangement of books and baskets concealed the spots. The little airtight

stove was banished, and a pair of ancient andirons shone in the firelight. Grandma's last and largest braided

rug lay on the hearth, and her brass candlesticks adorned the bureau, over the mirror of which was festooned

a white muslin skirt, tied up with Merry's red sash. This piece of elegance gave the last touch to her room, she

thought, and she was very proud of it, setting forth all her small store of trinkets in a large shell, with an

empty scent bottle, and a clean tidy over the pincushion. On the walls she hung three oldfashioned pictures,

which she ventured to borrow from the garret till better could be found. One a mourning piece, with a very

tall lady weeping on an urn in a grove of willows, and two small boys in knee breeches and funny little

square tails to their coats, looking like cherubs in large frills. The other was as good as a bonfire, being an

eruption of Vesuvius, and very lurid indeed, for the Bay of Naples was boiling like a pot, the red sky raining

rocks, and a few distracted people lying flat upon the shore. The third was a really pretty scene of children

dancing round a Maypole, for though nearly a hundred years old, the little maids smiled and the boys

"Now I'll call them all to see, and say that it is pretty. Then I'll enjoy it, and come here when things look

dismal and bare everywhere else," said Merry, when at last it was done. She had worked all the afternoon,

and only finished at supper time, so the candles had to be lighted that the toilette might look its best, and

impress the beholders with an idea of true elegance. Unfortunately, the fire smoked a little, and a window was

set ajar to clear the room; an evil disposed gust blew in, wafting the thin drapery within reach of the light, and

when Merry threw open the door proudly thinking to display her success, she was horrified to find the room

The conflagration was over in a minute, however, for the boys tore down the muslin and stamped out the fire

with much laughter, while Mrs. Grant bewailed the damage to her carpet, and poor Merry took refuge in her

father's arms, refusing to be comforted in spite of his kind commendation of "Grandma's fixins."

The third little missionary had the hardest time of all, and her first efforts were not much more satisfactory

nor successful than the others. Her father was away from morning till night, and then had his paper to read,

books to keep, or "a man to see down town," so that, after a hasty word at tea, he saw no more of the children

till another evening, as they were seldom up at his early breakfast. He thought they were well taken care of,

for Miss Bathsheba Dawes was an energetic, middleaged spinster when she came into the family, and had

been there fifteen years, so he did not observe, what a woman would have seen at once, that Miss Bat was

getting old and careless, and everything about the house was at sixes and sevens. She took good care of him,

and thought she had done her duty if she got three comfortable meals, nursed the children when they were ill,

and saw that the house did not burn up. So Maria Louisa and Napoleon Bonaparte got on as they could,

without the tender cares of a mother. Molly had been a happygolucky child, contented with her pets, her

freedom, and little Boo to love; but now she was just beginning to see that they were not like other children,

"Papa is busy, but Miss Bat ought to see to us; she is paid for it, and goodness knows she has an easy time

now, for if I ask her to do anything, she groans over her bones, and tells me young folks should wait on

themselves. I take all the care of Boo off her hands, but I can't wash my own things, and he hasn't a decent

trouser to his blessed little legs. I'd tell papa, but it wouldn't do any good; he'd only say, 'Yes, child, yes, I'll

This used to be Molly's lament, when some especially trying event occurred, and if the girls were not there to

condole with her, she would retire to the shedchamber, call her nine cats about her, and, sitting in the old

bushel basket, pull her hair about her ears, and scold all alone. The cats learned to understand this habit, and

nobly did their best to dispel the gloom which now and then obscured the sunshine of their little mistress.

Some of them would creep into her lap and purr till the comfortable sound soothed her irritation; the sedate

elders sat at her feet blinking with such wise and sympathetic faces, that she felt as if half a dozen Solomons

were giving her the sagest advice; while the kittens frisked about, cutting up their drollest capers till she

laughed in spite of herself. When the laugh came, the worst of the fit was over, and she soon cheered up,

dismissing the consolers with a pat all round, a feast of good things from Miss Bat's larder, and the usual

"Well, dears, it's of no use to worry. I guess we shall get along somehow, if we don't fret."

With which wise resolution, Molly would leave her retreat and freshen up her spirits by a row on the river or

a romp with Boo, which always finished the case. Now, however, she was bound to try the new plan and do

something toward reforming not only the boy's condition, but the disorder and discomfort of home.

"I'll play it is Siam, and this the house of a native, and I'm come to show the folks how to live nicely. Miss

Bat won't know what to make of it, and I can't tell her, so I shall get some fun out of it, anyway," thought

The prospect was not cheering; and, if the natives of Siam live in such confusion, it is high time they were

attended to. The breakfasttable still stood as it was left, with slops of coffee on the cloth; bits of bread,

eggshells, and potatoskins lay about, and one lonely sausage was cast away in the middle of a large platter.

The furniture was dusty, stove untidy, and the carpet looked as if crumbs had been scattered to chickens who

declined their breakfast. Boo was sitting on the sofa, with his arm through a hole in the cover, hunting for

some lost treasure put away there for safe keeping, like a little magpie as he was. Molly fancied she washed

and dressed him well enough; but today she seemed to see more dearly, and sighed as she thought of the

hard job in store for her if she gave him the thorough washing he needed, and combed out that curly mop of

"I'll clear up first and do that by and by. I ought to have a nice little tub and good towels, like Mrs. Minot, and

I will, too, if I buy them myself," she said, piling up cups with an energy that threatened destruction to

Miss Bat, who was trailing about the kitchen, with her head pinned up in a little plaid shawl, was so surprised

by the demand for a pan of hot water and four clean towels, that she nearly dropped her snuffbox, chief

"What new whimsey now? Generally, the dishes stand round till I have time to pick 'em up, and you are off

coasting or careering somewhere. Well, this tidy fit won't last long, so I may as well make the most of it,"

said Miss Bat, as she handed out the required articles, and then pushed her spectacles from the tip of her

sharp nose to her sharper black eyes for a good look at the girl who stood primly before her, with a clean

"Umph!" was all the comment that Miss Bat made on this unusual neatness, and she went on scraping her

saucepans, while Molly returned to her work, very well pleased with the effect of her first step, for she felt

that the bewilderment of Miss Bat would be a constant inspiration to fresh efforts.

An hour of hard work produced an agreeable change in the abode of the native, for the table was cleared,

room swept and dusted, fire brightened, and the holes in the sofacovering were pinned up till time could be

found to mend them. To be sure, rolls of lint lay in corners, smears of ashes were on the stove hearth, and

dust still lurked on chair rounds and table legs. But too much must not be expected of a new convert, so the

young missionary sat down to rest, well pleased and ready for another attempt as soon as she could decide in

what direction it should be made. She quailed before Boo as she looked at the unconscious innocent

peacefully playing with the spotted dog, now bereft of his tail, and the lone sausage with which he was

"It will be an awful job, and he is so happy I won't plague him yet. Guess I'll go and put my room to rights

first, and pick up some clean clothes to put on him, if he is alive after I get through with him," thought Molly,

foreseeing a stormy passage for the boy, who hated a bath as much as some people hate a trip across the

Up she went, and finding the fire out felt discouraged, thought she would rest a little more, so retired under

the blankets to read one of the Christmas books. The dinnerbell rang while she was still wandering happily

in "Nelly's Silver Mine," and she ran down to find that Boo had laid out a railroad all across her neat room,

using bits of coal for sleepers and books for rails, over which he was dragging the yellow sled laden with a

dismayed kitten, the tailless dog, and the remains of the sausage, evidently on its way to the tomb, for Boo

"Oh dear! why can't boys play without making such a mess," sighed Molly, picking up the feathers from the

duster with which Boo had been trying to make a "cockydoo" of the hapless dog. "I'll wash him right after

dinner, and that will keep him out of mischief for a while," she thought, as the young engineer unsuspiciously

proceeded to ornament his already crocky countenance with squash, cranberry sauce, and gravy, till he

"I want two pails of hot water, please, Miss Bat, and the big tub," said Molly, as the ancient handmaid

emptied her fourth cup of tea, for she dined with the family, and enjoyed her own good cooking in its prime.

"BooI'm sure he needs it enough"; and Molly could not help laughing as the victim added to his brilliant

appearance by smearing the colors all together with a rub of two grimy hands, making a fine Turner, of

"Now, Maria Louisa Bemis, you ain't going to cut up no capers with that child! The idea of a hot bath in the

middle of the day, and him full of dinner, and croupy into the bargain~ Wet a corner of a towel at the

kettlespout and polish him off if you like, but you won't risk his life in no bathtubs this cold day."

Miss Bat's word was law in some things, so Molly had to submit, and took Boo away, saying, loftily, as she

"I shall ask father, and do it tonight, for I will not have my brother look like a pig."

"My patience! how the Siamese do leave their things round," she exclaimed, as she surveyed her room after

making up the fire and polishing off Boo. "I'll put things in order, and then mend up my rags, if I can find my

thimble. Now, let me see"; and she went to exploring her closet, bureau, and table, finding such disorder

She had clothes enough, but all needed care; even her best dress had two buttons off, and her Sunday hat but

one string. Shoes, skirts, books, and toys lay about, and her drawers were a perfect chaos of soiled ruffles,

"Oh, my heart, what a muddle! Mrs. Minot wouldn't think much of me if she could see that," said Molly,

recalling how that lady once said she could judge a good deal of a little girl's character and habits by a peep at

her top drawer, and went on, with great success, to guess how each of the schoolmates kept her drawer.

"Come, missionary, clear up, and don't let me find such a gloryhole again, or I'll report you to the society,"

the whole drawerfull out upon the bed, and beguiling the tiresome job by keeping up the new play.

Twilight came before it was done, and a great pile of things loomed up on her table, with no visible means of

repairfor Molly's workbasket was full of nuts, and her thimble down a hole in the shedfloor, where the

"I'll ask Bat for hooks and tape, and papa for some money to buy scissors and things, for I don't know where

mine are. Glad I can't do any more now! Being neat is such hard work!" and Molly threw herself down on the

rug beside the old wooden cradle in which Boo was blissfully rocking, with a cargo of toys aboard.

She watched her time, and as soon as her father had done supper, she hastened to say, before he got to his

"Please, papa, I want a dollar to get some brass buttons and things to fix Boo's clothes with. He wore a hole in

his new trousers coasting down the Kembles' steps. And can't I wash him? He needs it, and Miss Bat won't let

"Certainly, child, certainly; do what you like, only don't keep me. I must be off, or I shall miss Jackson, and

he's the man I want"; and, throwing down two dollars instead of one, Mr. Bemis hurried away, with a vague

impression that Boo had swallowed a dozen brass buttons, and Miss Bat had been coasting somewhere in a

Armed with the paternal permission, Molly carried her point, and oh, what a dreadful evening poor Boo

spent! First, he was decoyed upstairs an hour too soon, then put in a tub by main force and sternly scrubbed,

in spite of shrieks that brought Miss Bat to the locked door to condole with the sufferer, scold the scrubber,

"He always howls when he is washed; but I shall do it, since you won't, and he must get used to it. I will not

have people tell me he's neglected, if I can help it," cried Molly, working away with tears in her eyesfor it

was as hard for her as for Boo; but she meant to be thorough for once in her life, no matter what happened.

When the worst was over, she coaxed him with candy and stories till the long task of combing out the curls

was safely done; then, in the clean nightgown with a blue button newly sewed on, she laid him in bed, worn

"Now, say your prayers, darling, and go to sleep with the nice red blanket all tucked round so you won't get

"No, I won't! Going to sleep now!" and Boo shut his eyes wearily, feeling that his late trials had not left him

"Then you'll be a real little heathen, as Mrs. Pecq called you, and I don't know what I shall do with you," said

Molly, longing to cuddle rather than scold the little fellow, whose soul needed looking after as well as his

"No, no; I won't be a heevin! I don't want to be frowed to the trockindiles. I will say my prayers! oh, I will!"

and, rising in his bed, Boo did so, with the devotion of an infant Samuel, for he remembered the talk when

Molly thought her labors were over for that night, and soon went to bed, tired with her first attempts. But

toward morning she was wakened by the hoarse breathing of the boy, and was forced to patter away to Miss

Bat's room, humbly asking for the squills, and confessing that the prophecy had come to pass.

"I knew it! Bring the child to me, and don't fret. I'll see to him, and next time you do as I say," was the

consoling welcome she received as the old lady popped up a sleepy but anxious face in a large flannel cap,

and shook the bottle with the air of a general who had routed the foe before and meant to do it again.

Leaving her little responsibility in Miss Bat's arms, Molly tired to wet her pillow with a few remorseful tears,

and to fall asleep, wondering if real missionaries ever killed their pupils in the process of conversion.

So the girls all failed in the beginning; but they did not give up, and succeeded better next time, as we shall

"Look here, old man, we ought to have a meeting. Holidays are over, and we must brace up and attend to

business," said Frank to Gus, as they strolled out of the schoolyard one afternoon in January, apparently

absorbed in conversation, but in reality waiting for a blue cloud and a scarlet feather to appear on the steps.

"Tonight, our house, subject, 'Shall girls go to college with us?' Mother said we had better be making up our

minds, because everyone is talking about it, and we shall have to be on one side or the other, so we may as

well settle it now," answered Frank, for there was an impression among the members that all vexed questions

"Very good; I'll pass the word and be there. Hullo, Neddy! The D. C. meets tonight, at Minot's, seven sharp.

Coed, added Gus, losing no time, as a third boy came briskly round the corner, with a little bag in his hand.

"I'll come. Got home an hour earlier tonight, and thought I'd look you up as I went by," responded Ed

Devlin, as he took possession of the third post, with a glance toward the schoolhouse to see if a sealskin cap,

"Very good of you, I'm sure," said Gus, ironically, not a bit deceived by this polite attention.

"The longest way round is sometimes the shortest way home, hey, Ed?" and Frank gave him a playful poke

Then they all laughed at some joke of their own, and Gus added, "No girls coming to hear us tonight. Don't

"More's the pity," and Ed shook his head regretfully over the downfall of his hopes.

"Can't help it; the other fellows say they spoil the fun, so we have to give in, sometimes, for the sake of peace

and quietness. Don't mind having them a bit myself," said Frank, in such a tone of cheerful resignation that

they laughed again, for the "Triangle," as the three chums were called, always made merry music.

"We must have a game party next week. The girls like that, and so do I," candidly observed Gus, whose

"And so do your sisters and your cousins and your aunts," hummed Ed, for Gus was often called Admiral

because he really did possess three sisters, two cousins, and four aunts, besides mother and grandmother, all

The boys promptly joined in the popular chorus, and other voices all about the yard took it up, for the

"How's business?" asked Gus, when the song ended, for Ed had not returned to school in the autumn, but had

"Dull; things will look up toward spring, they say. I get on well enough, but I miss you fellows dreadfully";

and Ed put a hand on the broad shoulder of each friend, as if he longed to be a schoolboy again.

"Better give it up and go to college with me next year," said Frank, who was preparing for Boston University,

"No; I've chosen business, and I mean to stick to it, so don't you unsettle my mind. Have you practised that

March?" asked Ed, turning to a gayer subject, for he had his little troubles, but always looked on the bright

"Skating is so good, I don't get much time. Come early, and we'll have a turn at it."

And with these artless excuses the three boys leaped off the posts, as if one spring moved them, as a group of

girls came chattering down the path. The blue cloud floated away beside Frank, the scarlet feather marched

off with the Admiral, while the fur cap nodded to the gray hat as two happy faces smiled at each other.

The same thing often happened, for twice aday the streets were full of young couples walking to and from

school together, smiled at by the elders, and laughed at by the less susceptible boys and girls, who went alone

or trooped along in noisy groups. The prudent mothers had tried to stop this guileless custom, but found it

very difficult, as the fathers usually sympathized with their sons, and dismissed the matter with the

comfortable phrase, "Never mind; boys will be boys." "Not forever," returned the anxious mammas, seeing

the tall lads daily grow more manly, and the pretty daughters fast learning to look demure when certain

It could not be stopped without great parental sternness and the danger of deceit, for coeducation will go on

outside of school if not inside, and the safest way is to let sentiment and study go hand in hand, with teachers

and parents to direct and explain the great lesson all are the better for learning soon or late. So the elders had

to give in, acknowledging that this sudden readiness to go to school was a comfort, that the new sort of gentle

emulation worked wonders in lazy girls and boys, and that watching these "primrose friendships" bud,

blossom, and die painless deaths, gave a little touch of romance to their own workaday lives.

"On the whole I'd rather have my sons walking, playing, and studying with bright, wellmannered girls, than

always knocking about with rough boys," said Mrs. Minot at one of the Mothers' Meetings, where the good

ladies met to talk over their children, and help one another to do their duty by them.

"I find that Gus is more gentle with his sisters since Juliet took him in hand, for he wants to stand well with

her, and they report him if he troubles them. I really see no harm in the little friendship, though I never had

any such when I was a girl," said Mrs. Burton, who adored her one boy and was his confidante.

"My Merry seems to be contented with her brothers so far, but I shouldn't wonder if I had my hands full by

and by," added Mrs. Grant, who already foresaw that her sweet little daughter would be sought after as soon

Molly Loo had no mother to say a word for her, but she settled matters for herself by holding fast to Merry,

It is necessary to dwell a moment upon this new amusement, because it was not peculiar to Harmony Village,

but appears everywhere as naturally as the game parties and croquet which have taken the place of the

husking frolics and applebees of olden times, and it is impossible to dodge the subject if one attempts to

"Here, my hero, see how you like this. If it suits, you will be ready to march as soon as the doctor gives the

word," said Ralph, coming into the Bird Room that evening with a neat little crutch under his arm.

"Ha, ha, that looks fine! I'd like to try it right off, but I won't till I get leave. Did you make it yourself, Ral?"

asked Jack, handling it with delight, as he sat bolt upright, with his leg on a rest, for he was getting on

"I should say so. What a clever fellow you are! Any new inventions lately?" asked Frank, coming up to

Only an antisnoring machine and an elbowpad, answered Ralph, with a twinkle in his eye, as if reminded

"Go on, and tell about them. I never heard of an antisnorer. Jack better have one," said Frank, interested at

"Well, a rich old lady kept her family awake with that lively music, so she sent to Shirtman and Codleff for

something to stop it. They thought it was a good joke, and told me to see what I could do. I thought it over,

and got up the nicest little affair you ever saw. It went over the mouth, and had a tube to fit the ear, so when

the lady snored she woke herself up and stopped it. It suited exactly. I think of taking out a patent," concluded

"What was the pad?" asked Frank, returning to the small model of an engine he was making.

"Oh, that was a mere trifle for a man who had a tender elbowjoint and wanted something to protect it. I

"I planned to have you make me a new leg if this one was spoilt," said Jack, sure that his friend could invent

"I'd do my best for you. I made a hand for a fellow once, and that got me my place, you know," answered

Ralph, who thought little of such mechanical trifles, and longed to be painting portraits or modelling busts,

Here Gus, Ed, and several other boys came in, and the conversation became general. Grif, Chick, and

Brickbat were three young gentlemen whose own respectable names were usually ignored, and they

As the clock struck seven, Frank, who ruled the club with a rod of iron when Chairman, took his place behind

the study table. Seats stood about it, and a large, shabby book lay before Gus, who was Secretary, and kept

the records with a lavish expenditure of ink, to judge by the blots. The members took their seats, and nearly

all tilted back their chairs and put their hands in their pockets, to keep them out of mischief; for, as everyone

knows, it is impossible for two lads to be near each other and refrain from tickling or pinching. Frank gave

three raps with an old croquetmallet set on a short handle, and with much dignity opened the meeting.

"Gentlemen, the business of the club will be attended to, and then we will discuss the question, 'Shall girls go

'Is summer or winter best fun?' A lively powwow. About evenly divided. J. Flint fined five cents for

disrespect to the Chair. A collection of forty cents taken up to pay for breaking a pane of glass during a free

fight of the members on the doorstep. E. Devlin was chosen Secretary for the coming year, and a new book

"Is there any other business before the meeting?" asked Frank, as the reader closed the old book with a slam

Ed rose, and glancing about him with an appealing look, said, as if sure his proposition would not be well

received, "I wish to propose the name of a new member. Bob Walker wants to join, and 1 think we ought to

let him. He is trying to behave well, and I am sure we could help him. Can't we?"

All the boys looked sober, and Joe, otherwise Brickbat, said, bluntly, "I won't. He's a bad lot, and we don't

"That is just what I want to keep him from! He's a goodhearted boy enough, oniy no one looks after him; so

he gets into scrapes, as we should, if we were in his place, I'd are say. He wants to come here, and would be

so proud if he was let in, I know he'd behave. Come now, let's give him a chance," and Ed looked at Gus and

But Gus shook his head, as if doubtful of the wisdom of the plan, and Frank said gravely: "You know we

made the rule that the number should never be over eight, and we cannot break it."

"You needn't. I can't he here half the time, so I will resign and let Bob have my place," began Ed, but he was

silenced by shouts of "No, no, you shan't!" "We won't let you off!" "Club would go to smash, if you back

"Let him have my place; I'm the youngest, and you won't miss me," cried Jack, bound to stand by Ed at all

"We might do that," said Frank, who did object to small boys, though willing to admit this particular one.

"Better make a new rule to have ten members, and admit both Bob and Tom Grant," said Ralph, whereat Grif

grinned and Joe scowled, for one lad liked Merry's big brother and the other did not.

"That's a good idea! Put it to vote," said Gus, too kindhearted to shut the door on anyone.

"First I want to ask if all you fellows are ready to stand by Bob, out of the club as well as in, for it won't do

much good to be kind to him here and cut him at school and in the street," said Ed, heartily in earnest about

"I will!" cried Jack, ready to follow where his beloved friend led, and the others nodded, unwilling to be

"Good! With all of us to lend a hand, we can do a great deal; and I tell you, boys, it is time, if we want to

keep poor Bob straight. We all turn our backs on him, so he loafs round the tavern, and goes with fellows we

don't care to know. But he isn't bad yet, and we can keep him up, I'm sure, if we just try. I hope to get him

into the Lodge, and that will be half the battle, won't it, Frank?" added Ed, sure that this suggestion would

"Bring him along; I'm with you!" answered Frank, making up his mind at once, for he had joined the

"He is learning to smoke, but we'll make him drop it before it leads to worse. You can help him there,

Admiral, if you only will," added Ed, giving a grateful look at one friend, and turning to the other.

"I'm your man"; and Gus looked as if he knew what he promised, for he had given up smoking to oblige his

"You other fellows can do a good deal by just being kind and not twitting him with old scrapes, and I'll do

anything I can for you all to pay for this"; and Ed sat down with a beaming smile, feeling that his cause was

The vote was taken, and all hands went up, for even surly Joe gave in; so Bob and Tom were duly elected,

and proved their gratitude for the honor done them by becoming worthy members of the club. It was only

boys' play now, but the kind heart and pure instincts of one lad showed the others how to lend a helping hand

to a comrade in danger, and win him away from temptation to the safer pastimes of their more guarded lives.

Well pleased with themselvesfor every genuine act or word, no matter how trifling it seems, leaves a sweet

and strengthening influence behindthe members settled down to the debate, which was never very long,

"Ralph, Gus, and Ed are for, and Brickbat, Grif, and Chick against, I suppose?" said Frank, surveying his

"No, sir! I believe in coeverything!" cried Chick, a mild youth, who loyally escorted a chosen damsel home

"I'll speak for two since the Chairman can't, and Jack won't go against those who pet him most to death," said

Joe, who, not being a favorite with the girls, considered them a nuisance and lost no opportunity of telling

"Well," began Joe, feeling too late how much he had undertaken, "I don't know a great deal about it, and I

don't care, but I do not believe in having girls at college. They'd on't belong there, nobody wants 'em, and

"Yours, too," put in Ralph, who had heard that argument so often he was tired of it.

"Of course; that's what girls are for. I don't mind 'em at school, but I'd just as soon they had a room to

"You would if Mabel wasn't in your class and always ahead of you," observed Ed, whose friend was a fine

"Look here, if you fellows keep interrupting, I won't sit down for half an hour," said Joe, well knowing that

Deep silence reigned, for that threat quelled the most impatient member, and Joe prosed on, using all the

arguments he had ever heard, and paying off several old scores by siy hits of a personal nature, as older

"It is clear to my mind that boys would get on better without any girls fooling round. As for their being as

smart as we are, it is all nonsense, for some of 'em cry over their lessons every day, or go home with

headaches, or get mad and scold all recess, because something 'isn't fair.' No, sir; girls ain't meant to know

much, and they can't. Wise folks say so and I believe 'em. Haven't got any sisters myself, and I don't want

any, for they'd on't seem to amount to much, according to those who do have 'em."

Groans from Gus and Ed greeted the closing remarks of the ungallant Joe, who sat down, feeling that he had

made somebody squirm. Up jumped Grif, the delight of whose life was practical jokes, which amiable

weakness made him the terror of the girls, though they had no other fault to find with the merry lad.

"Mr. Chairman, the ground I take is this: girls have not the strength to go to college with us. They couldn't

row a race, go on a lark, or take care of themselves, as we do. They are all well enough at home, and I like

them at parties, but for real fun and go I wouldn't give a cent for them," began Grif, whose views of a

collegiate life were confined to the enjoyments rather than the studies of that festive period. "I have tried

them, and they can't stand anything. They scream if you tell them there is a mouse in the room, and run if

they see a big dog. I just put a cockroach in Molly's desk one day, and when she opened it she jumped as if

So did the gentlemen of the club, for at that moment halfadozen firecrackers exploded under the chair

Grif had left, and flew wildly about the room. Order was with difficulty restored, the mischievous party

summarily chastised and commanded to hold his tongue, under penalty of ejectment from the room if he

spoke again. Firmly grasping that red and unruly member, Grif composed himself to listen, with his nose in

Ed was always the peacemaker, and now, when he rose with his engaging smile, his voice fell like oil upon

the troubled waters, and his bright face was full of the becoming bashfulness which afflicts youths of

seventeen when touching upon such subjects of newly acquired interest as girls and their pleasant but

"It seems to me we have hardly considered the matter enough to be able to say much. But I think that school

would be awfully dry and dismal withoutahem!any young ladies to make it nice. I wouldn't give a pin to

go if there was only a crowd of fellows, though I like a good game as well as any man. I pity any boy who

has no sisters," continued Ed, warming up as he thought of his own, who loved him dearly, as well they

might, for a better brother never lived. "Home wouldn't be worth having without them to look after a fellow,

to keep him out of scrapes, help him with his lessons, and make things jolly for his friends. I tell you we can't

do without girls, and I'm not ashamed to say that I think the more we see of them, and try to be like them in

"Hear! hear!" cried Frank, in his deepest tone, for he heartily agreed to that, having talked the matter over

with his mother, and received much light upon things which should always be set right in young heads and

Feeling that his sentiments had been approved, and he need not be ashamed of the honest color in his cheeks,

Ed sat down amid the applause of his side, especially of Jack, who pounded so vigorously with his crutch that

"No, thank you, ma'am, we were only cheering Ed," said Gus, now upon his legs, and rather at a loss what to

"My honored friend has spoken so well that I have little to add. I agree with him, and if you want an example

of what girls can do, why, look at Jill. She's young, I know, but a firstrate scholar for her age. As for pluck,

she is as brave as a boy, and almost as smart at running, rowing, and so on. Of course, she can't play ballno

girl can; their arms are not made right to throwbut she can catch remarkably well. I'll say that for her.

Now, if she and Mabeland andsome others I could name, are so clever and strong at the beginning, I

don't see why they shouldn't keep up and go along with us all through. I'm willing, and will do what I can to

help other fellows' sisters as I'd like to have them help mine. And I'll punch their heads if they'd on't"; and

Gus subsided, assured, by a burst of applause, that his manly way of stating the case met with general

"We shall be happy to hear from our senior member if he will honor us with a few remarks," said Frank, with

No one ever knew whom he would choose to personate, for he never spoke in his own character. Now he rose

slowly, put one hand in his bosom, and fixing his eye sternly on Crif, who was doing something suspicious

with a pin, gave them a touch of Sergeant Buzfuz, from the Pickwick trial, thinking that the debate was not

likely to throw much light on the subject under discussion. In the midst of this appeal to "Me lud and

gentlemen of the jury," he suddenly paused, smoothed his hair down upon his forehead, rolled up his eyes,

and folding his hands, droned out Mr. Chadband's sermon on Peace, delivered over poor Jo, and ending with

Then, setting his hair erect with one comprehensive sweep, he caught up his coatskirts over his arm, and,

assuming a parliamentary attitude, burst into a comical medley, composed of extracts from Jefferson Brick's

and Lafayette Kettle's speeches, and Elijah Pogram's Defiance, from "Martin Chuzzlewit." Gazing at Gus,

"In the name of our common country, sir, in the name of that righteous cause in which we are jined, and in

the name of the starspangled banner, I thank you for your eloquent and categorical remarks. You, sir, are a

model of a man fresh from Natur's mould. A trueborn child of this free hemisphere; verdant as the

mountains of our land; bright and flowin' as our mineral Licks; unspiled by fashion as air our boundless

perearers. Rough you may be; so air our Barrs. Wild you may be; so air our Buff alers. But, sir, you air a

Child of Freedom, and your proud answer to the Tyrant is, that your bright home is in the Settin' Sun. And,

sir, if any man denies this fact, though it be the British Lion himself, I defy him. Let me have him

here!"smiting the table, and causing the inkstand to skip"here, upon this sacred altar! Here, upon the

ancestral ashes cemented with the glorious blood poured out like water on the plains of Chickabiddy Lick.

Alone I'd are that Lion, and tell him that Freedom's hand once twisted in his mane, he rolls a corse before me,

By this time the boys were rolling about in fits of laughter; even sober Frank was red and breathless, and Jack

lay back, feebly squealing, as he could laugh no more. In a moment Ralph was as meek as a Quaker, and sat

looking about him with a mildly astonished air, as if inquiring the cause of such unseemly mirth. A knock at

"Time's up; fall to and make yourselves comfortable," was the summary way in which the club was released

from its sterner duties and permitted to unbend its mighty mind for a social halfhour, chiefly devoted to

While Jack was hopping gayly about on his crutches, poor Jill was feeling the effects of her second fall, and

instead of sitting up, as she hoped to do after six weeks of rest, she was ordered to lie on a board for two

hours each day. Not an easy penance, by any means, for the board was very hard, and she could do nothing

while she lay there, as it did not slope enough to permit her to read without great fatigue of both eyes and

hands. So the little martyr spent her first hour of trial in sobbing, the second in singing, for just as her mother

and Mrs. Minot were deciding in despair that neither she nor they could bear it, Jill suddenly broke out into a

"Faut jouer le mirliton, Faut jouer le mirlitir, Faut jouer le mirliter, Mirliton."

The sound of the brave little voice was very comforting to the two mothers hovering about her, and Jack said,

with a look of mingled pity and admiration, as he brandished his crutch over the imaginary foes,

"That's right! Sing away, and we'll play you are an Indian captive being tormented by your enemies, and too

proud to complain. I'll watch the clock, and the minute time is up I'll rush in and rescue you."

Jill laughed, but the fancy pleased her, and she straightened herself out under the gay afghan, while she sang,

"J'avais une colombe blanche, J'avais un blanc petit pigeon, Tous deu~ volaient, do branche en branche,

Jusqu'au falte de mon don geon: Mais comme un coup do vent d'automne, S'est abattu Za, I'�pervier, Ft ma

"My poor Jean had a fine voice, and always hoped the child would take after him. It would break his heart to

see her lying there trying to cheer her pain with the songs he used to sing her to sleep with," said Mrs. Pecq,

"She really has a great deal of talent, and when she is able she shall have some lessons, for music is a comfort

and a pleasure, sick or well," answered Mrs. Minot, who had often admired the fresh voice, with its pretty

Here Jill began the Canadian boatsong, with great vigor, as if bound to play her part of Indian victim with

spirit, and not disgrace herself by any more crying. All knew the air, and joined in, especially Jack, who came

out strong on the "Row, brothers, row," but ended in a squeak on a high note, so drolly, that the rest broke

down. So the hour that began with tears ended with music and laughter, and a new pleasure to think of for the

After that day Jill exerted all her fortitude, for she liked to have the boys call her brave and admire the

cheerful way in which she endured two hours of discomfort. She found she could use her zither as it lay upon

her breast, and every day the pretty music began at a certain hour, and all in the house soon learned to love

and listen for it. Even the old cook set open her kitchen door, saying pitifully, "Poor darlint, hear how purty

she's singin', wid the pain, on that crewel boord. It's a little saint, she is. May her bed above be aisy!"

Frank would lift her gently on and off, with a kind word that comforted her immensely, and gentle Ed would

come and teach her new bits of music, while the other fellows were frolicking below. Ralph added his share

to her amusement, for he asked leave to model her head in clay, and set up his work in a corner, Corning to

pat, scrape, and mould whenever he had a spare minute, amusing her by his lively chat, and showing her how

to shape birds, rabbits, and queer faces in the soft clay, when the songs were all sung and her fingers tired of

The girls sympathized very heartily with her new trial, and brought all manner of gifts to cheer her captivity.

Merry and Molly made a gay screen by pasting pictures on the black cambric which covered the folding

frame that stood before her to keep the draughts from her as she lay on her board. Bright birds and flowers,

figures and animals, covered one side, and on the other they put mottoes, bits of poetry, anecdotes, and short

stories, so that Jill could lie and look or read without the trouble of holding a book. It was not all done at

once, but grew slowly, and was a source of instruction as well as amusement to them all, as they read

But the thing that pleased Jill most was something Jack did, for he gave up going to school, and stayed at

home nearly a fortnight after he might have gone, all for her sake. The day the doctor said he might try it if he

would be very careful, he was in great spirits, and limped about, looking up his books, and planning how he

would astonish his mates by the rapidity of his recovery. When he sat down to rest he remembered Jill, who

had been lying quietly behind the screen, while he talked with his mother, busy putting fresh covers on the

"She is so still, I guess she is asleep," thought Jack, peeping round the corner.

No, not asleep, but lying with her eyes fixed on the sunny window, beyond which the bright winter world

sparkled after a fresh snowfall. The jingle of sleighbells could be heard, the laughter of boys and girls on

their way to school, all the pleasant stir of a new day of happy work and play for the rest of the world, more

lonely, quiet, and wearisome than ever to her since her friend and fellowprisoner was set free and going to

Jack understood that patient, wistful look, and, without a word, went back to his seat, staring at the fire so

soberly, that his mother presently asked: "What are you thinking of so busily, with that pucker in your

"I've about made up my mind that I won't go to school just yet," answered Jack, slowly lifting his head, for it

"Why not?" and Mrs. Minot looked much surprised, till Jack pointed to the screen, and, making a sad face to

express Jill's anguish, answered in a cheerful tone, 'Well, I'm not sure that it is best. Doctor did not want me

to go, but said I might because I teased. I shall be sure to come to grief, and then everyone will say, 'I told

you so,' and that is so provoking. I'd rather keep still a week longer. Hadn't I better?"

His mother smiled and nodded as she said, sewing away at muchabused old Caesar, as if she loved him, "Do

as you think best, dear. I always want you at home, but I don't wonder you are rather tired of it after this long

"I say, Jill, should I be in your way if I didn't go to school till the first of February?" called Jack, laughing to

"Not much!" answered a glad voice from behind the screen, and he knew the sorrowful eyes were shining

"Well, I guess I may as well, and get quite firm on my legs before I start. Another week or so will bring me

up if I study hard, so I shall not lose my time. I'll tackle my Latin as soon as it's ready, mother."

Jack got a hearty kiss with the neatly covered book, and Mamma loved him for the little sacrifice more than if

he had won a prize at school. He did get a reward, for, in five minutes from the time he decided, Jill was

singing like a bobolink, and such a medley of merry music came from behind the screen, that it was a regular

morning concert. She did not know then that he stayed for her sake, but she found it out soon after, and when

It proved a wise decision, for the last part of January was so stormy Jack could not have gone half the time.

So, while the snow drifted, and bitter winds raged, he sat snugly at home amusing Jill, and getting on bravely

with his lessons, for Frank took great pains with him to show his approbation of the little kindness, and,

With February fair weather set in, and Jack marched happily away to school, with Jill's new mittens on his

hands, Mamma nodding from the doorstep, and Frank ready to give him a lift on the new sled, if the way

"I shall not have time to miss him now, for we are to be very busy getting ready for the Twentysecond. The

Dramatic Club meets tonight, and would like to come here, if they may, so 1 can help?" said Jill, as Mrs.

"Certainly; and I have a basket of old finery I looked up for the club when I was rummaging out bits of silk

for your blue quilt," answered the good lady, who had set up a new employment to beguile the hours of Jack's

When the girls arrived, that evening, they found Mrs. Chairwoman surrounded by a strew of theatrical

properties, enjoying herself very much. All brought such contributions as they could muster, and all were

eager about a certain tableau which was to be the gem of the whole, they thought. Jill, of course, was not

expected to take any part, but her taste was good, so all consulted her as they showed their old silks, laces,

and flowers, asking who should be this, and who that. All wanted to be the "Sleeping Beauty," for that was

the chosen scene, with the slumbering court about the princess, and the prince in the act of awakening her.

Jack was to be the hero, brave in his mother's velvet cape, red boots, and a real sword, while the other boys

"Mabel should be the Beauty, because her hair is so lovely," said Juliet, who was quite satisfied with her own

"No, Merry ought to have it, as she is the prettiest, and has that splendid veil to wear," answered Molly, who

"I don't care a bit, but my feather would be fine for the Princess, and I don't know as Emma would like to

have me lend it to anyone else," said Annette, waving a long white plume over her head, with girlish delight

"I should think the white silk dress, the veil, and the feather ought to go together, with the scarlet crape shawl

and these pearls. That would be sweet, and just what princesses really wear," advised Jill, who was stringing

"We all want to wear the nice things, so let us draw lots. Wouldn't that be the fairest way?" asked Merry,

looking like a rosy little bride, under a great piece of illusion, which had done duty in many plays.

"The Prince is light, so the Princess must be darkish. We ought to choose the girl who will look best, as it is a

picture. I heard Miss Delano say so, when the ladies got up the tableaux, last winter, and everyone wanted to

"You choose, and then if we can't agree we will draw lots," proposed Susy, who, being plain, knew there was

So all stood in a row, and Jill, from her sofa, surveyed them critically, feeling that the one Jack would really

"I choose that one, for Juliet wants to be Queen, Molly would make faces, and the others are too big or too

light," pronounced Jill, pointing to Merry, who looked pleased, while Mabel's face darkened, and Susy gave a

"You'd better draw lots, and then there will be no fuss. Ju and I are out of the fight, but you three can try, and

All agreed to let it be so, and when the bits were ready drew in turn. This time fate was evidently on Merry's

"Go and dress, then come back, and we'll plan how we are to be placed before we call up the boys,"

The girls retired to the bedroom and began to "rig up," as they called it; but discontent still lurked among

"Am I to have the white silk and the feather?" asked Merry, delighted with the silvery shimmer of the one and

"You can use your own dress. I don't see why you should have everything," answered Susy, who was at the

mirror, putting a wreath of scarlet flowers on her red head, bound to be gay since she could not be pretty.

"I think I'd better keep the plume, as I haven't anything else that is nice, and I'm afraid Emma wouldn't like

me to lend it," added Annette, who was disappointed that Mabel was not to be the Beauty.

"1 don't intend to act at all!" declared Mabel, beginning to braid up her hair with a jerk, out of humor with the

"1 think you are a set of cross, selfish girls to back out and keep your nice things just because you can't all

have the best part. I'm ashamed of you!" scolded Molly, standing by Merry, who was sadly surveying her

"I'm going to have Miss Delano's red brocade for the Queen, and I shall ask her for the yellowsatin dress for

Merry when I go to get mine, and tell her how mean you are," said Juliet, frowning under her giltpaper

crown as she swept about in a red tableS cloth for train till the brocade arrived.

"Perhaps you'd like to have Mabel cut her hair off, so Merry can have that, too?" cried Susy, with whom hair

"Light hair isn't wanted, so Ju will have to give hers, or you'd better borrow Miss Bat's frisette," added Mabel,

"I just wish Miss Bat was here to give you girls a good shaking. Do let someone else have a chance at the

glass, you peacock!" exclaimed Molly Loo, pushing Susy aside to arrange her own blue turban, out of which

"Don't quarrel about me. I shall do well enough, and the scarlet shawl will hide my ugly dress," said Merry,

As she spoke of the shawl her eye went in search of it, and something that she saw in the other room put her

own disappointment out of her head. Jill lay there all alone, rather tired with the lively chatter, and the effort

it cost her not to repine at being shut out from the great delight of dressing up and acting.

Her eyes were closed, her net was off, and all the pretty black curls lay about her shoulders as one hand idly

pulled them out, while the other rested on the red shawl, as if she loved its glowing color and soft texture. She

was humming to herself the little song of the dove and the donjon, and something in the plaintive voice, the

"Poor Jilly can't have any of the fun," was the first thought; then came a second, that made Merry start and

smile, and in a minute whisper so that all but Jill could hear her, "Girls, I'm not going to be the Princess. But

'Who?" asked the rest, staring at one another, much surprised by this sudden announcement.

"Hush! Speak low, or you will spoil it all. Look in the Bird Room, and tell me if that isn't a prettier Princess

They all looked, but no one spoke, and Merry added, with sweet eagerness, "It is the only thing poor Jill can

be, and it would make her so happy; Jack would like it, and it would please everyone, I know. Perhaps she

The last words, whispered with a little quiver in the voice, settled the matter better than hours of talking, for

girls are tenderhearted creatures, and not one of these but would have gladly given all the pretty things she

owned to see Jill dancing about well and strong again. Like a ray of sunshine the kind thought touched and

brightened every face; envy, impatience, vanity, and discontent flew away like imps at the coming of the

Forgetting their own adornment, out they trooped after Merry, who ran to the sofa, saying, with a smile which

was reflected in all the other faces, "Jill, dear, we have chosen another Princess, and I know you'll like her."

"Who is it?" asked Jill, languidly, opening her eyes without the least suspicion of the truth.

"I'll show you"; and taking the cherished veil from her own head, Merry dropped it like a soft cloud over Jill;

Annette added the long plume, Susy laid the white silk dress about her, while Juliet and Mabel lifted the

scarlet shawl to spread it over the foot of the sofa, and Molly tore the last ornament from her turban, a silver

star, to shine on Jill's breast. Then they all took hands and danced round the couch, singing, as they laughed at

her astonishment, "There she is! There she is! Princess Jill as fine as you please!

"Do you really mean it? But can I? Is it fair? How sweet of you! Come here and let me hug you all!" cried

The grand scene on the Twentysecond was very fine, indeed; but the little tableau of that minute was

infinitely better, though no one saw it, as Jill tried to gather them all in her arms, for that nosegay of girlish

faces was the sweeter, because each one bad sacrificed her own little vanity to please a friend, and her joy

"Oh, you dear, kind things, to think of me and give me all your best clothes! I never shall forget it, and I'll do

anything for you. Yes! I'll write and ask Mrs. Piper to lend us her ermine cloak for the king. See if I don't!"

Shrieks of delight hailed this noble offer, for no one had dared to borrow the muchcoveted mantle, but all

agreed that the old lady would not refuse Jill. It was astonishing how smoothly everything went after this, for

each was eager to help, admire, and suggest, in the friendliest way; and when all were dressed, the boys found

a party of very gay ladies waiting for them round the couch, where lay the brightest little Princess ever seen.

"Oh, Jack, I'm to act! Wasn't it dear of the girls to choose me? Don't they look lovely? Aren't you glad?" cried

stared and the lasses blushed and smiled, well pleased at the frank admiration the boyish faces showed.

"I guess I am! You are a set of trumps, and we'll give you a firstclass spread after the play to pay for it.

Won't we, fellows?" answered Jack, much gratified, and feeling that now he could act his own part capitally.

"We will. It was a handsome thing to do, and we think well of you for it. Hey, Gus?" and Frank nodded

"As king of this crowd, I call it to order," said Gus, retiring to the throne, where Juliet sat laughing in her red

"We'll have 'The Fair One with Golden Locks' next time; I promise you that," whispered Ed to Mabel, whose

"Girls are pretty nice things, aren't they? Kind of 'em to take Jill in. Don't Molly look fine, though?" and

Grif's black eyes twinkled as he planned to pin her skirts to Merry's at the first opportunity.

"Susy looks as gay as a featherduster. I like her. She never snubs a fellow," said Joe, much impressed with

The boys' costumes were not yet ready, but they posed well, and all had a merry time, ending with a game of

blindman'sbuff, in which everyone caught the right person in the most singular way, and all agreed as they

So the fairy play woke the sleeping beauty that lies in all of us, and makes us lovely when we rouse it with a

kiss of unselfish goodwill, for, though the girls did not know it then, they had adorned themselves with

The greatest people have their weak points, and the bestbehaved boys now and then yield to temptation and

get into trouble, as everybody knows. Frank was considered a remarkably wellbred and proper lad, and

rather prided himself on his good reputation, for he never got into scrapes like the other fellows. Well, hardly

ever, for we must confess that at rare intervals his besetting sin overcame his prudence, and he proved

himself an erring, human boy. Steamengines had been his idols for years, and they alone could lure him

from the path of virtue. Once, in trying to investigate the mechanism of a toy specimen, which had its little

boiler and ran about whistling and puffing in the most delightful way, he nearly set the house afire by the

sparks that dropped on the straw carpet. Another time, in trying experiments with the kitchen teakettle, he

He was long past such childish amusements now, but his favorite haunt was the enginehouse of the new

railroad, where he observed the habits of his pets with neverfailing interest, and cultivated the goodwill of

stokers and brakemen till they allowed him many liberties, and were rather flattered by the admiration

expressed for their iron horses by a young gentleman who liked them better even than his Greek and Latin.

There was not much business doing on this road as yet, and the two cars of the passengertrains were often

nearly empty, though full freighttrains rolled from the factory to the main road, of which this was only a

branch. So things went on in a leisurely manner, which gave Frank many opportunities of pursuing his

favorite pastime. He soon knew all about No. ii, his pet engine, and had several rides on it with Bill, the

engineer, so that he felt at home there, and privately resolved that when he was a rich man he would have a

Gus took less interest than his friend in the study of steam, but usually accompanied him when he went over

after school to disport himself in the enginehouse, interview the stoker, or see if there was anything new in

One afternoon they found No. 11 on the sidetrack, puffing away as if enjoying a quiet smoke before

starting. No cars were attached, and no driver was to be seen, for Bill was off with the other men behind the

stationhouse, helping the expressman, whose horse had backed down a bank and upset the wagon.

"Good chance for a look at the old lady," said Frank, speaking of the engine as Bill did, and jumping aboard

"I'd give ten dollars if I could run her up to the bend and back," he added, fondly touching the bright brass

"You couldn't do it alone," answered Gus, sitting down on the grimy little perch, willing to indulge his mate's

"Give me leave to try? Steam is up, and I could do it as easy as not"; and Frank put his hand on the

"Fire up and make her hum!" laughed Gus, quoting Bill's frequent order to his mate, but with no idea of being

"All right; I'll just roll her up to the switch and back again. I've often done it with Bill"; and Frank cautiously

opened the throttlevalve, threw back the lever, and the great thing moved with a throb and a puff.

"Steady, old fellow, or you'll come to grief. Here, don't open that!" shouted Gus, for just at that moment Joe

"Wish he would; no train for twenty minutes, and we could run up to the bend as well as not," said Frank,

getting excited with the sense of power, as the monster obeyed his hand so entirely that it was impossible to

"By George, he has! Stop her! Back her! Hold on, Frank!" cried Gus, as Joe, only catching the words "Open

But they did, for Frank rather lost his head for a minute, and out upon the main track rolled No. 11 as quietly

"Now you've done it! I'll give you a good thrashing when I get back!" roared Gus, shaking his fist at Joe, who

"Are you really going to try it?" asked Gus, as they glided on with increasing speed, and he, too, felt the

charm of such a novel adventure, though the consequences bid fair to be serious.

"Yes, I am," answered Frank, with the grim look he always wore when his strong will got the upper hand.

"Bill will give it to us, anyway, so we may as well have our fun out. If you are afraid, I'll slow down and you

can jump off," and his brown eyes sparkled with the double delight of getting his heart's desire and

"Go ahead. I'll jump when you do"; and Gus calmly sat down again, bound in honor to stand by his mate till

"Don't you call this just splendid?" exclaimed Frank, as they rolled along over the crossing, past the bridge,

"Not bad. They are yelling like mad after us. Better go back, if you can," said Gus, who was anxiously

peering out, and, in spite of his efforts to seem at ease, not enjoying the trip a particle.

"Let them yell. I started to go to the curve, and I'll do it if it costs me a hundred dollars. No danger; there's no

train under twenty minutes, I tell you," and Frank pulled out his watch. But the sun was in his eyes, and he

did not see clearly, or he would have discovered that it was later than he thought.

On they went, and were just rounding the bend when a shrill whistle in front startled both boys, and drove the

"No; it's the fiveforty on the other road," answered Frank, with a queer thrill all through him at the thought

of what might happen if it was not. Both looked straight ahead as the last tree glided by, and the long track

lay before them, with the freight train slowly coming down. For an instant, the boys stood as if paralyzed.

"Jump!" said Gus, looking at the steep bank on one side and the river on the other, undecided which to try.

"Sit still!" commanded Frank, collecting his wits, as he gave a warning whistle to retard the oncoming train,

A crowd of angry men was waiting for them, and Bill stood at the open switch in a towering passion as No.

11 returned to her place unharmed, but bearing two pale and frightened boys, who stepped slowly and silently

down, without a word to say for themselves, while the freight train rumbled by on the main track.

Frank and Gus never had a very clear idea as to what occurred during the next few minutes, but vaguely

remembered being well shaken, sworn at, questioned, threatened with direful penalties, and finally ordered

off the premises forever by the wrathful depotmaster. Joe was nowhere to be seen, and as the two culprits

walked away, trying to go steadily, while their heads spun round, and all the strength seemed to have

Both were glad to get out of sight, and dropped upon the steps red, rumpled, and breathless, after the late

exciting scene. Gus generously forebore to speak, though he felt that he was the least to blame; and Frank,

"Now, don't you worry, old man. I'll pay the damages, for it was my fault. Joe will dodge, but I won't, so

"We sha'n't hear the last of this in a hurry," responded Gus, relieved, yet anxious, as he thought of the

"I hope mother won't hear of it till I tell her quietly myself. She will be so frightened, and think I'm surely

smashed up, if she is told in a hurry"; and Frank gave a shiver, as all the danger he had run came over him

"I thought we were done for when we saw that train. Guess we should have been if you had not had your wits

about you. I always said you were a cool one"; and Gus patted Frank's back with a look of great admiration,

"Which do you suppose it will be, fine or imprisonment?" asked Frank, after sitting in a despondent attitude

"Shouldn't wonder if it was both. Running off with an engine is no joke, you know."

'What did possess me to be such a fool?" groaned Frank, repenting, all too late, of yielding to the temptation

"Bear up, old fellow, I'll stand by you; and if the worst comes, I'll call as often as the rules of the prison

allow," said Gus, consolingly, as he gave his afflicted friend an arm, and they walked away, both feeling that

Meantime, Joe, as soon as he recovered from the shock of seeing the boys actually go off, ran away, as fast as

his legs could carry him, to prepare Mrs. Minot for the ioss of her son; for the idea of their coming safely

back never occurred to him, his knowledge of engines being limited. A loud ring at the bell brought Mrs.

Pecq, who was guarding the house, while Mrs. Minot entertained a parlor full of company.

"Frank's run off with No. 11, and he'll be killed sure. Thought I'd come up and tell you," stammered Joe, all

He got no further, for Mrs. Pecq clapped one hand over his mouth, caught him by the collar with the other,

"Tell me all about it, and don't shout. What's come to the boy?" she demanded, in a tone that reduced Joe to a

"Go right back and see what has happened to him, then come and tell me quietly. I'll wait for you here. I

wouldn't have his mother startled for the world," said the good soul, when she knew all.

"Oh, I dar'sn't! I opened the switch as they told me to, and Bill will half kill me when he knows it!" cried Joe,

in a panic, as the awful consequences of his deed rose before him, showing both boys mortally injured and

"Then take yourself off home and hold your tongue. I'll watch the door, for I won't have any more ridiculous

Mrs. Pecq often called this good neighbor "my lady" when speaking of her, for Mrs. Minot was a true

gentlewoman, and much pleasanter to live with than the titled mistress had been.

Joe scudded away as if the constable was after him, and presently Frank was seen slowly approaching with an

"Thank heaven, he's safe!" and, softly opening the door, Mrs. Pecq actually hustled the young master into the

"I beg pardon, but the parlor is full of company, and that fool of a Joe came roaring in with a cockandbull

story that gave me quite a turn. What is it, Mr. Frank?" she asked eagerly, seeing that something was amiss.

He told her in a few words, and she was much relieved to find that no harm had been done.

"Ah, the danger is to come," said Frank, darkly, as be went away to wash his hands and prepare to relate his

It was a very bad quarter of an hour for the poor fellow, who so seldom had any grave faults to confess; but

he did it manfully, and his mother was so grateful for the safety of her boy that she found it difficult to be

severe enough, and contented herself with forbidding any more visits to the too charming No. 11.

"What do you suppose will be done to me?" asked Frank, on whom the idea of imprisonment had made a

"I don't know, dear, but I shall go over to see Mr. Burton right after tea. He will tell us what to do and what to

"He'll come off clear enough, but Joe must take his share, for if he hadn't opened that confounded switch, no

harm would have been done. But when I saw the way clear, I actually couldn't resist going ahead," said

Frank, getting excited again at the memory of that blissful moment when he started the engine.

Here Jack came hurrying in, having heard the news, and refused to believe it from any lips but Frank's. When

he could no longer doubt, he was so much impressed with the daring of the deed that he had nothing but

admiration for his brother, till a sudden thought made him clap his hands and exclaim exultingly,

"His runaway beats mine all hollow, and now he can't crow over me! Won't that be a comfort? The good boy

This was such a droll way of taking it, that they had to laugh; and Frank took his humiliation so meekly that

Jill thought it a most interesting event; and, when Frank and his mother went over to consult Mr. Burton, she

and Jack planned out for the dear culprit a dramatic trial which would have convulsed the soberest of judges.

His sentence was ten years' imprisonment, and such heavy fines that the family would have been reduced to

beggary but for the sums made by Jill's fancy work and Jack's success as a champion pedestrian.

They found such comfort and amusement in this sensational programme that they were rather disappointed

when Frank returned, reporting that a fine would probably be all the penalty exacted, as no harm had been

done, and he and Gus were such respectable boys. What would happen to Joe, he could not tell, but he

Of course, the affair made a stir in the little world of children; and when Frank went to school, feeling that his

character for good behavior was forever damaged, he found himself a lion, and was in danger of being

spoiled by the admiration of his comrades, who pointed him out with pride as "the fellow who ran off with a

But an interview with Judge Kemble, a fine of twentyfive dollars, and lectures from all the grown people of

his acquaintance, prevented him from regarding his escapade as a feat to boast of. He discovered, also, how

fickle a thing is public favor, for very soon those who had praised began to tease, and it took all his courage,

patience, and pride to carry him through the next week or two. The lads were never tired of alluding to No.

11, giving shrill whistles in his ear, asking if his watch was right, and drawing locomotives on the blackboard

The girls, too, had sly nods and smiles, hints and jokes of a milder sort, which made him color and fume, and

once lose his dignity entirely. Molly Loo, who dearly loved to torment the big boys, and dared attack even

solemn Frank, left one of Boo's old tin trains on the doorstep, directed to "Conductor Minot," who, I regret

to say, could not refrain from kicking it into the Street, and slamming the door with a bang that shook the

house. Shrieks of laughter from wicked Molly and her coadjutor, Grif, greeted this explosion of wrath, which

did no good, however, for half an hour later the same cars, all in a heap, were on the steps again, with two

headless dolls tumbling out of the cab, and the dilapidated engine labelled, "No. 11 after the collision."

No one ever saw that ruin again, and for days Frank was utterly unconscious of Molly's existence, as

propriety forbade his having it out with her as he had with Grif. Then Annette made peace between them, and

But it was long before Frank forgot that costly prank; for he was a thoughtful boy, who honestly wanted to be

good; so he remembered this episode humbly, and whenever he felt the approach of temptation he made the

strong will master it, saying to himself "Down brakes!" thus saving the precious freight he carried from many

of the accidents which befall us when we try to run our trains without orders, and so often wreck ourselves as

Of course, the young ladies and gentlemen had a ball on the evening of that day, but the boys and girls were

full of excitement about their "Scenes from the Life of Washington and other brilliant tableaux," as the

programme announced. The Bird Room was the theatre, being very large, with four doors conveniently

placed. Ralph was in his element, putting up a little stage, drilling boys, arranging groups, and uniting in

himself carpenter, scenepainter, manager, and gas man. Mrs. Minot permitted the house to be turned

topsyturvy, and Mrs. Pecq flew about, lending a hand everywhere. Jill was costumer, with help from Miss

Delano, who did not care for balls, and kindly took charge of the girls. Jack printed tickets, programmes, and

placards of the most imposing sort, and the work went gayly on till all was ready.

When the evening came, the Bird Room presented a fine appearance. One end was curtained off with red

drapery; and real footlights, with tin shades, gave a truly theatrical air to the little stage. Rows of chairs, filled

with mammas and little people, occupied the rest of the space. The hall and Frank's room were full of amused

papas, uncles, and old gentlemen whose patriotism brought them out in spite of rheumatism. There was a

great rustling of skirts, fluttering of fans, and much lively chat, till a bell rang and the orchestra struck up.

Yes, there really was an orchestra, for Ed declared that the national airs must be played, or the whole thing

would be a failure. So he had exerted himself to collect all the musical talent he could find, a horn, a fiddle,

and a flute, with drum and fife for the martial scenes. Ed looked more beaming than ever, as he waved his

baton and led off with Yankee Doodle as a safe beginning, for everyone knew that. It was fun to see little

Johnny Cooper bang away on a big drum, and old Mr. Munson, who had been a flEer all his days, blow till he

was as red as a lobster, while everyone kept time to the music which put them all in good spirits for the

Up went the curtain and several trees in tubs appeared, then a stately gentleman in small clothes, cocked hat,

gray wig, and an imposing cane, came slowly walking in. It was Gus, who had been unanimously chosen not

only for Washington but for the f ather of the hero also, that the family traits of long legs and a somewhat

"Ahem! My trees are doing finely," observed Mr. W., senior, strolling along with his hands behind him,

casting satisfied glances at the dwarf orange, oleander, abutilon, and little pine that represented his orchard.

Suddenly he starts, pauses, frowns, and, after examining the latter shrub, which displayed several hacks in its

stem and a broken limb with six redvelvet cherries hanging on it, he gave a thump with his cane that made

He evidently thought it was, for he called, in tones of thunder, "George! George Washington, come hither this

Great suspense on the part of the audience, then a general burst of laughter as Boo trotted in, a perfect

miniature of his honored parent, knee breeches, cocked hat, shoe buckles and all. He was so fat that the little

tails of his coat stuck out in the drollest way, his chubby legs could hardly carry the big buckles, and the rosy

face displayed, when he took his hat off with a dutiful bow, was so solemn, the real George could not have

"Sirrah, did you cut that tree?" demanded the papa, with another rap of the cane, and such a frown that poor

Boo looked dismayed, till Molly wispered, "Put your hand up, dear." Then he remembered his part, and,

putting one finger in his mouth, looked down at his squaretoed shoes, the image of a shamestricken boy.

"My son, do not deceive me. If you have done this deed I shall chastise you, for it is my duty not to spare the

rod, lest I spoil the child. But if you lie about it you disgrace the name of Washington forever."

This appeal seemed to convulse George with inward agony, for he squirmed most effectively as he drew from

his pocket a toy hatchet, which would not have cut a straw, then looking straight up into the aweinspiring

"Noble boycome to my arms! I had rather you spoilt all my cherry trees than tell one lie!" cried the

delighted gentleman, catching his son in an embrace so close that the fat legs kicked convulsively, and the

little coattails waved in the breeze, while cane and hatchet fell with a dramatic bang.

The curtain descended on this affccting tableau; but the audience called out both Washingtons, and they

came, hand in hand, bowing with the cocked hats pressed to their breasts, the elder smiling blandly, while the

younger, still flushed by his exertions, nodded to his friends, asking, with engaging frankness, "Wasn't it

The next was a marine piece, for a boat was seen, surrounded by tumultuous waves of blue cambric, and

rowed by a party of stalwart men in regimentals, who with difficulty kept their seats, for the boat was only a

painted board, and they sat on boxes or stools behind it. But few marked the rowers, for in their midst, tall,

straight, and steadfast as a mast, stood one figure in a cloak, with folded arms, high boots, and, under the

turnedup hat, a noble countenance, stern with indomitable courage. A sword glittered at his side, and a

banner waved over him, but his eye was fixed on the distant shore, and he was evidently unconscious of the

roaring billows, the blocks of ice, the discouragement of his men, or the danger and death that might await

him. Napoleon crossing the Alps was not half so sublime, and with one voice the audiencc cried, 'Washington

crossing the Delaware!" while the band burst forth with, "See, the conquering hero comes!" all out of tune,

It would have been very successful if, all of a sudden, one of the rowers had not "caught a crab" with

disastrous consequences. The oars were not moving, but a veteran, who looked very much like Joe, dropped

the one he held, and in trying to turn and pummel the blackeyed warrior behind him, he tumbled off his seat,

upsetting two other men, and pulling the painted boat upon them as they lay kicking in the cambric deep.

Shouts of laughter greeted this mishap, but George Washington never stirred. Grasping the banner, he stood

firm when all else went down in the general wreck, and the icy waves engulfed his gallant crew, leaving him

erect amid a chaos of wildly tossing boots, entangled oars, and redfaced victims. Such godlike dignity

could not fail to impress the frivolous crowd of laughers, and the curtain fell amid a round of applause for

"Quite exciting, wasn't it? Didn't know Gus had so much presence of mind," said Mr. Burton, well pleased

"If we did not know that Washington died in his bed, December 14, 1799, I should fear that we'd seen the last

of him in that shipwreck," laughed an old gentleman, proud of his memory for dates.

Much confusion reigned behind the scenes; Ralph was heard scolding, and Joe set everyone off again by

explaining, audibly, that Grif tickled him, and he couldn't stand it. A pretty, oldfashioned picture of the

girls were determined to do honor to the brave and patient women who so nobly bore their part in the

struggle, yet are usually forgotten when those days are celebrated. The damsels were charming in the big

caps, flowered gowns, and highheeled shoes of their greatgrandmothers, as they sat about a spiderlegged

table talking over the tax, and pledging themselves to drink no more tea till it was taken off. Molly was on

her feet proposing, "Liberty forever, and down with all tyrants," to judge from her flashing eyes as she held

her eggshell cup aloft, while the others lifted theirs to drink the toast, and Merry, as hostess, sat with her

hand on an antique teapot, labelled "Sage," ready to fill again when the patriotic ladies were ready for a

This was much applauded, and the curtain went up again, for the proud parents enjoyed seeing their pretty

girls in the faded finery of a hundred years ago. The band played "Auld Lang Syne," as a gentle hint that our

It was evident that something very martial was to follow, for a great tramping, clashing, and flying about took

place behind the scenes while the teaparty was going on. After some delay, "The Surrender of Cornwallis"

was presented in the most superb manner, as you can believe when I tell you that the stage was actually lined

with a glittering array of Washington and his generals, Lafayette, Kosciusko, Rochambeau and the rest, all in

astonishing uniforms, with swords which were evidently the pride of their lives. Fife and drum struck up a

march, and in came Cornwallis, much cast down but full of manly resignation, as he surrendered his sword,

and stood aside with averted eyes while his army marched past, piling their arms at the hero's feet.

This scene was the delight of the boys, for the rifles of Company F had been secured, and at least a dozen

soldiers kept filing in and out in British uniform till Washington's august legs were hidden by the heaps of

arms rattled down before him. The martial music, the steady tramp, and the patriotic memories awakened,

caused this scene to be enthusiastically encored, and the boys would have gone on marching till midnight if

Ralph had not peremptorily ordered down the curtain and cleared the stage for the next tableau.

This had been artfully slipped in between two brilliant ones, to show that the Father of his Country had to pay

a high price for his glory. The darkened stage represented what seemed to be a camp in a snowstorm, and a

very forlorn camp, too; for on "the cold, cold ground" (a reckless display of cotton batting) lay ragged

soldiers, sleeping without blankets, their wornout boots turned up pathetically, and no sign of food or fire to

be seen. A very shabby sentinel, with feet bound in bloody cloths, and his face as pale as chalk could make it,

A tent at the back of the stage showed a solitary figure sitting on a log of wood, poring over the map spread

upon his knee, by the light of one candle stuck in a bottle. There could be no doubt who this was, for the

buffandblue coat, the legs, the nose, the attitude, all betrayed the great George laboring to save his country,

in spite of privations, discouragements, and dangers which would have daunted any other man.

"Valley Forge," said someone, and the room was very still as old and young looked silently at this little

picture of a great and noble struggle in one of its dark hours. The crust, the wounded feet, the rags, the snow,

the loneliness, the indomitable courage and endurance of these men touched the hearts of all, for the mimic

scene grew real for a moment; and, when a child's voice broke the silence, asking pitifully, "Oh, mamma, was

it truly as dreadful as that?" a general outburst answered, as if everyone wanted to cheer up the brave fellows

In the next scene it did come, and "Washington at Trenton" was prettily done. An arch of flowers crossed the

stage, with the motto, "The Defender of the Mothers will be the Preserver of the Daughters"; and, as the hero

with his generals advanced on one side, a troop of girls, in oldfashioned muslin frocks, came to scatter

"Welcome, mighty chief, once more Welcome to this grateful shore; Now no mercenary foe

eyes as she held her eggshell cup aloft, while the others lifted theirs to drink the toast, and Merry, as hostess,

sat with her hand on an antique teapot, labelled "Sage," ready to fill again when the patriotic ladies were