Year: 1867

and sitting ont of the nOOntide brightness 10
ponder dcmurcly on reflections of the leaves
and sky. STEPPED in GOODNESS to their dew :
laps, the whole problem of worldly anxiety
reduced to flies, few square feet of tawny
back, and II whisking tail, "a group of cut
tie lifted their great brown eyes vacantlyto-
ward us, as we rolled over the twentieth
bridge upon our journey. had halted the
gray for Miss Tucker to admire lovely lit
Ito calf, with white star on his forehead
and the most incapable legs ever vouchsafed
an Immature vertebrate. On her expressing
a wish that she had him, | was submitting
to my mind the insane proposition whether
it would not be possible to tic his legs with a
pocket handkerchief, carry him back with
us between the seats. and get Briggs to help
me build II cage for him, that he might he
hung up in Miss fuckers room, when the
sound Of rolling wheels behind us walked
me from my trance, and, looking back,
beheld Barker ard Mrs Barker, Bocns the
mathematical teacher, and Miss Noodle,
coming on IN II rockaway like unto our own.
\ dreadful moment! The eye of Barker
had marked me; the voice of Barker was
already calling on me to stop | simply
gaspcd his name, when Miss Tucker uttered
a piteous little cry like a wounded fawn. l
added that of Noodle; she hid her face in my
bosom, and was strong. The entire force
Of my character came 10 point al the end
of my whip, The gray struck ont manfully;
and, looking through the back glass, Briggs
reported that the old 'un was going 1t like
wise Miss Crlckey, having mathematical
mind, became our strong pillar of consola-
tion, suggesting To us the thought if
four grown people behind Barker's fat mare
could go a certain distance in given time,
how far could as many light weights go,
with our gray, in the same time? do not
recollect that ] Analysed the problem accord
ing to the method Of Colburn but what do
know is that It gave me the only comfort
ever got out of mental arithmetic. The voice
of Barker grew fainter and fainter, and at
last died away like some spectral echo of the
dead sclloolmasters who flogged mankind in
the days of the Scleucidn then sank TO
nothing, as their rcmorscini cries have gone
down into hadcs and oblivion. Looking
back from the top of every hill, we could
still see Barker pressing on. But stern
chase is long chase; weight and age were
both against hiln and, at every view, fat
Kitty showed increasing bellows to mend -
AT length, going up a long rise, Briggs re-
ported from the rear that the enemy lad
abandoned pursuit; and, for the first time
yenturing 10 look out, beheld him, at the
distance of half mile turn Kitty's head and
start for home. 1t was before the day of
universal teegraphs, or he would have been
abundantly adequate to sci the rural police
on us throughout the country there was no
railway communication in the direction we
! were travelling, or he would not have hest
tated a moment to hire special engine for
our capture, and charge il on my mas quar-
terly bill What he might do was to return,
and selecting the fleetest courser in Munger
vile, resume the scent In the saddle or a
sulky. There was no time to lose Without
thinking whittier we went, pressed the big
gray, until a solemn faced stone at the way
side warned us that we had strayed a dis
tance of sixteen miles from the refining and
intellectual atmosphere of Noodles Miss
Tucker was sobbing bitterly. Briggs, plum
ged in gloom and his own pockets to the o.
bow, was uttering grim reflections upon the
| ivcliness of II future eternity of Saturdays
in bed. was suffering agonies of rcmorse
at the misery in which had involved the
lovely and uncomplaining but heart broken
creature at my side. Miss Crickcy alone was
calm. Retiring into the Businesses of mind
strengthened by the compound fractions,
and, unlike Miss Tucker, having no back
hair to come down in the distraction of the
exigency, she was something to admire, and
l could not but hope that Briggs would do il.
She never uttered a syllable until that youth
ungenerously threw the whole responsibility
upon me by saying,


We'll, here's pickle. Now what do
you mean to do? p


| TO BE CONTINUED.