Year: 1875

now?' said the Boy, with the easy indif-
ference of Man of the World, who left
school ages ago, and has bills and house
| hold expenses on his mind, but preserves
tender recollections of humble peg and
other youthful indiscretions.
Johnnie returned the salutation with
somewhat modest pride in his demeanor,
as became one who was singled out tor
special attention from the higher powers,
and the two boys at once became the
center of an admiring circle of something
under a thousand schoolboys 81 can
complain-how do y find yourself?' said
Johnnie


"Oh, kind O. moderate like said the
| Boy, drawing cigar stump from ms
| pocket, and lighting it with bacchana-
liam air.


What y got there p inquired a butch
er's boy, pushing his way through the
crowd, with tight stepping dog at his
| heels, who seemed to take a morose view
of things, as if he had been disappointed
in love, and looked at life through By
ron collar.


Its pas dinner" said MacStinger's
Boy with shaken confidence. 81 must
git it up to the old man in time, or there
will be trouble in the family" and he
started up Fourth Street, casting wistful
glances at the misanthropic looking dog.


Did y ever notice what bully cymbals
Y can make out of a tin bucket like
| that?' inquired the butchers boy, taking
the tin pail out of the MacStinger's Boys
hand. Then he laid MacStinger's dinner
on stone wall near by, and, putting one
hand through the handle of the cover,
and the other through the handle of the
bucket, began rapping the cover against
the. bottom of the pail after the manner
of nj in 0o1c NJ oil q
brass band. The boys all fell in, and
marched after the butcher boy, singing
the Mulligan- Guards like mad.


The butcher boys dog cast a discon-
tented glance at the proceedings, and
then went up and smelled at Old Mac
Stinger's dinner. He stood on his hind
legs rejecting a minute over it, then eau
tiously bolted it at two gulps. and then
sat down on his stump OF a tail, looking
pious and forlorn, as if all was vanity and
vexation of spirit.


The boys took a martial turn up the
street and came back, looking refreshed
in body and mind


"Hello!' said the butchers boy, the
dinners gonel Tige must a swaller-
ed it!'


Tige looked up in his masters face
mournfully with one eye, as if he belong
ed to the crusade, and thought there was
entirely too much ruin abroad in the
land from reckless indulgence in the in
toxicating bowl.


MacStingers Boy looked the image of
despair, nervously moving his right hand
up and down, and rubbing his left hand
over the lower part of his spinal column
with an abstracted air, as if trying to re-
call painful incident of personal biog-
raphy which had partially slipped his
memory.


'I'll show you how Wen pay him off
for it, said the butchers boy, with sud-
den decision in his manner. He put
few pebbles in the bucket, then whipped
out string from his pocket and ap-
preached the dog, making loop knot.
The loop was slipped over the stump of
a tail, which wagged defiance to wicked
world, then all the qoys set up a simulta-
neous yell. The dog gave one bound, then
settled down to business. The last seen
Of him he was going down Fourth street
with a crowd of boys after him, Mac
SINGERS dinner pail bouncing and rat
tling like snare drum beating the long
roll, and the dog hurrying out to the
picket line as if the safety of the whole
Union army depended on his speed and
bottom. MacStingers boy looked after
him sadly few minutes, and then slowly
went off rubbing his coat tails with a re-
Elective air.