Year: 1871

/ time I've Deen over 10 grandpaS My
cousin Dick is there.
My father and Dicks father are real
brothers. They are stopping at grand
pas.


1 like Dick. He is city boy, and
knows great deal He wears fine clothes.
They are almost too nice to sit down in,
and his boots shine so you can see your
face in them.


He's older than l am. He's taller. He
owns a sweet little pony. l should wish
it was mine if it wasn't wicked to do so.
He SAYS he would like to live on a farm.
They don't have farms in Boston, where
he lives. l wonder where they get eggs,
and butter, and other things.
Dick has got parlor skates. They have
rollers on them, and you can skate in the
house. He brought me large rocking
horse with real horses tail to it.
I made believe l am a soldier. Dick
made me soldier cap out of Youths
Companion, and l tied a scarf around my
waist.


Then we played highwaymen- Dick
held my horse. He said must give up
my money. did. only had a cent, but
/ I told him would owe him the rest
He said "Debt is very bad thing"
| think so, too. l owed Peter Cole three
pins for rosy cake, and it worried me
about paying it. The first three pins got
1 gave Peter Cole he thanked me. He
| said was honest. l was little then, and
meant to say 2" Honesty is the best policy"
But didn't / said " Honesty is the best
policeman"


Peter laughed ont real loud.
Dick is a very Obliging boy, aad will do
Just what want him to. We played ami
mails, and made believe be some kind of
beast, and the other was to guess what
animal we meant to be.


l growled. Dick said that was wea-
sells squeak. meant it for a bear. /
guess l haven't got very gruf voice.


Dick made growl. thought he meant
! it for lion. l said so. He said it was a
rat caught in trap.


l like that play, but it was tiresome.
Then we played war.
We put two chairs together and covered
them with grandma's shawl, and put three
pillows behind them for men.


We threw rubber ball at them l kill
ed two men. Pillow-men, ]. mean
shouldn't like to kill real live man. He
might net like it. l should think it was
unpleasant to be killed.


Dick is a very brave boy. He is not
Oub We pay
night at grandpa's We pulled the cur
tains down, and then we rolled the big
cricket over the floor. That was for thun-
der. Dick flashed match. That was for
lightning.


This was our play for a storm at sea.
The sofa was our ship. Dick was cap
tain, and I was a passenger. Dick has
been in a storm, and he knows all about
it. If it was like this, it must have been
awful


Grandpa came in, and we got him to
make believe he was another ship. He
was very willing to. He is real obliging
Our ship rolled, and tumbled over
board. Grandpa saved me. l was very
much obliged to him. He said it
wouldn't do to have Johnny Punks lost
at sea. am Johnny Punks with grand
pa


Grandma then came in and said she
had never heard such noise in all her
born DAYS. She was mistaken. 1t was a
great deal noisier when they were putting
up the stove in the parlor.


Grandma thinks boys are always noisy.
1 guess they can't help it very well. They
have noise in them and it must come out


Grandpa tells her that quiet boys are al
most always in mischief. | think he
ought to know. He was boy once him
self 1t must be good many years ago.
l wonder if he remembers it. l guess he
was a very, very quiet boy for he says he
was always in mischief. He's altered
since. He didn't know gradma then


Dick wanted to play tag, but grandma
said it was too noisy for the house. We
went to the barn. We looked at the pony,
and Dick said we had better go ride on 1t:
We got on. l rode first and Dick held
me.


We rode over to mothers and then went
down to the brook. 1t was froze over. 1
guess the fishes had shut up their houses
for the winter 1t looked so.


We called at the store and bought two
candy sticks. Dick did. He gave me
one. 1t was very good. would like an
other lust like it now. 1t is very cheap,
only one cent stick. 1 should think Mr..
Gooding would eat it often himself.


Mr.. Gooding is our storekeeper. He
saws he likes me. don't know why. |
buy all my candy there. Perhaps. that's
the reason.


Dick and l forgot to play tag. 1t does
not matter much


Dick likes to see Joe milk the cows.
Joe is Grandpa's hired man, and he IS a
very good man. He's funny, and can
make pictures on the barn with a black
stick. He made picture of me as shall
look when 1 grow up. 1t had whiskers.
I don't expect to have any. / may alter
my mind. But have had a good time
with Cousin Dick, very, very good time.
-Y0uth's Companion.