may begin," said Mr. Bhaer, when the settling of
stools and rustling of papers had subsided.

Nan took her place beside the little table, and, with a preliminary
giggle, read the following interesting essay on,

"THE SPONGE

"The sponge, my friends, is a most useful and interesting plant. It
grows on rocks under the water, and is a kind of sea-weed, I believe.
People go and pick it and dry it and wash it, because little fish and
insects live in the holes of the sponge; I found shells in my new one,
and sand. Some are very fine and soft; babies are washed with them. The
sponge has many uses. I will relate some of them, and I hope my friends
will remember what I say. One use is to wash the face; I don't like it
myself, but I do it because I wish to be clean. Some people don't, and
they are dirty." Here the eye of the reader rested sternly upon Dick and
Dolly, who quailed under it, and instantly resolved to scrub themselves
virtuously on all occasions. "Another use is to wake people up; I allude
to boys par-tic-u-lar-ly." Another pause after the long word to enjoy
the smothered laugh that went round the room. "Some boys do not get
up when called, and Mary Ann squeezes the water out of a wet sponge
on their faces, and it makes them so mad they wake up." Here the laugh
broke out, and Emil said, as if he had been hit,

"Seems to me you are wandering from the subject."

"No, I ain't; we are to write about vegetables or animals, and I'm doing
both: for boys are animals, aren't they?" cried Nan; and, undaunted by
the indignant "No!" shouted at her, she calmly proceeded,

"One more interesting thing is done with sponges, and this is when
doctors put ether on it, and hold it to people's noses when they have
teeth out. I shall do this when I am bigger, and give ether to the sick,
so they will go to sleep and not feel me cut off their legs and arms."

"I know somebody who killed cats with it," called out Demi, but was
promptly crushed by Dan, who upset his camp-stool and put a hat over his
face.

"I will not be interruckted," said Nan, frowning upon the unseemly
scrimmagers. Order was instantly restored, and the young lady closed her
remarks as follows:

"My composition has three morals, my friends." Somebody groaned, but no
notice was taken of the insult. "First, is keep your faces clean second,
get up early third, when the ether sponge is put over your nose, breathe
hard and don't kick, and your teeth will come out easy.