.

At the farm there was a pretty cottage, where the tenant Mr. Clark
lived. We used to go in for a little while to see Mrs. Clark's babies,
and then we started off in search of adventures. What fun we did have!
Sometimes there would be great brush-heaps to burn, made of bushes and
branches of trees that had been cleared off from the land. They made
glorious bonfires.

There was an old yellow horse on the farm, that used to run the
wood-sawing machine. He was blind in one eye, but was the very gentlest
horse in the world. Dick and I would both get on him at the same time,
with only the halter to guide the horse, and go all over the farm.

Now and then, in shaking himself to get rid of the flies, Bob (the
horse) would shake us both off; but he always stopped at once when we
met with such an accident, so that we could get on again. Once, when we
were riding in this way, our horse stopped and refused to go on.

On looking to see what was the matter, we saw a large black snake in
the road just ahead of us. Being very reckless children, we slid off old
Bob, found some heavy sticks, and attacked the snake. First Dick struck
it, and, when it turned on him, I struck it; and so we pounded the
snake, turn and turn about, until it was killed.

[Illustration]

Another thing that we enjoyed very much was to go down to the creek that
ran through the farm, and put some ears of green corn in the water close
by the edge. We would then keep very still, and watch the corn, and, as
soon as we saw it move a little, we would give it a sudden slap out of
the water, and would almost always succeed in landing one or two
crawfish. We dug wells in the sand, which we would fill with water to
put our crawfish in. Sometimes we would have a dozen or more.

It would have been great fun to wade in the creek, but for one thing:
there were sand-leeches in the water, and they would get between our
toes, and bite so firmly into the flesh, that we could hardly get them
off.

A great event in the day was lunch, which we ate in picnic style on the
ground near the spring. We were always so hungry, that the simplest food
seemed delicious. I don't think we were ever very fond of bread and
butter anywhere else. By night we were very tired, and generally went
sound asleep on the way home.

A.

THE DRAWING-MASTER.

OUR Peter has opened a school for teaching drawing. At present he has