grandmother lived in an old, old cottage not
far from the sea-beach. The cottage had a long sloping roof; and there
was an elm-tree in front of it.

One fair day in June, the boys went down to the sea-beach to bathe, and
the girls went out on the lawn to play. Some of them thought they would
play "hunt the slipper."

But little Emma Darton, who was a cousin to the rest, said, "I promised
my mother I would not sit down on the grass: so, if you play 'hunt the
slipper,' I must not play with you; for in that game you have to sit."

Then her Cousin Julia replied, "Nonsense, Emma! It is a bright warm day.
Don't you see the grass is quite dry? Come, you must not act and talk
like an old woman of sixty. Come and join in our game."

But Emma said, "When I make a promise, I always try to keep it. If to do
that is to be like an old woman of sixty, then I am glad I am like one."

"You are the oldest-talking little witch I ever knew for a
five-year-old," cried Julia. "If you don't look out, you'll not live
half your days."

"I think Emma is right," said Marian, another cousin. "So, if you insist
on sitting on the grass, Emma and I will go and sit by ourselves on the
trunk of the old fallen tree."

But Julia insisted on having her game of "hunt the slipper;" and Emma
and Marian went and sat down on the fallen trunk, and looked on while
the rest played.

The next day five of grandmother's little visitors did not seem to be
well. Some were coughing, and some were sneezing, and some were
complaining of pains in their limbs.

"Why, what is the matter with you, children?" said the old lady. "If I
did not know you were sensible little girls, I should say you had been
sitting on the damp grass,--all of you but Emma and Marian."

The cousins looked at one another; but no one spoke aloud. Then Marian
whispered to Emma, "Are you not glad you kept your promise to your
mother?"

Emma looked up and smiled, but did not say a word.

DORA BURNSIDE.

THE FLYING WOOD-SAWYER.

ONE day last winter I was cutting maple-logs in the woods with a
cross-cut saw. It was about five feet long, and had a handle at each
end, so as to be used by two persons together. My brother generally
helped me; but, for some reason, he was not with me then, and I was at
work all by myself in a rather lonesome place.

I had finished eating my dinner, set my pail under a clump of trees, and
commenced my