o the dust, and Gunpowder, the black steed,
and the goblin rider passed by like a whirlwind.

The next morning the old horse was found without his
saddle, and with the bridle under his feet, soberly cropping 15
the grass at his master's gate, while near the bridge, on
the bank of a broad part of the brook where the water
ran deep and black, was found the hat of the unfortunate
Ichabod, and close beside it--_a shattered pumpkin_!

--_A Legend of Sleepy Hollow._

1. You should read the entire "Legend" (see
Irving's _Sketch Book_) and enjoy the detailed
incidents leading up to this climax. Of course
Ichabod leaves Sleepy Hollow, never to return. What
evidence is there that Brom Bones was the ghost?

2. A ghost was supposed not to be able to cross
running water. What evidence of this do you find in
the story?

3. Why was Ichabod "heavy-hearted and crestfallen"?
Give two reasons.

4. Pick out the elements of the first two
paragraphs that make the situation appear lonely.

5. Who was Major Andre? Why should Ichabod have
especially feared the Andre tree?

6. What is there in this selection that is
humorous?

SIGNING PETITIONS

"Another petition!" exclaimed the banker. "No, I
never sign them offhand--not any more. I used to
do so--once to my sorrow and to the amusement of my
friends. Leave yours with me till day after to-morrow and
I'll consider it. I have at least four more now on the waiting 5
list, ranging in subject from the Removal of a Soap Factory
to a Bridge Across the Pacific. Every business man is
hounded week in and week out with petitions."

I reluctantly surrendered my long scroll with its formidable
list of signatures. "But _the_ one that you once signed--what 10
of that?"

"Oh, that one? Well, there was a bright newsboy down
on the square whose booth had been removed from a street
corner because of a petition to the Police Commissioner.
Of course everybody had signed the petition; for signing 15
petitions was considered the proper thing if certain names
headed the list. It came to be a roster of the best families
in town. This newsboy retaliated--in kind. He drafted
and circulated a petition that was in due form. Everybody,
in