dge and rocks and field they run;
"Hello!" cries Ben, "see, there is Evan!"
And now, as they rush on, we see,
Like wonders of the world, they're seven.

[Illustration]

As if a bird had carried word,
Like birds the boys thus congregate;
To join the rest leaped merry Will,
And, puffing, swelled the count to eight.

[Illustration]

Time quickly flew down by the shore,
When boys and raft had fun so fine.
But hark! Too plainly now they heard
The clock! That made the doleful nine.

[Illustration]

The crew had all put out from land,
And out put teacher, Mr. Glenn,
With swinging arm and noisy bell,--
No boy was he to make the ten!

THE BARBECUE.

_(The "Tolerbul" Bad Boy again.)_

BY SARAH WINTER KELLOGG.

Marley came bolting into Aunt Silvy's cabin. This is what he usually did
when things vexed him.

"It's mean!" he said, snatching off his large straw hat and wiping the
perspiration from his brow.

Aunt Silvy was peeling peaches for drying--great, luscious Indian
peaches, too, beet-red from down to pit.

"Seems like yer's al'ays fin'in' somethin' mean," she said, as the long
peeling dropped into the pan, and she proceeded to stone the peach,
which looked as though pared by machinery. "What's de matter now?
Somethin' 'bout de barb'cue?"

"Yes, the committee's been 'roun' here to see what Pa'd subscribe, an'
he signed for o-n-e shoat! Think how it'll look!--'Wm. Coleman, one
shoat.' An' the paper's goin' all over the county; everybody'll see
it,--General Bradshaw, and Mandy, and all the girls! If I couldn't give
anything but a mean ole shoat, I wouldn't put my name down 'tall."

"Neber had no sich puffawmances at yer granpaw Thompson's. He uster
su'scribe a heap er deaf an' dum' an'mals. I 'members one Foaf July he
su'scribed,--lem me see ef I kin 'member what all he did su'scribe. Thar
wus two oxes an' 'leven milk cows, an'--"

"I don't b'lieve it," Marley interrupted.

"It's de bawn troof," said Aunt Silvy, solemnly. "I 'members dar wusn't
nuff cows lef' ter git milk fer de white folks' coffee nex' mawnin arter
dat barb'cue. But, law, Mah'sr Mawley! dat wusn't haf' yer granpaw
Thompson su'scribed. Thar wus fou'teen fat shoats, an'--lem me see how
many tuckies; twenty-fou' tuckies, thutty-fou' Muscovy ducks, fawty
chickuns, sebenteen geese an' ganders, an'--"

Marley gave a long whistle.

"Well, if that isn't the biggest story that ever I heard sence I was