nderstand she is the
matron of an Orphans' Home, and I thought she would like a little
fun; but I was mistaken."

And the old man smiled sweetly as he went back to his seat. He was
sorry for the poor little boy, but he couldn't help it.

A Wicked Boy

Of all the small boys in our town
That Jones boy was the worst,
And if the "bad man" came around
He'd take that Jones boy first.

One day he slipped away from home
And went out for a skate
Down on a deep and dangerous pond
Beyond the garden gate.

His mother missed him after a while,
And thought he'd gone to skate;
And running to the fatal pond,
She found she was too late.

For there, upon the cruel ice,
Beyond an air-hole wide,
She saw his pretty little hat,
And a mitten by it's side.

He was her boy, and all the love
That fills a mother's heart
Came forth in tears and sobs and moans
Beyond the strength of art.

She called the neighbours quick to come,
They scraped along the ground;
Beneath the water and the ice--
The boy could no be found.

At last their search was given up
Until a thaw should come;
The mother's sobs began afresh,
Her sorrow was not dumb.

They turned to leave the fatal pool,
A voice came clear and free--
"Hallo! If you want Frankie Jones,
You'll find him up this tree."

And so it was--the mother's tears
Were changed to smiles of joy;
But gracious heaven, how she spanked
Her darling, fair-haired boy!

L'Envoi

Cooley's Boy

The boy not only preys on my melon-patch and fruit trees, and upon
those of my neighbours, but he has an extraordinary aptitude for
creating a disturbance in whatever spot he happens to be. Only last
Sunday he caused such a terrible commotion in church that the
services had to be suspended for several minutes until he could be
removed. The interior of the edifice was painted and varnished
recently, and I suppose one of the workers must have left a clot of
varnish upon the back of Cooley's pew, which is directly across the
aisle from mine. Cooley's boy was the only representative of the
family at church upon that day, and he amused himself during the
earlier portions of the service by kneeling upon the seat and
communing with Dr. Jones' boy, who occupied the pew immediately in
the rear. Sometimes, when young Cooley would resume a proper
position, Jones's boy would st