irst day of January,
1861, the following resolutions, which I pray God I may keep:--

"_First._ I will not get married till I own a house, for I expect my
uncle will give me one, one of these days; mother says he will.

"_Second._ I will never swear, because it is silly, as well as wicked.

"_Third._ I will never smoke and so make myself disagreeable to
everybody who comes near me, and I will always keep these words as my
motto after I am married:

"'I don't smoke, because I respect my wife.' Mr. Dalton said that, and
I will never forget it.

"(Signed) John Lord."

And Johnny kept his word like a hero.

The world will never adjust itself
To suit your whims to the letter.
Some things must go wrong your whole life long,
And the sooner you know it the better.

--_Ella Wheeler Wilcox_

STORY OF SCHOOL LIFE

"Oh, girls! I shall just die, I know I shall!" exclaimed Belle
Burnette, going off into a hysterical fit of laughter, which she
vainly tried to smother behind an elegant lace-edged handkerchief.

"What is it, you provoking thing? Why don't you tell us, so we can
laugh too?"

"Well--you--see," she gasped out at last, "we've got a new
pupil--the queerest looking thing you ever saw. I happened to be in
Madam's room when she arrived. She came in the stage, and had a mite
of an old-fashioned hair trunk, not much bigger than a bandbox, and
she came into Madam's room with a funny little basket in her hand, and
sat down as if she had come to stay forever. She said, 'Are you Madam
Gazin?' 'Yes,' she replied, 'that is my name.' 'Well, I've come to
stay a year at your school.' And then she pulled a handkerchief out of
her basket, and unrolled it till she found an old leather wallet, and
actually took out $250 and laid it in Madam's hand, saying, 'That is
just the amount, I believe; will you please give me a receipt for it?'
You never saw Madam look so surprised. She actually didn't know what
to say for a minute, but she gave her the receipt, asked a few
questions, and had her taken to No. 10, and there she is now, this
very minute."

"Well, what was there so funny about all that?"

"Why this: she has red hair, tucked into a black net, and looks just
like a fright, every way. She had on a brown delaine dress, without a
sign of a ruffle, or trimming of any kind, and the shabbiest hat and
shawl you ever saw. Yo