ver relaxed into the frivolity
of unnecessary speech. At last Tim's next neighbour, Ben Tholoway,
began to give emphasis to his speech by nudges, at which Tim, growing
rather savage, said, "Let me alooan, will ye? else I'll ma' ye sing a
toon ye wonna like." A good-tempered wagoner's patience has limits,
and Tim was not to be urged further.

"Well, then, David, ye're the lad to sing," said Ben, willing to show
that he was not discomfited by this check. "Sing 'My loove's a roos
wi'out a thorn.'"

The amatory David was a young man of an unconscious abstracted
expression, which was due probably to a squint of superior intensity
rather than to any mental characteristic; for he was not indifferent
to Ben's invitation, but blushed and laughed and rubbed his sleeve
over his mouth in a way that was regarded as a symptom of yielding.
And for some time the company appeared to be much in earnest about the
desire to hear David's song. But in vain. The lyrism of the evening
was in the cellar at present, and was not to be drawn from that
retreat just yet....

A NOVEL POSTMAN[20]

BY ALICE W. WHEILDON.

A little country girl made known her wants in a decidedly
original way. A small boy in the city did his best to
satisfy them. This is at once a story of Thanksgiving and of
Christmas.

"Oh, mother! what do you suppose Ellen found in the turkey? You never
could guess. It's a letter--yes, a real letter just stuffed
inside--see!" And Freddie held before his mother's wondering eyes a
soiled and crumpled envelope which seemed to contain a letter.

[Footnote 20: From _Wideawake_, November, 1889. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard
Company.]

Freddie had been in the kitchen all the morning watching the various
operations for the Thanksgiving dinner which was "to come off" the
next day, when all the "sisters, cousins, and aunts" of the family
were to assemble, as was their custom each year, and great was the
commotion in the kitchen and much there was for Master Fred to
inspect. When Ellen put her hand into the turkey to arrange him for
the stuffing, great was her astonishment at finding a piece of paper.
Drawing it quickly out she called, "Freddie, Freddie, see here! See
what I've found in the turkey! I declare if he isn't a new kind of a
postman, for sure as you're born this is a letter, come from
somewhere, in the turkey. My! who ever heard of such a thing?"

Freddie, standing with eyes and mouth wide open, final