ward, his thoughts, by some
unaccountable association, began to revert to such topics as the
loneliness of man by himself, the need of kindred spirits, the solaces
of sympathy, and other like matters.

That night Joseph dreamed of trotting along with his dinner basket to
the old brown school house, and vainly endeavoring to overtake Susan
Jones, whom he saw with her little pasteboard sun bonnet a few yards in
front of him; then he was _teetering_ with her on a long board, her
bright little face glancing up and down, while every curl around it
seemed to be living with delight; and then he was snowballing Tom
Williams for knocking down Susan's doll's house, or he sat by her on a
bench, helping her out with a long sum in arithmetic; but, with the
mischievous fatality of dreams, the more he ciphered and expounded, the
longer and more hopeless grew the sum; and he awoke in the morning
pshawing at his ill luck, after having done a sum over half a dozen
times, while Susan seemed to be looking on with the same air of arch
drollery that he saw on her face the evening before.

"Joseph," said Uncle Jaw, the next morning at breakfast, "I s'pose
'Squire Jones's daughters were not at the quilting."

"Yes, sir, they were," said our hero; "they were both there."

"Why, you don't say so!"

"They certainly were," persisted the son.

"Well, I thought the old gal had too much spunk for that: you see there
is a quarrel between the deacon and them gals."

"Indeed!" said Joseph. "I thought the deacon never quarrelled with any
body."

"But, you see, old Silence there, she will quarrel with _him_: railly,
that cretur is a tough one;" and Uncle Jaw leaned back in his chair, and
contemplated the quarrelsome propensities of Miss Silence with the
satisfaction of a kindred spirit. "But I'll fix her yet," he continued;
"I see how to work it."

"Indeed, father, I did not know that you had any thing to do with their
affairs."

"Hain't I? I should like to know if I hain't!" replied Uncle Jaw,
triumphantly. "Now, see here, Joseph: you see, I mean you shall be a
lawyer: I'm pretty considerable of a lawyer myself--that is, for one not
college larnt; and I'll tell you how it is"--and thereupon Uncle Jaw
launched forth into the case of the _medder_ land and the mill, and
concluded with, "Now, Joseph, this 'ere is a kinder whetstone for you to
hone up your wits on."

In pursuance, therefore, of this plan of sharpening his wits in the
manner afo