50
"And off they spring" 51
"They follow at his heels" 52
"They're losing ground" 52
"He's distanced all the lot" 53
"Some took his time" 54
"Back in the one-hoss shay he went" 56
"A horse _can_ trot, for all he's old" 57

THE BROOMSTICK TRAIN.
Half Title 58
"Clear the track" 59
"An Essex Deacon dropped in to call" 60
"The old dwellings" 61
"The small square windows" 61
"Dark, dim, Dante-like solitudes" 63
"Norman's Woe" 64
"The Screeching Woman of Marblehead" 65
"It isn't fair" 66
"You're a good old--fellow--come, let us go" 68
"See how tall they've grown" 69
"They called the cats" 70
"The Essex people had dreadful times" 71
"The withered hags were free" 72
"A strange sea-monster stole their bait" 74
"They could hear him twenty miles" 75
"They came ... at their master's call" 76
"You can hear her black cat's purr" 78
"Catch a gleam from her wicked eye" 79
Tail Piece 80

[Illustration]

_The_
Deacon's Masterpiece
_or the_
_Wonderful_
One-Hoss-Shay

_A Logical Story_

[Illustration]

The Deacon's Masterpiece

Have you heard of the wonderful one-hoss shay,
That was built in such a logical way
It ran a hundred years to a day,
And then, of a sudden, it--ah, but stay,
I'll tell you what happened without delay,
Scaring the parson into fits,
Frightening