worthy man; for a moment he stared at the lad in blank astonishment, and then, laying his hands on his sides, burst forth into a loud and long fit of laughter. It was sometime before he could compose himself; and his little, fat clerk echoed his master's broad laugh with a chuckling "He! he he!" and a " Well, that is clever, indeed!"

But at length the magistrate, with a face of seriousness, in which a disposition to break into laughter again was very visible, said, "Your birth-day, my boy?—and pray, who are you?"

"O! I am Harry Webb! Harry Webb, sir!" "Webb? Webb?" said the magistrate; "what! surely you are not the son of Mr. Webb of Haysford ?"

"Oh! I am! I am, sir! What will my poor papa and mamma do? Oh! what will they do!"

The magistrate, in evident surprise, said, "And who are these your companions?" Harry named me; and the magistrate again said, "Good gracious! how came you in this condition? and how came you to be taking my pheasant's nest? Who is this other boy?"

"O, sir! it is Ned Tunstal!"

"Ned Tunstal!" cried the magistrate; "Ned Tunstal! O! now I see it all. Tunstal, I have heard of your doings. I have heard of a certain grey terrier that you keep to disturb all the game in the parish. I have heard of you, I assure you. So you keep a ferret and a net too, to catch rabbits; and you can boat over the pond in a washtub, and get on the heron island, and up the great trees of the heronry, spite of tenter-hooks and all! I'll tell you, Master Tunstal, you will get hanged one of these days."

The magistrate then rang a bell, and a servant appearing, "Take these two boys," he said, "to their parents," naming Webb and myself; "no doubt they are anxious enough

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about them; and you, Mr. Lang, send a note with each of them; explain in what circumstances they came before me, and give them proper warning of young Tunstal. That boy I shall send to his father with a note of a different kind."

The terrors of prison, of transportation, of hanging, were gone; but never shall I forget the shame and humiliation with which we approached home. It was a fine glowing summer day: all around us seemed to lie in the repose of beauty and happiness; and we, haggard, disfigured, and degraded, approached our homes, each like the prodigal son. The glory of our condition was turned into trouble and contempt. We came back with a sense of evil upon us, and a heart-soreness, for having filled, as we knew we had, our parents with inexpressible consternation and distress. But I will not attempt to describe the joyful surprise, the warm embrace, the tears with which we were received, nor the after explanation and reproofs;-it is enough that the expedition to Spidenloft chapel has been a lesson to us all our lives. It shewed us how useless it is to seek pleasure in any path but that of plain, open, direct principle.

My father had formed some plan for my deriving great advantages from the tuition of Mr. Webb, but this Spidenloft expedition seemed to disconcert him, and he forthwith sent me off to a school in the pretty old-fashioned town of Tamworth. I had here again the initiatory ordeal of newboyism to go through. One of my brothers had been there before me, and told me to prepare for a good plaguing at first. He assured me the earliest taste I should have of it, would be when I began to read in my class-the style

of reading in that school being very peculiar. Accordingly, the moment I began to read, the whole class began to laugh, and many a smothered snort and giggle was heard behind amongst the desks; and expecting this, and being sufficiently sensitive on the subject, as they began to laugh I began to cry. The master, however, with a stern voice, said, "Gentlemen, what means this?" and to me, "Walk up hither, sir," placing me at the top of the class, and, in fact, at the top of the school. "There!" he added, "that is your place, and it will be your own fault if you do not maintain it."

I dried my tears, and resolved that I would maintain it -and I did, to the very day of my departure. But the laughter was instantaneously quelled. A shade of deep mortification fell over the faces before so merry; and many a stiff contest of skill did the laughers afterwards wage to pull down their rival from his sudden eminence, but in vain.

Here then were laid the foundations for play-hour hostilities, and they soon shewed themselves, and as soon brought themselves to an end. It was not many days after the laughing scene, that a day's holiday was given on some occasion, and while the rest of the boys were busy in the play-ground, I had comfortably seated myself on a three-legged stool up stairs in the writing-school, before the fire, with a book in my hand. I had not been long in this seat of quiet enjoyment when mine enemies of the first class came marching up stairs in a body, with Joe Clinton at their head, and his cousin Tom Smart at his heels; indications that some mischief was at hand. I sate, not unobservant, but apparently deep in my volume. The young conspirators collected close behind me, with nods and winks, and significant grimaces and laughter, anticipative of triumph.

"How deep some folks are in their books!" said one. "Ay, how philosophical they look!" said another.

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Ay, especially on a fine morning!" said a third.

"Yea, and more especially on a holiday!" said a fourth. "Why," cried another, "this is the king of the philosophers to be sure!"

"O yes, I see!" said Joe Clinton, "enthroned on a three-legged stool!" and they laughed altogether most heartily.

"But philosophers may be bothered," said some one.

"And kings may be dethroned," said Tom Smart, and with that, he kicked the three-legged stool from under me, and down I went on the hearth amid the outrageous mirth of the young rogues.

If my face was indicative of my feelings, it was as red as the rising sun. I said nothing; but quietly arose, and walked down stairs, leaving the whole troop in ecstasies at their achievement; laughing till tears run down their faces, dancing, and drumming on the desks for excessive delight. In crossing the yard I encountered the master. The flush on my face caught his eye in a moment. "What is the matter?" said he. I told him; and he added sharply, "Follow me!" He advanced to the foot of the stairs. The happy conspirators were still loud with triumph of their deed their laughter and their voices all sounding at once, forbade them to perceive his approach till he emerged amongst them. Then, what a sudden silence was there! He advanced to the desk, and looking sternly round, "Gentlemen," he said, "is this the manner in which you welcome a fresh playmate? Is this the way you take to demonstrate your advance in knowledge and good-breeding? Let every one, except the object of your ill-nature, fall to his ordinary task-your holiday is over!"