ee Rollo in the afternoon, if he could
get permission. Soon after this, Rollo sat down, with the rest of the
family, to dinner. He determined to commence in earnest the work of
collecting curiosities that afternoon.

THE HEMLOCK-SEED.

James came to play with Rollo that afternoon, and Rollo explained to him
his plan of collecting a museum of curiosities. James was very much
interested in it indeed, and he said that he had some shells and some
Guinea peas at home, which he would put into it.

Rollo went to show him the box out of which Jonas was going to make the
cabinet the first rainy day. Then the boys went out again to see if
there were yet any signs of a storm. But they looked in vain. There were
no clouds to be seen, except here and there a few of those white, fleecy
tufts floating in the heavens, which indicate fair weather rather than
rain.

The boys played together in the yard for some time. Among other things,
they amused themselves by collecting some flowers, and pressing them in
a book. Suddenly James said,

"O Rollo, let us go and get some blue-bells to press; they will be
beautiful."

"Where?" said Rollo.

"Among the rocks by the road, beyond the bridge," said James. "There are
plenty of them among those rocks."

The place which James referred to, was a rocky precipice by the road
side, about a quarter of a mile from the house; just at the entrance of
a small village. Rollo approved of the proposal, and he went in and
asked his mother's permission to go.

She consented, and Rollo, when he came back through the kitchen, said to
Dorothy, who was sitting at the window, sewing,

"Dorothy, we are going to get some blue-bells to press."

"Ah!" said Dorothy. "Where are you going for them?"

"O, out by the bridge," said Rollo, as he passed on to go out at the
door.

"O Rollo!" said she, calling out to him suddenly, as if she recollected
something; "stop a minute."

So Rollo came back to hear what she had to say.

"You are going pretty near the village."

"Yes," said Rollo.

"And could you be so kind as to do an errand for me?"

"Yes," said Rollo; "what is it?"

Then Dorothy went to her work-table, and began to open it, saying all
the time,

"I want you to get some medicine for Sarah, for she is sick."

Sarah was a friend of Dorothy's, who lived at another house, not far
from Rollo's; and Rollo used sometimes to see her at his father's, when
she came over to see Dorothy. She was