were cleared.

The feast of reason which followed was marked by one outstanding and
important failure. The pastor had trained the Indian boys and girls of
his school to sing several hymns, and repeat several pieces in prose and
verse. Our waif, besides being the smallest boy, possessed the sweetest
voice in the school. He was down on the programme for a hymn--a solo.
Having fallen sound asleep after being stuffed, it was found difficult
to awake him when his turn came. By dint of shaking, however, his
mother roused him up and set him on his legs on a table, where he was
steadied a little by the pastor's wife, and gently bid to begin, by the
pastor's daughter.

Poosk was very fond of the pastor's daughter. He would have done
anything for her. He opened his large eyes, from which a sleepy gleam
of intelligence flashed. He opened his little mouth, from which rolled
the sweetest of little voices. The Indians, who had been purposely kept
in ignorance of this musical treat, were ablaze with surprise and
expectation; but the sound died away, the mouth remained open, and the
eyes shut suddenly as Poosk fell over like a ninepin, sound asleep, into
the arms of the pastor's daughter.

Nothing more was to be got out of him that day. Even the boisterous
laugh which greeted his breakdown failed to rouse him; and finally our
Northern Waif was carried home, and put to bed beside a splendid fire in
a warm robe of rabbit skins.

CHAPTER TEN.

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST OF LIFE: FROM A YOUNG MAN'S STANDPOINT.

This world is full of niches that have to be filled, of paths that have
to be trod, of work that has to be done.

Pouring continually into it there are millions of human beings who are
capable of being fitted to fill those niches, to traverse those paths,
and to do that work. I venture a step further and assert that every
human being, without exception, who arrives at the years of maturity
must, in the nature of things, have a particular niche and path and work
appointed for him; and just in proportion as a man finds out his exact
work, and walks in or strays from his peculiar path, will be the success
of his life. He may miss his aim altogether, and his life turn out a
failure, because of his self-will, or, perhaps, his mistaken notions;
and there are few sights more depressing than that of a round young man
rushing into a square hole, except that of a square young man trying to
wriggle himself into a round hole.