hter.

"It seems to me a more serious case than it appears to him," said Mr.
Peterkin.

Mrs. Peterkin did not understand it at all. Had burglars entered the
house? Did the policeman say they had taken spoons? And why did he
appear so pleased? She was sure the old silver teapot was locked up in
the closet of their room. Slowly the family walked towards the house,
and, almost as soon as they, the policeman appeared with the released
locksmith, and a few boys from the street, who happened to be out
early.

The locksmith was not in very good humor, and took ill the jokes of
the policeman. Mr. Peterkin, fearing he might not consent to open the
door, pressed into his hand a large sum of money. The door flew open;
the family could go in. Amanda arrived at the same moment. There was
hope of breakfast. Mrs. Peterkin staggered towards the stairs. "I
shall never go to another Carnival!" she exclaimed.

THE PETERKINS AT THE FARM.

Yes, at last they had reached the seaside, after much talking and
deliberation, and summer after summer the journey had been constantly
postponed.

But here they were at last, at the "Old Farm," so called, where
seaside attractions had been praised in all the advertisements. And
here they were to meet the Sylvesters, who knew all about the place,
cousins of Ann Maria Bromwick. Elizabeth Eliza was astonished not to
find them there, though she had not expected Ann Maria to join them
till the very next day.

Their preparations had been so elaborate that at one time the whole
thing had seemed hopeless; yet here they all were. Their trunks, to be
sure, had not arrived; but the wagon was to be sent back for them,
and, wonderful to tell, they had all their hand-baggage safe.

Agamemnon had brought his Portable Electrical Machine and Apparatus,
and the volumes of the Encyclopaedia that might tell him how to manage
it, and Solomon John had his photograph camera. The little boys had
used their india-rubber boots as portmanteaux, filling them to the
brim, and carrying one in each hand,--a very convenient way for
travelling they considered it; but they found on arriving (when they
wanted to put their boots directly on, for exploration round the
house), that it was somewhat inconvenient to have to begin to unpack
directly, and scarcely room enough could be found for all the contents
in the small chamber allotted to them.

There was no room in the house for the electrical machine and camera.
Elizab