mple, and the others, willing or unwilling, were
obliged to follow his lead. He had agreed to take John Cole, as he said,
more to get rid of his mother's importunities, than for any benefit he
expected to derive from him; and when remonstrated with by his wife
for his folly in giving her the trouble of another brat, he answered
shortly: "Never fear, I'll get the worth of his victuals and clothes out
of him." Johnny was to have his boarding, clothes, and a dollar a month,
for two years. This dollar a month was the great item in Mrs. Cole's
calculations; twelve dollars a year, she argued, would almost pay her
rent, and when the tears stood in Johnny's great brown eyes (for he was
a pretty, gentle-hearted boy), as he was bidding them all good-bye, and
kissing the baby over and over again, she told him about the money
he would earn, and nerved his little heart with her glowing
representations, until he was able to choke back the tears, and leave
home almost cheerfully.

_Home_--yes, it was home; for they had much to redeem the miseries of
want within those bare cabin walls, for gentle hearts and kindly smiles
were there. There

"The mother sang at the twilight fall,
To the babe half slumbering on her knee."

There his brother and sisters played; there his associations, his hopes,
his wishes, were all centered. When he arrived at farmer Watkins's, and
was sent into the large carpeted kitchen, everything was so unlike this
home, that his fortitude almost gave way, and it was as much as he could
do, as he told his mother afterwards, "to keep from bursting right out."
Mrs. Watkins looked very cross, nor did she notice him, except to order
him to stand out of the way of the red-armed girl who was preparing
supper and placing it on a table in the ample apartment. Johnny looked
with amazement at the great dishes of meat, and plates of hot biscuit,
but the odour of the steaming coffee, and the heat, were almost too much
for him, as he had eaten nothing since morning, for he was too sorry to
leave home to care about dinner. The girl, noticing that his pale face
grew paler, laughingly drew her mistress's attention to "master's new
boy."

"Go out and bring in some wood for the stove," said Mrs. Watkins,
sharply; "the air will do you good."

Johnny went out, and, in a few minutes, felt revived. Looking about, he
soon found the wood-shed; there was plenty of wood, but none cut of a
suitable length; it was all in cord sti