to the zenith, to express its satisfaction with
the teacher's determination to interview the butcher's boy.

Lucas de Wilde: "Religion."

Religion very nice must be,
Much it pleases the people we see.

"The fundamental idea is very beautiful," said the teacher, "but it
ought to have been developed better."

The wig nodded acquiescence.

Trudie Gier: "Juffrouw Pennewip."

The path of virtue she shows us each day,
And we are glad to go that way;
And as there's nothing to do more fitting,
She teaches us sewing, darning and knitting.

The wig fairly leaped with pleasure, and the curls embraced one
another. This out-pouring of Trudie's heart was borne at once to
Juffrouw Pennewip, and was later hung by the fireplace in honor of
the poetess and the subject of the poem.

Then followed a sublime poem on God by Klaasje van der Gracht, the
son of the Catechist. He was thirteen years old, and had not been
vaccinated--out of regard for predestination.

"If only his father didn't help him!"

The wig was rigid with astonishment.

Louwtje de Wilde: "Friendship."

Friendship very nice must be,
Much it pleases the people we see.

The wig seemed dissatisfied. The "Religion" of Lucas de Wilde was
pulled out and compared with Louwtje's "Friendship."

"H--emm. It is possible. Another example of how one thought can
originate in two heads at the same time."

Wimpje de Wilde: "Fishing."

Fishing very----

"What's that?"

Yes, really, there it was again:

Fishing very nice must be,
Much it pleases the people we see.

The wig was moving continually. It looked as if it were fishing too.

The teacher looked hurriedly through the remaining poems and picked out
the offspring of the entire Wilde connection. His worst suspicions were
realized. Mietje de Wilde, Kees de Wilde, Piet and Jan de Wilde--all
uniformly declared that religion, friendship, fishing, dreaming,
cauliflower and deception "very nice must be," and that they were
also very pleasing "to the people we see." A regular flood of the
nice and pleasing.

Now, what do you suppose the wig did? It did the best thing that
could be done under the circumstances. More could not be expected of a
wig. As soon as it saw the futility of its efforts to comprehend the
difference between fishing, friendship, deception, dreams, religion
and cauliflower, it merely ignored the whole matter, readjus