and lettered, and the uniforms had been hung up in the little
closets in the club-room of the boat-house. One was appropriated to
each member, whose number was painted upon the door.

Uncle Ben had given the boys several extra lessons in rowing in the
meantime, and the discipline of the club and the rowing were pronounced
perfect. The first meeting in the new hall was appointed to take place
on Monday morning, and punctually to the hour the members were all
assembled.

The hall had been tastefully furnished and decorated, under the
direction of Captain Sedley. On the floor was a very pretty carpet with
bright colors; on the walls hung several large maps and engravings in
frames, illustrative of various boat-scenes; and over the door leading
to the boat-house proper was painted in blue letters,--

ZEPHYR BOAT CLUB.

On the window-curtains the name of the club was also painted. In the
middle of the room was placed a long table, around which were arranged
thirteen chairs for the members. The library cases were filled with
books, which had been selected with great care by Mr. and Mrs. Sedley.
On the table were placed various pamphlets and periodicals; and when
the club assembled, Uncle Ben was there, seated in the coxswain's
armchair, poring over the pages of the _Sailor's Magazine_.

The boys all came in and took their chairs, each of which was numbered;
and Uncle Ben cheerfully resigned his place to the coxswain.

"Order!" said Frank, rapping on the table.

Captain Sedley had instructed Frank in some of the forms of conducting
a public meeting; and the matter had been made the topic of
conversation among the others, so that they had a tolerable idea of
parliamentary usage. They were all enthusiastic and eager to learn; and
some of them had attended a special town meeting a few days before, for
the purpose, as they expressed it, of "seeing how the thing was done."
And when Captain Sedley came in to breakfast on the morning of that
eventful day, he found Frank intently perusing the pages of Cushing's
"Manual."

When, therefore, the coxswain called the meeting to order, all noise
and conversation immediately ceased; and the members of the club seemed
determined to conduct themselves with more propriety than the "legal
voters" of Rippleton had at the town meeting they had attended.

Frank, in the words of the newspaper reporters, "made a neat and
appropriate speech," on the occasion of taking possession of the n