had a fire
inside. Pa tried to talk with them about the baby, but they couldn't
understand, and finally they got full and started out, and the leader
asked Pa for three dollars, and that broke him. Pa told the leader he
supposed the gentlemen who had got up the serenade had paid for the
music, and the leader pointed to me and said I was the gentleman that
got it up. Pa paid him, but he had a wicked look in his eye, and me and
my chum lit out, and the Bohemians came down the street bilin' full,
with their horns on their arms, and they were talking Bohemian for all
that was out. They stopped in front of a vacant house, and began to
play; but you couldn't tell what tune it was, they were so full, and a
policeman came along and drove them home. I guess I will sleep at the
livery stable to-night, cause Pa is so offul unreasonable when anything
costs him three dollars, besides the champagne."

"Well, you have made a pretty mess of it," said the grocery man. "It's
a wonder your Pa does not kill you. But what is it I hear about the
trouble at the church? They lay that foolishness to you."

"It's all a lie. They lay everything to me. It was some of them ducks
that sing in the choir. I was just as much surprised as anybody when it
occurred. You see our minister is laid up from the effect of the ride to
the funeral, when he tried to run over a street car; and an old deacon
who had symptoms of being a minister in his youth, was invited to take
the minister's place, and talk a little. He is an absent minded old
party, who don't keep up with the events of the day, and whoever played
it on him knew that he was too pious to even read the daily papers.
There was a notice of a choir meeting to be read, and I think the tenor
smuggled in the other notice between that and the one about the weekly
prayer meeting. Anyway, it wasn't me, but it like to broke up the
meeting After the deacon read the choir notice he took up the other one
and read, 'I am requested to announce that the Y. M. C. Association will
give a friendly entertainment with soft gloves, on Tuesday evening,
to which all are invited. Brother John Sullivan, the eminent Boston
revivalist will lead the exercises, assisted by Brother Slade, the Maori
missionary from Australia. There will be no slugging, but a collection
will be taken up at the door to defray expenses.' Well, I though the
people in church would sink through the floor. There was not a person
in the church except the