in to play. One of them
mounts the table, taking the master's wooden seat with him. On this he
poses himself, foot over knee, and dons Fu-tse's hat, on which is the
crystal button and horse-hair plume, of which all dignified men are very
proud. He quickly anchors the huge goggle spectacles astride his nose,
with the aid of the guy-ropes around his ears, seizes the empty pipe in
one hand, and with fan in the other, calls out to the oldest boy to
"back his book."

The big boy begins to see-saw his fingers up and down, and to bawl out
his lesson, but quickly turns round to see the fun. The next oldest boy
is pulling the ears of "the baby," who squeals out, while the boy on the
floor, who pretends to be in disgrace, and can not rise, calls on the
teacher to speak to the mischievous urchin.

But the old Fu-tse has heard the squealing and the racket, and is
hurrying along the corridor to see what is the matter.

What will be done? There will be no rattan or ruler used, or ears boxed,
but each one will receive a lecture on propriety, and an extra lesson.
The bigger boys will be ordered to learn fifty new characters, and the
smaller ones will each have a longer copy to write after school.

MOTHER GOOSE'S MAY PARTY.

BY AGNES CARR.

It was May-day, and the sun popped out of bed early that morning to wake
up the little birds and flowers, that they might clear their throats,
and wash their bright faces in dew, by the time the old woman had swept
the cobwebs from the sky, and left a beautiful blue roof over Gooseneck
village; for they knew it was the 1st of May, and that dear old Mother
Goose, who taught the _Kindergarten_, or infant school, was going with
all her little scholars to have a May party under the trees in the merry
green wood.

And the children knew it too, and they were all on hand bright and
early--Tommy Green and Johnny Stout, Humpty Dumpty and Little Bo-peep,
Jack and Jill, Little Boy Blue in a brand-new suit of clothes, and
Goldilocks with her yellow hair flying in the wind, Tom, the Piper's
son, and poor Simple Simon, the dunce of the school, with many others
that we have known and loved--and all brought baskets filled with good
things for their dinner.

"Oh, won't we have fun!" said Margery Daw to Jacky Horner. "I hope you
have got something nice in that big basket of yours."

"Yes, indeed," said Jack. "Cook made me a lovely pie, and stuffed it
just full of plums. I will try and pull one out f