panion, leaving Mr. Tupman and Mr. Snodgrass in the vehicle.

The horse no

sooner beheld Mr. Pickwick advancing

toward him with the

chaise whip in his

hand, than he exchanged the rotatory motion in which he had previously indulged, for a backward movement of so very determined a character, that it at once drew Mr. Winkle, who was still at the end of the bridle, at a rather quicker rate than fast walking,

in the direction from Mr. Pickwick ran to his Pickwick ran forward, the There was a great scrap

which they had just come. assistance, but the faster Mr. faster the horse ran backward. ing of feet and kicking up of the dust; and at last Mr. Winkle, his arms being nearly pulled out of their sockets,

fairly let go his hold. The horse paused, stared, shook his head, turned round, and quietly trotted home to Rochester, leaving Mr. Winkle and Mr. Pickwick gazing on each other with countenances of blank dismay.

"Bless my soul!" exclaimed the agonized Mr. Pickwick, "there's the other horse running away!"

It was but too true. The animal was startled by the noise, and the reins were on his back. The result may be guessed. He tore off with the four-wheeled chaise behind him, and Mr. Tupman and Mr. Snodgrass in the fourwheeled chaise. The heat was a short one. Mr. Tupman threw himself into the hedge, Mr. Snodgrass followed his example, the horse dashed the four-wheeled chaise against a wooden bridge, separated the wheels from the body, and the bin from the perch; and finally stood stock still to gaze upon the ruin he had made.

The first care of the two unspilled friends was to help their unfortunate companions from their bed of quickset, -a process which gave them the satisfaction of discovering that they had sustained no injury beyond sundry rents in their garments, and various scratches from the brambles. The next thing to be done was to unharness the horse. This complicated process having been finally effected, the four gentlemen walked slowly forward, leading the horse among them, and abandoning the chaise to its fate.

It was late in the afternoon when the four friends and

their four-footed companion turned into the lane leading to Manor Farm; and even when they were so near their place of destination, the pleasure they would have otherwise experienced was damped as they reflected on their appearance, and the absurdity of their situation.

From "Pickwick Papers." Abridged.

LINCOLN'S LETTER TO MRS. BIXBY

EXECUTIVE MANSION

Washington, November 21, 1864.

DEAR MADAM: I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I can not refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. Yours, very sincerely, and respectfully, ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

RING OUT, WILD BELLS

BY ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,

For those that here we see no more; Ring out the feud of rich and poor, Ring in redress to all mankind.

Abridged.

A STORY OF CHIEF JUSTICE MARSHALL

BY MARY TUCKER MAGILL

John Marshall, for thirty-four years Chief Justice of the United States, was celebrated both for the integrity and the wisdom with which he discharged his duties, and for his genuine simplicity of manner and good sense in private life. During the war of the Revolution he was an officer under Washington, whose intimate confidence he enjoyed. He was a member of the Virginia Convention which ratified the Constitution, a United States envoy to France, a member of Congress from Virginia, and a member of the Cabinet under the first President Adams. In his constitutional decisions he accomplished a great deal toward establishing the dignity of the Federal Government. A statue of him by William Wetmore Story stands before the capitol in Washington. [Born in 1755—died in 1835]

When John Marshall lived in Richmond, he used to go to market with his basket on his arm, and bring home what was needed.

One day he was turning away from the market with his purchases, when he heard some one near him speaking harshly. Marshall turned and saw a fashionably dressed young man, who had bought a turkey, and who could not find any one to carry it home for him.

"Of course I can not take it home myself," said the "What am I to do?" And he was very young man. angry at the bare idea.

John Marshall stepped up to him, and said quietly, "Where do you live, sir?”

The young man turned, and seeing a plainly dressed old