Uncle Rutherford's Nieces

e in perplexity, the other with sympathy; opposite these two a third head whose carrotty hue betrayed it to be Jim's, although the

ial behoof by the devoted Jim; its chief characteristic being a tendency to upset, unless the occupant or occupants maintained the most exact balance, a seat not to be depended upon by the un

out on the piazza of our summer-home by the sea, and from that po

y proved too much for the juvenile arithmeticians; and, as I

Jim: it's too hard.

s every day," said Jim reproachfully.

nd I've not gone so very far in the 'rithmetic; and I'm sure

e, a tin pail in one hand, a shrimp-net in the other. "Maybe he'll know. Mr. Edward's taught him lots of figger

h told me that she did not altogether relish the idea that a servant-boy might possess superior knowledg

upon his position as office-boy to brother Edward-deposited his pail and net upon the ground, and himself in a li

" he said; "what is it you

slate," answered Allie, still in a somewhat aggrieved tone. "He's as mixed up as a

y puts fish an' clams an' sweet-potat

llie, who, remarkably choice herself in the matter of language,

that's so clever in the right ways o

t restored by the compliment; but sh

erday, and added it all right, too; but a sum lik

ss dire results were to follow to the one left behind. The usual catastrophe took place: the vacant end went up, and Daisy was thrown upon the ground, the seat fortunately being so low that her fall was from no great height; but the rickety contrivance turned over upon the child, and she recei

being quite sure of my powers, "bein' almost gr

al to any problem of that nature which Jim was likely to propound; and I answered vain-glori

," declining the soiled slate which he proffe

then, Miss Amy," s

o wonder that it had puzzled Allie's infantile brains. To recall and set it down here, at this length of time, would be quite impossible; nor would the reader care to have it inflicted upon him. Days, weeks, and years, peanuts, pence, and dollars, were involved in the state

u in all this"-rigmarole, I was about to say, but reg

oked s

p some one in the peanut-business, an' gettin' his own profits off it. But now, Miss, did you ever

I answered, laughing; "but I have heard of men whose early occupat

o be a lawyer. I find it's mostly lawyers or sojers that gets to be Presidents; lawyers like Mr. Edward. Miss Amy," with a sudden air of apprehension, "

ition to be President, Jim," I answered, re

r, and he had full faith that he should in time attain t

of his cou

ould fit

l standing, when he should have attained to that dignity, were marvellous and startling. No autocrat of all the Russias, no sultan, was ever endowed with the irresponsible pow

anut venture upon which his mind was dwellin

, who was standing by my knee. "You spoke first to be Presiden

" said Daisy, raising her little bandaged head from my shoulder; "he is

n of being influenced by motives of that nature. "'Tain't none of your doin' good to

se into the vernacular against which he and his friends were striving; Allie in particular setting

mmar an' 'rithmetic into my head both to once; leastwa

ating his mind, both being at present in high favor and held in great inter

shooting birds or other game, which was quite remarkable in a boy of his antecedents. He even questioned the right and expediency of killing animals for food, although he never objected to partaking thereof when it was set before him. Fish, only, seemed to him legitimate prey in the way of sport;

-headed of the group, "tell me if you know what it is that Jim desire

t an' sick animals an' birds; an' Jim, he's just about as much took up with animals an' natur an' things of that kind as she must ha' been, even if he ain't so fat; an' he's got it on his mind to set up his own hospital, an' let Tony Blair an' his sister

the fact, that many a time in the old days Jim had deprived himself of a meal-Milly come by, it might be-to give it to the little cripples, poorly provided for by a drunken father and ill-tempered mother to whom they were naught but a burden. Many a faded and limp bouquet, discarded by some happier child of fortune, did Jim rescue from the ash-heap and bring to Matty, who had a passionate love for flowers; and not seldom during the spring and summer months would he take a long trudge into the suburbs, and gather wild blossoms to grati

holes enough in my jacket to make it as ventilatin' as a' ash-sifter, an' it was awful mean in him to up an' die on me that way. An', M

n to much screaming, even more than is the usual manner of his kind, had been purchased by Jim for her behoof out of his

and partly by the desire to make themselves obnoxious to more decently disposed worshippers. But Milly, by her gentle tact, had disarmed them,-they being our near neighbors at the service,-and, profiting by this love of sweet sounds, had brought them within her influence; nor ce

cumstances so far as they were able. Jim had proposed that they also should be taken into our household, and nursed and cared for; but, as father and mother objected to having the house turned into a wholesale reformatory and hospital, his modest plan was not carried out. Some help,

"for a chance to do a make-up for all the good done to me an' Bill." A certain ambitious and not unpraiseworthy pride, too, and a strong sense of gratitude and o

ed by schemes of wholesale benevolence

d in "Uncle Rutherford's Attic"); and had made himself an object of considerable interest, not only to the members of our own family, to whom he had shown great loyalty and fidelity under severe temptation and trial, but also t

senting our children and his fellow-servants with tokens of his regard, mostly of a tawdry, seaside-bazaar nature, but beautiful in their eyes and his own; conveying, with an eye to the future, another portion to the

for marketing or daily household needs. He was a great friend and crony of our two young servant-lads, and to him as well as to Bill had Jim confided his plans; but the three heads had proved unequal to the settlement of the arithmetical difficulties which p

other subjects, and put into rather more choice English than t

ncouraged him in his undertaking, giving him not only hopes of great results from the home-market, but promises that they would interest "the other fellows," and induce them also to become customers. He was not to be salesman himself, of course, his daily avocations not permitting of this; but, for the rest of our stay at the seashore, he purposed obtaining the services of an acquaintance who belonged

ticipation; but now came the more c

purchased; and "our ladies," to wit, mother, Milly, and myself, asked to provide the crippled

ations. With peanuts at so much by the wholesale, and so much at retail, running-expenses, and so forth, on the one hand; what would be the various amounts to be allowed from the proceeds, on the other,

e the respective shares? Hardly had I solved this complicated problem to Jim's satisfaction, and my own relief,-for, as I have said, nu

out the Smuggler's Hole; she must have a share, for sure; an' there's Captain Yorke, he

roachful appeals to my superior learning, I flatl

d Captain Yorke himself, who was seen coming up the carriage-way, guiding before him a donkey-

d admiration to the more juvenile portion. In the eyes of our little girls, and indeed in those of my two younger brothers, Norman and Douglas, and above all, in those of Jim and Bill, he was a veritable hero, for his had been a hard and venturesome life, full of thrilling adventure and hairbreadth