SKETCHES

She is a little maiden of eight summers and her views of life are not taken from the same position as those of older persons. One day when all her older sisters were away, and she was at home alone with her mother, she suddenly burst into tears. Crying as though her heart would break, it seemed she must be suffering from some terrible grief.

   "What's the matter dear" said her mother, who could see no cause for all this wailing.

   "I'm--so--homesick," came the reply, punctuated with sobs.

    "Homesick?" queried her mother, unable to repress a smile. "Why should you be homesick when you are right in our own house with me?"

   "That's why," answered the sorrowing miss. "All the rest of the girls can go away whenever they want to and I have to stay at home all the time. That's why I'm so homesick."

   So much for her interpretation of a compound of two simple words.

   At another time this coming woman felt indisposed to eat her supper. "Now, -------, go right to the table and eat your supper," said the mother.

   "I don't want to," was the reply.

   "What's the matter?"

   "Oh, it seems that there is nothing good enough for me."

   This argument was put in such an ingenious as well as convincing manner that it appeared unanswerable and her supper went uneaten.

   At the top of one of the steepest hills in the village he conceived the idea of making the descent as easily and rapidly as possible. So he seated himself in the wagon, took hold of the tongue and "let 'er go." As the vehicle went, its speed increased. Just as it reached the middle of the hill, his mother stepped out of a nearby building. Perhaps her sudden appearance rattled him, but very probably his control of the wagon was limited.

   At any rate he was traveling directly toward the corner of the building at a dangerous rate of speed. The young man's mother was the person who alone could save him. No one else was near enough to be of any assistance. She hastened to meet the oncoming victim of a probable accident, grasping the tongue of the wagon and stopped the rush. Disaster was averted. The sudden jar nearly tipped the passenger out, but no one was hurt.

   Far from feeling the relief that the onlookers experienced at this narrow escape, the youngster, as he started back up the hill after his hat--lost in the mad ride--asserted that but for the unjustified interference of his mother he could have done the trick safely and with a flourish. As he stood nine chances out of ten of tipping over, providing he could turn off the walk and into the street, and a tenth chance of going over a three-foot high flight of steps, the odds seemed proponderously against him. Such, however, is the confidence of childhood.

   Paterfamilias was reluctant to have a maimed or disfigured son in the house so he was not inclined to grant the request. Young America was not to be put off, however, and continued to pull at his pa's leg.

At last his father, to squelch him, said: "Don't you think, my boy, you have lots of nerve to come around and ask for money like this?"

   "Well," came the reply with great deliberation, "Mamma does."

   He got enough money to buy a good-sized flag, and the "Stars and Stripes" gaily waved as he trudged homeward, his face beaming.

bringing any women and children with them, whereas the pioneers farther north had brought their families. The pupils were asked why this was so, but no one was able to answer until a bright pupil got an idea. His hand was straightaway raised and waved.

   "Well, ----, why was it?"

   This was the way he accounted for it: "They escaped from their wives and children"

    As an exercise in penmanship, one class was instructed to write letters to a printer, asking for employment. They were to seek to impress the person addressed with their ability as spellers and grammarians. The following is the text of one of the pupils' letters:-

   "I don't want to work in your printing office because I ain't a good speller."

   The position was not forced upon the applicant.

   Later one of the brothers came in and seeing the sweater, asked where it was bought and how much it cost. The young lady of mathematics was there and answered: "I don't know, but I guess it cost about forty cents."

   "Goodness gracious," was the exclamation at this apparently ridiculous reply. "You can't buy woolen sweaters for forty cents."

   "Well, they had some for fifty cents at Blank's and ---- said she didn't think they were worthwhile buying."

   So one of the men stepped on the platform. A strange gentleman of agricultural instincts was standing near, highly interested in the proceedings. Before the weighmaster pro tem had fairly got the beam to balance, this son of the toil crowded his way onto the scale and jostled the weighee off.

   The latter and the weighmaster were a little astonished and somewhat vexed at this rudeness and started to leave. One of the ladies tenderhearted and pitying ignorance stopped to perform the task of balancing the scale. She was not permitted to do so, however, and the intruder was compelled to discover for himself how well country life agreed with him.

   Also have township plats 12x12 inch showing land owners name vacant State government land, roads, schools, post offices, creameries, lakes, rivers, swamps, etc., sell at 50c each.

   I have them at my office and if I am not at home you can get them at Thos. Tollefson, County Treasurer.
J.H. JENSEN, Grantsburg, Wis.

FAY S. WILLIAMS
Co. Supt.