of something falling in the stable, and the next moment I gave a loud, joyful neigh, for I saw James coming through the smoke leading Ginger with him; she was coughing very hard, and he was so choked that he was not able to speak.

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My brave lad!" said master, laying his hand on his shoulder, "are you hurt?" James shook his head, for he could not speak yet. "Aye," said the big man who held me; "he is a brave lad, and no mistake."

"And now," said master, "when you have got your breath, James, we'll get out of this place as quickly as we can," and we were moving toward the entry, when from the Market Place there came a sound of galloping feet and loud rumbling wheels.

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"Tis the fire engine! the fire engine!" shouted two or three voices, "stand back, make way!" and clattering and thundering over the stones two horses dashed into the yard with the heavy engine behind them. The firemen leaped to the ground; there was no need to ask where the fire was-it was rolling up in a great blaze from the roof.

We got out as fast as we could into the broad quiet Market Place; the stars were shining, and except the noise behind us, all was still. Master led the way to a large hotel on the other side, and as soon as the ostler came, he said, "James, I must now hasten to your mistress; I trust the horses entirely to you, order whatever you think is needed," and with that he was

gone. The master did not run, but I never saw a mortal walk as fast as he did that night.

There was a dreadful sound before we got to our stable; the shrieks of those poor horses that were left burning to death in the stable. It was very terrible and made both Ginger and me feel very bad. We, however, were taken in and well cared for. The next morning the master came in to see how we were and to speak to James. I did not hear much, for the ostler was rubbing me down; but I could see that James looked very happy, and I thought the master was proud of him.

Our mistress had been so alarmed in the night, that the journey was put off till afternoon; so James had the morning on hand, and went first to the inn to see about our harness and the carriage, and then to hear more about the fire. When he came back, we heard him tell the ostler about it.

At first no one could guess how the fire had been caused; but at last a man said he saw Dick Towler go into the stable with a pipe in his mouth, and when he came out he had not one, and asked for another. Then the under ostler said he had asked Dick to go up the ladder to put down some hay, but told him to lay down his pipe first. Dick denied taking the pipe with him, but no one believed him. I remember our John Manly's rule, never to allow a pipe in the stable, and thought it ought to be the rule everywhere.

James said the roof and floor had all fallen in, and that only the black walls were standing; the two poor horses that could not be got out were buried under the burnt rafters and tiles.

-ANNA SEWELL.

ostler (ŏs' ler): the person who has the care of horses at an inn. The word is usually spelled hostler.

THE MILLER OF THE DEE

There dwelt a miller, hale and bold,

Beside the river Dee;

He worked and sang from morn till night—

No lark more blithe than he;

And this the burden of his song
Forever used to be:

"I envy nobody-no, not I—

And nobody envies me!"

"Thou'rt wrong, my friend," said good King Hal,

"As wrong as wrong can be;

For could my heart be light as thine,

I'd gladly change with thee.

And tell me now, what makes thee sing,
With voice so loud and free,

While I am sad, though I'm a king,

Beside the river Dee?"

The miller smiled and doffed his cap,
“I earn my bread," quoth he;

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I love my wife, I love my friend,
I love my children three;

I owe no penny I cannot pay,

I thank the river Dee

That turns the mill that grinds the corn.

That feeds my babes and me."

"Good friend," said Hal, and sighed the while, "Farewell, and happy be;

But say no more, if thou'dst be true,

That no one envies thee;

Thy mealy cap is worth my crown,
Thy mill my kingdom's fee;

Such men as thou are England's boast

O miller of the Dee!"

-CHARLES MACKAY.

doffed: took off.-quoth: said.-worth my kingdom's fee: worth my kingdom.

EARLY ADVENTURES IN THE COLONIES

A LETTER WRITTEN AT PLYMOUTH BY JOHN BILLINGTON TO HIS GRANDMOTHER IN ENGLAND

PLYMOUTH, March 24, 1621.

promised to write you a letter, and now I am doing it. We did not go to Virginia, for the wind was wrong and we came to Cape Cod. Mr. William Bradford went out to see what kind of place it was. Some other men went with him. They came to a trap that the Indians had set for deer. He walked into it, and the tree sprang up and caught him by the leg. Nobody said he ought not to have walked into it, and nobody blamed him. They would have blamed me.

I don't think anybody here cares much about me. They call me the Billington boy. When we were in the Mayflower and the men were looking for a place to settle, I fired off my father's gun one day in the cabin. Everybody was talking about the dreadful things the Indians had done in Virginia, and I wanted to know how to shoot. Don't you think I ought to? I didn't remember that the barrel of powder was so near, and I didn't think the gun would make such a noise or scare the people so.

I was a little scared, too, but it was funny to see how they all jumped. Honestly, grandma, I did not