"There, I will take these; and

Bertie picked out six of the finest fish. here's your sixpence, old fellow.' 'Thank you, Sir, much obliged will give you one for luck into the bargain; and I've got a piece of paper here, Sir, to put them in. It ain't pleasant for a young gentleman to take them in his hand.' And the old man wrapt them carefully up as he spoke. Bertie bade him good morning, and glided into the house again and up-stairs.

'I say,' said he, giving his brother a hearty shake, for he had nearly fallen asleep again, 'wake up, will you? See what the jolly old fellow has given me. They're a penny apiece; but he's given me one extra for luck. Ain't he a stunner?'

'I dare say he has cheated you. You are such an ass, Bertie. You believe any rubbish anyone tells you. I should say they're awfully dear, and the fellow's an old cheat.'

'Not a bit of it; old Bill is the best fellow going. But, I say, Archie, do get up. The only time we can have a bit of fun is before breakfast.' Archie, after many stretches and yawns, tumbled out of bed, and began slowly to dress.

'Now, Archie, where shall we hide these fish? It will never do for Jane to get hold of them.'

'Anywhere-put them in my fishing-basket if you like.'

'But we ought to keep them fresh.'

'Well, leave them till I'm dressed, and then we'll hunt out a hidingplace for them.'

'But you are such a slow-coach, Archie-you know you are. You're three times the time dressing I am.'

'Yes, pretty dressing. What would Aunt Susan say to it?'

'Well, but, Archie, do make haste; we shall have no time now before breakfast, and we shall get into a dreadful scrape if they're found,' and he rummaged into all the drawers as he spoke.

'Here's a bottle, Archie-the wide-necked one we used to keep our sea-anemones in. That will be splendid, won't it now? I'll fill it with water. They'll go in nicely.'

Bertie filled the bottle, put the herrings in, and then hid it safely in his drawer among his linen. Oh! if his aunt had seen it, would not she have been horrified? But fortunately for the boys, Aunt Susan seldom if ever went into their bed-room. She saw too much of their untidy disorderly habits down-stairs, to wish to improve her acquaintance with them.

"There, Archie, ain't that splendid, now? Anyone might open my drawer without suspecting it. They'll keep very nice and fresh there till this evening.'

'But I don't see how we can cook them,' said Archie doubtfully. 'We shall want a frying-pan, or something of the kind.'

'I'll manage that easily enough. I know where Cook keeps her frying-pans, and I'll steal in and bag one when she's busy elsewhere. It

will be such splendid fun, Archie. But I say, old boy, do make haste. You won't even be in time for breakfast, and then won't we come in for a jaw? There's the breakfast bell. I say, you must make haste.'

With his brother's help, Archie managed to complete his toilet, and get down-stairs in time for prayers.

'Well, boys,' said their aunt, as they sat down to breakfast, 'what roused you so early this morning? I heard you making a great noise in your room soon after six. You'll please to conduct yourselves more quietly in future, and not forget that you are in a lady's house, and are expected to behave like young gentlemen. I hope I shall not have to speak to you again on the subject.'

'Indeed, Aunt, we were not making a noise; we were quite quiet, I'm sure,' exclaimed Bertie vehemently.

'Do not contradict me, Herbert. What would your parents say if they knew how you were behaving? What a bad example, too, you are setting to the little ones! Nurse makes sad complaints of you. If you really don't mend your ways, I shall have to send you to a boardingschool, and you know that would be a great grief to your mother—she is so anxious for you to be under my care. And you, Archibald, do make haste with your breakfast to-day. I am afraid you are a sad dawdle.' 'I've just finished, Aunt,' said Archie. Bertie, just go up-stairs and get my books,' he whispered aside to his brother.

Bertie rushed up-stairs, and was down again in a few minutes. Aunt Susan had left the room, and Archie was finishing his breakfast in solitary grandeur.

'There's the whole pack of them,' and Bertie flung down the books recklessly on the table.

'Now, Bertie, look what you've done. the butter, and a nice mess it's in,' and neatly-covered books.

There's my Latin grammar in
Archie picked up one of his

'And it don't matter, Archie, a bit. It's only the outside cover after all. I wouldn't be such a goose as to cover my school-books, I'm sure.' And Bertie began with great energy to play at ball with one of his own tattered volumes.

'There, just look at your dictionary!' said Archie, as Bertie missed his catch, and his book fell to the ground, while the loose pages flew out in all directions.

'Well, what's the harm?

I wish you would make haste. You know it wants but ten minutes to nine. You dawdy! You don't mean to say that you are going to stop to put a cover to your stupid old grammar? I did think you had more sense than that. I take quite a pride in my books. They look much more like what lesson-books should be than yours.'

'If you chatter so, Bertie, I shall be much longer. You may get my cap for me-it's hanging in the hall.'

Archie and Bertie's parents were in India. They had sent their four

children over to England to be educated. Mrs. Robson's sister, Miss Curtis, had offered to board and look after them, and sent the two eldest boys to a good day-school in the old-fashioned sea-port town where she resided. Both the boys received very indifferent marks for their lessons that morning, probably from the fact that their hearts were with the herrings in Bertie's drawer. What if Jane, the housemaid, were to discover them, and tell Aunt Susan! Even Bertie's brave heart quailed at the thought of such a catastrophe. They thought that five o'clock would never come; but the longest day has an end, and school was over at last.

'I wonder, Archie, how the herrings are going on?'

666

Going on!" How can they go when they are dead?' 'Well, I mean to say, I wonder if they're all safe. I know Jane sometimes goes to our drawers; I caught her the other day stuffing all the things that were lying about the room there. But she would not see the bottle unless she looked for it. I hid it quite underneath my linen.' 'Well, you must undertake all the responsibility if it's found; you put them there, you know, and 'twas you bought the herrings.'

'But you're going to help eat them though, Master Archie. I call that rich, now.'

'Neither of us will eat them if Jane has found them out, you may depend upon it.'

'Yes, all our fun will be done for in that case.

That would be stupid.'

The boys rushed up-stairs to their room as soon as they reached home, and Bertie opened his drawer.

'Good gracious, Archie! just look. Here's all the water come out on my clothes. What shall we do?'

'You stupid boy, it's your own fault! Why did not you put the cork in tight? A pretty pickle for your clothes to be in, to be sure. There's your best Sunday jacket all drenched, and your blue neck-tie too. And awfully fishy they smell. They'll take you for a fisher-boy, most certainly, next Sunday.'

'But, I say, Archie, how and where shall we dry them?' said Bertie, taking out his clothes and examining them with a doleful face.

'I can't say, indeed, Bertie. You might dry them perhaps by the nursery fire while we fry the fish, but it's ten to one if they get thoroughly dry.'

'Oh yes, that will be splendid!' and Bertie threw out the contents of his drawer untidily on the floor. Don't the fish look good, Archie? You may thank me for the extra one. I always make famous bargains. Look what a whopper it is. It's bigger than any two of the rest put together.' 'It looks to me rather suspicious,' said Archie.

'Well, how shall we divide them? There's three apiece, and one over. I tell you what, we'll give this big one to Bones, if he promises not to tell of us. He's a shocking little fellow for blabbing. But if we give him this on condition of his not saying a word to Nurse, or anyone, perhaps he may have the discretion to hold his tongue.'

'All right, then,' said Archie. 'We must make haste now. Nurse is sure to have gone down-stairs by this time. I'll take these fish to the nursery and lecture the children, if you'll get a frying-pan; and I'll put your clothes before the fire, if you like.'

'Very well then. I'll get a frying-pan-see if I don't.'

Bertie crept softly down-stairs, and disappeared in the back regions, from whence he soon returned in triumph.

'Look here, is not this jolly? Here's a splendid little frying-pan, just the size. Cook was busy in the front kitchen, so I crept into the scullery, and run away with this.-Now, Carrie,' he continued, turning to his little sister, 'don't you blab of us to Nurse, or anyone, or it will be the worse for you; nor you either, Bones. Do you hear?'

Bones was the name their little brother always went by. No one knew how the name had originated; but the boys never called him by any other, and even Nurse was given to use it, much to Aunt Susan's horror: for she considered it a heathenish substitute for his own noble Christian name-Stephen Augustus. It was certainly a very inappropriate nickname, for the little fellow was stout and plump-as broad as he was long, and did not appear to lay claim to any such vulgar things as bones. The children both promised faithfully not to say a word about it. 'Now, Bones,' said Bertie, 'if you will guard the nursery door, and tell us directly you hear anyone coming, we will give you one of the fish. There now, what do you say to that?'

Bones' face perfectly glowed with delight. 'I will, indeed-I'll tell you directly anyone comes.'

'Very well then, you sit there and watch.-Now then, Archie, let's put the fish on.'

They placed the frying-pan on the hottest part of the fire, and watched the progress of the cooking with the keenest interest.

'They're very black, Archie. Look how they're burning!'

'I know why,' said Carrie, who had been capering wildly round the room; 'Nurse always puts some butter in the pan when she fries anything.'

'Of course,' said Archie. How could you have been so silly as to forget that, Bertie?"

'Well, there's no help for it. We can't get any, and it does not matter a bit. They'll be just as good, even if they are a little burnt. Don't they smell nice, Archie ?-Let's turn them. Don't you think they're done this side? And, Carrie, do get out of the way, will you? You'll be sure to set your pinafore on fire. And just look what you're doing-you've knocked all my clothes down in the dirt. You may just pick them up again, please, and then sit down quietly. If you make such a racket, we shall have Nurse up here to see what you're after.'

The boys at last settled that the herrings must be finished, and took them out of the frying-pan-all except Bones', which being the largest, they decided it would be improved by more cooking. Boys are, certainly,

a strange species of humanity. Old Betty Hobson, to whom Miss Curtis sent a weekly present of tea and sugar, and who lived on three shillings a week from the parish, would have turned up her nose at these herringsall burnt and black outside, and full of bones inside-which the boys ate with so much relish.

'I declare, Archie,' said Bertie, 'there's a hole in the frying-pan.' 'I am sure it was not my doing. What shall we do now?'

'Is not my herring done yet?' shouted Bones, leaving his watch and coming to the fire.

'No; go back, will you? We shall have old Nurse coming up here in a moment. I declare there she is!'

The boys swallowed down the remainder of their fish with one gulp.

'I say, Bertie, where shall we put the frying-pan? Won't Nurse be in a rage if she sees it ?'

'I know,' said Bertie. There's a little ledge in the chimney; don't you remember it?' and he seized the pan. There, it's quite safe there. Nurse will never find it.'

'But I don't want my herring put up the chimney. You promised me I should have it if I watched. It isn't at all fair of you, Bertie,' howled Bones.

'Hush, Bones, will you? Here's Nurse. You shall have it all in good time, I tell you. It's quite safe, so you need not make such a prodigious fuss about it.'

'What are you young gentlemen after in my nursery, I should like to know? Some mischief, I'll warrant.-A nice mess you've got your pinafore in, Miss Carrie.-Good gracious! what a creature that Cook is! She's after frying fish for her supper, I suppose, for I'm sure Missus never ordered none. I never could abide the smell of fish. She little thought the smell would come up here so strong. Much good it is making you children decent, if you make yourselves dirty directly afterwards.-And what have you boys been doing to my fire? It was quite a nice little blaze when I went down-stairs; but now it's quite black, and nearly out.' And Nurse gave the fire a vigorous thrust with the poker as she spoke. Ah! she little knew what was up the chimney, or would she not have been in a towering rage!

'Now, you boys, just turn out of my nursery, setting up my children to all sorts of naughtiness; and I advise you, Master Bertie, to give your face a good washing before tea. It's all over smut. That tells tales, it does, that you've been playing with fire. Some pranks you've been after, I know. We shall have the house set on fire over our heads one of these days, I prophesy. But be off now, and make yourselves ready for tea. -Now, Master Bones,' she continued, as soon as his brothers had gone, 'let me brush your hair, and make you tidy. What would your aunt like to know what you

say to such dirty hands and face?—I should

children have been after. Have you been playing with the fire?'