CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS,
1871-72.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
MY BOYS. 1
TESSA'S SURPRISES. 45
BUZZ. 75
THE CHILDREN'S JOKE. 85
DANDELION. 116
MADAM CLUCK AND HER FAMILY. 127
A CURIOUS CALL. 141
TILLY'S CHRISTMAS. 156
MY LITTLE GENTLEMAN. 170
BACK WINDOWS. 188
LITTLE MARIE OF LEHON. 200
MY MAY-DAY AMONG CURIOUS BIRDS AND BEASTS. 222
OUR LITTLE NEWSBOY. 235
PATTY'S PATCHWORK. 244
_MY BOYS._
Feeling that I have been unusually fortunate in my knowledge of a choice
and pleasing variety of this least appreciated portion of the human
race, I have a fancy to record some of my experiences, hoping that it
may awaken an interest in other minds, and cause other people to
cultivate the delightful, but too often neglected boys, who now run to
waste, so to speak.
I have often wondered what they thought of the peculiar treatment they
receive, even at the hands of their nearest friends. While they are
rosy, roly-poly little fellows they are petted and praised, adorned and
adored, till it is a miracle that they are not utterly ruined. But the
moment they outgrow their babyhood their trials begin, and they are
regarded as nuisances till they are twenty-one, when they are again
received into favor.
Yet that very time of neglect is the period when they most need all
manner of helps, and ought to have them. I like boys and oysters raw;
so, though good manners are always pleasing, I don't mind the rough
outside burr which repels most people, and perhaps that is the reason
why the burrs open and let me see the soft lining and taste the sweet
nut hidden inside.
