ON THE NORTH SHORE AGAIN 115 



" Ah, that 's better than going to school, 

 isn't it?" said I, not so careful of my moral 

 influence as a descendant of the Puritans 

 ought to have been, perhaps; but I spoke 

 from impulse, remembering myself how I 

 also was tempted. 



"Yes," said one of the children; "No," 

 said another; and the reader may believe 

 which he will, looking into his own childish 

 heart, if he can still find it, as I hope he 

 can. 



Apple trees were loaded ; hollyhocks, mari- 

 golds, and even tender cannas and dahlias, 

 still brightened the gardens (so much for be- 

 ing near the sea, even on the North Shore), 

 but what I most admired were the handsome 

 yellow quinces in many of the door-yards. 

 Quince preserve must be a favorite dish in 

 Ipswich. I thought I should like to live 

 here. I could smell the golden fruit in 

 my mind's nose clean across the way. 

 And when I reached the village square I 

 stopped (no, I walked slowly) to watch a 

 real Old Colony game that I had not seen 

 played for many a day. Two young men 

 had stuck a jackknife into the hard earthen 



