"DOWN AT THE STORE" 



I TALKED, a week ago, as if, in my time as 

 a boy, we lived out of doors every day, and 

 all day long, regardless of everything that 

 winter could do to hinder us. That was an 

 exaggeration. Now and then there came a 

 time when the weather shook itself loose, as 

 it were, and bore down upon us with ban- 

 ners flying. Then the strong man bowed 

 himself, and even the playful boy took to 

 his burrow. The pond might be smooth 

 as glass, but he did not skate ; the hill- 

 track might be in prime condition, but he 

 did not slide. He sang low, and waited for 

 a change. 



Not that he stayed at home from school. 

 Let no degenerate reader, the enfeebled 

 victim of modern ideas, think that. The 

 day of coddling had not yet dawned upon 

 New England. There was no bell then to 

 announce a full holiday, or " one session," 



