142 JVicholas Bradford. [March, 



Bradford's field from Mr. Barnwell's. The fence resembled the 

 one above noticed. 



" Take care that you don't get another fall," said Lovell, as he 

 saw Jackson spring on the fence. 



" No danger here, this is Barnwell's fence, and his stakes are 

 always firm set." 



It happened that Mr. Barnwell and his son Henry were in the 

 cornfield with their hoes. They were finishing the two last rows 

 as Jackson and Lovell came upon them. Henry was a member 

 of college, but it was vacation, and he w^as now putting it in strong 

 by the side of his father, who felt none the older in consequence. 



" You have a fine piece of corn here," said Jackson. 



" Yes," replied Barnwell, " it is coming on pretty well. It 

 hardly needed the hoe, but Henry was a mind to scratch it over 

 again." 



" Your scratchings are alw^ays pretty thorough ones ; does 

 Henry improve any in hoeing by going to college ?" 



" Well, I don't know. He is pretty much the same." 



" Well, I shall be glad if he don't get spoiled going to college. 

 May be he wont. I saw your classmate Fairfield, as I was com- 

 ing out of the lane." 



"W^here w^as he going ?" said Henry, quickly, and the blush that 

 suffused his countenance would seem to indicate that the question 

 was improper or unnecessary. Unnecessary it may have been, 

 since the lane led only to Mr. Jackson's house. There was cer- 

 tainly a very high degree of probability that the person walking 

 in said lane towards the house was going to it. Mr. Jackson 

 noticed the embarrassment attending the question and replied. 



" I can't say for certain where he was going. I think it likely he 

 was going to my house. He was pretty well starched, and hardly 

 seemed to know me ; so I didn't think it worth while to tell him 

 that the women were not at home." Jackson perceived that his 

 reply had restored Henry's circulation to its usual state. He dis- 

 turbed it again however by adding, " Milly says she likes that 

 book, and wants the other volume." 



" I'll bring it up to her," said Henry. " Will they be at home 

 this evening '?" 



" Yes," replied Mr. Jackson, without noticing the unusual use 

 of the pronoun they. Perhaps he thought it was in accordance 

 with college rules to use it when reference is made to a young, 

 rosy cheeked, black-eyed, enthusiastic girl of seventeen. 



" We were going to give widow Jones a lift at hoeing ; as you 

 have your hand in, you may as well come along." 



" I will," said Henry, " that is, I will be there soon after you 

 get there — in time to overtake you if the rows are long enough." 



" I shouldn't wonder" said Jackson, as soon as they had passed 

 on out of hearing, " if that young man should get iiito the legis- 



