6 NATURE IN A CITY YARD 



preaches him with a horsewhip or a howit- 

 zer, he exhibits a pair of brisk legs, and 

 disappears into his own stronghold, from 

 the windows of which he leans directly af- 

 ter, and offers shrill and reprehensible criti- 

 cisms. It is the joy of his life to injure 

 animals when he cannot injure people; and 

 not a dog or cat in the vicinage but takes 

 to flight when he appears. He has broken 

 more windows and street lamps, trampled 

 more flowers, secreted for his own behoof 

 more of other boys' marbles, knives, and 

 pennies, blackened more eyes, torn down 

 more fences, appropriated more ash-bar- 

 rels for bonfires, smeared mud on more 

 little girls' dresses, frightened more babies, 

 put tar on more door-steps, run off with 

 more bicycles, misdirected more callers 

 and delivery-wagons, and is oftener tres- 

 passing on other people's premises, than all 

 of the other children in the street. When 

 his parents are visited by an indignant 

 committee, they ask him if the charges 

 against him are true, and he modestly ad- 

 mits that they are not. So the parents 

 turn the eye of astonishment on the visi- 



