ICQ IN WINTER, 



cause, in the midst of a most exciting story, 

 Aunt would call out, " Thee is hindering Miles at 

 his work ; he doesn't like to be bothered ; " all of 

 which was in the interest of the work being done, 

 and not Miles's comfort. Not like to be both- 

 ered, indeed ! Neither he nor Uz disapproved 

 of loitering, for both were old, and Aunt knew 

 this as well as they. Before summer was over, 

 a stratagem was devised that succeeded admira- 

 bly. I had merely to take my place on the off 

 side of the wood-pile, where I was quite out of 

 sight, and Miles or Uz would work, oh, so dili- 

 gently ! at the light wood for half a day, which 

 needed next to no exertion, and all the while 

 could talk as freely as when taking his nooning. 

 Perhaps it was not well, but, young as I then 

 was, I learned that in human nature the real and 

 the apparent are too often as widely apart as the 

 poles. 



The wild life that forty years ago lurked in 

 the woods and swamps of the old farm was not 

 different from what is still to be found there, but 

 there has been a great decrease in the numbers 

 of many forms. The wild cat and fox, perhaps, 

 may be considered as really extinct, although 

 both are reported at long intervals in the imme- 

 diate neighborhood. These, it is certain, are 

 stragglers the former from the mountains to 

 north, the latter from the pine regions toward 



