1884.] 
AMERIOAE" AG-EIOULTUEIST. 
11 
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Kerr* Wash- 
^ ©TON’S “P JKTHPAY* 
BT AGNES (CABB) SAGE. 
No school for boys in the whole State was more 
justly celebrated than the Rev. Dr. Bird’s, situated 
on the edge of Millbrook, the large stone build¬ 
ing crowning a high hill on the bank of the 
river, one of the beauties and features of the pretty 
village.—Few outside of the school house walls 
knew of the feud which for months had existed 
among the pupils, or of the battles royal which 
raged in the play-ground, in consequence of ill- 
feeling in the school-room. It all arose from some 
white mice that George Wilson brought from home 
in September, intending to teach them to perform 
various tricks, and present them on her birthday, 
to Effie Bird, the Doctor’s only daughter. They 
were cunning little creatures, with bright pink 
eyes, and very tame, frisking up and down the cur¬ 
tains and over the sofa and chairs, but mouse-like, 
when let out of their cage, they would nibble 
whatever their sharp teeth could find. So it hap¬ 
pened that they one day made sad havoc with a 
handsome copy of Shakespeare, belonging to Ned 
Brewster, one of the head boys, but which George 
had borrowed and carelessly left on his table. 
Ned was furiously angry, and although George 
was his best friend and offered to get him a new 
book, he would accept no apology but went off 
breathing vengeance. He bided his time, however, 
and it was _:ot until the eve of Effie’s birthday, that 
George, on going to his room, found some one 
had let old Tabby, the family eat, loose in the apart¬ 
ment, and she had made short work of the poor 
little mice, which all lay dead on the floor, with 
green-eyed Tabby glowering over them. George 
was thunder-struck, and could hardly keep from 
crying over the cruel fate of his pets, and he quickly 
sought Ned, with flashing eyes, and clenched fist. 
“I don’t care,” said Ned, “You had no right 
to bring nasty destructive pests like those into 
the school, and let them destroy our things.” 
“ But it was a mean cowardly trick to set the cat 
upon my mice, as I know you did! ” retorted 
George ; and so angry words flew back and forth, 
the boy^s joining in the argument, until at last the 
school was pretty evenly divided into the “Cats ” 
on one side, headed by Captain Ned Brewster, and 
the “ Mice ” on the other, led by Captain George 
Wilson. All through autumn and early winter 
they annoyed and tormented each other, as only 
school-boys can, fighting with fists, sticks, and 
snow-balls out-doors, and tongues and paper pel¬ 
lets—known among the scholars as “ spit-balls ”— 
within. So it went on until February Twenty- 
Second, the birthday of the Father of his Country, 
a holiday in the school, when the boys had planned 
a grand snow battle for championship of the school. 
At one end of the long play-ground, three ter¬ 
races led up to a fiower garden, in summer gay 
with bright blossoms, but now covered with a white 
mantle, broken only by the rich dark evergreen 
trees, that bent gracefully under their w'cight of 
snow. This terrace was known as the “ ramparts,” 
and it was the ambition of each side to gain pos¬ 
session, and plant it’s standard on the highest 
point.—It was a perfect winter’s day, clear and 
cold, and the boys were on the play-ground at an 
early hour, preparing the ammunition of well 
packed snow bullets—the “Cats” waving their em¬ 
blem of a bunch of swamp cat-tails, and the “Mice” 
teturue'd it with a fiourish of white everlastings, 
Called among the country people “ mouse-ear,” 
a bright idea of little Tommy Tucker’s, the wit, if 
hot the wisdom of the whole school. 
“Remember, no ice-balls are allowed,” said 
George Wilson, as they drew up in line.—“Of 
course not, we know the rules of the school, as 
well as you,” snapped Ned, for Dr, Bird had strict¬ 
ly forbidden these dangerous missiles. Sam Cox 
said nothing of the snow-balls he had slyly pre¬ 
pared with stones in the center, unknown even to 
his Captain, but he called out, “ the Cats will make 
mince-meat of the Mice to-day, anyway 1 ”—“We’d 
like to see them,” shouted Tommy Tucker. “ Our 
Captain’s initials are the same as George Washing¬ 
ton’s, and he will be ‘first in war,’ too.” 
“ Well, mine are the same as Napoleon Bona¬ 
parte’s,” retorted Ned, who was not to be daunted ; 
“ and he was as great a general as Washington, any 
day.”—“Oh! oh! oh!” cried the Mice, for this 
was too much for the young Americans, and even 
some of the Cats hissed at the idea.—“ Come on,” 
and with me-ows, and squeaks, they started to 
gain the first parapet, contending every inch of 
the way, while the air was white with snow-balls that 
fiew thick and fast. How they yelled and strug¬ 
gled, rubbing each other’s faces, throwing one an¬ 
other down, rolling in the snow, and almost tearing 
the coats from their backs. It was very exciting, 
but several wounded had been removed from the 
field, with bruises and black eyes, which caused the 
Mice to begin to suspect Sam Cox’s treachery, and 
increased their fury.—But in the very thickest of 
the fray, Ned Brewster suddenly shouted, “See, a 
flag of truce ! a flag of truce ! ” which brought all 
to a standstill, and all eyes were turned toward the 
house, from which appeared, crossing the play¬ 
ground, what might have been taken for a show 
image, so pale and fair was the young girl who now 
appeared, dressed all in white, a white fur coat 
wrapping her slender form, and a snowy cap 
crowning her long golden hair which floated on the 
wintry breeze, while in one hand she carried a white 
flag. “ Lady Bird ! ” passed through the ranks. 
“Oh! boys, boys; at it again!” she cried, 
“when will this dreadful quarrel end?”—“When 
Cats and Mice can live in peace together, I expect. 
Lady Bird,” laughed George Wilson, using the 
girl’s pet name by which she was usually called. 
“ Then we should have a happy family, indeed,” 
she said.—“ But we don’t want any girls here now, 
spoiling our sport!” growled Sam Cox.—“ For 
shame, shame !” and Sam was quickly landed in a 
snowdrift. “ You forget who begged you oil, 
when the Doctor was going to expel you,” said 
Ned Brewster, severely.—“ And who mends our 
gloves and Sews on our buttons,” said George. 
“I shall never forget how kind Eflie was when I 
had the fever,” said one.—“ Or iiow she always re¬ 
members our birthdays, and cheers us up when we 
are homesick,” said another.—“She is the best 
girl that ever lived : hurrah for Lady Bird 1” and 
all lads joined in cheering with hearty good will. 
“Thank you, boys,” said Effie, while a shade of 
pink stole into her cheeks. “ I have done very lit¬ 
tle for you ; but I want now to ask a favor. As I 
came up from the village I passed poor old Aunt 
Sukey’s. She is nearly eighty years old, and bent 
over with the rheumatism. She was standing in 
the door, gazing at a great pile of wood the Benevo¬ 
lent Society had sent her. I stopped to speak to 
her, and she said, “Lor ! little missis, jest see 
what them ’nevolents hab sent me. Dey mighty 
good, dey is ; but Honey, how am old Aunt Sukey 
gwine to cut up dem big logs ? Might as well try 
to chop down a tree.”—“ I could’nt answer, but I 
thought it would be such a nice way to keep the 
THE MICE IN MISCHIEF 
birthday of so great and good a man as Washing¬ 
ton, if you boys would go and saw and pile the 
wood up in the shed, so poor black aunty won’t 
have to wade through the snow whenever she 
makes a fire. Will you do it?” 
“What’ll beeomo of the groat battle then?” 
asked Tom Tucker.—“ We’ll have to declare a 
temporary peace,” said George. “ Which do you 
Want to do this worli, Effie, Cats or Mice, for you 
know we never work together?”—“Oh! both 
parties please join forces for this once.” 
“I’m agreed, if Ned is.”—“Very well,” said 
Ned, “if the fellows are willing.”—“Yes, yes, any¬ 
thing to please Lady Bird,” came from both sides. 
—“ Then, forward march. Cats and Mice to the at¬ 
tack of the woodpile !” shouted both captains. So 
arming themselves with borrowed axes, hatchets 
and saws, they marched with military precision down 
the hill, headed by Lady Bird with the white flag. 
THE FLAG OF T'RVC^»’^J>rawn and Eiiffraved for the American AgtHcuUurist, 
