34 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
“SLY BOOT S”— From a Painting in water-colors dy C. H. Weigall 
(Engraved for the American Agriculturist.) 
The Editor with his Young' Readers. 
Ting-a-ling-ling, ting, ting-a-ling. School’s open again 
for a new term. How short the vacation has been, since 
we dismissed you and closed up the last session, a month 
•go. Ah, here you come again young friends, by the hun- 
Ircd, by the thousand, aye, by the ten and twenty thous- 
tnd ! What a lot of you! Don’t you enjoy being in so 
Urge a company ? We do. We can’t stop to call the roll 
today. Some will be late perhaps—staying at home to 
Inish up Christmas and New-Year’s. Let’s look out of 
the window, down the road, and see the troops of new 
••hildren, large and small—all so joyous and happy. But 
who's that down the lane there, all alone? Oh, that’s 
Miss “Sly Boots.” 
IVonder wnat she’s up to now ! Some mischief perhaps. 
No. not exactly mischief, there’s more fun than mischief 
her eye. See how she stands with herfingeron her lip 
tarncstly thinking of something. Her mother says “she’s 
10 full of fun it keeps running over.” Well, we like to 
«ee children in good spirits, and we can’t help liking "Sly 
Boots”—she is always so good natured. If any of her 
•layrnat.es arc out of humor with themselves, or with 
'lliers sne gets them into a hearty laugh before they know 
it. But we wish she would leave off some of her mis¬ 
chievous tricks. Though we like her some, we would 
like her still better if we could forget that last Summer 
she made a hen’s nest of her bonnet, shut the chickens in 
the pantry, dropped the kitten in the cistern to see it 
swim, covered the cat up in the churn to hear her mew, 
and, worse than all, hid her mother’s scissors so as to see 
her perplexity in looking after them. Those were bad 
tricks. None should ever make fun for themselves when it 
will give pain or discomfort to others , even to animals. 
That is selfish, and as had, as to appropriate the money of 
others to enhance one's own comfort or enjoyment. But 
our Miss “ Sly Boots ” has talked with us about those 
naughty deeds, and promised to be more careful hereafter; 
and we believe her, for she really felt bad. Still you can 
see she is as frolicsome as ever. Wonder what’s the 
matter with her bonnet? It looks as if it had been a 
hen’s nest again, or she had used it in catching butter¬ 
flies. We are glad to see her appearing so plump and 
healthful. That comes of being active, with plenty of 
out-door exercise, and especially from being always 
cheerful. Good natured, cheerful children, always enjoy 
better health, and are more loved than those who are 
fretful, morose, fault-finding, or quarrelsome. Remem¬ 
ber that, young friends. Now 
we must look after some 
of the lessons for the term, 
and we leave you to guess 
what “ Sly Boots ” is think¬ 
ing of, standing there by the 
lane fence. Can you also 
tell us how she first got her 
name ? Perhaps you know, 
we don’t.Why! why! 
we have been so much taken 
up with the picture, that we 
had forgotten what was first 
and uppermost in our 
thoughts—to wish you, one 
and all, Boys and Girls, 
"A HATPY NEW YEAR ! ” 
and plenty of good things to 
begin it with, and memories 
full of credit marks w hen the 
year closes. It seems but 
as yesterday that we wel¬ 
comed in the year 1659. IIow 
the years fly by. swifter than 
a weaver’s shuttle, which 
you catch but n giimpsc of, 
and it is gone. Yet it left a 
thread as it passed, and each 
thread helps make up the 
fabric. So these year shut¬ 
tles are each contributing 
threads to the life’s fabric. 
As the weaver constantly 
watches the woven cloth, to 
see if there be any broken 
threads, any knots, any poor 
spots, let us examine the 
little threads, the little acts, 
thoughts, feelings, and tem¬ 
pers, and see that there are 
none to mar our character, 
lot us look over ilie work of 
the past year, and ascertain 
where we have failed, and 
resolve to watch more close¬ 
ly hereafter. Let us resolve 
today, that every thread in 
1860, from the very begin¬ 
ning to the end, shall he as 
perfect as possible.... There 
a-e many 
PLEASANT REMEMRRANCES 
connected with the events of 
the past year, in our ow n 
experience. Perhaps nothing 
has pleased us more than to 
read in many letters from 
your parents : “ The chil¬ 
dren love the paper:” and 
especially to receive from 
the boys and girls them 
selves so many good little 
letters. These, and our 
monthly chats, when we 
have sat down, and in ima 
gination called around us a 
vast throng of little folks, 
have been pleasant indeed ( 
I and have lightened many hours of toil and care. There 
have been to us some dark days, as when we were in 
that “ corner,” we told you of ; but every cloud has had 
its silver lining. Still 
SAD MEMORIES 
also come gushing up, as we recall the fact that some of 
those who reechoed our own “ Happy New-'V car ” last 
January, arc not with us to-day. One and another of our 
company, like little Mary we told you about, has been 
called away to join another throng. Some of us will go 
this year. Let us all be ready to go as cheerfully as 
“ Mary” went, and strive, like her, to be ready, having 
always on the spotless garments, purified from the stain 
and filth of sin. and fitted to wear among the dwellers in 
that better land. 
A CAPITAL TRICK THAT ENDED WELL. 
Here is a good story which we have just heard. A 
young man (a brother to “Sly Boots” perhaps, for like 
her he enjoyed a good joke), was studying in college. Ono 
afternoon he w alked out, w ith one of his instructors, and 
they chanced to see an old pair of shoes lying by the side 
of the path, w hich appeared to belong to a poor man at 
