wasn't that a jump!"-"By Jove! he'll certainly break his neck!"-" Get out of the way, Melville!"— "President Nh, take care! he must be wild!”— "What a bound that was!"

Such were the shouts which were heard from a hundred voices, until the two friends spied Old Sassy with his cans, quietly looking on, shouting, laughing, and encouraging the wild students in their exciting chase.

"Ha! ha!" said Old Sassy, "don't he jump! Don't he go it strong! What's that on his tail? Whose horse is he?"

"Sassy, you appear to enjoy the tormenting of that poor dumb beast amazingly," said Melville. "I should laugh out of the other side of my cheek, if I were in your situation.'

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"Why, Mr. Melville? ha! ha! See him shake his head. How he froths at the mouth! Why so, Mr. Melville?"

"Simply, Sassy, because in my opinion that horse belongs to you."

"No! does it?" said he, looking very intensely at the infuriated animal, and turning pale. "Yes! it is my jack! Whoa! whoa! Catch him! catch him!" he now shouted at the top of his voice. "Catch my jack!"

Then dropping both of the candy cans, yoke and all upon the ground, he was soon the most eager party engaged in the chase.

Melville quietly picked up the cans; and, everybody being so intensely occupied with the horse, he succeeded in conveying them into the South Hall of the Middle College, where, in the fourth story, his room was situated. He then went down among the

students, and picking out about twenty of his particular friends, sent them one by one to his chambers. In ten minutes the cans were emptied of their luscious contents, and the facts about the horse were duly promulgated. Melville's friends immediately voted the whole affair to be a consistent and eminently proper judgment upon the audacious Sassy. (Not one among them, by the way, who did not fear the presentation of an act daily.) In the meantime, the candy peddler had caught his horse, and brought him exactly beneath Melville's window, where he commenced shaking his fist at the whole body of students, and vociferating terrible vengeance upon the perpetrators of the dastardly act.

"Griswold," said Melville, "I am astonished to hear such foul language uttered right in the presence of our well-beloved, the faithful President of this time-honored institution of learning. Descend, most worthy friend, and clear the stone steps below my hall window of all that wear the shape of manhood!"

Griswold, comprehending Melville's object, ran down stairs, and soon had the steps clear. One of the students, at Melville's request, then dropped the cans from the window on to the steps. Such a procedure would frighten a sane horse. It is not strange, considering the wild condition which Sassy's animal had involuntarily assumed, that he immediately concluded the noise was a signal for him to run again. Such, indeed, I am sorry the reader must learn, was the result; and, it was more than an hour before he could again be secured. But the poor peddler had not learned the half of his woes. His wagon-but we must commence a new chapter for the wagon.

III.

"Wait for the wagon."

"WHERE'S my wagon? Has any one seen my harness? What have they done with the buggy?"

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Come, Tam, I perceive the quadrupedem is properly subdued. It is time for the second step in our arduous undertaking."

It was now nearly twelve o'clock, meridian. The two friends, having carefully examined the course and finding everything clear, went to the Chapel. In a few minutes the bell-ringer sounded the bell, announcing to the hungry students that the sun had arrived at the zenith. As soon as this duty was performed, the faithful monitor of the hour started to appease his hunger.

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"Well, George, F-x has locked his door; what shall be done now?"

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"F-x has dared to mar our plan, and so we, of necessity, must mar his door. This is the only access to our wagon."

In a few moments the door was broken in. The two went up to the belfry, and with a rope fastened the bell-clapper to a part of the wagon. Of course, when the bell-ringer should strike the hour for the afternoon recitation, which was four o'clock, the bell would not sound, and the wagon would be discovered. But long ere that, Melville well knew, the

whole energies of the College Faculty would be aroused in search after the wagon; for, at least, they would fear they might become liable for its loss. The announcement, therefore, of its discovery would bring all who were engaged in the search to the Chapel. This would be likely to get up considerable excitement. There would occur, necessarily, some delay in ringing the bell; all of which led the two friends to the conclusion that perhaps the students, with a very little help from them, might be collected in front of the chapel; in which case, the whole would result in the different professors dismissing their classes for the day.

Such a consummation would make the whole affair popular, even with the more sober-minded students, and tend to allay any serious consequences to themselves in case of exposure. The finale was even better than they had planned. The peddler cried so piteously about the loss of his wagon, harness, and candy; the bruising of his cans and injury to his horse, that the Faculty held a special meeting, and sent a committee to have the students requested to find the wagon. Of course, Griswold and Melville were very ardent in their efforts to discover it. When the hour of four arrived, no one thought of recitation. The wagon was yet undiscovered. A few minutes after the hour for recitation had passed, Melville, now all heated with his earnest endeavors to discover the hidden property, suggested to the President that every nook and corner of the college had been visited by him except the belfry; at the same time handing him a small piece of the harness, which he discovered had been dropped by himself when the wagon was pulled up upon the roof.

"This strap," said he to the President, "I found close by the side of the chapel in the grass, and the candy peddler says it belongs to his harness."

"Will you please to ask Mr. F-x to allow you to go through his room," said the President.

But Mr. F-x was not to be found.

"What!" said the President, "is not Mr. F-x to be found?"

"No, sir," echoed half-a-dozen, who, by this time, had visited the belfry; "the door of his room is broken in."

The wagon, now, had also been discovered. But the Faculty and students were filled with anxiety at the most unaccountable disappearance of the bellringer. He had been appointed to the position, there being a small sinecure connected with it, on account of his acknowledged worth and correct morals. The President expressed great fears lest some violence had been done him, when, suddenly, fifty voices cried out:

"There he comes! Here comes F-x! Here comes the bell-ringer!"

And sure enough, Mr. F-x now appeared upon the scene. He could give no explanation about the door or the wagon. To exonerate himself from blame for his absence, he produced the following

note:

"MR. F-x:

"HAMILTON COLLEGE, July 11th, 18-.

"Dear Sir-I am greatly in need of certain papers in the hands of Hon. J A—Sr, at the City of Utica. Will you please favor me by going to Clinton, hiring a horse and buggy, and proceeding forthwith to Utica. You have ample time to return before the afternoon recitation. Inclosea please find a three dollar ($3) bill, for your Yours very truly,

expenses.