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330 ries worked at it until the meat was reached inside, and they never left it until every bit of the kernel was taken out. To Chip, who was very fond of good living, this was a happy season indeed. He ate and ate until he grew so fat lie could hardly stir. When he got his stomach full, he would stuff his cheeks with the rich meats and carry them about in that way until he thought he could force them down his throat. Oh ! he Avas a sad glutton in those days 5 this little Chip. Os course, as he grew fat he got lazy and stupid. Friskey talked to him; she told him that the cold weather was coming, and soon the siioav would cover the ground, and then they could get nothing whatever to eat, and she thought they ought to commence to lay in a store of food. But it was all in vain ; so she gathered what nuts she could by herself, and laid them away down in the lower story of the house : and she carried in grass, and mosses, and leaves, and made herself that warm winter bed which Chip had talked so sweetly about in the spring-time. “And didn’t he help her one bit?” I hear some little boy or girl saying in surprise. No, I’m sorry to say he did not; and when she got it all done it was very cold weather. Then Chip looked at it, (he was so fat he could hardly see out of his eyes,) and said he was so tired and sleepy he guessed he’d go to bed, So he threw himself doAvn in Friskey’s soft bed and rolled himself up into a little fur ball, and all in a mi nute fell into a sleep from which he didn't waken for several weeks. As for Friskey, there were signs of a snow storm in the air, and she was busy filling up the Avindowand the two doors with dry leaves. When this was done, and the care Avas off her mind, she be gan to feel sleepy too, for cold Aveather always makes nut-crackers drowsy, and so she crept into the bed, folded up her little paws and laid her bushy tail up over her back to keep it warm, and soon was sound asleep also. The snow came next day, as she ex pected, though neither of the little sleepers knew anything about it. They didn’t know how it Avas piled up out side, reaching several feet above their heads, and they didn’t see it melting slowly aAvay, for they did not wake until the earth was almost bare again. One night, after they had slept about four months, Chip was startled by a great creaking all through the house, and he wakened Friskey right away to keep him company. After listening aAvhile to the noise, they decided that it was a March Avind blowing which caus ed their house to shake and tremble, and were very fearful that it might be torn up by the roots. However, the wind passed away in the morning and were not harmed. When their fright Avas over, both the nut-crackers felt very hungry, and both of them found BURKE’S WEEKLY FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. they had grown very lean during their long sleep. So they began to eat the nuts Avhich had been laid away in the fall, and which lasted but a single day. Poor Friskey ! she thought she had gathered a great plenty; but she was so young she couldn’t tell, of course, lioav many would be needed. When these Avere gone, they laid themselves down and tried to go to sleep ; but no! they were Avide awake norv, and must have some thing to eat or starve. So Chip had to get up and go out in the cold, and of the trouble which this brought upon him and Friskey, I will tell you next week. Children's Hour. - Written for Burke’s Weekly. Songs of Mercy. —No. 3. “The tender mercies of are wicked are cruel." Tune — Hebron. ' Leads on to do a cruel deed: Jk p To tease or cause some Avanton smart, fOr make’a helpless creature bleed. How wrong, in sport to take away The life which God in goodness gave; Or maim poor insects, though in play, And spoil the happiness they have. Oh, how can any love to see A poor dumb creature suffer death ; To watch it writhe in agony,| And 3ee it gasp aAvay its breath. How sad that one should thus proceed To harden more a hardened heart! And this is what he does indeed Who in such cruelty takes part. How can we hope that such a child Can e’er to Heav’n, to Jesus go I No! He is merciful and mild, And cruel tempers lead to woe. 0, may we all sweet Mercy seek, And Avalk in her delightful ways ; Then shall our spirits grow more meek, And gild with peace our latter days. Sidney Herbert. Clayton, Alabama, 1870. Love to a Mother. A little boy, the son of a poor widow, once repeated to his teacher four chap ters in the Testament. A gentlemau Avho was present was so much pleased that he called him to him, and gave him the choice of a pair of blankets for his mother, ora suit of clothes for him self. Although he was dressed in rags, and greatly needed a neAv suit, he at once chose the blankets. The gentleman then gave him the clothes too as a re- Avard for his kindness to his poor mother. A Passive Verb, “A passive verb,” said a teacher, “ is expressive of the nature of receiv ing an action, as‘Peter is beaten.’ Now what did Peter do?” “ Well, I don’t know,” said the schol ar, deliberating, “unless he hollered.” Very likely. Written for Burke’s Weekly. THE ADVENTURES OF BIG-FOOT WALLACE, The Texas Hanger and Hunter. By the Author of “ Jack Dobell; or, A Boy's Adventures in Texas." CHAPTER XLII. ENCAMPMENT AT THE WATER HOLE WRETCHED APPEARANCE OF THE MEN MARCH BACK TO SALTILLO —MEXICAN VERMIN —IIOAV AVALLACE AVAS DRESSED —MEXICAN VEGETATION —THE TIGER THORN —CONFLICTING RUMORS. fHEN at length we came to the water, (which was contained in a sort of artificial tank or reservoir,) we were led down to it under guard, and only permitted to drink for a feAv moments; but before they suc ceeded in “ horning me off” I am con fident I secured at least a gallon “ un der my belt.” But I experienced no bad results from having drank so free ly ; on the contrary, my strength Avas rapidly restored to me from that mo ment. Here we found encamped the main body of the Mexican cavalry that had been sent in pursuit of us. The wretch ed appearance we presented seemed to touch, to some extent, even the callous hearts of our enemies, and Avith the ex ception of again tying us together in pairs, they offered us no indignity. In truth, Ave were as Avoe-begone a looking set of “ scare-crows ” as Avere ever con gregated together, I suppose, at one time. Some were without hats, some without shoes, and one could scarcely tell from the shreds of clothing that still hung about us to what garments they originally belonged. I noticed one fellow who was hatless, and with but one shoe on, Avith one leg of his pantaloons torn entirely off, and nothing left of his coat except the col lar and sleeve., and a few little strips of the lining still dangling behind his back. Our beards were rough and unshaven, and our matted and uncombed locks hung down in “ swads ” around our faces, pinched and sharpened by long abstinence from food and water, from out of which our sunken holloAv eyes glared with a wild and demoniac ex pression not at all pleasant or assuring to the beholder. We remained at this tank or water hole for three days, during which time most of the men that had Avandered off from us in the mountains, singly or in squads, Avere hunted up by the Mexicans and brought into camp. Only thirteen, I think, Avere missing, and as nothing was ever afterwards heard from fjiem, it is reasonable to suppose they ulti mately perished from thirst, and no doubt their bones are bleaching to this day in some of the dreary gulches and ravines of those inhospitable mountains from which we had made such a narrow escape ourselves. Early on the morning of the fourth day, Ave were told by our guard to pre pare for the march, and in a few mo ments they started off with us on the road towards Saltillo. To prevent all chance of another “up rising ” on our part, (of which they seemed to be continually in dread,) they tied our hands securely behind us with raw-hide thongs, and thus “ hampered” we had to march all the way back to Saltillo. I never knew before how necessary a free use of the arms was, to enable one to Avalk with ease and celerity. A twen ty miles march with our arms pinioned down in this Avay, fatigued us as much as twice the distance would have done if they had been unfettered. We were several days on the road, during which time nothing of interest that I remember now occurred. On our arrival at Saltillo, we were taken again to our old quarters, in which Ave Avere once more securely fastened up and closely guarded. I had been but a day or so in these dirty barracks Avhen I fully appreciated the extent of the misfortune I had met with in the loss of my fine-tooth comb. And here I may as well say to over sensitive readers, that perhaps it would be as well for them to skip to the bot tom of this chapter, as it is not my Avish or intention to say anything offensive to “ears polite,” but I have started out with the determination of telling my story my OAvn way, and I must do it, or abandon the attempt altogether. With this fair warning, I shall resume the story of what I endured from the loss of my fine-tooth comb. Vermin swarmed in countless num bers in the miserable quarters in Avhich we were confined. Even the bare floors at times were thickly covered Avith them. Our Mexican guard did not seem to mind them much ; in fact, I rather think they liked them, and that, in some way or other, they Avere abso lutely necessary to their health and comfort. I verily believe if one of them had been suddenly freed from all sorts of the vermin with which they were in fested, that he would have slept sound ly for a week afterwards. They never use a comb, and of course it is only the larger and overgroAvn felloivs they suc ceed in capturing by the primitive me thod of “looking each others' heads.’ These they “crack” between their teeth, apparently with much gusto and relish, by Avay, I suppose, of retaliation —“bite for bite.” For want of a comb myself, I was compelled to have my hair cut off short and permit my finger nails to groAV un trimmed. With these I became so ex pert, after long practice, that 1 could rake out a fellow above a certain size