SOBER JOHN. 63

the sled, and told the boys to haul him
along.

“'The boys grasped the string again, and
began to pull and prance like so many
young ponies. They trotted through the
garden gate, which was always open in the
winter, and down through the great pear-
tree alley, until at length, out through the
back gate, they came to the top of the hill.

“The coast, as the boys called their sli-
ding place, was well worn and smooth, and
there had been, just before, a rain and a frost
after it, which had made the road almost as
hard and smooth as ice, and the pond was
covered with ice from one end to the other.
John stopped the jolly-boat at the top of the
hill, and drew back therope. He placed him-
self at the stern, and took hold of the tiller.

““¢Now,’ said John, ‘who takes passage
with me to the Mediterranean ? ’

‘Some of the boys were at first afraid to
get on; but at length they all concluded to
venture, and they arranged themselves one
before the other, little George behind, so
that he might learn how to steer. When
all was ready, they tried to start it off, the
boys all working their heels in the snow, to