« Achusetts’s Ride to Philadelphia.” 243

fell off He wasn’t hurt in the least, for he fell
on around soft newspaper. Stopping a moment
to hear the news, he hopped nimbly down on to a
thin foreign-looking letter.

“Where are you going?” said Achusetts.

“To Germany,” was the answer, proudly
given.

“Then, upon my word, I think I will join you,”
said Achusetts, ‘and I am very glad that I hap-
pened to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mutual,” said the German
letter, politely, “but as to taking you with me to
Germany, that I cannot do. I am sorry, but you
see, it costs a great deal of money to go there.
My poor master had to give five cents to pay my
passage over, and it would be a great imposition,
if you were to join me.”

Achusetts, although disappointed, saw the force
of this reasoning, and wishing the traveller a pleas-
ant voyage, left him. Achusetts had never been
in a letter-box before, and found much to interest
him. New letters kept dropping in, through the
one door, and as they all talked at once, it soon