Now what was this all about? I will tell you. When the young imp left the room, as before mentioned, he slipped into the back parlor, turned down the lights, and carried the clock off into the kitchen, where with some Indian ink and a brush he marked on its face half a dozen extra hands. He then replaced the clock on the mantelpiece in the parlor, and returning to the kitchen, procured two small balls of cotton batting, which he soaked in some batter the cook was using for doughnuts, and these he fried till they exactly resembled the genuine article the cook had just made. He had previously let the ladies into the secret, so that when the sleepy beau went into the back parlor to look at the clock, as they took care he should, they perfectly knew the bewildered frame of mind he was in while trying to find out the time. The sister, too, while handing round the doughnuts, managed to reserve the cotton ones for the same gentleman. The next day our hostess received a polite note from the discomfited escort, thanking her for the gift of the doughnut, which he said had been of infinite value to him, as he had given it to a neighbor's dog which kept him awake all night, and the dog had since died. So he took it good-naturedly, after all. [Illustration] THE JOLLY DOG'S PRACTICAL JOKE. 'Twas near dinner-time, and the pudding was hot, Nelly, her cheeks all aglow (The master liked icy-cold pudding), ran out, And popped the dish into the snow. For though on that morn smiling April was born, A snow-heap that March left behind, When he hastened away, in a dark corner lay Of the garden, blown there by the wind. Singing merrily, back to the kitchen went Nell, When a jolly dog came up the lane. "Aha! something good!" and he stopped and he sniffed, Looked around, cocked his ears, sniffed again. Then, the gate being open, he boldly walked in, Going straight to the snowy spot where The dish sat a-cooling--three great gulps he gave, And a pudding no longer was there. Down the stoop flew the maid. "I must now take it in, For I'm sure by this time it is cool." Said the dog, running off, "Pray don't trouble yourself; _I_ have taken it in--April-fool!" [Illustration: OUR POST-OFFICE BOX.] CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE. I wonder if the readers of YOUNG PEOPLE know how delightful the climate and surroundings of Chattanooga are. Near the base of Lookout Mountain, which has grown historical since the war, the views in all directions are magnificent, that from the point on the mountain being the grandest, where one can see places in seven different States. Chattanooga is an Indian word, meaning eagle's nest. PAUL DWIGHT MOROSS. * * * * * TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN.