By three-thirty o’clock he had arranged his toilet, and stood before the mirror giving the finishing twirl to his budding moustache. He brushed his clothing the second time, brushed his hat, and, figuratively speaking, arrayed in purple and fine linen, he sallied forth. He boarded an elevated train bound for the downtown district. On his way down he tried to picture to himself the kind of a girl he should meet at the Hopegoods. Would she be tall or short of stature? Blonde or brunette? Above twenty-one years of age or only sweet sixteen? The quick arrival of the train at Park Place put a period to Brickermann’s reverie. He went tripping across a few blocks to the place where all of his hopes had been centered during the past few hours--in fact, days. Arrived there, he stepped into the front office where “Margie” had formerly presided. It was the same snug and cosy room, but he failed to behold there the eagerly expected young lady. Instead he ran amuck a chubby little boy, with a ruddy face and curly hair, and perhaps not more than fourteen or fifteen years old, sitting in “Margie’s” place. Brickermann was visibly embarrassed. He did not know where to begin or what to say. He twitched nervously at the glove which he carried in his hand, and finally he stammered: “Is--er--Mr. Hopegood in?” “No, sir,” said the boy. “Can I be of any service to you?” Brickermann’s face turned blood red, and great drops of perspiration stood out upon his forehead. The accents of the little boy startled him, for they were the same that had been wafted to him almost daily along the wire and with which he thought he had been enamored. In the midst of his confusion he managed to say, hoping almost against hope that his identity had not been discovered: “Well, er--er--I’ll call again.” And, without waiting to hear the Unseen Charmer speak again, he hastily retired with as good grace as was possible under the circumstances. OUR COUNTRY. Boys and girls, we are all American citizens, the last one of us. This is our country, as much as it is the country of any other race, and we should love it and fight for it as our fathers have loved, fought and died for it on many a battlefield. We may be the descendants of Africans, but we are citizens of the United States. This is our home--our country. Let us believe it, in spite of what some foolish people say. Therefore I am going to give you one or two sentiments which you should learn early in life in order to stimulate your patriotism. 1. May the honor of our country be without stain. 2. May the glory of America never cease to shine. 3. May every American manfully withstand corruption. 4. May reverence for the laws ever predominate in the hearts of the American people. 5. The sons and daughters of America, may their union be cemented by love and affection, and their offspring adorn the stations they are destined to fill. 6. May the growth of the American union never be prevented by party spirit.