“THE AIMWELL STORIES” are designed to portray some of the leading phases of juvenile character, and to point out their tendencies to future good and evil. This they undertake to do, by describing the quiet, natural scenes and incidents of every-day life, in city and country, at home and abroad, at school and upon the play-ground, rather than by resorting to romantic adventures and startling effects. While their main object is to persuade the young to lay well the foundations of their characters, to win them to the ways of virtue, and to incite them to good deeds and noble aims, the attempt is also made to mingle amusing, curious, and useful information with the moral lessons conveyed. It is hoped that the volumes will thus be made attractive and agreeable, as well as instructive, to the youthful reader. Each volume of the “Aimwell Stories” will be complete and independent of itself, although a connecting thread will run through the whole series. The order of the volumes, so far as completed, is as follows: I. OSCAR; OR, THE BOY WHO HAD HIS OWN WAY. II. CLINTON; OR, BOY-LIFE IN THE COUNTRY. III. ELLA; OR, TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF. IV. WHISTLER; OR, THE MANLY BOY. V. MARCUS; OR, THE BOY-TAMER. (_In Preparation._) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENTS. -------------- CHAPTER I. A VACATION JOURNEY. PAGE The last bell—The man who was too 17 late—Underway—Going down the harbor—Whistler—How he came by his name—Mr. Preston—Ella and Emily—Supper—Scrabbling and rudeness—An overheard remark—How American voracity strikes a foreigner—Whistler’s resolution—Turning in—The berths—The boot-black—Lying awake—Morning naps—The river—Pleasant scenery—Breakfast at the tavern—The stage-coach ride—Cross Roads—Clinton—The journey’s end, CHAPTER II. LOOKING ABOUT. The Davenport family—Whistler’s 28 cousins—Surveying the premises—The house—The shop—Tools—Clinton’s skill—The barn—Rye—Verdancy—The swine—Clinton’s fowls—How he managed them—The patch of corn—A partnership proposed—The other side of the account—The kitchen garden—Working on shares—The secret of Clinton’s success—His studies—The ducks and their home—Geography of Brookdale—Map of the town, CHAPTER III.