stantly from a sore lip; during which suffering he is given surreptitiously to relapse into a silent rest, holding his instrument in his mouth with a beautiful correctness in the angle, and blowing out his cheeks so naturally that, if I chance to look, the sight takes my breath more than my cornet does.

I dropped behind presently, and walked beside Behr for the boys' sakes. There is a good deal of trouble sometimes in keeping the peace where Behr is concerned; but still the comfort of our wandering life depends so much upon peace, that no trouble is too great to make it worth my while to take it. 'I wouldn't have your temper, Cello, for all your height and magnificent proportions,' would be the occasional remark of the cheerful little trombonist, whose height is just five feet and who weighs scarcely eight stone.

We pushed on along the snowy road, bending our heads before the cutting wind, and trying all kinds of experiments to keep the life in our fingers, and to keep away depressing thoughts. The short winter day would soon close in, and we had but a poor prospect of a night's rest and refreshment. Times had been bad with us ever since the severe weather set in, and we had no money left of our store. The few pence now in our possession would not pay even for beds to-night, and it began to look as if we were not to earn any more.

'How much have we got altogether, Leader?' inquired Behr, making a dead pause before a little snow-roofed tavern, the very sight of which was enough to aggravate our weariness and hunger.

'Ninepence,' I answered, and my voice was heavy enough.

'A very unusual state of affairs, as well as depressing,' put in Peter promptly; 'and being so long since it happened before, we have every reason to feel that it will be years before it can happen again.'

'Therefore,' said I, let us go in and enjoy what we can afford, and leave the future to fate.'

'We can, at any rate, warm our noses,' added Peter, whose mode of warming his nose was to take up a central position on the hearth with his back to the fire.

'O, Leader,' whispered Karlschen, looking on into the warm kitchen, with longing eyes and lips, 'I should so like some tea.'

'Three pints of spiced sixpenny.' That was the order Behr gave roughly as he passed in. 'That's best for all of us,' he added to me, in a tone that might have been meant to be a bit of an apology.

I did not dissent, for I saw that circumstances were very much against his recovering his good humour even with the aid of warm spiced ale.

'Now, boys, get a good warm,' I said. I wished we could afford them tea-ay, and plenty of bread-and-butter with it toobut I knew that the ale would do them good, though they shouldn't care for it.

THIRD SERIES, VOL. V. F.S. VOL. XXV.

I I

'Put that down. It isn't for babies like you.'

Fritz was taking the tankard from Peter, after it had been round to the others, when Behr's words startled us.

'He

'Leave the child alone, Cello,' put in Peter, leaving the tankard with Fritz and resuming his standing place upon the hearth. has as good a right to it as we have. He plays as much and walks as far. Beer I believe to be as acceptable to youth as to age.' 'There's little enough,' grumbled Behr, 'without these infants making it less.'

They deserve at any rate half as much as we have ourselves,' I said.

Then measure it out to them,' replied Behr, addressing me sulkily, or you may be pretty sure they'll take more.'

'You drink, Karlschen,' said Fritz, passing the cup to his little brother; I don't care about any.'

'I'm not going to stand that,' commented Peter promptly; nor are you, Leader, I see. Clarry, what do you say about it?' As you see, we had fallen into a habit of calling each other after our instruments.

'I don't mind. Settle it as you like,' returned Heiner pathetically, as he stooped over the fire, most practically warming his nose, which was very red indeed.

'Bah,' retorted Peter, with good-humoured impatience, 'bah, Clarry, I would be a friend or a foe, else I'd be neither.'

While I was wondering what Peter considered Heiner to be, if not a friend or a foe or neither, Behr went up to the children. At the same moment the tankard fell with a crash to the floor, and the ale ran smoking along the boards. Whether Karlschen was frightened when he saw Behr coming to take it from him, or whether the child's hands were too cold to hold it, I don't know; I only saw that the greater half of our warm beverage was flowing at our feet, and that there was no help for it now.

'I didn't do it,' cried Karlschen, catching in his breath, and looking up frightened into Behr's wrathful face. Fritz, you tell that I didn't do it.'

I really don't think the lad knew this was a cowardly speech, because Fritz always had taken all blame from his timid little brother, and always would..

Can he ?' sneered Behr. Then he did it himself; so there! dealing Fritz a sharp blow on the head.

'Hold hard, Cello,' cried Peter. Even a box on the ear loses its point when given undeserved.'

I should box the other baby,' rejoined Behr carelessly, 'only he's too small to make it worth my while.'

All the better, Karlschen, eh ?' the little trombonist said, still determined to take it good-humouredly, as he drew the tearful lad