THE PATCHWORK SCHOOL.


Once upon a time there was a city which possessed a very celebrated
institution for the reformation of unruly children. It was, strictly
speaking, a Reform School, but of a very peculiar kind.

It had been established years before by a benevolent lady, who had a
great deal of money, and wished to do good with it. After thinking a
long time, she had hit upon this plan of founding a school for the
improvement of children who tried their parents and all their friends
by their ill behavior. More especially was it designed for ungrateful
and discontented children; indeed it was mainly composed of this last
class.

There was a special set of police in the city, whose whole duty was to
keep a sharp lookout for ill-natured fretting children, who complained
of their parents' treatment, and thought other boys and girls were
much better off than they, and to march them away to the school. These
police all wore white top boots, tall peaked hats, and carried sticks
with blue ribbon bows on them, and were very readily distinguished.
Many a little boy on his way to school has dodged round a corner to
avoid one, because he had just been telling his mother that another
little boy's mother gave him twice as much pie for dinner as he had.
He wouldn't breathe easy till he had left the white top boots out of
sight; and he would tremble all day at every knock on the door.

There was not a child in the city but had a great horror of this
school, though it may seem rather strange that they should; for the
punishment, at first thought, did not seem so very terrible. Ever