broad-shouldered and deep-chested, with something in his glance,
his gait, and his manners which showed that he had been born and
bred near the sea. He cultivated a weather-beaten complexion,
and was particularly proud when the skin "peeled" on his nose,
which it usually did in the summer-time, during his visits to his
home in the extreme north. Like most blond people, when
sunburnt, he was red, not brown; and this became a source of
great satisfaction when he learned that Lord Nelson had the same
peculiarity. Albert's favorite books were the sea romances of
Captain Marryat, whose "Peter Simple" and "Midshipman Easy" he
held to be the noblest products of human genius. It was a bitter
disappointment to him that his father forbade his going to sea
and was educating him to be a "landlubber," which he had been
taught by his boy associates to regard as the most contemptible
thing on earth.

Two days before Christmas, Biceps Grimlund was sitting in his
room, looking gloomily out of the window. He wished to postpone
as long as possible his departure for Aunt Elsbeth's
country-place, for he foresaw that both he and she were doomed to
a surfeit of each other's company during the coming fortnight.
At last he heaved a deep sigh and languidly began to pack his
trunk. He had just disposed the dear Marryat books on top of his
starched shirts, when he heard rapid footsteps on the stairs, and
the next moment the door burst open, and his classmate, Ralph
Hoyer, rushed breathlessly into the room.

"Biceps," he cried, "look at this! Here is a letter from my
father, and he tells me to invite one of my classmates to come
home with me for the vacation. Will you come? Oh, we shall have