Rambles about Portsmouth. Sketches of persons, localities, and incidents of two centuries: principally from tradition and unpublished documents. By Charles W. Brewster.

326 RAMBLES ABOUT PORTSTMOUTH.
a large ball of fire, which separated, one portion taling the
direction of the school-house, the other that of Mr. Jones's
residence, and while nearly blinded and stunned by the
blaze and explosion that followed le was suddenly brought
to consciousness by a heavy blow upon his knee from a
brick still lying upon the door step. There is no more
school for the day, for the lightning has struck in a dozen
places, and the boys are given a holiday to enable them to
take lessons in electricity. Among other locations they
visit the old South Church, and climb the fence on the
opposite side of the way, to get a peep at two promising
spring pigs, which had been brought to an untimely end
by the electric fuid. They think the catastrophe rather of
a comical character, yet it brings to mind a fact the master
endeavored to impress upon thel before they were dismissed for the day, that had the classes recited that morning in
their usual position beneath the belfry, a miracle alone
could have saved some of them from being instantly killed,
RAMBLE CXLI.
Sohool Ilonseo- Iill — School Eooks -- A-unlTselnents --
Slides —~ rs. Maloon's Shop —TIhe Catastrophe —Parson Waltonl's MA. etinlg-I]on se — Services — The B1eloved Disci:p)e.
IF the Brick Sehool House has its agreeable associations
to the school-boys of past and present generations, School
House Hill, the scene of their pastimes in recess hours, is
not forgotten. Pleasant memories of the.old play-ground
have been borne away to every spot on the globe where
thehomes ofcivilization are seen, or commerce has extended its enterprise. We have recently seen a venera