Oscar; Or, The Boy Who Had His Own Way

It was soon evident that the air of Brookdale agreed with Oscar. He was fast gaining his strength, and the increased fulness and color of his countenance betokened returning hea...

"Well, you ought to write," added Mr. Preston; "your mother told you to, and I suppose she has been looking for a letter every day for a week or more. It's over a fortnight sinc...

Mrs. Lee, the grandmother of the Preston children, remained with the family for several weeks, after Thanksgiving. Her visit was, on the whole, a pleasant one, though there were...

Oscar almost repented of his offer when he discover ed that there was no wood split. However, he took the axe and split a few logs, and carried them into the kitchen. Jerry had...

The next day was Saturday. Oscar was off most of the day with his comrades, among whom he was quite a lion for the time. During one of the brief intervals that he was in the hou...

Thanksgiving-Day had come. Among the multitude of good things it brought with it, not the least important, in the eyes of the children, was a visit from their grandmother, Mrs....

"You have got a bad cold, Oscar," said Mrs. Preston one evening towards the close of winter, as Oscar came in from his play, and was seized with a coughing spell. "And no wonder...

Oscar was bent upon going a-gunning. He had allowed his mind to dwell upon the idea, until it seemed to him as though he could no longer resist the impulse to play the sportsman...

The next morning the air was extremely raw and chilly, and there were strong indications of rain. Oscar's uncle and aunt advised him so earnestly not to expose himself to the co...

Oscar had reason to remember the first time he went down stairs, after his fit of sickness. It was in the night-time. He awoke, feeling quite hungry; for he was yet kept on a sp...

The long summer vacation had now commenced. Oscar wished to spend it at Brookdale, but his parents did not seem much inclined to yield to his wishes. They had not yet fully dete...

The morning after the events just related, as Ralph was on his way to school, he fell in with Willie Davenport, or "Whistler," as he was often sportively called, by his playmate...

The Sabbath came, and a fine autumnal day it was. Oscar's thoughts were with Alfred, and the boys whose acquaintance he had made the afternoon previous; but there was little cha...

One of Oscar's most intimate companions was a boy of about his own age, named Alfred Walton, who attended the same school with him. Alfred's father was dead; but he had a step-f...

"Oscar," said Mrs. Preston, sharply, "I told you to get it, and do you obey me, this minute. Bridget has worked hard all day, and Ralph has already had to do several errands and...

Those who impose upon the weak, sometimes get punished for their meanness in an unexpected manner. This truth was very effectually impressed upon Oscar, one March morning, as he...

The school which Oscar attended was held in a large and lofty brick building, a short distance from the street on which he lived. His brothers attended the same school, but his...

Oscar had the name among his fellows of being a shrewd and sharp boy at a bargain; and, like too many men who have acquired a similar reputation, he was not over-scrupulous in h...

upon the ice. He would slide some distance before he could change his course. Oscar would often plague him, when he was in full chase after his master, by suddenly turning upon...

Oscar's valise was well packed for his journey, and many were the injunctions given him by his mother, in regard to his conduct during his absence from home. The morning for his...

Bridget, the Irish servant girl, had finished the house-work for the day, and sat down to do a little mending with her needle. The fire in the range, which for hours had sent fo...

It was now mid-winter, and a few inches of snow lay upon the frozen ground, sufficient to make pretty fair sleighing for a few days, and to afford good coasting for the boys on...

Vacation--Associates--Edward Mixer--His character--Loitering around railroad depôts--An excursion into the country--The railroad bridge--Fruit--A fine garden--Getting over the f...

Forgotten medicine and renewed health--An excursion planned--A gun wanted, but denied--Setting out on a long tramp--Swamps--Upland--Brooks--How Brookdale got its name--Cutting c...

Coasting--Oscar's sled--Borrowing and lending--A merry scene on the Common--Various sleds and characters--A collision--Damage to Ralph and the "Clipper"--Not accidental--The gui...

The missing cap--Splitting wood--Jerry and Emily--A quarrel begun--The cap found--A drink of buttermilk--Oscar's opinion of it--Jerry's love for it--Another delay--Feeding the f...

A forgotten duty called to mind--Letter writing--A mysterious allusion--The private room--No backing out--Making a beginning--Getting stuck--Idling away time--Prying into letter...

Grandmother's arrival--Surprises--Presents--Oscar at a shooting-match--Bad company--Cruel sport--Home again--Prevarication--A remonstrance--Impudence, and a silent rebuke--The d...

Whistler--Why Ralph liked him--Why Oscar disliked him--A caution--A sudden attack--An unexpected rescue--The stranger's advice--A brave and manly answer--Whistler refuses to exp...

One of her habits--Ella's complaint--Alice's reproof--Ella's rude reply to her grandmother--A mild rebuke--A sterner reproof--Shame and repentance--Popping corn--George's selfis...

Hankerings after a gun--A plan--Jim Oakley's gun--A dispute--An open rupture--The broken gun--Going home mad--A call from Clinton--The toiler--Summons home--Disappointment--Bad...

Oscar's dread of going to school--Unsuccessful pleas--Oscar at school--His indifference to his studies--A "talent for missing"--A reproof--Kicking a cap--Whistler's generosity--...

Oscar's school--The divisions and classes--Lively and pleasant sights--Playing schoolmaster--Carrying the joke too far to be agreeable--Oscar's indolence in school--Gazing at th...

A compulsory ride--Merited retribution--A sad plight for a proud boy--Laughter and ridicule--Oscar's neatness and love of dress--The patched jacket--Oscar's objections to it--Be...

Hunger--An evil suggestion--First visit down stairs--Midnight supper--Weakness and exhaustion--An ill turn--The doctor's visit--The mystery explained--Contents of a sick boy's s...

A dull morning--New acquaintances--Inquiries about Jerry's school-time--A long vacation--Work--Playmates--Rain--A fine sunrise--The distant pond--A call to breakfast--Preliminar...

The Sabbath--Uneasiness--Monday morning--A pressing invitation to play truant--Hesitation--The decision--Oscar's misgivings--Manners of the two travellers--A small theft--Flight...

Setting out--A long and wearisome ride--Portland--The hotel--Going to bed--The queer little lamp--Lonesomeness--The evening prayer--Morning--Breakfast--The railroad depôt--Oscar...

Wet feet--A command disobeyed--Dabbling in the water--Playing on the ice--An unexpected adventure--Afloat on an ice-cake--A consultation--Danger and alarm--Spectators--A call fo...

Alfred Walton--His home--Hotel acquaintances--Coarse stories and jokes--Andy--His peculiarities--Tobacco--A spelling lesson--The disappointment--Anger--Bright and her family--Fu...

A command--Passing it along--Reluctant obedience--A poor excuse--A bad habit--Employment for vacation--Oscar's opposition to the plan--Frank the errand-boy--Thanksgiving week--A...

Oscar's shrewdness--His reputation for integrity--A new want--Perplexity--A chance for speculation--A dishonest device--Its success--Secrecy--The fraud discovered--Oscar's defen...

Bridget and her little realm--A troop of rude intruders--An imperious demand--A flat refusal--Prying investigations--Biddy's displeasure aroused--Why Oscar could not find the pi...