"It requires great care to put on a tire in such a manner, as to give it just the right degree of force to bind the wheel strongly together, without straining it." [Illustration: THE TIRE.] As soon as the tire became of the right temperature, the men took it up again with the pairs of tongs--taking hold with them at different sides of it--and then they put it down carefully over the wheel.

The wheel immediately began to smoke on all sides.

In one or two places it burst into a flame.

The blacksmith, however, paid no attention to this, but with a hammer, which he held in his hand, he knocked it down into its place, all around the rim; then he took up a brown pitcher full of water, which was standing near, and began to pour the water on, walking round and round the wheel as he did it, so as to extinguish the flames in every part and cool the iron.

When this process was completed, Forester and Marco walked on.
"Let me see," said Forester, "where did I leave off, Marco, in my account of the growth of a village?
I was telling you about the blacksmith's shop, I believe." "Yes," said Marco.
"The next thing to the blacksmith's shop, in the history of a New England village," said Forester, "is generally a store.