V.--If you live in a neighborhood where there are a number of reckless boys, do not fail to wear a mask. Reckless boys do not look where they throw their lighted crackers, as a rule, and it has happened that innocent little fellows have had their noses burned by the carelessness of others. A mask will save the bridge of your nose, and of course you all know that if the bridge of your nose is burned it is a hard thing to get over.
VI.--Do not throw your torpedoes at the poor little cats that wander forlornly about. The poor little cats are so soft that the torpedoes merely hurt them, without going off, so that neither you nor the cats can possibly enjoy the fun of it.
VII.--Keep on the right side of the cook. Do not irritate her, and give her to understand that she is the dearest, nicest old cook in the world, for she is the custodian of all the empty lard and mustard cans in the house; and when you come right down to it, there is more fun and noise to be had out of a bundle of fire-crackers set off in a lard or mustard can than in two packs touched off in the open air. And what is more, if you burn your fingers she will in most cases be the person you can reach the quickest, and who will soothe your trouble and pain by putting flour and butter on your blisters.
VIII.--Be careful where you lay your lighted pieces of punk. The writer once put a lighted piece of punk on the floor of the back piazza, and, forgetting it, sat down upon it five minutes later. There was an explosion right away, of grief.
IX.--Be generous to your little girl friends. Remember that when your fire-crackers have given out they may have some torpedoes left.
X.--When night comes on, no matter how early in the morning you may have got up, remember not to get sleepy. The best part of the Fourth of July, after all, is in the sky-rockets and roman-candles and pin-wheels.
XI.--Do not under any circumstances set off sissers in the palm of your hand. The writer did that once, and he has really never enjoyed the Fourth of July since.
XII.--And, finally, don't forget that you are an American who will some day be a man or woman, and try to do things on the Fourth which, when you get to be a man or a woman, will make you proud of the day, yourself, and your country. This hint is, after all, the most important one of all, and if you will ask your uncles or your aunts or your dear old grandmothers to tell you all about it--the day, how it came to be, and what it means--_now_, a week or two before the day dawns, you will enjoy it all the more, and will be happy to think that you live in the land which is the only one that celebrates "the glorious Fourth."