Lesson 1.  An Adventure with a Shark.

1. Our noble ship lay at anchor in the Bay of Tangiers, a town in the northwestern part of Africa.
2. The day had been very mild, with a gentle breeze sweeping to the northward and westward. Toward the close of the day the seabreeze died away, and hot, sultry breathings came from the great, sunburnt desert of Sahara.
3. Half an hour before sundown, the captain gave the cheering order to call the hands to "go in swimming;" and, in less than five minutes, the forms of our sailors were seen leaping from the arms of the lower yards into the water.
4. One of the sails, with its corners fastened from the mail yardarm and the swinging boom, had been lowered into the water, and into this most of the swimmers made their way.
5. Among those who seemed to be enjoying the sport most heartily were two boys, one of whom was the son of our old gunner; and, in a laughing mood, they started out from the sail on a race.
6. There was a loud ringing shout of joy on their lips as they put off; they darted through the water like fishes. The surface of the sea was smooth as glass, though its bosom rose in long, heavy swells that set in from the ocean.
7. One of the buoys which was attached to the anchor, to show where it lay, was far away on the starboard quarter, where it rose and fell with the lazy swell of the waves.
8. Towards this buoy the two lads made their way, the old gunner's son taking the lead; but, when they were within about sixty yards of the buoy, the other boy shot ahead and promised to win the race.
9. The old gunner had watched the progress of his son with great pride; and when he saw him drop behind, he leaped upon the quarter-deck, and was just upon the point of urging him on by a shout, when a cry was heard that struck him with instant horror.
10. "A shark! a shark!" shouted the officer of the deck; and, at the sound of those terrible words, the men who were in the water, leaped and plunged toward the ship.
11. Three or four hundred yards away, the back of a monster shark was seen cleaving the water. Its course was for the boys.
12. For a moment the gunner stood like one who had lost his reason; then he shouted at the top of his voice for the boys to turn; but they heard him not.
13. Stoutly the two swimmers strove, knowing nothing of the danger from the shark. Their merry laughter still rang over the waters, as they were both nearing the buoy.
14. O, what anxiety filled the heart of the gunner! A boat had put off, but he knew it could not reach the boys in time to prevent the shark from overtaking them.
15. Every moment he expected to see the monster sink from sight, -- then he knew all hope would be gone. At this moment a cry was heard on board the ship, that reached every heart, -- the boys had discovered their enemy.
16. The cry startled the old gunner, and, quicker than thought, he sprung from the quarter-deck. The guns were all loaded and shotted, fore and aft, and none knew their temper better than he.
17. With steady hand, made strong by sudden hope, the old gunner pricked the cartridge of one of the quarter guns; then he took from his pocket a percussion cap, fixed it on its place, and set back the hammer of the gunlock.
18. With great exertions, the old man turned the heavy gun to its bearing, and then seizing the string of the lock, he stood back and watched for the next swell that would bring the shark in range. He had aimed the piece some distance ahead of his mark; but yet a moment would settle his hopes and fears.
19. Every breath was hushed, and every heart in that old ship beat painfully. The boat was yet some distance from the boys, while the horrid seamonster was fearfully near.
20. Suddedly the silence was broken by the roar of the gun; and, as the old man knew his shot was gone, he covered his face with his hands, as if afraid to see the result. If he had failed, he knew that his boy was lost.
21. For a moment after the report of the gun had died away upon the air, there was an unbroken silence; but, as the thick smoke arose from the surface of the water, there was, at first, a low murmur breaking from the lips of the men, -- that murmur grew louder and stronger, till it swelled to a joyous, deafening shout.
22. The old gunner sprung to his feet, and gazed off on the water, and the first thing that met his sight was the huge body of the shark floating on its back, the shot aimed by him having instantly killed it.
23. In a few moments the boat reached the daring swimmers, and, greatly frightened, they were brought on board. The old man clasped his boy in his arms, and then, overcome by the powerful excitement, he leaned upon a gun for support.


Lesson 2.  Ben Franklin'ws Wharf.

1. When Benjamin Franklin was a boy he was very fond of fishing; and in the story of his life written by himself in later years he gives an amusing account of an exploit that grew out of this sport.
2. It seems that the place where Ben and his playmates used to fish was a marshy spot on the outskirts of the town of Boston. On the edge of the water there was a deep bed of clay, in which the boys were forced to stand while they caught their fish.
3. "This is very uncomfortable," said Ben Franklin one day to his comrades, while they were all standing in the quagmire.
"So it is, " said the other boys. " What a pity we have no better place to stand on!"
4. Now, it chanced that scattered round about lay a great many large stones which were to be used for the cellar and foundation of a house. Ben mounted upon the highest of these stones.
5. "Boys," said he, "I have thought of a plan. "You know what a plague it is to have to stand in the quagmire yonder, - over shoes and stockings in mud and water. See, I am bedaubed to the knees, and you are all in the same plinght.
6. "Now I propose that we build a wharf. You see these stone? The workmen mean to use them for building a house here. My plan is to take these same stones, and carry them to the edge of the water, and build a wharf with them. What say you, lads? Shall we do it?"
7. "Yes, yes," cried the boys: "that's the very thing!" So it was agreed that they should all be on the spot that evening as soon as the workmen had gone home.
8. Promptly at the appointed time the boys met. They worked like beavers, sometimes two or three of them taking hold of one stone; and at last they had carried them all away, and built their little wharf.
9. "Now, boys," cried Ben, when the job was done, "let's give three cheers, and go home to bed. Tomorrow we may catch fish at our ease." The cheers were given with a will, and the boys scampered off home and to bed, to dream of tomorrow's sort.
10. The next morning the masons came to begin their work. But what was their surprise to find the stones all gone! The master-mason, looking carefully on the ground, saw the tracks of many little feet leading down to the waterside. Following these he soon found what had become of the missing buildingstones.
11. "Ah! I see through it," said he: "those little rascals who were here yesterday have stolen the stones to build a wharf with. And I shouldn't wonder if Ben Franklin was the ringleader. I must see about this."
12. He was so angry that he at once went to make a complain before the magistrate; and his Honor wrote an order to "take the bodies of Benjamin Franklin, and other evil-disposed persons," who had stolen a heap of stones.
13. If the owner of the stolen property had not been more merciful than the master-mason, it might have gone hard with our friend Benjamin and his comrades. But, luckily for them, the gentleman was amused at the smartness of the boys: so he let the culprits off easily.
14. But the poor boys had to go through another trial, and receive sentence, and suffer punishment, too, from their own fathers. Many a rod was worn to the stump on that unlucky night. As for Ben, he was less afraid of a whipping than of his father's reproof. And indeed, his father was very much disturbed.
15. "Benjamin, come hither," said the stern old man. The boy approached and stood before his father's chair. "Benjamin," said his father, "what could induce you to take property which did not belong to you?"
16. "Why, Father," replied Ben, hanging his head at first, but then lifting his eyes to Mr.Franklin's face, "if it had been merely for my own benefit, I never should have dreamed of it. But I knew that wharf would be a public convenience. If the owner of stones should build a house with them, nobody would enjoy any advantage but himself. Now, I made use of them in a way that was for the advantage of many persons."
17. "My son," said Mr.Franklin solemnly, "so far as it was in your power, you have done a greater harm to the public than to the owner of the stones. I do verily believe, Benjamin, that almost all the public and private misery of mankind arises from a neglect of this great truth, -- that evil can produce only evil, that good ends must be wrought out by good means."
18. To the end of his life, Ben Franklin never forgot this conversation with his father; and we have reason to suppose, that in most of his public and private career, he sought to act upon the principles which that good and wise man then taught him.


Lesson 3.  Ali, the Boy Camel-Driver.  Part 1.

1. Hanssan was a camel driver who dwelt at Gaza. It was his business to go with caravans, backwards and forwards, across the desert to Suez, to take care of the camels. He had a wife and one young son, called Ali.
2. Hanssan had been absent for many weeks, when his wife received from him a message, brought by another camel driver, who had returned with a caravan from Suez.
3. It said: "Send the boy with the camel to Suez with the next caravan. I have some merchandise to bring home, and I will stop at Suez till he comes."
4. Ali's mother was pained at the thought of sending her young son away to such a distance for the first time; but she said to herself that Ali was now quite old enough to be helping his father, and she at once set about doing what was required for his journey.
5. Ali got out the trapping for the camel, and looked to the water bottles to see that they did not leak. His mother did all that was needed to make him quite ready to join the next caravan that started.
6. Ali was delighted to think that he was to go to his father, and that at last the day was come when he too was to be a camel driver, and to take a journey with the dear old camel of which he was so fond.
7. He had long wanted to ride on its back across the desert, and to lie down by its side to rest at night. He had no fear.
8. The camel, of which Ali was so fond, had been bought by his father with the savings of many a year's hard work, and formed the sole riches of the family.
9. Hassan was looked upon as quite a rich man by the other camel drivers, and Ali, besides having a great love for the animal, was proud of his father being a camel owner.
10. Though it was a great creature by the side of the young boy, it would obey the voice of Ali, and come and go at his bidding, and lie down and rise up just as he wished. Hassan called his camel by an Arabian word, which meant "Meekeye."
11. At last, there was a caravan about to start for Suez which Ali could join. The party met near the gates of the city, where there were some wells, at which the water bottles could be filled. Ali's mother attended, and bid her son a loving farewell.
12. The caravan started. The camels which were to lead the way, had around their necks jingling bells, which the others hearing, followed without other guidance.
13. All looked about and saw his mother standing near the city gate. He took his cap off and waved it above his head, and his mother took off the linen cloth which she wore over her head, and waved it.
14. Tramp, tramp, tramp went the camels, their soft spongy feet making a noise as they trod the ground. The camel drivers laughed, and talked to one another.
15. Ali was the only boy in the caravan, and no one seemed to notice him. He had a stout heart, and tried not to care.
16. He could talk to Meek-eye, and this he did, patting the creature's back, and telling  him they would soon see his father.
17. The sun rose higher and higher, and the day grew hotter and hotter. The morning breeze died away, and the noon was close and sultry.
18. The sand glowed like fire. There was noting to be seen but sand and sky. At midday a halt was made at one of the places well known to the drivers, where shade and water could be had.
19. The water bottles were not to be touched that day, for at this place a little stream, which gushed from a rock, supplied enough for the men, while the camels needed no water for many days.
20. After resting a short time, the kneeling camels were made to rise, the riders first placing themselves on their backs, and the caravan then moved on.
21. At night the party encamped for rest, the camels lying down, while fires were lighted and food was prepared.
22. Several days were thus passed, and Ali found that he liked this kind of life as well as he thought he should.
23. No Arabs were met with, nor even seen; but a danger of the desert, worse than a party of Arabs, came upon them.
24. There arose one day at noon, one of those fearful burning winds which do such mischief to the traveler and his camel. The loose sand was raised like a cloud. It filled the nostrils and blinded the eyes.
25. The only thing to be done, was for the men to get off the backs of the camels, and lie down with their face to the earth.
26. After the storm had passed, they arose to continue their journey. But the sand had been so blown as to cover the beaten track, and thus all trace of the road was lost.
27. The camel drivers who led the way stood still, and said that they did not know which way to turn.
28. No distant rock or palm tree was to be seen, and no one could say which was the south, towards which their faces ought to be turned.
29. They wandered on, now turning to the right, and now to the left; and sometimes, when they had gone some distance in one direction, retracing their steps and trying another.
30. The caravan made a halt, and it was now decided to journey towards the setting sun, in hopes of finding once more the right track.
31. Night came on, however, and they had not found it, nor had they reached any place where they could fill their water bottles, which were empty.
32. Once or twice, some one of the party fancied that he saw in the distance the top of a palm tree; but no, it turned out to be but a little cloud upon the horizon.
33. They had not yet found the old track; neither had they supplied themselves with water to cool their parched lips.


Lesson 4.  Ali, the Boy Camel-Driver.  Part 2.

1. Poor Ali suffered like the rest from terrible thirst. He drank the last drop of water from his water bottle, and thought of the morrow with fear.
2. He was so tired when night came, he was glad to lie down by the side of Meek-eye and go to sleep. Ali slept, but before morning, was awakened by the sound of voices.
3. He listened, and heard the chief driver tell one of the merchants that, if they did not find water very soon, the next day a camel must be killed, in order to get the water contained in its stomach.
4. This often in often done in cases of great need in the desert, the stomach of the camel being so formed as to hold a great quantity of water.
5. Ali was not surprised to hear such a thing spoken of; but what was his distress and alarm, when he heard the merchant propose that it should be "the boy's camel" that should be killed!
6. The merchant said the other camels were of too good a kind, and of too much value; while, as to this young boy, what business had he to have a camel of his own?
7. It would be better far, they said, for him to lose his camel than for him to die, like the rest, of thirst. And so it was decide that Meek-eye should be killed, unless water were found the next morning.
8. Ali slept no more. His heart was full of grief; but his grief was mixed with courage and resolution. He said to himself that Meek-eye should not die.
9. His father had trusted him to bring the camel, and what would he say if he should arrive at Suez without it? He would try to find his way alone, and leave the caravan as soon as possible.
10. That night when all was quiet, and the merchant and camel driver had gone to sleep, Ali arose, and gently patting the neck of Meek-eye, awoke him.
11. He placed his empty bag and water bottles on his back, and seating himself on him, made signs for the creature to rise, and then suddenly started off.
12. Tramp, tramp, tramp, went Meek-eye over the soft sand. The night was cool and refreshing, and Ali felt stronger and braver with every tramp. The stars were shining brightly, and they were his only guides.
13. He knew the star which was always in the north, and the one which was in the west after the sun had gone down. He must keep that star to the right, and he would be sure to be going towards the south.
14. He journeyed on till day began to dawn. The sun came up on the edge of the desert, and rose higher and higher. Ali felt faint, weary, and thirsty, and could scarcely hold himself on to Meek-eye. When he thought of his father and mother, he took courage again, and bore up bravely.
15. The sun was now at its height. Ali fancied he saw a palm tree in the distance. It seemed as if Meek-eye saw it also, for he raised his head and quickened his step.
16. It was not long before Ali found himself at one of those pleasant green island which are found throughout the desert, and are called oases.
17. He threw himself from the camel's back, and hunted out the pool of water that he knew he should find in the midst of the reeds and long grass which grew there.
18. He dipped in his water bottle and drank, while Meek-eye, lying down, stretched out his long neck, and greedily sucked up great draughts of the cool water.
19. How sweet was the sleep which crept over them as they lay down in the shade of the great palm tree, now that they had quenched their thirst!
20. Refreshed and rested, All was able to satisfy his hunger on some ripe dates from the palm tree, while Meek-eye began to feed upon the grass and leave around.
21. Ali noticed, while eating his dates, that other travelers had been there recently; as the grass at the side of the pool was trampled down. This greatly cheered him. He quickly followed in their track, still going in a southerly direction.
22. He kept the setting sun to his right, and when it had gone down, he noticed the bright star that had guided him before.
23. He traveled on, tired and faint with hunger for many a mile, till at last he saw, a long way off, the fires of a caravan which had halted for the night.
24. Ali soon came up to them. He got down from Meek-eye, and leading him by the bridle, came towards a group of camel drivers, who were sitting in a circle.
25. He told them his story, and asked permission to join the party, and begged a little rice, for which he was ready to pay with the piece of money that his mother had given him when he left home.
26. Ali was kindly received by them, and allowed to partake of their supper. The men admired the courage with he had saved his favorite camel. After supper Ali soon closed his weary eyes, and slept soundly by the side of Meek-eye.
27. In the midst of a pleasant dream, Ali was suddenly aroused by the sound of tinkling bells, and on waking up he saw that another caravan had arrived, which had come from the south.
28. The merchants sat down to wait until their supper was brought to them, and a party of camel drivers drew round the fire near which Ali had been sleeping. They raked up its ashes, put on fresh fuel, and then prepared to boil their rice.
29. What voice was that which roused Ali just as he was falling asleep again? He listened, he started to his feet, he looked about him, and waited for a flash of flame from the fire to fall on the faces of the camel drivers who stood around it. 
30. It came flickering up at first, and then all at once blazing out, flashed upon the camel driver who stood stooping over it, and lighted up the face of Ali's father!
31. The father had waited at Suez many days, wondering why Ali did not come; and then, thinking there had been some mistake, determined to return home with the caravan which was starting for Gaza.
32. We need hardly describe the joy of both father and son at thus meeting, nor the pleasure with which the father listened to the history of all the fears and dangers to which his young son had been exposed. He was glad, too, that their precious Meek-eye had been saved.
33. There was no one in the whole caravan so happy as Hassan, when, the next morning, he continued his journey to Gaza in company with Meek-eye and his beloved son Ali.


Lesson 5.  The Travels of Two Frogs.

1. Forty miles apart, as the stork files, stand the great cities of Osake and Kioto. The one is the city of canels and bridges: the other is the sacred city of the Mikado's empire, girdled with green hills and a ninefold circle of flowers.
2. In the good old days, long, long ago, there lived two frogs, -- one in a well in Kioto, the other in a lotus-pond at Osaka.
3. Now it is a proverb in Japan, that "the frog in the well knows not the great ocean;" and the Kioto frog had so often heard this sneer from the maids who came to draw water with their long bamboo-handled buckets, that he resolved to go abroad and see the world, and especially the "great ocean."
4. "I'll see for myself," said Mr.Frog, as he packed his wallet and wiped his spectacles, "what this great ocean is that they talk about. I don't believe it is half so deep as my well, where I can see the stars even in daylight."
5. Mr.Frog informed his family of his intentions. Mrs Frog wept a great deal; but, drying her eyes with her paper handkerchief, she tied up a little lacquered box full of boided rice and snails for his journey, wrapped a silk napkin around it, and, putting his extra clothes in a bundle, slung it on his back. Tying it over his neck, he seized his staff, and was ready to go.
6. "Good-by," cried he, as, with a tear in his eye, he walked away. "Good-by. Walk slowly," croaked Mrs.Frog and the whole family of young Frog in a chorus.
7. Old Mr.Frog, being now on dry land, out of his well, noticed that the other animals did not leap, but walked; and, not wishing to be laughed at, he likewise began briskly walking upright on his hind-legs.
8. Now it happened that about this time the frog of Osaka had become restless and dissatisfied with his life on the edges of the lotus-ditch. "Alas, alas! this is a dull life," said he. "If out of the mud can come the lovely lotus, why shouldn't a frog become a man? If my son should travel abroad, and see the world, -- go to Kioto, for instance, -- why shouldn't he become as wise as anybody? I shall try it. I'll send my son on a journey to Kioto."
9. Now you must know that the old frog from Kioto and the young frog from Osaka started each from his home at the same time. Nothing of importance occurred to either of them until they met on a hill half way between the two cities. Both were footsore, and websore, and very tired, on account of their unfroglike manner of walking.
10. "Good morning," said the young frog to the old frog, as he fell on all-fours, and bowed his head to the ground three times.
 "Good day," replied the Kioto frog.
11. "It is rather fine weather to-day," said the youngster.
 "Yes it is; very fine," replied the old fellow.
12. "I am Lord Bullfrog, of the Lotus-Ditch of Osaka."
 "Your lordship must be weary with your journey. I am Sir Frog of the Well in Kioto. I started out to see the great ocean at Osaka; but I am so dreadfully tired that I believe I'll give up my plan, and content myself with a look from this hill."
13. The truth must be owned that the old frog was not only on his hind-legs, but on his last legs too, when he stood up to look at Osaka; while the young frog was tired enough to believe any thing.
14. The old fellow, wiping his face, said: -- "Suppose we save ourselves the trouble of the journey. This hill is half way between the two cities; and, while I see Osaka and the sea, you can get a good view of Kioto."
 "Happy thought!" said the Osaka frog.
15. Then both reared themselves on their hindlegs, and, stretching up on their toes, propped each other up, rolled their goggle eyes, and looked steadily, as they supposed, at the places which they wished to see.
16. As every one knows, a frog's eyes are in front when he is down, and at his back when he stands up. Long and steadily they gazed, until at last, their toes being tired, they came down again on all-fours.
17. "I declare!" said the old frog, "Osaka looks just like Kioto; and, as for the great ocean which those stupid maids talked about, I don't see any. I don't believe there is any great ocean."
18. "For my part," said the youngster, "I am satisfied that it's all folly to go farther; for Kioto is as like Osaka as one grain of rice is like another."
19. Thereupon they congratulated themselves on the lucky plan by which they had escaped so much weariness and danger, and after exchanging many compliments took leave of each other. Dropping again into a frog's hop, they leaped back in half the time, -- the one to his well and the other to his ditch.
20. There each told the story of both cities looking exactly alike. And to this day the frog in the well of Kioto knows nothing about the great ocean, and does not believe in it, and the frog in the ditch of Osaka thinks all the world is exactly like his native city.


Lesson 6.  Woodman, Spare that Tree.

P. G. Morris.

1. 
Woodman, spare that tree!
Touch not a single bough!
In youth it sheltered me,
And I'll protect it now.
'Twas my forefather's hand
That placed it near his cot:
There, woodman, let it stand;
Try ax shall harm it not.

2. 
That old familiar tree,
Whose glory and renown
Are spread o'er land and, sea, -- 
And wouldst thou hew it down?
Woodman, forbear thy stroke;
Cut not its earth-bound ties:
O, spread that aged oak
Now towering to the skies!

3. 
When but an idle boy
I sought its grateful shade;
In all their gushing joy 
Here too my sisters played.
My mother kissed me here,
My father pressed my hand:
Forgive this foolish tear,
But let that old oak stand!

4. 
My heart-strings round thee cling,
Close as thy bark, old friend!
Here shall the wild bird sing,
And still thy branches bend.
Old tree, the storm still brave!
And, woodman, leave the spot:
While I've a hand to save, 
Thy ax shall harm it not.


Lesson 7.  A Timely Rescue.

1. It was in the month of February, 1831, a bright moonlight night, and extremely cold, that the little brig I commanded lay quietly at her anchors inside the bay.
2. We had had a hard time of it, beating about for eleven days, with cutting north-easters blowing, and snow and sleet falling for the greater part of the time.
3. When at length we made the port, all hands were almost exhausted, and we could not have held out two days longer without relief.
4. "A bitter cold night, Mr.Larkin," I said to my mate, as I tarried for a moment on deck to finish my pipe. "The tide is running out swift and strong; it will be well to keep a sharp lookout for this floating ice, Mr.Larkin."
"Ay, ay sir," answered the mate, and I went below.
5. Two hours afterwards I was aroused from a sound sleep by the vigilant officer. "Excuse me for disturbing you, captain," said he, as he detected an expression of vexation on my face; "but I wish you would turn out, and come on deck as soon as possible."
6. "Why -- what's the matter, Mr.Larkin?" 
"Why , sir, I have been watching a cake of ice that swept by at a little distance a moment ago; I saw something black upon it -- something that I thought moved."
7. We were on deck before either spoke another word. The mate pointed out, with no little difficulty, the cake of ice floating off to leeward, and its white, glittering surface was broken by a black spot.
8. "Get me a spyglass, Mr.Larkin -- the moon will be out of that cloud in a moment, and then we can see distinctly." I kept my eye on the receding mass of ice, while the moon was slowly working its way through a heavy bank of clouds.
9. The mate stood by with a spyglass. When the full light fell at last upon the water, I put the glass to my eye. One glance was enough.
10. "Forward, there!" I shouted at the top of my voice; and with one bound I reached the main hatch, and began to clear away the ship's cutter. Mr.Larkin had received the glass from my hand to take a look for himself.
11. "O, pitiful sight!" he said in a whisper, as he set to work to aid me in getting out the boat; "there are two children on that cake of ice!"
12. In a very short space of time we launched the cutter, into which Mr.Larkin and myself jumped, followed by two men, who took the oars. I held the tiller, and the mate sat beside me.
13. "Do you see that cake of ice with something black upon it, lads?" I cried; "put me alongside of that, and I will give you a month's extra wages when you are paid off."
14. The men were worn out by the hard duty of the preceding fortnight; and, though they did their best, the boat made little more way than the tide. This was a long chase; and Mr.Larkin, who was suffering as he saw how little we gained, cried out -- 
 "Pull, lads -- I'll double the captain's prize. Pull, lads, for the sake of mercy, pull!"
15. A convulsive effort at the oars told how willing the men were to obey, but their strength was gone. One of the poor fellows splashed us twice in recovering his oar, and then gave out; the other was nearly as far gone. Mr.Larkin sprung forward and seized the deserted oar.
16. "Lie down in the bottom of the boat," said he to the man; "and, captain, take the other oar; we must row for ourselves." I took the second man's place.
17. Larkin had stripped to his Guernsey shirt; as he pulled the bow I waited the signal stroke. It came gently, but firmly; and the next moment we were pulling a long, ateady stroke, gradually increasing in rapidity until the wool seemed to smoke in the oarlocks.
18. We kept time with each other by our long, deep breathing. Such a pull! At every stroke the boat shot ahead like an arrow. Thus we worked at the oars for fifteen minutes -- it seemed to me as many hours.
19. "Have we almost come to it, Mr.Larkin?" I asked.
 "Almost, captain, -- don't give up for the love of our dear little ones at home, don't give up, captain," replied Larkin.
20. The oars flashed as the blades turned up to the moonlight. The men who plied them were fathers, and had fathers' hearts; the strength which nerved them at that moment was more than human.
21. Suddenly Mr.Larkin stopped pulling, and my heart for a moment almost ceased its beating; for the terrible thought that he had given out crossed my mind. But I was quickly reassured by his saying -- 
 "Gently, captain, gently -- a stroke or two more -- there, that will do" -- and the next moment the boat's side came in contact with something.
22. Larkin sprung from the boat upon the ice. I started up, and, calling upon the men to make fast the boat to the ice, followed.
23. We ran to the dark spot in the centre of the mass, and found two little boys -- the head of the smaller nestling in the bosom of the larger. Both were fast asleep!
24. They were benumbed with cold, and would surely have frozen to death, but for our timely rescue.
25. Mr.Larkin grasped one of the lads, cut off his shoes, tore off his jacket; and then, loosening his own garments to the skin, placed the chilled child in contact with his own warm body, carefully wrapping over him his greatcoat.
26. I did the same with the other child; and we then returned to the boat; and the men having partly recovered, pulled slowly back.
27. The children, as we learned when we afterwards had the delight of returning them to their parents, were playing on the ice, and had ventured on the cake.
28. A movement of the tide set the ice in motion, and the little fellows were borne away on that cold night, and would certainly have perished, had not Mr.Larkin seen them as the ice was sweeping out to sea.
29. "How do you feel?" I said to the mate, the next morning after this adventure.
 "A little stiff in the arms, captain," the noble fellow replied, while the big tears of grateful happiness gushed from his eyes -- "a little stiff in the arms, captain, but very easy here," and he laid his hand on his manly heart.


Lesson 8.  Castles in the Air.

1. Alnaschar was a very idle fellow, who never would set his hand to any business during his father's life. But finally in the course of nature his father died, leaving him by his will a hundred drachmas in Persian money.
2. In order to make the most of this fortune, ha laid it out in bottles, glasses, and the finest earthenware. These he piled up in a large open basket; and, having made choice of a little shop, placed the basket at his feet, and leaned his back against the well awaiting customers.
3. As Alnaschar sat in this posture, with his eyes upon the basket, he fell into a most amusing train of thought, and was overheard by one of his neighbors, as talked to himself.
4. "This basket of wares," said he, "cost me at the wholesale merchant's a hundred drachmas, -- all I had in the world. I shall quickly make two hundred of it by selling it at retail. These two hundred drachmas will in a very little while increase to four hundred; which, of course, will amount in time to four thousand. Four thousand drachmas can not fail of making eight thousand.
5. "As soon as I am master of ten thousand, I will lay aside my trade of a glassman, and turn jeweler. I shall then deal in diamonds, pearls, and all sorts of rich stones.
6. "When I have got together as much wealth as I can desire, I will purchase the finest house I can find, with lands, slaves, and horses. I shall then begin to enjoy myself, and make a noise in the world.
7. "I will not, however, stop there; but still continue my traffic until I have amassed a hundred thousand drachmas. When I have thus made myself master of this sum, I shall set myself on the footing of a prince. I will then demand of the grand vizier the hand of his daughter in marriage, dwelling on the reports I have received of her beauty, wit, and discretion.
8. "I will at the same time let her father know that it is my intention to make him a present of a thousand pieces of gold on our marriage-day. As soon as I have married the grand vizier's daughter, I will make my father-in-low a visit, with a great train and equipage.
9. "And when I am placed in the position of honor at his right hand, I will give him the thousand pieces of gold; and afterwards, to his great surprise, will present him with another purse of the same value, with some short speech, such as, 'Sir, you see I am a man of my word: I always give more than I promise.'
10. "When I have brought the princess to my house, I shall take care to inspire her with due respect for me. To this end I shall confine her to her own apartments, and talk but little to her. Her servants will tell me that she is broken-hearted by reason of my unkindness; but I shall refuse to listen to them.
11. "Her mother will then come, and bring her daughter to me as I am seated on a sofa. The daughter, with tears in her eyes, will throw herself at my feet, and beg me to receive her into my favor.
12. "Then will I, to impress her with a profound respect for my person, draw up my knees, and spurn her from me with my feet in such a manner that she shall fall down several paces from the sofa."
13. Alnaschar was entirely absorbed in his vision, and could not forbear acting with his feet what it had pleased his fancy to imagine; so that, striking his basket of brittle ware, -- the foundation of all his coming grandeur, -- he kicked his glasses from him into the street, and broke them into ten thousand fragments.


Lesson 9.  A Forest on Fire.  Part 1.

1. We were sound asleep one night, when, about two hours before day, the snorting of our horses and lowing of our cattle, which were ranging in the woods, suddenly awoke us.
2. I took my rifle and went to the door to see what beast had caused the hubbub, when I was struck by the glare of light reflected on all the trees before me, as far as I could see through the woods.
3. My horses were leaping about, snorting loudly, and the cattle man among them in great confusion.
4. On going to the back of the house I plainly heard the crackling made by the burning brushwood, and saw the flames coming toward us in a far-extended line.
5. I ran to the house, told my wife to dress herself and the child as quickly as possible, and take the little money we had, while I managed to catch and saddle two of the best horses. All this was done in a very short time, for I felt that every moment was precious to us.
6. We then mounted our horses, and made off from the fire. My wife, who is an excellent rider, kept close to me; and my daughter, who was then a small child, I took in one arm.
7. When making off, I looked back and saw that the frightful blaze was close upon us, and had already laid hold of the house.
8. By good luck there was a horn attached to my huntingclothes, and I below it, to bring after us if possible, the remainder of my livestook, as well as the dogs.
9. The cattle followed for a while; but before an hour had passed they all ran, as if mad, through the woods, and that was the last we saw of them.
10. My dogs, too, although at all other times easily managed, ran after the deer that in great numbers sprung before us as if fully aware of the death that was so rapidly approaching.
11. We heard blasts from the horns of our neighbors as we proceeded, and knew that they were in the same unfortunate condition that we were in ourselves.
12. Intent on striving to the utmost to preserve our lives, I thought of a large lake, some miles off, where the flames might possibly be checked, and we might fine a place of safety.
13. Urging my wife to whip up her horse, we set off at full speed, making the best way we could over the fallen trees and the brush heaps, which lay like so many articles placed on purpose to keep up the terrific fires that advanced with a broad front upon us.
14. By this time we were suffering greatly from the effects of the heat, and we were afraid that our horses would be overcome and drop down at any moment.
15. A singular kind of breeze was passing over our heads, and the glare of the burning trees shone more brightly than the daylight. I was sensible of a slight faintness, and my wife looked pale.
16. The heat had produced such a flush in the child's face that, when she turned toward either of us, our grief and anxiety were greatly increased.


Lesson 10.  A Forest on Fire.  Part 2.

1. Ten miles are soon gone over on swift horses; but yet, when we reached the borders of the lake we were quite exhausted, and our hearts failed us. The heat of the smoke was insufferable, and sheets of blazing fire flew over us in a manner beyond belief.
2. We reached the shore, however, coasted the leak for a while, and got round to the sheltered side. There we gave up our horses, which we never saw again.
3. We plunged down among the rushes, by the edge of the water, and laid ourselves down flat, to await the chance of escaping from being burned or devoured. The water greatly refreshed us, and we enjoyed the coolness.
4. On went the fire, rushing and crashing through the woods. Such a morning may we never again see! The heavens themselves, I thought, were frightened.
5. All above us was a bright, red glare, mingled with dark, threatening clouds and black smoke, rolling and sweeping away in the distance.
6. Our bodies were cool enough, but our heads were scorching; and the child, who now seemed to understand the matter, cried so as nearly to break our hearts.
7. The day passed on, and we became hungry. Many wild beasts came plunging into the water beside us, and others swam across to our side, and stood still. Although faint and weary, I managed to shoot a porcupine, and we all tasted its flesh.
8. The night passed, I can not tell you how. Smoldering fires covered the ground, and the trees stood like pillars of fire, or fell across each other.
9. The stifling and sickening smoke still rushed over us, and the burnt cinders and ashes fell thick around us.
10. When morning came, every thing about us was calm; but a dismal smoke still filled the air, and the smell seemed worse than ever. What was to become of us I did not know.
11. My wife hugged the child to her breast, and wept bitterly; but God had preserved us through the worst of the danger, and the flames had gone past, so I thought it would be both ungrateful to Him and unmanly to despair now.
12. Hunger once more pressed upon us, but this was soon remedied. Several deer were standing in the water, up to the head, and I shot one of them. Some of its flesh was soon roasted, and after eating it we felt wonderfully strengthened.
13. By this time the blaze of the burning forest was beyond our sight, although the remains of the fires of the night before were still burning in many places, and it was dangerous to go among the burnt trees.
14. After resting for some time, we prepared to commence our march. Taking up the child in my arms, I led the way over the hot ground and rocks; and after two weary days and nights of suffering, during which we shifted in the best manner we could, we at last succeeded in reaching the hard woods, which had been free from the fire. 
15. Soon after we came to a house, where we were kindly treated. Since then I have worked hard and constantly as a lumberman; and, thanks to God, we are safe, and happy.


Lesson 11.  The Barber of Bagdad.

1. In the reign of the great caliph, there lived in the city of Bagdad a celebrated barber, of the name of Ali.
2. He was famous for a steady hand, and could shave a head, or trim your beard or whiskers, with his eyes blind folded. There was not a man of fashion at Bagdad who did not employ him; and such a run of business had he, that at length he became very proud and insolent.
3. Firewood was always scarce and dear at Bagdad; and it happened one day, that a poor wood-cutter, ignorant of the character of Ali, stopped at his shop, to sell him a load of wood which he had just brought from a distance on his donkey. Ali immediately offered him a certain sum "for all the wood that was upon the donkey." The wood-cutter agreed, unloaded his beast, and asked for the money.
4. "You have not given me all the wood yet," said the barber. "I must have your wooden pack-saddle into the bargain: that was our agreement."
"How!" said the other. In great amazement; "who ever heard of such a bargain? It is impossible."
5. But after many words the overbearing barber seized the pack-saddle, wood and all, and sent away the poor peasant in great distress.
6. The wood-cutter then ran to the cadi, and stated his griefs: the cadi was one of the barber's customers, and refused to hear the case. Then he went to a higher judge; he also patronized Ali, and made light of the complaint.
7. The poor wood-cutter was not disheartened, but forthwith got a scribe to write a petition to the caliph himself. The caliph's punctuality in reading petitions was well known, and it was not long before the wood-cutter was called to his presence.
8. When he had approached the caliph, he kneeled and kissed the ground; and then, folding his arms before him, his hands covered with the sleeves of his cloak, and his feet close together, he awaited the decision of his case.
9. "Friend," said the caliph, "the barber has words on his side: you have equity on yours. The law must be defined by words, and agreements must be made by words. The law must have its course, or it is nothing; and agreements must be kept, or there would be no good faith between man and man. Therefore the barber must keep all his wood, but" -- 
10. Then calling the wood-cutter close to him, the caliph whispered something in his ear, and sent him away quite satisfied. The wood-cutter, having made obeisance, took his donkey by the halter, and returned home.
11. A few days later he applied to the barber, as if nothing had happened between them, requesting that he, and a companion of his from the country, might enjoy the dexterity of his hand; and the price for which both operations were to be performed was settled.
12. When the wood-cutter's beard had been properly shaved, Ali asked where his companion was. "He is standing just outside," said the wood-cutter: "he shall come in at once." Accordingly he went out, and led in his donkey by the halter. "This is my companion," said he: "shave him."
13. "Shave him!" exclaimed the barber, in a rage: "is it not enough that I should degrade myself by touching you, but you must insult me by asking me to shave your donkey? Away with you!"
14. The wood-cutter immediately went to the caliph and related his care. "Bring Ali and his razors to me this instant," exclaimed the caliph to one of his officers; and in the course of ten minutes the barber stood before him.
15. "Why do you refuse to shave this man's companion?" said the caliph to the barber: "was not that your agreement?" Ali, kissing the ground, answered, "It is true, O caliph, that such was our agreement; but who ever made a companion of a donkey before?"
16. "True enough," said the caliph; "but who ever thought of insisting upon a pack-saddle being included in a load of wood? No, no, it is the wood-cutter's turn now. Shave this donkey instantly!"
17. So the barber was compelled to prepare a great quantity of soap, to lather the beast from head to foot, and to shave him in the presence o the caliph, and of the whole court, whilst he was jeered and mocked by the bystanders.
18. The poor wood-cutter was then dismissed with a present of money; and all Bagdad resounded with the story, and praised the justice of the caliph.


Lesson 12.  Rescued.

Celia Thaxter.

1. 
"Little lad, slow wandering across the sands so yellow,
Leading safe a lassie small -- O tell me, little fellow,
Whither go you, loitering in the summer weather,
Chattering like sweet-voiced birds on a bough together?"

2. 
"I am Robert, if you please, and this is Rose, my sister,
Youngest of us all" -- he bent his curly head and kissed her,
"Every day we come and wait here till the sun is setting,
Watching for our father's ship, for mother dear is fretting.

3. 
"Long ago he sailed away, out of sight and hearing,
Straight across the bay he went, into sunset steering.
Every day we look for him, and hope for his returning,
Every night my mother keeps the candle for him burning.

4. 
"Summer goes, and winter comes, and spring returns, but never
Father's step comes to the gate. O, is he gone forever?
The great, grand ship that bore him off, think you some tempest wrecked her?"
Tears shone in little Rose's eyes, upturned to her protector.

5. 
Eagerly the bonny boy went on; "O, sir, look yonder!
In the offing see the sails that east and westward wander;
Every hour they come and go, the misty distance thronging,
While we watch and see them fade, with sorrow and with longing."

6. 
"Little Robert, little Rose!" The stranger's eyes were glistening
At his bronzed and bearded face, upgazed the children, listening;
He knelt upon the yellow sand, and clasped them to his bosom,
Robert brave, and little Rose, as bright as any blossom.

7. 
"Father, father! It is you?" The still air rings with rapture;
All the vanished joy of years the waiting ones recapture!
Finds he welcome wild and sweet, the lowthatched cottage reaching, 
But the ship that into sunset steered, upon the rocks lies bleaching.


Lesson 13.  A Ghost Story.  Part 1.

1. "I have not a room in the house; but if you don't mind going down to the cottage, and coming up here to your meals, I can take you, and would be glad to," said Mrs. Grant, in answer to my request for board. 
2. "Where is the cottage?" and I looked about me, feeling ready to accept anything in the way of shelter, after the long, hot journey from Boston to breezy York Harbor.
3. "Right down there -- just a step, you see. It's all in order; and next week it will be full, for many folks prefer it because of the quiet."
4. At the end of a very steep path, which offered every chance for accidents of all sorts, from a sprained ankle to a broken neck, stood the cottage -- a little while building, with a pretty vine over the door, gay flowers in the garden, and the blue Atlantic rolling up at the foot of the cliff.
5. "A regular 'Cottage by the Sea.' It will suit me exactly if I can have the upper front room. I don't mind being alone; so have my trunk taken down, please, and I'll get ready for tea," said I, feeling very happy on account of my good luck.
6. Alas, how little I knew what a night of terror I was to pass in that pretty white cottage!
7. An hour later, refreshed by my tea and the coolness of the place, I plunged into the pleasures of the season, and accepted two invitations for the evening -- one to a walk on Sunset Hill, the other to a clam-bake on the beach.
8. The stroll came first, and on the hilltop we met an old gentleman with a spyglass, who welcomed me with the remark -- 
"Pretty likely place for a prospect."
9. After replying to what he said, I asked the old gentleman if he knew any legend or stories about the old houses all around us.
10. "Yes, many of them," he replied; "and it isn't always the old places that have the most stories about 'em.
 "Why, that cottage down yonder isn't more'n fifty years old, and they do say there's been a lot of ghosts seen there, owin' to a man's killin' of himself in the back bedroom."
11. "What! that house at the end of the lane?" I asked, with sudden interest.
 "Just so; nine place, but lonesome and dampish. Ghosts and toadstools are apt to locate in houses of that sort," was his mild reply.
12. They dampness scared me more than the ghosts, for I had never seen a ghost yet; but I had been haunted by rheumatism, and found it a hard thing go get rid of.
13. "I've taken a room there, so I'm rather interested in knowing what company I'm to have."
 "Taken a room, have you? Well, I dare say you won't be troubled. Some folks have a knack of seeing spirits, and then again some haven't.
 "My wife is uncommon powerful that way, but I an't; my sight's dreadful poor for that sort."
14. There was such a sly look in the starboard eye of the old fellow as he spoke, that I laughed outright, and asked, sociable -- 
 "Has she ever seen the ghosts of the cottage? I think I have rather a knack that way, and I'd like to know what to expect."
15. "No, her sort is the rapping kind. Down yonder, the only ghost I take much stock in is old Bezee Tucker's. Some folks say they've heard him groaning there nights, and a dripping sound; he bled to death, you know.
16. "It was kept quiet at the time, and is forgotten now by all but a few old fellows like me. Bezee was always polite to the ladies, so I guess he won't bother you, ma'am;" and the old fellow laughed.
17. "If he does, I'll let you know;" and with that I left him, for I was called and told that the beach party was anxious for my company.
18. In the delights of that happy hour, I forgot the warning of the old gentleman on the hill, for I was about to taste a clam for the first time in my life, and it was a most absorbing moment.
19. Perched about on the rocks like hungry birds, we sat and watched the happy cooks with breathless interest, as they struggled with fryingpans, fish that refused to brown, steaming seaweed, and hot ashes.
20. Little Margie Grant waited upon me so prettily, that I should have been tempted to try a sea porcupine if she had offered it, so charming was her way of saying, "O here's a perfectly lovely one! Do take him by his little black head and eat him quick!"
21. I indulged without thought, in clams, served hot between two shells, little dreaming what a price I was to pay for that banquet.


Lesson 14.  A Ghost Story.  Part 2.

1. We staid up till late, and then I was left at my own door by my friends, who informed me that York was a very quiet, safe place, where people slept with unlocked doors, and noting ever went amiss o' nights.
2. I said nothing of ghosts, being ashamed to own that I quaked a little at the idea of the "back bedroom," as I shut out the friendly faces and fastened myself in.
3. A lamp and matches stood in the hall, and lighting the lamp, I whisked up stairs with suspicious rapidity, locked my door, and went to bed, firmly refusing to own even to myself that I had ever heard the name of Bezee Tucker.
4. Being very tired, I soon fell asleep; but fried potatoes and a dozen or two of hot clams are not kinds of food best fitted to bring quiet sleep, so a fit of nightmare brought me to a realizing sense of my foolishness.
5. From a chaos of wild dreams was finally brought forth a gigantic clam, whose mission it was to devour me as I had devoured its relatives. The sharp shells were open before me, and a solemn voice said, "Take her by her little head and eat her quick."
6. Retribution was at hand, and, with a despairing effort to escape by diving, I bumped my head smartly against the wall, and woke up feeling as if there was an earthquake under the bed.
7. Collecting my scattered wits, I tried to go to sleep again; but alas! that fatal feast had destroyed sleep, and I vainly tried to quiet my wakeful senses with the rustle of leaves about the window and the breaking waves upon the beach.
8. In one of the pauses between the sounds of the waves, I heard a curious noise in the house -- a sort of moan, coming at regular intervals.
9. And, as I sat up to make out where it was, another sound caught my attentive ear. Drip, drip, drip, went something out in the hall, and in an instant the tale told me on Sunset Hill came back with unpleasant reality.
10. "Nonsense! It is raining, and the roof leaks," I said to myself, while an unpleasant thrill went through me, and fancy, aided by indigestion, began to people the house with ghostly inmates.
11. No rain had fallen for weeks, and peeping through my curtain, I saw the big, bright stars shining in a cloudless sky; so that explanation failed, and still the drip, drip, drip went on.
12. Likewise the moaning -- so distinctly now that it was clear that the little back bedroom was next the chamber in which I was quaking at that very moment.
13. "Some one is sleeping there," I said, and then remembered that all the rooms were locked, and all the keys but mine in Mrs.Grant's pocket, up at the house.
14. "Well, let the ghosts enjoy themselves; I won't disturb them if they let me alone. Some of the ladies thought me brave to dare to sleep here, and it never will do to own I was scared by a foolish story and an odd sound."
15. So down I lay, and said the multiplication table with great determination for several minutes, trying to turn a deaf ear to the outside world and check my unruly thoughts.
16. But it was a failure; and when I found myself saying over and over "Four times twelve in twenty-four," I gave up affecting courage, and went in for a good, honest scare.
17. As a cheerful subject for midnight consideration, I kept thinking of B. Tucker, in spite of ever effort to give it up. In vain I remembered the fact that the departed gentleman was "always polite to ladies."
18. I still was in great fear lest he might think it necessary to come and apologize in person for "bothering" me.
19. Presently a clock struck three, and I gave a moan that beat the ghost's all hollow, so full of deep suffering was I at the thought of several hours of weary waiting.
20. I was not sure at what time the daylight would appear, and I was bitterly sorry for not gathering useful information about sunrise, tides, and such things, instead of listening to the foolish gossip of Uncle Peter on the hilltop.
21. Minute after minute dragged slowly on, and I was just thinking that I should be obliged to shout "Fire!" as the only means of relief in my power, when a stealthy step under the window gave me a new feeling.


Lesson 15.  A Ghost Story.  Part 3.

1. This was a start, not a scare -- for the new visitor was a human foe, and I had little fear of such, being possessed of good lungs, strong arms, and a Roman dagger nearly as big as a carving-knife.
2. The step that I had just heard broke the spell, and creeping noiselessly to the window, I peeped out to see a dark figure coming up the stem of the tall tree close by, hand over hand, like a sailor or a monkey.
3. "Two can play at the game, my friend; you scare me, and I'll scare you." And with an actual sense of relief in breaking the silence, I suddenly flung up the curtain, and leaned out.
4. I brandished my dagger with what I intended to be an awe-inspiring screech; but, owing to the flutter of my breath, the effort ended in a curious mixture of howl and bray.
5. A most effective sound, nevertheless, for the burglar dropped to the ground as if he had been shot, and, with one upward glance at the white figure dimly seen in the starlight, fled as if a thousand ghosts were at his heels.
6. "What next?" thought I, wondering whether this eventful night would ever come to a close.
7. I sat and waited, chilly but brave, while the strange sounds went on within the house and silence reigned without, till the cheerful crow of the punctual "cookadoo," as Margie called him, told me that it was sunrise and laid the ghosts.
8. A red glow in the east drove away my last fear, and I soon lay down and slept quietly, quite worn out.
9. The sun shining upon my face waked me, and a bell ringing warned me to hurry. A childish voice calling out, "Betfast is most weady, Miss Wee," assured me that sweet little spirits haunted the cottage as well as ghostly ones.
10. As I left my room to join Margie, who was waiting for me, I saw two things which caused me to feel that the horrors of the night were not all unreal.
11. Just outside the back bedroom door was a damp place, as if that part of the floor had been newly washed; and when led by curiosity, I peeped through the keyhole of the haunted chamber, my eye distinctly saw an open razor lying on a dusty table.
12. My seeing was limited to that one object, but it was quite enough. I went up the hill thinking over the terrible secret hidden in my breast.
13. I longed to tell some one, but was ashamed; and, when asked why I was so pale and absentminded, I answered with a gloomy smile -- 
 "It is the clams."
14. All day I hid my sufferings pretty well, but as night approached and I thought of sleeping again in that haunted cottage, my heart began to fail. As we sat telling stories in the dusk, a bright idea came into my head.
15. I would relate my ghost story, and rouse the curiosity of my hearers, so that some of them would offer to stay at the cottage in hopes of seeing the spirit of the restless Tucker.
16. Cheered by this fancy, when my turn came I made a thrilling tale about Bezee Tucker and my night's adventure. After my hearers were worked up to a proper state of excitement, I paused for applause. 
17. It came in a most unexpected form, however, for Mrs.Grant burst out laughing, and the two boys -- Johnny and Joe -- rolled about in convulsions of merriment.
18. Much displeased, I demanded the cause of their laughter, and then joined in the general shout when Mrs.Grant informed me that Bezee Tucker lived, died in, and haunted the tumble-down house at the other end of the lane, and not the cottage where I was staying.
19. "Then who or what made those mysterious noises?" I asked, relieved but rather displeased at the downfall of my romance.
20. "My brother Seth," replied Mrs.Grant, still laughing. "I thought you might be afraid to be there all alone, so he slipped into the bedroom, and I forgot to tell you. He's a powerful snorer, and that's one of the awful sounds.
21. "The other was the dripping of salt water; for you wanted some, and the girl got it in a leaky pail. Seth swept out the water when he left the cottage early in the morning."
22. I said nothing about having seen through the keyhole the harmless razor; but wishing to get some praise for my heroic encounter with the burglar, I mildly asked if it was the custom in York for men as well as turkeys to roost in trees. 
23. Another burst of laughter from the boys did away with my last hope of glory. As soon as he could speak, Joe answered -- 
 "Johnny planned to be up early to pick the last cherries off that tree. I wanted to get ahead of him, and as I was going a-fishing, I went off quietly before day-light."
24. "Did you get the cherries?" I asked, bound to have some laugh on my side.
 "Guess I didn't," grumbled Joe, rubbing his knees, while Johnny added -- 
 "He got a horrid scare and a right good scraping, for he didn't know any one was down there. Couldn't go a-fishing, either -- he was so lame -- and I had the cherries after all. Served him right, didn't it?"
25. No answer was necessary. Mrs.Grant went off to repeat the tale in the kitchen, and the sounds of hearty laughter that I heard, assured me that Seth was enjoying the joke as well as the rest of us.


Lesson 16.  The Fool of the Family.

1. A certain man had two sons. The elder passed for a very clever youth: the younger, called Dumling, though the favorite of his mother, was thought to be only half-witted. In fact, his father and elder brother were in the habit of calling him "the fool of the family."
2. When Dumling had grown to be fifteen years old, his father became tired of supporting the "simpleton:" so he gave the lad twenty German shillings, and sent him out into the world to seek his fortune.
3. With a light heart young Dumling trudged forth, jingling the coins in his pouch, and meditating how he should spend so much money. Before long he met a fisherman carrying a basket on his back. "Ho, master, and what have we here?" said Dumling.
"Nothing that you can buy," said the fisherman gruffly. But when he heard the money clinking he declared that in his basket he had the most wonderful turbot in the world.
4. "Mr.Fisherman," said Dumling, when he had peeped in at the beautiful fish, " will you sell your fish for twenty shillings?"
 "For want of a better price, yes," replied the fisherman; and the lad eagerly counted out his twenty shillings, and took the turbot.
5. Journeying on, Dumling caught sight of a fine palace, and stopped a countryman to ask who lived there.
 "The king," answered the man, " and a courteous and liberal king he is."
 "Is he, indeed?" thought Dumling: "I will take him my fish, and see what he will give me for it."
6. Without delay he made his way to the gate of the palace, and knocked. The gate was opened by a fat porter, who asked him what his business was. "My business is with your master," said Dumling, who knew little of the ways of great men's houses. "I bring a present for the king."
7. "Ah, indeed!" answered the porter, still delaying to open the door. "Don't you know that it is the custom of this court that I should see a present before it goes to my lord the king?"
8. So at last Dumling opened his basket. Now, when the porter saw the beautiful fish, his eyes glistened, and he declared that by the custom of the court half must be his before the bearer could go farther.
9. On this promise the porter opened the door, and permitted him to enter the hall. But here he was stopped by the chamberlain, who, when he had looked into the basket, said that half was due to him before the gift could be brought before the king, for such was the custom of the court.
10. "Fair sir, I quarrel not with your customs," said Dumling; "and, though I have already promised half my reward to the porter, I will give you the share which is left, if you will only bring me into the king's presence."
11. Then the chamberlain led him in, and the lad laid his present before the king. "By my crown," said the king, "it is a fair gift. I accept it gladly. And now what reward shall I give you for your trouble? Ask boldly and wisely, and you shell not have to complain."
12. The porter and the chamberlain now went up to Dumling, and whispered to him to ask for a bag of gold, or a rich office at court, for their lord would not say him nay.
 "I will ask none of these things," said the youth aloud; and bending the king he thus  spoke up: "Your majesty, I ask no reward but a sound beating." 
13. Every one was astonished at hearing this strange request, and the king most of all. But when he saw that Dumling would not change his mind, he ordered him to be tied up, and a hundred lashes to be well laid on.
14. "But hold!" quoth Dumling as the scourger was baring his brawny arm: "I have partners in this business. I gave away one half of this my reward to the porter, and the other half I promised to the chamberlain, before they would allow me to bring my gift to the king. It is only right that they should receive what I have promised them."
 "And thou shalt keep faith with them as I with thee," vowed the king, when he learned how his servants deals with strangers.
15. So the porter and the chamberlain were tied up in Dumling's place, and each received his share of the recompense, fairly counted out; the spectators, who well knew the greed and insolence of these officials, laughing heartily at the justice of the reward.
16. As for Dumling, the king was so much pleased with the lad's cleverness that he took him into his own service. Thus "the fool of the family" made his fortune: thenceforward no one thought of calling him a simpleton, and all the world spoke nothing but good of him.


Lesson 17.  The Romance of the Swan's Nest.

Mrs. Browning.

1. 
Little Ellie sits alone
'Mild the beeches of a meadow,
By a stream-side on the grass;
And the trees are showering down 
Doubles of their leaves in shadow 
On her shining hair and face.

2. 
She has thrown her bonnet by;
And her feet she has been dipping
In the shallow waters' flow -- 
Now she holds them nakedly
In her hands, all sleek and dripping,
While she rocketh to and fro.

3. 
Little Ellie sits alone,
And the smile she softly useth
Fills the silence like a speech;
While she thinks what shall be done,
And the sweetest pleasure chooseth
For her future, within reach.

4. 
Little Ellie in her smile
Chooseth -- 'I will have a lover
Riding on a steed of steeds!
He shall love me without guile;
And to him I will discover
That swan's nest among the reeds.

5. 
'And the steed it shall be red-roan,
And the lover shall be noble,
With an eye that takes the breath,
And the lute he plays upon
Shall strike ladies into trouble,
As his sword strikes men to death.

6. 
'And the steed it shall be shod
All in silver, housed in azure,
And the mane shall swim the wind;
And the hoofs along the sod
Shall flash onward and keep measure
Till the shepherds look behind.

7. 
'He will kiss me on the mouth,
Then, and lead me as a lover,
Through the crowds that praise his deed;
And when soul-tied by one troth,
Unto him I will discover
That swan's nest among the needs.'

8. 
Little Ellie, with her smile
Not yet ended, rose up gaily
Tied the bonnet, donn'd the shoe,
And went homeward round a mile,
Just to see, as she did daily,
What more eggs were with the two.

9. 
Pushing through the elm-tree copse
Winding by the stream, light-hearted,
Where the osier pathway leads -- 
Past the boughs she stoops and stops;
Lo! the wild swan had deserted,
And a rat had gnawed the reeds!

10. 
Ellie went home sad and slow,
If she found the lover ever,
With his red-roan steed of steeds,
Sooth I know not! But I knew 
She could never show him -- never,
That swan's nest among the reeds.


Lesson 18.  An Anecdote of Washington.  Part 1.

1. It was a calm, sunny day in the year 1750; the scene, a piece of forest land in the north of Virginia, near a noble stream of water.
2. Implements of surveying were lying about, and several men reclining under the trees, indicated by their dress and appearance, that they were engaged in laying out the wild lands of the country.
3. These persons had just finished their dinner. Apart from the group walked a young man of a tall and compact frame, who moved with the firm and steady tread of one accustomed to constant exercise in the open air.
4. His face wore a look of decision and manliness not usually found in one so young, for he was but little over eighteen years of age.
5. Suddenly there was a shriek, then another, and then several more in rapid succession. The voice was that of a woman, and seemed to proceed from the other side of a small piece of wooded land.
6. At the first scream, the youth turned his head in the direction of the sound; but when it was repeated, he pushed aside the undergrowth and soon dashed into an open space on the banks of the stream, where stood a small log-cabin.
7. As the young man broke from the undergrowth, he saw his companions crowded together on the banks of the river, while in their midst stood a woman, from whom proceeded the shrieks he had heard. She was held by two of the men, but was struggling to fee herself.
8. The instant the woman saw the young man, she exclaimed, "O sir, you will do something for me! Make them release me. My boy -- my poor boy is drowning, and they will not let me go!"
9. "It would be madness; she will jump into the river," said one of the men, "and the rapids would dash her to pieces in a moment!"
10. The youth had scarcely waited for these words; for he remembered the child; a bold little boy four years of age, whose beautiful blue eyes and flaxen ringlets made him a favorite with every one.
11. He had been accustomed to play in the little inclosure before the cabin; but the gate having been left open, he had stolen out, reached the edge of the bank, and was in the act of looking over, when his mother saw him.
12. The shriek she uttered only hastened the accident she feared; for the child, frightened at the cry of his mother, lost his balance and fell into the stream, which here went foaming and roaring along among rocks and dangerous rapids.
13. Several of the men approached the edge of the river, and were on the point of springing in after the boy. But the sight of the sharp rocks crowding the channel, the rush and whirl of the waters, and the want of any knowledge where to look for the child, deterred them, and they gave up the enterprise.
14. Not so with the noble youth. His first act was to throw off his coat; next to spring to the edge of the bank. Here he stood for a moment, running his eyes rapidly over the scene below, taking in with a glance the different currents and the most dangerous of the rocks, in order to shape his course when in the stream.
15. He had scarcely formed his conclusion, when he saw in the water a white object, which he knew was the boy's dress; and then he plunged into the wild and roaring rapids.
16. "Thank God, he will save my child!" cried the mother; "there he is -- O my boy, my darling boy! How could I leave you!"
17. Every one had rushed to the brink of the precipice and were now following with eager eyes the progress of the youth, as the current bore him onward, like a feather in the power of a hurricane.
18. Now it seemed as if he would be dashed against a projecting rock, over which the water flew in foam, and a whirlpool would drag him in, from whose grasp escape would appear impossible.
19. At times, the current bore him under, and he would be lost to sight; then in a few seconds he would come to the surface again, though his position would be far from where he had disappeared.
20. Thus struggling amid the rocks and angry waters, was the noble youth borne onward, eager to succeed in his perilous undertaking. Those on shore looked on with breathless interest.


Lesson 19.  An Anecdote of Washington.  Part 2.

1. O, how that mother's straining eyes followed the struggling youth! How her heart sunk when he went under, and with what joy she saw him emerge again from the waters, and, flinging the waves aside with his strong arms, struggle on in pursuit of her boy!
2. But it seemed as if his generous efforts were not to succeed; for, though the current was bearing off the boy before his eyes, scarcely ten feet distant, he could not overtake the drowning child.
3. Twice the boy went out of sight; and a suppressed shriek escaped the mother's lips; but twice he reappeared, and then, with hands wrung wildly together, and breathless anxiety, she followed his progress, as his form was hurried onward.
4. The youth now appeared to redouble his exertions, for they were approaching the most dangerous part of the river.
The rush of waters at this spot was tremendous, and no one ventured to approach it, even in a canoe, lest he should be dashed to pieces.
5. What, then, would be the youth's fate, unless he soon overtook the child? He seemed fully sensible of the increasing peril, and now urged his way through the foaming current with a desperate strength. Three times he was on the point of grasping the child, when the waters whirled the prize from him.
6. The third effort was made just as they were entering within the influence of the current above the falls; and when it failed, the mother's heart sunk within her, and she groaned, fully expecting the youth to give up his task.
7. But no; he only pressed forward the more eagerly; and, as they breathlessly watched, amid the boiling waters, they saw the form of the youth following close after that of the boy.
8. And now both pursuer and pursued shot to the brink of the falls. An instant they hung there, distinctly visible amid the foaming waters. Every brain grew dizzy at the sight.
9. But a shout burst from the spectators, when they saw the child held aloft by the right arm of the youth -- a shout that was suddenly changed to a cry of horror, when they both vanished into the raging waters below!
10. The mother ran forward, and then stood gazing with fixed eyes at the foot of the falls. Suddenly she gave the glad cry, "There they are! See! They are safe! Great God, I thank Thee!"
11. And, sure enough, there was the youth still unharmed. He had just emerged from the boiling vortex below the falls. With one hand he held aloft the child, and with the other he was making for the shore.
12. They ran, they shouted, they scarcely knew what they did, until they reached his side, just as he was struggling to the bank. They drew him out almost exhausted.
13. The boy was senseless; but his mother declared that he still lived, as she pressed him to her bosom. The youth could scarcely stand, so faint was he from his exertions.
14. Who can describe the scene that followed -- the mother's calmness while striving to bring her boy to life, and her wild gratitude to his preserver, when the child was out of danger, and sweetly sleeping in her arms?
15. "God will give you a reward," said she. "He will do great things for you in return for this day's work, and the blessings of thousands besides mine will attend you."
16. And so it was; for, to the hero of that hour were afterward confided the destinies of a mighty nation. Throughout his long career, what tended to make him honored and respected beyond all men, was the spirit of self-sacrifice which, in the rescue of that mother's child, as in the more important events of his life, characterized George Washington.


Lesson 20.  The Two Robbers.

1. Alexander. What! Are thou that Thracian robber, of whose exploits I have heard so much?
Robber. I am a Thracian, and a soldier
2. Alexander. A soldier! -- a thief, a plunderer, an assassin! the pest of the country! I could honor thy courage, but I must detest and punish thy crimes.
Robber. What have I done of which you can complain?
3. Alexander. Hast thou not set at defiance my authority, violated the public peace, and passed thy life in injuring the persons and properties of thy fellow-subjects?
Robber. Alexander, I am your captive. I must hear what you please to say, and endure what you please to inflict. But my soul is unconquered; and if I reply at all to your reproaches, I will reply like a free man.
4. Alexander. Speak freely. Far be it from me to take the advantage of my power, to silence those with whom I deign to converse.
Robber. I must, then, answer your question by another. How have you passed your life?
5. Alexander. Like a hero. Ask Fame, and she will tell you. Among the brave, I have been the bravest; among sovereigns, the noblest; among conquerors, the mightiest.
Robber. And does not Fame speak of me too? Was there ever a bolder captain of a more valiant band? Was there ever -- But I scorn to boast. You yourself know that I have not been easily subdued.
6. Alexander. Still what are you but a robber, -- a base, dishonest robber?
7. Robber. And what is a conqueror? Have not you too gone about the earth like an evil genius, blasting the fair fruits of peace and industry, plundering, ravaging, killing, without law, without justice, merely to gratify an insatiable thirst for dominion? All that I have done to a single district, with a hundred followers, you have done to whole nations, with a hundred thousand.
8. If I have stripped individuals, you have ruined kings and princes. If I have burned a few hamlets, you have desolated the most flourishing kingdoms and cities of the earth. What, then, is the difference, but that, as you were born a king, and I a private man, you have been able to become a mightier robber than I?
9. Alexander. But if I have taken like a king, I have given like a king. If I have subverted empires, I have founded greater. I have cherished arts, commerce, and philosophy.
10. Robber. I too have freely given to the poor what I took from the rich. I have established order and discipline among the most ferocious of mankind, and have stretched out my protecting arm over the oppressed. I know, indeed, little of the philosophy you talk of; but I believe neither you nor I shall ever atone to the world for the mischief we have done it.
11. Alexander. Leave me. -- Take off his chains, and use him well. Are we, then, so much alike? Alexander like a robber? Let me reflect.


Lesson 21.  True Heroism.

1. I shall never forget a lesson which I received when quite a young lad, while attending an Academy. Among my schoolmates were Hartly and Vincent. They were both older than myself, and Vincent was looked up to, as a sort of leader in matters of opinion, and in directing our sports.
2. He was not, at heart, a malicious boy; but he had a foolish ambition of being thought witty and sarcastic; and he made himself feared by a habit of turning things into ridicule. He seemed to be constantly looking out for something to occur, which he could turn into derision.
3. Hartly was a new scholar, and little was known of him among the boys. One morning as we were on our way to school, he was seen driving a cow along the road toward the pasture. A group of boys, among whom was Vincent, met him as he was passing.
4. "Now," said Vincent, "let us have a little sport with our country rustic." So saying, he exclaimed: "Halloo, Jonathan! What is the price of milk? What do you feed her on? What will you take for all the gold on her horns? Boys, if you want to see the latest Paris style, look at those boots!"
5. Hartly waved his hand at us with a pleasant smile, and, driving the cow to the field, took down the bars of a rail-fence, saw her safely in the pasture, and then, putting up the bars, came and entered the school with the rest of us. After school, in the afternoon, he let out the cow, and drove her away, none of us knew where. Every day, for two or three weeks, he went through the same task.
6. The boys who attended the Academy, were nearly all the sons of wealthy parents, and some of them were foolish enough to look down, with a sort of disdain, upon a scholar who had to drive a cow to pasture; and the sneers and jeers of Vincent were often repeated.
7. One day, he refused to sit next to Hartly in school, on the pretense that he did not like the odor of the barn. Sometimes he would inquire of Hartly after the cow's health, pronouncing the word "ke-ow," after the manner of some people.
8. Hartly bore all these silly attempts to wound his feelings and annoy him, with the utmost good nature. He never once returned an angry look or word. One time, Vincent said: "Hartly, I suppose your father intends to make a milkman of you."
9. "Why not?" said Hartly. "Oh, nothing," said Vincent; "only do not leave much water in the cans after rinsing them -- that's all!" The boys laughed, and Hartly, not in the least mortified, replied: "Never fear; if I ever rise to be a milkman, I will give good measure and good milk too."
10. A few days after this conversation, there was a public exhibition, at which a number of ladies and gentlemen from the city, was present. Prizes were awarded by the Principal of the Academy, and Hartly and Vincent each received one; for, in respect to scholarship, they were about equal.
11. After the prizes had been distributed, the Principal remarked that there was one prize, consisting of a medal, which was rarely awarded, not so much on account of its great value, as because the instances were rare that merited it. It was THE PRIZE FOR HEROISM. The last boy on whom it had been conferred, was Master Manners, who, three years ago, had rescued the blind girl from drowning.
12. The Principal then said, "With the permission of the company, I will relate a short story. Not long since, some boys were flying a kite in the street, just as a poor boy on horseback rode by, on his way to mill. The horse took fright, and threw the boy, injuring him so badly that he was carried home, and confined for some weeks to his bed.
13. "None of the boys who had caused the disaster, followed to learn the fate of the wounded boy. There was one, however, who witnessed the accident from a distance, and went to render what service he could. He soon learned that the wounded boy was the grandson of a poor widow, whose only support consisted in selling the milk of a fine cow, of which she was the owner.
14. "Alas! what could she now do? She was old and lame, and her grandson, on whom she depended to drive the cow to pasture, was now sick and helpless. 'Never mind, good woman,' said the boy, 'I can drive your cow.' With thanks, the poor widow accepted his offer.
15. "But the boy's kindness did not stop here. Money was wanted to purchase medicine. 'I have money that my mother sent me to buy a pair of boots,' said the boy; 'but I can do without them for the present."
16. "'Oh, no!' said the old lady, 'I can not consent to that; but here is a pair of cowhide boots that I bought for Henry, who can not wear them. If you will buy them, giving me what they coat, I can get along very well.' The boy bought the boots, clumsy as they were, and has worn them up to this time.
17. "When the other boys of the Academy saw this scholar driving a cow to the pasture, he was assailed with laughter and ridicule. His thick cowhide boots, in particular, were made matters of mirth. But he kept on cheerfully and bravely, day after day, driving the widow's cow to the pasture, and wearing his thick boots, contented in the thought that he was doing right, not earing for all the jeers and sneers that could be uttered.
18. "He never undertook to explain why he drove the cow; for he was not inclined to display his charitable motives, and besides, in heart, he had no sympathy with the false pride that looks with ridicule on any useful employment. It was by mere accident that his course of conduct and self-denial, was yesterday discovered by his teacher.
19. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, I appeal to you. Was there not true heroism in this boy's conduct'? Nay, Master Hartly, do not steal out of sight behind the black-board! You were not ashamed of ridicule -- you must not shun praise. Come forth, come forth, Master Edward James Hartly, and let us see your honest face!"
20. As Hartly, with blushing cheeks, made his appearance, the whole company greeted him with a round of applause for his heroic conduct. The ladies stood upon benches, and waved their handkerchiefs. The old men clapped their hands, and wiped the moisture from the corners of their eyes. Those clumsy boots on Hartly's feet seemed prouder ornaments, than a crown would have been on his head. The medal was bestowed on him, amid the applause of the whole company.
21. Vincent was heartily ashamed of his illnatured sneers, and, after the school was dismissed, he went, with tears in his eyes, and tendered his hand to Hartly, making a handsome apology for his past ill manners. "Think no more about it," said Hartly; "let us all go and have a ramble in the woods, before we break up for vacation." The boys, one and all, followed Vincent's example, and then, with shouts and huzzas, they all set forth into the woods -- a happy, cheerful group.


Lesson 22.  The Steam-Engine.

1. If a vessel of water is set on the fire, you all know that after a time the water will disappear. What becomes of it? It is changed into steam.
2. This hot steam rises, is cooled by the air till it begans to return again to the form of water, and becomes visible as a vapor. Steam itself is invisible; but its vapor is easily seen.
3. It is the vapor of steam which you see rush out from the spout of a kettle. You do not see it close to the spout, while it is yet steam; but you do see it just as soon as the air can change it into vapor. People have seen this for thousands of years, but how many people do useful thinking about the things they see?
4. About two hundred years ago, a man named the Marquis of Worcester was sitting before a blazing fire one cold night, in a small room in the Tower of London, where he was confined as a prisoner. A kettle of boiling water was on the fire; and he sat watching the steam as it lifted the lid of the kettle, and rushed out of the spout.
5. This man, the Marquis of Worcester, began to think about the thing he saw. He thought of the power of steam, and wondered what would be the effect if he were to fasten down the lid and stop up the spout. He came to think that the effect would be to burst the kettle. "How much power, then," thought he, "there must be in steam!"
6. Little by little, after long study, the Marquis was able to make a machine, which by this expansive power of steam raised water to the height of forty feet. This machine was the first steam pump ever made.
7. Before this time the power of steam had been experimented with, but with results of little practical value. Indeed, it was not until about one hundred years after the Marquis of Worcester's time, that mankind were made complete masters of this tremendous force; and this mastery we owe to the genius of James Watt.
8. James Watt was born at Greenock in Scotland, in the year 1736. At that time Benjamin Franklin was thirty years old, and George Washington was a little lad four years of age. James Watt was the son of a builder and shipwright; and was so delicate as a child that he was seldom sent to school, but learned reading from his mother, and writing and arithmetic from his father.
9. This indoor life made the lad studious and thoughtful beyond his years. His father had great hopes for the future of his boy, but these hopes were not shared by all the family. A story is told of James's being scolded by his aunt for sitting silent a whole hour, holding first a spoon, and then a saucer, over the steam rising from a kettle, and watching the drops of water gathering upon them.
10. As he grew older, Watt was taught the trade of making mathematical instruments; and when he "came of age" he set up in this business for himself in the city of Glasgow, where he soon became know as a young man of unusual ability. Not only the students, but even the professors of the university, used to stroll into his shop to discuss the discoveries of the day.
11. Among those who came to Watt's shop was one Anderson, professor of natural philosophy. Finding that a little model of a steamengine in the university museum was out of order, he brought it to Watt to be repaired. It was this incident that led the way to Watt's great discoveries.
12. To most people the name "steam-engine" brings the idea of a machine of the most complex nature, to be understood only by those who will devote much time to the study of it; but any one who can understand a common pump may understand a steam-engine.
13. It may be described as a strong barrel, or cylinder, with a closely fitting rod or piston in it which is driven up and down by steam, admitted first below and then above from a boiler; while the outer end of the piston-rod is connected in any convenient way with the machinery to be moved.
14. The engine which Professor Anderson brought to Watt was of the kind known as the Newcomen engine. The piston of this engine was forced out by steam in the cylinder; but before it could return, the steam had to be cooled and condensed into water, and to do this the cylinder itself had to be cooled also. Then, before the piston-rod could be forced out again, this cool cylinder had to be re-heated. It was called, and very properly, an atmospheric engine; for its piston-rod, though raised by steam, was forced back by the pressure of air.
15. When Watt began to examine this engine, he saw at once that an immense quantity of heat, and of course an immense amount of fuel, were wasted by it in cooling and re-heating the cylinder. And he was convinced that no engine would ever work well or economically in which so much power was wasted at every stroke of the piston-red. But how was he to cool down the steam without cooling the cylinder which held it?
16. For months young Watt pondered over this without finding any answer. At last, one Sunday afternoon, when he was walking on the "green" of Glasgow, the way to do it flashed upon his mind. He would draw the steam off into a separate vessel, and condense it there, instead of in the cylinder. That would leave the cylinder hot all the time.
17. This was his first great discovery. By his second he so arranged the piston that steam should force it down as well as up. This was the principle of Watt's double-acting steam-engine. It was no longer an air-engine: it was the first pure steam-engine ever constructed.
18. Watt was the great improver of the steam-engine. In truth, as to all that is admirable and useful in it he should rather be described as its inventor. His genius has made mankind masters of a vast power, unused and almost unknown before.
19. Shut up in the steam-engine, this tireless mighty slave, Steam, daily performs ten thousand heavy tasks. Its every-day uses to the human race are almost countless, but its most important applications are to be found in the steamship and the railway locomotive.


Lesson 23.  Hohenlinden.

Campbell.

1. 
On Linden, when the sun was low,
All bloodless lay the untrodden snow;
And dark as winter was the flow
Of lser, rolling rapidly.

2. 
But Lindow saw another sight;
When the drum beat at dead of night,
Commanding fires of death to light
The darkness of her scenery.

3. 
By torch and trumpet fast arrayed,
Each horseman drew his battle- blade;
And furious every charger neighed
To join the dreadful revelry.

4. 
Then shook the hills, with thunder riven;
Then rushed the steed to battle driven;
And, volleying like the bolts of heaven,
Far flashed the red artillery.

5. 
But redder still these fires shall glow
On Linden's hills of purpled snow;
And bloodier still shall be the flow
Of Iser, rolling rapidly.

6. 
'Tis more; but scarce you level sun
Can pierce the war-cloud rolling dun,
Where furious Frank and fiery Hun
Shout 'mid their sulphurous canopy.

7. 
The combat deepens: on, ye brave,
Who rush to glory or the grave!
Wave, Munich, all thy banners wave!
And charge with all thy chivalry!

8. 
Few, few shall part where many meet:
The snow shall be their winding-sheet,
And every turf beneath their feet
Shall be a soldier's sepulcher!


Lesson 24.  My Mother's Last Kiss.

1. I was but five years old when my mother died; but her image is as fresh in my mind, now that twenty years have elapsed, as it was at the time of her death. I remember her, as a pale, gentle being, with a sweet smile, and a voice soft and cheerful when she praised me; and when I had erred, (for I was a wild, thoughtless child,) there was a mild and tender earnestness in her reproofs, that always went to my little heart.
2. Methinks I can now see her large, blue eyes moist with sorrow, because of my childish waywardness, and hear her repeat: "My child, how can you grieve me so?" She had, for a long time, been pale and feeble, and sometimes there would come a bright spot on her cheek, which made her look so lovely, I thought she must be well. But then she spoke of dying, and pressed me to her bosom, and told me to be good when she was gone, and to love my father, and be kind to him; for he would have no one else to love.
3. I recollect she was ill all day, and my little hobby-horse and whip were laid aside, and I tried to be very quiet. I did not see her for the whole day, and it seemed very long. At night, they told me my mother was too sick to kiss me, as she always had done before I went to bed, and I must go without it. But I could not. I stole into the room, and placing my lips close to hers, whispered; "Mother, dear mother, won't you kiss me?"
4. Her lips were very cold, and when she put her hand upon my cheek, and laid my head on her bosom, I felt a cold shuddering pass all through me. My father carried me from the room; but he could not speak. After they put me in bed, I lay along while thinking; I feared my mother would, indeed, die; for her cheek felt cold, as my little sister's did when she died, and they carried her little body away where I never saw it again. But I soon fell asleep.
5. In the morning I rushed to my mother's room, with a strange dread of evil to come upon me. It was just as I feared. A white linen covered her straight, cold form. I removed it from her face: her eyes were closed, and her cheeks were hard and cold. But my mother's dear, dear smile was there, or my heart would have broken.
6. In an instant, all the little faults, for which she had so often reproved me, rushed upon my mind. I longed to tell her how good I would always be, if she would but stay with me. I longed to tell her how, in all time to come, her words would be a law to me. I would be all that she had wished me to be.
7.  I was a passionate, headstrong boy; and never did this frame of temper come upon me, but I seemed to see her mild, tearful eyes full upon me, just as she used to look in life; and when I strove for the mastery over my passions, her smile seemed to cheer my heart, and I was happy.
8. My whole character underwent a change, even from the moment of her death. Her spirit seemed to be always with me, to aid the good and root out the evil that was in me. I felt it would grieve her gentle spirit to see me err, and I could not, would not, do so.
9. I was the child of her affection. I knew she had prayed and wept over me; and that even on the threshold of the grave, her anxiety for my welfare had caused her spirit to linger, that she might pray once more for me. I never forget my mother's last kiss. It was with me in sorrow; it was with me in joy; it was with me in moments of evil, like a prepetual good.


Lesson 25.  The Story of the Railroad.

1. All great inventions have small beginnings, and this is very strikingly the case with that marvelous contrivance, the railroad. We find the first hint of the railroad in the tramway -- that is, a road for trams, or wagons -- used two or three hundred years ago for the transportation of coal from English coal-mines.
2. In this primitive railway wooden rails were fastened lengthwise on half-buried timbers, for the purpose of keeping the cart-wheels on the track. A little later the carts or cars were wheeled along on the rails themselves; then, to prevent the wooden rails from wearing out, they were covered with iron; and at last the rails were wholly made of that material.
3. After Watt had perfected the steam-engine, the idea of a locomotive, or engine that could move from place to place, began to be thought of. Several ingenious men put their wits to work to contrive a steam-carriage; and among these was Oliver Evans, an American. People thought Evans must be insane when he talked of steam-carriages, and made merry at his expense; but he said, "Wait and see! The time will come when passengers and goods will travel fifteen miles an hour in them."
4. Curiously enough, in all these early experiments, the steam-carriage was made to move on common roads. The hint given by the old tramway was not taken by the first experimenters, none of whom thought of putting his steam-carriage on a track.
5. The first trial of steam on a railroad was made on a tramway in Wales. But all kinds of difficulties were met with, and the locomotive was but a rude machine. It moved slowly, and burned a great deal of coal; hardly any one had thought of using it for passenger travel, and the track was rough and very costly.
6. What the locomotive needed was a master, to make it really useful and to bring it to perfection. Such a master was George Stephenson. This great engineer was born in 1781, at a coal village near Newcastle in England.
7. As a lad George was set to work in a small way about the engine at one of the mines; and as he was not only very industrious, but also very ingenious and useful, he was finally promoted to be engineer at a place called Newburn.
8. Although now eighteen years of age, young Stephenson was still ignorant of the alphabet. He made up his mind to learn to read; and in less than a year he could not only read very well, but write a fair hand, and solve some problems in arithmetic. During the night-watches and between meal-times, young Stephenson would scrawl his letters and figures with a bit of chalk on the sides of the coal-wagons of the mine.
9. As soon as he had mastered the art of reading, he eagerly devoured all the books on engineering and mechanics that he could find. He began to see how the steam-engine could be improved; he made models of new engines in clay; and people soon began to speak of him as a skillful and inventive engineer.
10. It was in the year 1815 that Stephenson devised and built his first locomotive, and in 1821 he was appointed engineer to one of the first short English railroads. Soon after this the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company offered a prize of five hundred pounds for the best locomotive that could be built by a certain day. When Stephenson proposed to make an engine that would go twelve miles an hour, every one said that this was absurd -- that it could not be done. "Twelve miles an hour!" said the critics: "as well trust one's self to be fired off on a rocket." But when the appointed day came, and the different locomotives were offered and tested, Stephenson easily carried off the prize.
11. From that day forward his right to be considered the foremost of railroad inventors was never disputed, and the myriad locomotives of the present day are in the main identical with the Stephenson locomotive of sixty years ago.
12. What magical changes have resulted from the genius and the labors of this man! The locomotive engine has changed the character of human life. It has made the globe smaller for us, and our knowledge of its countries and peoples and products vastly greater. Surely the man who perfected it, George Stephenson, deserves to be called one of the great teachers and benefactors of mankind.


Lesson 26.  The Story of the Steamboat.

1. Before the invention of the steam-engine there were only two methods of driving vessels through the water, -- the one by sails, and the other by oars. Men had only sailboats and rowboats, as we may say: the steamboat -- that is, the boat driven by steam-power -- had not yet been thought of.
2. Sailing-vessels subject to the changing winds, and helpless in a calm, are loiterers at the best, and the fleetest of them lag far astern of any modern steamer. The same ocean that Columbus was so long in crossing is but a week's journey for the voyager of to-day.
3. Soon after Watt had perfected the steam-engine, -- that is, about one hundred years ago, -- two Americans, John Fitch and James Rumsey, devised machinery for applying the power of the steam-engine to the movement of boats.
4. Fitch's boat moved by means of a row of paddles arranged along its sides. Rumsey's plan was to take in water through an opening in the bow of his boat, and then drive it out at the stern with so much force as to push the boat forward. Both Rumsey and Fitch made steamboats that would travel four or five miles an hour, and both sent models and descriptions to Watt.
5. These early steamers were never put to practical use; for to neither Fitch nor Rumsey had occurred the thought of propelling his boat by means of a revolving paddle-wheel.
6. A few years after this time a Scotchman, named William Symington, succeeded in constructing a side-wheel steamboat with a speed of five miles an hour. This boat of Symington's, with the improvements that have since been made upon it, is the river steamboat of the present day.
7. The two men who were mainly instrumental in improving Symington's steamer, and bringing it into actual use, were Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston, both Americans, and both for many years close students of the whole subject of steam navigation.
8. About the beginning of the present century, these two men made a series of experiments on the river Seine at Paris, Fulton having made a special journey to England to see and examine Symington's boat. In the first of these experiments their boat broke through in the middle and sank when the engines were placed on board; but a later was more successful. It was of this boat that Napoleon exclaimed, "It is capable of changing the face of the world."
9. Shortly after this Fulton returned to this country, and built at New York the first American side-wheel steamboat. In this boat, which he had named the "Clermont" ("Fulton's Folly" as scoffers called her), he made a successful trip up the Hudson River to Albany in 1807. 
10. Fulton's own account of this first trip is very interesting. In it he says: -- 
   "To me it was a most trying occasion. The moment arrived when word was to be given for the vessel to move. My friends were in groups on the deck. I read nothing in their looks but disaster, and almost repented of my efforts. The signal was given; the boat moved on a short distance, then stopped and became immovable. I could hear whispers of 'I told you so; it is a foolish scheme.' I hurried below, and discovered the cause of the delay. It was quickly obviated, and the boat went on."
11. Within a few years of this trial trip on the Hudson, hundreds of steamboats had been built in the United States along, while to-day they are numbered by thousands. Just such a change as the railway locomotive has made in overland travel and trade, the ateamboad has wrought in the commerce of the world's great water-ways.
12. It is common to speak of Robert Fulton as the inventor of the steamboat; but we should rather think of him as one of its inventors, and, in particular, as that one of them who first in his own country brought navigation by steampower to a practical success.


Lesson 27.  Faithfulness in Little Things.

1. "Is Mr.Harris in'?" inquired a plainly, but neatly dressed boy, twelve or thirteen years of age, of a clerk, as he stood by the counter of a large bookstore.
 The clerk regarded the boy with a haughty look, and answered: "Mr.Harris is in; but he is engaged."
2. The boy looked at the clerk hesitatingly, and then said: "If he is not particularly engaged, I would like to see him."
 "If you have any business to transact, I can attend to it," replied the clerk. "Mr.Harris can not be troubled with boys like you."
3. "What is this, Mr.Morley?" said a pleasant-looking man, stepping up to the clerk; "what does the boy want?"
 "He insisted on seeing you, though I told him you were engaged," returned the clerk, a little abashed by the manner of his employer.
4. "And what do you wish to see me about, my lad?" inquired Mr.Harris, kindly.
 The boy raised his eyes, and, meeting the scornful glance of the clerk, said timidly: "I wish you to look at the bill of some books which I bought here, about three months since. There is a mistake in it, which I wish to correct."
5. "Ah, my boy, I see," replied Mr.Harris; "you have overpaid us, I suppose!"
  "No, sir," answered the boy. "On the contrary, I purchased some books which are not charged in the bill, and I have called to pay for them."
6. Mr.Harris looked at the boy earnestly for a moment, and then asked; "When did you discover this mistake?"
 "Not until I reached home," replied the lad. "When I paid for the books I was in a great hurry, fearing the boat would leave before I could reach it, and I did not examine the bill."
7. "Why did you not return before, and rectify the mistake?" asked the gentleman, in a tone slightly altered.
 "Because, sir, I live some distance from the city, and have not been able to return till now."
8. "My dear boy," said Mr.Harris, "you have given me great pleasure. In a long life of mercantile business, I have never met with an instance of this kind before. You have acted noble and deserve a recompense."
9. "May I ask who taught you such noble principles?" inquired Mr.Harris.
 "My mother'," answered the boy, bursting into tears.
10. "Blessed is the child who has such a mother," said Mr.Harris, "and blessed is the mother of such a child. Be faithful to her teachings, my dear boy, and you will be the staff of her declining years."
 "Alas, sir," said the boy, "my mother is dead, It was her sickness and death which prevented me from coming here before."
11. "What is your name?" inquired Mr.Harris.
  "Edward Delong."
  "Have you a father living'?"
  "No, sir. My father died when I was an infant."
12. "Where do you reside?"
  "In the town of Linwood, about fifty miles from this city."
  "Well, my boy, what are the books which were forgotten?"
  "Tacitus and a Latin Dictionary."
13. "Let me see the bill. Ha! signed by A. C. Morley. I will see to that. Here, Mr.Morely!" called Mr.Harris; but the clerk was busily engaged in waiting on a customer at the opposite side of the store, bowing and smiling in the most attentive manner.
14. "Edward," continued Mr.Harris, "I am not going to reward you for what you have done; but I wish to manifest my approbation of your conduct in such a manner, as to make you remember the wise and excellent precepts of your departed mother. Select from my store any ten books you choose, which, in addition to the two you had before, shall be a present to you; and henceforth, as now, my boy, remember and not 'despise the day of small things.' If ever you need a friend, call on me, and I will assist you."
15. The grateful boy thanked his kind benefactor, and, with tears in his eyes, bowed and left the store.
 Edward Delong wished for knowledge, and, though the scanty means left him by his mother, could hardly satisfy his desire, by diligence and economy he had advanced far beyond most boys of his age. By working nights and mornings for a neighbor, he had amassed, what seemed to him, a large sum of money, and this was expended in books.
16. Edward's home was now with a man who regarded money as the chief end and aim of life, and severe and constant physical labor as the only means of obtaining that end. For two years Edward struggled with his hopeless condition, toiling early and late to obtain a livelihood.
17. Edward now resolved to go to the city, to seek some employment, better adapted to promote his education. He entered the same store where he purchased the books, and inquired for Mr.Harris.
 "He is engaged," replied the polite clerk. "If you will wait a moment, he will be at liberty."
18. "Did you wish to see me?" asked Mr.Harris of the boy, whose thoughts were so intense that he had not noticed the approach of his friend.
 "Mr.Harris!" exclaimed Edward, and it was all he could say. For the remembrance of past favors bestowed on him by his kind benefactor, so fill his heart with gratitude, that further utterance was denied.
 "My noble Edward!" said the old gentleman. "And so you needed a friend. Well, you shall have one."
19. Five years from that time, Edward Delong was the confidential clerk of Mr.Harris, and, in three more, a partner in the firm. The integrity of purpose, which first won the regard of his benefactor, was his guide in after life. Prosperity crowned his efforts, and happiness blessed his heart, -- the never-failing result of faithfulness in little things.


Lesson 28.  Webster and the Woodchuck.

1. EBENEZER WEBSTER, the father of Daniel, was a farmer. The vegetable in his garden had suffered considerable from the depredations of a woodchuck, which had his hole or habitation near the premises. Daniel, some ten or twelve years old, and his older brother Ezekiel, had set a trap, and finally succeeded in capturing the trespasser.
2. Ezekiel proposed to kill the animal, and end, at once, all further trouble from him; but Daniel looked with compassion upon his meek, dumb captive, and offered to let him again go free. The boys could not agree, and they appealed to their father to decide the case.
3. "Well, my boys," said the old gentleman, "I will be the judge. There is the prisoner, (pointing to the woodchuck,) and you shall be the counsel, and plead the case for and against his life and liberty."
4. Ezekiel opened the case with a strong argument, urging the mischievous nature of the criminal, the great harm he had already done; said that much time and labor had been spent in his capture, and now, if he were suffered to live and go again at large, he would renew his depredations, and be cunning enough not to suffer himself to be caught again.
5. He urged, further, that his skin was of some value, and that, to make the most of him they could, it would not repay half the damage he had already done. His argument was ready, practical, to the point, and of much greater length than our limits will allow us to occupy in relating the story.
6. The father looked with pride upon his son, who became a distinguished jurist in his, manhood. "Now, Danicl, it is your turn: I'll hear what you have to say."
7. It was his first case. Daniel saw that the plea of his brother had sensibly affected his father, the judge; and as his large, brilliant, black eyes looked upon the soft, timid, expression of the animal, and he saw it tremble with fear in its narrow prison-house, his heart swelled with pity, and he urged, with eloquent words, that the captive might again go free.
8. "God," he said, "had made the woodchuck; he made him to live, to enjoy the bright sunlight, the pure air, the free fields and woods. God had not made him, or any thing, in vain; the woodchuck had as much right to life as any other living thing.
9. "He was not a destructive animal, as the wolf and the fox were; he simply ate a few common vegetables, of which they had plenty, and could well spare a part; he destroyed nothing except the little food he needed to sustain his humble life; and that little food was as sweet to him, and as necessary to his existence, as was to them the food upon their mother's table.
10. "God furnished to them food; he gave them all they possessed; and would they not spare a little for the dumb creature, that really had as much right to his small share of God's bounty, as they themselves had to their portion'?
11. "Yea, more, the animal had never violated the laws of his nature or the laws of God, as man often did; but strictly followed the simple, harmless instincts he had received from the hand of the Greator of all things. Created by God's hand, he had a right -- a right from God -- to life, to food, to liberty; and they had no right to deprive him of eighter."
12. He alluded to the mute, but earnest pleadings of the animal for that life, as sweet, as dear to him, as their own was to them, and the just judgment they might expect, if, in selfish cruelty and cold heartlessness, they took the life they could not restore -- the life that God alone had given.
13. During this appeal, the tears had started to the old man's eyes, and were fast running down his sun-burnt cheeks; every feeling of a father's heart was stirred within him; he saw the future greatness of his son before his eyes, he felt that God had blessed him in his children, beyond the lot of most men.
14. His pity and sympathy were awakened by the eloquent words of compassion, and the strong appeal for mercy; and, forgetting the judge in the man and father, he sprang from his chair, (while Daniel was in the midst of his argument, without thinking he had already won his case,) and, turning to his older son, dashing the tears from his eyes, exclaimed, "Ezekiel, Ezekiel, you let that woodchuck go!"


Lesson 29.  Common Gifts.

1. 
The sunshine is a glorious thing,
That comes alike to all,
Lighting the peasant's lowly cot, 
The noble's painted hall.

2. 
The moonlight is a gentle thing,
Which through the window gleams
Upon the snowy pillow, where
The happy infant dreams.

3. 
It shines upon the fisher's boat
Out on the lonely sea, 
As well as on the flags which float 
On towers of royalty.

4. 
The dewdrops of the summer morn 
Display their silver sheen
Upon the smoothly-shaven lawn,
And on the village green.

5. 
There are no gems in monarch's crown
More beautiful than they;
And yet you scarcely notice them.
But tread them off in play.

6. 
The music of the birds is heard,
Borne on the passing breeze,
As sweetly from the hedgerows as
From old ancestral trees.

7. 
There are as many lovely things,
As many pleasant tones,
For those who dwell by cottage hearths
As those who sit on thrones.


Lesson 30.  A Fairy Tale.  Part 1.

1. Once upon a time there lived two brothers, one of whom was rich, and the other poor. Christmas was coming, but the poor man had nothing in the house for a Christmas dinner; so he went to his brother and asked him for a trigling gift.
2. The rich man was ill-natured, and when he heard his brother's request he looked very surly. But as Christmas is a time when even the worst people give gifts, he took a fine ham down from the chimney, where it was hanging to smoke, threw it at his brother and bade him begone, and never to let him see his face again.
3. The poor man thanked his brother for the ham, put it under his arm, and went his way. He had to pass through a great forest on his way home. When he had reached the thickest part of it, he saw an old man, with a long, white beard, hewing timber. 'Good evening,' said he to him.
4. 'Good evening,' returned the old man, raising himself up from his work, and looking at him. 'That is a fine ham you are carrying.' On this, the poor man told him all about it.
5. 'It is lucky for you,' said the old man, 'that you have met with me. If you will take that ham into the land of the dwarfs, the entrance to which lies just under the roots of this tree, you can make a capital bargain with it; for the dwarfs are very fond of ham, and rarely get any. But mind what I say; you must not sell it for money, but demand for it the "old hand-mill which stands behind the door." When you come back, I'll show you how to use it.'
6. The poor man thanked his new friend, who showed him the door under a stone below the roots of the tree, and by this door he entered the land of the dwarfs. No sooner had he set his foot in it than the dwarfs swarmed about him, attracted by the smell of the ham. They offered him queer, old-fashioned money and gold and silver ore for it; but he refused all their tempting old hand-mill behind the door.
7. At this, the dwarfs held up their little old hands, and looked quite perplexed. 'We cannot make a bargain, it seems,' said the poor man, 'so I'll bid you all a good-day.'
8. The smell of the ham had by this time reached the remote parts of fairy-land. The dwarfs came flocking around in troops, leaving their work of digging out precious ores, eager for the ham.
9. 'Let him have the old mill,' said some of the new comers; 'it is quite out of order, and he doesn't know how to use it; let him have it, and we will have the ham.'
10. So the bargain was made. The poor man took the old hand-mill, which was a little thing not half as large as the ham, and went back to the woods. Here the old man showed him how to use it. All this had taken up a great deal of time, and it was midnight before he reached home.
11. 'Where in the world have you been?' said his wife. 'Here I have been waiting and waiting, and we have no wood to make a fire, nor anything to put into the porridge-pot for our Christmas supper.'
12. The house was dark and cold, but the poor man bade his wife wait and see what would happen. He placed the little hand-mill on the table, and began to turn the crank. First, out there came some grand, lighted wax-candles, and a fire on the hearth, and a porridge-pot boiling over it, because in his mind he said they should come first. Then he ground out a table-cloth and dishes, and spoons, and knives and forks.
13. He was himself astonished at his good luck, as you may believe; and his wife was almost beside herself with joy. Well, they had a capital supper; and after it was eaten they ground out of the mill every possible thing to make their house and themselves warm and comfortable. So they had a merry Christmas!


Lesson 31.  A Fairy Tale.  Part 2.

1. When the people went by the house to church the next day, they could hardly believe their eyes. There was glass in the windows instead of a wooden shutter, and the poor man and his wife, dressed in nice new clothes, were seen devoutly kneeling in the church.
2. 'There is something very strange in all this,' said every one. 'Something very strange indeed,' said the rich man, when three days afterwards he received from his once poor brother an invitation to a grand feast. And what a feast it was. The table was covered with a cloth as white as snow, and the dishes were all of silver or gold. The rich man could not, in his great house and with all his wealth, set out such a table.
3. 'Where did you get all these things?' exclaimed he. His brother told him all about the bargain he had made with the dwarfs, and putting the mill on the table, ground out boots and shoes, coats and cloaks, stockings, gowns, and blankets, and bade his wife give them to the poor people, who had gathered about the house to get a sight of the grand feast the poor brother had made for the rich one.
4. The rich man was very envious of his brother's good fortune, and wanted to borrow the mill, intending, for he was not an honest man, never to return it again. His brother would not lend it, for the old man with the white beard had told him never to sell or lend it to any one.
5. Some years went on, and, at last, the possessor of the mill built himself a grand castle on a rock by the sea, facing the west. Its windows, reflecting the golden sunset, could be seen far out from the shore. It became a noted landmark for sailors. Strangers  often came to see this castle and the wonderful mill, of which the strangest tales were told.
6. At length, a great foreign merchant came, and when he had seen the mill, enquired whether it would grind salt. Being told that it would, he wanted to buy it; for he traded in salt, and thought that, if he owned it, he could supply all his customers without taking long and dangerous voyages.
7. The man would not sell it, of course. He was so rich now that he did not want to use it for himself; but every Christmas he ground out food and clothes, and coal for the poor, and nice presents for the little children. So he rejected all the offers of the rich merchant. The merchant, however, made up his mind to have it; he bribed one of the man's servants to let him go into the castle at night, and he stole the mile and seiled away with it in triumph.
8. He had scarcely got out to sea, before he determined to set the mile to work. 'Now, mill, grind salt,' said he; 'grind salt with all your might! -- Salt, salt, nothing but salt!' The mill began to grind and the sailors to fill the sacks; but these were soon full, and in spite of all that could be done, it began to fill the ship.
9. The dishonest merchant was now very much frightened. What was to be done? The mill would not stop grinding; and at last the ship was overloaded, and down it went, making a great whirlpool where it sank. The ship soon went to pieces; but the mill stands on the bottom of the sea, and keeps grinding out 'salt, salt, nothing but salt!' That is the reason, say the peasants of Denmark and Norway, why the sea is salt.


Lesson 32.  Do it Yourself.

1. Do not ask the teacher or some classmate to solve that hard problem. Do it yourself. You might as well let him eat your dinner as "do your sums" for you. It is in studying as in eating; he who does it, gets the benefit, and not he who sees it done. In almost any school, the teacher learns more than the best scholars, simply because he is compelled to solve all the difficult problems, and answer all the questions of the indolent pupils.
2. Do not ask your teacher to parse that difficult word, or assist you in the performance of any of your studies. Do it yourself. Never mind, though they do look dark. Do not ask even a hint from any one. Try again. Every trial increases your ability, and you will finally succeed by dint of the very wisdom and strength gained in the effort, even though, at first, the problem was beyond your skill. It is the study, and not the answer, that really rewards your labor.
3. Look at that boy, who has just succeeded after six hours of hard study. How his large eye is lit up with a proud joy, as he marches to his class! He treads like a conqueror! And well he may. Last night his lamp burned, and this morning he waked at dawn. Once or twice he nearly gave it up. He had tried his last thought; but a new thought strikes him, and he ponders the last process. He tries once more, and succeeds; and now mark the air of conscious strength with which he pronounces his demonstration.
4. His poor, weak schoolmate, who gave up that same problem, after his first trial, now looks up to him with something of a wonder, as a superior being. And he is his superior. That problem lies there, a great gulf between those boys who stood side by side by side yesterday.
5. The boy who did it for himself, has taken a stride upward, and what is better still, has gained strength to take other and better ones. The boy who waited to see others do it, has lost both strength and courage, and is already looking for some good excuse to give up school and study forever.
6. Do it yourself. Remember the counsel given to the artist, who lay reclining upon his couch, and wondering what the fates would work out for him. Directing his attention to a block of unhewn marble, with a chisel lying by its side, the sculptor in the vision is represented as thus addressing him: "Sir,

"There's the marble, there's the chisel,
 Take it, work it to thy will;
 Thou alone must shape thy future,
 Heaven send thee strength and skill!"


Lesson 33.  The Story of Grace Darling.  Part 1.

1. A little way off the coast of Northumberland lies a group of bare and desolate islands, about twenty-five in number, and of various shapes and sizes. They bear the name of the Farne Islands; and one of the largest of them, called the Longstone, is an object of interest, because it was there that Grace Darling performed the brave deed, which has made her name 'familiar to our ears as household words.'
2. At one end of the island stands the lighthouse, with the little cottage, where live the keeper and his family. Beside these, the only inhabitants of the place are the tens of thousands of sea-birds that sit in grave rows along the crags, or wheel about, screaming in the air.
3. As Longstone looks now, so it looked many years ago, when Grace Darling was living there with her father and her mother. She had dwelt there nearly all her days, and to her the island, so desolate to other eyes, had all the charms of a dearly loved home.
4. A quiet life they must have led, that little household in their sea-girt home, with no neighbours to visit and gossip with them, and far from the stir and bustle of busy England. We can fancy them, on some sunny afternoon, sitting at the cottage door, Grace and her mother with their sewing, and the old man cleaning his lamps, or watching the vessels through his glass; or gathering round the hearth some stormy night, listening to the dashing of the rain and the moaning of the wind, and recalling the wrecks of some former storm that had strewed the rocks with spare and ropes.
5. The mention of a heroine is apt to call up the picture of a tall and stately girl with dark, flashing eyes, and perhaps a little 'manliness' of voice and manner; but nothing could be more unlike Grace Darling. She was a fair-haired comely lass of twenty-two, with soft blue eyes and a shy, timid manner. Her figure was of middle height, and by no means striking; but her face was full of sense, modesty, and a true kindness of heart.
6. As the night was beginning to close in, one rough September day, in the year 1838, a steamer passed through the 'Fairway,' between the Farne Island and the coast, on her passage northward. A stiff breeze was blowing right in her teeth, and, as she laboured in the heavy sea, a leak, which she had sprung soon after starting, but which the carpenter thought he had stopped, began to gape again and let the water in very rapidly.
7. All hands were at the pumps, but still the water rose inch by inch father than they could pump it out. To make matters worse, thick sleet was driving across the sea, the breeze was increasing to a gale, and the gloomy look of the sky, the hasty fleeing of the sea-birds shoreward, and many other signs, foretold a fearful storm.
8. As the vessel pitched to and fro, the leak became worse and worse. The engine-fires were washed out; and the sails, which had before been taken in for fear of the gale, had to be hoisted.
9. The storm now burst upon them with all its fury, the wind blew hurricanes, the waves rose mountains high, the sleet drove thick and fast, and a dense fog settled on every side. The tide set in strongly, and the vessel drifted helplessly along with it.
10. As the night wore on, the fog cleared up a little, and the terror-stricken crew beheld a dim line of foaming breakers close to leeward, and the Farne lights shining hazeily through the gloom.
11. With the rocky coast on one hand, and the sharp, jagged islands on the other, they were driving, as it were, between the very jaws of death. Rolling to and fro at the mercy of the waves, all hope was lost for the fated vessel -- either the leak would sink her, or she would be dashed to pieces on the rock.
12. Before morning the ship had struck and gone to pieces. The wind and waves had dashed her head foremost on one of the islands. She broke off sharp amidships. An eddy swallowed up the stern -- that fore part was left fast upon the rocks. The captain and many of the passengers perished. On the wreck some dozen poor wretches still clung with the strength of despair, the sea breaking over them every moment, and threatening to drag them down into the deep.


Lesson 34.  The Story of Grace Darling.  Part 2.

1. With the first streak of dawn, Grace Darling looked out upon the stormy scene. A mist still hung over the water, and half shrouded the islands from sight. There was s high wind, and the sea was raging fiercely.
2. On the edge of one of the islands, nearly a mile off, she could see a strange, dark mass, and with the aid of a telescope made out that it was a part of the wreck, with a few persons still clinging to it.
3. 'O father, there is a wreck upon one of the rocks!' she cried, running to the cottage and putting the telescope into her father's hand; 'and see, some of the crew are still alive.'
4. 'Alas! poor souls, they have not long to live. God help them! The sea will suck them down, wreck and all; no human help can reach them in such a storm as this!' replied her father; for though he had a stout, brave heart, he well knew the peril of an open boat among those jagged rocks and on such a sea.
5. Grace knew the peril, too, but her brave nature set it at naught, compared with the chance of saving the poor people on the wreck. She had never handled an oar except for sport and in quiet waters, but she now urged her father to go with her, and brave the dangers of the passage to the rocks. 'I cannot bear,' she said, 'to sit with folded hands, and see them perish. With God's help, we may yet save them.'
6. Her father yielded; the boat was launched, and he and Grace, taking each an oar, shoved her off. It was ebb-tide, and the boat had many a narrow escape from being dashed upon the rocks; but they made a safe passage, and at last got near the wreck.
7. We may imagine the feelings of anxiety with which the sufferers beheld the little boat tossing toward them -- now all but dashed on a rock, now seemingly swallowed up by some monster wave, but foot by foot nearing them, till at last they could see their preservers.
8. We may also picture to ourselves the wonder with which they gazed upon the calm, carnest face of the brave girl, by the side of her gray weather-beaten father. All hearts were softened, and many a prayer -- with some perhaps the first for many years --  went up to heaven for blessings on those who had risked their own lives, with the hope of saving the lives of strangers.
9. With the greatest difficulty and danger, Grace and her father succeeded in getting nine persons into the boat. But by the time they were ready to leave the wreck, the tide had turned, and, had it not been for the help of the wrecked party in rowing back again, they would all have had to remain on those dangerous rocks until the tide had ebbed again.
10. The boat safely reached the lighthouse, but owing to the violent seas that continued to prevail among the islands, those who were saved had to stay there for two days.
�@Grace Darling retired to rest, on the night of the storm, a girl
�@   Whom there were none to praise,
�@   And very few to love;
but, ere many days were over, she was one of the most famous women in the land.
11. The story of her daring deed was wafted all over Europe: many testimonials poured in on her -- one, a public subscription of seven hundred pounds; portraits of her were seen in all the shop-windows; and songs were written and sung in her honour. But, amid all this praise, Grace never forgot the modesty which is the true handmaid of heroism; and nothing could induce her to leave the lonely lighthouse.
12. There she lived with her father and mother, just as she used to do, till failing health compelled her to remove from the island. Consumption laid its icy hand upon her, and after a long illness she died, three years after her famous deed. This is the true story of Grace Darling.


Lesson 35.  A Tale of War.

William Winter.

1. 
The apples are ripe in the orchard,
The work of the reapers is done,
And the golden woodlands redden 
In the light of the dying sun.
At the cottage door the grandsire
Sits in his easy-chair,
While the gentle wind of twilight
Plays with his silver hair.

2. 
A woman is kneeling beside him;
A fair young form is pressed, 
In the first wild passion of sorrow,
Against his aged breast.
And far from over the distance,
The faltering echoes come
Of the flying blast of trumpet,
And the ratting roll of drum.

3. 
Then the grandsire speaks in a whisper:
'The end no man can see;
But we give him to his country,
And we give our prayers to Thee.'
The violets star the meadows,
The rose-buds fringe the door,
And over the grassy orchard
The pink-white blossoms pour;

4. 
Now the grandsire's chair is empty, 
The cottage is dark and still;
There's a nameless grave on the battle-field,
And a new one under the hill.
And a pallid tearless' woman
By the cold hearth sits alone,
And the old clock in the corner
Ticks on with heavy drone.


Lesson 36.  The Old Eagle Tree.

1. In a remote field stood a large tulip tree, apparently of a century's growth, and one of the most gigantic of that splendid species. It looked like the father of the surrounding forest. A single tree, of huge dimensions, standing all alone, is a sublime object.
2. On the top of this tree, an old eagle, commonly called the "Fishing Eagle," had built her nest every year, for many years, and, unmolested, raised her young. What is remarkable, as she procured her food from the ocean, this tree stood full ten miles from the sea-shore. It had long been know as the "Old Eagle tree."
3. On a warm, sunny day, the workmen were hoeing corn in an adjoining field. At a certain hour of the day, the old eagle was known to set off for the sea-side, to gather food for her young. As she this day returned with a large fish in her claws, the workmen surrounded the tree, and, by yelling, and hooting, and throwing stones, so scared the poor bird that she dropped her fish, and they carried it off in triumph.
4. The men soon dispersed; but Joseph sat down under a bush near by, to watch, and to bestow unavailing pity. The bird soon returned to her nest without food. The eaglets at once set up a cry for food, so shrill, so clear, and so clamorous, that the boy was greatly moved.
5. The parent bird seemed to try to soothe them; but their appetites were too keen, and it was all in vain. She then perched herself on a limb near them, and looked down into the nest with a look that seemed to say, "I know not what to do next."
6. Her indecision was but momentary; again she poised herself, uttered one or two sharp notes, as if telling them to "lie still," balanced her body, spread her wings, and was away again for the sea!
7. Joseph was determined to see the result. His eyes followed her till she grew small, smaller, -- a mere speck in the sky, -- and then disappeared. What boy has not often watched the flight of the bird of his country in this way?
8. She was gone nearly two hours, about double her usual time for a voyage, when she again returned, on a slow, weary wing, flying uncommonly low, in order to have a heavier atmosphere to sustain her, with another fish in her talons.
9. On nearing the field, she made a circuit around it, to see if her enemies were again there. Finding the coast clear, she once more reached her tree, drooping, faint, and weary, and evidently nearly exhausted. Again the eaglets set up their cry, which was soon hushed by the distribution of a dinner, such as -- save the cooking -- a king might admire.
10. "GLORIOUS BIRD!" cried the boy in ecstacy, and aloud; "what a spirit! Other birds can fly swifter, others can sing more sweetly, others can scream more loudly; but what other bird, when persecuted and robbed -- when weary -- when discouraged -- when so far from sea, -- would have done this!
11. " GLORIOUS BIRD!" I will learn a lesson from thee to-day. I will never forget hereafter, that when the spirit is determined, it can do almost anything. Others would have drooped and hung the head, and mourned over the cruelty of man, and sighed over the wants of the nestlings; but thou, by at once recovering the loss, hast forgotten all.
12. "I will learn of thee, noble bird! I will remember this. I will set my mark high. I will try to do something, and to be something in the world; I will never yield to discouragements."


Lesson 37.  The White Ship.  Part 1.

1. King Henry I. went over to Normandy with his son Prince William and a great retinue, to have the Prince acknowledged as his successor by the Norman nobles, and to contract the promised marriage between him and the daughter of the Count of Anjou. Both these things were done with great show and rejoicing; and the whole company prepared to embark for home.
2. When all was ready, there came to the king Fitz-Stephen, a sea-captain, and said: 'My liege, my father served your father all his life upon the sea. He steered the ship with the golden boy upon the prow, in which your father sailed to conquer England. I beseech you to grant me the same office. I have a fair vessel in the harbour here, called the White Ship, manned by fifty sailors of renown. I pray you, Sire, to let your servant have the honour of steering you to England.'
3. 'I am sorry, friend,' replied the king, 'that my vessel is already chosen, and that I cannot therefore sail with the son of the man who served my father. But the prince, with all his company, shall go along with you in the fair White Ship, manned by the fifty sailors of renown.'
4. An hour or two afterwards the king set sail in the vessel he had chosen, accompanied by other vessels, and, sailing all night with a fair and gentle wind, arrived upon the coast of England in the morning. While is was yet night, the people in some of the king's ships heard a faint wild cry come over the sea, and wondered what it was.
5. Prince William went aboard the White Ship with one hundred and forty youthful nobles like himself, among whom were eighteen noble ladies of the highest rank. All this gay company, with their servants and the fifty sailors, made three hundred souls.
'Give three casks of wine, Fitz-Stephen,' said the prince, 'to the fifty sailors of renown. My father the king has sailed out of the harbour. What time is there to make merry here, and yet reach England with the rest?'
6. 'Prince,' said he, 'before morning my fifty and the White Ship shall overtake the swiftest vessel in attendance on your father, if we sail at midnight.' Then the prince commanded to make merry, and the sailors drank out the three casks of wine; and the prince and all the noble company danced in the moonlight on the deck of the White Ship.


Lesson 38.  The White Ship.  Part 2.

1. When at last she shot out of the harbour of Harfleut, there was not a sober seaman on board. But the sails were all set, and the oars all going merrily, Fits-Stephen himself at the helm. The gay young nobles, and the beautiful ladies, wrapped up in mantles of various bright colours to protect them from the cold, talked, and laughed, and sang. The prince encouraged the fifty sailors to row harder yet, for the honour of the White Ship.
2. Crash! a terrific cry broke from three hundred hearts. It was the cry the people in the distant vessels of the king heard faintly on the water. The White Ship had struck upon a rock, and was going down.
3. Fitz-Stephen hurried the prince into a boat with some few nobles. 'Push off,' he whispered, 'and row to the land. It is not far, and the sea is smooth. The rest of us must die.'
4. But, as they rowed away fast from the sinking ship, the prince heard the voice of his sister Marie calling for help. He never in his life had been so good as he was then. He cried, in an agony, 'Row back at any risk! I cannot bear to leave her!'
 They rowed back. As the prince held out his arms to catch his sister, such numbers leaped in that the boat was upset. And in the same instant the White Ship went down.
5. Only two men floated -- a nobleman named Godfrey, and Berold, a poor butcher of Rouen. They both clung to the main yard of the ship, which had broken from the mast, and now supported them. By-and-by another man came swimming towards them, whom they knew, when he pushed aside his long wet hair, to be Fitz-Stephen. When he heard that the prince and all his retinue had gone down, Fits-Stephen, with a ghastly face, cried, 'Woe, woe to me!' and sank to the bottom.
6. The other two clung to the yard for some hours. At length the young noble said faintly, 'I am exhausted and chilled with the cold, and can hold on no longer. Farewell, good friend! God preserve you!' So he dropped and sank; and, of all the brilliant crowd, the poor butcher of Rouen alone was saved. In the morning some fishermen saw him floating in his sheep-skin coat, and got him into their boat -- the sole relator of the dismal tale.
7. For three days no one dared to carry the intelligence to the king. At length they sent into his presence a little boy, who, weeping bitterly, and kneeling at his feet, told him that the White Ship was lost with all on board.
 The king fell to the ground like a dead man, and never afterwards was seen to smile.


Lesson 39.  Whang, the Miller.

1. Whang, the miller, was naturally avaricious; nobody loved money better than he, or more respected those that had it. When people would talk of a rich man in company, Whang would say, "I know him very well, he and I have been very long acquainted; he and I are intimate."
2. But, if a poor man was mentioned, he had not the least knowledge of the man; he might be very well, for aught he knew; but he was not fond of making many acquaintances, and loved to choose his company.
3. Whang, however, with all his eagerness for riches, was poor. He had nothing but the profits of his mill to support him; but, though these were small, they were certain: while it stood and went, he was sure of eating; and his frugality was such, that he, every day, laid some money by; which he would, at intervals, count and contemplate with much satisfaction.
4. Yet still his acquisitions were not equal to his desires; he only found himself above want; whereas he desired to be possessed of affluence. One day, as he was indulging these wishes, he was informed that a neighbor of his had found a pan of money under ground, having dreamed of it three nights in succession.
5. These tidings were daggers to the heart of poor Whang. "Here am I," said he, "toiling and moiling from morning till night for a few paltry farthings, while neighbor Thanks only goes quietly to bed, and dreams himself into thousands before morning. Oh, that I could dream like him! With what pleasure would I dig round the pan! How slyly would I carry it home! Not even my wife should see me! And then, oh the pleasure of thrusting one's hands into a heap of gold up to the elbows!"
6. Suth reflections only served to make the miller unhappy. He discontinued his former assiduity; he was quite disgusted with small gains; and his customers began to forsake him. Every day he repeated the wish, and every night laid himself down in order to dream. Fortune, that was for a long time unkind, at last, however, seemed to smile upon his distress, and indulged him with the wished-for vision.
7. He dreamed that under a certain part of the foundation of his mill, there was concealed a monstrous pan of gold and diamonds, buried deep in the ground, and covered with a large flat stone. He concealed his good luck from every person, as is usual in money-dreams, in order to have the vision repeated the two succeeding nights, by which he should be certain of its truth. His wishes in this, also, were answered; he still dreamed of the same pan of money, in the very same place.
8. Now, therefore, it was past a doubt; so, getting up early the third morning, he repaired, alone, with a mattock in his hand, to the mill, and began to undermine that part of the wall to which the vision directed. The first omen of success that he met with, was a broken ring; digging still deeper, he turned up a house-tile, quite new and entire.
9. At last, after much digging, he came to a broad flat stone; but then it was so large, that it was beyond his strength to remove it. "There," cried he in raptures to himself, "there it is! Under this stone, there is room for a very large pan of diamonds indeed. I must e'en go home to my wife, and tell her the whole affair, and get her to assist me in turning it up." Away, therefore, he goes, and acquaints his wife with every circumstance of their good fortune.
10. Her raptures, on this occasion, may easily be imagined; she flew round his neck, and embraced him in an agony of joy. But these transports, however, did not allay their eagerness to know the exact sum; returning, together, to the place where Whang had been digging, there they found -- not, indeed, the expected treasure -- but the mill, their only support, undermined and fallen;


Lesson 40.  The Skylark.

1. The song is loud and clear, but where is the singer? There is not a tree near, and not a living creature but ourselves; yet the song floats on until the whole air seems to echo it, and so happy a melody is it, so joyous, that it sounds like a thanksgiving hymn.
2. Where can the singer be? Look up! Look up! The skylark is the singer -- there he is so high up in the air, that he seems to us no more than a dark spot against the white clouds.
3. He does not, like other birds, sing his song through and then stop a moment, as if to take breath: he warbles away all the time he is up in the air, not seeming to spare himself or to need rest.
4. The skylark sings nearly all the year round. When the daisy opens its eye, the lark thinks that his hours of duty also have begun; and when the leaves fall, the brave little bird still sends his melody into the chill air. Who does not love the skylark's song?
5. Not long ago a poor window, who almost despaired of making a living in her English home, thought that she might do better in Australia; and she crossed the sea to that distant land.
6. She took with her a pet skylark, which had sung many a morning song in his cage outside her cottage window. She hired a hut in the 'gold-diggings' in Australia, and, by washing the diggers' clothes and cooking their meals, she succeeded in earning money enough to kept herself in comfort.
7. Day after day the lark sang his happy song beside her door, and soon the gold-diggers came to listen to it. For years they had not heard that familiar song. As the sweet notes fell upon their ears, they forgot that they stood under a foreign sky -- the skylark seemed to bring their old home so near to them.
8. More than one of the gold-diggers offered to busy the lark, but the window shook her head in reply to all their offers. 'No, no,' she said; 'I'll never sell it. The only bit of the old country I have is in that cage yonder. But you may come on Sundays and hear him sing. Perhaps it will do you good.'
9. And Sunday after Sunday the gold-diggers came to hear the skylark sing. There were no places of worship for them to go to, and nothing to make Sunday different from the other days of the week, except that some of the men, clinging to their old habits, chose that day as their day of rest.
10. The lark's song brought their English homes to their hearts, if not to their longing eyes; and many a memory of their happy childhood came back to them. They gathered round as the bird sang his wonderful song; and there, in that land of exile, many of those sons of toil remembered the prayers learned at their mothers' knees, and the innocence and hopes of their childhood and youth.
11. Ah! the world had changed since that time, and they had changed with it. The hills and valleys of their far-off English homes rose before them, and their hearts were softened. Truly, the skylark preached a sermon to them -- a sermon in song. And who can doubt that it did 'do them good'?


Lesson 41.  Ode on Solitude.

Pope.

1. 
Happy the man whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air 
In his own ground.

2. 
Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire;
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter fire.

3. 
Blest who can unconcern'dly find
Hours, days, and years glide soft away,
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day.

4. 
Sound sleep by night; study and ease,
Together mixed; sweet recreation;
And innocence, which most doth please 
With meditation.

5. 
Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.


Lesson 42.  The First Jack-Knife.

1. I remember it well! Its horn handle, so smooth and clear, glowing with the unmeaning, but magic word, "Bunkum;" and the blade significantly inviting you to the test, by the two monosyllables, "Try me."
2. I know not how it is, but I never could take half the comfort in any thing which I have since possessed, that I took in this jack-knife. I carned it myself; and, therefore, I had a feeling of independence; it was bought with my own money, -- not teazed out of my uncle, or still kinder father, -- money that I had silently earned on the afternoons of those days set apart for boys to amuse themselves.
3. Yes! with a spirit of persevering industry and selfdenial, at which I now wonder, I went, every afternoon, during "berry-time," and picked the ripened fruit with eagerness; for my heart was in the task. I sold my berries, and, carefully reserving the proceeds, shortly accumulated enough to purchase the treasure, for which I so eagerly longed.
4. I went to one of the village-stores, and requested the clerk to show me his jack-knives; but he, seeing that I was only a boy, and thinking that I merely meant to amuse myself in looking at the nicest, and wishing it was mine, told me not to plague him, as he was otherwise engaged.
5. I turned with indignation; but I felt the inward comfort of a man who has confidence in his own resources, and knows he has the power in his own hands. I quietly jingled the money in my pockets, and went to the opposite store. I asked for jack-knives, and was shown a lot fresh from the city, which were temptingly laid down before me, and left for me to select one while the trader went to another part of his store to wait upon an older customer. I looked over them, opened them, breathed upon the blades, and shut them again.
6. One was too hard to open, another had no spring; finally, after examining them with all the judgment which, in my opinion, the extent of the investment required, I selected one with a hole through the handle; and, after a dissertation with the owner upon jack-knives in general, and this one in particular, -- upon hawk-bill, and dagger-blades, -- and handles, iron, bone, and buck-horn, -- I succeeded in closing a bargain.
7. I took the instrument I had purchased, and felt a sudden expansion of my boyish frame! It was my world! I deposited it in my pocket among other valuables, -- twine, marbles, slate-pencils, &c. I went home to my father; I told him how long I had toiled for it, and how eagerly I had spent time, which others had allotted to play, to possess myself of my treasure.
8. My father gently chided me for not telling him of my wants; but I observed his glistening eye turn affectionately to my mother and then to me, and I thought that his manly from seemed to straighten up and to look prouder than I had ever before seen him. At any rate, he came to me, and, patting my curly head, told me there was no object in life, which was reasonable to be desired, that honesty, self-denial, well-directed industry, and perseverance would not place within my reach; and if, through life, I carried the spirit of independent exertion into practice, which I had displayed in the purchase of the jack-knife, I should become a "great man."
9. From that moment, I was a new being. I had discovered that I could rely upon myself. I took my jack-knife, and many a time, while cutting the walnut-saplings for my bow, or the straight pine for my arrow, or carving my mimic ship, did I muse upon these words of my father, -- so deeply are the kind expressions of a judicious parent engraven on the heart and memory of boyhood.
10. My knife was my constant companion. It was my carpenter, my ship-builder, and my toy-manufacturer. It was out upon all occasions, never amiss, and always "handy;" and, as I valued it, I never let it part from me. I own my selfishness; I would divide my apples among my playmates, my whole store of marbles was at their service, -- they might knock my bats, kick my foot-ball as they chose; but I had no partnership of enjoyments in my jack-knife. Its possession was connected in my mind with something so exclusive, that I could not permit another to take it for a moment. Oh! there is a wild and delicious luxury in one's boyish anticipations and youthful day-dreams!
11. If, however, the use my jack-knife afforded me pleasure, the idea of its possession was no less a source of enjoyment. I was, for the time being, a little prince among my fellows, -- a perfect monarch. Let no one exclaim against aristocracy; were we all perfectly equal to-day, there would be an aristocracy to-morrow. Talent, judgment, skill, tact, industry, perseverance, will place some on the top, while the contrary attributes will place others at the bottom of fortune's ever-revolving wheel!
12. The plowman is an aristocrat, if he excels in his vocation: he is an aristocrat, if he turns a better or a straighter furrow than his neighbor. The poorest poet is an aristocrat, if he writes more feelingly, in a purer language, or with more euphonic jingle than his contemporaries. The fisherman is an aristocrat, if he wields his harpoon with more skill, and hurls it with a deadlier energy than his messmates, or has even learned to fix his bait more alluringly on his barbed hook.
13. All have had, and still have their foibles; all have some possession, upon which they pride themselves, and I was proud of my jack-knife! Spirit of Socrates, forgive me! was there no pride in dying like a philosopher'? Spirit of Demosthenes, forgive me! was there no pride in your addresses to the boundless and roaring ocean'? Spirit of David! was there no pride in the deadly hurling of the smooth pebble, which sank deep into the forehead of your enemy'?
14. But I must take my jack-knife and out short this digression. Let no man say this or that occurrence "will make no difference fifty years hence," -- a common, but dangerous phrase. I am now a man of three-score years. I can point my finger here to my ships, there to my ware-house. My name is well known in two hemispheres. I have drunk deeply of intellectual pleasures, have served my country in many important stations, have had my gains and my losses.
15. I have seen many, who started with fairer prospects, but with no compass, wrecked before me; but I have been impelled in my operations, no matter how extensive, by the same spirit which conceived and executed the purchase of the jack-knife. And I have found my reward in it; and, perhaps, in after years, there will be those who will say that the predictions of my father were fulfilled in their case; and that, from small beginnings, by "honesty, self-denial, well-directed industry, and perseverance," they also, DECAME TRULY "GREAT MEN."


Lesson 43.  The Emperor and the Major.

1. The Emperor Alexander, while travelling in Western Russia, came one day to a small town of which he knew very little; so, when he found that he must change horses, he thought that he would look around and see what the town was like.
2. Alone, dressed in a plain military coat, without any mark of his high rank, he wandered through the place until he came to the end of the road that he had been following. There he paused, not knowing which way to turn; for two paths were before him -- one to the right, and one to the left.
3. Alexander saw a soldier standing at the door of a house; and, going up to him, the Emperor said, 'My friend, can you tell which of these two roads I must take to get to Kalouga?' The soldier, who was in full military dress, was smoking a pipe with an air of dignity almost ridiculous. Astonished that so plain-looking a traveller should dare speak to him, the smoker answered shortly, 'To the right.'
4. 'Pardon!' said the Emperor. 'Another word, if you please.' 'What?' was the haughty reply. 'Permit me to ask you a question,' continued the Emperor. 'What is your grade in the army?' 'Guess.' And the pipe blazed away furiously. 'Lieutenant?' said the amused Alexander. 'Up!' came proudly from the smoker's lips. 'Captain?' 'Higher.' 'Major?' 'At last!' was the lofty response. The Emperor bowed low in the presence of such greatness.
5. 'Now, in my turn,' said the major, with the grand air that he though fit to use in addressing a humble inferior, 'what are you, if you please?' 'Guess,' answered Alexander. 'Lieutenant?' 'Up!' 'Captain?' 'Higher.' 'Major?' 'Go on.' 'Colonel?' 'Again.'
6. The smoker took his pipe from his mouth: 'Your Excellency is, then, general?' The grand air was fast disappearing. 'You are coming near it.' The major put his hand to his cap: 'Then your highness is field-marshal?'
7. By this time the grand air had taken flight, and the officer, so pompous a moment before, looked as if the steady gaze and the quiet voice of the traveller had reduced him to the last stage of fear.
'Once more, my good major,' said Alexander. 'His Imperial Majesty!' exclaimed the man, in surprise and terror, letting his pipe drop from his trembling fingers. 'His very self,' answered the Emperor; and he smiled at the wonderful change in the major's face and manner.
8. 'Ah, sire, pardon me!' cried the officer, falling on his knees; 'pardon me!' 'And what is there to pardon?' said Alexander, with real, simple dignity. 'My friend, you have done me no harm. I asked you which road I should take, and you told me. Thanks!'
9. But the major never forgot the lesson. If, in later years, he was tempted to be rude or haughty to his so-called inferiors, there rose at once in his mind a picture of a well-remembered scene, in which his pride of power had brought such shame upon him. Two soldiers in a quiet country town made but an everyday picture, after all; but what a difference there had been between the pompous manner of the petty officer and the natural dignity of the Emperor of all the Russians!


Lesson 44.  The Power of Habit.

1. I remember once riding from Buffalo to the Niagara Falls. I said to a gentleman, "What river is that, sir?"
 "That," said he, "is Niagara river."
2. "Well, it is a beautiful stream," said I; "bright, and fair, and glassy. How far off are the rapids?"
 "Only a mile or two," was the reply.
3. "Is it possible that only a mile from us, we shall find the water in the turbulence which it must show near the Falls'?"
 "You will find it so, sir." And so I found it; and the first sight of Niagara I shall never forget.
4. Now, launch your bark on that Niagara river; it is bright, smooth, beautiful, and glassy. There is a ripple at the bow; the silver wake you leave behind, adds to your enjoyment. Down the stream you glide, oars, sails, and helm in proper trim, and you set out on your pleasure excursion.
5. Suddenly, some one cries out from the bank, "Young men, ahoy!"
 "What is it?"
 "The rapids are below you!"
6. "Ha! ha! we have heard of the rapids; but we are not such fools as to get there. If we go too fast, then we shall up with the helm, and steer to the shore; we will set the mast in the socket, hoist the sail, and speed to the land. Then on, boys; don't be alarmed, -- there is no danger."
7. "Young men, ahoy there!"
 "What is it?"
 "The rapids are below you!"
8. "Ha! ha! we will laugh and quaff; all things delight us. What care we for the future! No man ever saw it. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. We will enjoy life while we may, -- will catch pleasure as it flies. This is enjoyment; time enough to steer out of danger when we are sailing swiftly with the current."
9. "YOUNG MEN, AHOY!"
 "What is it?"
 "BEWARE! BEWARE! THE RAPIDS ARE BELOW YOU!"
10. "Now you see the water foaming all around. See how fast you pass that point! Up with the helm! Now turn! Pull hard! Quick! quick! quick! pull for your lives! pull till the blood starts from your nostrils, and the veins stand like whip-cords upon your brow! Set the mast in the socket! hoist the sail! Ah! ah! it is too late! Shrieking, howling, blaspheming; over they go."
11. Thousands go over the rapids of intemperance ever year, through the power of habit, crying all the while, "When I find out that it is injuring me, I will give it up!"


Lesson 45.  Higher!

1. HIGHER! It is a word of noble import. It lifts the soul of man from low and groveling pursuits, to the achievement of great and noble deeds, and ever keeps the object of his aspiration in view, till his most sanguine expectations are fully realized.
2.  HIGHER! lisps the infant that clasps its parent's knee, and makes its feeble effort to rise from the floor. It is the first inspiration of childhood to burst the narrow confines of the cradle, and to exercise those feeble, tottering limbs, which are to walk forth in the stateliness of manhood.
3. HIGHER! echoes the proud school-boy in his swing; or, as he climbs the tallest tree of the forest, that he may look down upon his less adventurous comrades with a flush of exultation, -- and abroad over the fields, the meadows, and his native village.
4. HIGHER! earnestly breathes the student of philosophy and nature. He has a host of rivals; but he must excel them all. The midnight oil burns dim; but he finds light and knowledge in the lamps of heaven, and his soul is never weary, when the last of them is hid by the splendors of the morning.
5. And HIGHER! his voice thunders forth, when the dignity of manhood has mantled his form, and the multitude is listening with delight to his oracles, burning with eloquence, and ringing like true steel in the cause of Freedom and Right. And when time has changed his locks to silver, -- when the young and the old unite to do him honor, he still breathes forth from his generous heart fond wishes for their welfare.
6. HIGHER YET! He has reached the apex of earthly honor; yet his spirit burns as warm as in youth, though with a steadier and purer light. And even now, while his frail tenement begins to admonish him, that "the time of his departure is at hand," he looks forward, with rapturous anticipation, to the never-fading glory, attainable only in the presence of the Most High.


Lesson 46.  The Ambitious Apprentice.

1. "How far is it from here to the sun?" asked Harmon Lee of his father's apprentice, James Wallace, intending by the question to elicit some reply that would exhibit the boy's ignorance.
2James Wallace, a boy of fourteen, turned his bright, intelligent eyes upon the son of his employer, and replied, "I don't know, Harmon. How far is it?"
3. There was something so honest and earnest in the tone of the boy, that, much as Harmon had felt disposed, at first, to sport with his ignorance, he could not refrain from giving him a true answer. Still, his contempt for the ignorant apprentice was not to be concealed, and he replied, "Ninety-five millions of miles, you ignoramus!" James did not retort; but, repeating over in his mind the distance named, fixed it indelibly upon his memory.
4. On the same evening, after he had finished his day's work, he obtained a small text-book on astronomy, which belonged to Harmon Lee, and went up into his garret with a candle, and there, alone, attempted to dive into the mysteries of that sublime science. As he read, the earnestness of his attention fixed nearly every fact upon his mind. So intent was he, that he perceived not the flight of time, until the town-clock struck ten.
5. He lay down upon his hard bed, and gave full scope to his thoughts. Hour after hour passed away, but he could not sleep, so absorbed was he in reviewing the new and wonderful things he had read. At last, wearied nature gave way, and he fell into a slumber, filled with dreams of planets, moons, comets, and fixed stars.
6. The nest morning the apprentice boy resumed his place at the work-bench with a new feeling; and, with this feeling, was mingled one of regret, that he could not go to school as well as Harmon.
 "But I can study at night, while he is asleep," he said to himself.
7. Just then Harmon Lee came into the shop, and, approaching James, said, for the purpose of teasing him, "How big round is the earth, James?"
"Twenty-five thousand miles," was the quick reply.
8. Harmon looked surprised, for a moment, and then responded, with a sneer, -- for he was not a kind-hearted boy, but, on the contrary, very selfish, and disposed to injure rather than do good to others, -- "Oh! how wonderfully wise you are all at once! And no doubt you can tell how many moons Jupiter has? Come, let us hear."
9."Jupiter has four moons," James answered, with something of exultation in his tone.
"And, no doubt, you call tell how many rings it has?"
 "Jupiter has no rings. Saturn has rings, and Jupiter belts," James replied, in a decisive tone.
10. For a moment or two Harmon was silent with surprise and mortification, to think that his father's apprentice, whom he esteemed so far below him, should be possessed of knowledge equal to his, and on the points in reference to which he had chosen to question him, -- and that he should be able to convict him of an error, into which he had purposely fallen.
11. "I should like to know how long it is since you became so wonderfully wise," said Harmon, with a sneer.
 "Not very long," James replied calmly. "I have been reading one of your books on astronomy."
12. "I should like to know what business you have to touch one of my books! You had better be minding your work."
 "I did not neglect it, Harmon; I read at night, after I was done with my work; and I did not hurt your book."
 "I don't care if you didn't hurt it. You are not going to have my books, I can tell you. So, you just let them alone,"
13. Poor James's heart sank within him at this unexpected obstacle, so suddenly thrown in his way. He had no money of his own to buy, and knew of no one from whom he could borrow the book, that had become so necessary to his happiness. "Do, Harmon," he said, "lend me the book; I will take good care of it."
 "No; I will not. And don't you dare to touch it," was the angry reply.
14. James Wallace knew well enough the selfish disposition of Harmon, to be convinced that there was now but little hope of his having the use of his books, except by stealth; and from that his naturally open and honest principles revolted. All day he thought earnestly of the means whereby he should be able to obtain a book on astronomy, to quench the ardent thirst he had created in his own mind.
15. He was learning the trade of a blind-maker. Having been already an apprentice for two years, and being industrious and intelligent, he had acquired a readiness with tools, and much skill in some parts of his trade. While sitting alone, after he had finished his work for the day, it occurred to him that he might, by working in the evening, earn some money, and with it buy such books as he wanted.
16. By consent of his employer, he succeeded in getting a small job, from one of his neighbors; and, in a short time, by working evenings, he obtained sufficient money to purchase a book of his own, and had a half dollar left, with which he bought a second-hand dictionary. Every night found him poring over his books; and, as soon as it was light enough in the morning to see, he was up and reading. During the day, his mind was pondering over the thing he had read, while his hands, were diligently employed in the labor assigned him.
17. It occurred, just at this time, that a number of benevolent individuals established, in the town where James lived, one of those excellent institutions, an Apprentices' Library. To this he applied, and obtained the books he needed. And thus, did this poor apprentice boy lay the foundation of future eminence and usefulness. At the age of twenty-one, he was master of his trade; and, what was more, had laid up a vast amount of general and scientific information.
18. Let us now turn to mark the progress of the young student, Harmon Lee, in one of the best seminaries in his native city, and afterwards at college. The idea that he was to be a lawyer, soon took possession of his mind, and this caused him to feel contempt for other boys, who were merely designed for trades or store-keeping.
19. Like too many others, he had no love for learning. To be a lawyer he thought would be much more honorable than to be a mere mechanic; and, for this reason alone, he desired to be one. As for James Wallace, the poor illiterate apprentice, he was most heartily despised, and never treated by Harmon with the least degree of kind consideration.
20. At the age of eighteen, Harmon was sent away to one of the eastern universities, and there remained until he was twenty years of age, when he graduated, and came home with the honorary title of Bachelor of Arts. On the very day that James completed his term of apprenticeship, Harmon was admitted to the bar.
21. From some cause, James determined he would make law his profession. To the acquirement of a knowledge of legal matters, therefore, he bent all the energies of a well disciplined mind. Two years passed away in an untiring devotion to the studies he had assigned himself, and he then made application for admission to the bar.
22. Young Wallace passed his examinations with some applause, and the first case on which he was employed, chanced to be one of great difficulty, which required all his skill; the lawyer on the opposite side was Harmon Lee, who entertained for his father's apprentice the utmost contempt.
23. The cause came on. There was a profound silence and a marked attention and interest, when the young stranger arose in the court- room to open the case. A smile of contempt curled the lip of Harmon Lee, but Wallace saw it not. The prominent points of the case were presented in plain, but concise language to the court; and a few remarks bearing upon its merits being made, the young lawyer took his seat, and gave room for the defense.
24. Instantly Harmon Lee was on his feet, and began referring to the points presented by his "very learned brother," in a very flippant manner. There were those present who marked the light that kindled in the eye of Wallace, and the flash that passed over his countenance at the first contemptuous word and tone that were uttered by his antagonist at the bar. These soon gave place to attention, and an air of conscious power. Nearly an hour had passed when Harmon resumed his seat with a look of exultation, which was followed by a pitying and contemptuous smile, as Wallace again slowly rose.
25. Ten minutes, however, had not passed when that smile had changed to a look of surprise, mortification, and alarm. The young lawyer's first speech showed him to be a man of calm, deep, systematic thought, -- well skilled in points of law and in authorities, -- and, more than all, a lawyer of practical and comprehensive view. When he sat down, no important point in the case had been left untouched, and none that had been touched, required further elucidation.
26. Lee followed briefly, in a vain attempt to torture his language and break down his positions. But he felt that he was contending with weapons whose edges were turned at every blow. When he took his seat again, Wallace merely remarked that he was prepared, without further argument, to submit the case to the court.
27. The case was accordingly submitted, and a decision unhesitatingly made in favor of the plaintiff, or Wallace's client. From that hour James Wallace took his true position. The despised apprentice became the able and profound lawyer, and was esteemed for real talent and real moral worth, which, when combined, ever place their possessor in his true position. Ten years from that day, Wallace was elevated to the bench, while Lee, a second-rate lawyer, never rose above that position.


Lesson 47.  A Psalm of Life.

Longfellow.

1. 
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
"Life is but an empty dream!"
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

2. 
Life is real! Life is earnest! 
And the grave is not its goal;
"Dust thou art, to dust returnest,"
Was not spoken of the soul.

3. 
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way,
But to act, that each to-morrow
Fine us father than to-day.

4. 
Art is long, and Time is fleeting;
And our hearts, though strong and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

5. 
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

6. 
Trust no future, howe'er pleasant;
Let the dead past bury its dead:
Act, -- act in the living present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead.

7. 
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

8. 
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

9. 
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.


Lesson 48.  "So was Franklin."

1. "Oh, you're a 'prentice!" said a little boy, the other day, tauntingly, to his companion. The boy addressed turned proudly round, and, while the fire of injured pride and the look of pity were strangely blended in his countenance, coolly answered, "So was Franklin!"
2. This dignified reply struck me forcibly, and I turned to mark the disputants more closely. The former, I perceived by his dress, was of a higher class in society than his humble, yet more dignified companion. The latter was a sprightly, active lad, scarce twelve years old, and coarsely, but neatly attired. But, young as he was, there was visible in his countenance much of genius, manly dignity, and determinate resolution; while that of the former showed only fostered pride, and the imagined superiority of riches.
3. That little fellow, thought we, gazing at our young hero, displays already much of the man, though his calling be a humble one; and, man, though poverty extends to him her dreary, cheerless reality, still he looks on the brightest side of the scene, and already rises in anticipation from poverty and wretchedness! Once, "so was Franklin," and the world may one day witness in our little "'prentice" as great a philosopher as they have already seen in his noble pattern! And we passed on, buried in meditation.
4. The motto of our infantile philosopher contains much, -- too much to be forgotten, and should be engraven on the minds of all. What can better cheer man in a humble calling, than the reflection that the greatest and the best of earth -- the greatest statesmen, the brightest philosophers, and the proudest warriors -- have once graced the same profession?
5. "Look at Franklin! He who
With the thunder talked, as friends to friend,
And wove his garland of the lightning's wing,
In sportive twist."

 What was he? A printer! once a subordinate in a printing office! Poverty stared him in the face; but her blank, hollow look, could nothing daunt him. He struggled against a harder current than most are called to encounter; but he did not yield. He pressed manfully onward; bravely buffeted misfortune's billows, and gained the desired haven!
6. Look at Cincinnatus! At the call of his country he laid aside the plow and seized the sword. But having wielded it with success, when his country was no longer endangered, and public affairs needed not his longer stay, "he beat his sword into a ploughshare," and returned with honest delight to his little farm.
7. Look at Washington! What was his course of life? He was first a farmer; next a Commander in Chief of the hosts of freedom, fighting for the liberation of his country from the thralls of despotic oppression; next, called to the highest seat of government by his ransomed brethren, a President of the largest Republic on earth, and lastly, a farmer again.
8. What was the famous Ben Jonson? He was first a brick-layer, or mason! What was he in after years? 'Tis needless to answer.
What was Burns? An Ayrshire plowman! What was he in after life, in the estimation of his countrymen, and the world? Your library gives the answer!
9. But shall we go on, and call up, in proud array, all the mighty host of worthies that have lived and died, who were cradled in the lap of penury, and received their first lessons in the school of affliction'? Nay'; we have cited instances enough already, -- yea more than enough to prove the point in question -- namely, that there is no profession, however low in the opinion of the world, but has been honored with earth's greatest and worthiest.
10. Young man! Does the iron hand of misfortune press hard upon you, and disappointments well-nigh sink your despairing soul'? Have courage! Mighty ones have been your predecessors, and have withstood the current of opposition that threatened to overwhelm their fragile bark.
11. Do you despise your humble station, and repine that Providence has not placed you in some nobler sphere'? Murmur not against the dispensations of an All-wise Creator! Remember that wealth is no criterion of moral rectitude or intellectual worth, -- that riches dishonestly gained, are a lasting curse, -- that virtue and uprightness work out a rich reward, -- and that
�@"An honest man's the noblest work of God."
12. And when dark Disappointment comes, do not wither at her stare; but press forward, and the prize is yours! It was thus with Franklin, -- it can be thus with you. He strove for the prize, and he won it! So may you! 'Tis well worth contending for; and may success attend you, and the "stars" grow brighter, as the "stripes" wear deeper!


Lesson 49.  Mrs. Credulous and the Fortune-Teller.

  Mrs.Credulous. Are you the fortune-teller, sir, that knows every thing'?
  Fortune Teller. I sometimes consult futurity, madam; but I make no pretensions to any supernatural knowledge.
  Mrs.C. Ay', so you say; but every body else says you know every thing; and I have come all the way from Boston to consult you; for you must know I have met with a dreadful loss.
  F.T. We are liable to losses in this world', madam'
  Mrs.C. Yes'; and I have had my share of them, though I shall be only fifty, come Thanksgiving.
  F.T. You must have learned to bear misfortunes with fortitude, by this time.
  Mrs.C. I don't know how that is, though my dear husband, rest his soul, used to say, "Molly, you are as patient as Job, though you never had any children to lose, as he had."
  F.T. Job was a model of patience, madam, and few could lose their all with so much resignation.
  Mrs.C. Ah, sir', that is too true'; for even the small loss I have suffered, overwhelms me!
  F.T. The loss of property, madam, comes home to the bosom of the best of us.
  Mrs.C. Yes, sir; and when the thing lost can not be replaced, it is doubly distressing. When my poor, good man, on our wedding day, gave me the ring, "Keep it, Molly," said he, "till you die, for my sake." And now, that I should have lost it, after keeping it thirty years, and looking it up so carefully all the time, as I did -- 
  F.T. We can not be too careful in this world, madam; our best friends often deceive us.
  Mrs.C. True, sir, true, -- but who would have thought that child I took, as it were, out of the street, and brought up as my own, could have been guilty of such ingratitude? She never would have touched what was not her own, if her vagabond lover had not put her up to it.
  F.T. Ah, madam, ingratitude is the basest of all crimes!
  Mrs.C. Yes; but to think that the impudent creature should deny she took it, when I saw it in the possession of that wretch myself.
  F.T. Impudence, madam, usually accompanies crime. But my time is precious, and the star that rules your destiny will set, and your fate be involvod in darkness, unless I proceed to business immediately. The star informs me, madam, that you are a widow.
  Mrs.C. La! Sir, were you acquainted with my deceased husband?
  F.T. No, madam; we do not receive our knowledge by such means. Thy name is Mary, and the dwelling-place is Boston.
  Mrs.C. Some spirit must have told you this, for certain.
  F.T. This is not all, madam. You were married at the age of twenty years, and were the sole heir of your deceased husband.
  Mrs.C. I perceive, sir, you know every thing.
  F.T. Madam, I can not help knowing what I do know; I must therefore inform you that your adopted daughter, in the dead of night -- 
  Mrs.C. No, sir; it was in the day-time.
  F.T. Do not interrupt me, madam. In the dead of night, your adopted daughter planned the robbery which deprived you of your wedding-ring.
  Mrs.C. No earthly being could have told you this, for I never let my right hand know that I possessed it, lest some evil should happen to it.
  F.T. Hear me, madam; you have come all this distance to consult the fates, and find your ring.
  Mrs.C. You have guessed my intention exactly, sir.
  F.T. Guessed'! madam'. I know this is your object; and I know, moreover, that your ungrateful daughter has incurred your displeasure, by receiving the addresses of a worthless man.
  Mrs.C. Every word is gospel truth. 
  F.T. This man had persuaded your daughter -- 
  Mrs.C. I knew he did, I told her so. But good sir, can you tell me who has the ring?
  F.T. This young man had it.
  Mrs.C. But he denies it.
  F.T. No matter, madam, he has it. 
  Mrs.C. But how shall I obtain it again?
  F.T. The law points out the way, madam, -- it is my business to point out the rogue, -- you must catch him.
  Mrs.C. you are right, sir, -- and if there is law to be had, I will spend every cent I own, but I will have it. I knew he was the robber, and I thank you for the information.
  F.T. But thanks, madam, will not pay for all my nightly vigils, consultations, and calculations.
  Mrs.C. Oh, right, sir! I forgot to pay you. What am I indebted to you?
  F.T. Only five dollars, madam.
  Mrs.C. [Handing him the money.] There it is, sir. I would have paid twenty rather than not have found the ring.
  F.T. I never take but five, madam. Farewell, madam, your friend is at the door with your chaise. [He leaves the room.]

[Enter, Friend.]
  Friend. Well, Mary, what does the fortuneteller say?
  Mrs.C. Oh, he told me I was a widow, and lived in Boston, and had an adopted daughter, -- and -- 
  Friend. But you knew all this before, did you not? 
  Mrs.C. Yes; but how should he know it? He told me, too, that I had lost a ring, -- 
  Friend. Did he tell you where to find it?
  Mrs.C. Oh yes! he says that fellow has it, and I must go to law and get it, if he will not give it up. What do you think of that?
  Friend. It is precisely what any fool could have told you. But how much did you pay for this precious information?
  Mrs.C. Only five dollars.
  Friend. How much was the ring worth?
  Mrs.C. Why, two dollars, at least.
  Friend. Then you have paid ten dollars for a chaise to bring you here, five dollars for the information that you had already, and all this to gain possession of a ring not worth one quarter of the expense!
  Mrs.C. Oh, the rascal! How he has cheated me! I will go to the world's end but I will be revenged.
  Friend. You had better go home, and say nothing about it; for every effort to recover your money, will only expose your folly.


Lesson 50.  To a Water Fowl.

W. C. Bryant.

1. 
Whither, 'midst falling dew,
While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, 
Far through their rosy depth, dost thou pursue
Thy solitary way?

2. 
Vainly the fowler's eye
Might mark the distant flight to do thee wrong,
As, darkly painted on the crimson sky,
Thy figure floats along.

3. 
Seek'st thou the plashy brink
Oh weedy lake, or marge of river wide,
Or where the rocking billows rise and sink
On the chafed ocean side?

4. 
There is a power whose care
Teaches thy way along that pathless coast,
The desert and illimitable air,
Lone wandering but not lost.

5. 
All day thy wings have fann'd,
At that far height the cold thin atmosphere,
Yes stoop not, weary, to the welcome land, 
Though the dark night is near.

6. 
And soon that toil shall end;
Soon shalt thou find a summer's home, and rest
And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend
Soon o'er thy shelter'd nest.

7. 
Thou'rt gone, the abyss of heaven
Hath swallow'd up thy form; yet on my heart 
Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given,
And shall not soon depart.

8. 
He, who from zone to zone
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, 
In the long way that I must tread alone,
Will lead my steps aright.