Christmas morning came, and soon Alice Brown entered Mrs. Reed's cottage
and received a warm welcome.
"Merry Christmas! Mrs. Reed," said Alice.
"Thank you, my dear," replied Mrs. Reed; "it will indeed be a 'Merry
Christmas' if you can remain with me this forenoon."
"Well, I can stay till dinner-time," said Alice. "See what a pretty
present cousin John sent me!" and Alice held up a new pocket-book.
"That is very nice, Alice," said Mrs. Reed; "now if you had some one to
fill it with money, it would be better still."
"Yes, indeed," cried Alice, laughingly; "but as I was not so fortunate
as to receive any money, and have none of my own to put in it, the
pocket-book is not likely to be worn out for a long time."
"Well, well, Alice," replied Mrs. Reed, "it is always handy to have
things in the house; for some time they may be needed.
"Excuse me a moment, Alice," continued Mrs. Reed; "sit down here by the
fire and warm yourself."
Alice took a seat by the fire and warmed her fingers; for, although it
was a bright sunshiny day, it was very cold.
Mrs. Reed stepped into the adjoining room, and with a light heart and
an expression on her face that no one had seen for many a day, took up
the little work-box she had prepared for Alice.
Returning again to the sitting-room with the box in her hand, she
approached Alice and said;
"Here, my dear, is a little Christmas present I have for you. I
sincerely wish it were something better. It will be useful, I know, and
I hope it will please you."
"O how beautiful!" exclaimed Alice, as she caught sight of the curious
carvings on the outside of the box. "And a work-box, too!" she
continued, as she took it in her hands and lifted the cover; "is it
really for me?"
"For no one else, I assure you," replied Mrs. Reed, as her face lighted
up with joy, at seeing Alice so happy.
"O how can I ever thank you enough!" exclaimed Alice, as she threw her
arms around Mrs. Reed's neck and kissed her again and again.
Then taking a seat by Mrs. Reed, Alice began to examine the contents of
the new work-box, lifting out the articles one by one, and placing them
in her lap.
She then admired the beautiful lining which. Mrs. Reed had put in the
box, asking her where she got such pretty pieces of silk.
"That piece of silk at the top, Alice, is a bit of my wedding-dress; and
that on the sides, is a part of my wedding-sash. Those remind me of
happy days, Alice.
"I had plenty then: a good husband, a happy home, and never thought that
I should come to poverty."
"What is this from?" asked Alice, touching the silk lining at the
bottom of the box.
"O that was always in the box, Alice. It was there when my husband
received it, and must be a piece of India silk.
"Is any thing the matter with it?" continued Mrs. Reed, as she noticed
Alice picking at one corner of it.
"O nothing is the matter," replied Alice; "it only seemed to me to be a
little loose."
"Let me look," said Mrs. Reed. "I don't think it can be loose, or I
should have seen it when I was lining the box."
"It is actually quite loose," said Alice, as she examined it further,
and picked up one corner with, a pin; "and here is a little piece of
paper underneath it."
"That is remarkable," said Mrs. Reed, as she put on her spectacles and
drew up her chair a little closer to Alice.
"And there is some writing on it too," said Alice, as she drew it from
its hiding-place and handed it to Mrs. Reed.
"Why, it's my husband's writing!" exclaimed Mrs. Reed, as she closely
examined the faded letters. "What can it mean? I never saw it before.
Read it, Alice; your eyes are younger than mine."
Alice read: "'Look and ye shall find,' and underneath this," continued
Alice, "is a picture of a mantel-piece, and underneath that, it reads:
'A word to the wise is sufficient.'"
Mrs. Reed again took the paper. Her hand trembled and her face became a
little pale.
"Alice," said she, "this is a picture of the old tile mantel-piece in
the other room. There is some mystery about this. What can it mean?"
"Yes," said Alice, "the tiles in that mantel have quotations on them."
In an instant, Alice was on her feet and sprung into the other room,
leaving Mrs. Reed in a state of wonderment.
Hastily examining the tiles in the mantel, Alice cried out: "O Mrs.
Reed, do come! here is a tile with exactly the same words on it!"
Mrs. Reed hurried into the room, and had scarcely passed the threshold,
when the tile fell to the hearth and broke into a dozen pieces.
* * * * *
Directions for Reading.--Point out breathing-places in the last
paragraph.
Pronounce carefully the following words: _fortunate, adjoining,
clothes, hearth, sitting-room, wedding-dress_.
* * * * *
Language Lesson.--Let pupils use other words to express the meaning of
the following sentences.
_Alice received a warm welcome_.
_Mrs. Reed stepped into the adjoining room with a light heart_.
_Her face lighted up with joy_.
_Those things remind me of happy days_.
"_A word, to the wise is sufficient_."
Change the _statements_ given above to _questions_.
Change the following _exclamations_ to complete _statements_.
Do come! Let me look! Read it, Alice!
Model.--See my pocket-book! = I wish you would look at my pocket-book.
* * * * *
LESSON XXVIII.
be fall'en, _happened to_.
thrust, _move suddenly or with force_.
mis hap', _something which has occurred to cause pain or sorrow_.
ex cit'ed ly, _in a very earnest manner_.
min'gled, _joined closely; united_.
le'gal ly, _as the law requires_.
a bun'dant, _beyond one's need; plentiful_.
com'fort a ble, _having everything needed to keep one from pain or want_.
re la'tions, _the feelings or acts of people toward each other_.
charm'ing, _very pleasant_.
* * * * *
THE HIDDEN TREASURE.