13. "I have bought no books," said he, "I gave my money
to some poor people, who seemed to be very hungry and
wretched.
14. "I think I can wait for my books till next New Year.
Oh, if you had seen how glad they were to receive the
money!"
15. "My dear boy;" said his father, "here is a whole bundle
of books. I give them to you, more as a reward for your
goodness of heart than as a New-year gift.
16. "I saw you give the money to the poor German family.
It was no small sum for a little boy to give cheerfully.
17. "Be thus ever ready to help the poor, and wretched,
and distressed; and every year of your life will be to you a
happy New Year."
LESSON XXVIII.
THE CLOCK AND THE SUNDIAL.
A FABLE.
1. One gloomy day, the clock on a church steeple, looking
down on a sundial, said,
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"How stupid it is in you to stand there all the while like a
stock!
2. "You never tell the hour till a bright sun looks forth
from the sky, and gives you leave. I go merrily round, day
and night, in summer and winter the same, without asking
his leave.
3. "I tell the people the time to rise, to go to dinner, and to
come to church.
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4. "Hark! I am going to strike now; one, two, three, four.
There it is for you. How silly you look! You can say
nothing."
5. The sun, at that moment, broke forth from behind a
cloud, and showed, by the sundial, that the clock was half an
hour behind the right time.
6. The boasting clock now held his tongue, and the dial
only smiled at his folly.
7. MORAL.--Humble modesty is more often right than a
proud and boasting spirit.
LESSON XXIX.
REMEMBER.
1. Remember, child, remember,
That God is in the sky;
That He looks down on all we do,
With an ever-wakeful eye.
2. Remember, oh remember,
That, all the day and night,
He sees our thoughts and actions
With an ever-watchful sight.
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3. Remember, child, remember,
That God is good and true;
That He wishes us to always be
Like Him in all we do.
4. Remember that He ever hates
A falsehood or a lie;
Remember He will punish, too,
The wicked, by and by.
5. Remember, oh remember,
That He is like a friend,
And wishes us to holy be,
And happy, in the end.
6. Remember, child, remember,
To pray to Him in heaven;
And if you have been doing wrong,
Oh, ask to be forgiven.
7. Be sorry, in your little prayer,
And whisper in his ear;
Ask his forgiveness and his love.
And He will surely hear.
8. Remember, child, remember,
That you love, with all your might,
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The God who watches o'er us,
And gives us each delight;
Who guards us ever through the day,
And saves us in the night.
LESSON XXX..
COURAGE AND COWARDICE.
1. Robert and Henry were going home from school, when,
on turning a corner, Robert cried out, "A fight! let us go and
see!"
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2. "No," said Henry; "let us go quietly home and not
meddle with this quarrel. We have nothing to do with it, and
may get into mischief."
3. "You are a coward, and afraid to go," said Robert, and
off he ran. Henry went straight home, and in the afternoon
went to school, as usual.
4. But Robert had told all the boys that Henry was a
coward, and they laughed at him a great deal.
5. Henry had learned, however, that true courage is shown
most in bearing reproach when not deserved, and that he
ought to be afraid of nothing but doing wrong.
6. A few days after, Robert was bathing with some
schoolmates, and got out of his depth. He struggled, and
screamed for help, but all in vain.
7. The boys who had called Henry a coward, got out of the
water as fast as they could, but they did not even try to help
him.
8. Robert was fast sinking, when Henry threw off his
clothes, and sprang into the water. He reached Robert just as
he was sinking the last time.
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9. By great effort, and with much danger to himself, he
brought Robert to thc shore, and thus saved his life.
10. Robert and his schoolmates were ashamed at having
called Henry a coward. They owned that he had more
courage than any of them.
11. Never be afraid to do good, but always fear to do evil.
LESSON XXXI.
WEIGHING AN ELEPHANT.
1. "An eastern king," said Teddy's mother, "had been
saved from some great danger. To show his gratitude for
deliverance, he vowed he would give to the poor the weight
of his favorite elephant in silver."
2. "Oh! what a great quantity that would be," cried Lily,
opening her eyes very wide.
"But how could you weigh an elephant?"
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asked Teddy, who was a quiet, thoughtful boy
3. "There was the difficulty," said his mother. "The wise
and learned men of the court stroked their long beards, and
talked the matter over, but no one found out how to weigh
the elephant.
4. "At last, a poor old sailor found safe and simple means
by which to weigh the enormous beast. The thousands and
thousands of pieces of silver were counted out to the people;
and crowds of the poor were relieved by the clever thought
of the sailor."
5. "O mamma," said Lily, "do tell us what it was!"
6. "Stop, stop!" said Teddy. "I want to think for myself--
think hard--and find out how an elephant's weight could be
known, with little trouble and expense."
7. "I am well pleased," said his mother, "that my little boy
should set his mind to work on the subject. If he can find out
the sailor's secret before night, he shall have that orange for
his pains."
8. The boy thought hard and long. Lily laughed at her
brother's grave looks, as he sat leaning his head on his hands.
Often
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she teased him with the question, "Can you weigh an
elephant, Teddy?"
9. At last, while eating his supper, Teddy suddenly cried
out, "I have it now!"
10. "Do you think so?" asked his mother.
11. "How would you do it," asked Lily.
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12. "First, I would have a big boat brought very close to
the shore, and would have planks laid across, so that the
elephant could walk right into it."
13. "Oh, such a great, heavy beast would make it sink low
in the water," said Lily.
14. "Of course it would," said her brother. Then I would
mark on the outside of the boat the exact height to which the
water had risen all around it while the elephant was inside.
Then he should march on shore, leaving the boat quite
empty."
15. "But I do n't see the use of all this," said Lily.
16. "Do n't you?" cried Teddy, in surprise. "Why, I should
then bring the heaps of silver, and throw them into the boat
till their weight would sink it to the mark made by the
elephant. That would show that the weight of each was the
same."
17. "How funny!" cried Lily; "you would make a
weighing machine of the boat?"
18. "That is my plan," said Teddy.
19. "That was the sailor's plan," said his mother. "You
have earned the orange, my boy;" and she gave it to him with
a smile.
Adapted from A. L. O. E.
3,6.
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LESSON XXXII.
THE SOLDIER.
1. A soldier! a soldier! I'm longing to he:
The name and the life of a soldier for me!
I would not be living at ease and at play;
True honor and glory I'd win in my day.
2. A soldier! a soldier! in armor arrayed;
My weapons in hand, of no contest afraid;
I'd ever be ready to strike the first blow,
And to fight my way through the ranks of the foe.
3. But then, let me tell you, no blood would I shed,
No victory seek o'er the dying and dead;
A far braver soldier than this would I be;
A warrior of Truth, in the ranks of the free.
4. A soldier! a soldier! Oh, then, let me be!
My friends, I invite you, enlist now with me.
Truth's bands shall be mustered, love's foes shall
give way!
Let's up, and be clad in our battle array!
J. G. Adams.
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LESSON XXXIII.
THE ECHO.
1. As Robert was one day rambling about, he happened to
cry out, "Ho, ho!" He instantly heard coming back from a
hill near by, the same words, "Ho, ho!"
2. In great surprise, he said with a loud voice, "Who are
you?" Upon this, the same words came back, "Who are
you?"
3. Robert now cried out harshly, "You must be a very
foolish fellow." "Foolish fellow!" came back from the hill.
4. Robert became angry, and with loud and fierce words
went toward the spot whence the sounds came. The words all
came back to him in the same angry tone.
5. He then went into the thicket, and looked for the boy
who, as he thought, was mocking him; but he could find
nobody anywhere.
6. When he went home, he told his mothe
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that some boy had hid himself in the wood, for the purpose
of mocking him.
7. "Robert," said his mother, "you are angry with yourself
alone. You heard nothing but your own words."
8. "Why, mother, how can that be?" said Robert. "Did you
never hear an echo?" asked his mother. "An echo, dear
mother? No, ma'am. What is it?"
9. "I will tell you," said his mother. "You know, when you
play with your ball,
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and throw it against the side of a house, it bounds back to
you." "Yes, mother," said he, "and I catch it again."
10. "Well," said his mother, "if I were in the open air, by
the side of a hill or a large barn, and should speak very loud,
my voice would be sent back, so that I could hear again the
very words which I spoke.
11. "That, my son, is an echo. When you thought some
one was mocking you, it was only the hill before you,
echoing, or sending back, your own voice.
12. "The bad boy, as you thought it was, spoke no more
angrily than yourself. If you had spoken kindly, you would
have heard a kind reply.
13. "Had you spoken in a low, sweet, gentle tone, the
voice that came back would have been as low, sweet, and
gentle as your own.
14. "The Bible says, 'A soft answer turneth away wrath.'
Remember this when you are at play with your school mates.
15. "If any of them should be offended, and speak in a
loud, angry tone, remember the echo, and let your words be
soft and kind."
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16. "When you come home from school, and find your
little brother cross and peevish, speak mildly to him. You
will soon see a smile on his lips, and find that his tones will
become mild and sweet.
17. "Whether you are in the fields or in the woods, at
school or at play, at home or abroad, remember,
The good and the kind,
By kindness their love ever proving,
Will dwell with the pure and the loving."
LESSON XXXIV.
GEORGE'S FEAST.
1. George's mother was very poor. Instead of having
bright, blazing fires in winter, she had nothing to burn but
dry sticks, which George picked up from under the trees and
hedges.
2. One fine day in July, she sent George to the woods,
which were about two miles from the village in which she
lived. He
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was to stay there all day, to get as much wood as he could
collect.
3. It was a bright, sunny day, and George worked very
hard; so that by the time the
sun was high, he was hot, and wished for a cool place where
he might rest and eat his dinner.
4. While he hunted about the bank he saw among the moss
some fine, wild strawberries, which were a bright scarlet
with ripeness.
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5. "How good these will be with my bread and butter!"
thought George; and lining his little cap with leaves, he set
to work eagerly to gather all he could find, and then seated
himself by the brook.
6. It was a pleasant place, and George felt happy and
contented. He thought how much his mother would like to
see him there, and to be there herself, instead of in her dark,
close room in the village.
7. George thought of all this, and just as he was lifting the
first strawberry to his mouth, he said to himself, "How much
mother would like these;" and he stopped, and put the
strawberry back again.
8. "Shall I save them for her?" said he, thinking how much
they would refresh her, yet still looking at them with a
longing eye.
9. "I will eat half, and take the other half to her," said he at
last; and he divided them into two heaps. But each heap
looked so small, that he put them together again.
10. "I will only taste one," thought he; but, as he again
lifted it to his mouth, he saw that he had taken the finest, and
he put it back. "I will keep them all for her,"
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said he, and he covered them up nicely, till he should go
home.
11. When the sun was beginning to sink, George set out
for home. How happy he felt, then, that he had all his
strawberries for his sick mother. The nearer he came to his
home, the less he wished to taste them.
12. Just as he had thrown down his wood, he heard his
mother's faint voice calling him from the next room. "Is that
you, George? I am glad you have come, for I am thirsty, and
am longing for some tea."
13. George ran in to her, and joyfully offered his wild
strawberries. "And you saved them for your sick mother, did
you?" said she, laying her hand fondly on his head, while the
tears stood in her eyes. "God will bless you for all this, my
child."
14. Could the eating of the strawberries have given
George half the happiness he felt at this moment?
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LESSON XXXV.
THE LORD'S PRAYER.
1. Our Father in heaven,
We hallow thy name;
May thy kingdom holy
On earth be the same;
Oh, give to us daily
Our portion of bread;
It is from thy bounty,
That all must be fed.
2. Forgive our transgressions.
And teach us to know
The humble compassion
That pardons each foe;
Keep us from temptation,
From weakness and sin,
And thine be the glory
Forever! Amen!
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AN EVENING PRAYER.
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LESSON XXXVI.
FINDING THE OWNER.
1. "It's mine," said Fred, showing a white handled
pocketknife, with every blade perfect and shining. "Just what
I've always
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wanted." And he turned the prize over and over with evident
satisfaction.
2. "I guess I know who owns it," said Tom, looking at it
with a critical eye.
3. "I guess you do n't," was the quick response. "It is n't
Mr. Raymond's," said Fred, shooting wide of the mark.
4. "I know that; Mr. Raymond's is twice as large,"
observed Tom, going on with his drawing lesson.
5. Do you suppose Fred took any comfort in that knife?
Not a bit of comfort did he take. He was conscious all the
time of having something in his possession that did
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not belong to him; and Tom's suspicion interfered sadly with
his enjoyment.
6. Finally, it became such a torment to him, that he had
serious thoughts of burning it, or burying it, or giving it
away; but a better plan suggested itself.
7. "Tom," said he, one day at recess, "did n't you say you
thought you knew who owned that knife I found?"
8. "Yes, I did; it looked like Doctor Perry's." And Tom ran
off to his play, without giving the knife another thought.
9. Dr. Perry's! Why, Fred would have time to go to the
doctor's office before recess closed: so he started in haste,
and found the old gentleman getting ready to visit a patient.
"Is this yours?" cried Fred, in breathless haste, holding up
the cause of a week's anxiety.
10. "It was," said the doctor; "but I lost it the other day."
11. "I found it," said Fred, "and have felt like a thief ever
since. Here, take it; I've got to run."
12. "Hold on!" said the doctor. "I've got a new one, and
you are quite welcome to this."
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13. "Am I? May I? Oh! thank you!" And with what a
different feeling he kept it from that which he had
experienced for a week!
LESSON XXXVII.
BATS.
1. Bats are very strange little animals, having hair like
mice, and wings like birds. During the day, they live in
crevices of rocks, in caves, and in other dark places.
2. At night, they go forth in search of food; and, no doubt,
you have seen them flying
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about, catching such insects as happen to be out rather late at
night.
3. The wings of a bat have no quills. They are only thin
pieces of skin stretched upon a framework of bones. Besides
this, it may be said that while he is a quadruped, he can rise
into the air and fly from place to place like a bird.
4. There is a funny fable about the bat, founded upon this
double character of beast and bird, which I will tell you.
5. An owl was once prowling about, when he came across
a bat. So he caught him in his claws, and was about to
devour him. Upon this, the bat began to squeal terribly; and
he said to the owl, "Pray, what do you take me for, that you
use me thus?"
6. "Why, you are a bird, to be sure," said the owl, "and I
am fond of birds. I love dearly to break their little bones."
7. "Well," said the bat, "I thought there was some mistake.
I am no bird. Do n't you see, Mr. Owl, that I have no
feathers, and that I am covered with hair like a mouse?"
8. "Sure enough," said the owl, in great surprise; "I see it
now. Really, I took you
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for a bird, but it appears you are only a kind of mouse. I ate a
mouse last night, and it gave me the nightmare. I can't bear
mice! Bah! it makes me sick to think of it." So the owl let the
bat go.
9. The very next night, the bat encountered another
danger. He was snapped up by puss, who took him for a
mouse, and immediately prepared to eat him.
10. "I beg you to stop one moment," said the bat. "Pray,
Miss Puss, what do you suppose I am?" "A mouse, to be
sure!" said the cat. "Not at all," said the bat, spreading his
long wings.
11. "Sure enough," said the cat: "you seem to be a bird,
though your feathers are
3,7.
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not very fine. I eat birds sometimes, but I am tired of them
just now, having lately devoured four young robins; so you
may go. But, bird or mouse, it will be your best policy to
keep out of my way hereafter."
12. The meaning of this fable is, that a person playing a
double part may sometimes escape danger; but he is always,
like the bat, a creature that is disgusting to everybody, and
shunned by all.
S. G. Goodrich--Adapted.
LESSON XXXVIII.
A SUMMER DAY.
1. This is the way the morning dawns:
Rosy tints on flowers and trees,
Winds that wake the birds and bees,
Dewdrops on the fields and lawns--
This is the way the morning dawns.
2. This is the way the sun comes up:
Gold on brook and glossy leaves,
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Mist that melts above the sheaves,
Vine, and rose, and buttercup--
This is the way the sun comes up.
0
3. This is the way the river flows:
Here a whirl, and there a dance;
Slowly now, then, like a lance,
Swiftly to the sea it goes--
This is the way the river flows.
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4. This is the way the rain comes down:
Tinkle, tinkle, drop by drop,
Over roof and chimney top;
Boughs that bend, and skies that frown--
This is the way the rain comes down.
5. This is the way the birdie sings:
"Baby birdies in the nest,
You I surely love the best;
Over you I fold my wings"--
This is the way the birdie sings.
6. This is the way the daylight dies:
Cows are lowing in the lane,
Fireflies wink on hill and plain;
Yellow, red, and purple skies--
This is the way the daylight dies.
George Cooper.
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LESSON XXXIX.
I WILL THINK OF IT.
1. "I will think of it." It is easy to say this; but do you
know what great things have come from thinking?
2. We can not see our thoughts, or hear, or taste, or feel
them; and yet what mighty power they have!
3. Sir Isaac Newton was seated in his garden on a
summer's evening, when he saw an apple fall from a tree. He
began to think, and, in trying to find out why the apple fell,
discovered how the earth, sun, moon, and stars are kept in
their places.
4. A boy named James Watt sat quietly by the fireside,
watching the lid of the tea kettle as it moved up and down.
He began to think; he wanted to find out why the steam in
the kettle moved the heavy lid.
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5. From that time he went on thinking and thinking; and
when he became a man, he improved the steam engine so
much that it could, with the greatest ease, do the work of
many horses.
6. When you see a steamboat, a steam mill, or a
locomotive, remember that it would never have been built if
it had not been for the hard thinking of some one.
7. A man named Galileo was once standing in the
cathedral of Pisa, when he saw a chandelier swaying to and
fro.
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8. This set him thinking, and it led to the invention of the
pendulum.
9. James Ferguson was a poor Scotch shepherd boy. Once,
seeing the inside of a watch, he was filled with wonder.
"Why should I not make a watch?" thought he.
10. But how was he to get the materials out of which to
make the wheels and the mainspring? He soon found how to
get them: he made the mainspring out of a piece of
whalebone. He then made a wooden clock which kept good
time.
11. He began, also, to copy pictures with a pen, and
portraits with oil colors. In a few years, while still a small
boy, he earned money enough to support his father.
12. When he became a man, he went to London to live.
Some of the wisest men in England, and the king himself,
used to attend his lectures. His motto was, "I will think of it;"
and he made his thoughts useful to himself and the world.
13. Boys, when you have a difficult lesson to learn, do n't
feel discouraged, and ask some one to help you before
helping yourselves. Think, and by thinking you will learn
how to think to some purpose.
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LESSON XL.
CHARLIE AND ROB.
1. "Do n't you hate splitting wood?" asked Charlie, as he
sat down on a log to hinder Rob for a while.
2. "No, I rather like it. When I get hold of a tough old
fellow, I say, 'See here, now, you think you're the stronger,
and are going to beat me; so I'll split you up into kindling
wood."
3. "Pshaw!" said Charlie, laughing; "and it's only a stick
of wood."
4. "Yes; but you see I pretend it's a lesson, or a tough job
of any kind, and it's nice to conquer it."
5. "I do n't want to conquer such things; I do n't care what
becomes of them. I wish I were a man, and a rich one."
6. "Well, Charlie, if you live long enough you'll be a man,
without wishing for it; and as for the rich part, I mean to be
that myself."
7. "You do. How do you expect to get your money? By
sawing wood?"
8. "May be--some of it; that's as good a
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way as any, so long as it lasts. I do n't care how I get rich,
you know, so that it's in an honest and useful way."
9. "I'd like to sleep over the next ten years, and wake up to
find myself a young man with a splendid education and
plenty of money."
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10. "Humph! I am not sleepy--a night at a time is enough
for me. I mean to work the next ten years. You see there are
things that you've got to work out--you can't sleep them out."
11. "I hate work," said Charlie, "that is, such work as
sawing and splitting wood, and doing chores. I'd like to do
some big work, like being a clerk in a bank or something of
that sort."
12. "Wood has to be sawed and split before it can be
burned," said Rob. "I do n't know but I'll be a clerk in a bank
some time; I'm working towards it. I'm keeping father's
accounts for him."
13. How Charlie laughed! "I should think that was a long
way from being a bank clerk. I suppose your father sells two
tables and six chairs, some days, does n't he?"
14. "Sometimes more than that, and sometimes not so
much," said Rob, in perfect good humor.
15. "I did n't say I was a bank clerk now. I said I was
working towards it. Am I not nearer it by keeping a little bit
of a book than I should be if I did n't keep any book at all?"
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16. "Not a whit--such things happen," said Charlie, as he
started to go.
17. Now, which of these boys, do you think, grew up to be
a rich and useful man, and which of them joined a party of
tramps before he was thirty years old?
LESSON XLI.
RAY AND HIS KITE.
1. Ray was thought to be an odd boy. You will think him
so, too, when you have read this story.
2. Ray liked well enough to play with the boys at school;
yet he liked better to be alone under the shade of some tree,
reading a fairy tale or dreaming daydreams. But there was
one sport that he liked as well as his companions; that was
kiteflying.
3. One day when he was flying his kite, he said to himself,
"I wonder if anybody ever tried to fly a kite at night. It seems
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to me it would be nice. But then, if it were very dark, the kite
could not be seen. What if I should fasten a light to it,
though? That would make it show. I'll try it this very night."
4. As soon as it was dark, without saying a word to
anybody, he took his kite and lantern, and went to a large,
open lot, about a quarter of a mile from his home. "Well,"
thought he, "this is queer. How lonely and still it seems
without any other boys around! But I am going to fly my
kite, anyway."
5. So he tied the lantern, which was made of tin punched
full of small holes, to the tail of his kite. Then he pitched the
kite, and,