help; and tell them, that we will do as much for them the first time they want us."

4. When the old lark came back to her nest, the young ones began to nestle and chirp about her, begging her to remove them as fast as she could. "Hush," said she, "hold your silly tongues; for, if the old farmer depends upon his friends and his neighbors, you may take my word for it, that his wheat will not be reaped to-morrow." The next morning, therefore, she went out again, and left the same orders as before.

5. The owner of the field came soon after to wait for those to whom he had sent; but the sun grew hot, and none of them came to help him. "Why then," said he to his son, "our friends have left us in the lurch, so you must run to your uncles and your cousins, and tell them that I shall expect them to-morrow, betimes, to help us reap."

6. This also the young ones told their mother, as soon as she came home again. "Never mind it," said she to the little birds; "for if that is all, you may take my word for it, that his brethren and his kinsmen will not be so forward to assist him as he seems willing to persuade himself. But be sure to mind," said she, "what you hear the next time; and let me know it without fail."

7. The old lark went abroad the next day as before; but when the poor farmer found that his kinsmen were full as backward as his neighbors, "You perceive," said he to his son, "that your uncles and cousins are no better than strangers! but hark ye, George, do you provide two good sickles against to-morrow morning, and we will reap the wheat ourselves."

8. When the young birds told the old bird this; "Now," said she, "we must be gone indeed; for when a man resolves to do his work himself, you may then be assured it will be done."

LESSON V.

Moderate Wishes the source of Happiness.

1. THE youthful shepherd Me-nál-cas, being in search of a stray lamb from his flock, discovered in the recesses of the forest, a hunter stretched at the foot of a tree, exhausted with fatigue and hunger. "Alas, shepherd!" he exclaimed, "I came hither yesterday in pursuit of game; and have been unable to retrace the path by which I entered this frightful solitude, or to discover a single vestige of a human footstep. I

faint with hunger; give me relief, or I die!" Menalcas, supporting the stranger in his arms, fed him with bread from his scrip,* and afterwards conducted him through the intricate mazes of the forest in safety.

2. Menalcas being about to take leave of the hunter Eschinus,† was detained by him. "Thou hast preserved my life, shepherd, he said, and I will make thine happy. Follow me to the city. Thou shalt no longer dwell in a miserable cottage, but inhabit a superb palace, surrounded with lofty columns of marble. Thou shalt drink high-flavored wines out of golden goblets, and eat the most costly viands from plates of silver."

3. Menalcas replied, "Why should I go to the city! My little cottage shelters me from the rain and the wind. It is not surrounded with marble columns but with delicious fruit trees, from which I gather my repasts; and nothing can be more pure than the water which I draw in my earthen pitcher from the stream that runs by my door. Then on holidays I gather roses and lilies to ornament my little table; and those roses and lilies are more beautiful, and smell sweeter, than vases of gold and silver.

Eschinus. Come with me, shepherd, I will lead thee through sumptuous gardens, embellished with fountains and statues ; . thou shalt behold women, whose dazzling beauties the rays of the sun have never tarnished, habited in silks of the richest hues, and sparkling with jewels; and thou shalt hear concerts of musicians whose transcendent skill will at once astonish and enchant thee.

Menalcas. Our sun-burnt shepherdesses are very handsome. How beautiful they look on holidays, when they put on garlands of fresh flowers, and we dance under the shade of our trees, or retire to the woods to listen to the song of the birds! Can your musicians sing more melodiously than our nightingale, black-bird, and linnet? No; I will not go to the city. Eschinus. Then take this gold, and with it supply all thy

wants.

Menalcas. Gold is useless to me. My fruit-trees, my little garden, and the milk of my goats supply all my wants.

Eschinus. How shall I recompense thy kindness, happy shepherd? What wilt thou accept from me?

Menalcas. Give me only the horn that hangs to thy belt. Horn is not easily broken; therefore, it will be more useful to me than my earthen pitcher.

* Scrip, a little bag. + Pronounced Es-ki-nus. ‡ Goblet, a bowl, or cup.

The hunter, with a smile, took the horn from his belt and presented it to the shepherd, who hastened back to his cottage, the abode of contentment and happiness.

LESSON VI.

Affection to Parents rewarded..

1. FREDERICK, the late king of Prussia, having rung his bell one day, and nobody answering, opened the door where his servant was usually in waiting, and found him asleep on a sofa. He was going to awake him, when he perceived the end of a billet, or letter, hanging out of his pocket.

2. Having the curiosity to know its contents, he took and read it, and found that it was a letter from his mother, thanking him for having sent her a part of his wages, to assist her in her distress, and concluding with beseeching God to bless him for his filial attention to her wants.

3. The king returned softly to his room, took a roll of ducats,* and slid them, with the letter, into the page's pocket. Returning to his apartment, he rung so violently, that the page awoke, opened the door, and entered.

4 "You have slept well," said the king. The page made an apology, and, in his embarrassment, happened to put his hand into his pocket, and felt with astonishment the roll. He drew it out, turned pale, and, looking at the king, burst into tears, without being able to speak a word.

5. "What is the matter?" said the king; "what ails you?" "Ah! sire," said the young man, throwing himself at his feet, somebody has wished to ruin me. I know not how I came by this money in my pocket."

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6. "My friend," said Frederick, "God often sends us good in our sleep: send the money to your mother; salute her in my name; and assure her that I shall take care of her and you."

7. This story furnishes an excellent instance of the gratitude and duty which children owe to their aged, infirm, or unfortunate parents. And, if the children of such parents follow the example of Frederick's servant, though they may not meet with the reward that was conferred on him, they will be amply

Dù-cat, a coin of several countries in Europe, struck in the dominions of a duke. It is of silver, or gold. The silver ducat is generally of the value of an American dollar; and the gold ducat of twice the same value.

recompensed by the pleasing testimony of their own minds, and by that God who approves, as he has commanded, every expression of filial love.

LESSON VII.

The Golden Mean.

1. WHEN the plains of India were burnt up by a long drought,* Hamet and Selim, two neighboring shepherds, faint with thirst, stood at the common boundary of the grounds, with their flocks and herds panting round them, and in the extremity of distress, prayed for water.

2. On a sudden, the air was becalmed,-the birds ceased to chirp, and the flocks to bleat. They turned their eyes every way, and saw a being of mighty stature advancing through the valley, whom they knew, on his nearer approach, to be the genius of distribution. In one hand he held the sheaves of plenty, and in the other the sabret of destruction.

3. The shepherds stood trembling, and would have retired before him but he called to them with a voice gentle as the breeze that plays in the evening among the spices of Saboa; "Flee not from your benefactor, children of the dust! I am come to offer you gifts, which only your own folly can make vain.

4. "You here pray for water, and water I will bestow; let me know with how much you will be satisfied; speak not rashly; consider, that of whatever can be enjoyed by nobody, excess is no less dangerous than scarcity. When you remember the pain of thirst, do not forget the danger of suffocation. Now, Hamet, tell me your request.

5. "O being! kind and beneficent," says Hamet, "let thine eye pardon my confusion. I entreat a little brook, which in summer shall never dry, and in winter shall never overflow."

6. "It is granted," replied the genius; and immediately he opened the ground with his sabre, when a fountain, bubbling up under their feet, scattered its rills over the meadows; the flowers renewed their fragrance,-the trees spread a greener foliage —and the flocks and herds quenched their thirst.

* Pronounced drout, dryness, want of rain, or water.

+ Pronounced sà-ber, a short sword.

+ Pronounced Sà-be-a, Arabia.

7. Then turning to Selim, the genius invited him likewise to offer his petition. "I request," says Selim, "that thou wilt turn the Ganges through my grounds, with all its waters and all its inhabitants."

8. Hamet was struck with the greatness of his neighbor's sentiments, and secretly repined in his heart that he had not made the same petition before him; when the genius spoke: "Rash man, be not insatiable! Remember, to thee, that is nothing, which thou canst not use and how are thy wants greater than the wants of Hamet?"

9. Selim repeated his desire, and pleased himself with the mean appearance that Hamet would make in the presence of the proprietor of the Ganges. The genius then retired towards the river, and the two shepherds stood waiting the event.

10. As Selim was looking with contempt upon his neighbor, on a sudden was heard the roar of torrents, and they found, by the mighty stream, that the mounds of the Ganges were broken. The flood rolled forward into the lands of Selim, his plantations were torn up, his flocks overwhelmed, he was swept away before it, and a crocodile devoured him.

LESSON VIII.

And

Against Religious Persecution.-A RABBINICAL TALE. 1. AND it came to pass after these things, that Aram sat at the door of his tent, about the going down of the sun. behold! a man bent with age, coming from the way of the wilderness, leaning on a staff. And Aram arose, met him, and said unto him, "Turn in, I pray thee, and wash thy feet, and tarry all night, and thou shalt arise early in the morning, and go on thy way."

2. And the man said, " Nay, for I will abide under this tree." But Aram pressed him greatly; so he turned, and they went into the tent. And Aram baked unleavened bread, and they did eat. And when Aram saw that the man blessed not God, he said unto him, "Wherefore dost thou not worship the most high God, Creator of Heaven and earth ?"

3. And the man answered and said, "I worship the God of my fathers, in the way which they have appointed." And Aram's zeal was kindled against the man, and he arose and fell upon him, and drove him forth with blows into the wilderness. And God called unto Aram, saying, " Aram, where is the stranger?"