4. It must be confessed that he copied birds best;
You'd have thought he had lived all his life in a nest.
5. It happened, one day, that he came in the way
Of a sportsman,

an excellent marksman, they say.

6. And near a stone wall, with his little bird-call, The mimic attempted to imitate all.

7. So well did he do it, the birds all flew to it; But, ah! he had certainly reason to rue it.

8. It turned out no fun,- for, the man with the gun, Who was seeking for partridges, took him for one.

9. He was shot in the side; and he feelingly cried,
A moment or so ere he fainted and died :119

"Who for others prepare a trap, should beware
They do not themselves fall into the snare."

XIII. THE MISER AND THE MOUSE.

A MISER, traversing his house,
Espied, unusual there, a mouse,
And thus his uninvited guest,

Briskly inquisitive, addressed

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"Tell me, my dear, to what cause is it
I owe this unexpected visit?"

ΕΙ

The mouse her host obliquely eyed,

And, smiling, pleasantly replied,

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"Fear not, good fellow, for your hoard!
I come to lodge, and not to board!"

TRANSLATED FROM THE GREEK BY COWPER.

1. IT often requires great courage to say NO. But, by being able promptly," on occasion, to utter this little mono-syllable, you may save yourself a deal of trouble. Your

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welfare, your integrity, your self-respect, may depend on your ability to reply, resolutely, NO.

2. You are urged by some of your companions to engage in some amusement, or to go on some excursion,59 which you know to be wrong. You say no at the outset, firmly and quickly, and there is the end of it.

3. But, if you hesitate, you will be importuned until you will probably yield; and, having thus given up your own judgment, and violated your conscience, you will lose your power of resistance, and yield to every enticement.

4. Joseph has cultivated decision of character. He never hesitates a moment when anything wrong is proposed. He rejects it instantly. The consequence is, his companions never think of going" to him when they have any mis ́chievous scheme on foot.

5. His prompt and decisive no they do not wish to encounter. His parents can trust him anywhere, because they have no fears of his being led astray; because he has learned to say no. And this relieves them of a load of

6. Reuben is the opposite of this. He wishes to please everybody in everything, and therefore has not the courage to say no to any one. He seems wholly unable to resist the temptation. He is, therefore, always getting into difficulty, always doing something that he ought not, through the enticement of his companions.

7. His parents scarcely dare trust him out of their sight, they are so fearful that he will be led astray. He is thus a source of great anxiety to them, and all because he cannot say NO.

8. Now, let me bag of you to learn to say No. If you find any difficulty in uttering it, if your tongue will not easily do its office, go by yourself, and practise saying no, NO, NO! till you can articulate the word clearly, distinctly" and without hesitation.

9. Practise it till you have it always ready on your

tongue's end, to utter with emphasis to every girl or boy, man or woman, or evil spirit, that presumes to propose to you to do anything that is wrong.

10. But there are occasions when it may be well to cultivate the power of saying yes. When asked to do a fellowcreature a kindness, the granting of which will not conflict with our duty to ourselves or others, we should then avoid that little word no, so proper in repelling temptation, or rejecting a wrong request.

Newcomb.

1. STAY near me ! do not take thy flight!

A little longer stay in sight!

Much converse1 do I find in thee,
Historian of my infancy!

2. Float near me! do not yet depart!
Dead times revive in thee;

Thou bring'st, gay creature as thou art,
A solemn image to my heart, -

My father's family!.

3. O! pleasant, pleasant were the days,
The time when, in our childish plays,
My sister Emmeline and I

Together chased the butterfly!

4. A very hunter did I rush

Upon the prey-with leaps and springs
I followed on from brake to bush;

But she (Heaven love her!) feared to brush
The dust from off its wings.

WORDSWORTH.

XVI.

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THE KING AND THE FLATTERER.

1. DIONYS'IUS, the tyrant of Sicily, was far from being happy, though he had great riches, and all the pleasures

which wealth could procure. Dam'ocles, one of his flatterers, told him that no monarch had ever been greater or happier than Dionysius. "Hast thou a mind," said the king, "to taste this happiness, and to know what that is of which thou hast so high an ideä?" Dam'ocles with joy accepted the offer.

2. The king ordered"1 that a royal banquet should be prepared, and a gilded sofa placed for him. There were sideboards loaded with gold and silver plate of immense value. Pages of great beauty were ordered to attend his table, and to obey his commands.

3. Fragrant ointments, flowers and perfumes," were added to the feast, and the table was spread with choice delicacies of every kind. Dam'ocles, over-elated with pleasure, fancied himself amongst superior beings.

4. But in the midst of all this happiness, as he lay indulging himself in state, he sees let down from the ceiling, just over his head, a large, bright sword, hung by a single hair. This sight put an end to his joy.

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5. The pomp of his attendance, the glitter of the carved plate, and the delicacy of the viands, cease to afford him any pleasure. He dreads to stretch forth his hand to the table. He throws off the garland of roses. He hastens to remove from so dangerous a situation, and earnestly begs the king to restore him to his former humble condition, having no desire to enjoy any longer a happiness so terrible. 6. By this device Dionysius showed to Dam'ocles how wretched was he, the king, in the midst of all the treasures and all the honors which royalty could bestow.

CICERO.

COME ye into the summer woods; there entereth no annoy ;
All greenly wave the chestnut-leaves, and the earth is full of joy
I cannot tell you half the sights of beauty you may see,

The bursts of golden sunshine, and many a shady tree.

There, lightly swung, in bowery glades, the honeysuckles twine;
There blooms the pink sabbatia, and the scarlet columbine;
There grows the purple violet in some dusk woodland spot;
There grows the little Mayflower, and the wood forget-me-not.

And many a merry bird is there, unscared by lawless men ;
The blue-winged jay, the woodpecker, and the golden-crested wren.
Come down, and ye shall see them all, the timid and the bold;
For their sweet life of pleasantness, it is not to be told.

I've seen the freakish squirrels drop down from their leafy tree,
The little squirrels with the old, - great joy it was to me!
And far within that summer wood, among the leaves so green,
There flows a little gurgling brook, the brightest e'er was seen.

There come the little gentle birds, without a fear of ill,
Down to the murmuring water's edge, and freely drink their fill !
And dash about, and splash about, the merry little things,

And look askance with bright black eyes, and flirt their dripping wings.

The nodding plants, they bowed their heads, as if, in heartsome cheer,
They spake unto those little things, ""Tis merry living here!"

O, how my heart ran o'er with joy! I saw that all was good,
And how we might glean up delight all round us, if we would!

Howitt.

XVIII. FUN AMONG ANIMALS.

1. FUN is not confined to boys and girls. Some of the smallest insects are discovered" to enjoy themselves in sports and amusements after their ordinary toils, or satiating themselves with food, just as regularly as is the case with many human beings. They run races, wrestle with each other, and, out of fun, carry each other on their backs much in the same manner as boys.

2. A small species of ants,70 in the intervals of their industry, have been seen carrying each other on their backs, the rider holding with his mandibles the neck of his bearer, and embracing it closely with his legs. Gould, a writer on ants, mentions that he has often witnessed these exercises, and says that, in all cases, after being carried a certain length, the ant was let go in a friendly and careful manner.