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you do, Peggy? If you could read your Bible, I would try, if I could, to get you a pair of spectacles; but as God in his wisdom has given me eyes, and deprived you of sight, I am come to read to you a chapter of his holy word." You then read to her the 42nd

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chapter of Isaiah, and say, "Did you mark these words, Peggy? I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them. It is

certain, Peggy, that God in his goodness takes as much care of the blind who trust in him, as of those who see." This visit might do as much good as the former one; and the soul of the poor blind woman might be led to magnify the Lord, and her spirit to rejoice in God her Saviour.

M. Papa, papa, I really long to act as you say.

Mr. F. I can fancy, too, that I see Edward and Thomas walk abroad with as much kindness in their hearts as my dear Mary has in hers. Edward lifts a little child over a stile, and Thomas gives him an apple. They overtake poor old Preece, the lame errand man, heavily burdened, and they lighten his load by carrying one of his baskets for him. He has just received a letter from his son, a soldier in India, and Edward rejoices the old man's heart by reading it to him, and by writing a few lines to his son in return. They then call on a young acquaintance who is an invalid. He has unfortunately not been brought up in the fear of the Lord; but they have some little book with them, in which the love of the Saviour for sinners is set forth, and they ask him to oblige them by reading it. Their kindness wins him over, for sickness has softened his heart: he promises to read the book, and is as good as his word; when, by God's blessing, the little book is made a message of mercy to him and his

family, opening their eyes, convincing them of sin, and leading them, as poor penitents, to the Lord of life and glory.

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E. You do draw such pictures, papa. wish that Thomas could do such kind acts as these.

Mr. F. I hope that you will both of you, yet, do a hundred of them; and, as you grow older, branch out into acts of kindness on a broader scale. Begin at home; be kind to one another, to the servants, and even to the dumb animals of the household: and around this little ring another, and another, larger and larger, will be formed, until your hearts, not satisfied with kind acts to your own neighbourhood, will yearn within you to act kindly to the whole world.

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CHAPTER XII.

ACTS OF KINDNESS CONTINUED.

WHAT a blessing to a child is a tender, a wise, and pious parent! and how much to be pitied are those children who in their infantine years are deprived of father and mother. Much kindness there is in the world, there are kind friends, kind relations, and kind neighbours, but they can never supply the place of kind parents. If children did but know how much they possess in Christian parents, and how much they would lose if they were taken away from them, how would they love them, honour them, and obey them!

Among other useful qualities Mr. Franklin possessed the happy art of turning passing circumstances to advantage. An instance of this kind occurred when he next met his children to help them in learning to act. Hardly had they taken their seats in the summer arbour, before a magpie, as it fled across the lawn, dropped something on the grass, which Mr. Franklin directly perceived was one of his old gloves. In taking his handkerchief from his pocket, Mr. Franklin had flirted out, unknown to himself, the old glove in question, which had thus become the prize of the magpie. As the glove was of very little value, Mr. Franklin laid his hand

on little Peter who was running to pick it up. In another minute a chattering was heard, and the bird was seen to descend on the lawn, whence he bore away the old glove in triumph over the shrubbery.

This little adventure exceedingly amused the young people, especially Peter. Edward was for starting off after the thief, to compel him to give it up again, but Mr. Franklin stopped him, as he had before stopped his brother Peter." It will never do," said Mr. Franklin pleasantly, "to act with severity while you are learning to perform deeds of kindness. The old glove has served my purpose for a long time, and if the magpie now choose to wear it, or can make it useful in lining his nest, he is heartily welcome.

As all the children had heard tales of one kind or other, wherein the magpie was set forth as a very mischievous bird, they began to relate them, when Mr. Franklin again interfered. "Come! come !" said he, "as you are disposed to be a little hard on the poor magpie, I shall take his part. The tales you have heard are all against him, but the tale that I shall relate is somewhat in his favour. A great many years ago, there lived a farmer of the name of Bruff, who was thought to be very rich, and the tale went that he kept his money in bags, in a strong box, and every one said that it was to take care of his money that he had such a big dog in the kennel by

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