Praying with Mother
19. Bless all our friends, and make them thy friends. Make us a household serving thee, that after this life is over, we may all meet in heaven.
20. O then, great Shepherd, who neither slumberest nor sleepest, take us under thy protection this night; and when the cheerful light of day again returns, lead us forth in thy fold, and keep us from every temptation that will draw us away from thee.
21. May our peaceful slumbers remindus of the sleep of death; and, on the morning of the resurrection, wilt thou clothe us in the righteousness of Christ, and receive us to dwell with him in life everlasting! Amen.
1. "Come in, little stranger," I said,As she tapped at my half-opened door,While the blanket pinned over her headJust reached to the basket she bore.2. A look full of innocence fellFrom her modest and pretty blue eye,As she said, "I have matches to sell,And hope you are willing to buy.3. "A penny a bunch is the price;I think you'll not find it too much;They're tied up so even and nice,And ready to light with a touch."4. I asked, "What's your name, little girl?""'Tis Mary," said she,—"Mary Dow,"And carelessly tossed off a curl,That played o'er her delicate brow.5. "My father was lost in the deep,—The ship never got to the shore;And mother is sad, and will weep,When she hears the wind blow and sea roar.6. "She sits there at home, without food,Beside our poor sick Willie's bed;She paid all her money for wood,And so I sell matches for bread.7. "For every time that she triesSome things she'd be paid for to make,And lays down the baby, it cries,And that makes my sick brother wake.8. "I'd go to the yard and get chips,But, then, it would make me too sad,To see men there building the ships,And think they had made one so bad.9. "I've one other gown, and, with care,We think it may decently pass,With my bonnet that's put by to wearTo meeting and Sunday-school class.10. "I love to go there, where I'm taught,Of One who's so wise and so good,He knows every action and thought,And gives e'en the raven his food.11. "For He, I am sure, who can takeSuch fatherly care of a bird,Will never forget or forsakeThe children who trust to his word.12. "And now, if I only can sellThe matches I brought out to-day,I think I shall do very well,And mother'll rejoice at the pay."13. "Fly home, little bird," then I thought,"Fly home, full of joy, to your nest!"For I took all the matches she brought,And Mary may tell you the rest.
1. It snows! it snows! from out the sky,The feathered flakes, how fast they fly!Like little birds, that don't know whyThey're on the chase, from place to place,While neither can the other trace.It snows! it snows! a merry playIs o'er us, on this heavy day!2. As dancers in an airy hall,That hasn't room to hold them all,While some keep up and others fall,The atoms shift; then, thick and swift,They drive along to form the drift,That, weaving up, so dazzling white,Is rising like a wall of light.3. But now the wind comes whistling loud,To snatch and waft it, as a cloud,Or giant phantom in a shroud;It spreads, it curls, it mounts and whirls,At length a mighty wing unfurls,And then, away! but where, none knows,Or ever will.—It snows! it snows!4. To-morrow will the storm be done;Then out will come the golden sun,And we shall see, upon the runBefore his beams, in sparkling streams,What now a curtain o'er him seems.And thus with life it ever goes,'Tis shade and shine!—It snows! it snows!
Fishing
1. I'm sorry they let me go down to the brook,I'm sorry they gave me the line and the hook,And I wish I had stayed at home with my book.I'm sure 'twas no pleasure to seeThat poor, little, harmless, suffering thing,Silently writhe at the end of the string;Or to hold the pole, while I felt him swingIn torture, and all for me!2. 'Twas a beautiful speckled and glossy trout,And when from the water I drew him outOn the grassy bank, as he floundered about,It made me shivering cold,To think I had caused so much needless pain;And I tried to relieve him, but all in vain;O! never, as long as I live, againMay I such a sight behold!3. O, what would I give once more to seeThe brisk little swimmer alive and free,And darting about, as he used to be,Unhurt, in his native brook!'Tis strange how people can love to play,By taking innocent lives away;I wish I had stayed at home to-day,With sister, and read my book.
Fish
1. Down in a humble dellA modest violet chanced to dwellRemote from gayer flowers;Its days were passed in simple ease,It sipped the dew and kissed the breeze,Nor thought of happier hours.2. Long lived it in this quiet way,Till, on a hot and sultry dayAbout the midst of June,It chanced to spy a lady fair,All dressed in satins rich and rare,Come walking by, at noon.3. And thus the silly flower began:—"I much should like to live with man,And other flowers to see;—Why is it (for I cannot tell)That I forever here should dwell,Where there is none but me?"4. While thus it spoke, the lady stoppedTo pick up something she had dropped,And there the flower she spied;And soon she plucked it from its bed,Just shook the dew-drop from its head,And placed it at her side.5. Soon at the lady's splendid homeThe violet found that she was come,For all was bright and gay:And then upon the mantel-shelf,With many a flower beside herself,Was placed, without delay.6. And oh, how glad and proud was sheIn such a splendid place to be!—But short was her delight;For rose and lily turned away,And would not deign a word to sayTo such a country wight.7. She passed the day in much disgrace,And wished that she might change her place,And be at home again:She sighed for her own mossy bed,Where she might rest her aching head;But now to wish were vain.8. Next morn, the housemaid, passing by,Just chanced the little flower to spy,And then, without delay,She rudely seized its tender stalk,And threw it in the gravel walk,And left it to decay.9. And thus it mourned,—"O silly flower,To wish to leave its native bower!Was it for this I sighed?O, had I more contented been,And lived unnoticed and unseen,I might not thus have died!"10. Nor let this lesson be forgot:Remain contented with the lotThat Providence decrees.Contentment is a richer gemThan sparkles in a diadem,And gives us greater ease.
1. The adventures of this singular man are so various, and so very extraordinary, that the detail of them seems more like romance than true history. He was born in Lincolnshire, England, and was left an orphan at an early age.
2. His love of adventure displayed itself while he was yet a school-boy. He sold his satchel, books and clothes, and went over to France, without the knowledge of his guardians.
3. Afterward, he served as a soldier in the Netherlands for several years. At the end of his campaign, he returned to England, where he recovered a small portion of the estate left him by his deceased father.
4. This money enabled him to resume his travels under more favorable auspices, at the age of seventeen. He again went to France, and embarked at Marseilles (pronouncedMar-sales´), with some pious pilgrims, bound to Italy.
5. During this voyage a violent tempest threatened destruction to the vessel; and poor Smith being the suspected cause of the impending danger was thrown, without mercy, into the sea.
Thrown into the Sea
6. He saved himself by his great expertness in swimming; and soon after went on board another vessel, bound to Alexandria, where he entered into the service of the Emperor of Austria, against the Turks.
7. His bravery, and great ingenuity in all the stratagems of war, soon made him famous, and obtained for him the command of two hundred and fifty horsemen.
8. At the siege of Regal, the Ottomans sent a challenge, purporting that Lord Turbisha, to amuse the ladies, would fight with any captain among the Austrian troops. Smith accepted the challenge.
9. Flags of truce were exchanged between the two armies, and crowds of fair dames and fearless men assembled to witness the combat. Lord Turbisha entered the field well mounted and armed.
10. On his shoulders were fixed two large wings made of eagles' feathers, set in silver, and richly ornamented with gold and precious stones. A janizary, or Turkish soldier, bore his lance before him, and another followed, leading a horse superbly caparisoned.
11. Smith came upon the ground with less parade. A flourish of trumpets preceded him, and his lance was supported by a single page.
12. The Turk fell at the first charge, and Smith returned to his army in triumph. This so enraged one of the friends of the slain that he sent a challenge to Smith, offering him his head, his horse and his armor, if he dared come and take them.
13. The challenge was accepted, and the combatants came upon the ground with nearly the same ceremony and splendor. Their lances broke at the firstcharge, without doing injury to either; but, at the second onset, the Turk was wounded, thrown from his horse, and killed.
1. The Christian army were at this time anxious to finish erecting some fortifications, and were very willing to amuse their enemies in this way. They therefore persuaded Captain Smith to send a challenge in his turn, offering his head, in payment for the two he had won, to any one who had skill and strength enough to take it.
2. The offer was accepted; and a third Turk tried his fortune with the bold adventurer. This time Captain Smith was nearly unhorsed; but, by his dexterity and judgment, he recovered himself, and soon returned to the camp victorious.
3. These warlike deeds met with much applause; and the prince gave him a coat of arms, signed with the royal seal, representing three Turk's heads on a white field.
4. Not long after this, Captain Smithwas left wounded on the field of battle,—was taken prisoner by the Turks,—and sent as a slave to a noble lady in the interior of the country.
5. He could speak Italian well, and his fair mistress was very fond of that language. She listened to accounts of his bravery, his adventures, and his misfortunes, with deepening interest; and finally sent him to her brother, a powerful bashaw, with a request that he should be treated with much kindness.
6. The proud officer was angry that his sister should trouble herself about a vile European slave; and, instead of attending to her request, he caused him to be loaded with irons, and abused in the most shameful manner.
7. During the long and tedious period of his slavery, he suffered as much as it is possible for man to endure; but at length he killed his tyrannical master, and, with great peril, escaped through the deserts into Russia.
8. His romantic genius would not long allow him to remain easy. He could not be happy unless he was engaged in daring and adventurous actions. He no sooner heard of an expedition to Virginia, under the command of Christopher Newport, than he resolved to join it.
9. He arrived in this country with the first emigrants, who settled in Jamestown, April 26, 1607. It is said this infant settlement must have perished, had it not been for the courage and ingenuity of Captain Smith.
Captain Smith
10. Once they were all nearly dying with hunger, and the savages utterly refused to sell them any food. In this extremity, Smith stole the Indian idol, Okee, which was made of skins stuffed with moss, and would not return it until the Indians sold them as much corn as they wanted.
1. The colony were once in imminent danger of losing their brave and intelligent friend. While exploring the source of the Chickahominy river, he imprudently left his companions, and, while alone, was seen and pursued by a party of savages. He retreated fighting, killed three Indians with his own hand, and probably would have regained his boat in safety, had he not accidentally plunged into a miry hole, from which he could not extricate himself.
2. By this accident, he was taken prisoner; and the Indians would have tortured him, and put him to death, according to their cruel customs, had not his ever-ready wit come to his aid.
3. He showed them a small ivory compass, which he had with him, and, by signs, explained many wonderful things to them, till his enemies were inspired with a most profound respect, and resolved not to kill the extraordinary man without consulting their chief.
4. He was, accordingly, brought into the presence of the king, Powhatan, who received him in a robe of raccoon skins, and seated on a kind of throne, with twobeautiful young daughters at his side. After a long consultation, he was condemned to die.
5. Two large stones were brought, his head laid upon one of them, and the war-clubs raised to strike the deadly blow. At this moment, Pocahontas, the king's favorite daughter, sprang forward, threw herself between him and the executioners, and by her entreaties saved his life.
6. Powhatan promised him that he should return to Jamestown, if the English would give him a certain quantity of ammunition and trinkets. Smith agreed to obtain them, provided a messenger would carry a leaf to his companions. On this leaf he briefly stated what must be sent.
7. Powhatan had never heard of writing;—he laughed at the idea that a leaf could speak, and regarded the whole as an imposition on the part of the prisoner.
8. When, however, the messenger returned with the promised ransom, he regarded Smith as nothing less than a wizard, and gladly allowed him to depart. It seemed to be the fate of this singular man to excite a powerful interest wherever he went.
9. Pocahontas had such a deep attachment for him, that, in 1609, when only fourteen years old, she stole away from hertribe, and, during a most dreary night, walked to Jamestown, to tell him that her father had formed the design of cutting off the whole English settlement.
10. Thus she a second time saved his life, at the hazard of her own. This charming Indian girl did not meet with all the gratitude she deserved.
11. Before 1612, Captain Smith received a wound, which made it necessary for him to go to England, for surgical aid; and after his departure a copper kettle was offered to any Indian who would bring Pocahontas to the English settlement.
12. She was, accordingly, stolen from her father, and carried prisoner to Jamestown. Powhatan offered five hundred bushels of corn as a ransom for his darling child.
13. Before the negotiation was finished, an Englishman of good character, by the name of Thomas Rolfe, became attached to Pocahontas, and they were soon after married, with the king's consent.
14. This event secured peace to the English for many years. The Indian bride became a Christian, and was baptized.
1. In 1616, Pocahontas went to England with her husband,—was introduced at court, and received great attention.
2. King James is said to have been very indignant that any of his subjects should have dared to marry a princess; but Captain Smith has been accused, perhaps falsely, of being sufficiently cold and selfish to blush for his acquaintance with the generous North American savage.
3. Pocahontas never returned to her native country. She died at Gravesend, in 1617, just as she was about to embark for America.
4. She left one son, Thomas Rolfe; and from his daughter are descended several people of high rank in Virginia, among whom was the celebrated John Randolph of Roanoke.
5. Smith had many adventures, after his wound obliged him to leave Jamestown. He visited this country again; made a voyage to the Summer Isles; fought with pirates; joined the French against the Spaniards; and was adrift, in a little boat, alone, on the stormy sea, during a night so tempestuous that thirteen French shipswere wrecked, near the Isle of Re; yet he was saved.
6. He died in London, in 1631, in the fifty-second year of his age, after having published his singular adventures in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.
1. Few men have done so much, in a short life, as John Ledyard. When he was a mere boy, he built a canoe with his own hands, and descended Connecticut river alone and unassisted.
2. He enlisted as a soldier, at Gibraltar; and afterwards, in the humble character of corporal of the marines, he sailed round the world with the celebrated Captain Cook.
3. After his return to England, he formed the bold design of traversing the northern parts of Europe and Asia, crossing Behring's Straits, and examining the whole of North America, from east to west.
4. Sir Joseph Banks, famous for his generosity to men of enterprise, furnished him with money for the undertaking. He expended nearly all of it in purchasing seastores; and these, most unluckily, were all seized by a custom-house officer, on account of some articles which the English law forbade to be exported.
5. Poor Ledyard was now left in utter poverty; but he was a resolute man, and he would not be discouraged. With only ten guineas in his purse, he attempted towalkover the greater part of three continents.
6. He walked through Denmark and Sweden, and attempted to cross the great Gulf of Bothnia, on his way to Siberia; but when he reached the middle of that inland sea, he found the water was not frozen, and he was obliged to foot it back to Stockholm.
7. He then traveled round the head of the gulf, and descended to St. Petersburg. Here he was soon discovered to be a man of talents and activity; and though he was without money, and absolutely destitute of stockings and shoes, he was treated with great attention.
8. The Portuguese ambassador invited him to dine, and was so much pleased with him, that he used his influence to obtain for him a free passage in the government wagons, then going to Irkutsk, in Siberia, at the command of the Empress Katharine.
9. He went from this place to Yakutz, andthere awaited the opening of the spring, full of the animating hope of soon completing his wearisome journey. But misfortune seemed to follow him wherever he went.
10. The empress could not believe that any man in his senses was traveling through the ice and snows of uncivilized Siberia, merely for the sake of seeing the country and the people.
11. She imagined that he was an English spy, sent there merely for the purpose of prying into the state of her empire and her government. She therefore employed two Russian soldiers to seize him, and convey him out of her dominions.
12. Taken, he knew not why, and obliged to go off without his clothes, his money, or his papers, he was seated in one of the strange-looking sledges used in those northern deserts, and carried through Tartary and White Russia, to the frontiers of Poland.
13. Covered with dirty rags, worn out with hardships, sick almost unto death, without friends and without money, he begged his way to Konigsberg, in Prussia.
1. In this hour of deep distress, he found a person willing to take his draft for five guineas on the Royal Society of England. With this assistance, he arrived in the land of our forefathers.
2. He immediately applied to his ever-ready friend, Sir Joseph Banks, for employment. Sir Joseph, knowing that nothing suited him better than perilous adventures, told him that a company had just been formed, for the purpose of penetrating into the interior of Africa, and discovering the source of the river Niger.
3. Burning sands, savage negroes, venomous serpents, all the frightful animals of the torrid zone, could not alarm the intrepid soul of Ledyard. He immediately expressed his desire to go.
4. When the map was spread before him, and his dangerous journey pointed out, he promptly exclaimed, "I will go to-morrow morning."
5. The gentleman smiled at his eagerness, and gladly intrusted him with an expedition in which suffering and peril were certain, and success extremely doubtful. He left London on the 30th of June,1788, and arrived in Grand Cairo on the 19th of August.
6. There he spent his time to great advantage, in searching for and deciphering the various wonders of that ancient and once learned land.
7. His letters from Egypt were delightful. They showed much enthusiasm, united with the most patient and laborious exertion. The company formed great hopes concerning his discoveries in Senaar, and awaited letters from that country with much anxiety.
8. But, alas! he never reached there. He was seized with a violent illness at Cairo; died, and was decently buried beside the English who had ended their days in that celebrated city.
9. We should never read accounts of great or good men without learning some profitable lesson. If we cannot, like Ledyard, defend Gibraltar, sail round the world with Captain Cook, project trading voyages to the north-west coast, study Egyptian hieroglyph´ics, and traverse the dreary northern zone on foot,—we can, at least, learn from him the important lesson ofperseverance.
10. The boy who perseveringly pores over a hard lesson, and who will not give up an intricate problem until he has studied it out, forms a habit, which, in after life, will make him a great man; and he who resolutely struggles against his own indolence, violent temper, or any other bad propensity, will most assuredly be a good one.
1. A few years ago, several little volumes were published, called "The Rollo Books," which are full of interesting stories about a little boy of that name. They were written by a gentleman whose name is Abbott.
2. They are not only interesting, but also very instructive books; and no little boy or girl can read them, without learning many very useful lessons from them. They are not only useful to young persons, but their parents, also, have derived many useful hints from them, in the management of their children.
3. The following little story is taken from one of them, called "Rollo at Work;" and I hope that my little friends who read this story at school will also read it at home to their parents, because it will be both interesting and useful to them.
4. The story begins, by telling us that Rollo's father had set him at work in the barn, with a box full of nails, directing him to pick them all over, and to put all those that were alike by themselves.
5. Rollo began very willingly at first, but soon grew tired of the work, and left it unfinished. The remainder of the story will be found in the following lessons, in Mr. Abbott's own words.
1. That evening, when Rollo was just going to bed, his father took him up in his lap, and told him he had concluded what to do.
2. "You see it is very necessary," said he, "that you should have the power of confining yourself steadily and patiently to a single employment, even if it does not amuse you.
3. "I have to do that, and all people have to do it; and you must learn to do it, or you will grow up indolent and useless. You cannot do it now, it is very plain.
4. "If I set you to doing anything, you go on as long as the novelty and the amusement last; and then your patience is gone, and you contrive every possible excuse for getting away from your task.
5. "Now, I am going to give you one hour's work to do, every forenoon and afternoon. I shall give you such things to do as are perfectly plain and easy, so that you will have no excuse for neglecting your work, or leaving it.
6. "But yet I shall choose such things as will afford you no amusement; for my wish is that you should learn to work, not play."
7. "But, father," said Rollo, "you told me there was pleasure in work, the other day. But how can there be any pleasure in it, if you choose such things as have no amusement in them, at all?"
8. "The pleasure of working," said his father, "is not the fun of doing amusing things, but the satisfaction and solid happiness of being faithful in duty, and accomplishing some useful purpose.
9. "For example, if I were to lose my pocket-book on the road, and should tell you to walk back a mile, and look carefully all the way, until you found it, and if you did it faithfully and carefully, you would find a kind of satisfaction in doing it; and when you found the pocket-book, and brought it back to me, you would enjoya high degree of happiness. Should not you?"
10. "Why, yes, sir, I should," said Rollo.—"And, yet, there would be no amusement in it. You might, perhaps, the next day, go over the same road, catching butterflies; that would be amusement. Now, the pleasure you would enjoy in looking for the pocket-book would be the solid satisfaction of useful work.
11. "The pleasure of catching butterflies would be the amusement of play. Now, the difficulty is, with you, that you have scarcely any idea, yet, of the first.
12. "You are all the time looking for the other; that is, the amusement. You begin to work, when I give you anything to do; but if you do not find amusement in it, you soon give it up. But if you would only persevere, you would find, at length, a solid satisfaction, that would be worth a great deal more."
13. Rollo sat still, and listened; but his father saw, from his looks, that he was not much interested in what he was saying; and he perceived that it was not at all probable that so small a boy could be reasoned into liking work.
14. In fact, it was rather hard for Rollo to understand all that his father said; and still harder for him to feel the force of it.He began to grow sleepy, and so his father let him go to bed.
Gathering Beans
1. The next day, his father gave him his work. He was to begin at ten o'clock, and work till eleven, gathering beans in the garden.
2. His father went out with him, and waited to see how long it took him to gather half a pint, and then calculated how many he could gather in an hour, if he was industrious. Rollo knew that if he failed nowhe should be punished in some way, although his father did not say anything about punishment.
3. When he was set at work, the day before, about the nails, he was making an experiment, as it were, and he did not expect to be actually punished, if he failed; but now he knew that he was under orders, and must obey.
4. So he worked very diligently, and when his father came out, at the end of the hour, he found that Rollo had got rather more beans than he had expected. Rollo was much gratified to see his father pleased; and he carried in his large basket full of beans to show his mother, with great pleasure.
5. Then he went to play, and enjoyed himself very highly. The next morning, his father said to him,—"Well, Rollo, you did very well yesterday; but doing right once is a very different thing from forming a habit of doing right. I can hardly expect you will succeed as well to-day; or, if you should to-day, that you will to-morrow."
6. Rollo thought he should. His work was to pick up all the loose stones in the road, and carry them, in a basket, to a great heap of stones behind the barn.
7. But he was not quite faithful. Hisfather observed him playing several times. He did not speak to him, however, until the hour was over; and then he called him in.
8. "Rollo," said he, "you have failed to-day. You have not been very idle, but have not been industrious; and the punishment which I have concluded to try first is, to give you only bread and water for dinner."
9. So, when dinner-time came, and the family sat down to the good beef-steak and apple-pie which was upon the table, Rollo knew that he was not to come. He felt very unhappy, but he did not cry.
10. His father called him, and cut off a good slice of bread, and put into his hands, and told him he might go and eat it on the steps of the back door. "If you should be thirsty," he added, "you may ask Mary to give you some water."
11. Rollo took the bread, and went out, and took his solitary seat on the stone step leading into the back yard; and, in spite of all his efforts to prevent it, the tears would come into his eyes.
12. He thought of his guilt in disobeying his father, and he felt unhappy to think that his father and mother were seated together at their pleasant table, and that he could not come, because he had been anundutiful son. He determined that he would never be unfaithful in his work again.
13. He went on, after this, several days, very well. His father gave him various kinds of work to do, and he began, at last, to find a considerable degree of satisfaction in doing it.
14. He found, particularly, that he enjoyed himself a great deal more after his work than before; and, whenever he saw what he had done, it gave him pleasure.
15. After he had picked up the loose stones before the house, for instance, he drove his hoop about there with unusual satisfaction; enjoying the neat and tidy appearance of the road much more than he would have done, if Jonas had cleared it. In fact, in the course of a month, Rollo became quite a faithful and efficient little workman.
Working
The Commais a mark like this,
When you come to a comma in reading, you must generally make a short pause. Sometimes you must use the falling inflection of the voice, when you come to a comma; and sometimes you must keep your voice suspended, as if some one had stopped you before you had read all that you intended. The general rule, when you come to a comma, is, to stop just long enough to count one.
Diligence, industry, and proper improvement of time, are material duties of the young.
He is generous, just, charitable, and humane.
By wisdom, by art, by the united strength of a civil community, men have been enabled to subdue the whole race of lions, bears, and serpents.