You may hear the sound of their falling feet,
Going down to the river where the two worlds meet;
They go to return no more.

3. There is room for you in the ranks, my boy,
And duty, too, assigned;

Step into the front with a cheerful grace-
Be quick, or another may take your place,
And you may be left behind.

4. There is work to do by the way, my boy,
That you never can tread again;

Work for the loftiest, lowliest men-
Work for the plough, adze, spindle and pen;
Work for the hands and the brain.

5. The Serpent will follow your steps, my boy,
To lay for your feet a snare;

And Pleasure sits in her fairy bowers,
With garlands of poppies and lotus flowers
Enwreathing her golden hair.

6. Temptations will wait by the way, my boy-
Temptations without and within;

And spirits of evil, in robes as fair
As the holiest angels in Heaven wear,
Will lure you to deadly sin.

7. Then put on the armor of God, my boy,
In the beautiful days of youth;

Put on the helmet, breast-plate and shield,
And the sword that the feeblest arm may wield
In the cause of Right and Truth.

8. And go to the Battle of Life, my boy,
With the peace of the Gospel shod,
And before high Heaven, do the best you can
For the great reward, for the good of man.

A

favorite sport among the boys at our school in winter, when the snow lay deep upon the ground, was "snapping the whip." The "whip" was composed of as many boys as could be prevailed upon to clasp hands in a line, with the largest and strongest at one end, and the smallest at the other for a "snapper."

2. When all was ready, the leaders set out to run, each dragging the next in size after him. Then, when the whole line was in rapid motion, it was brought up with a broad sweep and a short turn, which was sure to break it at some weak part, and send the little ones flying away, heels over head, into some burying snowdrift.

3. For the end of the "snapper," Step Hen Treadwell was a popular choice; and it was always great fun

to see the vast and ever-increasing strides taken by his very short legs as the whip went round, and then his spreading arms, bulging cheeks, and staring eyes, and flying hair, as he spun off into space, and rolled, a helpless heap, in the snow.

4. Step Hen was a comical little fellow about twelve years old, whose droll figure-he was very short and chubby-clumsy and blundering ways, and woeful want of spirit, had made him the butt of the school. His real name was not Step Hen, of course. It was Stephen; but once having had the ill fortune to meet with it in his reading lesson, with his fatal faculty for blundering, he pronounced it just as it was spelled, and became from that day "Step Hen" to his delighted schoolmates.

5. New comers, thinking the nickname bore some humorous reference to his peculiar style of walking, adopted it at once; and it bid fair to stick to him through life. It thus very often happens that men, in long after years, wear the jocular names which some peculiarity of gait or speech, or some ludicrous mishap, gained for them upon the playground of their school days.

6. Step Hen was often hurt, both in body and mind, by the rough usage of the big boys; but he was so spiritless that a little coaxing or urging could always prevail upon him to join again in their games, almost before his aches were over.

7. One day some boys bent down a stout little hickory tree which grew in the corner of the fence near the school-house, and then cried-"Step Hen! Step Hen! come and help us! We can't hold it!"

8. Step Hen felt flattered at being called upon to render his powerful assistance. He ran and caught hold of the bent-down top, throwing his whole weight

upon it as if he had been a young giant. Then all the other boys yelling, "IIold on, Step IIen! hold tight, Step IIen!" suddenly let go.

9. Up went the sapling, and up went Step IIen with it, twelve feet or more into the air, when he was, alas! flung off more violently than he was ever snapped from any whip. Whirling over and over, down he came, sprawling upon all fours, in the midst of shrieks of laughter, which suddenly ceased when it was found that he lay perfectly still where he had fallen. A recent thaw had swept away the snow, and his head had struck the frozen ground.

10. The boys ran and picked him up; but his head dropped helplessly to one side, and his face was ashy pale. One shook him and touched his faded cheek with a trembling hand; but the light had gone out of the innocent young eyes, and neither kind words nor cajolery could coax the little heart to beat again. He was dead. OUR YOUNG FOLKS.

THE TRUE LIFE.

So should we live, that every hour
May die as dies the natural flower-
A self-reviving thing of power;
That every thought and every deed
May hold within itself the seed
Of future good and future meed;
Esteeming sorrow, whose employ
Is to develop, not destroy,
Far better than a barren joy.

LORD HOUGHTON.

LESSON VI.

A THUNDER-STORM AT SEA.

to the yard by means of the rigging used for that purpose, as in furling, or folding, sails. Fore'eas tle (nautical), that

part of the upper deck of a
vessel forward of the foremast.

Côr po sănt, an electrical flame,
or light, which sometimes
hovers about the masts of a
ship on stormy nights.
Lär board, the left side of a

ship, when a person stands
with his face toward the bow.

Nau'tie al, pertaining to sailors, or to the art of navigation.

THE first night after the trade winds left us, while

THE after

we were in the latitude of the Island of Cuba, we had a specimen of a true tropical thunder-storm. A light breeze had been blowing from aft during the first part of the night, which gradually died away, and before midnight it was dead calm, and a heavy black cloud had shrouded the whole sky.

2. When our watch came on deck at twelve o'clock, it was as black as Erebus; the studding-sails were all taken in, and the royals furled; not a breath was stirring; the sails hung heavy and motionless from the yards, and the stillness and the darkness, which was almost palpable, were truly appalling. Not a word was spoken, but every one stood as though waiting for something to happen.