1. THE dew was falling fast; the stars began to blink; I heard a voice; it said, "Drink, pretty creature, drink;" And, looking o'er the hedge,' before me I espied 2. No other sheep were near; the lamb was all alone, And by a slender cord was tethered to a stone; With one knee on the grass did the little maiden kneel, While to that mountain lamb she gave its evening meal. 8. 'Twas little Barbara Lethwaite, a child of beauty rare! I watched them with delight: they were a lovely pair. Now with her empty can the maiden turned away; But ere ten yards were gone, her footsteps she did stay. 2. Towards the lamb she looked; and from a shady place 3 I unobserved could see the workings of her face; bring, Thus, thought I, to her lamb that little maid might sing: 5. "What ails thee, young one; what? Why pull so at thy cord? Is it not well with thee? well both for bed and board? Thy plot of grass is soft, and green as grass can be: Rest, little young one, rest; what is't that aileth thee? 6. "What is it thou wouldst seek? What is wanting to thy heart? Thy limbs, are they not strong? and beautiful thou art. This grass is tender grass; these flowers they have no And that green corn all day long is rustling in thy ears! 7. "If the sun be shining hot, do but stretch thy woollen chain This birch is standing by; its covert thou canst gain; For rain and mountain storms the like thou need'st not fear: The rain and storm are things that scarcely can come here. 8. "Rest, little young one, rest; thou hast forgot the day When my father found thee first in places far away; Many flocks were on the hills, but thou wert owned by none, And thy mother from thy side forevermore was gone. 9. "He took thee in his arms, and in pity brought thee home: O, blessed day for thee! Then whither wouldst thou roam? A faithful nurse thou hast: the dam that did thee yean, Upon the mountain tops, no kinder could have been. 10. "Thou know'st that twice a day I have brought thee in this can Fresh water from the brook, as clear as ever ran; dew, I bring thee draughts of milk — warm milk it is, and new. 11. "Thy limbs will shortly be twice as stout as they are now; Then I'll yoke thee to my cart, like a pony in the. plough: My playmate thou shalt be; and when the wind is cold, Our hearth shall be thy bed, our house shall be thy fold. 12. "Alas, the mountain tops, that look so green and fair! I've heard of fearful winds and darkness that come there; The little brooks, that seem all pastime' and all play, 13. "Here thou need'st not dread the raven in the sky; Night and day thou art safe; our cottage is hard by. 14. As homeward through the lane I went with lazy feet, This song to myself did I oftentimes repeat; And it seemed, as I retraced the ballad' line by line, That but half of it was hers, and one half of it was mine. 15. Again, and once again, did I repeat the song: "Nay," said I, "more than half to the damsel" must belong; For she looked with such a look, and she spoke with such a tone, That I almost received her heart into my own." I HEDGE. A fence made of thorns, prickly bushes, or shrubs. 2 TETHERED. Tied by a rope or chain so as to feed within certain limits. UNOBSERVED. Not noticed, unseen. 4 PEER. An equal. 5 COVERT. A covered place, a shelter. 7 PASTIME. Sport, amusement. LXVI.-THE TIGERS. J. ABBOTT. [Timboo is a native of one of the South Sea Islands, and lives with Mr. and Mrs. Cheveril, on the Hudson River. Mark and Fanny are their children. Timboo is an honest, worthy lad, whose influence over the children 's good. Mark had been hiding from his mother, to escape the trouble of going an errand for her; and Timboo reproves him, as will be read.] 1. Timboo. I DID not say that you were worse than a tiger in general, but only that I once knew some tigers that were in some respects better than you. 2. Mark. In what respect? 3. Tim. Why, they were grateful, and you are ungrateful. 4. Mark. Nonsense, Timboo! I'm not ungrateful. But tell us about those tigers. 5. Fanny. Yes, Timboo, do. 6. Tim. Well, once upon a time, in the course of my voyages, I stopped at the port of Havre, in France. If you had not been in the habit, like other foolish boys, of wasting your time in school in whispering and playing, instead of attending to your studies, you would know where Havre is. 7. Mark. I do know where it is. It is on the northern coast of France-on the shore of the English Channel. 8. Tim. Right. You have studied your geography better than I thought you had. It was up the English Channel that I sailed when I went to Havre. 9. Mark. Well, tell us about the tigers. Do they have these tigers in Havre? 10. Tim. They had some for a show when I was there, and I went to see them. They had them in a tent, at a sort of fair,' outside of the town. One evening, I was strolling about, and I came to this fair, and I thought I would go into the tent and see the tigers. 11. Mark. How much did you have to pay? 12. Tim. Two sous. 13. Mark. How much is a sou? 14. Tim. About a cent. 15. Mark. Then it was a very cheap show. 16. Tim. Yes; the shows at those fairs are always pretty cheap. Besides, I took one of the cheapest seats. When I went in and had taken my seat, I saw before me a number of cages, and a tiger in every cage. 17. Mark. How did they look ? 18. Tim. They looked very ferocious. They were |