THE best medicines, for young and old, are temperance, cleanliness, and exercise; they are the sources of health and comfort.

Idleness is one of the greatest of evils; it is the soil in which a thousand vices and a thousand miseries spring up and flourish.

1. THE English robin, or robin redbreast, is not the same bird as our robin. It is much smaller in size, and does not belong to the same class or kind of birds. The American robin was so called because its colors resemble those of its English namesake.'

2. The English robin redbreast is a favorite bird with the English people, and frequently mentioned in their poetry. The reason why they are so fond of it is because it is a sociable bird, delighting to dwell near human beings, and seeming to take pleasure in their presence.*

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3. Winters in England are not so cold as they are in the northern parts of our country, and robins are often seen, in the winter time, coming close to the windows of houses; and good-natured people throw them crumbs to eat. It is pleasant to see them hopping about, picking up the crumbs, and by their movements seeming to show gratitude for the food given to them.

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4. The robin sometimes builds its nest in places where no bird that is afraid of human beings would venture to go. One of them once began to build a nest in the library of a gentleman's house, but, being disturbed there, went into the dining room, which was

not entered by the family from breakfast tiil the middle of the day. The window was left open, and the little bird could fly in and out at pleasure.' She built her a nice, warm place for a bird's nest, if it were never moved or shaken.

nest in the folds of a window curtain

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5. A still more singular place was once chosen by another robin. She took possession of a pigeon-hole " book-shelf in a school in which there were seventy children. The hole selected was at the farthest end of the room, directly above the heads of a class of little girls from four to five years old, who, much to their credit, never disturbed the bird. There she laid and hatched

five eggs.

6. One of the young ones died in a few days, and the body was carried off by the parent birds. The remaining four were regularly fed in the presence of the children, and in due time reared. And, oddly enough, twelve years afterwards, another robin built her nest in the very same pigeon-hole. /

7. A stranger place yet was once selected by a pair of robins, which took up their abode in a church, and affixed their nest to the Bible, as it lay on the reading desk. The clergyman would not allow the birds to be disturbed, and supplied himself with another Bible.

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8. A similar instance happened in another church, in which a pair of robins built their nest in a hollow 10 place under the Bible, made by the Bible's resting on a raised ledge. There they reared their young. The male bird brought food in its bill, and fed the young brood during divine" service. They were never molested or disturbed, not even by the young children

of the congregation."

Who could have harmed a nest

and eggs placed in so hallowed13 a spot?

9. These incidents of birds' building their nests in churches remind us of a verse in the Bible, which says, "The sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her youngeven thine altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God."/

numerous family; parts of the coun

some members of it are found in all try, and there are very few schools in which some of them are not in attendance as pupils. They are known by their slow and listless steps, their untidy appearance, and the want of animation' and interest in their faces.

2. They do not do any thing, whether work or play, with a hearty good will. Their hair is apt to be in disorder their hands and faces are not always clean: their clothes look as if they had been half put on. They are always in a hurry, and yet always behind. hand. They are sometimes absent from school, and often tardy; but for every neglect of duty they always have some sort of an excuse.

3. A girl of this family gets up in the morning late, dresses herself in a hurry, and comes down stairs & little out of humor from the feeling that she has begun the day wrong. The family breakfast is over, and she is obliged to take hers alone; which does not improve her temper.

4. She knows that she has a French lesson to learn before school; but she is attracted by a new picture book, which had been brought home the day before for one of her little brothers; and she takes it up, meaning only to look over the pictures. But she becomes interested in the story, turns over one leaf after another, and at last nine o'clock strikes before she is aware of it.

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5. She huddles on her shawl and bonnet, and hastens to school as fast as possible; but she is late in spite of her hurry, and is marked for tardiness. It takes her some time to get seated at her desk, and to recover from the heat and flurry of coming to school so fast.

6. She at first proposes to learn the French lesson, which she ought to have done at home; but, after studying a few moments, she finds some leaves missing from her dictionary. She tries to borrow one from a neighbor, but in vain; so she becomes discouraged, and thinks she will do a few sums in arithmetic.