After breakfast, my grandfather took | me into the garden, and showed me a large garden-pot full of slugs and snails. "There," said he, "that is my morning's first harvest; after clearing them, I gather the fruit. But mind, The sleeping fox catches no poultry;' and, 'It is the early bird that catches the worm.' If these destructive creatures had an hour or two allowed them, they would be beforehand with me in clearing the fruit, and then hide themselves and escape. Now, my boy, if you become an early bird,' I think you will 'catch worms' for your own advantage as well as mine. You were saying yesterday that you should like to take in the numbers of a drawing book; but that you could not afford sixpence a week for it. Now, I will challenge you to meet me at the garden gate every morning at six o'clock, when I will give you a penny for every pint of slugs and snails you produce, and a halfpenny for every pint of strawberries you have gathered. Let us see whether we cannot compass the drawing book this way, and break a bad habit into the bargain."

In the evening I was intent on reading a book, in which I was much interested; and when the usual intimation was given that it was time to retire to rest, I expressed a wish to remain a little longer, or to take the book into my bed room, as I was eager to finish reading it. "Nay," said my grandfather; "you had better break off. 'If you do not go to bed with the lamb, it is not likely you will rise with the lark.' Bear in mind your engagement with me in the morning; and if you meet me according to appointment, I'll tell you a story." To bed I went, wishing rather than hoping to wake in due time in the morning. After a refreshing repose, I jumped up as soon as I recovered consciousness. There was a monotonous lumping sound below, which, as I had never heard it before, gave no certain indication as to the time of day. This noise, I afterwards learned, was occasioned by, or rather accompanied, the churning of butter; a business which had been carried on daily, but which had failed to break my drowsy slumbers, until I had a specific inducement to awake. On opening my chamber window, I was delighted with the soft fresh breeze of the morning. The overhanging honeysuckle emitted a most delicious fragrance; and the lark sang most melodiously. I remembered my grandfather's over-night

In

On

saying, and hoped that it was the early
bird's first song. The labourers were
already out with their teams of horses,
and I could hear the mower sharpening
his scythe. I was nearly dressed when the
old cuckoo clock in the hall struck five.
I almost jumped for joy that it was no
later; but, presently, a more sobered and
humbling feeling came over me, when
I thought how large a portion of
the liveliest beauties of nature I had
habitually suffered to pass by unnoticed;
and how much useful labour had been
every day performed by my more dili-
gent fellow-creatures, while my senses had
been locked up in inglorious repose.
particular, I reproached myself to think
how often I had hurried out of
my cham-
ber, without one grateful thought of Him
who "maketh the outgoings of the morn-
ing and of the evening to rejoice."
entering the garden, I was so delighted
with the scene, that I had almost for-
gotten my special object. To those who
have never seen them, I can give no
adequate idea of the beauty and fragrance
of the opening flowers, and the dew-drops
sparkling in the beams of the rising sun;
and those who every day enjoy these
sights do not need any description of mine.
I wonder whether they form any part
of the morning dreams of sluggards?
Well, I set myself steadily to work, and
at six o'clock, true to the moment, my
grandfather made his appearance at the
garden gate; and I met him with a
goodly basket of strawberries in one hand,
and in the other, a garden-pot of snails,
slugs, and grubs. My diligence and
punctuality were duly commended and
rewarded, and my grandfather, before we
left the garden, told me the story he had
promised.

"I once," said he, "had a gentleman living for some time in my house. He was a student, and had a great many books about him. The room was furnished with shelves, on which the books,

as

soon as they were unpacked, were neatly ranged. The day on which the gentleman was expected, your dear grandmother and aunt Mary were busy all day getting the room into order. When all was quite ready, they invited me to go in and see how well it looked; and sure enough it did look well. We all agreed that he must be a very learned gentleman if he had read all these books; and we hoped he was as wise as he was learned. As he was expected to come by coach to

I went with the horse

and gig to meet him there; and your
grandmother said she would get some-
thing hot for supper against our return,
as it was likely the gentleman, having
been all day travelling, might have come
short of a dinner.
"I got to
in due time, and pre-
sently the coach arrived, but no such
gentleman was there, though there was
plenty of room both inside and outside
the coach, and, as the coachman assured
me, had been all the way. I returned
home disappointed and perplexed; and,
except that our anxiety and sympathy were
awakened by the apprehension that our
expected guest had been detained by ill-
ness or calamity, we should each of us
have been somewhat displeased at the
loss of time and labour bestowed on need-
less preparations. However, we retired
to rest, expecting that the morning's post
would clear up the mystery. But, be-
tween three and four o'clock in the morn-
ing we were awakened by a loud rapping
at the front gate, the barking of the dogs,
and the sound of human voices. The
entire household was alarmed, and hastily
got together, in trembling conjectures
as to the cause of disturbance, the like
of which had never occurred before on
our quiet premises. It proved to be
neither more nor less than the arrival
of our expected inmate, who had travelled
by a night coach, and had walked over
from the town, attended by two porters
with his luggage.

"Your grandmother and aunt hastened to get breakfast, to which the gentleman chose to have certain additions of hot meat, beer, etc., and then called it supper. This we regarded as a slip of the tongue; but, presently, he desired to be conducted to his chamber, and wished us 'Good night.'

us to conclude that he could not reach the Belle Sauvage by ten o'clock, simply because he did not get up in time.

"At our usual time of retiring to rest, your grandmother was surprised by a request from the gentleman to be furnished with a pair of tall candles and a scuttlefull of coals; a supply which he said he should require every night, as he was obliged to sit up late to study. His orders were duly observed, and a feeling of reverence was excited for his great diligence and learning, not unmingled with apprehension that his health might suffer from want of proper rest. Next morning, he was called in proper time for breakfast; but after waiting a considerable time, until the business of the family was entirely disarranged, we were obliged to go on without him. In the course of an hour or two, he came down; and every thing had to be set aside to get him breakfast. He did not seem to like taking his meal alone; and was quite disappointed, on desiring to have the family called together for worship, to be told that all the men and boys were far away at work in the fields, and the females preparing for dinner, or otherwise engaged in household work. After several unsuccessful efforts so to arrange matters as that all might meet for breakfast and worship, it was found better to give up, and reckon our inmate as a lot out of catalogue, to be provided for by himself, and not to be subjected to the ordinary regulations of the family.

"I do think that we were all disposed to make every charitable allowance for the supposed necessity of the case, and took it for granted that a scholar must be different in his habits from other people. But when it had been repeatedly observed that the fire had gone out "About noon, he again made his ap- for want of stirring, and that the tall pearance, and inquired for breakfast, candles had burned down to the sockets, which, however, he dispensed with on and, for want of snuffing, had poured a being informed that dinner was nearly stream of grease on the table baize, your ready. He was then sufficiently rested grandmother became rather sceptical as to account to us for the alteration of his to the actual diligence of the midnight plans, or rather, of his movements, for student. As to aunt Mary, she declared he seemed to act without a plan. He outright, that she believed his studioussimply assigned as a reason for not ful-ness to be mere sham, and that he only filling the intimation given in his letter, 'The day coach left the inn at ten o'clock, and I could not get there before eleven.' Why he could not he did not think it necessary to explain, nor did he appear at all conscious of the inconvenience he had inflicted on others. A further acquaintance with his habits, however, led

made good the old saying, 'Sluggard-yguise; loth to go to bed, and loth to rise.'

"After continual family derangement and inconvenience arising from the irregularity of our inmate, the frequent disturbance of our rest by his unseasonable movements, and the constant apprehension of fire or other accident from

his dropping asleep in his chair when every body else was in bed, you will not wonder that, though there were many circumstances that might have rendered the engagement agreeable, when the time came for our visitor to leave us, his departure was a matter of congratulation rather than regret.

"As to the sluggardly student," added my grandfather, "though his room abounded in literary litter, so that it was hard to step into it, much less to sit down, I have no faith in his studying at all. I believe he spent his time in dreamy indolence, and that Mary's judgment of him was not more severe than just. There certainly have been many really laborious men, who deprived themselves of proper rest, for the sake of pursuing their studies without interruption; but I much question whether even they found it answer in the long run. I know that one of the most celebrated, towards the close of life, said that he would willingly give up all the learning he had acquired by midnight study, to regain the health he had lost by it; and that he believed he might have been more useful in the church and in the world, had he more steadily conformed to the plan of the wise and beneficent Creator, who has appointed the day for labour, and the night for rest. I believe that young people very much deceive themselves in supposing that they gain time and improvement by sitting up late to read. Their reading is generally desultory and unprofitable, and they much more frequently acquire habits of indolence than of fixed attention and persevering diligence, I am quite sure that for farming work-and your grandmother always says the same of household work, and I very much think it is the same in studying work too- One hour in the morning is worth two in the evening.''

'We

father, "I knew a shoemaker who was always ailing. His wife, too, was a poor sickly creature, and they had two or three unhealthy children. They were always in the back ground in money matters, by having doctors' bills to pay, or else by purchasing advertised medicines which had been recommended as likely to do them good. I had often looked at the family with pity to see their wan, pallid countenances, languid eyes, and feeble steps. At length, I was pleasingly surprised to observe a gradual improvement in the appearance of both parents and children. Having occasion to call and pay for a pair of shoes, I expressed the pleasure I felt in seeing the family so much improved in health. The man told me that he traced their renewed health, for which he appeared very thankful, under the blessing of God, to the influence of that very proverb which Mary has just repeated. He met with it in the course of his reading, and was much struck with it, as explaining the secret of much of the bodily sufferings and circumstantial straits of the family. could not,' said the man, accuse ourselves of idleness; for both my wife and myself sat close to work; but we certainly were neither healthy nor wealthy; and now we are led to conclude that we were not wise, in the matter of timing our labour. When we had much work on hand, we used often to sit up till twelve or one o'clock. Then we found it hard to get up in the morning, and generally slept late, so late that the poor children were fretting to be dressed and have their breakfast; and we were all obliged to get our breakfast in such a hurry that it did us little good. We thought a good deal about this saying that I had got hold of, and determined to try it, at least for a short time. So, instead of working so late, we took our supper in good time, got every thing in order for work in the morning, and went early to bed. It did not seem easy to us at first-nothing does that we have not been used to; but, after persevering a few weeks, we found that early sleep refreshed us much more than late sleep; and that early work fatigued us less than late work. The days seemed longer, and we were able to attend better to the children, as well as to our work in general: and to their having more air, exercise, and regularity, we think it is owing that they, Is the way to be healthy, wealthy, and wise.'" as well as ourselves, are so much im"Some years ago," said my grand-proved in health and comfort. I am

66 to

At breakfast time that day, the straw berries were handed round with a special recommendation, as being of my gathering. Aunt Mary chimed in with all my grandfather's remarks, in praise of early rising. "It is better," she observed, wear out shoes than sheets. The first is a sign of health and activity; the other belongs either to indolence or sickness: very often to sickness brought on by indolence. Lazy people are never thoroughly healthy; but,

Early to bed, and early to rise,