Two Specimens of the Chrysalis.

and Willie had searched a while, they found sev eral specimens of a beautiful eggshaped chrys'-a-lis, of a bright green color, each having on it rows of golden spots. One was hanging, by little silken threads, from the underside of a fence-board, and others were found on the stalks of some coarse grasses. 12. They also found one, of a different kind, firmly fastened to the stalk of a currantbush, and wrapped up in a kind of coarse but very firm silken bag called a co-coon, which was almost as large as a man's thumb. Here is a picture of the co-coon'.

13. These were brought into the house, and put in a warm place near a window in the garret; and from day to day Willie watched for the butterflies that Uncle John told him would come out of them. And, sure enough'! in a few days, out of the little green chrys'-a-lis there came a butterfly with dark red wings; and the wings had black veins, and a black border with a row of white spots.

The Berenice Butterfly.

14. Willie was so delighted with his butterfly, that he ran and called Uncle John and Aunt Mary to come and see it. Uncle John told Willie that this

kind of butterfly was long ago named Berenice,

after a queen of Syria, who was celebrated for her great beauty.

15. Early the next morning Willie went to examine his large co-coon', when, lo! he found it was empty! There was a hole in the lower end of it. On looking up over the window, there was his butterfly, as he called it. And a large and beautiful one it was, too.

Cecropia Moth.

16. Its four wings, which it could spread out five or six inches, were of a duskybrown color, with a reddish-white band for a border, and with a large reddish

spot near the middle of each wing. Uncle John told him that this insect was not a butterfly, but one of the night moths, called the Ce-cro'-pi-a Moth.

17. "And now, Willie," said Uncle John, "you must remember that this beautiful butterfly, and this beautiful moth, with their beautiful colored wings, were once worms-caterpillars-that crept on the ground! Long ago a poet wrote about the butterfly

"Yet wert thou once a worm, a thing that

crept

On the bare earth, then wrought a tomb, and slept.'

18. "Yes, the caterpillar made for himself a tomb, where he slept through the winter; but in the spring he awoke to a new kind of life! If some little tiful Cecropia Moth fairy had changed the worm into a

butterfly, don't derful' ?"

you

think it would have been won

19. Willie thought this true story of the cater pillar and the butterfly quite as wonderful as the story of Cinderella and the Glass Slipper. After this he amused himself in finding other specimens of the chrys-a-lis, and other co-coons, which he hung up in the warm garret of the house, by the window; and soon he had butterflies and moths in abundance. Some were yellow; some were red and orange; some were green, with wings of bronze and gold-perfect little fairies; a few were blue; some were brown; some were black; and some of the moths were white.

20. Uncle John told him their names, and described their habits; and before the summer was over Willie could tell what kinds of butterflies most of the caterpillars that he saw would change into; and when, in the autumn, he found a chrys'a-lis, or a co-coon', he learned from Uncle John what kind of a butterfly, or moth, would come from it.

21. So fond of the study of these insects did Willie become, that even the crawling caterpillar was no longer disagreeable and ugly-looking to him. "Little worm," said he, "one day you will lay aside your old cloak of a garment, and put on a robe of scarlet and green, with a golden border; and then, flying about the garden and the fields, and sucking honey from the flowers, how happy you will be!"

22. "And one day," said Uncle John, "we shall lay aside these frail' bodies of ours, like worn-out

H

garments; but our spirits will rise from the earth, as on wings; and if we have been good here, we shall soar away to a beautiful country beyond the skies, where we shall be forever happy."

DIS-A-GREE'-A-BLE, unpleasant to look at. CHRYS'-A-LIS, pronounced kris'-a-lis. • Co-coon', pronounced ko-koon'.

d BER'-E-NICE, pronounced Ber'-e-nis.
e WROUGHT, made; formed.
FRAIL, weak; liable to decay.

10 See Note to RULE X.

[LESSON LXXI. The general subject of this lesson, which is treated in a familiar, conversational style, is the metamorphoses of insects. The abundance of caterpillars in the early summer suggests the inquiry, "Where did they come from?" It is found that they come from eggs laid by butterflies. When the caterpillar is fully grown, it throws off its hairy covering, and changes to a chrysalis, or grub-like insect, which has little or no appearance of life; and the chrysalis, after a little time, changes into a butterfly; and thus, from year to year, this continued round of change goes on. Most other insects pass through similar changes. Chrysalids, cocoon, butterfly, and moth. A pleasant study for children. Willie's address to the caterpillar. The moral of the lesson, as contained in Uncle John's remarks.]

LESSON LXXII.

THE WORM AND THE BUTTERFLY.

1. When first their leaves of tender green
The budding trees display,a
The caterpillar tribe is seen,
Like them, in green array: :b
Crawling on their little feet,
All day long they crawl and eat.
2. Come again; their meal is done!
They've gained their proper size,
And each a slender web has spun,
In which he sleeping lies,
Feeling neither joy nor pain:
Will he ever move again?

3. Come once more: the case is torn,
The sleeper soared on high;

Through air on downy wings upborne,
Behold the butterfly!

[LESSON LXXII. is a poetical description of the changes from the caterpillar to the butterfly state. In the first verse, the appearance and habits of the caterpillar in spring are described. In the second verse, the insect is described as spinning its cocoon, or silken case, in which it sleeps until the time comes for it to burst forth-a butterfly! In the third verse, the insect is described as having changed to the butterfly state. It has now no mouth, and can no longer injure vegetation; but, with its long tube-like tongue, it feeds upon the juices of plants and flowers.]

LESSON LXXIII.

THE HUMMING-BIRD AND THE BUTTERFLY.—A Fable.

1. One day a humming-bird, for the first time, met a butterfly; and, being pleased with the handsome form of the stranger, and the beautiful colors of her wings, made an offer of perpetual friendship.

2. "I can not think of such a thing," was the reply; "for you once spurned me, and called me a stupid worm, fit only to be trodden upon."

3. "Surely, that is impossible," exclaimed the humming-bird, in real surprise, "for I always had the highest respect for such beautiful creatures as you are."

4. "Perhaps you do now," said the other; "but when you insulted me I was a caterpillar. So let me give you a piece of advice: never insult the humble, as they may some day become your superiors."

PER-PET'-U-AL, lasting; continual.

b SPURN'ED, treated with contempt.

[LESSON LXXIII. The fable of the humming-bird and the butterfly is designed to illustrate a useful moral, having many applications in real life.]