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what part of the book is she reading'? Why do you think she is reading near the middle of the book'?

9. Parent and child! Father and daughter!1 What earthly affection is purer than a parent's love for a dutiful child'!" What is more pleasing than a child's love for a kind and indulgent parent' !10

4 See Note to RULE IV.

5 See RULE V., Note II.

[LESSON XXXIX. This, besides being a useful lesson on emphasis, and the inflections, is another illustration of the principle of object teaching from pictures.]

LESSON XL.

A FATHER'S BLESSING.

1. My father raised his trembling hand,
And laid it on my head';

"God bless thee, O my son, my son'!"
Most tenderly he said.

2. He died, and left no wealth of gold:
But still I was his heir;

For that rich blessing which he gave
Became a fortune rare.

3. Now, in my weary hours of toil
To earn my daily bread',
It gladdens me in thought to feel
His hand upon my head.

4. Though many years of busy life
Have passed away since then,

Yet when I bring that scene to mind,
I'm but a child again.

[LESSON XL. is a brief but touching description of a father blessing his son, and of the deep affection with which the remembrance of the event was treasured up in after life by the latter.]

English Daisy.

LESSON XLI.

THE DAISY'S SOCIAL CIRCLE.

1. A daisy was just starting up in the meadow. One might have thought it a lonely place to live in; but a social circle was already forming around the little plant.

2. The sunbeam and the dew-drop met there; the gentle rain came pattering down; and the soft summer breeze came whispering through the tall grass; and the earth around the tiny roots took the light, the water, and the air, to her bosom, and introduced them to the daisy germ; and they all went to work to show that flower to the sun. Each lent its influence to nurse the little thing with an aliment that made it grow.

3. And when the daisy raised its eyes toward the sky, its companions wove a soft carpet of grass for its feet. And the sun looked down through the green leaves, and smiled as he passed on. The daisy lifted up its head; and, one morning, while the sun was looking upon the dews, the little plant put on its silver-rimmed diadem," and showed its yellow petals.

4. And it nodded to the little birds that were swimming in the sky. And all of them that had silver-lined wings came'; and birds in black, and gray, and Quaker-brown came'; and the blue-bird, and the courtesying yellow-bird came'; and each sung its own pretty song at the coronations of the daisy.

[graphic]

5. Every thing that sung for, or shone upon, that modest flower, was a member of that social circle. Heaven, earth, sky and sea, were the companions of the daisy: the sun and stars walked hand in hand with it, as kindly as if they had never seen another flower, or had another companion. And all were happy, for they loved one another.

a So'-CIAL, inclined to society; friendly.
DIN'-FLU-ENCE, aid; assistance; power.
AL-I-MENT, food; nourishment.
DI'-A-DEM, crown.

PET-ALS, the flower-leaves of the plant.
SWIM'-MING, flying; sailing.

COR-O-NA-TION, the ceremony of crown-
ing.

[LESSON XLI. Under the allegory of the daisy and her companions, the circumstances attending the growth of the former are briefly described. Let the teacher explain, as well as he can, how the air, the sunlight, the dew, the rain, and the earth, combine to make the daisy grow.]

LESSON XLII.

THE SELFISH BOY.

1. What a selfish" boy Matthew was'! You would not have given a fig to play with him. He had carpenter's tools, and books, and pencils, and paper, and a brush and colors, and balls, and kites, and little ships, and skates, and snow-shovels, and sleds. How pleasant Matthew might have made it for his visitors.

2. But if you went to play with him on Satur day afternoon, he would watch all his playthings as closely as a cat would a mouse; and if you went near them, he would sing out-"D-o-n-'t'; t-h-a-t-'s m-i-n-e'!"

3. Of course, it was not much fun to go and see him. You had to play every thing he wished you

to, or he would pout, and say he would'nt play at all.

4. He had slices of cake, that he had kept till they were as hard as his heart; and cents, and dimes, and half dimes, that he would handle, and jingle, and count over, like any little miser. All the beggars in the world could not have coaxed one out of his pocket, if they had been starving to death.

5. Then Matthew was such a cry-baby. We all love a brave boy. Matthew would go screaming to his mother if he got a scratch, as if a wild tiger were after him; and if you said any thing to him about it, he would pout, and stick out his lips, and be sullen for an hour.

6. It was like drawing teeth to get him to go across the room to hand you a book. He ought to have had a little world all to himself, ought he not'? What a selfish boy he was'!

7. But I pitied him. I could not help it. There was nothing child-like about him. He always seemed to me like a miserly little old man. He never tossed his cap up in the air, and laughed a good hearty laugh. He never sprang, or ran, or climbed, or shouted, as other boys do.

8. No: selfish Matthew crawled around as if he had leaden weights on his heels. When he talked he scarcely moved his lips; and his face was as long as-I was going to say, as long as

my arm.

9. When his mother was told of his faults, and asked why she did not make him do better, and

make him act differently, she would say, "Oh, he will outgrow his faults by-and-by." But I knew better. I knew that if his faults were not corrected, his selfishness would grow as fast as he grew; and that when he came to be a man, he would be unfeeling to the poor, and make hard bargains with them, and wring the last penny out of their threadbare pockets.

10. Poor Matthew! He was so selfish, he could never be happy'! No: he could never know the pleasure of making a sad face bright, or of drying up the tear of the despairing. And when the selfish man dies, he can not carry his money with him; he will have to leave it. And who, do you suppose, will mourn for him?

11. Children'! children'! be generous'. If you have only half a stick of candy, give somebody a part of it. Perhaps some child will say, "But I have nothing to give." That's a mistake. There is not a boy or girl living, who has nothing to give.

12. Give good wishes. Give kind words and smiles to the sad and weary-hearted. If a little child, who is poorly clad, goes to your school, with his clothes patched, darned-nay, even ragged; if the tear starts to his eye when your school-mates laugh at him, and shun him, and refuse to play with him-just go right up and put your arms around his neck, and ask him to play with you.

13. That is what you can do. That is what you can give. Love him. Love is sometimes worth more than food, and drink, and clothing. You can

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