wind as to keep her sails touching. The pilot silently proceeded to the wheel, and with his own hands he undertook the steerage of the ship. At length the ship reached a point where she appeared to be rushing directly into the jaws of destruction, when suddenly her course was changed, and her head receded rapidly from the wind. At the same instant the voice of the pilot was heard shouting—“Square away the yards ! -in mainsail.”

A general burst from the crew echoed, “Square away the yards !" and quick as thought the frigate was seen gliding along the channel before the wind. The eye had hardly time to dwell on the foam, which seemed like clouds driving in the heavens, and directly the gallant vessel issued from her perils, and rose and fell on the heavy waves of the open sea.

COOPER.

CLASS AND HOME WORK.

Learn the spellings at the top of the page; and write Bentences containing these words.

THE FAITHFUL BIRD. fandango preferred mutual suppressed friendship satisfied cautious

generous
The greenhouse is my summer seat;
My shrubs displaced from their retreat

Enjoyed the open air:
Two goldfinches, whose sprightly song
Had been their mutual solace long,

Lived happy prisoners there.
They sang as blithe as finches sing
That flutter loose on golden wing,

And frolic where they list;
Strangers to liberty, 'tis true,
But that delight they never knew,

And therefore never missed.
But nature works in

every

breast,
With force not easily suppressed;

And Dick felt some desires,
That, after many an effort vain,
Instructed him at last to gain

A pass between his wires.
The open windows seem'd t'invite
The freeman to a farewell flight;

But Tom was still confined;
And Dick, although his way was clear,
Was much too generous and sincere

To leave his friend behind.
So settling on his cage, by play,
And chirp, and kiss he seem'd to say,

You must not live alone
Nor would he quit that chosen stand
Till I, with slow and cautious hand,

Returned him to his own.

O ye, who never taste the joys
Of friendship-satisfied with noise,

Fandango, ball, and rout-
Blush, when I tell

you

how a bird A prison with a friend preferr'a

To liberty without.

THE CITY AND THE COUNTRY MOUSE. hospitable guests

dessert whisker veriest received pleasant chaplain description temptation courtier hermit peasant malmsey Lincoln Suffolk Once on a time (so runs the fable) A country mouse, right hospitable, Received a town mouse at his board, Just as a farmer might a lord. A frugal mouse, upon the whole, Yet loved his friend, and had a soul. He brought him bacon (nothing lean); Pudding that might have pleased a dean; Cheese, such as men in Suffolk make, But wished it Stilton for his sake; Yet, to his guest though no way sparing, He ate himself the rind and paring. Our courtier scarce would touch a bit, But showed his breeding and his wit; He did his best to seem to eat, And cried, “I vow you're mighty neat. But O, my friend, this savage scene : I pray you come and live with men;

Consider, mice, like men, must die,
Both small and great, both you and I:
Then spend your life in joy and sport;
(This doctrine, friend, I learned at court).”
The veriest hermit in the nation
May yield, you know, to strong temptation.
Away they came, through thick and thin,
To a tall house in Lincoln's Inn;
Behold the place, where, if a poet
Shined in description, he might show it;
Tell how the moon-beam trembling falls,
And tips with silver all the walls;
But let it (in a word) be said,
The moon was up and men a-bed,
The napkins white, the carpets red:
The guests withdrawn had left the treat,
And now the mice sat down to eat.
Our courtier walks from dish to dish,
Tastes for his friend of fowl and fish;
“ That jelly's rich, that malmsey's healing;
Pray dip your whiskers and

your

tail in.” Was ever such a happy swain ! He stuffs and swills, and stuffs again. " I'm quite ashamed—’tis mighty rude To eat so much, but all's so good. I have a thousand thanks to giveMy lord alone knows how to live." No sooner said, but from the hall Rush chaplain, butler, dogs, and all. “A rat, a rat, clap to the door," The cat comes bouncing on the floor. "An't please your honour," quoth the peasant, “ This same dessert is not so pleasant; Give me again my hollow tree, A crust of bread, and liberty.”-POPE.

a

THE BABOON. intrusion indistinctly patriarch ravine venerable consumptive fancied human solitary instinctively hoarse acquainted

“Suddenly,” he says, “I heard a hoarse cough, and, on turning, saw indistinctly in the fog a queer little old man standing near and looking at me. I in. stinctively cocked my gun, as the idea of bashmen and poisoned arrows flashed across my mind. The old man instantly dropped on his hands, giving another hoarse cough that evidently told a tale of consumptive lungs; he snatched up something beside him, which seemed to leap on his shoulders, and then he scampered off up the ravine on all fours.

Before half this performance was completed I had discovered my

mistake

; the little old man turned into a baboon, with an infant ditto, which had come down to drink. The 'old man's' cough was answered by a dozen others, at present hidden in the fogs; soon, however,

Uprose the sun, the mists were curled
Back from the solitary world

Which lay around ;' and I obtained a view of the range of mountains, gilded by the morning sun.

"A large party of the old gentleman's family were sitting up the ravine, and were evidently holding a debate as to the cause of my intrusion. I watched them through my glass, and was much amused at their odd and almost human movements. Some of the old ladies had their olive branches in their laps, and appeared to be doing their hair,' while a patriarchal-looking old fellow paced backwards and forwards with a fussy sort of look. He was evidently a sentinel, and seemed to think himself of importance.