3. Great was the fright of the Marquis Nihil, and his sister Letta. The latter began to cry, as she always did when any thing happened that did not please her: but the Marquis, trying to be brave, laid his hand on his sword, as he had been told every gentleman should do, when at all vexed, or in any danger.

4. But the Marquis soon found that drawing his sword did not prevent the boat from being carried onward by the stream: so, letting go his sword, he seized an oar. But although he knew all the movements of the sword exercise, and could dance almost to perfection, he did not know which end of the oar to handle.

5. All his efforts at guiding the boat were useless, and he only succeeded in turning it quite round two or three times, and forcing it into the middle of the stream, which carried them on so rapidly, that, as the river continued to widen, they soon lost all hope of assistance from either bank.

6. The Marquis now threw down the oar in despair, and seated himself in the bow of the boat; while his little sister, seated in the stern, continued to cry, for want of something better to do. At last they floated down to an island in the middle of the stream, when the boat, becoming entangled among the rushes, ran aground, and both leaped out, highly delighted at their escape from the river.

Bow, the forward end.

b BORNE, carried.

C VEXED, made angry; provoked.
d AS-SIST'-ANCE, aid; help.

III. Their Adventures on the Island.

1. After the two castaways had fastened the rope to a tree, they started off to see what kind of a country they were in, hoping to find a postoffice where they could write, and from which they could send a letter to their uncle, requesting him to come to

their aid. But they went entirely around the island, without meeting with any thing but flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, fowls contentedly seeking their food, and a deserted house.

2. They were now convinced that they had been cast upon a desert island, similar to those visited by Captain Cook, or that on which Robinson Crusoe had been cast away; and this greatly alarmed the little lady: but her brother showed more courage, and told his sister not to cry, for he hoped, as he was a marquis, that all would yet be well with them.

3. "You must not despair, my sister," he said gravely, "for I think, if we have patience and industry, we may find something to live upon. These cows ought to produced milk in abundance; and probably the fowls of this island lay eggs, somewhat in the manner of those of more civilized countries.

4. "I also observed, in that forsaken hut, a sack of that white flour, with which our uncle's housekeeper pretends bread can be made. So come; let us see what we can do with these miserable materials; and as our servants are left at the castle, we must not hesitate about helping ourselves."

5. They wisely agreed that this was the best thing to be done: but when they attempted to carry out their plan, they met with a few difficulties. They found that they could not get the milk without first milking the cows; and neither knew how to set about it. Besides, the great horned beasts completely frightened them!

6. However, the young Marquis found his courage increase with the occasion' for it; and, resolutely drawing his sword, he advanced toward the nearest cow, threatening her with instant death unless she then and there

deliveredh up her milk! But at this the cow turned upon him such a gentle look of wonder, that he put up his sword in despair. He was not any more fortunate1 with the fowls, who fled on his approach, with a loud cackling noise.

7. In the mean time Letta, who had gone to the house, wandered over it in a very unhappy state of mind. She had, indeed, found the bag of flour;

but she had not the least idea how flour was to be made into bread. She saw a large side of bacon' hanging in the chimney, and wondered what it could be. The fire, too, had gone out; and she knew no way of relighting it, as she had always called upon her maid Catherine to do such things.

8. And thus hours ran by, and the unhappy ones began to think they should perish with hunger. The face of the little Marquis became very sad, and his sister began again to cry. At last, as evening drew near, they both left the house, and began anew their search for something to eat.

9. They saw plenty of hazel and chestnut trees bearing their fruit, but the chestnuts were hidden in their prickly burs, and the nuts in their green husks, so that they did not know the fruit which they had seen only on the table in the city. All they could find to eat were a few miserable wild cherries.

proved to be the farmers of the island, who had been spending the day in the fields on the other side of the river, making hay.

11. As Nihil related his adventures, not all the respect they felt for a marquis could restrain their hearty laughter. They could not well understand why any one should be so ignorant of the most common things; and they perhaps felt a little pride in their own superior knowledge.

12. However, these good people soon made up for their lack of reverence, by conducting the brother and sister to the house, where the good wife prepared for them an excellent meal, made up solely from the flour, and the bacon, and the fruits of the island; thus proving, that, unless we know how to make use of the means within our reach, we might as well be without them.

13. This little story, told by Aunt Hubert, led Leon and Clara to desire to see and understand every thing that passed around them; and they determined, if they should ever find themselves in the situation of the little French Marquis and his sister, they would at least know better how to help themselves.

14. They were not satisfied until they had seen all the different kinds of farm labor; and what they did not understand, they were glad to have explained to them. They were, indeed, all the time asking questions: but this, Aunt Hubert said, is the way children learn. She told them they might ask all the questions they chose, and she would answer as many of them as she could.

RE-QUEST'-ING, asking.

b DE-SERT-ED, forsaken; abandoned. • DES'-ERT, not inhabited.

d PRO-DUCE', give; yield.

AT-TEMPT-ED, tried; endeavored.
OO-CA-SION, opportunity; necessity.

RES'-O-LUTELY, boldly; courageously. h DE-LIV'-ERED, gave; yielded.

i FORT'-U-NATE, successful.

JBA -CON, hog's flesh salted and smoked.
RE-PAST', meal; act of eating.