JEMMY STRING.

For while he shook his aching hand,
Complaining of the bruise',

The strings were trailing through the sand'
From both his loosened shoes.

One day his father thought a ride
Would do his children good';
But Jemmy's shoe-strings were untied,
And on the stairs he stood.

In hastening down to take his place
Upon the carriage seat',
Poor Jemmy lost his joyous facè,
Nor could he keep his feet.

The dragging string had made him trip',
And bump! bump'! went his head.
The teeth had struck and cut his lip',
And tears and blood were shed.

His aching wounds he meekly borè;
But, with a swelling heart,

He heard the carriage from the door',
With all but him", depart.

This grievous lesson taught him care',
And gave his mind a spring';
For he resolved no more to bear'
The name of Jemmy String!

91

LESSON LII.

TO A BUTTERFLY.

WHITHER bound, on pinions fair',
Whither bound, thou child of air'?
Reveling here 'mong fruits and flowers',
Seeking there the shady bowers',
Sipping from the crystal stream',
Sporting in the sunny beam',
What a share of bliss, is thine'-
Just to eat, and drink', and shine';
This thy task from sun to sun',-
Not a duty left undone.

Not a care distracts thy breast',
Not a fear disturbs thy rest';
Fancy ne'er portrays the storm',
Bursting o'er thy fragile form.
Busy trifler', wing thy way,
Thoughtless, innocent and gay.
When thy little race is run,
All thy round of pleasure done',
From the cup, so gaily quaffed,
Having drained the latest draught',
What shall then remain to thee,
But expiring'-not to be'?

Other claims and duties mine,
Than to eat and drink and shinè ;
Here along our pathway lies
Self-denial'-sacrifice`;

Oft the silent tear must flow,
For our own', or others' woe'.
All our joys and sorrows past',
Death asserts his power at last';
Yet shall man, when time is o'er',
Live again to die no more.

FATHER WILLIAM AND THEOPHILUS.

93

LESSON LIII.

FATHER WILLIAM AND THEOPHILUS.

You are old, Father William', Theophilus cries', The few locks which are left you are grey`:— You appear, Father William', a healthy old man'; Now tell me the reason, I pray.

When I was a youth', Father William replied,
I remembered that youth would fly fast`;
I abused not my health and my vigor at first',
That I never might need them at last.

You are old, Father William', Theophilus said,
And pleasures with youth pass away`;

And yet you repent not the days that are gone';
Now tell me the reason', I pray.

When I was a youth', Father William replied',
I remembered that youth could not last`;
I thought of the future', whatever I did',
That I never might grieve for the past.

You are old, Father William', Theophilus cried',
And life is swift hastening away`;

You are cheerful', and love to converse upon
Come tell me the reason', I pray.

death';

I am cheerful, young man', Father William replied'; Let the cause your attention engage`;

In the days of my youth I remembered my God', And now he forgets not my age.

LESSON LIV.

STORY OF AN ELEPHANT AND FEMALE TIGER.

"PRAY, father, what is a circus'?"

"A place," replied Mr. Jones', "where feats of horsemanship are exhibited'; but what I am going to tell you is an account of the pranks of some wild beasts which are kept for exhibition in the circus.

"The keeper of the animals went one day to his dinner, as usual'; and, as he went out, left all of them quite safe', as he thought, in their cages. But it was not so. One of the cages contained a tiger and tigress. This cage was quite old, and somehow the ferocious couple broke loose. They smelt around for a time, thinking that some fresh meat would gratify their appetite. At length, spying a fine foreign animal called a lama, they pitched upon her for their dinner.

"The poor lama was sorely frightened to see them approach with their jaws wide open': but against such terrific animals she had no means of defence. In a moment one of the tigers grasped her by the throat brought her to the floor', and both began sucking her blood.

"At this moment the keeper entered. Being a man of great personal courage, he seized a rope and boldly ventured forward', intending to fling a noose over the heads of the two ferocious animals', as they were sucking the last drop of blood from the poor lama.

"Just as he was flinging the noose, the tigress turned', and prepared to jump upon him. It was a moment of peril. He knew not what to do. Her eyeballs flashed fire', and her open jaws spoke of death. He had but a moment to decide. In that moment' he

ELEPHANT AND TIGER.

95

sprung behind an elephant which stood near by. The elephant was calm and composed. As the keeper stood behind him', the tigress sprung with her utmost force. She rose upon her hind feet', and was bounding by the elephant almost with the swiftness of a bullet. At this moment the elephant reached forth his trunk', took the tigress upon it', and pitched her headlong to the farther end of the circus.

"The whole circus was now in a wide spread uproar. The monkeys jumped for their lives'; and even the baboons scampered up the rafters, and there held on', and looked down, with amazement', upon the glaring eye-balls of the enraged tigress as she rose from her fall. The elephant still maintained his composure', and a lion, hard by in a cage, looked on with more dignity than usual.

"The savage tigress seemed still determined on having the keeper'; and again she was preparing to renew the attack. At this instant the keeper, approaching the elephant', commanded the animal to place him on his back. He seemed to understand', and unrolling his trunk', with a single toss threw him on the desired spot.

"In the mean time the tigress, having recovered from the toss she had received, again made preparations to spring upon the keeper', who was now on the back of the elephant. Again the tigress sprang at the man', and again the elephant interposed his trunk', and tossed the tigress to the further extremity of the circus. This pitch wounded the side of the tigress', and so far subdued her that she walked quietly into the

cage.

"The tiger, in the mean time, began to look about to see what animal he should next attack. On rais

ing his eyes, the first object that he noticed was the lion', sitting in his cage' with great dignity and uncon