That they would share each other's lot, and do
Wonders, no doubt. But this was vain; they parted
With promises of long remembrance, words

Whose kindness was the heart's, and those warm tears,
Hidden like shame by the young eyes that shed them,
But which are thought upon in after years

As what we would give worlds to shed once more.

4. They met again,—but different from themselves,—
At least, what each remember'd of themselves:
The one proud as a soldier of his rank,
And of his many battles; and the other
Proud of his Indian' wealth, and of the skill
And toil which gather'd it; each with a brow
And heart alike darken'd by years and care.

5. They met with cold words and yet colder looks;
Each was changed in himself, and yet each thought
The other only changed, himself the same.
And coldness bred dislike; and rivalry'

Came like the pestilence' o'er some sweet thoughts
That linger'd yet, healthy and beautiful,
Amid dark and unkindly ones. And they,
Whose boyhood had not known one jarring word,
Were strangers in their age: if their eyes met,
'Twas but to look contempt, and when they spoke,
Their speech was wormwood!—and this, this is life.
L. ELIZABETH MACLEAN.

'Indian (Ind' yan), relating to India.-2Rl'val ry, state of being rivals; opposed to each other.-3 Pås' ti lence, the plague; an infectious disease, or one that is catching. Wormwood (werm' wůd), a bitter herb; bitterness. Heath' er, heath; a place overgrown with shrubs.

4

The humble home, to memory dear;
Its sorrows and its joys;
Where woke the transient' smile or tear,
When you and I were boys.

2. We were youths together,
And castles' built in air;
Your heart was like a feather,

And mine weighed down with care.
To you came wealth with manhood's prime,
To me it brought alloys3
Foreshadow'd' in the primrose time,
When you and I were boys.

3. We're old men together;

The friends we loved of yōre,s

With leaves of autumn weather,

Are gone forever more.

How blest to age the impulse given

The hope time ne'er destroys

Which led our thoughts from earth' to heaven,

When you and I were boys!

GEORGE P. MORRIS.

A

16. ON THE WASTE OF LIFE.

MERGUS was a gentleman of good estate: he was bred to

no business, and could not contrive how to waste his hours agreeably; he had no relish for any of the proper works of life, nor any taste for the improvement of the mind; he spent generally ten hours of the four-and-twenty in bed; he dozed away two or three more on his couch; and as many more were dissolved in good liquor every evening, if he met with company of his own humor. Thus he made a shift to wear off ten years of his life since the paternal' estate fell into his hands.

4

'Transient (trån' shent), passing away; fleeting: hasty.-Castles (kås' slz), houses fortified for defense against enemies.- Al loys', evils, mixed with good; base metals mixed with precious ones. -* Fore shåd'owed, painted or drawn beforehand.-' Yore, old time.-" Im' pulse, force quickly applied.-Earth (ẻrth).— Dissolved (diz zôlvd'), worn away.—' Pa ter' nal, belonging to or derived from one's father.

2. One evening, as he was musing alone, his thoughts happened to take a most unusual turn, for they cast a glance backward, and he began to reflect on his manner of life. He bethought himself what a number of living beings had been made a sacrifice to support his carcass,' and how much corn and wine had been mingled with these offerings; and he set himself to compute what he had devoured since he came to the age of man.

3. “About a dozen feathered creatures, small and great, have, one week with another," said he, "given up their lives to prolong mine, which, in ten years, amounts to at least six thousand. Fifty sheep have been sacrificed in a year, with half a hecatomb❜ of black-cattle, that I might have the choicest parts offered weekly upon my table. Thus a thousand beasts, out of the flock and the herd, have been slain in ten years' time to feed me, besides what the forest has supplied me with.

4. "Many hundreds of fishes have, in all their variety, been robbed of life for my repast, and of the smaller fry, some thousands. A measure of corn would hardly suffice' me fine flour enough for a month's provision, and this arises to above six score bushels; and many hogsheads of wine and other liquors. have passed through this body of mine-this wretched strainer of meat and drink! And what have I done all this time for God and man? What a vast profusion of good things wasted upon a useless life and a worthless liver!

5. "There is not the meanest creature among all those which I have devoured, but hath answered the end of its creation better than I. It was made to support human nature, and it has done Every crab and oyster I have eat, and every grain of corn I have devoured, hath filled up its place in the rank of beings with more propriety and honor than I have done. Oh, shameful waste of life and time!"

So.

6. In short, he carried on his moral reflections with so just and severe a force of reason, as constrained' him to change his whole course of life; to break off his follies at once, and to apply himself to gain some useful knowledge, when he was

'Cår' cass, "body.-Hec' a tomb, the sacrifice of a hundred.- Blåck'cattle, cows, bulls, and oxen, as distinguished from sheep and goats, which are called small cattle.-Re påst', meat; food.-Suffice (suffize'), satisfy.— Pro fù' sion, a large quantity.—' Con stråined', forced.

more than thirty years of age. He lived many following years, with the character of a worthy man and an excellent Christian; he died with a peaceful conscience, and the tears of his country were dropped upon his tomb.

7. The world, that knew the whole series' of his life, were amazed at the mighty change. They beheld him as a wonder of reformation, while he himself confessed and adored the Divine power and mercy which had transformed him from a brute to a But this was a single instance, and we may almost venture to write miracle' upon it. Are there not numbers, in this degenerate age, whose lives thus run to utter waste, without the least tendency to usefulness?

man.

DR. FRANKLIN.

17. WHO WAS THE GENTLEMAN?

"PLEASE, sir, don't

LEASE, sir, don't push so." It was in endeavoring to pene trate the dense crowd that nearly filled the entrance, and blocked up the doorway, after one of our popular lectures, that this exclamation met my attention. It proceeded from a little girl of not more than ten years, who, hemmed by the wall on one side, and the crowd on the other, was vainly endeavoring to extricate' herself.

2. The person addressed paid no attention to the entreaty of the little one, but pushed on toward the door. "Look here, sir," said a man whose coarse apparel," sturdy frame, and toilembrowned hands, contrasted" strongly with the delicately gloved fingers, curling locks, and expensive broadcloth of the former. "Look here, sir, you're jamming that little girl's bonnet all to smash with those elbows of yours."

3. "Can't help that," gruffly replied the individual addressed; "I look to No. One." "You take care of No. One, do you Well, that's all fair; so do I," replied the honest countryman;

'So'ries, course.- Mir' a cle, something wonderful; beyond the course of nature. De gên' er åte, degraded; corrupt.- Tênd' en cy, course toward any thing; desire.---5 Pên' e tråte, pass through.- Dense, thick. -'Ex'tri cåte, set free.—En treat' y, request.—'Ap pår' el, dress.— Contråst' ed, brought together to show the difference between two things.

10

?

and with these words, he took the little girl in his arms, and placing his broad shoulders against the slight form of the latter, he pushed him through the crowd, down the steps, landing him, with somewhat more haste than dignity, in the street below.

4. The young gentleman picked himself up, but rather intimidated' by the stout fist of the stranger, and rather abashed' by the laughter of the crowd, concluded it was about time for him to go home. In polite society the former would be courted and admired, and the latter overlooked and despised. "Who was the gentleman ?”

5. On a raw and blustering day last winter, a young girl, with a basket on her arm, entered one of our stores. After making a few purchases she turned to leave. Two gentlemen stood in the doorway, whose appearance indicated' that they thought themselves something; whose soft sleek coats and delicate hands were apparently' of about the same quality as their brain.

6. As they made not the slightest movement as she approached, the young girl hesitated a moment, but seeing no other way, she politely requested them to stand aside. They lazily moved a few inches, allowing her barely room to pass, giving her, as she did so, a broad stare, that brought the color to her cheek, and the fire to her eye. In stepping upon the icy pavement her foot slipped, and in endeavoring to save herself, her basket fell, and the wind scattered its con'tents in every direction.

7. At this, the two gentlemen burst into a loud laugh, and seemed to consider it as vastly amusing. "Let me assist you," exclaimed a pleasant voice; and a lad about sixteen, whose hands showed that they were accustomed to labor, and whose coarse but well-patched coat indicated that he was the child of poverty, sprang forward, and, gathering up the articles, presented the basket with a bow and a smile that would have graced a drawing-room. "Who was the gentleman ?".

all

8. Boys, you are all ambitious to become gentlemen. It is very natural, but remember, that neither your own nor your parents' position in life, your tailor, your boot-black, or your

'In tim' i dåt ed, made afraid.-2 A båshed', put to shame.-' Båsk' et -In' di cat ed, showed." Ap pår' ent ly, in appearance.