THE GROCER AND THE BAG OF BLACK SEED.

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THE WOUNDED REAPER.

A man once reaping in a field, cut his arm dreadfully with his sickle, and divided an artery. [An artery is one of the canals or pipes through which the blood from the heart runs, like water in a pipe brought from a reservoir. When one of these is cut, it bleeds very violently, and the only way to stop it is to make a pressure between the wounded place and the heart, in order to intercept the course of the blood towards it.] The poor man bled profusely; and the people about him, both men and women, were so much stupified with fright, that some ran one way, some another, and some stood stock-still. In short, he would have soon bled to death, had not a stout brisk-hearted girl, who came up, slipped off her garter, and bound it tight above the wound, by which means the bleeding was stopped till proper help could be procured.

THE GROCER AND THE BAG OF BLACK Seed.

In Edinburgh, about a hundred years ago, there was a grocer named George Dewar, who, besides teas, sugar, and other articles, now usually sold by grocers, dealt extensively in garden-seeds. Underneath his shop he had a cellar, in which he kept a great quantity of his merchandise. Onc day he desired his servant-maid to go down to the cellar with a candle and fetch him a supply of a particular kind of soap kept there. The girl went to do her master's bidding, but she imprudently did not provide herself with a candlestick, and therefore found it necessary, while filling her basket with pieces of soap, to stick the candle into what she thought a bag of black seed which stood open by her side. In returning, both her hands were required to carry the basket, so that she had to leave the candle where it was. Mr Dewar saw her coming up the trap-stair without the candle, he asked her where she had left it. She carelessly said that she had stuck it into some black seed near the place where the soap lay. He instantly recollected that this black seed was gunpowder, and knew that a single spark falling from the candle would blow up the house, and bury himself and many other persons in the ruins. He also

When

knew that the candle, if left where it was, would in a little time burn down to the gunpowder, and produce this catastrophe. To fly, then, was to make the destruction of his house and property certain, while to go down and attempt to take away the candle, was to run the risk of being destroyed himself, for he could not tell that a spark was not to fall next instant into the powder. He nevertheless made up his mind in a moment, and descended into the cellar. There he saw the candle burning brightly in the midst of the bag of gunpowder. He approached softly, lest, by putting the air in motion, he might cause the candle to sparkle. Then, stooping with the greatest deliberation over the sack, he formed his hands into a hollow, like the basin of a bedroom candlestick, and clasped the candle between his fingers. He thus had the chance of catching any spark which might fall: none, however, fell, and he bore away the candle in safety.

It is not surprising to learn that Mr Dewar made a large fortune in business, and purchased an estate in the neighbourhood of the city, which is still the property of his descendants.

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ATTENTIVE OBSERVATION AND RESOURCE. To be always attentively observing what is passing around them, is one of the means by which men improve their circumstances. No man can learn all that he requires to know at school, or in books. In order to attain a knowledge of the characters of our neighbours, of the ways of the world in general, and of a great multitude of things peculiar to every place, all of which kinds of knowledge are necessary to us, we must attentively observe and ponder on those thing as they daily present themselves to our notice.

Some men, by attentively observing how men feel and act in various circumstances, attain a power of calculatin beforehand what will be the effect of anything they say o do on the minds of those around them, or on the mind o any individual with whom they are in anyway associated. This sense of what others are to feel on any occasion, i

GASSENDI, THE LITTLE ASTRONOMER.

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commonly called tact. It is a quality necessary in the simplest intercourse with our fellow-creatures: we cannot be consistently polite without it. It also serves a good part in affairs of the greatest importance.

When we happen to be in circumstances of a difficult or dangerous nature, the habit of attentive observation generally proves of great use. It is easy to conceive, for instance, that among the fishers and ferrymen of the Orkney Islands, he who has most carefully marked in his mind the forms and portions of the neighbouring rocks, and the appearances which the sea presents in various circumstances, will be most likely to escape from the dangers of a storm. So, also, in any perplexing affair which we encounter in life, if we have attentively studied the numberless little circumstances that bear upon the case, we shall be more likely to proceed unharmed, than if we had paid no attention to the subject. Some individuals, in critical circumstances, show not only more coolness or presence of mind than others, but have a ready way of devising expedients proper to be adopted. They at once think of and do that which is best in the circumstances. One means of escape or relief failing, they instantly hit upon what is next best. They have, in short, RESOURCE. It is a quality which some may naturally have more than others, but which in all can be cultivated by the proper means.

GASSENDI, The little astronomer.

Peter Gassendi, a native of France, was a very wise and learned man. When he was a little boy, about four years of age, he stood up on a chair and preached little sermons to his brothers and sisters. As he grew bigger, he was very fond of looking at the mountains and fields, and at the sun, moon, and stars. When he was only seven years of age, he was so fond of looking at the sky by night, that he often rose out of his bed to see the moon and stars moving in the heavens. One evening he was walking with two or three boys and girls about the same age as himself. The full moon was shining in the sky, and a great many thin clouds were flying before the wind. The chil

dren began to dispute among themselves whether it was the moon or the clouds which floated along. The other boys and girls said "they were sure that the clouds were still, and that it was the moon which moved." Peter insisted that the moon had no sensible motion such as they thought, and that it was the clouds which passed so swiftly. But his reasons produced no effect upon the minds of his companions, till he tried the following plan. He took them under a large tree, and bade them look at the moon through the branches. They now saw that the moon seemed to stand still between the same leaves and branches, while the clouds sailed far away out of sight. They were then obliged to admit that Peter was right in what he said, and that they were wrong.

THE INDIAN AND THE STOLEN VENISON.

A North American Indian, upon returning home to his cabin, discovered that his venison, which had been hung up to dry, was stolen. After taking his observations on the spot, he set off in pursuit of the thief, whom he tracked through the woods. Meeting with some persons on his route, he inquired if they had seen a little old white man, with a short gun, and accompanied by a small dog with a bob-tail. They answered in the affirmative: and upon the Indian assuring them that the man thus described had stolen his venison, they desired to be informed how he was able to give so minute a description of a person whom it appeared he had never seen. The Indian replied: "The thief, I know, is a little man, by his having made a pile of stones to stand upon in order to reach the venison from the height at which I hung it, while standing on the ground; that he is an old man, I know by his short steps, which I have traced over the dead leaves in the woods: and that he is a white man, I know by his turning out his tocs when he walks-which an Indian never does. His gun I know to be short, from the mark which the muzzle made by rubbing the bark of the tree against which it had leant; that his dog is small, I know by his track; and that he has a bob-tail, Ĭ discovered by the mark it made in the dust, where he was sitting while his master was busied about my meat.”

NECESSITY OF SOMETHING TO DO.

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go fasting. There are no gains without pains; then help, hands, for I have no lands, or if I have, they are smartly taxed. He that hath a trade, hath an estate; and he that hath a calling, hath an office of profit and honour," as Poor Richard says; but then the trade must be worked at, and the calling well followed, or neither the estate nor the office will enable us to pay our taxes. If we are industrious, we shall never starve; for "at the working-man's house hunger looks in, but dares not enter; for Industry pays debts, while Despair increaseth them." What! though you have found no treasure, nor has any rich relation left you a legacy, Diligence is the mother of good luck, and God gives all things to industry. Then, "plough deep, while sluggards sleep, and you shall have corn to sell and to keep. Work while it is called to-day, for you know not how much you may be hindered to-morrow, as Poor Richard says; and further, never leave that till to-morrow which you can do to-day." "Handle your tools without mittens; remember that the cat in gloves catches no mice," as Poor Richard says. It is true there is much to be done, and perhaps you are weak-handed; but stick to it steadily, and you will see great effects; for "constant dropping wears away stones," and by diligence and patience the mouse ate in two the cable" and "little strokes fell great oaks. Methinks I hear some of you say, "Must a man afford himself no leisure?" I will tell you, my friend, what Poor Richard says "Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure; and since you are not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour."-Franklin.

NECESSITY OF SOMETHING TO DO.

A gentleman was under close confinement in the Bastile for seven years, during which time he amused himself in scattering a few small pins about his chamber, gathering them up again, and placing them in different figures on the arm of a great chair. He often told his friends afterwards, that, unless he had found out this mode of employing himself, he verily believed he should have lost his

senses.