the ice happened to break at a considerable distance from the shore, and one of them unfortunately fell in. No house was near, where ropes or the assistance of more aged hands could be procured, and the boys were afraid to venture forward to save their struggling companion through fear that, where the ice had once given way, it might give way again, and bring more of them into danger.

In this alarming state of affairs, one of the boys, named Reuben Percy, of more sagacity than the rest, proposed a plan whereby, he thought, the drowning lad might be saved. He rememdered having noticed that, when a plank of wood is placed on the ice on its end, it will break through; but that the same plank, when laid flat on the ice, will be firmly borne, and afford a safe footing. With great presence of mind, he proposed to his companions that, instead of trying to reach the boy who had fallen in by running along the ice, they should lay themselves flat on the ice, in a line, one behind the other, and each push forward the boy before him till they reached the hole, where their playmate was still plunging. He himself agreed to form the first link in the chain.

The plan was instantly adopted; and, to the great joy of the boys and their gallant leader, they were able to rescue their companion from a watery grave, at a moment when, overcome by fear and exhaustion, he was unable to make another effort

to save himself. This Reuben Percy became famous in after-life, and was remarkable for his noble qualities of heart, which won for him the love and esteem of all who knew him.

A little boy, going home from school, was cutting a stick with a common pocket-knife. He happened, while thus employed, to miss the stick, and the knife, which was sharp, entering his arm, cut one of the arteries. The blood spouted forth in a red stream. People flocked round him, but, instead of doing anything to stop the bleeding, they wrung their hands, and cried, "He'll die!"

One of his companions, having been taught in school that the arteries convey the blood from the heart to the various parts of the body, thought that, if he could compress the artery above the wound, that is, between the wound and the heart, the bleeding would stop. Quietly taking off his necktie, he bound it tightly on the boy's arm above the wound, and at once the bleeding was arrested.

This boy lived to be one of the most famous surgeons of his day, and, as Sir Astley Cooper, is still regarded as an authority upon all medical

matters.

A little boy, eight years of age, was nursing his brother, a mere child. They were amusing themselves by a road-side, when the elder boy heard loud shouting and the hurrying of feet. On looking in the direction from which the noise came, he saw a crowd of people chasing a dog, which was

evidently mad. He had no time to escape; but, putting his young brother behind him, he quickly took off his jacket, and wrapped it round his arm several folds. A mad dog will not go out of its way to attack a person, but simply snaps at anything in its course. The little boy had been taught this in school, and so to prevent the dog's teeth from reaching his skin, in the event of its snapping at him, he did what I have mentioned. The dog came tearing past, arm and then passed on. through the folds of the jacket, and the boy's presence of mind saved both himself and his brother.

made a snap at the boy's The teeth did not pass

QUESTIONS:-1. If a plank is placed on the ice on its end, what will likely happen? 2. If the same plank is laid flat on the ice, what will happen? 3. How did Reuben Percy propose to save his drowning companion? 4. What was the result of his effort? 5. What is an artery? 6. What happens when an artery is cut? 7. How may the bleeding from an artery, when cut, be stopped? 8. Where should the bandage be tied? 9. Why?

LESSON XL.

Take Care of Your Lungs.

cav'-i-ty, a hollow space. pu'-ri-fy, to make clear or

com-press', squeeze close.

en-larg'-es, makes big.

ex-pands', swells out.

in-hale', draw in breath.

pure.

suf-fi'-cient, enough.

vig'-o-rous, active.

vi'-o-lent, very severe.

THE lungs are large sponge-like masses, which fill up nearly the whole cavity of the chest on each side of the heart. The chief use of the lungs is to

purify the blood. Pure air contains a large quantity of gas, called oxygen gas, without which we could not live. Every time we inhale air, the blood in the lungs draws off a portion of this oxygen, and is thereby purified. It is evident, therefore, that the air which we breathe out, having parted with a portion of its oxygen, cannot be the same as the air which we inhaled. In fact, the air which we breath out is very impure, and consists largely of a very poisonous gas called carbonic acid.

We see at once, therefore, the danger of breathing over again our own breath or the breath of others. When a person sleeps with his head covered by the bed-clothes, he is breathing poisoned air, and, if he sleeps in a small and close room, he is in danger from the same cause. A close room, crowded with people, soon becomes filled with the poisonous gas, which often produces violent headaches in those who breathe it. Crowded schoolrooms, churches, and all rooms in which numbers of people meet, require to have a constant supply of fresh air in order to give a sufficient amount of oxygen.

As pure charcoal consists wholly of carbon, the burning of charcoal produces a large quantity of carbonic-acid gas, and every year we hear of persons losing their lives by sleeping in close rooms in which charcoal was burning. And the danger is all the greater, inasmuch as this gas is much heavier than common air and lies near the floor.

Not only do the lungs require fresh air, but we must do nothing to keep them from taking in a sufficient quantity. When air is taken into the lungs in breathing so as to fill them, they swell out, and the chest enlarges so as to give the lungs plenty of room. But if there is anything to prevent the chest from expanding freely, the lungs do not get fair play. Hence it is very bad for health to wear anything tight round the chest or the waist, especially when people are young. The bones in young people are very soft and yielding, and will take almost any shape we choose to give them. If we compress them tightly, they are sure to grow deformed.

Some persons have small taper waists from their birth, but, as such is against the general law of Nature, and a sign of a frail and weakly body, it may justly be considered a deformity. The defects of a small waist may be so far remedied, and a healthy form attained, by a judicious exercise of the lungs, by walking in the open air, reading aloud, singing, and fully inflating the lungs at each breath. If the exercise be properly managed, it will expand the chest, and give tone and health to the lungs. Exercise in games, and in the society of others is much preferable to solitary exercise, as, in this case, the mind is drawn away from its usual train of thought. But care must be taken that the exercise is not too violent. This will do more harm than good. Moderation in all things is a safe rule.