"Ah me!" said she, "how happy I'll be, When he reaches manhood, proud and free, And the world bows down, in its rapture wild, At the earnest words of my darling child!"

An aged one sat by the cozy hearth,

Counting life's sands as they ebbed from earth;
Feeble and frail, the race she had run
Had borne her along to the setting sun.
"Ah me!" said she, "how happy I'll be,
When from time's long fever my soul is free,
When the world fades out with its weary strife,
And I soar away to a better life!”

'Tis thus we journey from youth to age,
Longing to turn another page,

Striving to hasten the years away,

Lighting our hearts with the future's ray;
Hoping on earth till its visions fade,

Wishing and waiting, through light and shade,
But turning, when earth's last tie is riven,
To the beautiful rest of a fadeless heaven.

QUESTIONS:-1. Where did the little girl sit? 2. What was she doing with the flowers? 3. When did she expect to be happy? 4. What three things are said to have been in the room where the maiden mused? 5. What are vases? 6. What are vases of "antique mould"? 7. What made the pictures valuable? 8. When did the maiden expect to be happy? 9. When did the mother expect to be happy? 10. What is meant by "counting life's sands"? 11. When do life's sands "ebb from earth"? 12. What was the "race" this aged one had run? 13. What is meant by saying that the race had borne her to the "setting sun"? 14. When does this aged one expect to be happy?

The Harper.

cheer'-i-ly, merrily, gladly. crust, a bit of hard bread. faith'-ful, true.

la-ment', a sorrowful tune. re-mem'-ber, keep in mind.

scant, almost empty.
snug'-ly, cosily, warm.
sour'-look-ing, cross, ill-na-
tured.

wal'-let, a bag for provisions.

ON the green banks of Shannon, when Sheelah was nigh,

No blithe Irish lad was so happy as I;

No harp like my own could so cheerily play,
And wherever I went was my poor dog Tray.

When at last I was forced from my Sheelah to

part,

She said (while the sorrow was big at her heart), "Oh ! remember your Sheelah when far, far away; And be kind, my dear Pat, to our poor dog Tray."

Poor dog! he was faithful and kind, to be sure, And he constantly loved me, although I was poor; When the sour-looking folks sent me heartless away,

I had always a friend in my poor dog Tray.

When the road was so dark, and the night was so cold,

And Pat and his dog were grown weary and old,
How snugly we slept in my old coat of grey,
And he licked me for kindness-my poor dog Tray.

Though my wallet was scant, I remembered his

case,

Nor refused my last crust to his pitiful face;
But he died at my feet on a cold winter day,
And I play'd a sad lament for my poor dog Tray.
Where now shall I go, poor, forsaken, and blind?
Can I find one to guide me, so faithful and kind?
To my sweet native village, so far, far away,
I can never more return with my poor dog Tray.
CAMPBELL.

Harper. One who plays on the harp. The poem describes very touchingly the affection that existed between the poor, blind harper and the dog that guided him in his wanderings.

Shannon.-A large river of Ireland.

QUESTIONS:-1. How are the banks of the Shannon described? 2. What name is sometimes given to the whole of Ireland? 3. What made the harper so blithe? 4. What advice did Sheelah give him when they parted? 5. To whom did he turn when he was sent away by people? 6. How did the two sleep at night? 7. How did the dog show his kindness? 8. How did the harper show his kindness to the dog? 9. How did the dog show that he was hungry? 10. How did the harper show his grief at the dog's death? 11. What was his condition after the dog's death?

A TAME raven was once kept near a guard-house. At the guard-house, a party of soldiers was always

stationed ready for service. The soldiers were daily drilled, and from time to time were ordered out on various kinds of duty. The raven never tired of watching them, and from frequently hearing the words of command used by the officers, became very expert in repeating them.

One day the captain was absent, and the soldiers were in the guard-house as usual, some taking a nap, others engaged in talking, or in amusement. A loud voice of command was suddenly heard outside the door. "Guards! attention! Turn out turn out, quick!" Supposing it to be their captain's voice, the soldiers instantly seized their guns, took their places in the ranks, and marched out of the guard-house. Here they waited for further orders. "Forward, march! quick step!" immediately followed in the captain's voice. The men looked round for the captain, but no captain was to be seen. The commands came from the raven, who was gravely watching the fun from the top of an adjoining wall. The men took the thing in good humour. They made a great pet of the bird, and always thereafter called him captain.

One spring, a farmer succeeded in sowing one of his largest fields with corn. The crows soon found their way into the field, and never left it without having their crops well filled with corn. The farmer loaded his gun, and determined on the first occasion to drive them off his field.

The farmer had a parrot, which was allowed to

come and go at its pleasure. When strolling about, it saw some of the crows busy in the cornfield. Poll hopped over among the crows, and was soon quite friendly with them. The farmer, hearing the cawing of the crows, took down his gun, and went forth. Reaching his field, he saw at a glance how matters stood. He fired, and with the report of the gun were heard the death-scream of three crows, and a pitiful shriek from poor Poll. As the farmer advanced, great was his surprise to see his mischievous parrot stretched upon the ground, with its feathers ruffled, and a broken leg. "You foolish bird," said the farmer, "this comes of keeping bad company!" The parrot made no reply, but looked very solemn.

On carrying it to the house, the children, seeing its wounded leg, cried-" What did it, papa? what hurt our pretty Poll?" "Bad company," said the parrot, in a solemn voice. "Ay, that it was," said the farmer. "Poll was with those wicked crows when I fired, and received a shot meant for them."

The broken leg was bandaged, and in a few weeks the parrot was as lively as ever, but he never kept company with the crows again. If ever he saw the farmer's children playing with quarrelsome companions, he always cried out, "Bad company, bad company!"

QUESTIONS:-1. What trick did the raven play on the soldiers? 2. How did the parrot happen to be wounded? 3. What lesson did the parrot learn from the wound?