THOROUGHNESS IN WORK. 141 trades, and take an interest in their work; for, on account of their superior education, they fully understand the advantages, not only to their masters, but also to themselves, in never putting a bad piece of work out of their hands. The consequences of slimming work, and making watches to sell rather than to keep time correctly, has lately been seen at St. Imier, in the Bernese Jura, and produced a deep impression. In this district, for some years past, a great falling off in the quality of the watches has taken place, owing to the inhabitants desiring to increase their profits by furnishing an inferior article. They prospered for a considerable time, but finally their watches got such a bad name that nobody would buy them, and the result is that the masters have become bankrupt, and the people have been thrown out of employment. Workmen in every branch of industry should keep in mind that they have their own and their country's character to maintain for excellence. No station is so high as to be exempt from this duty; none so low as not to be dignified by the faithful discharge of it. The works themselves upon which all this labour is bestowed will perish; but the qualities which have been gained by the faithful and honest discharge of the daily duties of life will endure for ever, and find scope for their exercise in a higher and holier sphere.-Inaugural Address by Mr. Walter, M.P., at London Quebec Institute, November, 1874. 142 THOROUGHNESS IN WORK. "Victory of Trafalgar," gained in 1805 by the British fleet under the command of Lord Nelson, over the French fleet under the command of Villeneuve. Nelson was shot through the back, but died conscious that he had gained the battle. "Bernese Jura," that part of the Jura Mountains which passes through the canton of Berne, in Switzerland. The Jura Mountains form a curved range of about 200 miles in length, and in some places about 30 miles in breadth. The boundary between Switzerland and France lies along these mountains. DICTATION. Words ending in tion, to be divided into syllables and accented:-Nation, ration, station, oblation, obligation, reformation, confirmation; completion, repletion, depletion; condition, contrition, ambition lotion, motion, notion, potion; constitution, execution, substitution, restitution. QUESTIONS. What is the chief end of all education? Which are the two kinds of labour mentioned in the lesson? Repeat the golden rule which ought to be engraved on every heart. What was Nelson's last signal before the victory of Trafalgar? Whose hearts were thrilled by this signal? What idea does that signal but express? Repeat the base and cowardly adage quoted in the lesson. In what is its counterpart? Is it true or false that "good work is bad for trade"? For what is Switzerland famous? What will neither knowledge nor skill bring without thoroughness of work? What are Swiss workmen skilful in? What does their superior education make them understand? What has happened in the district of the Bernese Jura for some years past? What was this owing to? Although they prospered for some time, what finally happened? What is the result of the bad name which their watches got? What should workmen in every branch of industry keep in mind? What should all faithfully and honestly discharge? LXIX.-MAKE HASTE TO LIVE. MAKE haste, O man, to live, For thou so soon must die; Time hurries past thee like the breeze- To breathe, and wake, and sleep, Make haste, O man, to do Whatever must be done; 143 MAKE HASTE TO LIVE. Thou hast no time to lose in sloth, Up thou with speed and work, The useful, not the great, The thing that never dies, The seed, whose leaf and flower, Make haste, O man, to live, O sleep not, dream not, but arise- Horatius Bonar, D.D. LXX. THE PIN AND THE NEEDLE.-A FABLE. A PIN and needle being neighbours in a workbasket, and both being idle, began to quarrel, as idle folks are apt to do. I should like to know," said the pin, " what you are good for, and how do you expect to go through the world without a head? What is the use of an eye if there is always something in it?" ' "I am more active, and can go through more work than you can," said the needle, 144 THE PIN AND THE NEEDLE. "Yes; but you will not live long," said the pin. Why not?" said the needle. "Because you have always a stitch in your side," said the pin. "You are a poor crooked creature," said the needle. "And you can't bend without breaking your back," said the pin. "I'll pull your head off if you insult me again," said the needle. "I'll put your eye out if you touch me. Remember your life hangs by a single thread," said the pin. While they were thus conversing a little girl entered, and undertaking to sew, she soon broke off the needle at the eye. Then she tied the thread around the neck of the pin, and attempting to sew with it, soon pulled its head off, and threw it into the dirt with the broken needle. "Well, here we are," said the needle. “We have nothing to fight about now," said the pin. "It seems misfortune has brought us to our "A pity we had not come to them sooner," said the needle. "How much we resemble human beings, who quarrel about their blessings till they lose them, and never find out that they are frail brothers till they lie down in the dust together as we do." Cruet Stand. GOOD TEMPER. LXXI.-GOOD TEMPER. Con-flict'-ing, dashing against each other. Dis-tin'-guished, noble. Di-vin'-i-ty, deity. Lulls, soothes. Pě'as-ant, farm servant. THERE's not a cheaper thing on earth, 'Tis worth more than distinguished birth, It maketh poverty content, A flower for peer and peasant born, As smiles the rainbow through the cloud, As springs an arch across the tide, What may this wondrous spirit be, And can the poorest peasant lift R. III, 145 To bliss unknown to kings.-Charles Swain. K |