his request against Mordecai, as soon as he could gain admittance to the king; the king being told Haman was there, ordered him to come in, and immediately asked him, what ought to be done to that man whom the king delighted to honor. Haman not imagining that royal honors could be intended for any one but himself, readily answered, that the happy man ought to be clothed with royal robes, to have a crown set upon his head, to be mounted upon the king's own horse, and in that state to be conducted through the streets by one of the first princes of his kingdom, who should hold the bridle and proclaim as he went along, "Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor." Now, my dear John, this judgement of Haman, more than anything else, showed his pride and ambition for the royal robes, which he said this favoured individual ought to be invested with, was the greatest honor the king could confer. This robe was a Median one, the same as the king's-none were allowed to wear it but those upon whom it was conferred-in fact it was death to wear it without permission? Haman thought it was for himself he was speaking, but he was soon undeceived, for the king said unto him, "Go, then, and see that thou perform every part of what thou hast said, unto Mordecai the Jew."

Then to the astonishment of all Shusan, did the humble Mordecai suddenly appear invested with the most splended honors that a Persian monarch could bestow upon a subject, whilst the haughty Haman walked as an attendant, proclaiming aloud the honors of a man whom he had destined for the gallows.

EMMA.-Oh, papa, what a punishment it must have been for the proud Haman to be obliged thus to humble himself.

MR. W.-Yes, my love, the best punishment for a man like him.

JOHN. I think it was not enough, considering his intended cruelty to the poor Jews.

MR. W.-There was a much heavier one in store for him, as you shall hear about presently.

EMMA. Did they go to Esther's second feast, papa ?

MR. W.-Yes, my love, and after the banquet the king again asked Esther what her request was, promising it should be given her, even though she should ask half his kingdom. Queen Esther answered and said, “If I have found favour in thy sight, oh, king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my peoples' at my request, for I and my people are sold, to be slain and to perish; but if we had been sold for bond-men and bond-women, I had held my peace, and not troubled the king with my . petition, because that misery of ours would not have been so much to the king's injury,"

Then was the king angry, and said, "Who, and where is he that durst presume in his heart to do so?"

Esther replied, "The adversary and enemy is the wicked Haman. He is the man, who, by an abuse of the royal favour which he enjoys, has published an edict for the massacre of the whole Jewish people, whose only crime is their fidelity to God and their religion.

King Ahasuerus was utterly shocked at the horrid design into which Hanan's pride and his credulity had betrayed him. His indignation rose so that he left the room, and retired to a shady walk adjoining the palace.

Haman, conscious of his guilt and danger, took advantage

of the king's absence and threw himself at Esther's feet, as she reclined upon her couch, to implore protection. When the king returned, seeing Haman in that posture, he was the more enraged, and immediately sentenced him to die. Then

was it told the king of the gallows he had erected for Mordecai. He therefore told the officers to hang Haman thereon. The order was instantly obeyed; and thus, by one of God's just judgements, the criminal suffered by the very same punishment which he had maliciously planned against the innocent Jews.

The Fable of the Ape.

FROM THE GERMAN.

BY MARY HOWITT.

HEN the animals left the garden of Eden, after the Fall, and were, by means of it, brought into a state of enmity against man, the wildest and the most savage amongst them, the lion, the tiger, the wolf, the bear, and several others, set off into the forests and deserts, and lived there by robbery and murder; they pursued the weaker animals and made them their prey. The greater number of these poor creatures, among whom were deer, hares, and roebucks, took shelter in thickets and little hollows of the hills, where they lived in perpetual anxiety and terror. The gentler class of animals, however, such as the cow, the sheep, the dog, and many others, wished rather to belong to some master, who would care for, and direct them, as man had done formerly.

For the accomplishment of this plan, they called a council; and, in the end, it was determined that the ape should be chosen as their director, because he bore the greatest resemblance to man, had a very grave and important countenance, walked upright on two legs, and was provided with human hands, of which he could make very dextrous

use.

But, in order that he might be well fitted for so important an office, they sent him, for some time, into the neighbourhood of man, that he might gain the requisite knowledge of various useful arts, and thus be enabled to instruct them.

The ape was immediately ready to set off. He went to the place where Adam and Eve lived, with their children, and there seated himself in an apple-tree to watch their way of going on. Anybody who had seen him sitting there, with his important mien, would have thought, “If that fellow does not learn, nobody can!"

During the first week he was studying how men built their houses, because the animals wished also to provide some shelter for themselves, before the bad weather should set in.

He looked down from his seat in the apple-tree, and saw how Adam took an axe and struck against a tree, till it fell; then how he sawed it up into boards and upright timbers, and how he built himself a beautiful house out of these.

When the ape had observed all this for a little while, he said to himself, "Oho! if there's nothing more than that, I can manage it at once;" and set off to the animals.