Why should we a minute despise,
Because it so quickly is o'er?
We know that it rapidly flies,

And, therefore, should prize it the more.
Another, indeed, may appear in its stead,
But that precious moment for ever is fled.

'Tis easy to squander our years
In idleness, folly, and strife;
But, oh! no repentance or tears

Can bring back one moment of life!

But time, if well spent, and improv'd as it goes, Will render life pleasant, and peaceful its close.

Glass is made of sand or ground flint, and the ashes of certain plants which are caused to melt by exposure to intense heat. It is said to have been discovered by some merchants, who were driven by bad weather on the coast of Syria, in Asia. They had lighted a fire on the sea shore in order to warm themselves, with a plant called kali, and the sand mixing with its ashes, was melted into glass by the heat. This circumstance led the merchants to the discovery of the mode of making glass, which was first manufactured at Sidon, a town of Syria.

This is the present mode of making glass:When the sand and ashes have been properly mixed they are put into a furnace, where they are burned, or calcined, for some time, till they become what is called grit. This grit is then boiled in pots and cleared over a second furnace, till it is fit for the glass-blowing process, which is performed by taking up some of the melted glass with the end of a long iron tube, rolling it on a working stool into the proper shape, and then blowing into it to make it hollow. It is then softened again, and fashioned more carefully, till it becomes of a suitable form. But glass is so brittle, that if the piece which has been made with so much care, be exposed immediately to the cold air, it would fall to pieces, as if struck by a hammer. It must, therefore, be hardened; and this is done by exposing it again to heat, and then letting it cool very gradually: this process is called annealing.

Glass is beautiful for its brightness and smoothness, but its great value to us is its transparency. Any substance which we can see through is called transparent.

Now it is this transparency which makes glass so valuable for our window panes, because it admits the light of the sun, while it excludes the wind and the rain.

Till glass was in common use, we could have no light in our houses, unless we admitted air also and rain; so that in bad weather people were obliged to sit in the dark.

The ancient Greeks and Romans, in the height of their power and glory, knew not the comfort of glass.

In Russia, where glass is very dear, they use very often thin plates of a silvery looking substance, called mica, which is found in some kinds of rock, and which has the advantage of not breaking so easily as glass, but it is not so clear and transparent.

In England it is not uncommon for a glassblower to go about from place to place, and earn a livelihood, by showing any one who pays a trifle for it, this beautiful art. He makes only small things, such as tiny tumblers and cups, and all sorts of little shapes, dogs, cats, and birds; but they are very pretty, for he uses coloured glass, according to the colour of the animal he wishes to imitate.

His workshop is a stool, and his apparatus a lamp, a pair of pincers, a blow-pipe, and some strips or pipes of glass. He breaks off a piece of glass, and holding it with his pincers, melts it at his lamp, and then sticks it at the end of his blowpipe; he then whirls it about, and fashions it; and if it is intended to be hollow as a cup, he blows into it through his pipe, which makes the glass expand, or swell out on all sides, leaving a hollow within.

By twirling and twisting his melted glass about, he can make it assume any shape he pleases. But as all this must be done while the glass is hot and in a soft state, the glass-blower must be very quick in his movements, and know well what he is about.

A little boy went out, one morning, to walk to a village about five miles from the place where he lived, and carried with him, in a basket, the provision that was to serve him the whole day. As he was walking along, a poor little half-starved dog came up to him, wagging his tail, and seeming to entreat him to take compassion on him. The little boy at first took no notice of him, but at length, remarking how lean and famished the creature seemed to be, he said, "This animal is certainly in very great necessity; if I give him part of my provision, I shall be obliged to go home hungry myself; however, as he seems to want it more than I do, he shall partake with me." Saying this, he gave part of what he had in the basket to the dog, who ate as if he had not tasted victuals for a fortnight.

The little boy then went on a little farther, his dog still following him, and fawning upon him with the greatest gratitude and affection; when he saw a poor old horse lying upon the ground, and groaning as if he was very ill: he went up to him, and saw that he was almost starved, and so weak that he was unable to rise. I am very much afraid," said the little boy, "if I stay to assist this horse, that it will be dark before I can return; and I

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have heard that there are several thieves in the neighbourhood: however, I will try; it is doing a good action to attempt to relieve him; and God Almighty will take care of me." He then went and gathered some grass, which he brought to the horse's mouth, who immediately began to eat with as much relish as if his chief disease was hunger. He then fetched some water in his hat, which the animal drank up, and seemed immediately to be so much refreshed, that, after a few trials, he got up, and began grazing.

The little boy then went on a little farther, and saw a man wading about in a pond of water, without being able to get out of it, in spite of all his endeavours. "What is the matter, good man ?” said the little boy to him; "can't you find your way out of this pond ?" "No, God bless you, my worthy master, or miss!" said the man; "for such I take you to be by your voice: I have fallen into this pond, and know not how to get out again, as I am quite blind, and I am almost afraid to move for fear of being drowned." "Well," said the little boy, "though I shall be wetted to the skin, if you will throw me your stick, I will try to help you out of it." The blind man then threw the stick to that side on which he heard the voice; the little boy caught it, and went into the water feeling very carefully before him, lest he should unguardedly go beyond his depth; at length he reached the blind man, took him very carefully by the hand, and led him out. The blind man then gave him a thousand blessings, and told him he could grope out his way home; and the little boy ran on as hard as he could, to prevent being benighted.