4.

One alone,

5.

6.

The Redbreast, sacred to the household gods,
Wisely regardful of the embroiling sky,
In joyless fields and thorny thickets leaves
His shivering mates, and pays to trusted man
His annual visit.

Half-afraid, he first

Against the window beats; then, brisk, alights
On the warm hearth; then, hopping o'er the floor,
Eyes all the smiling family askance,

And pecks, and starts, and wonders where he is;
Till, more familiar grown, the table-crumbs

Attract his slender feet.

The foodless wilds

Pour forth their brown inhabitants. The hare,
Though timorous of heart, and hard beset
By death in various forms, dark snares and dogs,
And more unpitying men, the garden seeks,
Urged on by fearless want. The bleating kind
Eye the bleak heaven, and next the glistening earth,
With looks of dumb despair; then, sad dispersed,
Dig for the withered herb through heaps of snow.

7. Now, shepherds, to your helpless charge be kind,
Baffle the raging year, and fill their pens

With food at will; lodge them below the storm,
And watch them strict; for from the bellowing east,
In this dire season, oft the whirlwind's wing
Sweeps up the burden of whole wintry plains.
In one wide waft, and o'er the hapless flocks,
Hid in the hollow of two neighboring hills,
The billowy tempest 'whelms; till, upward urged,
The valley to a shining mountain swells,
Tipped with a wreath high-curling in the sky.

DEFINITIONS.-1. Mā'zy, winding. 2. Hōar, white or grayish white. E-mĭts', sends forth, throws out. 3. Win'now-ing, separating chaff from grain by means of wind. Bōon, a gift. 4. Embroiling, throwing into disorder or contention. 5. A-skǎnçe', sideways. 6. Wilds, woods, forests. Be-set', hemmed in on all sides so that escape is difficult. 7. Dire, dreadful, terrible. Waft, a current of wind. Whělms', covers completely.

NOTE.-4. Household gods. An allusion to the belief of the ancient Romans in the Penates;-certain gods who were supposed to protect the household and all connected with it. The idea here expressed is, that the Redbreast was secure from harm.

XLIX. BEHIND TIME.

1. A RAILROAD train was rushing along at almost lightning speed. A curve was just ahead, beyond which was a station where two trains usually met. The conductor was late, so late that the period during which the up-train was to wait had nearly elapsed; but he hoped yet to pass the curve safely. Suddenly a locomotive dashed into sight right ahead. In an instant there was a collision. A shriek, a shock, and fifty souls were in eternity; and all because an engineer had been behind time.

2. A great battle was going on. Column after column had been precipitated for eight hours on the enemy posted along the ridge of a hill. The summer sun was sinking in the west; re-enforcements for the obstinate defenders were already in sight; it was necessary to carry the position with one final charge, or every thing would be lost.

3. A powerful corps had been summoned from across the country, and if it came up in season all would yet be well. The great conqueror, confident in its arrival, formed his reserve into an attacking column, and ordered them to charge the enemy. The whole world knows the result. Grouchy failed to appear; the imperial guard was beaten

(5.-11.)

back; and Waterloo was lost. Napoleon died a prisoner at St. Helena because one of his marshals was behind time. 4. A leading firm in commercial circles had long struggled against bankruptcy. As it had large sums of money in California, it expected remittances by a certain day, and if they arrived, its credit, its honor, and its future prosperity would be preserved. But week after week elapsed without bringing the gold. At last came the fatal day on which the firm had bills maturing to large amounts. The steamer was telegraphed at day-break; but it was found, on inquiry, that she brought no funds, and the house failed. The next arrival brought nearly half a million to the insolvents, but it was too late; they were ruined be cause their agent, in remitting, had been behind time.

5. A condemned man was led out for execution. He had taken human life, but under circumstances of the greatest provocation, and public sympathy was active in his behalf. Thousands had signed petitions for a reprieve; a favorable answer had been expected the night before, and though it had not come, even the sheriff felt confident that it would yet arrive. Thus the morning passed without the appearance of the messenger.

6. The last moment was up. The prisoner took his place, the cap was drawn over his eyes, the bolt was drawn, and a lifeless body swung revolving in the wind. Just at that moment a horseman came into sight, galloping down hill, his steed covered with foam. He carried a packet in his right hand, which he waved frantically to the crowd. He was the express rider with the reprieve; but he came too late. A comparatively innocent man had died an ignominious death because a watch had been five minutes too late, making its bearer arrive behind time.

7. It is continually so in life. The best laid plans, the most important affairs, the fortunes of individuals, the weal of nations, honor, happiness, life itself, are daily sacrificed, because somebody is " behind time." There are men who

always fail in whatever they undertake, simply because they are "behind time." There are others who put off reformation year after year, till death seizes them, and they perish unrepentant, because forever "behind time."

DEFINITIONS.-1. Col-liş'ion, the act of striking together violently. 2. Pre-çip'i-tat-ed, urged on violently. Re-en-fōrçe'ments, additional troops. 3. Corps (pro. kōr), a body of troops. Re-serve', a select body of troops held back in case of special need for their services. 4. Bank'rupt-cy, inability to pay all debts, insolvency. Re-mit'tanç-es, money, drafts, etc., sent from a distance. Ma-tür'ing, approaching the time fixed for payment. 5. Prov-o-ca'tion, that which causes anger. 6. Ig-no-min'i-oŭs, infamous. 7. Weal, prosperity, happiness.

NOTES. 3. Emmanuel Grouchy was one of Napoleon's marshals at the battle of Waterloo, fought in 1815, between the French under Napoleon, and the English, Netherland, and German troops under Wellington.

Napoleon Bonaparte (b. 1769, d. 1821) was born on the island of Corsica. At school he was "studious, well-behaved, and distinguished in mathematical studies." In 1785 he was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in the army. From this obscure position he raised himself to the head of the army, and in 1804 was elected emperor of the French. He is almost universally acknowledged to have been the greatest general the world has known.

L. THE OLD SAMPLER.

1. OUT of the way, in a corner
Of our dear old attic room,

Where bunches of herbs from the hillside

Shake ever a faint perfume,

An oaken chest is standing,

With hasp and padlock and key,
Strong as the hands that made it

On the other side of the sea.

2. When the winter days are dreary, ·
And we're out of heart with life,
Of its crowding cares aweary,
And sick of its restless strife,
We take a lesson in patience

From the attic corner dim,

Where the chest still holds its treasures,
A warder faithful and grim.

3. Robes of an antique fashion, Linen and lace and silk,

That time has tinted with saffron,

Though once they were white as milk; Wonderful baby garments,

'Broidered with loving care

By fingers that felt the pleasure,
As they wrought the ruffles fair;

4. A sword, with the red rust on it,
That flashed in the battle tide,
When from Lexington to Yorktown
Sorely men's souls were tried;
A plumed chapeau and a buckle,
And many a relic fine,

And, all by itself, the sampler,
Framed in with berry and vine.

5. Faded the square of canvas,

And dim is the silken thread,
But I think of white hands dimpled,
And a childish, sunny head;
For here in cross and in tent-stitch,
In a wreath of berry and vine,
She worked it a hundred years ago,