BRAVE MARY OF THE LIGHTHOUSE. 1. A lighthouse is a tower or building, the upper part of which is called "the lantern," where lamps are lit at night to guide ships on their way, and to show where danger lies. 2. Little Mary was the daughter of the keeper of a lighthouse off the coast of Cornwall. 3. One day her father, having to go for food, crossed the causeway which leads to the land, and little Mary was left in the lighthouse alone. Her father had trimmed the lamps, and they were ready for lighting when the evening came on. people who are obliged to live on such food. You would not be able to obtain much beef in China; but in the provision shops there are excellent hams, ducks, geese, chickens, and fish. In the vegetable markets you can always find a supply of potatoes, beans, peas, and you may possibly find all of those in the bowl of stew which the peddlers sell. 9. To eat after the common manner, you must hold the bowl to your lips and poke the food into your mouth. If you would be genteel, you must pick up the bits of meat, the beans, and the kernels of rice with the chopsticks, and carry them steadily to your mouth, and then drink the broth. 10. If we were to go into the house of a wealthy Chinaman, and were invited to dinner, we should be three or four hours at the table, and have at least three hundred different dishes containing food placed before us! I dined one day with a mandarin—or rather we had only a lunch—and there were so many dishes, and such a variety of food, that I lost all reckoning of the number. 11. First we had roasted pumpkin seeds, then we ate some sweet cakes, and drank several cups of delicious tea, the very best that China affords. The waiters then brought in a great variety of dishes. Some of the food was sweet to the taste and good, but of other dishes a smell satisfied us. 12. We should have had an uncomfortable time, if we had undertaken to eat heartily of every dish. To be genteel in China, you must only taste and eat a little of everything brought on by the waiters. That is no light affair at a great dinner 4. This causeway was a pathway over the rocks and sands, which could only be passed when the tide was low. He had told Mary not to be afraid, for he would return before it was dark, and before the tide flowed over the path to the shore. 5. But there were some rough-looking men behind a rock, who were watching Mary's father and seemed glad as they saw him go to the mainland. These men were wreckers. They waited about the coast, and if a ship was driven by a storm on the rocks, they rushed down-not to help the poor sailors-but to rob them, and plunder their vessel. 6. These wicked men knew that there was only a little girl left in the lighthouse, and they formed a plan for detaining her father all night. Some ships, filled with rich goods, were expected to pass before the morning, and they thought that, should the lamps in the lighthouse not be lit, these vessels would run upon the rocks and be wrecked; and then the goods would be their spoil. 7. Mary's father had filled his basket with bread and other things, and had prepared to return, for it would soon be time to light the lamps. As he drew nigh to the road leading to the causeway the wreckers rushed from their hiding-place and threw him on the ground. 8. They quickly bound his hands and feet with ropes and carried him into a shed, there to lie till morning. It was in vain that he cried to them to be set free; they only mocked his distress. They then left him in charge of two men while they ran back to the shore. 9. Mary looked from a narrow window in the lighthouse, thinking it was time for her father to come back. The clock in the room had just struck six, and she knew that the waters would soon rise up to the causeway. She waited and waited for him to return. It began to grow dark and a storm was coming on, but she could not see him. She then thought of how the lamps were to be lit. She was but a little girl, and the lamps were far above her reach. She resolved, however, to try to light them. 10. First she got a few matches and made a light. The next thing was to carry a set of steps to the spot, and attempt to reach the lamps. But after much labour, she found they were still above her head. A small table was next brought, and Mary put the steps upon it, and mounted to the top with hope and joy, for now she was almost sure she could reach the lamps. 11. But no; though she stood on tiptoe they were even yet a little higher than she could reach. Poor Mary was about to sit down and weep, when she thought of a large book out of which her father used to read. In a minute it was brought and placed under the steps, which raised them just high enough for her to light the wicks, and the rays of the lamp shone brightly far over the dark waters all that stormy night. 12. When the morning came the wreckers had let the father loose from the shed. The water was again down from the causeway. He soon had the pleasure of meeting his brave little Mary, and hearing her relate the trials and difficulties she had to pass |