Father.

Why, he it was that conquered Tyre,
And levelled down her wall,
And thousands of her people slew,
And then to Persia went,
And fire and sword on every side
Through many a region sent.
A hundred conquered cities shone
With midnight burnings red;
And strewed o'er many a battle-ground,

A thousand soldiers bled.

Son.

Did killing people make him great?
Then why was Abdel Young,
Who killed his neighbor training day,
Put into jail and hung?

I never heard them call him great.

Well, then, if I should kill a man,
I'd kill a hundred more;

I should be GREAT, and not get hung,
Like Abdel Young, before.

Father.

Not so, my child, 't will never do;

The Gospel bids, be kind.

Son.

Then they that kill and they that praise, The Gospel do not mind.

"Father.

You know, my child, the Bible says,

That you must always do
To other people as you wish

To have them do to you.

Son.

But, pa, did Alexander wish

That some strong man would come
And burn his house and kill him too
And do as he had done?

And everybody calls him GREAT,
For killing people so!

Well, now, what right he had to kill,
I should be glad to know.

If one should burn the buildings here,
And kill the folks within,
Would anybody call him great,
For such a wicked thing?

A

FOR THE HOLIDAY VACATION.

MERRY Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all! Shut up the books, and lay away the slates! Then we will sing our good-by song, and hurry home for the holidays. For Christmas is coming. We shall hang up our stockings at night; Old Santa Claus will go round with his funny load, and we shall find them full in the morning. There will be candy and toys and books, and perhaps a sled or a pair of skates hanging to the toes. Everybody will wish us Merry Christmas, and the whole house will ring with the fun. I hope every one of you will have something good and pretty for that day. We will all come back after it, to our books and lessons, and will be better boys and girls than ever we were before.

So a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!

TH

THE SHIP OF STATE.

HOU, too, sail on, O Ship of State! Sail on, O Union, strong and great! Humanity, with all its fears,

With all its hopes of future years,

Is hanging breathless on thy fate!
We know what master laid thy keel,
What workman wrought thy ribs of steel,
Who made each mast, and sail, and rope,
What anvils rang, what hammers beat,
In what a forge and what a heat
Were shaped the anchors of thy hope!

Fear not each sudden sound and shock;
'Tis of the wave, and not the rock;
'Tis but the flapping of the sail,
And not a rent made by the gale!

In spite of rock and tempest's roar,
In spite of false lights on the shore,
Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea!
Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee;
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears,
Are all with thee, -are all with thee!

LITTLE THINGS.

IS little acts of good or ill,

That make our vast account.

No one, though great, does all God's will.
Small drops the caves of ocean fill;
And sands compose the mount.

For when I was an infant,

And could not speak or walk, She let me in her bosom sleep, And taught me how to talk.

I must not tease my mother;
And when she likes to read,
Or has the headache, I will step
Quite silently, indeed.

I will not choose a noisy play,
Nor trifling troubles tell,
But sit down quiet by her side,

And try to make her well.

R

AN ADDRESS TO PARENTS.

ESPECTED PARENTS AND FRIENDS:

It affords us pleasure to see you here on the present occasion, and we bid you a cordial welcome to this our pleasant school-room. Here we are wont to meet from day to day and spend our time in attending to those studies which will tend to make us more useful and happy.

To you we feel that we are under great obligations for all the privileges we enjoy, and we trust that we feel truly grateful for them.

We will try, at this time, to show you that we have not been idle, or inattentive to our lessons.

In listening to our performances,

"Do not view us with a critic's eye,
But pass our imperfections by."

In behalf of these my school-mates, I tender you heart-felt and sincere thanks for all your kindness.

We hope no one of you will ever have occasion to feel that any member of this school has misimproved or wasted his time.

We hope you will still continue your kindness; and in return for it, we will try so to improve our time and privileges that we may become useful members of society, and, in all our actions, merit your approbation.

"Our life is a school-time; and, till that shall end,
With our Father in heaven for Teacher and Friend,

Oh! let us well perform each task that is given,
Till our time of probation is ended in heaven."