Then bending her sweet little head with a nod,
"Good night my dear Father, my Maker and God
Should I never again on earth open mine eyes,
I pray Thee to give me a home in the skies!"

'Twas an exquisite sight as she meekly knelt there, With her eyes raised to Heaven, her hands clasped in

prayer;

And I thought of the time when the Saviour, in love,
Said, “Of such is the kingdom of Heaven above;"
And I inwardly prayed that my own heart the while,
Might be cleansed of its bitterness, freed from its guile;
Then she crept into bed, that beautiful child,
And was soon lost in slumber so calm and so mild,
That we listened in vain for the sound of her breath
As she lay in the arms of the emblem of death.

GENTLE WORDS-LOVING SMILES.

THE sun may warm the grass of life,
The dew the drooping flower,

And eyes grow bright that watch the light
Of Autumn's opening hour—

But words that breathe of tenderness,

And smiles we know are true
Are warmer than the summer time,
And brighter than the dew.

It is not much the world can give,
With all its subtle art,

And gold and gems are not the things

To satisfy the heart;

But oh, if those who cluster round

The altar and the hearth,

Have gentle words and loving smiles,
How beautiful is earth!

WILLIAM TELL.

N 1307, Switzerland was under the dominion of an Austrian tyrant, named Herman Gessler. The Swiss have always been a hard people for tyrants to manage, and this governor had his match with them. It seems he suspected they were not perfectly loyal. So one day, he ordered a hat to be raised on a pole, and commanded everybody to do homage to it, as if his own head were under it. Tell refused. He was arrested for disobedience, and the tyrant cruelly directed him to shoot an arrow at an apple placed on the head of his own son, or else to be dragged with his child to immedi ate death. What a dreadful choice! Tell was a good archer, and he determined to try his skill, though at the eminent hazard of murdering his child. He raised the bow, took deliberate aim,with a steady hand; and wonderful to relate, cleft the apple in two without injuring his son! God aided that injured man-God indeed is ever on the side of the oppressed and against the oppressor. Tell had another arrow in his quiver; and he declared that if he had hurt his child, that arrow would have been thrust through the heart of the tyrant.

This boldness was the occasion of his confinement; and the governor, afraid of a rescue, carried him across the lake of Lucerne. But a violent

storm obliged Gessler, who knew that the prisoner was a good sailor, to entrust to him the helm of the vessel for the preservation of his own life. Tell, freed from his chains, steered the boat on a rock. That rock is still called by his name. He leaped ashore, unhurt, and escaped into mountains. That governor was afterwards shot by the hand of Tell; and the Swiss roused to arms by the conduct of their hero, drove away their Austrian master, and established the independence of Switzerland. Nearly fifty years after this event, Willian Tell was drowned.

DRY CLOUDS.-Two boys among the blackberry bushes, some mile or two out of town, saw a cloud rising and heard a sound like thunder. One who was a little timid said to the other, "Come, Fred, let's go home-it thunders." The other, not wishing to return home so soon, denied that it thundered at all. Directly the rumbling noise was again borne on the freshening breeze. "What's that, then?" inquired the other. "Why, Fred, don't you know what that is? If you don't, I'll tell you. You know it has been dry weather for a long time. What clouds there are floating about are as dry as old sheep-skins, and when the wind blows it rattles them."

THE GREAT CHINESE PUZZLE.

MANY

ANY years ago, during the time of the third

dynasty of the Emperors of China, which commenced about the year 1,110, B. C., there reigned over that country an Emperor named Ching. He had an only daughter who was his greatest pride and joy. She had a fair skin, with a delicate tinge of pink on her fat cheeks; her little eyes were bright and sparkling, and her thick hair was black as the raven's wing; but her greatest beauty was her feet, which were but three inches long.

This interesting maiden, Yang-te-Se, was loved by a young Chinese named Hang-Ho, a youth beneath her in birth and fortune. Now, as her father was Emperor, or, as his subjects styled him, the "Son of Heaven," he looked higher for a husband for his daughter. Even the noblest in his realm were not deemed worthy of her, and it was his hope that some rich neighboring monarch would purchase her for a large sum, so that he might then build himself, for his summer residence, a beautiful kiosk on the banks of the Yang-Kiang.

My young readers are all aware that the Chinese are remarkably fond of puzzles, and that they are famous for having furnished some of the most difficult that have ever been invented; but I doubt if any of you know the origin of the Great Chinese Puzzle.