6. Hush-And if he did break it, ma'am, it was quite an accident; he was standing so, and he never meant it. Did you, Master Sisty? Speak!' (this in a whisper) 'or pa will be so angry.' 'Well,' said my mother, 'I suppose it was an accident; take care in future, my child. You are sorry, I see, to have grieved me. There's a kiss; don't fret.' 7. 'No, mamma, you must not kiss me; I don't deserve it. I pushed out the flower-pot on purpose.' 'Ha! and why?' said my father, walking up. Mrs Primmins trembled like a leaf. 'For fun!' said I, hanging my head; 'just to see how you'd look, papa; and that's the truth of it. Now beat me, do beat me.' 8. My father threw his book fifty yards off, stooped down, and caught me to his breast. Boy,' he said, 'you have done wrong; you shall repair it by remembering all your life that your father blessed God for giving him a son who spoke truth in spite of fear.-Oh, Mrs Primmins, the next fable of this kind you try to teach him, and we part for ever.' 9. Not long after that event, Mr Squills, who often made me little presents, gave me one far exceeding in value those usually bestowed on children-it was a beautiful large domino-box in cut ivory, painted and gilt. This domino-box was my delight. I was never weary of playing at dominoes with Mrs Primmins, and I slept with the box under my pillow. 10. Ah!' said my father one day when he found me ranging the ivory pieces in the parlour'ah! you like that better than all your playthings, eh ?'. 'O yes! papa.' 'You would be very sorry if your mamma was to throw that box out of the window and break it, for fun.' I looked beseechingly at my father, and made no answer. 'But perhaps you would be very glad,' he resumed, 'if suddenly one of those good fairies you read of could change the domino-box into a beautiful geranium in a lovely blue-andwhite flower-pot, and that you could have the pleasure of putting on your mamma's window-sill.' 11. ‘Indeed I would,' said I, half-crying. 'My dear boy, I believe you; but good wishes don't mend bad actions; good actions mend bad actions.' So saying, he shut the door and went out. I cannot tell you how puzzled I was to make out what my father meant by his aphorism. But I know that I played at dominoes no more that day. QUESTIONS.-1. What happened when the boy's father was reading in the garden? 2. What did his father do? 3. What did his mother say? 4. Whom did she call? 5. What did Mrs Primmins say? 6. What did the boy say when he heard his mother scolding Mrs Primmins? 7. What did Mrs Primmins want the boy to say? 8. When his mother offered to kiss him, what did he say? 9. When his father asked him why he had done it, what did he say? 10. What did his father do? 11. What did he say to Mrs Primmins? 12. What present did the boy receive from Mr Squills? 13. What did his father say one day about the dominoes? 14. What did his father say the little boy would be glad of? 15. What did he say just before leaving the room? DICTATION.-Learn to spell and write out section 9. EXERCISES.-1. Learn to spell the following words: 2. Learn to parse every word in the following sentence: Sisty Caxton broke his mother's favourite flower-pot wilfully, but refused to tell an untruth. 3. Add prefixes to the following words: Round; fatherly ; continue; do; head; broken; attention; looking; taken; truth. 4. Add suffixes to the following words: Social; person; silent; boy; care; hat; serious; accident; truth; remember. 5. Write out the conjugations of the following verbs: See; hang; beat; throw; catch; give. 6. Make nouns out of the following verbs and adjectives: Beautiful; painted; gilt; weary; slept; like; sorry; glad; puzzled; meant; know; pale; naughty. 7. Explain the following phrases: (1) Totally absorbed in his book. (2) The fatal window. (3) She came down in a trice. (4) Her master was beginning to evince signs of attention. (5) Looking aghast towards my father. (6) He found me ranging the ivory pieces. (Others may be given.) 8. Tell the story of 'A Truthful Boy' from the following outline: (1) Mr Caxton was sitting in his garden, and Mrs Caxton in the porch, one summer day. (2) Mrs Caxton's favourite flower-pot fell down with a crash. (3) Primmins, the nurse, in order to screen Sisty, said she had done it. (4) Sisty owned the truth. (5) His father blessed God that he had a truthful son. THE RUINED HAMLET. Vis'ion, something seen, and only, As'pects, scenes and views. seen. Ruth'less, pitiless (the Old Eng. word ruth meant pity). Glade, an open space in a forest. Alter'nate, by turns. Gossip, people chatting and gos- Verd'ant, green. siping. Hoar, hoary and gray with time. More, any more. Well-cul'tured, well tended and cared for. 1. Silence now reigns Ad'verse times, times of hardship and poverty. Memo'rials, things to remember any person (or thing) by. Wane, fade away. where once were heard The varied sounds of human life; The feelings and the thoughts that stirred All that could move, Have, like a vision, or sad or gay, passed away. 2. The crumbling walls, whose roofs of thatch Time's ruthless hand hath tumbled down, Are gray with mould and lichen patch; 3. The stone seat by each cottage door, Where gossip whiled the time away; Of those glad sounds will never come. 4. Each little plot of garden ground Neglected lies, nor more are seen Well-cultured plants and flowers to abound, With trimly tended walks between; The hedgerow round the garden space Nettles and tall weeds interlace. 5. Yet here is felt the solemn truthThough men and all their works fade, Nature, fresh in immortal youth, Smiles at the ruin time hath made; And round me now her aspects shew Fair as in ages long ago. may 6. The birds sing in the forest glade; 7. The magpie on the topmost bough Of the tall fir-tree builds its nest; And on the distant mountain's brow Sunshine and gloom alternate rest; The uplands and the verdant plains Smile still as fair when summer reigns. 8. But where are they whose humble lot |