It chanced a poet passed that way, Quoth he, as he heard the minstrels sing, I shall steal that song, and carry it home To my dear family 'Chip, chip, cherry chip, cherry, cherry, cherry chip!'" And that song they sing now every eve, His children, wife, and he. DICTATION.-A linnet choir of a hundred and more sat in the crown of a chestnut tree, and sang till the stream of their warbling entered a cottage door. A poet hearing it, and listening to the roundelay, and the heavenly harmony of the minstrels, carried the song home, and his children, wife, and he sing it every eve. QUESTIONS.-What birds sang? passed by? What did he say? now? Where were they? Who LOVE OF LIBERTY.--Cowper. I would not have a slave to till my ground, SILK. What is Silk? OBJECT LESSON. It is made by the silkworm, and is the nest in which it wraps itself when about to turn into a moth. How does it make it? It spins it in an oval ball, just as the spider spins its threads. What do they call these balls of silk, and how do they make our silk from them? They are called cocoons, and they are put into warm water to loosen the threads and let the ends be found. These ends when found are wound off on a reel, and this is called raw silk. What is done next? It is cleaned, then twisted into thread, and these threads are woven into all kinds of silk stuffs. Where did the silkworm come from at first? From China. Its eggs were brought in the hollow head of a cane, it being death to take them out of China if discovered. Where is it found now? In many parts. France and Italy, and the South of Europe rear a great many. On what does it feed? On the leaves of the mulberry tree. A caterpillar. When was silk weaving brought into England? In 1686, by the Protestants who fled from France. JUTE.-What is Jute? An Indian grass, like coarse flax. It is made into coarse carpets and rugs, and in other ways instead of wool or flax. ALPACA. What is Alpaca? The hair of a large kind of sheep found in Peru. What use is made of it? It has of late years been used to make cloth for umbrellas and ladies' dresses, and is very much esteemed. WOOL.-From what creature is Wool got? From the sheep. From what countries does wool chiefly come? Saxony, Spain, and Australia; but excellent wool is procured from English sheep also. What is the name of the sheep that bears the finest wool ? The Merino sheep. It came from Spain at first, but a great deal of Merino wool comes from Australia now. PROVERBS.-Who goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing. Idle folks work hardest. Lay up for a rainy day. Learning is better than house or land. No pains, no gains. Little strokes fell great oaks. Little leaks sink great ships. Time and tide wait for no man. SOME PROVERBS A BOASTER and a liar are cousins. Do the best where you are, and you will get where you want to be. Birds of a feather flock together. Like father, like son. A burnt child dreads the fire. A liar is not believed when he speaks the truth. If you touch pitch, you must dirty your fingers. Keep a thing seven years, and you'll always find a use for it. A little spark may kindle a great fire. It takes two to make a quarrel. Take care of the pennies, and the pounds will take care of themselves. bet Speak evil of no man. If it be possible, live peaceably with all men. Never think the worse of a man for being poor. Help others if you want to get help. Never give a push to a falling man. The tree breaks when the grass only bends. A HARE and a tortoise once chanced to meet. "What a clumsy, slow-footed creature you are," said the hare. "That great shell all round you makes you look like a big oyster, and you can hardly go along any faster than an oyster."-"I hear what you say," answered the tortoise. "But don't brag so much. What if we try a match?"-"Try a match!" said the hare. I'd run twenty times as fast as you can.' mind," replied the tortoise. "Let us have a race for three miles, and see who wins." The hare could not help laughing, but for a bit of fun agreed to this, and off they went together. Of course the hare was out of "Why, "Never sight in a few minutes, leaving the poor tortoise crawling along as if it would never get over the ground. The hare, seeing how things stood, thought there was no need to hurry, so she turned off the road, and squatted down for a nap, in a brake of ferns, intending to take a nice little sleep, and to be off again in plenty of time to get ahead of the tortoise, even if it should pass in the meanwhile. While she lay sound asleep, however, the tortoise was keeping on at a steady crawl that never stopped, and passing the hare without waking it, got so far before her that, in spite of all she could do when she waked, the tortoise was at the threemile stone first, and was waiting for her to come up, DICTATION.-The tortoise is a clumsy, slow-footed creature, with a shell closing it in like an oyster. The hare can run twenty times as fast. The hare agreed to run with the tortoise, laughing as they set off together. The tortoise kept crawling along, but the hare lay down in a fern brake, intending to have a short sleep; but while she slept the tortoise passed, and won the race. QUESTIONS.-What two creatures proposed a race? What can you tell about each? How did the hare run at first? How did the tortoise get along? How was it that the slow tortoise won? |