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Sunshine and Shade.

"Why should we fear youth's cup of joy,
If pure, would sparkle less?
Why should the cup the sooner cloy,
Which God hath deign'd to bless?"

HEY were all early risers at Birch Farm.
The old farmer, who, with his wife and
son, lived always there, rose with the sun-
often before it; and as the doctor had to start
early for Lynford, breakfast was over before the
coolness of the morning had yielded to the grow-
ing sultriness of the day. As soon as breakfast was
finished, and the short family worship over, without
which the doctor never liked to part from his family,
Willie conducted Katie to the farm-yard, to intro-
duce her to his various friends there.
He kept

dragging her eagerly first to one corner and then to another, explaining "him's a cow," "him's a calf," "them's Willie's chickens,"-to which latter he gave chase in vain. Then he ran off for some crumbs to feed them with, and soon had all the feathered mothers around

them, with their families of various ages and sizes, much to his and Katie's delight. She was very fond of animals of all kinds, and duly admired the sleek, sleepy cows, standing ruminating in the shade, and the funny, lively calves, as well as the two staid old farm-horses, that on these warm days had almost nothing to do, and who seemed quietly to enjoy the pleasure of going idle. Then they went to the fields to see the sheep and the colts, which latter were at once Willie's delight and terror. Katie liked the sheep best; the quiet matronly ewes, with their patient, wistful faces, and the frolicsome lambs, running races, and tumbling over each other in their play. By this time it was growing warm, and Katie was glad to go in and rest in the cool shady sitting-room, and hear Mary say her lessons for Mrs Elliott, who was busy. Ned soon appeared, glad to seek the same refuge from the heat of the day, and betook himself to a corner with his books, which Katie had taken care to see packed up for conveyance to Birch Farm. She herself had brought with her a good stock of readingsome history, which she had taken up as she got stronger; a volume or two of poetry; and "Kenilworth," which Arthur had lent her on her finishing "Ivanhoe," as well as the "Lady of the Lake," which she hoped to enjoy thoroughly beside the lake at Birch Farm. She was determined, however, to keep a good resolution which she had made, to adhere strictly to the more solid reading in the morning, reserving her light reading for the afternoon and evening; for she had begun to feel that so much of the latter was not good for her, and she was anxious to go on with some of her interrupted studies.

So, after Mary's

lesson was over, and she had sat down to play with her doll, Katie was soon deep in Robertson's "History of Scotland," which she found as interesting as any story.

It was too warm to go out again until after tea, which was always early, and then Ned, who had by this time thoroughly explored the ground, took Katie down by the easiest path to the lake-shore. The banks-shaded by fine forest trees, standing singly or in groups-sloped down pretty steeply; but by a slightly circuitous route they could get down without much fatigue, and after about a quarter of an hour spent in alternately scrambling and resting, they succeeded, and Katie's delight was overpowering. The crystal waves curled gently in upon the beach of warm sand or smooth pebbles, at her feet; and the brushwood, and willows, and maples, with which the shore was fringed, hung over the lake till they dipped the ends of their branches in its placid water, which reflected their forms like a mirror. She sat down on a dry mossy log by the bank, to enjoy the scene, and watch the foliage on the opposite shore, brightening in the evening sun; while Ned picked up pebbles, and taught little Willie how to make them "skip" over the water.

A little canoe lay on the beach, which Ned got into, and made a short trial cruise, before taking in Katie and Willie. It turned out to be in good enough order, Ned declared, for such inland navigation; and as he assured Katie that he could paddle and manage the canoe quite well, they embarked, and she enjoyed, for the first time, the sensation of gliding over the smooth water. They kept near the shore, to satisfy Katie, who was a little nervous-chiefly

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"She sat down on a dry mossy log by the bank, to enjoy the scene, and watch the foliage on the opposite shore, brightening in the evening sun."-Page 122.

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