11. Then went he unto Levi, and said unto him. "My brother, thou knowest my loss and my neces sity; lend me, I pray thee, thine axe."

"Thou

12. And Levi reproached him, saying, wouldst not lend me thine axe when I desired it; but I will be better than thou, and I will lend thee mine."

13. And Reuben was grieved at the rebuke2 of Levi, and, being ashamed, turned from him, and took not the axe, but sought his brother Judah.

14. And as he drew near, Judah beheld his countenance as it were covered with grief and shame; and he prevented him, saying, “My brother, I know thy loss, but why should it trouble thee? Lo, have I not an axe that will serve both thee and me? Take it, I pray thee, and use it as thine own."

15. And Reuben fell upon his neck, and kissed him, with tears, saying, "Thy kindness is great, but thy goodness in forgiving me is greater. Thou art indeed my brother, and whilst I live will I surely love thee."

16. And Judah said, "Let us also love our other brethren; behold, are we not all of one blood?"

17. And Joseph saw these things, and reported them to his father, Jacob.

18. And Jacob said, "Reuben did wrong, but he repented; Simeon also did wrong; and Levi was not altogether blameless. But the heart of Judah is princely. Judah has the soul of a king. His father's children shall bow down before him, and he shall rule over his brethren."

1 EN-TREATED. Besought; begged. 2 RE-BUKE'. Reproof.

3 PRE-VENTED. Anticipated: hindered
4 RE-PENT'ED.
Was sorry.

III. - KINDNESS.

COLESWORTHY.

1. A LITTLE Word in kindness spoken,
A motion or a tear,

Has often healed the heart that's broken,
And made a friend sincere.1

2. A word

a look

has crushed to earth

Full many a budding flower,

Which, had a smile but owned its birth,
Would bless life's darkest hour.

3. Then deem2 it not an idle thing
A pleasant word to speak;

The face you wear, the thoughts you bring,
A heart may heal or break.

1. A SWALLOW in the spring

Came to our granary, 1 and 'neath the eaves
Essayed to make her nest, and there did bring
Wet earth, and straw, and leaves.

2. Day after day she toiled

With patient art; but, ere her work was crowned,
Some sad mishap the tiny fabric spoiled,
And dashed it to the ground.

3. She found the ruin wrought;3

Yet not cast down, forth from her place she flew, And with her mate fresh earth and grasses brought, And built her nest anew.

4. But scarcely had she placed

The last soft feather on its ample floor,

When wicked hands, or chance, again laid waste,
And wrought the ruin o'er.

5. But still her heart she kept,
And toiled again; and, last night hearing calls,
I looked, and lo! three little swallows slept
Within the earth-made walls.

6. What trust is here, O man!
Hath Hope been smitten1 in its early dawn?
Have clouds o'ercast thy purpose, trust, or plan ?
Have faith, and struggle on!

1 GRĂN'A-RY. A storehouse for grain. 4 SMITTEN (smit'tn).

Struck; de

2 ES-SAYED'. Attempted; tried.

8 WROUGHT (râwt). Worked; done.

stroyed.

V. THE BIRD-TAMER.

BURRITT.

1. AT Falmouth, in Cornwall, I became acquainted with a gentleman of fortune1 and taste, who lives a little way out of the town. His grounds, in their natural formation, are admirably suited for works of art and taste; and the owner has filled them full of trees, shrubs, and flowering plants, until the door of his mansion looks like the entrance into a natural wood. But the most remarkable thing about him is his faculty 2 of taming birds, and making friends of them; and in this character I would introduce him and his triumphs, especially to the younger portion of my readers.

3

was laying out the While at work upon

2. It commenced when he grounds of his little dell park. the walks and flower-beds, and turning up the fresh. earth with his spade, several of the little birds would come down from the trees, and hop along after him at a little distance, picking up the worms and insects. By his walking gently, and looking and speaking kindly when they were near, they came first to regard his approach without fear, then with confidence.

3. They soon learned the sound of his voice, and seemed to understand the meaning of his simple and kindly words. Little by little, they ventured nearer, close to his rake and hoe, and fluttered, and wrestled, and twittered in the contest for a worm or a fly, sometimes hopping upon the head of his rake in their excitement. Day by day they became more trustful and tame. They watched him in the morning from the trees near his door, and followed him to his work.

4. New birds joined the company daily, and they all acted as if they thought he had no other intent in raking the earth than to find them a breakfast. As the number increased, he began to carry crusts of bread in the great outside pocket of his coat, and to throw a few crumbs for them on the ground. When his walks were all finished, and he used the spade and rake less frequently, the birds looked for their daily rations of crumbs, and would gather in the tree-tops in the morning, and let him know, with their begging voices, that they were waiting for him.

5. He called them to breakfast with a whistle, and they would come out of the thick, green leaves of the grove, and patter, twitter, and flutter around and above his feet. Sometimes he would put a piece of bread between his lips, when a bright-eyed little thing would pick it out, like a humming-bird taking honey from a deep flower-bell without alighting.

6. They became his constant companions. They learned to know the sound of his step, his walks, and recreations. He leaves his chamber window open at night, and when he awakes early in the morning, he often finds a robin or goldfinch hopping about on the bed-posts, or on the back of a chair close by, try