And how every evening she made its warm bed
In a basket close by the fireside.

Still repeating her thanks and upbraiding her pet,
Jenny ran with it back to the farm:

Said Lucy," "Tis lucky that Jenny we met,
For the poor lamb is now safe from harm."

"I am glad too," said Lily: "yet I am afraid
That when we get home 'twill be late;

And mamma may suppose we have loitered and played, So let us run quick to the gate."

They soon reached the gate of the paddock, and thence
Saw mamma looking out from the door;,

When both in one breath they the story commence,
Why they had not reached home long before.
Mamma listened and smiled, and forgave the delay,
But bade them make haste into school;
Nor lose any more of the morning in play,
Since that was against all good rule.

"For a lesson this morning," she said, "you may read The beautiful twenty-third Psalm;

King David, who wrote it, you know used to feed
His flock and protect it from harm.

You know, too, who is the Good Shepherd, who gave
His life for His sheep, and who still

Takes His lambs in His arms from all evil to save,
And to guard them from every ill.

And remember that you were received in His fold,
When, baptised in His Name, you were given
To serve Him on earth, as His mercies untold
Make you, through His death, heirs of heaven.
Oh, never forget that each blessing below
Is but type of some blessing above,

And each daily occurrence, when sanctified so,
Will bring daily a lesson of love."

AUGUST.

24. St. Bartholomew.

Robson, Levey, and Franklyn, Great New Street, Fetter Lane.

[Continued from p. 182.]

66 JAMES, I wonder what you do with yourself all these long days in those fields yonder, from morning till night.' This was said by Margaret to her brother one evening, just as they were finishing their supper, when Margaret had done hers, but little James had yet a good deal to do before he had finished his plate, and he had no mind to leave any thing on it.

"And I wonder, too, what you do with yourself, Madge," said the little boy, looking up for a moment," sitting here in the house all day long, whether it rains or shines."

“That is right, James," said his mother: "I think you are likely to find as much to do out of doors as Margaret can find in doors; but you are both good children, and find plenty to do, and a fine stomach for your victuals when all is over, or else I am sure that great dish, which was so full just now, would not be so empty as it is, and all in such a little while."

"Well, mother, thank God that we have it to VOL. II. SEPTEMBER 1843.

I

give them, and that they are such rare healthy children that a mess of potatoes, and a little bit of meat in the middle, never comes amiss to them; and that, when we have not got that, we have always something that they can eat, and do very well upon. It often comes into my mind, Mary, that, though we have been married a good many years, and lived in hardish times too, we have never wanted a good piece of bread, and never been forced to go in debt for it neither. As often as ever I think of this, and how different it has been with some other people that we have known, I feel as if the saying grace at our meal was the best part of it." And hereupon the good man stood up, and so did his wife and children, while he said, quite from the bottom of his heart, and so in the most natural, serious way, "Thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

"I am a bit tired to-night," said John Haycock to his wife, as he drew his chair away from the table to his favourite chimney-corner, which he liked at all times of the year towards evening, whether there was a fire or not.

"Well, then,” said his wife, "make yourself comfortable, while Margaret and I put the things away; and then we will have a bit of talk over our sewing, and soon go to bed."

"Not to bed, mother," said Margaret-" father does not mean that ;" and James thought he could not mean that; and as for little Philip, he had been in bed already an hour or more. Meanwhile their father proceeded to shew what he did mean, by stooping down and loosing the lacings of his "highlows," and turning over the cushion of his cherrytree chair, and looking to see that his wife's chair also was in its proper place, just opposite to his. By this time she, for her part, had taken her knitting, and Mary her work; and even James, fidgetty as he often was, and now loath to go to bed, was nevertheless sitting more quietly than usual, in the same place where he had just finished his supper.

"James, did you hear what I said to you just now? I wish you would tell us what you have been doing with yourself all these many hours since you went out before five o'clock this morning. I should like very much to know how ever the time can pass away with you, it does seem such a dull, stupid thing to keep birds."

"And what do you fancy, Margaret, I think of sitting bolt upright and looking straight down your own nose all day long, and saying' prick' to a piece of cloth about twenty times as often as the clock says 'tick' to you?-which is best, Madge, I say?"

"Both will do very well," said their father, in a half-sleepy voice, "if boy and girl are but both of them as good as their job.”

The mother smiled; and as their father fell fast asleep, brother and sister went on chattering with very little interruption, and in all respects as if they had been quite alone together.

"I don't mind telling you what I have been doing all day," said James, "if you will tell me what you have been doing."

"Very well," said Margaret, "begin_then."

66

Well, then," said James, "just as I was going out of our gate the church-clock struck five. And a rare twittering the swallows made all the way I went up the village. It seemed as if they had all their talk with their little swallows of a morning, just as father and mother have with us at night."

Here James's mother and Margaret laughed outright, and their father chuckled a little in his dream. "Go on, James," said Margaret.

"So I will," said he, "and so I did this morning too-and not faster than I was wanted, I can tell you. I knew what was going on a long way off; for what should I see but an old crow perched on the very top of the oak-tree, looking straight down the street towards our house, and looking out after me, and nobody else but me, Margaret! I am just as sure of that as that you are looking at me this

came by, dressed almost as well as if he was going to church; and you cannot think what a bustle those men he brought from Bradfield put themselves into when they saw him coming. I don't believe that they had done a stroke of work before; but then they went to it like good ones.' I reckon it would not have been so if our father had been among them, Madge: I know he had a hard day of it, mowing of seeds.""

"Well, but talk about something else, James: tell me something different that you have seen today."

"So I will," said he; "for do you know, Margaret, I have seen something to-day that I have heard father speak about, but I never got a sight of before. As I was going my rounds quite under the hedge, I heard all of a sudden such an odd noise just over my head. Well, up I looked as quick as lightning; and there was a great hawk, quite a big one, skimming away as if he was out of his senses, and as frightened as if he had been a redstart or a jenny-wren. I do believe his eyes were shut all the while I am sure he kept flying as if they were, -sometimes up and sometimes down, sometimes on one side and then on the other; and not a bit did he know where he was going, or what was going to become of him. I could not have believed such a great bold bird could ever have been such a coward. For what do you think put him into all this fright and fuss? Why, it was nothing else but two little swallows, that, to be sure, were fierce enough. I suppose he had been looking after their little ones, that they had been bringing out, perhaps, the first time to fly about a little this fine day; or else the old birds knew that he would be apt to be doing it some day or another. But so it was, I can tell you. These little creatures, with their long, swift wings, gave him no rest; but as they cut along, first one came bounce upon his back, and then the other, with such a shrill, threatening cry all the while;