"Your teacher told me the other day," said his father, "how much pleased he was with you, and, as I was in town to-day, I bought this book for you to show you how happy it made me."

66

"I cannot take it, father, I cannot take it," said Joseph; "for, O, I have been a very wicked boy; and, throwing his arms around his father's neck, he sobbed bitterly. He then told his father that he had been playing truant that very day, but he promised never to do so again.

Charles said nothing to his father about disobeying him, but went to bed as usual, feeling glad that he had not been found out. The next morning, when he was walking in the garden with his father, Farmer Field came towards them, and, leaning on the fence, said, "Well, my boy, how many fish did you catch yesterday? I saw you by the brook when I was in the hay field."

"What! were you not at school yesterday?" said his father, sternly. It was useless to try to conceal his fault then, and, bursting into tears, he answered that he was not. But his tears were only shed from fear, and not from sorrow for his sin. He had never read that " He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."

tru'ants Jō'şeph 3

weight1

sobbed 2

coûld

en-jöyed' un-pinned' worth'less sē'cret-ly who'sō con-cluded hŏl'i-dāyş

suc-cess'fûl lun'cheon 5 gay'ly

al-löŵed'

LXIII.-THE TALKING CHIP.

SOME nations are civilized, and some are savage. A civilized country is one in which there are churches and school houses, railroads, steamboats, and magnetic telegraphs; in which newspapers are printed, and men are governed by regular laws.

In civilized countries, men have some occupation by which they earn their living. Some are farmers, some are merchants, some are manufacturers, and some are doctors, lawyers, or clergymen. England, France, and America are civilized countries.

Among savage nations or tribes there are none of the comforts and conveniences of civilized life. There are no roads, no newspapers, no books, no post offices, no school houses.

The inhabitants live in huts, and feed upon fish, wild animals, and such fruits as the earth produces without labor. Their dress is mostly made of the skins of animals; but they wear less clothing than civilized men. The Indians who were found in this country, when it was first visited by Europeans, were savages.

Good men often go from civilized countries among savage people, to teach them the elements of useful knowledge, and to convert them to the Christian religion. They are called missionaries. Here is a story about Mr. Williams, an English clergyman, who once went as a missionary to a tribe of savages, who lived on an island in the Pacific Ocean.

He was employed in building a house, and had gone to his work one morning without his square. A square is a carpenter's tool, formed of two flat pieces of wood joined at the end. He took up a large chip, which was smooth on one side, and wrote on it, with a piece of charcoal, a request to his wife to send the desired article to him. He then called a chief, who was working with him, and asked him to take it to Mrs. Williams.

The chief took it, and asked, "What must I say?" Mr. Williams replied, "You have nothing to say; the chip will say all I wish." With a look of surprise and contempt, he held up the piece of wood, and said, "How can this speak? Has this a

mouth?"

But on the request being renewed, he went off with it.

On arriving at the house, he gave the chip to Mrs. Williams, who read it, threw it away, and went to the tool chest, whither the chief, resolved to see the end of this strange proceeding, followed her closely.

On receiving the square from her, he said, "How do you know that this is what Mr. Williams wants?" "Why," she replied, " did you not bring me a chip just now?" "Yes," said the astonished chief; "but I did not hear it say any thing." "If you did not, I did," was the reply, "for it made known to me what he wanted; and all you have to do is to return with it as quickly as possible."

With this, he sprang out of the house, and catching up the strange piece of wood, ran back with the chip in one hand, and the square in the other, holding them up as high as his arms would reach, and shouting as he went, "See how much these English people know! They can make chips talk!"

Eū-ro-pe'anş

con-ven'ien-ceş

in-hăb'i-tants

mër'chants Engʻland 3 isl'and 5 Chris'tian 2 con-tempt' whith'er gov'erned re-ligʻion tribeş

1 Pron. těl'e-grǎfs. s krist'yan. 8 ing'gland. 4 rę-lĭd'jun.

5 r'land.

LXIV.-"THOU, GOD, SEEST ME."

"THESE four words-Thou, God, seest me'did me more good," said an old gentleman the other day, "when I was a little boy, than almost any thing else. They were the first words which my mother taught me.

"My father grafted a pear tree," continued he; "it was a very choice graft, and he watched it with great care. The second year it blossomed, but it bore only one pear. In the summer the pear began to ripen; a rich red glow was gradually dyeing its cheeks, and its grain was clear and healthy.

"Is it not almost ripe?' said I, as I followed father one day down to the pear tree; 'I long for a bite of it.'

“Wait patiently, my child,' said my father; 'it will not be fully ripe for a week. When it is ripe you shall have a piece of it.'

6

"I thought that I liked pears much better than any thing else. I used to stop often and look longingly up to the tree. O, how good the pear looks!' I used to think, smacking my lips; 'I wish it was all mine.'

"One night, after we were in bed, my brother fell asleep long before I did. I tossed about, and could not sleep. I arose and went to the window. It was a warm, still, summer night; there was no moon, no noise, except the hum of numberless insects. My father and mother were gone away.