And then I told her not to cry,
For I could get some bread.

"Our Father,' sir, the prayer begins;
Which makes me think that he —
As we have no kind father here —
Would our kind Father be.

"And then, you know, the prayer, sir, too,
Asks God for bread each day;
So in the corner, sir, I went;—
And that's what made me pray."

I quickly left that wretched room,
And went with fleeting feet;
And very soon was back again,
With food enough to eat.

"I thought God heard me,” said the boy;

I answered with a nod;

I could not speak; but much I thought

Of that boy's faith in God.

LXXII. ALWAYS FOLLOW GOOD ADVICE.

CHILDREN who do not attend to good advice will suffer for it. William was coming from school one very cold day in the winter; and as he was passing with some other boys over a bridge, he saw that the river was covered with ice. It had been freezing sharply for two days.

"Come," said he to his companions, "let us have a slide!" They were all ready to join him, and immediately ran down some steps that led to the river.

At the bottom of the steps, an old man met them, who said, "Boys, are you running to the ice? It is not strong enough to bear you; it will break and let you in."

The boys paused and feared to venture upon the ice; but William alone disregarded the kind warning. He stepped upon the ice, and called out to his companions, "For shame, you cowards! What is there to be afraid of?"

But he had not gone many steps before the ice broke under his feet, and he was plunged into the water. All the boys ran off crying out loudly, and William would have perished, if the old man had not ran to the spot and saved him.

William trembled from head to foot, was as pale as death, and at first could not utter a word. Though his wet clothes were taken off, and great care was taken of him, he was very ill, and con

fined to his bed for several weeks. He was often heard to say, after his recovery, that those who do not attend to good advice will suffer for it.

Sarah. Will you bring me a sheet of writing paper, Jane? for I must write a letter.

Jane. Where am I to find it?

Sarah. Why, there is plenty in Mrs. Homer's letter case in the parlor.

Jane. Yes; but that is not mine, nor yours either.

Sarah. Well, what does that signify? I am sure there is plenty; she will never miss it; and what is the value of a sheet of paper?

Jane. Why, whether my mistress should miss it or not makes no difference at all. It is not mine, and I shall not take it; it would not be honest.

Sarah. Honest, indeed! Well, I never was suspected of being dishonest in my life. I lived four years in my last place, and had a good character for honesty when I came away, and I never scrupled to take a trifle of that kind either.

1 Pron. gûd. 2 kom-pǎn'yunz

Jane. It seems, then, that your mistress did not know that these trifles were taken, or perhaps the character she gave you might have been different.

Sarah. Why, as to that, what is the value, I repeat, of a sheet of paper? My mistress can afford to lose it well enough, I warrant you.

Jane. It seems to me that the value of the thing signifies nothing; the question is, whether it is mine, or whether it is not; and if it is not, I have no right to it. If we take a little thing because we think it will not be missed, it is a sign that we only keep our hands from greater things because we think they will be missed.

Sarah. I think I would not take a thing of great value which did not belong to me.

Jane. But if you have a right principle, it will keep you from small crimes as well as great ones.

Sarah. I believe you are right; but I cannot help thinking that you are too particular. Why, the other day, when a few little cakes came out of the dining room after dinner, you would not so much as give me one; and I dare say you would not touch one yourself.

Jane. I could not give you one, because they were not mine; and, for the same reason, I, of course, could not touch one myself.

Sarah. Why, they never would have been missed; no one would have counted them. If I had thought they would, I would not have touched one for the world; for they never would have believed me to be honest again; and, with a servant, character is every thing.

Jane. Why, to be sure, to be a servant, character is a great thing; but, I think, principle is a greater. If we forget what is the right principle to act upon, and only think of character, I doubt not there will be many a time when the temptation to do wrong will lead us astray, when we think that nobody is looking on; therefore the Scripture rule, "Thou, God, seest me," is always the right rule in great things, as well as little.

MRS. FREEMAN, one day having occasion to be bled, sent for the surgeon. As soon as he entered the room, her young daughter, Eliza, started up, and was hastily going away, when her mother called her back.

Mrs. F. Do not go, Eliza; I want you to stay by me.

Eliza. Dear mother, I can never bear to see you bled.

Mrs. F. Why not? What harm will it do you?

1 Pron. kǎr'ak-tęr. 2 döût.