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OCTOBER

1 HEROISM

Heroism is simple, and yet it is rare. Every one who does the best he can is a hero.-Josh Billings

"DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP!"

IN THE War of 1812, there was in our navy a ship called the Hornet, with Captain James Lawrence as its commander. One day it engaged in battle with the English vessel Peacock. So fast and so thick flew the balls, so hot and so terrible was the battle, that in fifteen minutes the proud Peacock had lost all her glory and her pride, all her beauty and her courage, and lay upon the waters a complete wreck. Her commander surrendered to Lawrence, the crew were taken prisoners and transferred to the Hornet. Later Captain Lawrence was given another vessel and met the English vessel Shannon in battle. After a hot, fierce battle Lawrence's ship was wrecked and Lawrence himself, who always stood in the very thickest of the fire, was mortally wounded.

Very carefully did his officers carry below their much loved commander; and Lawrence, not forgetting his charge even in dying, whispered, almost with his last breath, "Don't give up the ship!" -Adapted

Sing: "America" or "The Star-Spangled Banner. Birthday: James Lawrence, a noted American naval officer, born in Burlington, N. J., October 1, 1781; died January 5, 1813.

2 OCTOBER'S BRIGHT WEATHER

O suns and skies and flowers of June,
Count all your boasts together,
Love loveth best of all the year,
October's bright blue weather.

-Helen Hunt Jackson

Birthday: Major John André, a British officer hanged as a spy in the War of the Revolution, born of Swiss parents in London, England, 1751; hanged at Tappan, N. Y., October 2, 1780.

3 FRIENDSHIP

The friendship between me and you I will not com-
pare to a chain; for that rains might rust, or the falling
tree might break.

-From "History of the United States,"
by George Bancroft

DAMON AND PYTHIAS

MORE than two thousand years ago two young men who were intimate friends lived in Greece. Their names were Damon and Pythias.

The ruler of the country, named Dionysius, was a cruel man. He put Pythias into prison and set a day for his death. Pythias had done nothing wrong, but he had convicted the ruler of wrong-doing.

The father and mother of Pythias lived in another part of the country. "May I go home to bid them good-by, and to arrange my affairs before I die?" he asked.

The ruler laughed. "That is a strange request," said he. "Of course you would escape and you would never come back."

At that moment Damon stepped forward. "I am his friend," he said. I will stay in prison till Pythias returns." Then the ruler asked: "What will happen if Pythias does not return?"

"I will die for him," said Damon.

This surprised Dionysius very much. He put Damon in prison and Pythias went home. Weeks went by and Pythias did not return. At last the day of execution came, and Damon was led out to be put to death. He said: "Pythias will come if he is alive. I can trust him

absolutely."

Just then soldiers ran up, shouting: "Here he comes! Here he comes!"

Yes, there was Pythias, breathless with haste. He had been shipwrecked on his journey and had been cast on shore many miles away. He had walked all those miles to get back in time.

Dionysius was greatly moved. "You are both free," said he. "I would give all I have for one such friend. Will you let me become a friend to you both?"

Read: Bible, Prov. 27: 9-10.

Sing: "Auld Lang Syne."

-Ethics for Children

Birthdays: Miles Standish, the first military leader of the Puritan settlers in New England, born in Lancashire, England, about 1584; died in Duxbury, Mass., October 3, 1656.

George Bancroft, an American statesman and historian, born in Worcester, Mass., October 3, 1800; died at Washington, D. C., January 17, 1891.

Elias Howe, a noted American inventor, born in Spencer, Mass., July 9, 1819; died in Brooklyn, N. Y., October 3, 1867.

4 HONOR

The soul asks honor, and not fame; to be upright, not to be successful, to be good, not prosperous; to be essentially, not outwardly, respectable.

-Robert Louis Stevenson

Birthdays: Jean Francois Millet, a French painter,

born in Gruchy, France, October 4, 1814; died at Barbizon, near Paris, France, January 18, 1875.

Rutherford B. Hayes, nineteenth president of the United States, born in Delaware, Ohio, October 4, 1822; died at Fremont, Ohio, January 17, 1893.

Frederic Remington, an American artist and author, born in Canton, N. Y., October 4, 1861; died at Ridgefield, Conn., December 26, 1909.

5 SELF-RELIANCE

I hold it truth with him who sings
To one clear harp in divers tones,
That men may rise on stepping-stones
Of their dead selves to higher things.
-Tennyson

THE JUDGE'S BENCH

ONE who cultivates self-reliance will grow stronger physically, mentally and morally. It is better for one to inherit a character for honesty, industry, and self-reliance than to inherit a fortune in money. The former may grow, the latter may go.

A former United States judge began his career as a carpenter, using his spare time in the study of law. One day he was planing a board which was to become a part of a judge's bench. A friend who was observing his painstaking effort, said to him: "Why do you take so great pains to make it smooth?"

'Because I want a smooth seat when I come to sit upon it," was the reply. After a number of years of persistent effort he came to sit on that same bench.

Read: "The Lark and Her Young Ones," from Boston Collection of Kindergarten Stories.

Sing: "Life is Real, Life is Earnest," from Uncle Sam's School Songs.

Birthdays: Chester A. Arthur, twenty-first president of

the United States, born at Fairfield, Vt., October 5, 1830; died at New York City, November 18, 1886.

William Hamilton Gibson, American author, artist, and naturalist, born at Sandy Hook, Conn., October 5, 1850; died in Washington, Conn., July 16, 1896.

6 KINDNESS

Howe'er it be, it seems to me,

'Tis only noble to be good;

Kind hearts are more than coronets

And simple faith than Norman blood.

-Tennyson

Read: Selections from Tennyson's poems.

Sing: "Sweet and Low," from Songs Every One Should Know; "The Bugle Song," from Hanson's Gems of Song.

Birthdays: Alfred Lord Tennyson, a famous English poet, born at Somersby, Lincolnshire, England, August 6, 1809; died at Aldworth House, near Haslemere, Surrey, England, October 6, 1892.

Jenny Lind, a famous Swedish singer, born in Stockholm, Sweden, October 6, 1821; died November 2, 1887.

George Westinghouse, an American inventor and manufacturer, born at Central Bridge, Schoharie Co., N. Y., October 6, 1846; died in Pittsburgh, Pa., March 12, 1914.

7 HEALTH DAY

You hear that boy laughing? You think he's all fun,
But the angels laugh, too, at the good he has done;

The children laugh loud as they troop to his call,

And the poor man that knows him laughs loudest of all.
-0. W. Holmes

A HEALTH CREED

[For daily recitation]

TO BE well I must keep my body, my clothes and my

house clean.

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