new position, of which I spoke to thy sister. My skiff awaits thy pleasure, wilt thou accompany me, and by the way, methinks, we may arrange all matters agreeably?' 'Nay, mine uncle, I prithee excuse me; I feel ill-disposed to barter for a kingdom.' 'Nay, nephew,' said John, mimicking the almost suppliant tone of Arthur by a whine, 'no cowardly excuse, which befits more a dastard than a princely youth.' 'No Plantagenet was ever yet called coward, and I, rightful king of England, will allow no vassal to address the word to me!' Arthur stood erect, his chest heaving with suppressed rage, while John leered round at his favourite, Pierre de Maulac, who, seeming to understand, turned away to give vent to a hearty chuckle at young Arthur's discomfiture. But John approached the latter and said in a conciliatory voice: Nay, boy, I mean thee no harm.' Quicker than John or any of them had anticipated, Arthur turned round, fixed his eyes solemnly on those of his uncle, and said in a voice choked with passion: 'Darest thou again say, before heaven and earth, that thou meanest me no harm?'-then looking round at the attendants, among whom he met some friendly glances,'I call ye all to witness that John, present king of England, hath said he meaneth me no harm!'

John, quite accustomed to more lying and hypocrisy answered readily; 'Ay, nephew, and a thousand times, ay. Harm thee? I would sooner harm myself!'

'Sayest thou?' said young Arthur frankly, Ay, then will I go with thee. But,' he continued, turning and looking on them all, 'attribute not my former reluctance to comply with my uncle's request to cowardice.' Then the fierceness which his voice had before assumed relaxed, and he continued in a tone of tender feeling, but at the same time full of firm manliness, 'Think ye I should fear death but for the work I could do on earth? Nay, death were welcome to me, but I, as well as ye all, have a mission to fulfil; I have not yet fulfilled mine, therefore I would not die. But I have my uncle's word, as a man of honour, and I will trust him; for young

VOL. I.

and defenceless as I am, I do not consider it stooping, to ask for mercy at your hands, and at the hands of the king, my

uncle!'

As he finished these words low murmurs rang through the throng. John, perceiving that Arthur had gained, even thus far, a few more friends to himself, although the applause was somewhat stifled for fear of John, deemed it wise to withdraw both Arthur and himself, drew his arm with seeming affection round his nephew and retired from the apartment. At a sign from Pierre, all the king's followers had disappeared, and Arthur descending the flight of steps, at the foot of which flowed the calm silent river, saw the boat prepared ready for sail.

Thus we leave them to return to Eleanor, who, together with her ladies, had descended into the chapel to pray for her brother. Pray on, fair maid, pray on for ever, thy prayer cannot now be available for thy cherished brother upon this mortal earth; for he lies asleep, for his couch a river's bed, for his shroud the muddy waters. Yes, thy soul has taken flight, fair youth. O, cruel and untimely was thy death! but may thy rest be sweet. At length she rose, quieted, but no longer hopeful. Had she been shown? for she felt that upon this earth she never would look on her brother again. But it was not till afterwards that she learned the manner of his death, which was as follows: No sooner had Arthur reached the foot of the stairs, than John, making a sign to his attendant (the hired murderer), cried in a mocking voice: 'Time presses, else would I have left thee leisure to pray before entering upon the cares of thy kingdom, but mayhap for thee it will be rest.'

Arthur looked round for an escape, but no escape was afforded; he was seized by John (Pierre, who was but human had hesitated to carry out a command so horrible and so black), who stabbed him twice and threw his body into the river. Arthur had time to murmur 'Ay, verily, for this I had need of preparation, the Holy Mother have '-a gurgling

sound in the throat, a plunge, a gasp,-the waters closed over him, and Arthur was no more.

OUR MOTTO.

It is a very difficult thing to choose a motto for a School, for it is choosing something which will last we hope for centuries. Therefore in our choice we must keep before our eyes the idea of setting a grand and noble aim before the present and future pupils of the School. We think that the motto proposed by our bright Head-Mistress quite carries out this idea. A motto should be a noble thought expressed in a few words. I will try and show you a little of the great and noble thought contained in 'Ad Lucem.' Ad Lucem ' means 'To the Light.' All things in nature turn to the light; without light a plant soon becomes sickly and dies. This turning to the light is most evident in the Sunflower, and therefore we have chosen that as our badge.

'Ad Lucem' seems particularly appropriate as a schoolmotto; for is not our whole school-work comprised in those two words? What are we doing at school but ever striving to get more light, to dispel the darkness of ignorance, and to fill our minds with the light of knowledge? Yes, this should be our aim in our studies, not to win scholarships or pass brilliant examinations, but to gain ever more light in every branch of knowledge.

But there is yet another, a far more important way in which we may, while at school, turn to the light. The word Light is used most fitly as another word for goodness; for every good act is an act that will bear the light, an act that we need not desire to hide, that we need not be ashamed of having known. And therefore also the deeds of darkness mean all evil deeds that we should like to hide. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproved.'

In this sense turning to the light means never doing anything dishonourable or underhand, conscientiously doing our duty, whether we are seen or unseen, and persuading others by our example and influence to do the same.

At school so much is trusted to our honour; we cannot always be looked after, and there are so many little ways in which we may be unfair or mean without being found out. Here then are unnumbered opportunities of turning to the light, leaving no dark corners, of being faithful in little, which is often far harder than being faithful in much.

Let us all then adopt ' Ad Lucem' as our motto, and let us try and live up to it. Let us all be children of the Light,' who would scorn to do a mean action. 'Whatsoever things

are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,' let us think on these things' and do them. This will be indeed turning to the Light in its grandest, noblest sense.

You all know how our late Head-Mistress always set this verse before our eyes, as the aim we were to strive after. The motto 'Ad Lucem' seems to include all the things mentioned in it. There is another thing, too, which some of you may have heard her quote, and which shows us how we should be true to our motto. Let the pupils of the Oxford High School be known as those

"Who out of sight

Do all things right,
One law for darkness
And for light.'

ALPHABET OF THE SCHOOL.

A for Arithmetic, useful and wise,
B for the Bad girls, whom we despise.

C for the Cloak-room. And what do you think,
D for the Desks all scribbled with ink.
E for Examiners crafty though kind,
F for the Faults they too often find.

G for Gymnasium, with backboards and swings,
H for the Happiness Saturday brings.
I Impositions! don't give them to me,
J for the Jokes which no one can see.
K for the Kitten, the pet of the place,
L for the Lines when we're in disgrace.
M for the Music when all pianos sound,
N for the Noise when lunch-time comes round.
O for Obedience to rules that are made,

P for the Prefects so solemn and staid.
Q for the Quiet when all are asleep,
R for the Rules which some do not keep.
S for the School where learning we seek,
T for the Time-tables signed every week.
U for the Ulsters we wear in the rain,
V for V. G. which makes so vain.
W the Walk we have to and fro,

X for old Xmas when home we all go.
Y for our Youth before we grow sage,
Z for the Zulu hats so much the rage.

THE ROSY NECKLACE.

A SEA STORY.

I WONDER how many of you know what goes on at the bottom of the great sea, or have any idea of half the things sailors know. I will tell you a story of what a sailor boy saw.

He was lying on some rocks that stretched far out into the