tears of joy sparkling in his eyes, "The Bible is mine!" And seizing it, he exclaimed, "I have got it! I have got it!" And away he ran home to his mother, crying as he went, "I have got the Bible! I have got the Bible!" PRONUNCIATION.-Crystal la, whis'per-ing 12, thirst'ing 9, per'fumed 16, rust’ ling 21. WATER. "WATER! water!" sings the bird, as he trills his gentle note; “Water! water!" roars the ox, while it ripples at his side, "Water! water!" says the tree, with its branches spreading high; "Water! water!" rustles he, for his leaves are very dry; "Water! water! for the tree! "Water! water!" says the flower, whispering with its perfumed breath; "Let me have it in an hour, ere I thirsting droop in death! "Water! water! soft and free, "Give to me!" "Water! water!" says the grain, with its rustling head on high, Water! water! sparkling, pure, Nature giveth everywhere— If Water is the thing for me- Water! water! young and old! drink it, crystal-like and sweet! LESSON III. AT-TENTION, (literally, a stretching to. | BAL SAM, a garden plant. DE-FECT', (from the Latin deficio, to fail, to be wanting,) fault, imperfection. GEORGE, is derived from a Greek word meaning farmer or husbandman. LECTURE, (from Latin lego, to read,) a discourse on any subject, usually read. PRONUNCIATION.-A-gain' 33, be-fore' 1, gen'er-al-ly 3, whis'tle 21, stu'pid 16, believe' 1, mem'o-ry 3. re-mem'ber 1, lec'ture 18, re-quired' 1, de-fect' 1, al-lows' 1, hap'pen 4d, at-ten'tion 1, se'cret 16, nat u-ral 16, en-gaged′ 1. ATTENTION.-A DIALOGUE. Charles. MAMMA, it is almost school-time. Mamma. No; you have full half an hour to spare. C. Only half an hour? Will you hear me try to say this lesson again? M. No; for I am sure you will say it no better than before. M. Because you have not been studying. I have been looking at you from time to time, and have scarcely once seen your eyes fixed upon your book. C. I was only watching Jerry, for fear he should weed up his young balsams. M. I fancy Jerry knows what he is about. C. Well, I will study now. [Charles whistles.] M. Do you generally whistle when you study, Charles? C. Was I whistling? M. Yes, and with your eyes fixed upon my canary-bird. C. Well, mamma, I cannot help it. This is the hardest and most stupid lesson that ever was. M. And yet you told me that your cousin George learned it yesterday in twenty minutes. C. Then it is I that am stupid, instead of the lesson, I suppose. M. I rather think not. I believe your memory is as good as George's. C. Oh, mamma, he always learns his lesson quicker than I do. M. And does that prove that his memory is better? C. To be sure it does. M. When you are at play does he remember things better than you do? C. Why, no, I believe not. M. Did you not tell us as much about the lecture, the other night, when you came home, as he did? C. Yes, and more too; papa said I did. M. That required memory, certainly. I do not think you have any right to lay the blame upon any natural defect. C. Oh, I do not mean to say that; but all I know is that George gets his lesson quicker than I do; and what can the reason be? He is not three weeks older than I am, and does not seem more quick about other things. M. Did you ever happen to sit near him when he was studying? C. Yes, I have; and I would rather sit next to any other boy in school. M. Why? C. Oh, I do not know. There is no comfort in it. He is as cross over his books as a dog with a bone; he will not let any one speak to him. M. What! not to ask a reasonable question? C. Oh, as to that, he helps me sometimes when I cannot get on; but what I mean is if I ask him to look at anything, or want to talk to him about any of our plays for one minute, he says that I disturb him, and take off his attention. M. He complains that you take off his attention, does he? C. Yes, mamma. M. George has learned a very important secret, I see. C. A secret? What! one that helps him to get his lessons? C. I wish I could find it out. M. I can tell it to you in one word, which you used just now. C. What can that be? M. Attention, Charles; attention. That will the door of your mind, and let the lesson in. open C. Oh, dear! I wish calling the word out aloud would answer the purpose. M. That cannot be. Attention implies an earnest fixing of the mind upon a subject. You alone can do this for yourself; nobody can do it for you. The only reason why George learns more quickly than you do is that he never allows himself to think of any thing else while he is engaged with his lesson. In other words, when he studies he fixes his mind earnestly upon the subject. You speak of yourself as studying, as long as you are holding the book in your hand, though, in fact, you are thinking of something else, and not studying one quarter of the time. C. Well, mother, I understand this now; and you shall see if I do not improve by your good advice. M. Whatever you do always do with all your might. If at play, give your whole attention to your play; and in study let it be study, and nothing but study. LESSON IV. AUTUMN, the third season. Properly be- A-POP PING. A in such cases as this is SPUT'TER, to spit, or throw out moisture, in small portions. PIN'A-FORE, an apron for the front part of the body; so called because pinned before. Pop, in familiar language, to heat corn till it bursts with a quick motion. PRONUNCIATION.— And 29, gath'er 33, smok ́ing 12, e-nough' 1, kern ́el4b, āte 33. POPPING CORN. 1. One autumn night, when the wind was high, and the rain fell in heavy plashes, A little boy sat by the kitchen-fire, a-popping corn in the ashes; 2. The blast went howling round the house, as if to get in it was trying; It rattled the latch of the outer door, then it seemed a baby crying; Now and then a drop down the chimney came, And sputtered and hissed in the bright red flame. 3. Pop! pop! and the kernels, one by one, came out of the embers flying; The boy held a long pine stick in his hand, and kept it busily plying; He stirred the corn, and it snapped the more, And faster jumped to the clean-swept floor. 4. Part of the kernels hopped out one way, and a part hopped out the other; Some flew plump into the sister's lap, some under the stool of the brother. The little girl gathered them into a heap, And called them a flock of milk-white sheep. 5. All at once the boy sat still as a mouse, and into the fire kept gazing; He quite forgot he was popping corn, for he looked where the wood was blazing; He looked, and he fancied that he could see A house and a barn, a bird and a tree. 6. Still steadily gazed the boy at these, and pussy's back kept stroking, Till his sister cried out, "Why, George, only see how the corn is smoking!" And sure enough, when the boy looked back, 7. "Never mind!" said he, "we shall have enough, and now let us sit back and eat it; I'll carry the stool, and you the corn - it is good-nobody can beat it." She took up the corn in her pinafore, And they ate it all, and wanted no more. ANONYMOUS. ww PRONUNCIATION. Hav'ing 12, a-bout' If, ar-rest'ed If, ex-am'ined 28, be-came' 1, in-qui'ry 26c, followed 6, in'no-cent 16 and 2d, an-oth'er lf, pre-cis'ion 1, said 33, re-flect 1, sac'ri-ficed 5b. NOTE. Sometimes, when we do not wish to give the full name, we use the initial with a dash after it; as is done in this lesson in regard to the name of the young man. In reading aloud merely give the name of the letter. A BROWN COAT OR A BLUE? 1. A HORSE was once stolen from a stable in England; and two boys, having seen a young man enter the place about the time the theft happened, mentioned the fact. The description they gave seemed to answer to James U. He was accordingly arrested and sent to prison. 2. The sister of James sent for the boys in great distress, to see if they were sure it was her brother whom they had seen. She first examined one of them, and then the other. One of the boys said the young man's coat was blue; the other thought it was brown. 3. This became a question of life and death; for Ellen, the sister of the youth, knew that her brother's coat was brown; and if the |