minutes' bell began to ring, and then, in the face of the whole room, he knelt down to pray. Not five words could he say,-the bell mocked him; he was listening for every whisper in the room,— what were they all thinking of him? He was ashamed to go on kneeling, ashamed to rise from his knees. At last, as it were from his inmost heart, a still small voice seemed to breathe forth the words of the publican, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" He repeated them over and over, clinging to them as for his life, and rose from his knees comforted and humbled, and ready to face the whole world.

It was not needed; two other boys besides Arthur had already followed his example, and he went down to the great school with a glimmering of another great lesson in his heart,-the lesson that he who has conquered his own coward spirit has conquered the whole outward world; and that other one which the old prophet learned in the cave in Mount Horeb, when he hid his face, and the still small voice asked, "What doest thou here, Elijah ?”— that however we may fancy ourselves alone on the side of good, the King and Lord of men is nowhere without His witnesses; for in every society, however seemingly corrupt and godless, there are those who have not bowed the knee to Baal.

He found too, how greatly he had exaggerated the effect to be produced by his act. For a few nights there was a sneer or a laugh when he knelt down, but this passed off soon, and one by one all the other boys but three or four followed the lead. I fear that this was in some measure owing to the fact that Tom could probably have thrashed any boy in the room; at any rate, every boy knew that

he would try upon very slight provocation, and didn't choose to run the risk of a hard fight because Tom Brown had taken a fancy to say his prayers.

Some of the small boys of No. 4 communicated the new state of things to their chums, and in several other rooms the poor little fellows tried to follow the example set by Tom and Arthur—in one instance or So, where one of the teachers heard of it and interfered very decidedly, with partial success; but in the rest, after a short struggle, the confessors were bullied or laughed down, and the old state of things went on for some time longer.

Before either Tom Brown or Arthur left the school-house, there was no room in which it had not become the regular custom. I trust it is so still, and that the old heathen state of things has gone out forever.

THOMAS HUGHES.

Biography.-Thomas Hughes was born in Berkshire, England, in 1823, and was educated at Rugby School and at Oxford University.

Hughes has gained popularity on both sides of the Atlantic as author of the two books, "School-days at Rugby" and "Tom Brown at Oxford."

Notes. A close is a small piece of ground inclosed by a hedge or fence.

Form is the word used in England for class. There are in the public Grammar Schools six forms or classes, and Sixth-Form boys, being the oldest, are in part selected as monitors and assist in keeping up the discipline of the school.

Chums usually means persons who occupy the same room; but in this lesson, the word means intimate friends.

Elocution. - Point out the emphatic words in the last paragraph. Should the last sentence be read more slowly than the rest of the lesson ? What effect is produced by the slow reading? Select two other sentences which may be rendered more emphatic by slow reading.

37.-THE

dis sem'bles, conceals.
re côrds', takes notice of.
be dewed' (dūd), moistened.

BRAVE AT HOME.

ğîrdş, makes fast.

rent, torn.

a sun'der, into parts; apart.

The maid who binds her warrior's sash,N
With smile that well her pain dissembles,
The while beneath her drooping lash

One starry tear-drop hangs and trembles,
Though heaven alone records the tear,
And fame shall never know the story,
Her heart has shed a drop as dear

As e'er bedewed the field of glory.

The wife who girds her husband's sword,
'Mid little ones who weep or wonder,
And bravely speaks the cheering word,

What though her heart be rent asunder!
Doomed nightly in her dreams to hear

The bolts of death around him rattle,
Hath shed as sacred blood as e'er

Was poured upon a field of battle.

The mother who conceals her grief,

While to her breast her son she presses,
Then breathes a few brave words and brief,
Kissing the patriot brow she blesses,

With no one but her secret God

To know the pain that weighs upon her,

Sheds holy blood as e'er the sod

Received on Freedom's field of honor.

T. BUCHANAN READ.

Biography.-Thomas Buchanan Read was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1822, and died in New York City in 1872.

In 1839, Read decided upon art as a profession, and soon gained distinction as a portrait painter. He resided at various times in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Cincinnati; and the last years of his life were passed in Rome, Italy. He was the author of several volumes of poems, which have been much admired. Of his poems, "Sheridan's Ride" is the best known. Among his other poems are the following: "The New Pastoral," "The Home by the Sea," and "The Wagoner of the Alleghanies."

Notes.-A sash, as used in the lesson, means a band worn about the waist or over the shoulder: it is a badge of distinction among certain military officers. What other well-known meaning has the word?

Bolts of death means any missiles of destruction used in battle, as bullets, cannon-balls, arrows, or javelins.

Language. Use the following pairs of words in sentences, and show the difference in their meaning:- Girds, binds; shed, pour.

32. THE

SAGACITY OF THE SPIDER.

sa găç'i ty, state of being wise. in trudes, thrusts one's self in. nǎt'ū ral Ĭsts, those who study

the history of animals and plants. im pēde, place any difficulty in the way of.

sŏl'i tūde, a state of being alone. fôr'çeps, pair of pincers.

sus'te nançè, food.

glūti nous, resembling glue. părʼal lel, running in the same direction.

an tǎg'o nist, one who fights against another; an enemy.

sub sist'ed, fed; lived.

sǎe'ri ficed (fized), destroyed by.

Animals in general are sagacious in proportion as they cultivate society. Elephants and beavers show the greatest signs of this sagacity when they are together in large numbers; but when man intrudes himself into their communities, they lose all their spirit of industry, and indicate but a very small share of that trait for which, when in a social state, they are so remarkable.

Among insects, the labors of the bee and the ant have employed the attention and admiration of naturalists, but all their sagacity seems to be lost upon separation, and a single bee or ant seems destitute of every degree of industry, is the most stupid insect imaginable, languishes for a time in solitude, and soon dies.

Of all the solitary insects I have ever noticed, the spider is the most sagacious, and its actions, to me, who have attentively considered them, seem almost to exceed belief. This insect is formed by nature for war, not only upon other insects, but also upon its own species. Nature seems to have formed it for this condition of life.

Its head and breast are covered with a strong natural coat of mail, which is impenetrable to the attacks of every other insect, and its body is enveloped in a soft pliable skin, which eludes the sting even of a wasp. Its legs are terminated by strong claws, not unlike those of a lobster; and their vast length, like spears, serves to keep every assailant at a distance.

Not worse furnished for observation than for attack or defense, it has several eyes, large, transparent, and covered with a horny substance, which, however, does not impede its vision. Besides this, it is furnished with a forceps above the mouth, which serves to kill or secure the prey already caught in its claws or its net.

Such are the implements of war with which the body is immediately furnished; but its net to entangle the enemy seems to be what it chiefly trusts to, and what it takes most pains to render as complete as possible. Nature has furnished the body of