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"we shall have enough and to spare, and may live like sons of kings." So to work they went as briskly as could be, and though they missed the golden treasure which they expected to find, yet by their joint labor, the vineyard was so well dug and turned up, that it yielded a noble crop of fruit, which proved a treasure indeed.

By this we see that honest labor is the surest road to riches.

FILIAL AFFECTION.

DISOBEDIENCE to parents hath ever been awfully marked with God's displeasure, while affection for them and attention to them have been eminently sanctioned by him, as the means of promoting their felicity, and our honor and

esteem.

So justly is filial affection appreciated by the Chinese, that they erect public monuments and triumphal arches in honor of those children who bave given proofs of great

filial affection.

My joy," said the celebrated Epaminondas of Greece, "arises from my sense of that, which the news of my victory will give my father and mother."

SUBLIME AND BEAUTIFUL.

CHATEAUNEUF, keeper of the seals of Louis XIII. when a boy of only nine years old, was asked many questions by a bishop, and gave very prompt answers to them all. At length the prelate said "I will give you an orange if you will tell me where God is." "My Lord," replied the boy, "I will give you two if you will tell me where he is not.”

THE FAITHFUL BIRD.

THE green-house is my summer seat; My shrubs displaced from that retreat, Enjoy'd the open air;

Two goldfinches, whose sprightly song, Had been their mutual solace long, Lived happy prisoners there.

They sang as blithe as finches sing,
That flutter loose on golden wing,
And frolic where they list;
Strangers to liberty, 'tis true,
But that delight they never knew,
And therefore never miss'd.

But nature works in every breast,
With force not easily suppress'd ;
And Dick felt some desires,
That after many an effort vain,
Instructed him at length to gain
A pass between his wires.

The open windows seem'd t'invite
The freeman to a farewell flight;
But Tom was still confined;
And Dick, although his way was clear,
Was much too generous and sincere,
To leave his friend behind.

So settling on his cage, by play,
And chirp, and kiss, he seem'd to say,
"You must not live alone."

Nor would he quit that chosen stand,
Till I, with slow and cautious hand,
Return'd him to his own.

Oh ye, who never taste the joys
Of friendship, satisfied with noise,
Fandango, ball and rout!
Blush, when I tell you how a bird,
A prison with a friend preferred,
To liberty without.

FREDERICK THE GREAT.

us, depends upon Time permits me

BEFORE the battle of Rosbach, which led to the most celebrated of all the King of Prussia's victories, Frederick addressed his little army, not amounting to more than twentyfive thousand men, in nearly the following words: "My brave Soldiers -The hour is coming, in which all that is, and all that ought to be dear to the swords that are drawn for the battle. to say but little, nor is there occasion to say much. You know that there is no labor, no hunger, no cold, no watching, no danger, that I have not shared with you hitherto ; and you now see me ready to lay down (my life with you, and for you. All I ask is the same pledge of fidelity and affection that I give. Acquit yourselves like men, and pu your confidence in God."

The effect of this was indescribable; the soldiers answered it by a universal shout, and their looks and demeanor became animated to a sort of heroic frenzy.

Frederick led on his troops in person, exposed to the hottest fire. The enemy for a few moments made a gallant resistance; but overwhelmed by the headlong intrepidity of the Prussians, they at length gave way in every part, and fled in the utmost disorder. Night, alone, saved from total destruction the scattered remains of an army, which in the morning had heen double the number of its conquerers.

ON A GOLDFINCH STARVED TO DEATH IN
HIS CAGE.

TIME was when I was free as air,
The thistle's downy seed my fare,
My drink the morning dew:
I perch'd at will on every spray,
My form genteel, my plumage gay,
My strains for ever new.

But gaudy plumage, sprightly strain,
And form genteel were all in vain,

And of a transient date;

For caught and caged, and starved to death,

In dying sighs, my little breath

Soon pass'd the wiry grate.

Thanks, gentle swain, for all my woes,

And thanks for this effectual close,

And cure of every ill;

More cruelty could none express,
And I, if you had shown me less,
Had been your prisoner still.

THE IMPROVEMENT OF TIME.

MAKE it a rule never to allow yourself to be idle, when your health and circumstances will allow you to be active. If you once form an industrious habit, you will never afterwards be able to content yourself in a state of inactivity; and on the other hand, if you begin life with a habit of indolence, you will probably never after acquire a relish for vigorous exertion. Consider the first inroads of indolence as a melancholy harbinger of the wreck of your usefulness, and the loss of your reputation.

THE INQUISITIVE MONKEY.

A FABLE.

A MONKEY seeing his master hiding something in his garden, marked the place with his eye; and when his master's back was turned, went and raked up the earth to see what he had concealed so curiously; when suddenly his paw was caught in a trap, and he cried out most bitterly.

His master, who, from a distance, had seen him prying about the spot, hastened to warn him of his danger; and when he heard his cries, he rescued him from his painful situation, writhing under the smart occasioned by the trap, and gave him this admonition -"Be not too curious to know what does not concern you."

PROVERBS.

EVERY fool can find faults that a great many wise men cannot mend.

Friendship cannot stand all on one side.

God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb.

He that will steal a pin, will steal a better thing.
He who commences many things, finishes only a few.
He that knows himself best, esteems himself least.
He that wad eat the kernel, maun crack the nut.
Hope is a good breakfast, but a bad supper.

ON ONE IGNORANT AND ARROGANT.

THOU mayst of double ignorance boast,

Who knowest not that thou nothing know'st.

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