The common Lord of all that move,
From whom thy being flowed,
A portion of His boundless love ❤
On that poor worm bestowed.

The sun, the moon, the stars, He made
For all His creatures free;

And spread o'er earth the grassy blade,
For worms as well as thee.

Let them enjoy their little day,
Their humble bliss receive;
Oh! do not lightly take away

The life thou canst not give

Gisborne.

18.-SIGNS OF RAIN.

whis-ker-ed glass

in-cau-tious

The hollow winds begin to blow,
The clouds look black, the glass is low,
The soot falls down, the spaniels sleep,
And spiders from their cobwebs peep.
Hark! how the chairs and tables crack;
Old Betty's joints are on the rack;
Loud quack the ducks, the peacocks cry,
The distant hills are seeming nigh;
How restless are the snorting swine;
The busy flies disturb the kine;

Low o'er the grass the swallow wings,
The cricket, too, how sharp he sings;
Puss on the hearth, with velvet paws,
Sits, wiping o'er her whiskered jaws.
Through the clear stream the fishes rise,
And nimbly catch the incautious flies;
The frog has changed his velvet vest,
And in a russet coat is drest;

My dog, so altered in his taste,
Quits mutton-bones, on grass to feast.
And see yon rooks, how odd their flight!
They imitate the gliding kite,
And seem precipitate to fall,
As if they felt the piercing ball.
"Twill surely rain, I see with sorrow
Our jaunt must be put off to-morrow.

Dr Jenner.

19. THE DEPARTURE OF COLUMBUS.

luck-i-ly by-stand-ers patient

Early on the morning of Friday the 3rd August, 1492, Columbus set sail from Spain in search of the new world, which he believed to exist far across the wide sea. All who stood watching him and his men making ready to go, looked very sad, for they thought there was no chance of their ever coming back, and the sailors, who had not the same faith and hope in their success that Columbus had, were still more cast down when they saw the bystanders bid them goodbye with tears and lamentations, as if they were going to death. On the 9th September, they left the last point of known land, and then the hearts of the seamen failed them altogether, and they wept for themselves, their wives and their homes, but Columbus cheered them as well as he could by telling them of all the splendour and riches, which should be theirs, when they reached the new land beyond the sea. After some time they began to observe large quantities of weeds and herbs, which looked as if they had grown on land, drifting towards them from the west, and birds, which are found only on land, flying around,

and now the men began to hope, and Columbus promised a reward to the sailor who should first see land. But they saw no land, and when day after day passed, and they never seemed to get any nearer, and the same, never ending distance of empty sea stretched before them, they became more and more fearful, and felt they were each day further from help and home. Sometimes they were very unhappy and doubtful, and sometimes they saw some sight which restored their hope, and made them think land could not be very far off. The sight which always comforted them was, when little land-birds came and sang about their ship in the morning, and flew away in the evening, as if to seek their own home to sleep in. But for all that, it was very hard to keep up hope when so many days passed, and they never saw this land. Columbus never lost his faith, but was sure he should at last arrive where he so much wished to be, and he was very patient with his men, and did his best to keep up their spirits, but at last they grew so alarmed and so angry, that they made up their minds to throw him overboard and go home again. Luckily, just about this time, a man cried out that he saw land, and claimed the reward. So, instead of killing Columbus, they all threw themselves on their knees, and sang "Glory to God!" But when daylight came, they had another disappointment, for no land was to be seen, but so many signs of its being near, that all on board were full of joy and hope. And yet it was some time longer before they saw it. On the 7th October, more than two months after they left home, they were still all alone on the sea,

and more than 2000 miles from any land they knew ; and this night the crew said they could bear it no longer, and rose up against Columbus to force him to turn back. He tried to soothe them, but they would not listen; and then he told them boldly that he had been sent by the King and Queen of Spain to find this new world, and come what might, he would not go back until he had done so. After speaking so plainly to his crew, he would have been in great danger if next day they had not observed so many signs of land, that all on board knew that it must be quite near. First there was a fish of a kind which keeps close to rocks, then a fresh branch of thorn with berries on it, a reed, a board, and better still, a carved staff; and now all ill-temper and fear were over, and each tried to be the first to see land. At night after prayers, Columbus tried to make his men see how very good God had been to them, in bringing them across this great sea, safely to the promised land, and he told them also that he really thought they should get there that very night; and that very night, before going to bed, they saw a distant light, and at two in the morning, the ship which was sailing with them fired a gun, to tell them they had seen the land at last. When the daylight came, they saw before them a large beautiful island, fresh, green, and covered with trees. It was full of inhabitants, for they saw them running about lost in wonder at this visit from over the sea.

Columbus ordered his boats to be got ready, and dressing himself splendidly, took the royal standard of Spain and rowed ashore. The nearer he got to it the