builds himself a house, as if he were a carpenter, and about the rein-deer, which lives in Lapland, and draws the sledges over the snow; and about the dog, and the lion, and the elephant, and a great many other animals, some of which are found in your own country, and others in countries where you have never been. They tell you what sort of food other animals live upon, and how they provide themselves with it, and what sort of skins, or furs, or feathers they have to keep them warm. From all this you learn how kind and good Almighty God is to every creature which he has made; not only to man, who is at the head of his lower works, but to other creatures as well. This, as I told you once before, should teach you to be kind and merciful to all dumb animals, and never to torment or ill-treat them. There is one very good book, which is written for this very purpose, to teach you to be kind to dumb creatures: it is Mrs Trimmers Fabulous History or the story of a Pair of Robins and their young ones. I hope that those of you who have never read this book, will read it as soon as you can obtain it.

But, besides all these, you have another sort of books which are very entertaining; and those are voyages and Travels, or the history of those who have gone into different parts of the world, and travelled far by land and by sea,

with an account of all their wonderful adventures, and what things they saw, and what kind of people, and trees, and animals, they found. You have the Travels of Rolando round the World, and the Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, and Mungo Park's Travels in Africa, and Uncle Richard's Account of the Northern Regions. These are very excellent and useful books for you to read, and you may gain much instruction from them. They will increase your knowledge of the wonderful works of God; and show you in how many different ways his power and wisdom are displayed; and they will tell you also how graciously He has defended and preserved those who have put their trust in Him in the midst of the greatest perils and difficulties; they will tell you how He has rescued them from their troubles, and brought them back again once more to their homes, and given them cause to rejoice in his goodness.

Now, I am sure that such books as those I have named, are much better for you to read than some others I have seen, which tell of ghosts and spirits, and enchanted castles, and such things as never happened, nor could happen. Never read such silly books as these; they can do you no good, and there are plenty of others which will give you much useful instruction,

And is it not better, my young friends, to read such good books as those which I have described to you, than to pass your time in idleness, or in something worse? If you wish for mere amusements, for something to make your time pass pleasantly, it would be worth your while to read,particularly when you are not well and require something to divert your thoughts, and to cheer your spirit. But, besides this, reading will furnish you with much information, which will be useful to you in future life; you will know how to do many things which other persons who have read less do not know; and you will thus be able to obtain for yourselves many advantages. You will also gain the respect of your fellow-men; for as ignorance causes a man to be laughed at and despised, so on the other hand do people love a man and seek his society, and listen to his opinion, if they believe that he is possessed of knowledge, and can give them information on a variety of subjects. To all this I may add, that reading will keep you from vice, and lead you to love and honor your Creator, and to do his will. What other inducement, then, can be needed to make you apply diligently to the books which you are permitted to use? Much as you may be occupied with working, or with attending school, you may still find some time every

day for reading. In the morning, when you are waiting for your breakfast, or at noon, for your dinner, you may find ten minutes or a quarter of an hour for reading; and at night I have no doubt that you may almost always find half an hour, or an hour, or even more, for the same purpose. Never be without some book, which you may take up whenever you have a little time on your hands: and try, above all things, both to understand what you read, and to remember it, so that if you are asked what you have been reading about in such and such a book, you may be able to tell.

Lastly, let me remind you to take great care of the books which are lent you. Bring them back at the appointed time, and let them not be torn or dirty, or have the leaves turned down. For, let me ask, who is to buy you more books,

if

you spoil or lose those which you have? The least that you can do in return for the kindness of those who have procured them for you, is to keep them clean, to put them where they will not be lost, and to take them back at the proper time. If you do this, your teachers will be glad to let you have more books to read, since they are always pleased to do any thing which will make you more happy and more virtuous.

ADDRESS XX.

FOR EASTER SUNDAY.

My dear Children,

This day is called Easter Sunday: it is a Sunday which is held in peculiar respect by Christians, because it was on this day, about eighteen hundred years ago, that our Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead by the power of God. Our Saviour was put to death on a Friday, about three o'clock in the afternoon. He lay in the grave two nights and one whole day; and on the morning of the day which we call Sunday he rose from the dead, to the great joy of all his friends and disciples, and to the confusion of his enemies.

We Te may be quite sure that Christ did rise from the dead, for he was seen first of all by Mary Magdalene then by Peter, afterwards by all the apostles, and at one time by five hundred of his disciples at once. What especially proves to us that it really was Jesus himself who appeared alive, was the pains which Thomas took to make himself sure of the fact. This apostle was not present with the rest of his brethren when Christ first showed himself